Rowan and Rowena glanced at Gris's white shirt, stained with blood. It was not just his shirt; almost his entire body was smeared with blood, as if he had just bathed in a river of blood.
It was difficult to distinguish whether it was Gris's blood or his victim's. Rowan and Rowena could see the wounds beneath the tears in his shirt.
Gris's face could not escape his opponent's attacks either. Fresh blood still trickled from a cut on his lip, making Rowena wince as she saw him draw his lips to smile.
"There are only the three of us here," Gris managed to speak despite the one-centimeter tear on his lip. "We share the same goal, don't we? We should conserve our energy instead of fighting."
Rowena glanced at Rowan. When her twin brother nodded, she agreed with Gris's suggestion.
"All right. We've all fought hard to get here. But let us go first," Rowan stated, remaining cautious.
Gris only nodded in response. The pain in his lip grew worse because he spoke.
He had to get used to the new discomfort. Before, he had become used to every wound on his body.
However, he was forced to adapt once more as the pain in his lip increased.
Gris watched Rowan and Rowena pass through the exit gate. With a trembling body, he made his way to the gate.
A middle-aged man with dirty blonde hair welcomed Gris with a thin smile. His amber eyes looked at Gris with various gazes.
He was Alberic, Blayz's right-hand man, assigned to supervise this test.
Everyone in the Silverth residence knew Gris had secluded himself for three years to analyze necromancy. His hard work had no results, but Blayz allowed it because a useless child would die in the Death Forest Test.
"What are you waiting for?" Gris replied to Alberic's gaze with a sharp look. "Give me that brooch!"
The one who managed to exit the Death Forest would be given The Wish-Weaver Brooch, a red four-leaf brooch resembling a crown with fine veneer details.
The Wish-Weaver Brooch had one advantage for its owners: they could request equipment or items from Blayz to support their training.
Alberic handed the brooch to Gris. "Congratulations, Young Master Griswalden, for successfully passing the Death Forest Test!"
With a half-shaking hand, Gris took the brooch and left the test location. A horse-drawn carriage that would take him home to the Silverth family residence was waiting.
Rowan and Rowena took their time leaving the forest, curious about the other two children who would pass the test.
But Gris had no interest in that. His safety was more important. At fifteen, Gris Silverth's stamina proved to be not very good.
This shortcoming caused him to receive many injuries. It took him a long time to defeat his opponents because he encountered tough kids.
Rowena still stared curiously at Gris as he climbed onto the carriage. "I can't believe he passed this test," she muttered.
"No one is close to him at the family residence. That's why I'm not too surprised. He might have trained without anyone knowing," Rowan replied, maintaining no negative feelings toward Gris because the weird boy did not cause trouble for him.
In the carriage, Gris cursed in his heart because of the bumpy road, which prevented him from sitting comfortably.
'How did people in the past endure such carriage? Their backsides must have been really tough.'
Gris winced in pain as the carriage hit a rocky road, causing his body to collide with the carriage side. The white-painted carriage walls absorbed the impact well.
The second impact caused a black poison bottle to slip out of Gris's pocket. Fortunately, the bottle was made of solid material, so it did not break and spill out its deadly contents.
The remaining poison reminded Gris of a strange incident in the Death Forest. When he struggled against three people, a green snake with a reddish-brown tail suddenly appeared.
The snake bit two of his opponents, distracting their focus. Gris initially thought the snake was another enemy, but it did not attack him.
'Why did the snake help me? In the original story, Gris only teamed up with Rowan and Rowena. A venomous snake or anything didn't aid him.'
Gris thought hard. The green snake he saw was a venomous snake that caused two of his enemies to die without him having to finish them off.
'Is this the perk the system gave me because I'm a transmigrator?'
A gray translucent screen appeared just as Gris was thinking about the system.
[Amazing! You have completed the mission of
[Congratulations! You have received the Necromancer class...]
[STATUS
Name: Griswalden Silverth
Role: Undecided {Please consider which side you support. Lord Veilrath bestows His blessings upon all, be they hero or villain, granting you the freedom to choose your path.}
Class: Necromancer {Beginner}
Available Points: 0 {Points will be available once you have selected a Role. You can redeem points at the Magic Shop.}
Dark Energy: 15 {Calculated from the death energy generated by the creatures you kill. Value depends on the creature's soul level.}]
"Cool. What about my abilities and stats?"
