Not only was Damon shocked by the system's message, but it seemed Asharaa was caught off guard as well, even though she had previously mentioned that the system had provided her with enough information about how it worked.
[Starting mandatory Mission 1...
Physical quality: Level 10
Mental quality: Level 10
Within the next 10 days
Rewards upon success:
- Instant level-up
- Genetics points +10
- Unlock Inventory
Punishment upon failure:
- 3 days of soul transfer to the Underworld (equivalent to 3 hours in the mortal realm)]
Damon loudly exclaimed:
"What the fu*k... the Underworld?! What the hell is that supposed to be?"
But the system didn't give him any time to process it.
[Starting mandatory Mission 2...
Kill and send Michelle Stonewood's soul to the Underworld, before she fully infiltrates the military and aids Talmerians in creating an internal war.
Rewards upon success:
- Instant level-up
- Genetics points +30
- Soul Talent: Death Summoning
Punishment upon failure:
- Lose 2 levels
- One sense lost for 3 days by the Mark of Repentance.]
Both Damon and Asharaa stared in silence at the second mission window. There was no warning— the system had completely changed its approach, or maybe it had always been like this, and Damon and Asharaa just hadn't realized it until now.
+ "What the hell is the Underworld? None of those damned novels ever mentioned the systems having punishments... Why the hell mandatory missions? Michelle Stonewood? Who the hell is that? Soul Talent?! I don't even wanna jinx it by cursing..."
++ "Look at the bright side. If we complete these missions successfully, the rewards are amazing... The system's just forcing us to get stronger... Isn't that exactly what we want?"
Suddenly, another message appeared from the system.
[Soul Talent' Hand of Death' acquired.]
[By using the Hand of Death skill and sending the souls of your enemies to the Underworld, you'll receive Genetic Points (GP) as a reward based on their Soul strength.]
Asharaa checked the details of the "Hand of Death" skill and discovered that Damon didn't need to activate or follow any specific procedure for it to work. Every time Damon kills someone, as long as he remains within three meters of their corpse, the skill would automatically send their soul to the Underworld through Damon. Damon would then receive GP based on the Soul strength of the individual.
The new missions and the spiritual skill were clear indications that the system intended to guide Damon and Asharaa in a particular direction. If they complied with the system, they'd be rewarded; if they failed or resisted, they'd face punishments.
For the next hour after midnight, Damon and Asharaa debated the new missions. In the end, they decided to wait until the army entrance exam before taking any action. They would use the remaining time to train and adapt to their new skills and techniques. After a long, stressful day, Damon finally fell into a deep sleep.
Just like the previous day, Asharaa woke him up promptly at 8:00 AM. After practicing the "Heaven and Earth Absorption" technique, taking a relaxing shower, and enjoying a warm breakfast, Damon returned to the dojo.
Due to the incident from the day before, the dojo authorities offered Damon a free month of access to the V.I.P. dojo, one of their best androids, and 20 gold credits. The condition for this was that Damon would sign a document stating that he had no complaints regarding the incident that had occurred.
Damon spent the next five days focusing on his training in Hapkido, 'Cypress Dance', and Herculean Strength. He avoided using his Magnetic Master and Hermes Stride, keeping them as secret weapons, especially since he had already revealed the first three techniques in his fight with Jax.
Throughout these five days, he realized that his better coordination and skill in Cypress Dance compared to Hapkido were due to the skill's tier system. Cypress Dance provided much more detailed information to the system than Hapkido did, which resulted in better body coordination when fighting Jax. The Cypress Dance technique also included the memories and experiences of its creator, which helped Damon synchronize his senses and instincts with his sword.
His hand-to-hand combat also showed significant progress. Hapkido focused on defensive techniques, hand-to-hand combat, and weapon use. Although Damon only had five days, he was able to adapt his body well enough to Hapkido's demands.
He also discovered that Herculean Strength, according to the system, enhanced his muscles and bones using Ka, resulting in explosive strength, as seen during his fight with Jax. However, Herculean Strength consumed 5 KP (Ka Point) per second. Once all of the Ka in his body was depleted, the system would forcibly cancel Herculean Strength to prevent any harm to his body. To replenish his KP, Damon would have to use the "Heaven and Earth Absorption" technique again—but this time, it wouldn't be as intense as before. He could simply absorb the surrounding Ka particles with Asharaa's help. The main technique of heaven and Earth absorption is only for the three core steps of the technique, not for refilling the body with Ka.
Because of the lie he told his mother, Damon couldn't return to the Fringe to check on their well-being, and this constant worry gnawed at him.
Finally, nearly five days passed, and at 2:00 AM on the 7th of October, Damon sat on his couch in his apartment, waiting for a message from the army to receive the location of the test.
According to the message he had received, he was supposed to be at his apartment six hours before the test, but three hours had passed, and still, no word or voice call had come.
Just then, his apartment doorbell rang, and out of habit from the Fringe, Damon opened the door himself instead of using his Soul Gate. Standing at the door were a man and a woman dressed in army uniforms, waiting with smiles on their faces.
The woman smiled politely and asked:
"Mr. Damon Grey?"
Diemen smiled in return.
"That's me..."
He expected an explanation about the army or that they would escort him to the test location.
But when the woman heard his response, her smile vanished, and she adopted a completely emotionless expression.
"The first rule of the army is that under no circumstances are you allowed to disrespect your superiors..."
She said this, and a second later, without any warning, the man kicked Damon hard in the face, causing one side of his face to crash into the man's foot while the other side hit the wall.
Damon's vision blurred, and the last thing he heard before losing consciousness was the woman's voice:
"Number 9152545943 successfully Turned off."
Two unarmed Karaa, dressed in dark blue uniforms, climbed the stairs, attached something resembling a black tag to the back of Damon's neck, where his Soul Gate had been, and then, as if he weighed nothing, one of the Karaa placed Damon onto a floating stretcher. The other Karaa locked the door behind them, and together with the two officers, they all left the building and boarded a black Fly-Mobile.