My room was quite big. It was a rather large 8x8 M room.

But from what I hear from the staff that works here, this room was quite small.

It was at the far end of the corridor on the fourth floor.

The building is rectangular shaped. Having two corridors one to the left and one to the right.

And it has 4 floors repeating this process with stairs connecting each floor. There is also a roof where we can supposedly relax, with some pools and other stuff. All other areas of this building are restricted, like the basement and the worker areas like the kitchen. If someone is seen trespassing, be sure of some sort of consequence.

My room furniture was… Incredible… But they were too old style for my taste.

A king bed right in the middle of the room, several wardrobes filled with all sorts of clothes. They can somehow fit into me as if they were alive.

I got surprised when I tried one of them, I thought the clothes were trying to strangle me...

A fully functional bathroom with a bathtub, toilet, and shower with all sorts of options, such as a bubble bath and a… "Floating" bath.

Whatever that means…

This place is a mixture of magic with some level of technology… Although there are some things that look rather modern.

If they developed this on their own, or if they took inspiration from past heroes… That's something I don't know.

After all, they did not only take heroes from Earth. That's something they implied but didn't delve too much into.

Meaning, the first generation of heroes may have come from a super technological world…

-Arg… These clothes…

I look like I came straight from the Victorian era.

-For now… I will take a shower to cool off my head, then I will explore this place.

'And so, Philip went to take a bath. But he was one of the few who could maintain his calm in this sort of situation. While he relaxed in the bubbling water of his bathtub, others were filled with worry and paranoia.'

/1 hour later/

-Phew… What a nice bath… I guess I can give this to them. I want a shower like that back at my home…

I wonder how they are? At this point in time, I would be returning home…

/SLAP!/

'Philip slapped both of his cheeks as a way to focus himself'

(The question is... Which cheek?)

-I can't think about those things right now. First stop. The library…

I don't think going out to explore the place will attract attention. It's the normal thing to do.

The problem is if I go directly to the library. So I should make a detour.

…

I made my way through the hallway when I heard some strange noises.

-Haaa… Yeah… That…

What the fuck?

-YES!

-.....

No fucking way…

/Kacheng Kacheng Kacheng Kacheng.../

Already?! These people… The person in this room… Wasn't it one of the popular guys?

'It was then that I remembered'

"...Forget about the many pleasures they will offer you. Those are nothing but distractions..."

Did they already start?... A nice room, beautiful maids, good food, a nice environment, and those "special" benefits… Who would want to leave this place?

-Haaaa…

They are fucking loud! The rooms were supposed to have coated walls…

But why did they target some people while leaving others?

-Haaa...

...For now. I should leave this place.

…

I didn't meet anyone else on the way. Everyone was probably either reading the manual books or panicking… Or doing some side "activities"...

By books I mean the ones I found in my room.

Apart from the rule book I had, I also found a very basic history book, a map of the Nadir Royal garden, and a calendar.

I could read them pretty fast thanks to my current stats given by my Class and Trait

The people of this world had a year calendar pretty similar to Earth, the year being divided into 360 days and 24 months.

Each month has 15 days. And each day still had 24 hours. Following the same values as back on Earth.

According to the calendar, today is the first day of our training, and it's called the "Introductory" day.

Tomorrow is the day where many of our questions will be answered and it will be the day where we find our "path".

I took the words right out of the calendar.

Following that, we will be divided into groups and our first week of training will start.

The first week will be a theoretical week. I suppose we will learn terms and common knowledge about this world.

In the second week, we will learn more practical knowledge. My guess is that we will start combat and skill training.

Following that there will be a week reserved for more advanced training. Probably reserved for more complex subjects such as magic?

And the fourth week will be reserved for teamwork.

…

I made my way through the stairs and corridors, reaching the front entrance.

There was one person there. It was none other than Lingy, the head maid.

-...

It's her. What is she doing here?

-Hum? Oh! It's you, m'lord… Do you seek anything?

Arg… Her voice still gets into my head… But my skill did not trigger this time.

Is that good or bad?

-M'lord?

-Sorry sorry… I am looking to get some fresh air and take a look around…

-Ara ma… There is no need to beat around the bush… You wish to explore this place right? Go on… There is no need to mind me…

...I can't understand this girl… Focus. I can deal with this later. I need more information about this world.

