Spoils were the right of the victors, yet he couldn't even touch his. How could he not feel bad about it?
"No choice. I need Alina to carry the orb back." Adam sighed in frustration, then turned to look at the young woman's condition.
"Please, mighty beings reigning over night and death, hear my honest plea. We didn't have the intention to disrupt you..." His eyes widened as he saw her sprawled on the ground, shaking and murmuring weird prayers with tears flowing down her cheeks.
"What is this crazy woman saying? Is she trying to summon something with all those names? Oh, stop!" He hurriedly floated towards her and drew an arrow on the ground to where the orb was, using the sleeping baby's finger.
However, things didn't go as he thought they would.
Alina felt some movements and immediately lowered her head, hitting it on the cemetery's soil and missing the drawing.
"I pledge my loyalty to you in exchange for our safety..." She started to pray louder, her body trembled crazily and her voice cracked.
"Is she a heretic? Stop this!" he yelled, fear gripping his heart.
Who knew what could happen after pledging your allegiance in a graveyard in the middle of the night? Moreover, he didn't know about this world's religions but doubted that praying to ghosts would be well received by any.
As she relentlessly continued her terrifying prayers, he hurriedly took the baby from her arms and placed it above the arrow to draw her attention.
Finally, after sensing her baby being taken from her, she raised her head in panic and noticed the symbol.
Calming a little, she understood the ghost responsible for her traumatic night was trying to communicate since he always used the baby to do so.
She looked at the arrow in confusion before looking further ahead, eventually noticing the glowing orb.
"What is that? I'm sure it wasn't there a few minutes ago." She said, looking suspiciously at the orb, her eyes still filled with fear.
She didn't want to have anything to do with paranormal things, but her baby moving towards the orb and stopping above it made her change her mind.
"Can we go home after I get that weird orb, Sir Ghost? I... hum... need to work tomorrow." She asked while grabbing the ghost essence, unwilling to stay in this place any longer.
'It is indeed time to go back and rest. We can look for the old apothecary and brew the potion tomorrow,' he thought before floating towards the graveyard's entrance under Alina's relieved gaze.
"Thank you, sir Ghost. Can I carry my baby, please?" She asked, following behind her baby and not feeling too comfortable knowing he was in a paranormal creature's hands.
Nodding in understanding, Adam gently placed the baby in his mother's arms before thinking about new ideas.
The damage he suffered and the subsequent events he had to partake in, albeit dangerous and stressful, weren't necessarily all bad. If he played his cards right, he may resolve a troubling problem.
It could even be possible for him to repay Alina for her help, depending on how things developed.
As they walked home, under the starry-lit sky and the beautiful moon glow, a hooded man walked to the middle of the cemetery with a broad grin. He witnessed their escapade and only needed to confirm a few things to make all the pieces of his plan fall into place.
*********
After locking the door behind her, Alina swiftly placed her baby in his cradle and said with trembling hands, facing the window, "If it is ok with you, sir Ghost, after work tomorrow, we'll meet the apothecary to heal you."
She wanted this story to end sooner, but then what? She would lose her job and die from hunger.
As she awaited the ghost's answer, Adam gazed at her with a wry smile and said, "You're facing the wrong direction, miss. I'm here."
With no way to answer, he returned to his corner of the room and closed his eyes, returning to the dream place.
************
Back in his apartment for the third time, he understood he could access this dream place whenever he fell asleep. Then, he drafted theories about the ranking screens hanging in the sky and the many buildings surrounding the plaza. Could other people access this place, too?
Without answers and unwilling to torture his brain after such a tiring day, he gave up up thinking after a minute and opened his interface to check if the note changed.
"Status."
Name: Adam
Talent: Unlocked at thirteen
Class: N/A
LVL (Level): 1
Exp: 5/20
HP (health point): 3/9
Vitality: 0.9
Strength: 1.2
Agility: 1.4
Intelligence: 0
Free attribute points: 5
Items: Grimoire Lingua, Beastbane Dagger
Skills: None
Note: Soul is even more damaged. You won't even be a ghost anymore at this rate.
Sighing in relief at the unchanged note, he noticed he had recovered one HP since the last day, and his stats increased by 0.1, except for his intelligence. Additionally, he realised he possessed five points, and a glowing + box appeared next to his attributes.
He suspected he could press on it to distribute the free points.
Lastly, his eyes glowed as, unbeknownst to him, his level changed from zero to one. He remembered seeing a glowing red dot after his fight but was too busy to check it.
After a moment of focus, a notification appeared before his eyes.
[Tier 1: Ghost defeated. You have gained 15 experience points.]
He nodded, understanding the system's workings better before pondering why the nightmarish bear and the wolves didn't yield him any XP. 'Maybe it was because they were just regular beasts?'
After finding a plausible theory, he focused on his free points and frowned in concentration.
'Should I imitate the bear and take a balanced approach?' He thought, remembering how the creature could do everything better than him. Well, everything but be alive...
However, the intelligence stat intrigued him. Was the stat strictly related to magic, or would it enhance his brain capacity?
"I'm too tired to think right now." He said as he pressed on the + next to intelligence to obtain the answer.
Intelligence: 0.5
Trying to feel any difference for a few seconds, he ended up disappointed. Besides a slight tingling sensation, nothing occurred.
"Huh? It only gives half a point?" He grumbled, a bit annoyed by the stinginess of the upgrade, before adding, "I'll add another point just to feel the difference better."
Intelligence: 1
This time, he felt a soothing, warm sensation coming from his heart and spreading through his entire body. Then, he felt pain, a world of pain. His veins seemed to be injected with molten iron as his muscles twitched.
"ARGH!" With a scream, he fell to the ground, taken by a seizure.
As he started to foam at the mouth, fearing for his life, he caught sight of a notification before his world turned dark.
[Congratulations on being the first to unlock mana!]