Aiden opened his eyes suddenly and tried to sit up but the motion inflicted pain all over his body, the pain however was bearable due to the heat that was coming off his body. He was not in the dungeon anymore. The solid stones which delineated the dungeons were no more, and the fresh chilly air of the outside world came as a surprise. The darkness, which surrounded him and the oppressive silence, so present in the Veiled Abyss, were replaced with the pleasant buzzing of plant life.
He paused for a second and sat on a tree as he recalled the sequence of occurrence of the past few hours. The Abyssal Tyrant. .. the intense fight… his rather small win. But more than that the rank-up That is why producing a Euro of gold is something like this: He was now an E-rank, skipping two entire ranks fully to E-rank without having tensions of actually being one.
[System Notification: [H-Glossary: Dungeons – Dungeon Completion Reward]
An audible and gentle beeping rang in his head; he could see a pulsating, glowing sphere in front of him. The system's voice resumed its pleasant and steady rhythm.
[Well done, Aiden. For finishing of the Veiled Abyss you will receive the follows: ]
[Reward 1: Potion of Life — An extremely rare elixir that can cure any sickness and bring vigor back into a person's body. ]
A small vial appeared in front of him about an inch away from his finger tips. Inside the liquid was clear and had a slight blue hue with a natural type of glow. Aiden gulped choking when he comprehended the implication of what he just said. This was the answer he has been looking for, the remedy to his mother's sickness.
[Reward 2: Stat Points Earned — Get 50 points. ]
The notification kept going but he looked straight at the vial that he held in his hand. His mother had been suffering for years, her condition was continuously deteriorating and now. .. now he had the power to mould her into what she once was.
His name is Aiden: Aiden didn't even allow himself any time to waste. The stat points were distributed rather quickly, in a kind of physical feedback, he could feel power flooding his body as he gained strength, agility and endurance. However, they had no time to soak into the victory mood. He thought only one thing, which was how he will be able to get to his mother's side as soon as possible.
[Strength: 22 → 30]
[Agility: 18 → 25]
[Endurance: 16 → 22]
[Vitality: 15 → 20]
[Intelligence: 20 → 25]
He stood straight and with more power and resourcefulness than he had felt before he could do none of the things until his mother had been recovered.
"Aiden I am coming Mom," he murmured to himself and every muscle moved with the vigorous determination.
Afterwards the room was serene and there was still the faint smell of disinfectant. His mother was on the bed with her breathing even, weak and sickly; the health and the color gone from her cheeks. Aiden was now standing at the door still holding the vial in his hand. He was breathing heavily as he stood by the bedside and gazed at her.
His sister, Elena, appeared to be just staring at the screen of her portable computer as he came in, and if she had seen him, her eyes only widened in shock. "Aiden? You're back... did you—?"
He stopped her mid her words with the vial held up in front of him, a gentle curve to his lips. 'This is for you, Elena, and this will make her heals.'
Her eyes shone with the hope and disbelief yet she said nothing to him. She moved to the side to allow Aiden wiggle through, and then knelt beside their mother. Taking her from his arm, he carefully raised her head up and put the vial to her mouth.
"Take this, Mom, all will be fine," he said in a rather low tone.
His mother's eyes parted slowly and she seemed to be very tired, but she didn't struggle and took the potion. The instant the liquid got into contact with the lips, the body was wrapped in a soft soft orange light. After a few minutes Aiden and Elena saw the paleness fade slightly on her cheeks, her breathing became deeper and the look of tiredness disappeared from her face.
But it was not only healing. Their mother looked when the shine begun to wear off. .. different. The first time the woman was depicted as having blond hair earlier on which had now turned to gray or silver however now she had a shiny black hair. The years which she used to carry as burdens were seemingly wiped off and she looked younger and bright.
Elena gasped making her hand go to her mouth. "Her… she lost weight! Aiden she is… beautiful."
Aiden grinned even through the words he was trying hard to say. The sight of his mother coming to her senses after a several weeks of coma, made the young lad to have a standing of tears in his eyes. She could get up from the chair and look at me with open, devoid of pain eyes, as if the past years were never real to her.
"Aiden? Elena?" her tone was low yet full of some sort of determination that I had not witnessed in her for quite a time now. "What. .. what happened?"
And before she knew it, Aiden was beside her, holding her hand, tears streaming down his face "You're healed, Mom." "Now that you will be/settle down you will be alright."
Elena run towards their mother and hugged her tightly while you could see the tears rolling down Elena's cheeks. Aiden followed them, the burden of the past years' anxiety and fear disappearing off of his back.
For the first time in a long number of years in all reality, as far back as he could recall there was hope.
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The celebration that followed was silent but happy. Elena cooked something very basic, and the three of them dined together and in between words and laughter they felt as if they had not done so in a long time. It was a moment which Aiden wished he could bottle up and have in his possession all the times he wanted.
But even when he found himself in such a position of joy, Aiden realized that there were things he still had to do. His mother was healed, however his mission was not over yet In the movie the journey of Leon was a symbol of the plight of people with disabilities.
Late into the night when all were asleep Aiden left the house to suddenly breathe fresh air. He began to think about the system what all it had given him and the authority it was bestowed upon him and the accountability that echoed with it.
[System Notification: Current Rank — E]
That was perhaps the worst day of his life; he had become strong but he needed more. If he was to survive and, more importantly, be there for his family to face the many dangers the world has to offer one has to move forward. And there was only one way of achieving this.
The Hunter Association.
He looked back towards the house and saw his mother and sister lying down oblivious of the altercation. He felt relief wash over him which was replaced by more confusion. His goals were set and there was no ways to change it.
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The next morning Aiden was at the gates of the Hunter Association. The huge structure towered over him and its high turrets stretched up to the heavens throwing long shadows over the busy New Arcadia. Officers and other ranks went in and out of the building with a constant indication of the risks they had to face daily.
Aiden then slammed his fists on the table, with determination setting in him. He had come here for one reason: to get a new assessment and finally be told he is a captain, and thus officially become one. But the moment he emerged toward the door, one felt a fairly electric tension.
He could not have imagined that soon his entrance will provoke the interest of those who are much more superior to him in power.