Systemer

After Jason and Perseus left the gloomy forest, they crossed a small ditch and arrived on a paved road. It was a two-way road, as if it were built by humans. The asphalt was cracked and slowly breaking apart.

The two remaining members of the party walked slightly further ahead before Perseus determined that they were close enough. They opened their systems and took out their tickets. The translucent ticket was now glowing, hinting that it could now be used. Without further ado, they ripped it in half.

The two halves of the ticket evaporated into thin air. Then, Perseus and Jason noticed that their bodies were slowly being erased from existence. At first, it actually looked like they were drawings that were slowly being wiped away by an eraser. Seconds later, they had disappeared from the Horror Realm.

Only a dim light from the crimson moon remained.

...

The Realm Station was bustling with activity. The echo of footsteps and overlapping voices entered Jason's ears as they appeared from Horror Realm's spatial tunnel. He and Perseus left the tunnel before it was activated again and left the station under the deep gazes of nearby guards, including the ones who didn't show themselves, but they could still feel their presence nearby.

Luckily, they didn't have to undergo another paperwork nightmare. Their faces were messy, and their clothes were slightly torn as if someone had tried to rip them apart. It was clear that they had fought for their survival. Thus, the Realm Adventurers who returned usually didn't have to do bothersome paperwork. Except the ones who had criminal charges under their belt.

The exit was an ordinary door. However, on the other side of the door, there were white-tiled steps that led straight. It was another spatial tunnel. The Realm Station wasn't in Human Realm. No one knew its exact location. However, that spatial tunnel was connected with Human City's Realm Station Entrance.

After stepping through the door, both Jason and Perseus vanished into the light. When they next opened their eyes, they were standing in the Realm Station Entrance's lounge. Behind them was the receptionist's desk, where they had filled out the paperwork before. Behind the desk was a hallway with a door at the end; it was the entrance to the Realm Station.

Jason's body slightly shuddered as if he were being stared at by an ancient beast. The Realm Station Entrance had old monsters guarding it. There were even rumors that some of them had reached peak of System Champion, which was the last step of mortality. After that was Angel rank, which was the first step towards godhood and when mortal becomes demigod.

They didn't stay to waste time and immediately left the busy building. In the silence and under the scorching sun, they entered the streets before disappearing into the crowd. After arriving at the Adventurer's Guild, they presented their evidence and received their reward.

"This is your share." After receiving a pouch of Gold Coins, Perseus split the amount and handed it to Jason. He then said with a sigh. "Since only two of us survived, the split was much bigger than I expected."

Jason nodded silently and weighed the pouch with his palm. Their mission bounty totaled 50 Gold Coins. In the end, both received 25 Gold Coins, which was a decent haul. An ordinary family would be able to earn around 10 Gold Coins annually. Jason earned it in one mission.

After all, Realm Adventurers have to do dangerous missions. They risked their lives daily. 25 Gold Coins were just an appetizer.

However, being Realm Adventurer was expensive. The ingredients. Medicine for injuries. Materials for the upcoming mission.

There were instances when some missions earned nothing if the injuries they suffered was too heavy.

"I have to report to the Golden Lion Guild that I have returned..." Perseus pocketed the pouch with a heavy heart and said sincerely. "If you want, I can tell Guild Master about you. It might open a door to joining the Golden Lions. Perhaps once you have become Systemer."

"Thanks... but I don't really like those strict contracts." Jason said as he pocketed the pouch. The Guilds often gave strict contracts to their members. They wouldn't be as bad if the Systemer, whom they were trying to recruit, was a powerhouse since stronger ones often have more freedom and didn't like to be restricted.

Perseus nodded because it made sense and explained why many new Systemers felt afraid to join Guilds. The contracts were often unreasonable. However, when they realize how dangerous the realms were, the contracts looked very tempting.

Jason and Perseus bid each other farewell and left the guild separately. Perseus entered the Inner Circle's Main Street, which led to the Golden Lion's guild building, while Jason went another way, shortly afterward entering Iron Wall Street.

He was planning to go concoct a potion for his advancement to Systemer. However, he still lacked a few ingredients. His father had given him three recipes, which he should try to concoct.

The first one, Vitality Potion.

The ingredients needed: 100 ml of water. The blood of a beating heart. 5 drops of human tears. Finger of a Vampire or Half-Vampire or Creature of Regeneration.

He lacked the blood of a beating heart and the finger of one of those three creatures. Thus, he was unable to concoct that potion. By drinking Vitality Potion, his vitality would increase by leaps and bounds.

However, there were other chances of acquiring that potion. Also, there were more potent versions of Vitality Potion, which could even give the drinker the ability of regeneration.

Then there was the second potion.

Strength Potion.

The ingredients needed: a piece of flesh from Muscle-Headed Minotaur. The torn Achilles tendon. 100 ml of salt water. Liquified sweat.

Jason lacked the piece of flesh and a torn Achilles tendon. Thus, he was again unable to concoct the famous Strength Potion. However, because of its popularity, the piece of flesh and torn Achilles tendon could be bought from the Inner Circle's merchants.

There was still the third potion left.

Night Potion.

The ingredients needed: 5 blue rose leaves. Moon dust. Lung of a Horror Creature. 500 ml of ordinary tap water.

He received the Lung of a Horror Creature from the deceased ghoul, and he could acquire 500 ml of ordinary tap water from anywhere. There also wasn't any lack of blue rose leaves. However, moon dust was a problem. The nearby merchants sold it, but it would most likely empty most of his assets.

