Chapter 19 - I can't fool him.

"Looks like I have caught all the souls."

Lukas opened his System and looked at the soul bar. Not all the demons had given 50 points, so his soul bar had not filled up even half. He had only 832 points.

After he finished taking all the souls, Lukas looked at the timer still floating in the corner of his vision.

[ 3:10 ]

"3 minutes?" He understood what had happened. Since he had killed all the demons, the punishment was over. He breathed a sigh of relief because of that. To be stuck here for another 15 hours would be crazy.

He was tired, with a headache, hungry and very thirsty. He would surely die or go insane if he stayed in that great wasteland for so long.

Then, after waiting for three minutes, a portal opened a few meters away. Lukas smiled and then got up from the ground. His legs hurt, so he slowly walked over to it.

As he walked, he also began to feel pain in his arms, as if his bones were out of place. His ribs also seemed to be piercing his lungs, causing great pain and discomfort.

Pain hit him suddenly, so Lukas was not prepared.

He covered his mouth and groaned in pain as he approached the portal.

[ Punishment completed ]

[ User managed to finish the punishment before the time limit ]

[ Reward of 200 soul points given to the user ]

####

After reaching the other side of the portal, Lukas went out the silver door and went to the academy. The door disappeared, and a chill went through Lukas's entire body.

Lukas then went to the drink machine and bought three bottles of water. He quenched his thirst by drinking them all at once.

Haaaa~~

He sighed after drinking water and finally sitting down in a comfortable place.

"I need to get back, and my family might suspect something," Lukas called the system and asked to return. A new portal opened in the middle of the academy. After going through it, he reached his room.

After reaching his room, he was surprised by the sudden change in his body.

The nagging headache that had reached the half of his brain disappeared. The headache and all the pains throughout his body completely disappeared. It was as if the punishment had not existed.

Lukas opened the system and saw that all the changes were there.

"None of that was a nightmare; it all happened. But why do I feel like that was all a dream? How strange." Lukas held his head and sat up in his bed.

His clothes were also clean. His shirt was still wrapped around his head, where he had left it before leaving the desert. He had completely forgotten to put it back on.

"I'm going to get some rest. However, I don't feel tired. I feel like I'm capable of running a marathon right now." Lukas looked at the window and noticed that it was still light despite spending several hours inside that damned "Nightmare."

He picked up his cell phone and looked at the time. The time on the clock was the same as before he entered the portal.

"Time stopped?" He swallowed his saliva. He couldn't believe it. Wasn't that crazy? What do you mean the system stopped time?

'What are you really?' Lukas thought as he looked at the system screen.

[ I don't get it. ]

####

"Lukas, are you leaving again?" The next day, Lukas was called by Karen. After he arrived downstairs, he met with his mother, father and Anna. His parents took time off, and Anna was always home, so it was not surprising.

"Yes, I plan to go out with a friend."

"Again? You should bring your friend here so we can get to know him. Besides Philip, you've never brought anyone here before."

"I'll talk to him about it," Lukas answered his mother with a smile. Then he went to the kitchen and got some water. His mother and father were at the table, and Anna was in front of the television.

"Anna told me that you got a girlfriend. Maybe you are going out now to meet her?"

"Pfft-" Hearing his mother's question, Lukas spit the water out of his mouth. "Cof... Cof... It was just a joke!" He said, surprised.

"Hmmm..." She looked at him suspiciously, then gave a smile. "Are you sure?"

"Don't bother him, Janne."

"But Aiden, our son got a girlfriend."

"So what?"

"Well, he should introduce her to us, shouldn't he?"

"Whatever..." Lukas' father said with a sigh.

"I'm not dating, don't worry. Anna, don't say anything unnecessary to our parents."

"Huh? What?"

"You weren't paying attention?"

"Sorry, I was concentrating on that here." Lukas looked at the TV and saw that a reality show was playing.

"Urg, I can't believe you're watching this." He put away the pitcher full of water and walked to the living room. "Do you want anything? I can stop by the market when I get back."

"I was in the mood for something sweet. What maybe you buy that filled chocolate Mom buys?"

"They are costly," Janne said as she supported her hand with her chin.

"Don't worry. I have money."

"Ara? When did you start working?"

"I got a job at a pharmacy, and I work only on Wednesdays."

"Huh? Really?"

"Really."

"I can't believe it; Lukas got a job!" Janne raised her tone of voice. Next, Aiden looked at Lukas. After staring at him for a few seconds, Aiden looked away.

"Don't do anything risky." Janne looked at Aiden, confused about what those words would mean. Isn't he working in a pharmacy? But Aiden just continued in silence and said nothing more.

Lukas then said bye and left the house.

"My father found out everything, didn't he?" He smiled bitterly. He couldn't fool his father.