――<▼>――
[𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐞𝐝]
●[𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲: 𝟐𝟓𝟎/𝟐𝟓𝟎]
●[𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟏]
●[𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: (𝟓/𝟐𝟎𝟎)]
●[𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞(𝐬): 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝]
●[𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭]
➤[𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞(𝟐.𝟓)]➤[𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭(𝟐.𝟓)]➤[𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭(𝟒.𝟔)]➤[𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚(𝟑.𝟎)]
●[𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐱]
➤[𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥(𝐬): 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫(𝐒), 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐁), 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐫(𝐀), 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭(𝐀)]
➤[𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥(𝐬): 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞(𝐀), 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧(𝐀+), 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐂), 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐁+), 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐲𝐞(𝐂+), 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧(𝐁+)]
――<▲>――
"..." Mercedes was staring at her status interface with a serious expression plastered on her face. Beforehand, she thought that her attributes and skills were better than anything. However, she had forgotten that she was ignorant of the world around her.
Mercedes wasn't the strongest, and she also wasn't a genius, nor was she a hero. She was far from an idol, and her skills paled compared to those masters of their subjects. Being arrogant about the things she currently had was foolish.
And seeing the former world made her realize how tiny she was compared to the grand scale of things. She understood the reason why Spade didn't release any more information than needed.
Even she herself would have done the same thing.
"According to Spade, a 1.0 attribute is the average of humanity. This means that I'm two times stronger than normal. But that doesn't mean anything since thugs might be stronger than this." Mercedes murmured to herself as having beyond-average strength wouldn't be enough for her.
"My speed might be faster and my reaction time greater than everything else with the help of Thought Accelerator. Even then, I need to learn more. I shouldn't be satisfied just because I stopped being a basement dweller." Mercedes clenches her fist before closing her eyelids.
"I need to become stronger."
For some reason, after seeing that crimson moon, Mercedes wasn't herself. It was as if something was chasing her. She was running away from something, and she was becoming hasty. Although it does make sense, as the ignorant had discovered the truth.
'There's also the possibility... The possibility that this world might be next on the chopping block.' Mercedes felt chills upon having such a thought. She didn't even want to continue thinking about it.
"*Achoo!* I don't feel good." Mercedes mumbled before stepping out of her comfy bed. She walked out of her room and headed downstairs, where her mother was preparing for their breakfast. Kiara was waiting beside the table while wearing her school uniform.
As Mercedes unveiled herself from the corner, she and Kiara glanced at one another. Silence enveloped the two, and Mercedes couldn't help but get confused. But after a couple of seconds, she realized she had forgotten the unexpected change in her appearance.
'Sh*t! I forgot about my appearance. How should I explain this?' Mercedes was panicking inside her mind wondering what answer she could give to her family.
"Who are you?" Kiara subconsciously uttered, which Regine swiftly heard from the kitchen. Walking out of it, Regine saw a gorgeous lady in the kitchen. "Who- Wait... Mercedes?" Her reaction was almost the same as Kiara, though she stopped herself in time.
"Yes, Mom." Mercedes gave a wryly smile while ruffling her hair. It was hard to believe that Mercedes had become akin to a fashion model. Even Regine and Kiara found it hard to accept.
"C-Come sit beside the table." Regine decided to process everything in the kitchen while Kiara kept staring at Mercedes. Mercedes glanced at Kiara and questioned. "Is there something wrong?"
Hearing the words of Mercedes, Kiara got out of her trance and immediately avoided Mercedes's gaze. She couldn't help but blush for some reason, which made her a bit embarrassed. Gazing away from Mercedes, Kiara softly asked.
"What happened?"
"Nothing happened. It seems that my hard work paid off." Mercedes naturally answered, which wasn't actually that far from the truth. She worked hard to level up, and this was the result of it.
"Hard work, huh... Well, that makes sense." Kiara accepted Mercedes's response without that much of a problem. She understood how much her older sister had worked hard. She has been exercising, and she even interacted with their mother's customers.
Regine stepped out of the kitchen while carrying a tray where their breakfast dwells. She placed it before the two and expressed with a smile on her face. "Enjoy your breakfast."
With that, Mercedes and Kiara started eating their breakfast. Regine watched them from afar before deciding to turn on the television in the living room. Upon opening it, some breaking news emerged out of nowhere.
*This is breaking news!*
*Chaos has erupted in District 14 after a strange individual released flame-like substances which seemed to be out of control. The authorities are currently dealing with it, and civilians from multiple city blocks have been evacuated. We will be waiting for more information about the situation.*
"A terrorist?" Regine wondered to herself and kept watching the television. The news continued and reported what had happened yesterday throughout the Federation. From the looks of it, numerous terrorist attacks have been occurring throughout the nation.