-Sure… I will.

-My recommendations would be the library and the training grounds… Most are very excited to try their new abilities or to learn more… In each would you classify yourself in M'lord?

-...

-A bit of both perhaps?

/Chuckle/

-I shall be here if you are in need of assistance or anything else… May we talk again…

For a moment it seemed as if she was going to remove her veil, but her hands just passed by the side of her face towards her flowing blue hair.

/Ba-thum.../

My heart skipped a beat… This woman is dangerous! How can such a mere movement incite such a reaction from my body?

Before something else could happen, I opened the door and left.

…

The moment I left, a tall silhouette appeared from one of the shadows.

-I was wondering why you were waiting here by the door for so long… Looks like I found my answer.

It was a man wearing rather run-down clothes. He didn't look like a beggar… His clothes were just rather old.

His face couldn't be seen because of the large hat on his head.

-He is… Interesting.

-If one of the new recruits has attracted your attention, that means this isn't going to be as boring as I had imagined.

-...

-Don't be like that little girl. How long has it been since you found a man that could resist your words without so much as a reaction? Perhaps he is…

-Stop. Don't bring the past into the future… Else I will have to spill some of your…

-Wowww… Sorry about that… I was about to leave. Bye!

The man quickly disappeared back into the shadows.

-... Coward… At the very least that boy has determination. Can you say the same?

…

Following the map, I made my way around the Palace. I didn't have any destination. I just wanted to take a look around the place.

From one area to another, I eventually reached an area filled with caged beasts.

My current location was the Zoo. I wanted to take a look at the natural Fauna of this world.

-This is…

I was looking at a massive butterfly that had a wingspan of over 3 M.

It looked alien with its strange Neon light and the silk spewing out of its rear end.

On a cage on the side, I looked at what I imagined was a bear.

But this bear was incredibly small. It wasn't a baby, it was just the size of my palm.

Yet on the cage, there was a warning sign that reads:

[Eastern continent language(Incomplete) Lv0 has activated]

"Warning. Ferocious beast ahead, do not place your hands onto the cage.

Risk: Intermediate. Possible loss of fingers.

Name: Bertontus Ursine Minimalis / Micro forest bear

Danger Level: 2"

-So that's your name… Micro forest bear… You are super cute, aren't you?...

-He is cute until you enter his enclosure.

From behind me, a man wearing butler clothes approached. His clothes were different than those used by the staff in the dormitories. They seemed more flexible allowing for more movement. They were also slightly dirty.

-Sorry for startling you. I just never saw you before, that means you are one of the "guests" right?

-Yes…

-Then, would you mind if I explained more about the Zoo itself?

-Not really.

-Good! I will be brief since this topic will be discussed at a later date.

-Let's follow this warning sign. Can you see the symbol in the top right corner?

Symbol?...

-The wolf head?

-Yup! That means this animal is a "feral". And in our classification system, it means he wasn't properly tamed yet. If you look at the enclosure on the left, you will see that it has another symbol. That's the one we use when a creature has been properly tamed.

-There is one in the middle, for creatures who have passed through the taming process yet still show some type of abnormal behavior. So be careful of the animals you interact with.

-I see.

-Next. It's the name of the creature… Nothing much to be said about this. There is a proper method of classification that normally follows a simple rule: family, species, unique characteristic.

-Not all creatures have a unique characteristic, but in that case, it's up to the scholars to debate on what to call the creature. In this case, due to its compact size, it was given the name "Minimalis". Rather fitting no?

-But what about the danger level?

-I was going to say that now. Danger Level is a classification system used in all of the Kingdom. It's used to determine just how dangerous a creature truly is.

-The danger Level of a creature is issued by the Royal beasts' Institution, from the Academy of Mystics. A creature's danger Level goes from 0 to 10. Beyond that, we call them by another name, not just beasts. Anything below 0 is not really considered a beast. Becoming just a normal animal.

-Wait, so what is necessary for a normal animal to be classified as a beast?

-A good question, one that is very easy to answer. Come here. Let's sit for a moment.

He led me to a small table with a few chairs. They were very comfortable to sit on.

-Do you know how we can get "roles"?

