Chapter 14
The next few days passed without any abnormalities. Blake and Suigetsu decided to take up some mercenary work, catching and killing all the violent gangs around the area. They weren't anything strong but were pretty good for gaining levels and for Suigetsu to practice with his new weapon.
Throughout the week, Blake had killed hundreds of men and women, finally reaching level 25. It was getting really tough to gain new levels. Anyway, a notification that he could evolve soon appeared on his screen, but it was not something he had to do immediately.
Thus, Blake waited until midnight as he once again slipped into the darkness of the night. Soon, he found himself in the forest, staring at the translucent screen. He didn't know what to expect, so he was quite cautious.
"Well, it's not like I can prepare myself for the unknown," Blake said, pressing the accept button. Immediately, a pain he had never felt erupted from within him, compressing him, and making him feel small.
Every bone in his body seemed to have been suddenly cracked, and they were reforming back into new, sturdier ones. Blood inside him started to boil and he coughed a huge amount of blood as if a volcano was erupting from his mouth.
The pain was immense, even worse when he was poisoned. His consciousness was slowly slipping away, yet he held onto it, not daring to pass out. Something important was happening in his body. If the situation suddenly got out of control, he wouldn't be sure he would survive.
Finally, the pain subdued and Blake let out a sigh of relief. It was freaking hell, but he managed to go through it, and he was sure he would gain a great boost in strength after this.
Looking at the roof, he saw not only his blood but also some strange substance, which gave off a really bad stench. Were these the impurities within his body?
--Status---
Name: Blake Howard
Age: 34
Level: 25
Class: Lurking Demon(Unique) - C-Grade
Skills: Shadow Movement; Shadow Augment; Mind Castle; Shadows Clone(Requirements: Understand the shadows 0/1); Shadow Blink(LOCKED); Hunter Mark(LOCKED)
Authorities: Authority of Time(Early); Authority of Karma(Early)
---
Strength: 22=>28
Dexterity: 57=>95
Recovery: 30=>45
Endurance: 15=>21
Chaos Energy: 52=>85
Luck: 38
Free Points: 11
---
Pending Quests:
None.
---Status End---
Blake was pleasantly surprised by how much he has grown, and he even noticed the little few attributes and points he had gained from the evolution itself. It was great, but that was not what interested him.
He focused on his class.
-
[Class: Lurking Demon(Unique) - C-Grade]
Level: +2 Dexterity; +4 Chaos Energy; +2 Strenght; +1 Free Point
-
Blake felt stumped. He thought that he would gain another panel with a choice of a list of possible classes, but it had automatically transformed instead. It seemed that he could choose only in the beginning, and the evolution of the class was determined by something else.
Usually, in the games, it was based upon achievements, and, from what he gathered so far, the Ruthless Heaven was unpredictable. Perhaps the path of evolution was already predetermined, Blake could only wait and see.
The provided attributes had also changed, but not too drastically. But this class seemed to concentrate more on power, abandoning any survivability. Still, it was dexterity type.
With his class being Unique, he gained an overall 7 attributes at every level, and from what he gathered, others gained less at every level, meaning that in the long run, he was going to be completely superior.
The skill, well, they seemed more powerful than others. However, it was also a bit discouraging that he finally had to complete the requirements to gain them, and he already felt thwarted.
Understand the shadows? What exactly did he have to do? Blake glanced down at the bustling streets from his roof, seeing people walking around, their shadows following them. Eventually, he sighed. He should think about this later.
He glanced at his stats again, seeing the number of free points. There was no point in keeping them unassigned, and he understood that having too much dispersity between his attributes would have a negative result on his overall power.
So, Blake put 5 into strength and 6 into Endurance, as a familiar rush of adrenaline filled his body, bringing a smile to his face. Nothing felt better than gaining strength.
Unfortunately, Blake's good mood didn't last too long. His face turned towards the scorching sun in the sky, as he remember his world once again. The constant battles and struggles forced him to push down those memories, but he could no longer contain them.
What should he do now? He was now in a completely different world, where he knew no one and no one knew who he was. He could become a different persona, and live an entirely different life.
But, could everything be that simple?
His appearance here was not a coincidence, and he felt like trouble would eventually knock on his door. Furthermore, it is not like he could just stop doing the Quests, as he didn't yet know the gravity of that penalty. Too little was known to relax.
On the other hand, Blake thought that gaining strength and concentrating on becoming stronger was essential. When he would finally found out the truth about this mystery, he would be ready. Ready for a bloodbath.
'So, I guess my next destination is set.' Blake thought, calming down his buzzing mind. His and Suigetsu's paths were bound to eventually separate, and they both knew it would be soon. Blake had already achieved his objective, and Suigetsu wanted to continue his search for other swords.
Standing up, Blake jumped from the roof, landing gracefully on the ground. Before others could notice the abnormality, he disappeared into the shadows. He swam through the bustling streets, into the forest, and then appeared next to a huge waterfall.
There, he saw Suigetsu, practicing with his new sword with a huge creepy smile on his face. Blake thought it was a bit funny to see someone as crazy as him training, but kept these thoughts to himself.
Suigetsu noticed him beforehand, making Blake understand that his skills were still not absolute. People could still detect him, though, with each level, he was getting more efficient with his skills. Soon, no one would even be able to notice the foreignity in the shadows.
"Suigetsu, I am leaving today," Blake said, deciding to state his business immediately. There was no point in expanding this conversation into something better. They weren't exactly friends, but more of associates.
"Hmm." Suigetsu scratched the back of his head for a moment, flexing his muscles. "Yeah, I guessed so. This town was getting a bit annoying."
Blake nodded, but he frowned a moment later. Suigetsu grabbed his sword, a devilish smile on his face. "How about a spar before you leave?! I have been wanting to go against you for a while now."
Blake sighed.
Whatever.