10
Naoto woke up at the bottom of the icy abyss.
The place was dark, and he could see nothing but cold ice and solid rocks around him. The icy walls rose high above him, and there was a strong whistling sound echoing in the cold air.
Naoto began walking. His footsteps echoed in the icy abyss, and as he progressed, the sound gradually faded. After walking for half an hour, the shadow of a temple appeared before him. The temple was made entirely of ice and glowed with a cold blue light. Naoto entered the temple and felt the cold surrounding him from all sides.
You have successfully reached the Ice Temple.
"Has my journey come to an end?" Naoto wondered with confusion, expressions of relief appearing on his face.
He advanced toward the temple's main hall and found a door similar to the one he had first entered through. He slowly opened the door and entered an extremely dark area. The room was completely dark; Naoto couldn't see anything in it.
Test completed. Processing results.
Survival: 11 days - Reward: 1100 emotion points
Hunting: 2 ordinary wolves: 100
Forest plant deer: 150
Frost bear: 500
Total: 750
Rewards:
Heat resistance ability
Cold resistance ability
Pure Heart ability
Death Aura ability
Damage detected in Host's body. Applying treatment.
Naoto felt a warm sensation pass through each of his wounds, as if his body was being immersed in water. But when it reached his left arm, he felt intense pain. His arm's muscles and tissues were being rebuilt. He felt severe pain as he watched his bones grow rapidly, covered by flesh, veins, and skin. The pain gradually faded, and Naoto regained feeling in his new arm. The arm looked strong and healthy, moving smoothly and easily. He felt amazement and joy at recovering his lost arm.
Test completion confirmed. Activating reward.
Status
Name: Hijai Naoto
Age: 15 years
Level: 7 (550/20)
Strength: 11 (normal for age 15)
Endurance: 24
Agility: 22
Intelligence: 11
Status Points: 4
Emotion Points: 1359
Abilities, Skills, Shop, Inventory, Quests
Returning to reality.
Suddenly, white light filled the room. When Naoto realized what had happened, he found himself back in the cave, with his appearance and clothes returned to their original state. He ran out happily, racing back home, and burst through the door.
His grandmother was washing dishes in the kitchen, then turned after hearing the door open.
"Welcome back..."
Grandmother dropped the plate from her hands, and tears filled her eyes.
Upon seeing her, Naoto rushed toward his grandmother as she ran to meet him. When they embraced warmly, grandmother burst into tears of joy and happiness, feeling her heart would explode with happiness at finding him.
"Naoto, where were you?"
"Sorry for the long absence."
"Why didn't you leave at least a message? We were worried."
Naoto didn't know how to answer his grandmother, so he remained silent.
His grandmother held his cheeks and told him with a wide smile:
"Go clean yourself up. Dinner will be ready soon."
Naoto nodded and headed toward the stairs.
On the way to the bathroom, Naoto felt something, as if his emotions had stopped. It wasn't that he didn't miss his family, but it was as if his feelings were suppressed. However, he didn't pay much attention to it.
After finishing his shower and getting ready, Naoto returned downstairs just as grandfather entered the house.
"Naoto! You're back!"
A smile appeared on grandfather's face as he tried to hold back his tears. Naoto came down the stairs and warmly hugged his grandfather.
"You worried us."
"I'm very sorry for the worry I caused," Naoto said, also trying to hold back his tears.
"Don't worry about it. What matters is that you're okay now," grandfather said in a voice full of tenderness.
Everyone sat together in the living room. Grandmother placed food on the table, and they began having dinner. She had prepared Naoto's favorite meal. Everyone talked, laughed, and shared stories about what happened during Naoto's absence.
After eating, Naoto went up to his room, lay on his bed, and began checking his status window.
Detected that Host possesses 1000 points. Do you want to develop the system?
"What benefits will I get?"
New permissions with opening the second level of the shop.
"But I haven't bought anything from the shop."
That's because you didn't have enough points to buy anything.
"Will the first-level shop equipment disappear?"
No need to worry; they won't disappear.
"I agree then."
System upgrading in progress. The operation will take some time.
"Alright, I'm going to sleep now. I have school tomorrow, and I really missed this bed."
Naoto slept in his bed like a baby from the accumulated fatigue of the test.
Naoto woke up the next morning full of energy. He changed his clothes and went down the stairs.
"Good morning, Naoto. Sit down, breakfast is ready."
Grandmother greeted him with a bright smile, and Naoto replied with a smile:
"Good morning."
Naoto sat near his grandfather, who was reading a newspaper. He noticed news on the front page:
Boys using drugs end up dead in traffic accident
"Boys these days are straying from the right path," grandfather sighed deeply.
"That's unfortunate," Naoto replied while eating his breakfast.
"Grandfather, I'll be late getting home today. I'm going to the library."
"That's fine, just don't overwork yourself."
"Okay."
Naoto hurriedly left for school. On his way, he started reading on his phone—his favorite novel that he never tired of no matter how many times he read it. He reached the school gate, put his phone in his pocket, and entered with a group of people.
He climbed the stairs, entered his classroom, sat in his seat, and put his head on the table until the teacher entered. He listened to his classmates, most of whom were talking about him behind his back:
"Is this the boy who ran away from home after being completely crushed?"
"You should have seen him that day—he was in a pitiful state."
"I'm sure he's embarrassed to show his face here."
Host gained 57 gossip points.
For Naoto, he didn't care much—it wasn't his first time, but it was profitable for him.
The teacher entered the classroom and noticed Naoto's presence.
"Naoto, please go to the teachers' room."
Naoto got up and headed to the teachers' room. He entered and met his teacher.
"What's your excuse for being absent for nearly two weeks?"
Naoto kept a frozen expression on his face.
"I have no excuse."
"Listen, you're an excellent student, and I know you're facing problems, especially for an orphaned boy, but this will lead to declining grades."
You know nothing.
Naoto bowed his head slightly and said:
"Well, thank you, and I promise it won't happen again."
Naoto left the hall and returned to his classroom. He sat there and followed the rest of the lesson.
Lunchtime came. Naoto quickly left the classroom and headed behind the school building. He looked at his classroom from outside and saw Akihiro searching through his classroom.
System successfully updated to version two. Gambling function unlocked successfully.
Naoto didn't pay attention to what the system said and continued watching his classroom.
"I knew he would come looking for me. System, how many status points do I have?"
Host possesses four status points.
"Put them all in Strength."
Status
Name: Hijai Naoto
Age: 15 years
Level: 7 (550/20)
Strength: 15
Endurance: 24
Agility: 22
Intelligence: 11
Status Points: 0
Emotion Points: 1359
Abilities, Skills, Shop, Inventory, Quests, Gambling
"Explain Pure Heart and Death Aura abilities."
Pure Heart: A skill that cancels all conditions—more precisely, it cancels all emotions like fear, shock, and tension.
Death Aura: After the Host faced death at every step, he acquired a death aura around him. This condition can be applied to frighten living beings, and the higher the Host's level, the greater its effect.
"So this Pure Heart ability is the reason."
Naoto continued watching Akihiro search for him throughout lunch. He applied Eye of Awareness to Akihiro.
Status
Name: Ryota Akihiro
Age: 16 years
Level: 10
Strength: 17
Endurance: 23
Agility: 18
Intelligence: 14
"His stats are slightly higher than mine."
Naoto was thinking deeply about how he would fight Akihiro since he couldn't avoid him forever.
In the end, Naoto returned to his classroom.