Chapter 23

Keith led a privileged life. Anything he wanted, his mother provided, and accompanied by his caring older sisters, Keith was always looking forward to the future. He was on a rollercoaster of optimism and happiness that only went higher and higher.

And then Cami stabbed him in the chest, turning his entire world upside down. If it weren’t because of Doven’s unique skill allowing him to link his Health pool with Keith’s, Keith would have died.

Never had Keith experienced such loss and betrayal, so when he learned a demon had possessed Cami and it wasn’t her who attempted to kill him, Keith felt immense relief. But it didn’t last long when he remembered the tray of desserts she brought to his room that night.

Keith could easily imagine her thought process.

She knew he spent the whole day training, so she made some treats to show her care. It was then that the demon took advantage of her kind gesture.

It filled Keith with immense wrath and then overwhelming sadness. Cami was only an innocent bystander. She was still young, not much older than his sisters. What about her hopes and dreams? Did the demon even care?

After the incident, Keith spent the following days thinking about the world's unfairness. At times, memories of Cami surfaced, filling him with grief. Other times, cruel rage consumed him. He wanted to avenge Cami and slay the demon who possessed her, but he knew it was impossible. Yara did the deed herself, leaving Keith with nowhere to vent his fury.

So he turned it inward.

The truth was Keith made for an easy target. If he wasn’t so weak and helpless, would the demon dare to target him? Would it dare to hurt those close to him? How could it? After all, why didn’t the demon target his mom or his aunt? It was because they were overwhelmingly strong.

In this world filled with violence, Keith thought he could pass through it by relying on his mom. Perhaps he still could, but he would be at the mercy of external forces. First, it was Cami, and next, it might be his sisters. Keith couldn’t bear the guilt of anyone else dying because of his own weakness. That meant he needed to grow stronger. Or at least strong enough that he wouldn’t be the reason those close to him suffered.

It was only after grieving for two weeks that Keith made a decision. Jumping out of bed, he returned to the warehouse where his orbs lay. Looking down at their reflective surface, he saw a warped image of himself staring back, seemingly asking him a question: are you prepared to go down this path?

The seconds ticked by as Keith simply stood, but the guilt in his chest eventually steeled his resolve. Activating Mind Division and Mind Enhancement, Keith willed the orbs to move. Over the following days, he spent every moment besides eating and sleeping in the warehouse to push his skill levels higher.

He saw steady gains in the first four days, but practicing alone without external pressure could only do so much. Still, he was satisfied with his progress.

Mind Enhancement (Mythic) Level 25 -> 49

Mind Division (Mythic) Level 24 -> 48

Sensory Link (Legendary) Level 49 -> 72

Already Keith could feel the difference. Mind Enhancement was about 15% more effective at level 49 than level 1, while the other two skills gained similar boosts. He needed to add some complexity to his training to push the skills further, which meant it was finally time to socket skills into the orbs.

Thankfully, he had already familiarized himself with all his skill gems, so he knew what to use. Instead of filling the orbs with as many skills as possible, he began with something manageable. To start, Keith selected Mana Bolt, Mana Shield, Fireball, and Ice Wall. The skill gems he picked were the most generic and least valuable skills he had, but they served as a good foundation for him to expand on.

[Rare] Mana Bolt

Description: Shoot a concentrated bolt of mana at a target. Intelligence Scaling: F. Each level increases speed and damage while reducing mana cost.

[Rare] Mana Shield

Description: Conjure a transparent barrier around a target that absorbs a set amount of damage. Intelligence Scaling: F. 30 second cooldown. Each level increases the amount absorbed and slightly reduces the cooldown.

[Rare] Fireball

Description: Shoot a fireball at a target that explodes in a small radius upon contact. Intelligence Scaling: F. Each level increases damage and blast radius while reducing mana cost.

[Rare] Ice Wall

Description: Conjure a 2x20 foot ice barrier at a target location for 1 minute. 10 second cooldown. Each level increases its durability and reduces mana cost.

Keith had multiple copies of each, so he socketed four orbs with the same loadout. The last thing he needed was a training partner, and he had the perfect person in mind: Annallee. She was all the more willing to help him out, so as soon as he asked, she practically dragged him back to the warehouse. Now, they stood across from each other, separated by about forty feet.

Annallee twirled her twin shortswords as she eyed the four orbs hovering around Keith. “So you just want me to dodge? No fighting back?”

“I’m not ready to engage in a head-on fight with you.” Keith rolled his eyes. Annallee possessed the “Epic Lifeform” title, which means she killed an epic grade monster solo. Not many her age could say the same, and Keith knew she was approaching legendary grade. She’d cut Keith down in a second if she fought seriously.

As Keith willed the orbs forward, Annallee pursed her lips and transitioned into a combat stance. The orbs moved at full speed and split into two groups to flank Annallee on each side. Suddenly, three Mana Bolts shot out, moving slower than the orbs themselves, while a fireball followed behind.

Keith clicked his tongue as Annallee dodged each Mana Bolt and cut the fireball in half with minimum effort. Undeterred, Keith continued to cast skills, but the subsequent waves of attacks proved so simple for Annallee that she had to give him some advice. “It’s too easy to dodge like this. Stagger the Mana Bolts. Also, why are you shooting the fireball at me? Make it hit the ground nearby.”

It was like a light lit up in Keith’s head. Staggering the Mana Bolts would make it harder for Annallee to determine their trajectories, while Fireball’s explosion effect would force Annallee to move.

His thoughts came true as soon as he changed his strategy. Although the staggered Mana Bolts still proved easy for Annallee to dodge, she had to take a step back to avoid the explosion of fire. An improvement, but not enough. Still, it gave Keith an idea.

Keith sent out two fireballs on the next wave, forcing Annallee back. To her surprise, she collided with an Ice Wall. Just as the explosion of fire overcame her, she twirled her shortswords and conjured a wind barrier to ward off the blast.

“There you go,” Annallee praised as she severed the Ice Wall into bits with a few swings in a show of force.

Undeterred, Keith continued to train with Annallee. As the hours passed, he quickly improved his familiarity in using Mana Bolt, Fireball, and Ice Wall. Mana Barrier didn’t see any use initially, but it didn’t take long for Annallee to determine Keith was ready for a real fight. Thankfully, Void Shadowstep saved him from being completely thrashed. It only took a bit for him to learn how to dodge and control his orbs simultaneously.

As the days passed, Keith quickly discovered a significant problem: the skills used by his orbs didn’t gain skill levels. The System didn’t consider the orbs living creatures. Although it sucked, it made sense. The orbs didn’t consume the skills gems to use them and merely channeled their power.

While Keith was initially disappointed, he didn’t think much of it because his fighting style was absurdly powerful, even without skill levels. The more skills Keith added to his orbs, the more he forced Annallee to use more of her strength. In the end, he was firing off so many skills at once she couldn’t do a thing and ended up being defeated.

After that, she refused to train with him again, saying how unfair it was. Keith agreed. How could anyone resist under an endless bombardment of skills fuelled by infinite mana? That night, Keith looked over his gains.

Mind Enhancement (Mythic) Level 49 -> 75

Mind Division (Mythic) Level 48 -> 74

Sensory Link (Legendary) Level 72 -> 95

All three skills grew significantly, and Sensory Link was even on the verge of evolving. After overwhelming Annallee with brute force, Keith felt confident enough to face monsters. Tomorrow, he’d return to the Crimson Howler Den. It was finally time to gain levels. And money. Lots of money.