PART I
It was evening, and Mai sat in a room in the temple. She lay on the bed and gazed at the white ceiling.
"I can't leave until all the pearls have been fixed. They said it would be done before midnight."
She sighed, turned to her sides but couldn't sleep. She sat up, stared into the air, and then at Kenta.
"Why are they so secretive in the Spirit Temple?"
It was worse than being in a church, and she couldn't go anywhere without a companion, a temple guard.
"Now I miss my TV."
She thought about her stats, and they appeared in front of her.
Name: Mai
Title: none
Attack: 5
Crit: 4
Pierce: 3
Resilience: 1
Defense: 1
Block: 1
HP: 1
Perception: 5
Charisma: 5
Wisdom: 5
Intelligence: 5
Block bonus: 1%
Crit bonus: 1%
Quest: Heal
Time limit: 1 day
Skill points: 300
"So much new. Wow."
The Heal quest was still there, annoying her.
"How did I get so many points? But it's not much considering 1 hp."
She furrowed her brows.
"Do I really need Intelligence when I'm not a mage? Wisdom suits my heal class fine. Why do I still have no mana?"
She ignored HP again and distributed the points as follows.
Attack: 35
Crit: 34
Pierce: 33
Resilience: 31
Defense: 31
Block: 31
Perception: 35
Charisma: 35
Wisdom: 35
Intelligence: 35
Block bonus: 11%
Crit bonus: 11%
"If it had been a game, I would have saved them for a while until I leveled up, but there's no level indicated. That mana and 1 hp still irritate me."
Was the system trying to mess with her, literally?
"My stats are still low."
She sighed, closed her eyes, and relaxed her body.
The last few days had been hectic, and she hadn't had time to relax properly and gather her thoughts. Suddenly, she saw a chimera face with a hairy man's body.
"Lord Melech? Who is that?" She murmured.
His name clearly indicated that he was an important person.
"So, he's building an army of chimeras? How terrifying."
Her body suddenly shook, and she saw a large army of chimeras on a battlefield with a red sky in the background. Suddenly, a black silhouette of a figure appeared, slowly walking towards her. It looked like a man, his body covered in black smoke, wearing a cloak. His purple eyes glowed, and he had thick black horns on his forehead. She had seen such horns before in movies, especially anime.
"Demon lord?"
Suddenly, the person stopped in front of her and drew a reddish smoke sword.
*Tap*
He poked her forehead, and she felt something invisible push her chest, forcing her to open her eyes abruptly. She stared into the air.
"Was that my own fantasy?"
She had a good fantasy, but this sensation felt real. She touched her forehead and felt something wet, looking at her hand, which was red.
"Did he cut me?"
Suddenly, something dawned on her, and she ran to the mirror.
There was a large red spot on her forehead where blood was flowing.
"What the hell?"
She hurriedly wiped it away with a cloth, but it kept bleeding.
"What the hell?"
She repeated, furrowing her brows. She found a white ribbon and tied it around her head, but the wound immediately bled through. Suddenly, she felt a tingling sensation on her left chest and was reminded of the flower symbol. She touched it gently with her index finger, and suddenly, it appeared in her mind, and she felt the wound on her forehead start to tingle, and the blood now oozed profusely. She found bandages and wrapped them several times around her head, covering the forehead well. Blood seeped through, but it held back.
"Ugh, I look a bit like a cyclops."
She glanced at Kenta.
"Stay here."
She opened the door cautiously.
*Creak*
Damn, why did it have to make a sound now?
She looked slowly to the left and to the right and felt a pit in her stomach. There was a man in a white hooded cloak, staring intensely at her with a sharp gaze.
"Miss, what are you doing?"
She coughed lightly and played dumb.
"I don't know where the bathroom is."
The man pointed to the room to her left.
"If you're still confused, it's right there. Shall I escort you in?"
Mai furrowed her brows. What the hell?! Okay, she admitted her acting wasn't top-notch. Next time, she'd have to prepare better.
She pointed to her forehead and made a worried face.
"Look, I got injured when I was lying on the altar."
The man furrowed his brows.
"Miss, are you trying to sneak away?"
Mai shook her head.
"No, I'm injured. Feel here."
She pulled her hand out and grabbed his hand before he could react, placing it on her forehead. When the man felt the blood, he raised his eyebrows.
"Lord Liam said you were cured. How is that possible?"
"It must be a side effect. Don't you have a hospital or something?"