-Yes I do.

-So this will be much easier. Animals, just like us are born with a "role". Although the one they have is different.

-It allows them to grow and get stronger when all conditions are met. Sometimes it's just a change in their natural habitat, sometimes it's just normal growth.

-So answering your question. An animal becomes a beast when its abilities go past a certain threshold. Same thing for Danger beasts. When their threat surpasses a certain limit, they increase in rank. This is only for classification of course, and it doesn't mean anything for the creature. But this allows us to more efficiently deal with them when one appears in the wild.

-How strong is a Level 2 Danger beast?

-Hum… It depends… We normally classify a beast in accordance with its "State". From State 1 to 10, we give them a rank of 1. From State 11 to 20, we give them a rank of 2… And so on.

-But sometimes, a creature may go beyond that, it isn't uncommon to see a rank 2 beast kill a rank 3. Although it is very rare to see a rank 8 killing a rank 9.

-The difference between their strengths grows to an unbelievable degree. There are many exceptions to these rules. But this should be covered in later classes… Any more questions?

-How strong is a creature whose rank has surpassed 10?

-... Let's leave that for later. They aren't of any importance to us... But they are normally seen as disasters from the normal folk perspective.

He got up and said:

-If that's all. I hope we may meet again at a later date to discuss more!

I waved at him as he left.

-... This was rather informative.

Danger Level 10 huh…

I think this is enough, I already went around the Palace and scouted the place. It's time to go to the library as soon as I can.

…

The library was rather plain-looking compared to the rest of the Palace. The wood on the ground was shiny clean but one could see it was rather old.

The simplicity of the place made it stand out.

The moment I took a step into the library, something interesting happened.

[DING!]

[You have entered the Royal Library. Please remember the rules:

1-No excessive noise

2-Treat the books with dignity

3-No fights

4-No weapons inside the library

5-Do not take the books out of the library! Most books have a copy that can be requested at any moment.

6...]

The list went on and on…

-A system prompt? But why?...

Do the people of this Kingdom truly have full control of the interfaces? If so, what's the point of hiding my info?

I am missing something in here… What if they don't have a high level of control? Or perhaps, this library is special?

Calm down me. I just came into this world. If I stop and retreat for literally everything new, I will never proceed.

-Onward we go.

…

There weren't that many people in the library. In fact, I couldn't see anyone… The silence was quite eerie…

The library contained fewer books than I imagined.

Its layout was very direct. It was a straight line from the entrance until the back end, where a pair of stairs led to the next floor.

There were several rolls of bookshelves to my left and right. each containing several dozen books.

-001… 002… The ones on the left are odd while the ones on right are even… Alright.

...010...016...019...020...022?

Where is 021?

"...Reading all of the books on the oldest shelf of the royal library, number 021..."

Fuck… Let me take a look around the place.

The first thing I did was to gaze towards the ground.

-... It's very faint. But I can see some marks. And the distance between shelf number 019 and 023 is rather large.

(Odd shelves: 019-021-023...)

They moved this shelf… But why?

If the contents of the books were so critical, then why keep it here and not in a more secure place?

And why make it so obvious? People aren't dumb. It's obvious several people are going to notice that something is missing here.

The only thing left was a perfectly square table right in the middle of the two shelves.

Perhaps there is some sort of clue somewhere?... If I don't find any, perhaps I could use that guy…

But that would reveal something to him… I still don't know much about that guy's mentality.

I went to the shelf numbered 019 and started to look for anything that might give me a clue.

-Reymond gyng: The complexity of the weather… Kuhybs jhyu: Below the mud, Finger eating bugs…

-Just some random boring books…

It doesn't seem this place has any clues…

'I sat down in one of the chairs of the square table'

Fucking hell. It seems these Titles are going to be a pain to acquire…

[DING!]

Hum?

[Entity "Hero" has been detected… Checking for the requirements… The requirements have been met. Opening phantom library]

The what?

[Playing message...]

Wait wait wait. You are going too fast…

[... Is this recording?... Okay… If you are hearing this. It means you are either very lucky or very attentive… And that somehow you have all of the requirements.]

This looks familiar...

The one in the video looked like a younger version of old man Vista.

