Chapter 25 - New Item
"What is magic to you?"
"Pure power—the kind of power to create your own future."
"So, what kind of magic do you want to chase?"
"I want to become Thunder, as fast as lightning. I want to grab those fleeting moments. Thunder, unpredictable and quick. Maybe it's just a faint rumble, but even that can shake my future."
"...Moments? That's pretty naive."
"Yeah, I guess I'm naive."
The world Bell saw had changed drastically, and now, a pitch-black dragon was standing in front of him.
Its wings were torn and tattered, the dark aura pouring out of its body spreading across the ground, closing in on Bell. But Bell didn't take a step back, not even an inch.
It wasn't that he didn't want to back away—he couldn't. Behind him was nothing but an endless abyss, cutting off any escape route from the start. This was it. His choice.
The dragon's massive eyes bore down on Bell, who stood his ground.
Despite its hatred for humans, the dragon had to set aside its disdain. It didn't fear any challenge, but maybe fate had twisted things to let heroes face it.
Just as Heroes were bound to challenge the dragon, this moment felt set in stone.
For those who could stare it down, there was no room for contempt. The scars on its body were proof of battles with heroes. And now, standing before it was another weak Hero, but one who wasn't about to back down.
"Try to surpass me, hero of mankind!"
The words hit Bell out of nowhere. Surpass it? The black dragon, the very symbol of evil, had said something like that?
But Bell didn't have time to dig into it.
He wasn't some great hero, and he didn't really get what the dragon was.
What he did know was that this was a life-or-death fight, and there was no way out of it.
Blue lightning sparked across Bell's skin.
In the next second, his whole body lit up with blue- lightning, and the crushing weight on him eased up. He couldn't hold back any longer. He took a step forward, his body turning into a streak of thunder as he charged right at the dragon.
Bell knew he wasn't a hero—just some random boy.
Different worlds, different people—were they even the same? Maybe they were totally different, with dreams and thoughts that didn't match up. But in this, they were the same.
Excitement!
Joy!
Longing!
Imagination!
Power!
Everything he'd ever dreamed of was right here, in some cheesy, overdone story.
Bell, in spite of the danger, couldn't help but grin.
He became Thunder, stomping hard on the ground as he leaped high, charging straight into the dragon like a fool.
"You're my enemy."
"And I'm going to get past you and kill you with my own hands!"
No other reason needed.
The dragon stood in his way. That was it. Bell didn't care about anything else.
Save the world? Fuck that.
It was too much of a grand idea for him. For a person like him, one simple reason was enough.
The second Bell's fist collided with the dragon's claws, everything faded into nothingness. The two minds that had touched returned to their own bodies.
***
"!?"
Bell's eyes snapped open, his oxygen-starved body gasping for air. That dragon he'd just seen, the words he'd heard—it didn't feel fake.
"Was it some kind of hint?"
Bell wasn't sure. Everything had happened so fast, his brain hadn't had time to catch up.
But one thing he knew for sure: it wasn't the dragon's work.
And Whether that counterpart was real or not didn't matter—he had somethings to do. He had to deal with the fate tied to this identity, and there was no escaping that.
After sighing, Bell's scrambled thoughts started to settle. Maybe all of that was just some deep-rooted fantasy in his head. That seemed like a solid explanation.
Maybe, All of it just now could've been the magic book messing with him.
"My brain's really not built for things like this."
Bell lay back down on the bed. The whole thing had left him mentally drained. He let his body relax as he lay on the bed, but something hard hit his foot.
Sitting up, Bell spotted the magic book at the foot of his bed and curiously opened it.
"The text is gone—it's useless now."
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[...]
It was already morning when Bell woke up again.
"It's morning. How long have I been sleeping?"
Bell sat up, rubbing his head as he glanced out at the bright window.
Everything that happened last night came rushing back--the magic book, those parallel world counterparts, and the black dragon.
But Bell didn't want to dwell on things that were too complicated.
"Whatever, who cares? Maybe it's just my problem," Bell muttered, trying to brush it off.
He patted his chest, trying not to let his mind wander too much.
Bell had to admit, it was his own damn fault for taking the bait and ending up here. Whether it was a body swap or a soul transfer, transmigration was his reality now.
After slapping himself awake, Bell got his head back in the reality.
When he'd checked out the magic book yesterday, he hadn't seen any of the low-star items.
Most of the three-star items were things you could pull out and use, like weapons and magic books. There were also items that could be like experience, like Tsubame Gaeshi.
But he hadn't found any good one-star or two-star items.
Bell still wasn't sure if those low-star items could boost his strength.
If they could, 100,000 Valis seemed like a good deal.
In the game, maybe one-star and two-star items were trash, but here in real life, that might be a whole different story.
Those items could give him bonuses, like the experience boost from Combat Judgement.
In the game, that would be garbage. But in reality? That's a whole other level.
Battle = Growth
That kind of equation was terrifying. It turned Combat Judgement from a throwaway item into something god-tier.
Bell took a deep breath, walked over to the door, and leaned against it, checking out the one-star and two-star items he'd drawn yesterday.
90 different items floated in front of him. The images were laid out neatly, with the appearance of the items changing every five pieces, making 18 different types in total.
"Did I just burn through all my luck and only pulled trash?" Bell thought, feeling exhausted just looking at them.
It wasn't the items themselves that bugged him; it was the cost of enhancing them that was driving him crazy.
"Enhancing the three-star items costs a million Valis. I really hope the one-star and two-star stuff doesn't cost that much."
Enhancing items was how you unlocked their full potential. And if he had the funds, Bell was already considering maxing out these items. After all, making a three-star item strong was too much of a hassle, and right now, the only awesome thing he had was the Tsubame Gaeshi.
"Enhance all items."
[It will cost 1.8 million Valis.]
"So, it's 100,000 Valis per one-star and two-star item?" Bell thought, nodding. That price was manageable.
"Do it."
As soon as Bell confirmed, the 1.8 million Valis in his Spatial Pocket turned into golden light and got absorbed by the system. At the same time, the 90 items floating in front of him started merging.
18 fully enhanced items appeared.
"And now what?"
One of the items floated up to Bell, and before he could react, the item called "Strengthen" turned into a cluster of lights and started floating around his body.
The sight made Bell pause.
This item turned into lights that circled his body. The particles of light kept circling him, melting into his body bit by bit.
Bell's muscles suddenly tensed up, and his body felt like it was boiling.
At that moment, Bell wanted to scream, but he couldn't. All he could do was grit his teeth.
After three agonizing minutes, the boiling sensation finally started to fade. But the effort of holding himself together left Bell drenched in sweat.
"Ugh..."
A slight breath escaped his trembling lips.
The blood rushing through him had almost been too much to handle, nearly making his heart and veins explode. It was a horrible feeling--worse than he ever imagined.
"This item... it's the type that strengthens the body directly. If I hadn't gotten Falna, my body would've exploded from the blood flow."
Thankfully, he didn't have the money back then.
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There will be another chapter with syr pov. Thanks for the support.
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