"Is there something wrong, Mom?" Kiara questioned as she entered the living room while carrying her backpack. Regine glanced at her and softly responded. "Terrorist attacks have been happening throughout the country. I don't think it's safe to go to school."
"*Sigh...* Don't worry about me, Mom. Besides, the terrorist attacks are on the opposite side of the country. If it was really dangerous, then our city would have announced a temporary martial law."
"So I'm sure that the authorities are handling it well." Kiara calmly explained with confidence in her tone. Terrorist attacks were a rare occurrence. And since classes weren't closed off, there should be no need to be paranoid about dangerous possibilities.
"But I have a bad feeling..." Regine quietly murmured while Kiara affirmed. "I'll be okay, Mom." Gazing at the clock, Kiara noticed the time and swiftly kissed her mother's cheeks. She turned the doorknob and glanced at her mother while waving her hands.
"I'll have to go now, bye!"
Kiara stepped out of the house as Mercedes got out of the kitchen after washing the dishes. Entering the living room, Mercedes questioned. "Did Kiara already leave, Mom?"
Regine glanced at her and answered with a worried tone. "Yes, but I still feel worried."
Hearing her mother, Mercedes gazes at the television seeing the scenes of terrorist attacks. She quietly shook her head and uttered. "It has been years since the last terrorist incident in our district. Even that incident was tamed compared to the ones on the television."
"I'm sure that terrorist wouldn't be interested in our humble district."
Worrying about such things was nothing more but a stress bringer. Though, Mercedes did understand her mother's worry. Fate was as unexpected as it goes. Nothing will go alone with one's expectations of the future.
"I guess you're right," Regine calmed herself and continued. "I'll have to go, Mercedes. It's time to open the Cafe." Mercedes smiled after seeing her mother's usual self and replied. "I'll follow, Mom."
As Mercedes was left alone in the living room, she stared at her status interface. She closed her eyelids and relaxed before releasing one thought. 'Though Accelerator!'
However, after releasing such a thought, nothing happened. Mercedes didn't feel that different from before, so she opened her eyelids. Though, after unveiling her eyes, her perception changed. Everything was slow as a snail. It was as if time had slowed down significantly.
'The people on the television are frozen still. Even the ventilator's fan isn't spinning anymore.'
'But... I can't move a single muscle of my body. My mouth can't even open, and I'm stuck looking at the television.' Mercedes's thoughts were the only ones running normally, which made her realize the effects of the Thought Accelerator.
It was straightforward and simple.
'Only my thoughts get accelerated, which makes time seem slower than normal. My body is still moving at the same pace as usual, although with my thoughts accelerated, their movements seem still as a frozen lake.'
'This does make me wonder if I can control the speed at which my thoughts get accelerated.' Mercedes was a bit curious about how much she could control the acceleration.
'10x Acceleration!' Mercedes thought, which changed everything. The ones on the television were now moving through slowly, and the ventilator's fan was finally spinning. She could move her body, but it was extremely sluggish.
'If my thinking is correct, then 10x acceleration should mean a 10 seconds per second ratio. A single second became 10 seconds, which in turn slowed everything significantly. Albeit, this is a wrong thinking. I didn't slow anything down. My thoughts simply became faster.'
After a while of testing the Thought Accelerator, Mercedes stopped after 10 seconds which was a lot of time during the thought acceleration. It was a unique experience, to say the least. It was like magic for Mercedes, a superpower of some sort.
"This is the random special skill I got after leveling up."
"I wonder what more special skills I can get as I continue to increase my level?" Mercedes had a lot of expectations regarding the future. However, before she could continue being excited about it, the notification tab rang. A notification materializes before Mercedes's eyes.
Mercedes squinted her eyes as the notification quest divulged itself. 'Another quest? I guess I don't have time to be resting now.' A smirk emerged on Mercedes's face. She was thrilled to see another quest. Though her delight swiftly disappeared afterward.
―<▼>―
[𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞(𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭)]
●[𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞: 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝]
●[𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝟑 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬. 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬.(𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝟑𝟔𝟓 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬).]
➤[𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫(𝐒𝐒𝐒), 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚, 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞, +𝟏𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬, +𝟏𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥(𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞)]
―<▲>―
"What the..." Mercedes couldn't utter a single word as she was shocked deep to her core. A hundred attributes each, an SSS-rank special active skill, 100,000 points, 10,000 experience, along with a new title. It was the greatest treasure chest.
Mercedes had a hard time believing what she had read before her eyes. Although, she also had a bad feeling in her heart. But then she remembered the words of her mother. Mercedes had a realization which made her body jolt.
"Sh*t!" Without any hesitation or delay, Mercedes ran out of the house and chased after Kiara.