[Although… It's most likely I sent you here… It's good to see I didn't lose hope yet. We don't have a lot of time, in fact, we almost have none. It's almost my time to go back… I can't let them see what I am doing...

At this moment, you must be looking around for some clues about this world right? If you are here you must be looking for… Ah yes… The Talent… Of course. It's very important… At least I didn't forget about it… It's been quite a few years since I got it.

Anyway. You must be quite disappointed right? What you have been looking for isn't there… So where is it?

It isn't anything special nor is it some sort of plot from the crown… It was me who did it. Although it wasn't me who made the system AI you are hearing right now… That was my brother.]

So that was the person who manipulated the system. Not the Crown… But how?

[As for why I did this… It was because this talent killed out my friends… There were many more factors… But this talent was the principal reason as to why my friends met with an early death… Do you still want to seek this talent?

I am not going to lie to you. This Talent is very important, and I am sure it would be pretty hard to get it outside… Fixed places where you can gain Talents are of immense value to any organization… Much less one of this caliber, in a very easy to access place… With a simple condition of just reading some books.

I will cut the long boring story, leave that for the past. But I will say that getting this Talent will most likely set you against a lot of people… People fear what this Talent can give you… Even more when it's properly developed and trained.

So I will be frank. If you can't hold a lie well then you might as well never get this Talent.

… Still here?

Then let's begin.]

Suddenly. A large pile of books appeared on top of the table.

[These are all of the books on shelf 021, hidden into a separate dimension by my Ability. As long as you sit in one of the four chairs, you may read them.

But there is one small catch.

After one month these books are going to disappear.

I didn't want that… It's just that the energy I stored inside the dimension will end after a set period of time. Perhaps even sooner. I couldn't make it last longer since I don't know when someone is going to meet the requirements… So I went with the safe route.

Don't even think about getting the books from inside there… You are a newbie while I am a veteran with over a decade in my belt… Perhaps you could remove it if the other heroes summoned with you help... Although I doubt they would do so.

I feel old now… HAHAHA!…

Is there anything else?

Oh yeah! Remember! Don't trust the crown! Nor anyone associated with them.

Although… I wonder how long it will take for someone to hear this… 100 years? Or maybe 200? Perhaps in your generation, the people will be slightly better than in mine?

Pfftt!

As if that was possible…

Time is almost up!... Is there anything else to say?... Hum… Well… Remember to increase your potential and to look for the "remnants". There are many out there. Relics from past Eras and Heroes.

… Oh yeah! The fountain! Don't forget to throw a coin in there. Not just any coin. It has to be one of the...]

[Message end]

-...

That was abrupt…

'I looked at the large pile of books'

How many are in here?

[DING!]

[Phantom library administration has been transferred to you.]

[138 books have been detected inside the library]

[You may read the books at any time.]

[Time until the energy depletes: 20 Days 20 hours 1 minute 56 seconds...]

Only 20 days?!

138 books to read in 20 days…

It's not impossible but I can't stay in the library all of the time!

138 in 20 days… I need to keep an average of around 7 books per day.

Even with my stats and "skills", this task would be quite difficult if you take a look at these books… They are thick! True bricks.

I have a little bit over 3 hours to read each, but that's under the assumption I continuously read 24/7... I can reduce that to less than an hour per book with my current set of Abilities.

But that would still be cutting close.

Not to forget, I still have many other things to do such as getting the other 4 Titles, one of which I don't even know what it is.

Let me open one first and see what it is all about!

The first book of the pile…

[The world of Eden]

No author?

In any case, before reading this. I need to find a way to hide my actions.

From my perspective, I will be reading a book, but from other people's perspectives, I will be staring into the table like a mental patient.

So I need a disguise.

…

After an hour, I finished my first book. It was about the world itself, not going into that many details about everything.

It talked about the moons, the stars, constellations, continents, and some interesting sights and myths.

Eden is the fourth out of the 6 planets in this solar system.

It has 3 moons of diverging sizes and several rings around it.

The planet mostly consists of water like Earth. But it has 3 continents. They alight forming a triangular shape.

We are currently on the Eastern continent. And as you expect, there is one continent to the Northeast and one directly to the East.

The book also implied that there might be more continents since the amount of land the three continents occupy is simply minimal in comparison to the size of this planet.