[Special Abilities:
1. Route of Death {One Star Novice - active}: This ability allows you to unlock a selection of the best routes to kill your target. You can only choose one route and must fulfill the requirements of that route.
The triggers to activate this ability are eye contact with the target and the mental or verbal chanting of a spell. Your ability rank affects the number of route options.
Since you are a Beginner, you only have three route options and a maximum of two uses. Your rank rises as you successfully use the route options.
Activation spell: O, Veilrath, Perpetual Herald of Death, bestow upon me the chilling embrace of your majestic grace. Let your somber veil envelop me as I tread the path of shadows, casting aside the feeble light of life for the eternal darkness of your realm.
Cost: 100 Dark Energy
If you successfully kill the target, the cooldown will only work for an hour.
2. Soul Bond {passive}: This ability allows you to bind the valuable souls of living creatures you have killed, either by your own hands or with the help of the Route of Death.
The soul is stored in Soul Rooms (0/2), and you can summon it. This ability activates automatically. You manage souls through the Soul Room.
You can purchase additional Soul Rooms from the Magic Shop. You cannot bind souls that are stronger than you.
___________________
Strength: 10 | Vitality: 10
Agility: 10 | Perception: 20
___________________
Inventory: N/A
___________________
Status Effects: Affected by the dying effect, likely reducing combat abilities.]
Gris could not help but feel delighted with the reward from the First Event. In the original story, Gris Silverth received the necromancer class after studying at Pandemonium Academy for a year.
The first-generation Doomsday Committee founded Pandemonium Academy to gather people who chose the villain role. At the academy, they would develop their talents so the Doomsday Project could be completed quickly.
The academy's chairman was a villain with the Cataclysmic Sorcerer class, capable of creating natural disasters. He built the academy on an island surrounded by the sea and set up natural disaster magic, making it difficult for the heroes to reach Pandemonium Academy.
"I must go to the academy as soon as possible because I'm still weak. That damn Lux will always get plot armor, and I need to be stronger than him to avoid the death flag."
Gris was determined; he clenched his fists tightly. He was still annoyed that he suddenly transmigrated into a web novel world. But he had many plans in his head.
He wanted to explore the system to learn about his stats and special abilities. Unfortunately, he had lost a lot of stamina after facing six people.
His eyes slowly closed, and he fell asleep on the way home.
Four hours later, at the Silverth family residence.
Blayz finished all his tasks faster than usual because today was the day of the Death Forest Test. Ten minutes ago, a servant informed him that Alberic had returned from the Death Forest. Alberic was waiting for him.
"Is the test already finished?" Blayz asked as soon as he arrived at his destination. His gaze fell upon Alberic, who was still standing upright.
Alberic nodded and handed a document to Blayz. "This is a list of the children who passed the examination."
"Rowan and Rowena... Well, I already expected they would be the first to come out of the Death Forest."
Blayz skipped information about his twin children and turned to the next page. When he read Griswalden's name, a look of confusion formed on his furrowed brow.
"This is beyond expectations. What did that crazy child do to pass the test? For three years, all he did was mourn his mother's death and conduct failed experiments."
Alberic had anticipated Blayz's reaction. Everyone in the Silverth residence was also in disbelief when he revealed that Gris had passed the test.
"It seems like he's been hiding something from us all this time," Alberic said, unable to find a more reasonable explanation.
"It appears so. But why is there no evaluation or information about him? You surely remember that I instructed you to interview all the children who passed the test."
The room suddenly grew tense just because of Blayz's irritated expression.
Alberic had adjusted to Blayz's demeanor, but he still shivered. "Young Master Gris refused to be interviewed. After his treatment was completed, he went straight to his room."
"Is that all?" Blayz asked, unsatisfied.
"Well, he..." Alberic hesitated to say it but eventually did. "He said that if you want to know about him, you have to come and interview him yourself."
Suddenly, Blayz burst into laughter. His eyes gleamed as he said, "He has a daring tongue to utter such words!"