Still, he felt like the Night Potion was currently the cheapest to make and also the most useful. Night Potion would increase his affinity for darkness and allow him to see better in the dark. When the moon came out and the sky got dark, his senses would get a little stronger.

Jason nodded and decided to make Night Potion. He trekked down busy Iron Wall Street before crossing a cramped alleyway and entering Market Street. There wasn't any lack of merchant stores. However, he had to visit three merchant stores before finding one that sold moon dust.

The cost of the moon dust was 35 gold coins and 55 silver Coins. With a pained heart, Jason paid for it and felt his wallet emptying rapidly. He only had 5 gold coins and 12 silver coins left. It was still enough to pay the rent and not starve. But it wouldn't last forever. So, in the following week, he would have to do another mission.

He left the merchant store and the Market Street. He had to walk halfway across the Inner Circle before entering the Second Iron Wall Street. It was connected with Iron Wall Street; thus, the street name was also similar. In there, he found a potion store. There, he could ask for Potion Makers to concoct his potion for him or make it himself in a closed corner room.

He chose the latter. His father had already taught him the ways of potion making, and he even had to concoct a few potions for his father when he was too tired from his trip. At first, he failed on several occasions. Still, his father didn't blame him, but rather himself for not teaching him better.

It didn't take long for Jason to learn and not make the same mistakes again.

Jason rented a potion room. It cost him 30 Bronze Coins. He paid with one silver Coin and received 70 bronze coins in the transaction. Then he acquired the keys and walked to a desolate corner room. After opening the door, a cramped room appeared in his view. There were several desks with flasks and compartments.

The compartments had popular and easily found ingredients. There were also those blue roses. He quickly plucked five leaves before leaving them on the metal desk, right next to one of the flasks and the heating plate. The heating plate was connected to a machine under the table. By switching it on, a fire would appear where he could put the flask.

Jason rubbed his hands before taking out a box that contained the Lung of a Horror Creature. Then, placed it on the desk and took out the small bottle of moon dust. He still needed the water. From the desk, he took a bottle that could hold 1 liter of water.

Then he went to a sink and pressed on the faucet. The water pattered against the metallic sink with a rapid tempo. He put the bottle beneath the water, and when it had filled slightly, he closed the faucet and returned to the desk. The bottle had slightly more than 500 ml of ordinary tap water.

Potion-making was an accurate and careful occupation. He couldn't add too much water, otherwise the potion's effectiveness could decrease. Therefore, he reduced the amount of water in the bottle by licking the water like a cat. After he was somewhat sure of the amount, he activated the heating plate and put the flask on top of a small flickering flame.

Crack. He cracked his knuckles softly and poured the 500 ml of ordinary tap water into the flask. Once the water started boiling, he crunched the blue rose leaves with his teeth before throwing them inside the flask. The water started to turn blue color. Once he also threw moon dust inside, the color began to fade away.

Lastly, he opened the box and took out a lung. It had a disgusting color of swampy green and even reeked with a disgusting stench. The ingredient recipe said that the potion needed the Lung of the Horror Creature, but that was an inaccurate description. It only needed liquified lung.

There had been instances when new Systemers chopped down the lung into tiny pieces and put them into the potion. Then, after drinking the potion, they would become sick and get unknown diseases.

Jason placed the Lung of Horror Creature on top of the flask. Then, his muscles bulged, with veins protruding as he squeezed it as tightly as he could. The lung crushed under the strong force, and blood-colored liquid dropped onto the flask at a rapid speed.

Once the color of the liquid turned dark purple, Jason placed the lung back on the box before closing it. Lastly, he pulled a chair from a nearby desk and sat on it. It would take half an hour before the potion was ready.

During this process, the potion would undergo transformation with the help of the small scarlet-red flame. All the taste disappears. If there was a taste left after the half an hour period, it would mean that the potion wasn't perfect and not as effective. It also wouldn't taste good. After all, the ingredients needed included lung, and some dust…

"Whew. Finally, I can relax." Jason said it aloud because ever since entering Horror Realm, there hadn't been a moment when he could relax and enjoy the atmosphere. The current atmosphere wasn't exactly perfect because of the stench that lingered in the air. However, his tensed muscles finally relaxed, and his mind felt tranquil.

He even half-closed his eyes to enjoy the mood.

After half an hour, he opened his eyes, closed the heating plate, and grabbed the flask. The liquid was now dark, as if it resembled the color of night.

"Cheers..." Jason took a deep breath and, with a slight sense of fear and expectation, gulped down the potion. It was the first potion he had drank. 18 was the age when humans received their systems. If they tried to become Systemers before by consuming strong potions, their bodies would fracture and they would suffer cardiac arrest.

The dark-colored potion traversed through his oral cavity. Luckily for him, there wasn't any taste. The potion was perfect.

After the flask had been emptied, he put it away and cleaned the desk. When he finished packing up, his heartbeat suddenly echoed in his ear.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

His heart pounded so hard against his chest that he became afraid that it would burst through his chest. In the end, it was just a slight scare. His heartbeat calmed down, and the blood vessels on his forehead stopped throbbing.

Even the redness in his eyes disappeared. The black in his pupils also seemed to turn slightly darker, while the deep blue part of the pupils seemed deeper and unfathomable.

Jason felt the change in his body. A part of his mortality seemed to change, as if he had become something more than just a mere mortal. He had taken the first step of his long and hard journey.

When he closed his eyes, he thought he saw an endless amount of steps that seemed to lead straight to heaven or even beyond. His leg had only entered the first step, with his body leaning forward as if he were excited to move forward to the following steps. However, was still unable to do so.

Jason opened his eyes with a small smile.

He had officially become a Systemer!