How big it is?

In scale, the Eastern continent is relatively round. As round as a continent can be.

It has an approximate radius of around 28 Thousand Km… This is about 4.8 times the surface area of Earth. For a single continent...

And this continent isn't that big at all! Even the entire triangle where the three continents reside is just about a small point of this world.

IT'S WAY TOO FUCKING BIG!

The western continent is around the same size, but its shape is… It's not really a shape.

The northern continent is even bigger than the Eastern continent, but not by much.

As far as the book told me. The continents don't have proper names because of how each race names them. So they ended up being called East, North, and West continents.

And the area they occupy is called the Nimbus triangle.

It went into many boring details as to how it did all of the calculations and measurements. But it never told just how big this planet was. It just said it was one.

At the very least this planet should be as big as a gas giant... But it's clearly not.

And that was most of the book.

This book gave me a much-needed eye-opener.

-This world…

'I shook my head'

Next…

…

For the next few hours, I used my head to the limit as I read as many books as I could.

But I wasn't the only one doing something.

Somewhere deep in the forest, a silver-haired boy finished wiping out his dagger from the blood of the bunny on his feet.

-A Level up? Good. I don't trust these royals. They are always the bad guys. I need to get strong enough to leave this place as soon as possible.

/Rustle/

-Huh? Another prey… Although I am tired, I can't give in to sleep yet. 10 more…

/SWUSH!/

The knife in his hand flew in the air and hit the bunny's face.

[Your Skill, Critical strike, has activated!]

[DING!]

[Throwing Lv6-> Lv7]

[The blood of your enemies enhances your strength temporarily]

[Your skill, Bird of prey, is looking for another enemy nearby]

[You have gained another stack of "True strike"]

-These bunnies are so strange… They keep coming at me instead of fleeing… And they are carnivorous... Isn't this place supposed to be safe?

As I expected, they hid some things from us…

/Splurge/

'The boy removed his knife from the bunny's head without a single bit of remorse or disgust.'

Can I get this skill to Level 10 before dinner?

...

Inside the training area, a tall man was pulling some weight.

-One… hundred and… ONE!!

/BANG!/

The massive weights were dropped into the ground, creating a slight tremor.

There wasn't even a slight dent on the ground though.

-My body… It did change… This isn't a dream.

Yesterday I could barely bench press 230 Kg. But in a single day, this changed to me being capable of easily bench pressing 290Kg.

[Your Skill, "Muscle is Truth!" has enhanced the effects of your training]

[Your Skill, Fast rest has decreased the time needed for your muscles to recover]

[Strength +1]

This again… Just like those games.

-So training raises my strength? But for how long?...

Do other forms of training raise other stats?

-If those games taught me anything it is that maximizing your stats before Leveling up is always good.

But this is reality.

-I need to keep myself focused.

-HEY! Partison! It's almost time for dinner!

'A voice came from inside the changing room'

-I am going!

…

Below a lit lamp, a blond-haired man sat on a bench.

The man raised his head to look at a golden coin.

Many girls would gasp at the beauty of the man.

-Wealth is a form of power.

[Spend 1000 Tullios to raise Intelligence?]

(Tullios shall be the currency of this Kingdom)

/Chuckle/

-Do it.

His voice was youthful and smooth. It held the confidence of a successful CEO.

[Intelligence has been raised by 0.001]

[The Golden Vault shrinks. Your Stats decreases]

-... This is so interesting…

-A merchant has a lot of power when money is in their hands. But he loses his worth when he doesn't have any… But one can't rise to greatness without taking risks…

-This isn't enough… Not even close.

If only I had Dougle's Skill, Wealth to Power…

-No matter. I already have a lot of resources…

'He took out another coin from his pocket'

-... Use Skill, Golden city.

[You have spent 1000 Tullios to enhance the strength of the Golden city.]

[The foundation of the Golden city has been strengthened]

[The Golden Vault shrinks. Your Stats decreases]

[Your talent towards swordsmanship when using a knife has increased slightly]

-Ho?... That's quite decent.

'He took out a kitchen knife from his inventory and looked towards the forest behind him'

-Sometimes, a merchant has to get their hands dirty…

'He got up and walked into the darkness'

…

In a forest filled with tubular-like plants, similar to bamboo, an old man wielded his sword.