Mai made her eyes as big as possible and played cute. It was now or never. The man furrowed his brows and looked down the dark, long corridor with dim lighting where people in white hooded cloaks walked around in silence.
"You usually need an appointment before you can visit the hospital, but since you're here with Lord Liam, I can make an exception. Come with me."
He made a gesture, and they started walking to the left. As they passed the bathroom, Mai shot it a sharp look. Why the hell are you placed there too?
They walked through many long corridors that seemed like a labyrinth if you didn't know the place. Mai looked around at all the doors, which were identical and jet black, and furrowed her brows.
"How on earth can you navigate here?"
"It requires keen perception and many years of experience," commented the guard.
"It sounds like a boring job," Mai mumbled.
The guard coughed lightly and revealed, "There are perks to living here, such as a higher salary."
Suddenly, Mai considered becoming a temple guard, but when she spotted another door, she withdrew the idea and shook her head. Maybe when she became old and gray.
In front of the hospital hall, Mai waited while the guard went in and informed the staff because it was a rule to notify before arrival. It was a large, bright hall made of marble with various white statues of figures standing around, the five gods. Mai walked around and looked at all of them, reciting them in order as they were placed.
"Griffith, Elaria, Gustir, Valerie, Ezekiel."
She would never meet them in her life, but everyone should know them in the world as it was a rule, just like knowing your country's leader.
"I heard they have disciples, and one of them is Celestia and Alistair."
She glanced at Elaria. Elaria was a woman with long hair down to her hips, wearing a long dress and holding a large pearl in both hands in front of her while smiling.
Celestia was her disciple and known as a copy, for the two really resembled each other in personality. Arrogant and corrupt.
The statue of Valerie had shoulder-length hair, and she held a sword in her right hand with a serious expression. She wore armor with a flowing cape that made her look like a knight.
"If I had to choose, I'd rather be like Alistair."
PART II
*Whoosh*
She felt a warm breeze, and turned to the left, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Did I just imagine that?"
She looked at the statues again.
*Whoosh*
It was the same warm breeze, and she turned her head again, lifting her eyebrows. This time, she hadn't imagined it, or had she? She decided to test it, turning towards the statues.
*Pa*
Something hit the back of her head, and her heart skipped a beat. She turned around, raising her eyebrows.
"Seriously? Is it because I ignored you?"
Her words suddenly triggered a chain of whispers as people cast glances her way.
"Hey, look. She's talking to herself."
"She's so strange. I heard Lord Liam brought her here."
"What on earth is she doing here? Another one trying to climb the ranks by seducing him. How pathetic."
Mai ignored them and looked down at a dark hallway where the warm wind had come from. She was afraid of the dark, so she shook her head.
"Nope. Not today."
She turned around but felt something tug at her hair, making her turn back. She snorted and looked down the hallway again, furrowing her brows.
"Seriously?"
She gathered herself and walked slowly towards the hallway, following the warm wind that occasionally came to touch her. Every time she stopped, it emerged, and it felt like something invisible gently pulled at her, and her feet followed automatically. Suddenly, the wind stopped her in front of a black wooden door, which she cautiously opened.
*Creak*
The room was bright, with numerous large white pearls the size of an orb on a large round light stone altar that resembled the one she had lain on earlier, but this altar had a circle engraved in the stone. It was covered with pearls, forming a round carpet-like pattern. She approached the altar and gently held her right hand over the pearls, suddenly feeling a warm, strong stream shoot up into her palm. It tickled just like a warm wave.
*Ping*
Her stats suddenly appeared in front of her.
Skill points: 500
She blinked a few times and furrowed her brows.
"How did I get them?"
She looked down at the pearls and touched one that felt cold.
"Is it you who gave them to me?"
Her heart pounded fast, and she tried breath slowly, but it was challenging because she was damn excited.
"Heh. Does this mean I become invincible if I harvest pearls?"
But that meant she had to steal pearls from temples or boss steal, which she was against because she wasn't a thief.
She quickly distributed her points.
Name: Mai
Title: none
Attack: 85
Crit: 84
Pierce: 83
Resilience: 81
Defense: 81
Block: 81
HP: 1
Perception: 85
Charisma: 85
Wisdom: 85
Intelligence: 85
Block bonus: 36%
Crit bonus: 36%
She nodded and felt satisfied. The numbers still looked low, but it was always better than 0, as her little sister used to tell her. She was now reminded of her sister's health and checked her phone. To her shock, there was a flood of messages from her.
Anya: "Help. Where are you?"
Anya: "Help. There's a big monster here that's sucking souls out of us."
