Chapter 5 - The awakened

Niklas gazed at an analogue clock that was hung on the wall opposite him. The time was 00:45. He sighed.

'I will leave in the morning for the cave. I won't make the mistake of telling anyone or making moves that will reveal my intentions.'

Niklas believed that the demise of his friends was because he and his friends bought hunting equipment at the village's central market, which gave away their intentions.

Twenty minutes later, Nnedi began to gently snore. From this, Niklas correctly inferred that she had just fallen asleep.

Niklas thought, 'Mom, please stop worrying about me.'

He found it difficult to sleep, and he observed that he hadn't gone to pee or poop after the heavy meal earlier. Also, he didn't feel thirsty after the meal. It was all weird to him. He guessed that this development was related to the legacy he absorbed.

Niklas guess was correct. His morphology as a demigod allowed him to make the most use of the food and water he ingested. Hence, he didn't need to eat food, drink water, or pee or poop regularly. This was as long as he didn't exert himself by using his lightning powers. Unfortunately, he was ignorant of all this information, and he would have to discover it later.

Niklas wasn't the only legacy user in the world. There were many other legacy users. The matter of legacy blessings wasn't a popular one around the world. This information was carefully guarded by the powerful legacy users or powerful people who acted alone or from different institutions or unions. Legacy users who carelessly showed off and spread information about the existence of legacies suddenly disappeared without a trace.

By chance, one of Niklas' deceased friends, Diallo, had stumbled across a small chest that had the map to the secret cavern of Amadi. There was also another paper in the chest that described what the legacies were, Amadi's legacy, the specific but ambiguous location of Amadi's legacy in the cavern, and how to activate the blessings from Amadi's legacy statue after it was found.

Diallo presented the chest and its contents to his eight friends, Niklas included. Diallo proposed that they go on a hunt for the legacy, which his friends agreed to except for Niklas. It was agreed that Diallo would get the blessings from the legacy after it was found. After which, he was going to use the powers from the blessings to help his friends. Diallo persuaded Niklas to join the hunt so that he wouldn't feel left out. He promised to pay Niklas 300 Eks after they returned from the hunt. Niklas agreed to this. Sadly, only Niklas, Diallo's wallet, and his backpack returned safely from the hunt.

Also, Niklas wasn't the only person in the universe who had a system. There were other creatures that possessed systems. Even mere cats could possess a system. Then there were human beings who had affinity for the world's elements, such as fire, ice, water, earth, gases, wind, and metal. These people were born naturally with the ability to manipulate these elements. The people who had affinities for elements together with people who possessed systems were known as the 'awakened.'

Before tonight, Niklas was scared of opening the room's single window at night because of predators that left the depths of the forest to stroll at the edge of the forest. The predators would not think of barging into a house unless they saw anyone in it.

A jaguar was walking around Niklas' house. Niklas sat near the wide open way, looking at the canopy that formed the trees. He detected the presence of the predator thanks to his high perception, but he wasn't scared, so he didn't close the window. The window was composed of a window frame and a net within it. The jaguar spotted Niklas and decided to take its chance on Niklas. It snuck close to the window, using the tree trunks as cover.

Niklas could no longer ignore the presence of the animal after it got too close. He fixed his gaze on the beast that was constantly sneaking close. His gaze was filled with thick, murderous intent. The predator sensed it and stopped in its tracks, confused. The jaguar stepped into the open to confirm who the murderous intent belonged to. Fear gripped the jaguar when its eyes met those of Niklas. It had never witnessed such a degree of vile intentions. The predator didn't waste a second fleeing the scene, as it feared for its life.

Niklas' aura forced Nnedi and Zack out of their sleep. They were frightened and confused.

"Niklas. Niklas. Where are you?" Nnedi and Zack yelled in panic.

Niklas realised what was happening and killed his intention. He rushed to his family's side. He said,

"I'm here. Did you guys have a bad dream?"

Zack said, "I did not. But I felt like I was in danger in my sleep."

Niklas said, "You are not in danger. You are safe."

He looked into his Zack blue eyes in assurance and stroked back his rough red hairs.

Nnedi said, "Niklas, are you sure that we are not in danger? I felt the same way as Zack in my sleep."

Niklas said, "Mom, I assure you that everything is fine. Go back to sleep."

Zack said, "Niklas, Why weren't you sleeping?"

Niklas said, "I was thinking of what I would do tomorrow."

Nnedi sighed in guilt, her face downcast. Niklas noticed. He said to her,

"Mom, please don't feel bad. I beg you. I want you to always think positively. Do you still remember when I told you that you and Zack would soon be better?"

Nnedi nodded gently.

Niklas said, "I want to think of what you will do when you are finally healthy and hearty. Ok?"

Nnedi nodded. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to return to sleep. She knew that it was useless for her to persuade Niklas to go to sleep. Meanwhile, Zack was already sound asleep. A few minutes later, Nnedi was gently snoring.

Niklas returned to his seat near the window. He looked at the trees' canopy, as if looking up to heaven. He said,

"Oh heaven, I pray that my journey to the cave is fast and safe."

He pulled up his system interface with a thought.

[NAME: Agu Niklas Vox.

AGE: 20 years old.

HEIGHT: 6'2 feet.

WEIGHT: 58 KG.

CLASS: Lightning-mancer.

RACE: Human/Demigod

PHYSICAL QUALITIES;

STRENGTH: 5+10

SPEED: 5+10

AGILITY: 5+10

STAMINA: 5+10

PERCEPTION: 1+10

****

MANA AFFINITY: 1+10

MANA VOLUME: 0+1000 MP

****

MISSION: Go to the secret cavern of Amadi and find the weapon—the lightning blade.

MISSION TYPE: timed quest. Timer: 12 hours. Time left: 11:19:30.

PUNISHMENT: You instantly lose the blessings from Amadi's legacy.

User activates the punishment when the user does not complete the quest within the stipulated time.]

Niklas took a glance at the wall clock. The time was 1:25 a.m. He planned to leave for the cave as early as 6:00 a.m., which was daybreak. Predators don't stroll near the edge of the forest by this time. So it was safe for him to leave his family.

The map to the secret cave of Amadi was in the camouflage backpack that Niklas brought home. He guessed that the clue to finding the lightning blade should be on the map.

'I don't think that I should take the back pack and a shovel with me. The neighbours may see me leaving, and they will spread word rumours, which will likely bring another batch of killers after me.'

Niklas had no idea that the batch of hired killers that came after him and his friends were specifically after him. He thought that they were from an extremist group that worked to prevent people from discovering legacies. This false view of his was what made him excited to investigate the deaths of his friends.