/Inhales.../

-KAAAA!

/SWUSH!/

Silence…

/Ka-tcha!/

The bamboo was perfectly cut in half.

-... My body… I feel 30 years younger…

[DING!]

[Your proficiency in the Taima-Senkō style has reached a minor gate]

-Minor gate?... Is it talking about those fraudulent theories in the practice book?

I collected many techniques books in my life. They were nothing but baseless superstition, but I found happiness in collecting them… It was a hobby.

I loved to go through all those martial arts bullcrap written in the manuals... Even if they were just superstition.

Those martial arts that did not hold any value back on Earth… Could they work in this world?

What am I thinking... Did I finally go senile?

-Let me remember…

'The old man placed one foot in front of the second and breathed'

-I shouldn't be doing this… My old body may not…

If I mess up my muscles may tear...

-No... My body isn't the same anymore.

-Kuoo!

/Shush!/

'The old man ran forward with immense momentum and slashed at a rock'

'His speed was even faster than the record holder on Earth!'

-Harf… Harf…

-It… It can't be… I did this?

'In front of him was a rather large fissure, it was only 3 cm deep, but this represented something completely unthinkable for Isshin'

-... This isn't Earth anymore… I need to wake up and follow the young ones. Being disconnected is only going to pull me down…

-What were those kids talking about?... Magic? Ki?... I should pay more attention to them so that I can learn more about these strange … Windows? Was that what they called it?

'He sheathed his sword and left the forest, his purpose now set in stone'

…

Inside the now dark forest, a beautiful girl with red hair walked cautiously.

-This should be enough right?

'She breathed in and out in order to calm herself'

-Although this is scary it's just like the simulations! I need to activate my Skill and protect myself first.

-I hope this works… It's kind of embarrassing doing this but… It has to be done

'She took out a massive staff from her inventory, it was a 190 M tall staff'

-~From the depths of the plane where the damned rest for eternity. I call you to make a contract with me! Hear my call and become my shield and sword, and I shall grant you glory~!

/BING!/

A dim dark green light shone in her eyes and hands. The crystal at the top of the staff shone in bluish light.

A strange circle containing hundreds of strange intertwined runes appeared floating in the air.

[You have used the Skill, A call from beyond]

[Your Trait, Death Spirit interferes in your summoning ritual]

[A newly born spirit of the resting plains answers your call]

'In front of the girl, a massive 2-meter tall skeleton appeared.'

'It didn't have any sort of special characteristics… It's just a skeleton from a really tall person'

[You have summoned an Undead! Would you like to see its Stats?]

-Wait wait wait… Let me breathe a little.

This is scary! OI!

Standing face to face with a moving skeleton…

[Your Trait, Optimistic, helps you in keeping your focus]

-Okay… I think I am fine now.

-Open Stats!

[Name: None

Level 0

Grade: Pure

Race: Undead

Sub Race: Human

Class: None

Skills:

Deathly presence Lv0

Spirit Absorption Lv0

Enhanced body Lv0

status...

]

[Your Class, Arathul Necromancer deciphers the dead]

[Description:

This is a very rare pure undead that has been just born from the resting plains. Such an undead can only be born when the vile miasma is burned by the Hellflames. From the dust of the Miasma, the material for this Undead is made.

Not only that, this undead seems to have absorbed the Vital force of another being from the Hellplains, gaining two skills, and increasing its potential in the process.

And finally, this undead has been strengthened by its necromancer affinity, even though she wasn't that proficient in her summoning.]

-I am… Speechless…

So pretty much…

-This skeleton has immense potential…

Wasn't that what the beginner's help info told me to find?

"[... Every necromancer has a certain amount of space within their soul. They can use this space to link with an Undead of their choosing. If they have space and strength to tame it that is. Make sure to find one with a lot of potential, since you only have so much space. This is because of the...]"

-So you have potential?

-...

-You aren't one to say a lot…

By the description, this skeleton is quite rare and difficult to make… I think it's a very good option for my first Linked undead. If I am lucky, it might very well stay with me until the very end… That was ominous…

[DING!]

[You have linked ---- to your soul!]

