Qi Pulse has reached Level 3!

You have five unused Free Points.

Jack had been considering which stats to invest his points in, not too inclined to invest mental stats except perception.

Name

Jack Fletcher

Age

28.6 Years

Race

Human [F-]

Cultivation Level

4 [77%]

Class

Swordsman (O) Lv. 5 [1%]

Cultivation

Initiate I

Talent

-

Skills:

Inspect, Qi Blade [MAX], Qi Pulse [Lv.3], Qi Projection [Lv.0], Minor Cure [Lv. 0]

Equipment

[F] Honor’s End, [F- ] Lunar Wolf Cape, [F- ] Lunar Wolf Boots, [F-] Twilight Boar Pendant.

STR

9 (+1)

CON

11

DEX

8

AGI

11(+2)

PER

8 (+1)

WIS

7

INT

9 (+1)

WIL

7

QI

4/13

FP

5

TP

1490

When he had Honor’s End equipped, his strength reached a sufficient threshold at 10 points, his agility skyrocketed to 13, while perception and intelligence had both reached decent levels. Jack still hadn’t decided which direction he wanted to invest in from the long-term perspective, the realities of his situation not allowing him such a luxury. After weighing the pros and cons, Jack finalized his decision.

‘Three points in [Dexterity]. Two points in [Agility],” Jack had a feeling that Dexterity and Agility would synergize well together, and if the last fight had taught him anything, it was the importance of mobility.

Blue flames erupted across his body, painlessly refining it and building it up to something greater. Immediately, Jack unsheathed his sword from the scabbard, executing a series of thrusts, slashes, and feints in rapid succession, pointed away from Sarah, of course. Jack moved with a natural grace, his wrists deftly compensating for wild directional changes mid-swing, that usually should have been accompanied by abrupt jerks. This was an entirely new level of control over his body, which for a [Swordsman] like him, opened up endless possibilities for creative and tricky maneuvers.

“You seem pleased,” Sarah noted, as she threaded her spear with care, her fingers running along the dragons carved across the length of the haft— perhaps curious why a creature deemed fiction on Earth would make an appearance after an alien invasion, if only in the form of a mural.

“Indeed. What did you invest your points in?” Jack stopped playing around with his new sword, maybe just a little flustered at having lost himself in practice.

“[Constitution] and [Strength],” She answered, giving the spear a test swing as well, perhaps inspired by his impromptu training session.

Jack was about to continue making small talk, discussing some of his insights into the different stats along with his recommendations, when his expression abruptly hardened. Sarah could immediately sense that something was wrong, tilting her head to look in the same direction as Jack’s stern gaze, her spear drawn.

Leon Hill had thought he had finally gone insane. In between having to deal with his father’s expensive treatment costs, getting laid off from his job and his girlfriend breaking things off with him, he thought he’d finally hit rock bottom.

Only to be taken from his daily life of job hunting and hospital visits and being thrown into this nightmarish world, where everything stopped making sense. Paired with three others that seemed just as clueless as him, thrown in an isolated forest that bore almost no traces of civilization. Leon was convinced that he’d gone insane from the stress and finally hit his breaking point— even though it all felt too real, too visceral to be something his mind was capable of simulating.

Though when the horned red-skinned boar charged toward him with its razor-sharp horn, all his doubts just disappeared. This was real… and he was going to die, next to a raven-haired woman he had never seen before in his life. At that moment, something truly snapped in Leon, for he thought only about his survival, only to live to see the next second— he didn’t understand why, even when life had taken so much from him he still clung onto it with fanatical devotion.

His leg moved before his mind could process the gravity of his actions, kicking at the raven-haired woman’s leg and sending her stumbling forward. The other two were too preoccupied as they ran for cover to notice his actions, nestling behind a tree like cowards and seconds later a sickening crunching sound echoed out, the woman’s mouth wide open as she started gurgling blood--- a last ditch attempt to accuse her attacker, but alas.

“You bastard!” Leon had screamed at the top of his lungs, now that the boar no longer had a sharp horn to point in his direction. His sword flickered with a burst of Qi, as he brought it down upon the boar’s exposed neck with 'righteous indignation'. In one blow, he carved a deep laceration into the boar’s back, his sword sinking so deep he couldn’t retrieve it with strength alone--- the boar toppling over to the side alongside the raven-haired woman’s body.

From then on, Leon had established himself as the leader of their impromptu group. He felt hollow on the inside, but denial would not let him accept the reality of his sins. He was confident on the exterior, but directionless on the inside.

Until….

He hit 50 TP, and the [System Shop] revealed its wares to him. Leon’s hands trembled with disbelief, joy, and ecstasy when he realized what the System could do for him. His father was in his late sixties, having been spared from participating in the system trial, but without his medication, he would die in another two years. The medication would buy him another three or four years, but in the end, death was inevitable. He had saved up for a [Familial Contact Stone] that cost 100 TP, and when he heard his father’s raspy voice he almost broke down crying.

He wished… he could tell his father what he’d done, how he’d thrown an innocent woman to her death just to live for another day. But when Leon thought about the [Elixir of Life], the thought of his father being cured of his ailments and being able to live for another 100 years… his resolve was already made.

Growing up, his father had sacrificed everything to provide for him, to give him the future he never had, the father’s love he never experienced. Ultimately, though it was no fault of his own, he had let him down.

‘Not again,’ Leon swore to himself. His soul might have already turned black from his sins, but if that was the price that had to be paid to see his father smile again— he would willingly pay it. Even if the world had to burn for it.

A blessing has been detected in the nearby vicinity! Blessings offer special rewards upon slaying the guardian, including guaranteed [F] Grade Items! Current Guardian Level: Level 3 to Level 5 [Random]. Time left to claim blessing: 2:12:34 [Hours, Minutes, Seconds]. Location has been marked on Map.

The screen hovered in front of him, and just like Jack, Leon was not one to pass up on a path to power.