The Phenomenon....
Feeling more somnolent than ever, Liam opened his sleepless eyes. In his blurry gaze, he caught a bright green light as his body began to feel lighter and his drowsiness slightly fade.
"Am I...in heaven?" Liam pondered aloud with a confused look.
"You wish. I just finished healing you, you alright?" a polite girl, of whom was clearly a healer, asked the strange boy, seeing the bewildered countenance on his face. Rising from his position on the ground, he ruffled his begrimed and messy brown hair while patted the dirt off his scruffy clothes.
'What the hell is going on? This is just like before, yet, I feel different like I'm...stronger'
[User: Liam Smith has gained additional strength through use of his ability
+2 Unread Messages]
'Am I hallucinating? What the hell is...' the memories of the previous events came flooding back into his puzzled mind. Realising what had happened, he discreetly sent a gaze at the amiable healer dressed in a white jacket and black clothes before a silent tear appeared in his eye, swept away by his no longer injured hand.
'She's alive!' he inwardly cheered, 'but what is this system? I would say I'm just seeing things but...this is just too real. If I have two messages, I guess I should read them. Let's see' he pondered for a moment. He looked at the kind girl chatting to the other members then looked back at the strange box before his eyes. Considering the girl hadn't said anything, it was easy to assume that he was most likely the only one who could see the strange, transparent blue box before his eyes.
'Open Messages' he inwardly called out. In an instant, the old blue box disappeared and was replaced with a new one, this one much longer than the last.
[Messages:
System Alert: Requirements have been met
Skill 'Regression' has been activated
Cost of skill: 1000 coins per hour
Number of Hours: 4
Total: 4000 Coins
Balance: 500 Coins
System Alert: User has obtained 'The Kronus System'
Analysing User to confirm statistics...]
Reading the message, his eyes widened. What are coins? What is this system? How did I get it? While numerous thoughts flowed around within his mind, one stood tall among the others leading him to say "Open Statistics". Moments later, a new box appeared displaying new information.
[User: Liam Smith
Attribute: Regressor Lvl 1
Health: Lvl 11
Perception: Lvl 10
Intelligence: Lvl 11
Strength: Lvl 11
Agility: Lvl 11
Stamina: Lvl 11
No other statistics have been obtained. To increase statistics, complete tasks to gain coins.
Balance: 1000 Coins]
'If this is the coins I have then... Put 100 coins into strength'
[Strength: Level 11 -> Level 12 -> Level 13 -> Level 14 -> Level 15 ]
'What?! I gained that many levels just from 100 Coins? Then what do I have to do to get coins?' Without Liam having to say a word, the system opened another navy blue box.
[Tasks:
-Daily
-Monthly
-Annual]
'Daily' Soon after, in a few milliseconds, a new box appeared.
[Daily Tasks:
-Run 5km
-Kill 5 Monster solo
-Lift 100kg of weight
Rewards:
-60 Coins
-50 Exp
Punishment:
-100 Coin Reduction
-Unknown]
'What the...That's...Ugh, I'll just have to-'
"Liam. What are you doing? We're moving on" Eve, the kind healer who treated Liam, appeared to his side with a confused look.
"Oh, ermm... I was just resting" He slowly rose up from his relaxed position against the cave's wall and followed Eve to join up with the rest of the group. Approaching the group, Liam could see the huge battle that was going down. It was just as before: mages bombarding the monsters with fire and other spells while the attackers would use abilities like increased speed and strength to overwhelm the monsters.
"Come on. I need healing!"
"Quick. Get over here! We need you to help us" Looking at the scene, three members out of the 18 that had came in had already died; their corpses barely recognisable due to the battering they had received. What the others didn't know, something that only a prophet could be aware, was that two more would soon follow the others to the afterlife.
Seeing the bloody scene, Liam instinctively began moving. It was as if it was natural when he dashed forward to aid the group in the battle. In the majority or raids, he would be forced to stay back due to how weak he was, especially without an ability to use. Yet, now, he was sprinting into battle with a determined and brave expression parried by razor sharp eyes.
"Wait. What are you..." Eve was both confused and concerned for Liam, clearly expressed on her face.
"I want to try something" were the only words he spoke matched with a reassuring smile before charging into the fight.
'Put 100 coins into agility and another 100 into defence' he inwardly shouted as his legs leaped across the hard, stone ground.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing here?!"
"Get out the way!" the other awakened complained, yet their words fell on death ears due to Liam's complete concentration. Annoyed, the other awakened glared at the boy before returning to the fight. Keeping his fist clenched tightly, Liam pulled his arm back and prepared to punch the Minotaur in the face. Unfortunately for most, which was what made the Minotaur so arduous to fight was that, they were exceptionally tall and towered over the awakened, much like the enraged minotaur acted as a mountain before Liam. Yet, Liam was currently running at an unimaginable speed. Though he wasn't as fast as someone with a speed ability, it was enough for him to gain an edge over the minotaur.
"rrghhhh" the minotaur roared as it swung it's large, wooden bat at Liam's head. In return, Liam swiftly dodged the attack and thrusted his fist forward. As the fist was collided with the minotaur's chest, Liam was overjoyed.
'I did it. I killed a D-Rank monster all by myself. I can finally-" BANG. Unimaginable pain began to dwell in his abdomen as a force sent him flying back. Blood violently flew out of his mouth, his face becoming that of someone who had just seen a ghost. When looking at the attacker, he saw the minotaur with deep red eyes that popped out of their sockets while the minotaur's body had turned completely red.
"I-It's an evolved monster!"