[By the effects of your Trait, Death Spirit, your undead potential has been massively improved]

'A blue flame suddenly lit up inside the undead skull'

What…

[Name: None

Level 0

Grade: Pure

Race: High Undead

Sub Race: Human

...]

Did it… Evolve? Am I lucky?

I need more information…

-Hum… But you need a name… Billy?... No… Husby?... Bot there yet…

-Kelius... I liked that!

-Your name shall be Kelius!

[DING!]

[You have named your first Undead!]

[The undead strength has greatly increased! Its potential rises!]

[Kelius greets its master]

Urg my head... Jesus! My mana bar is almost depleted!

'The skeleton got into its knees and bowed'

It… It's smart enough to understand such things?

-... It's getting pretty late but… How about we try your power Kelius?

/CLACK!/

The skeleton clenched its mouth as if in agreement.

-... I need to get used to that…

[Name: Kelius

Level 0

Grade: Pure

Race: High Undead

Sub Race: Human

Class: None

Skills:

Hell pressure Lv0

Soul drain Lv0

Strengthened body Lv0

Will of the dead Lv0

Soul connection Lv0

Resurrection Lv0

Traits:

Talented

Motivated

Status...

...]

This is the most busted Skeleton soldier I have ever seen… And he doesn't even have a class… How do I give him a class?

-Should I summon some friends for you Kelius?...

/Clack/

'The skeleton just hit its teeth against each other'

-I think that was a yes! Just let my man regen a little... Where is that potion I got with my Class...

…

/SMACK!/

-ARG!

'A group of men were currently beating down a rather skinny man on the ground'

'One of them was sitting in a chair watching all of this from a certain distance'

-That's enough

'He looked towards the fallen man'

-Don't you think it's a coincidence, Petter? For us to meet like this?

-Harf… Harf…

-Petter. I will be straight with you. At this point in time, there is a need for us to change your debt. Since as you can see. There is no way you can repay those 45K dollars.

-Whsh… Do yooo... Pro-fuse?

'Petter was too beaten up to even speak properly'

-I have something I need you to do… Something you can do right now.

-Take my hand… And accept my conditions. If you do this, consider all of your debts cleared.

'Petter's expression did not change… Instead, he felt dread. How many times did he hear this?'

So he just nodded

-Good.

Activate Skill, Loan shark

-The conditions are simple. All of your debt, for a Skill.

-?! A Sb-ill??

-Yes. It can be any. So, what will it be?

-...OKAY!

'The man made a very macabre smile, sending shivers down Petter's back.'

They locked hands.

[All conditions have been fulfilled]

[Skill, Loan shark has activated]

'A blue light traveled across their arms'

Petter instinctively tried to take his arm back, but he found out he was locked in place by a strange force.

[You are collecting your debt. Total value 45K Dollars]

[Loan shark is looking for an equally valuable Skill]

[Loan shark has found its prey]

GOOD!

/BUZZZ BUZZZ/

'Golden sparks appeared when the blue light reached Petter's chest'

[DING!]

[Error! A strange force has blocked Loan shark from devouring the Skill]

WHAT?! NO! If the Skill fails… Wouldn't that mean this waste would be set free?

[Loan shark is left faminished]

[Loan shark is going berserk!]

What…

-ARRRG!

'From behind the men, a terrifying blue shark appeared. Its bloodshot eyes peered into the goons on the side, sending shivers down their backs.'

It opened its immense maw to devour them but…

-...Arg… The… Skill…

'The man on the ground didn't give up yet.'

[Your Skill, Command Lv7 has activated]

'Clarity came back into the shark's eyes'

'It made its way towards Petter who was on the verge of screaming out of fear.'

'It opened its bloody mouth and...'

/SNAP!/

'But no blood was spilled. The shark devoured what seemed to be a piece of translucent fabric. It pulled and ripped it from the body of Petter.'

-AHHHHHHHHHHH!

'Petter felt as if his soul was being torn apart, a fragment of him was being pulled away'

No… NO! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!

'And like that, Petter fell unconscious'

/TEAR!/

The blue shark successfully tore a piece of the translucent fabric, it slowly "swam" in the air, satisfied with its meal.

It entered the body of the fallen men, who slowly recovered from the pain.

[DING!]

