Chapter 7 - Alaric Almost Died, and A New OP Passive

Alaric had turned off the notifications of his system. It kept saying he was overworking and that he should rest. That was why he turned them off.

While walking through the city to the restaurant, Alaric checked his system again. He was curious to see what the system was saying to him.

He was glad he had looked.

[Your energy levels are low]

[Rest or the system will kill you]

[Current Energy: 30/500]

The system threatened him. His energy level was dropping rather quickly.

Alaric felt tired, but it wasn't like he was about to die. However, the system would kill him if his energy reached zero.

He got anxious. When they reached the restaurant, his energy levels were at 10 points only. So, Alaric found a chair to sit on. He stayed there and didn't move.

The chair was outside the restaurant, near the beach. Ashley was about to enter the restaurant when she realized Alaric was not there with her.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

Alaric shook his head. "I need to rest. I'm sorry."

Ashley had no idea why Alaric was so tired, but she didn't complain. She entered the restaurant to meet up with her friend.

In the meantime, Alaric stayed outside. He saw that his energy levels were increasing. The process was slow, but at least it was not decreasing.

"This was close," he thought. "Even though my system rewards laziness, not everything is perfect. I can die if I work too hard..."

Ashley returned with a woman. The woman was beautiful too, with long dark hair and stunning brown eyes.

"So this is the guy you found in the forest?" the woman said as she stared at Alaric. "He doesn't look that hot, you know."

Alaric was resting, and he didn't care about what she said. One day, she might regret making fun of him.

"Stop it," Ashley said, "he isn't ugly; he is skinny. With time, he will get fitter."

Ashley complimented him. Alaric didn't expect that.

"Are you feeling better?" Ashley asked.

Alaric checked his system to see how his energy levels were. The energy was back to 100 points. Not ideal, but way better than it was before.

He was safe now, with zero chances of dying. That's considering that they didn't do anything tiring during the rest of the day.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What are we doing now, anyway?" Alaric asked.

It was Ashley's friend who answered, "We are waiting for the restaurant to close. My birthday party will be at my house, but my parents are still working."

"And I'm Ruby. Sorry about the comment earlier."

Ruby was a close friend of Ashley. She felt bad after making fun of Alaric's appearance. Alaric didn't mind.

"Alaric. Nice to meet you, and happy birthday."

She smiled. "Thank you."

Their relationship improved. At least it looked a little better than before. It was a start.

They sat together outside, waiting for the restaurant to close. Ruby worked there with her family. They owned the place.

The island had many restaurants, but theirs was among the best.

"Did you go to see your family?" Ruby asked.

Ashley shook her head. "No, and I don't plan on doing that. If I could leave this island to get away from them, I would."

Alaric sat there, only listening. He had no idea that Ashley's relationship with her family was that bad.

It was one thing to not see them, but wanting to leave the island to get away from them? That was a different story.

"And what about you, Alaric? I had never seen you before. Are you from another island?" Ruby asked.

Ruby was curious to know more about Alaric. They had never had any people coming from the outside. So, how was Alaric there?

The guard who came to speak with them when they reached the city wanted to know the same thing.

Everyone was curious.

Ashley trusted Ruby, but she didn't say anything. That was Alaric's secret, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"We can talk about it in your house," Alaric said, "to make sure no one hears us."

Alaric was fine with telling her that, but not in the open. Ruby was a dear friend of Ashley and someone who had money, so she might be a good person to have around.

"If I want to leave this place, then I'll need all the help I can get," thought Alaric.

Ruby's curiosity grew after hearing Alaric's words. She wanted to rush home and talk to him right away to find out more.

But she had to wait for her parents, who had a busy day at work. When the sun set, the restaurant finally closed.

An older couple approached them. It was Ruby's parents.

They hugged Ashley tightly. "It's been a long time, dear. How are you?"

Ruby's mother looked worried, her concern sparked by the idea of living in the middle of the forest, a wild and dangerous place.

Ashley smiled at her, trying to ease her heart. "I'm all right; don't worry. So what are we eating tonight?"

She mentioned something else to change the subject. Ruby's parents realized she didn't want to talk about it, so they let it go.

"Dinner tonight will have lots of things for us. But before we go, who is this man?" Ruby's father asked.

He was a man with a harsh look, someone who had worked a lot during his life. The appearance of Alaric, someone they didn't know, made them feel a little out of place.

Ashley and Ruby explained who Alaric was.

"So you showed up and met Ashley in the middle of the forest? Are you from this island? I have never seen you before."

"The island is big, and much of it is wilderness. No one goes there," Alaric said.

Ruby's parents didn't believe him, but they said nothing about it.

"Well, you're more than welcome to join us."

They went to Ruby's house. Alaric checked his system again, and he sighed in relief. His energy levels were going up. Everything was fine.

Not only that, but to his surprise, he gained another skill. A passive one.

[Sloth's Wisdom]

[You can learn spells by sleeping with the spell tomes with you. It works for any type of book that contains magical information]

[Spell Rank: S]

When Alaric read that, he was shocked.

"This is OP!"