Her heart sank, and she felt a strange sensation in her stomach. All the messages were repeated and sent at the same time.
"2:58 pm."
It was 9:23 pm, and her sister lived in Malaga, Spain, which was about a 2.5-hour flight from here. She furrowed her brows.
"It's impossible for me to get there now."
She sighed and suddenly felt a throbbing in her forehead, a burning sensation, and was reminded of the sword from the demon lord. She hurried back, and since she had only come one way, there was only one way back. She stood again in front of the hospital hall, waiting in silence.
"I hope he hasn't noticed anything." she muttered.
Suddenly, the temple guardian came out and looked at her, and behind him stood Liam, staring at her, or rather, at her forehead. He raised his eyebrows and walked quickly toward her.
"What are you doing here?"
"I haven't been fully healed. I think there's a hole in me." Mai coughed lightly and made a worried face.
What else was she supposed to say? That a shadow-like demon lord stabbed her in the forehead?
"Lise, patch her up." ordered Liam.
A young woman with long red hair walked toward them, holding an aid kit in her hand, which made Mai raise her eyebrows. What the hell?
"I thought you were a Spirit Temple. Isn't it supposed to heal me with magic?"
Liam opened the kit, which consisted of small round compartments with small white pearls in them.
Mai raised her eyebrows at the sight and cleared her throat.
"I take back my words, sorry."
She was now very embarrassed.
Liam took a pearl and placed it, rubbing it on her forehead, but to his surprise, her forehead absorbed it. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Lise, who stood with her hand in front of her mouth with wide eyes.
"Oh my god."
"Holy mother," exclaimed the temple guardian, who looked like he had seen something he shouldn't have seen.
Mai, who had no idea what was happening, looked at them and then back at Liam. She couldn't feel anything on her forehead and wondered what he was up to.
"What's happening?"
Liam furrowed his brow, coughed lightly, and took out a new pearl, but before he could place it in front of her forehead, it automatically flew into her forehead. When Mai saw this, she thought he had used a wind element to make it fly toward her. She felt her forehead, but it was still red with blood, and she sighed.
"It's not working. It's a waste of pearls."
She felt a tingling on her forehead, touched it, and suddenly, the pearl flew out, and she felt a small physical bump. Her eyes widened, and she stared at it in her hand.
"Holy mother." she exclaimed, now also surprised.
Liam looked around but saw no one present. He sighed in relief and looked at the temple guardian and Lise.
"No one must know anything, or I'll come after you."
He turned to Mai with a pleading face.
"Can you take the other one out too?"
Mai didn't know how she had done it and covered her forehead again, but nothing happened. She massaged it a bit, felt a slight prick, and suddenly, she felt a small bump come out, and her heart skipped a beat. She gave the pearl to Liam and smiled slightly.
"Don't ask me to do that again."
She had a strange feeling inside, as if she were a glutton or succulent.
"Since these pearls don't help, there's no reason for you to stay here anymore."
Liam handed the aid kit back to Lise, and she left them without saying anything, still shocked.
Mai was reminded of her sister and looked at Liam.
"I'm not very keen on asking, but do you happen to have a jet plane I can borrow?"
Of course, he didn't.
"I..." Before Liam could answer, a group of five people appeared behind Mai, and he immediately looked over at them.
Mai turned around and saw a beautiful woman and four handsome men, one of whom stood out.
He wore a red cloak, chestnut brown hair, and a red headband on his head. His dark obsidian-like eyes radiated something mysterious, and his body emitted a dark purple aura resembling purple smoke. The man was Ezekiel, ranked number 1 in the world as the strongest person.
The purple color was Mai's favorite.
"Purple." she mumbled softly, but it was loud enough for Ezekiel to hear, and he looked at her, raising his eyebrows.
"God, Ezekiel, what are you doing here?" Liam asked, feigning ignorance.
The group approached them, and Ezekiel still stared at Mai.
"Don't call me god. That's ridiculous. Has Elder Wei not conveyed my message to you?"
He now looked at Liam.
"There are soul-sucking beasts that have appeared in different parts of the world. The government has evacuated several cities. I received a message earlier that Marbella is severely affected."
Mai's heart pounded fast, and she felt it crawl up her throat, swallowing hard.
"My sister lives there. When did you get the message?"
Ezekiel looked at her again with curious eyes and blinked.
"Who is this?"
"This is Mai. A... good friend," introduced Liam.
Mai tugged at his sleeve and gave him doe eyes.
"Do you have a jet plane?"