15 A Gift

Opening his eyes, Jay was greeted by the old man. He could see the skies above which had a dark color with distant stars visible throughout.

His body was not in pain, and he was no longer inside of the arena. His robe had no blood on it nor holes from magical attacks.

"Was it all a a dream? It couldn't have been." He could remember the excruciating pain. Every drop of blood. Every drop of tears.

"Welcome back young one" the old man said with a smile as he approached him.

"He's smiling after what he just put me through? This man is crazy. This world is crazy. My life is but a joke within this world." Jay yelled within his head, hiding his anger.

The old man extended a hand to help him up. After a moment, he reluctantly took his hand.

An electric current ran down the man's arm to his own. The shock invaded his entire body. Sparks appeared around Jay's body as he was electrocuted by the still smiling old man.

It was a strong feeling but not enough to kill him or cause him to lose consciousness. He quickly retracted his hand.

The old man laughed.

Jay said nothing as he sat there angry without making a move. He was definitely not able to beat the monster that stood before him.

All he could do was push through whatever happens next.

Once again, the man extended his hand to help Jay up to his feet. "I don't bite" the old man implied with a grin on his face.

A moment went by before Jay decided to take the man's offer. Once more an electric current surged throughout his body, dropping Jay to his knee.

His anger grew larger, but he managed to keep it under control, only because of his fear towards the old man.

Again the man extended a hand towards him. Again he took the man's hand and was met with an electric shock.

"Damn it! What's your problem old man? Why are you doing this to me? Aren't you some sort of hero?"

The old man said nothing as he again extended his hand towards Jay.

*Standing up, he used all of his strength to punch a hole straight through the man's chest. Blood covered his arm as the old man's now lifeless body fell to the ground.*

This was all in his head of course. A mere thought that ran through his wandering mind. A wish. A desire.

Taking the man's hand, Jay expected to once again be shocked by the devilish soul in front of him. However, the man finally pulled him to his feet.

"Follow me" the man said as he turned to walk away. Ahead of the two, sat a dark forest. The tall trees blocked majority of the moonlight.

The two walked for a few minutes before reaching a small clearing in the forest. Stopping in the middle, the old man summoned his staff.

The old man stabbed his staff into the dirt causing the spear to release a bright glow.

"I have my reasons for what I put you through kid, and as payment. I will lure beast here for you to gain some skills."

The light from the spear intensified before shooting upwards into the sky. Like a rocket launching into orbit or a firework flying into the dark skies.

The event could be described as some sort of beacon blasting into the skies. The resulting image in the air reminded Jay of the Aurora Borealis.

It was a truly stunning sight.

The old man continued what he was saying before.

"I will not interfere with you and your goal but I will tell you one thing. A wise man once said 'Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.' Therefore, if you continue to harbor this grudge, you may be the one who is taken out in the end."

Jay was still angry at the man and ignored the quote. "What did you put me through? Why did u show me those things?"

"I simply wished to show you what accomplishing your goals would lead to. If you were strong enough to accomplish it that is." The old man replied.

"Many have went through something similar to you. Many are framed, and many are sentenced to death in a dungeon. Usually, none make it out alive but you did. You have a unique ability which you can take advantage of and become a great hero."

"With great power comes great responsibility, yeah yeah." Jay said mocking the old man.

Bushes in the area began to shake as creatures hid within. Glowing red eyes could be seen surrounding their location from inside of the darkness.

Jay's paranoia began to set in. The geezer lured these beast here with whatever his staff did. He said it was in order to gift him new skills with his plunder ability.

Swoosh.

The old man disappeared from beside him. Was he planning to let him fight alone? Was it just a lie? Was he tricked? Bamboozled? Back stabbed? Once again sentenced to death?

Bang... Slash... Zap...

Loud sounds as if a fight had erupted could be heard from within the forest. Light shone from behind the trees before turning back into darkness.

One by one, the eyes began to disappear as the beast were killed by an unknown entity.

Out of a bush sprang a deer like monster. It was about the same size as an adult deer, with the usual glowing red eyes. The tips of it's antlers glowed a red light as well as it's hooves.

Suddenly more and more of the deer like beast sprang from the bushes, all charging at Jay. With no weapon and no way to defend himself, he prepared to take the attack head on.

"Harden" he yelled as his arms turned into the metallic material just like the last time he used the skill.

Zap.

The deer in front fell over as a strong electrical current surged through it's body. Standing between the beast and Jay was none other than the old man.

Only one fell to the floor as the others began to fade away. An illusion skill?

"Finished" the old man said with a smile as he turned towards Jay.

Jay was angry and confused. "Where have you been?" he yelled.

"I did what I promised, I brought you here to obtain some new skills. I have slaughtered the beast within the area. You are now free to safely roam around and absorb their skill." the old man replied.

"Was it you who took out all of those beast? I thought you abandoned me."

"I know what you have been through, and I can promise you that I am not like those people. I am known for training adventurers and royal guards. I protect and serve. To abandon another is to abandon my morals. Now quickly absorb their skill and let's return to the city."

Without another word, Jay scurried off into the forest. Absorbing the power of the fallen beast, he gained multiple new skills and stats.

Of course, he left out the fact that he can gain strength, agility, or stamina each time he used his skill.

A bear like beast with sharp glowing claws, a large red fox, a monkey? There was many corpses, but the variety of beast only totaled to around seven different types.

Jay absorbed the power of as many as he could. It felt almost like cheating in a video game. Of course, the new skills would only be level one and practically be useless until leveled up.

Thud

Jay collapsed from once again overusing his plunder ability.

Fwoosh

The old man with Jay in his arms appeared before a large mansion within the city.

"Welcome to my home young one." the old man laughed as he opened the door. Maids, butlers, and even cooks all came to the door to welcome home their master.

Several hours passed.

Jay awoke in a strange bed within a large room. Figuring that he had collapsed once again, memories of last night resurfaced in his mind.

He remembered the old man luring the beast to their location before slaying them. He remembered using plunder multiple times before losing consciousness.

"Plunder only works on a certain beast once" which he discovered upon attempting to use the skill on multiple of the same beast."

Therefore, he would not be able to use plunder on another Lupus Griseo since he has already used it on one before.

He was thankful to the old man, but still did not trust or like him. Waking him from his deep thoughts, was The System.

The screen of the system popped up with a worrying message.

[Plunder Ability Temporarily Locked]