Back To Reality
Under the moonlit sky inside the now ruined Orc settlement in The Bronx, a strange magic circle appeared on the ground and illuminated the open space in front of the destroyed building with a faint blue light.
*Vwoom! *
After a reverberating and low-pitched ring, a fairly tall, extremely handsome young man wearing an all-black outfit appeared in the center of the magic circle.
"I'm finally out of that hellish place... " It was Adam, who spoke in an icy tone before looking around. "This must be the Orc settlement. I was here before the quest started... "
Adam looked around him with a somber expression at a strange sight. The corpses of the skinless Orcs he had left behind on his last visit were no longer there. He had no way of checking the current date because he did not have a smartphone, which forced him to wait till he leaves The Bronx to ask someone.
"The bastard who captured those captives must have come back to clean up their mess..." Adam said in a furious tone. "How long did I stay in that place? " He continued as he walked towards the destroyed building.
The building, however, was spotless; the bloody stench that infested the area was no more, and the bloodied walls were now clean, even the intricate, ominous magic circle disappeared.
"They somehow got rid of the mana traces, too. " Adam's eyes shone in a red hue as he used his [Mana Vision] skill. "I need to meet up with the survivors to find out more about this, but first, I need to go back home and receive my High Human license. "
Before investigating any further, Adam needed to receive his license to protect himself from any further investigations that might drag him into unnecessary situations.
*Sigh *
"Besides, I'm exhausted... " Adam let out a long sigh while making his way outside of the settlement.
_________________
4 days earlier,
A group of people wearing hazmat suits used flamethrowers to burn the corpses of the dead Orcs scattered around the settlement.
"What is the status quo of the fugitives? " A man wearing a black cape spoke in an annoyed tone while standing on top of the nearby building.
"We successfully dealt with the last fugitive a few hours ago, sir! " The woman standing next to him spoke in a disciplined manner. She was the same woman who had previously lured those fugitives into this trap.
"Why did it take you so long?! It's been 10 days since they escaped! " The man said in an enraged tone.
"My deepest apologies! " The woman hurriedly came down on one knee and apologized with a trembling voice while her gaze stuck to the ground. "Our sources confirmed that none of them leaked any information about us! "
"What about the person who helped them escape? Did you catch them yet? " The man asked with a hint of bloodlust laced in his voice.
"N-no, sir! But we have his features! It's a man with black hair and red eyes. " The woman replied while lowering her head, afraid that she might lose it.
"You have until the end of the month... " The man spoke before disappearing into the shadows.
*Plip *
*Plip *
Droplets of sweat trickled down the woman's plump lips and hit the floor as she kept kneeling while shivering in fear.
'I need to catch that little pest as soon as possible... ' She thought before slowly standing up and turning towards the Orc settlement, filled with burning corpses.
"Pass this command to all the intelligence units in the vicinity! Track every Orc skin or tusks transaction in the last week and bring me a full report! " The woman ordered in an urgent tone.
"Yes, ma'am! " A man standing at the foot of the building replied before hurriedly running out of the settlement.
"The rest of you! Burn these filthy corpses to a crisp before casting purifying magic to get rid of the traces! We don't want them to come back and bite us later... " She looked at the rest of the workers and issued her last orders in a grave tone before leaving the area.
________________
Present time, on a subway train in Brooklyn,
Adam finally found a bench that was not covered in piss or semen after much search and sat down to organize his thoughts.
He had already found out that it's been two weeks since he started the class quest after asking a passerby for the current date.
'Unveil. ' He chanted in his mind.
[Name: Adam King]
[Sex: Male]
[Age: 17]
[Height: 190 cm]
[Class: Void Master] (New!)
[Akashic connection: Low (medium)]
[Level: 15]
Stats:
[HP: 300/300] [MP: 230/230]
[STR: 44] [AGI: 39]
[INT: 23] [VIT: 30]
[END: 25] [DEX: 33]
[ASP: 12]
Skills:
[Basic Sword Mastery] Lv.4
[Mana Vision] Lv.1
Class Skills:
[Gravity Manipulation] Lv.1 (New!)
[Ayin] Lv.1 (New!)
'There's a new, separate section for the class skills. ' Adam thought as he scrutinized the class skills he received before inspecting them, 'Gravity Manipulation sounds like an amazing skill! ' He celebrated with a smile before inspecting the skill.
[Gravity Manipulation
Level: 1
Effect:
-Multiply or divide the gravity of the target by 2 for 1 minute.
MP cost: 100]
'This is the first skill that requires MP in my possession and the effects are phenomenal! ' His hand supported his chin as he sank deeper in thought. 'But I neglected my intelligence stat, so my MP is too low to use this skill at the moment... ' Adam recognized his carelessness before inspecting the other skill in his class skills section.
[Ayin
Level: 1
Effect:
-Erase one of the target's senses for 30 seconds.
MP cost: 150]
'This one costs more! And the effect doesn't seem that useful. ' His patience ran out when he saw the description of the second skill, 'I only have 230 MP at the moment, even if I dump all my additional stat points on intelligence, it won't be enough for me to use these skills regularly... '
Gravity Manipulation seemed like an incredibly useful skill to Adam, but Ayin was too vague and costly for him. However, his MP was too low for any of those skills at the moment, which led him to increase his intelligence using all the additional stat points he had and prioritize it in the upcoming level-ups.
[Name: Adam King]
[Sex: Male]
[Age: 17]
[Height: 190 cm]
[Class: Void Master]
[Akashic connection: Low (medium)]
[Level: 15]
Stats:
[HP: 300/300] [MP: 350/350]
[STR: 44] [AGI: 39]
[INT: 35] [VIT: 30]
[END: 25] [DEX: 33]
[ASP: 0]
Skills:
[Basic Sword Mastery] Lv.4
[Mana Vision] Lv.1
Class Skills:
[Ayin] Lv.1
[Gravity Manipulation] Lv.1
'I need more training from now on to get used to my new skills. ' Adam thought with a resolute expression.
_____________
After a short train ride, Adam arrived at his apartment complex.
'Who is that? ' The thing that immediately grabbed his attention was the oddly familiar, luxurious car parked in front of the building.
"Adam! Hey! Where have you been, man? " The one who yelled while stepping out of the car was none other than Mark Mathews, the man who stayed with Adam on his last visit to the hospital after his fight with James.
"Mark?! What are you doing here? " Adam asked with a confused expression.
"Master Darius stationed me here to pick you up whenever you come back. " Mark replied before holding the door open, "just get in, we can talk about the details on the way. "
"I need to shower and change first. " Adam said before walking towards the entrance, "give me 15 minutes. "
"O-okay... " Mark replied before entering the car. 'Where was this guy?! He seems different... ' He thought as his brows knit in a slight frown.