[Loan shark's hunger has been satiated]

[Loan shark has devoured the Trait, Cowardice. Would you like to fuse with it?]

-Cowardice?... Ha… Haha… HAHAHAHA! SO, THE TRASH WILL REMAIN TRASH UNTIL THE VERY END! AFTER ALL THIS WORK AND PAIN I HAD TO SUFFER. YOU GIVE ME THIS TRASH OF AN ABILITY?! ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME, PETTER?

But Petter didn't answer him.

-I don't want this trash Skill.

[Loan shark is happy to receive an extra meal]

[The meal strengthens the Shark]

[Loan shark LV2-> Loan shark LV3]

Oh?... Perhaps this wasn't as useless of a trip as I thought… To think Loan shark can devour Skills and get stronger… I thought only by using it constantly, would the Skill Level up…

So this is my path…

-Boss Foust? Are you okay? What happened?

His two goons slowly got up from the ground and approached Foust.

-This trash wasn't as useless as I thought.

Foust spit right into his face

-These university students aren't really that impressive right?

-What should we do with him?

'One of the goons made fun of Petter while the other asked what to do with him'

-Leave him. If we do too much to him, who knows what those purple knights might do… Although I doubt they would act. They allowed us to do as we wished after all…

-Let's carry him to the safe zone. If he ends up dying to some beast they might put the blame on us.

-Yes sir!

…

Several minutes later. Petter woke up feeling immense pain in his chest.

-AHHHHH!

My body! My chest! WHY DOES IT HURT SO MUCH?!

[Your soul is disintegrating due to the loss of its core]

No… NOOO! DO SOMETHING! FUCKING ANYTHING!

[Your Skill, Beaten dog, has activated]

[The time until the fragmentation of your soul has decreased!]

…

'He continued to squirm in pain and agony for the entire night, his voice already broken and his stamina depleted, he resolved himself to face death...'

'But deep inside, Petter's anger kept rising, preventing him from going into the light'

The sun started to rise in the mountains.

[You have lasted through the pain of soul tearing and have resisted the shattering of your soul!]

[You have made an outstanding achievement!]

[You have gained the Title, Risk Runner]

[Your Skill, To live another day has activated! Adversity gives you strength!]

[You have gained the Trait, Unshakable will]

[Unshakable will is lodging itself into the void in your soul, healing it from its tattered state]

[In adversity, you thrive, in cowardice, you wither. Your Skill To live another day has broken past its limits!]

[To live another day -> To live another day Lv0]

[You have gained a new Ability! Soul Phantasm!]

[You have gained a new Trait! Hardened Soul!]

[Your new Title, Risk Runner has been automatically equipped. Your injuries are being healed at a fast rate]

[Your Title-related Skill, Death run has been activated due to your near-death state. All of your stats increase temporarily]

…

Petter got up from the ground, beaten up and tired.

-I felt as if I was going to die…

'And then it came. Overflowing anger. He wanted to MURDER Foust!'

Such a feeling was… Foreign to Petter. He once felt anger, but that was many years ago. When he was still in school.

When he could still smile at the morning sun.

-That fucker… Just you wait… Just like you took my Trait. I WILL TAKE EVERYTHING FROM YOU!

Petter screamed with all of his strength, but even that was still rather low. His vocal cords were already worn out from screaming in the night. There was no way he could utter even a single proper word at this point.

After screaming, Petter gathered his fallen items on the ground and walked not in the direction of the dormitory, but the forest.

'Petter… Wasn't afraid anymore'

[Your determination to get stronger has given birth to a new Skill!]

[You have gained the Skill, Power Fantasy. May your efforts be rewarded]

[DING!]

[You have triggered a quest! Vengeance is best-served cold]

[Conditions to clear:

Get your revenge on Faust before you leave the Nadir Royal Garden in 29 days

The better your revenge, the better the rewards

Mission rank:???

]

-Heheh…

The bloodied Petter, laughing in the barely lit forest, looked rather eerie.

-I will become stronger…

[Your class, Beaten Loser has transformed into Survivor ]

[Your fate changes]

…

Everywhere around the Palace, those destined for greatness started to rise. An era of Heroes was fast approaching… If this was for the greater good of the world or not… Only the Gods knew.