Farewell Gift

The sky was covered with a blanket of clouds, and a steady rain was pouring, creating puddles and streams all over the island. Thunder and lightning constantly roared. The whole environment seemed grim and oppressive.

Frederick was looking at the kneeling woman, who had just asked him to marry her with a strange-looking ring. She had an unwavering expression on her face and a firm expression as if she was sure Frederick would accept.

Although she was proposing to him, her voice was not pleading or begging. It was cold and determined. Her clothes were wet and dirty, and her hair was a mess. But that did not stop her from holding her head high. Even though she had a determined look, she knew that if he did not accept, she would be killed.

'What a joke...' Frederick wasn't sure how to take this. He had heard countless types of pleas or cries for help, yet the most ridiculous was probably this proposal. Does she think that just by proposing or offering her body, he will spare her?

Looking at the woman, who was still kneeling and waiting for him to answer, he decided to ignore her request. As he was about to launch another attack, he suddenly saw the woman throwing the ring at him.

Noticing her actions, he didn't hesitate to retreat. He wasn't sure about the effect of the item, but he was certain it wasn't a normal ring. However, as he was about to take a step back, his blood froze upon reading a message from the Chronicles while watching the ring fly toward him.

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< Authority Item >

-Name: Unreciprocated loyalty ring

-Forged Authority: Unreturned devotion (medium)

-Assimilation rate: 47%

Abilities:

-Heart link: Place a bomb on two individuals' hearts, connecting their lives via a vow and making them partners. If one partner dies, the other instantly perishes, too.

-Shared earning: Both partners can allocate up to 60% of their earned experience points to the other partner.

-A single story: Both partners will always participate in the same side story.

Description:

-This ring was forged by the Chronicles as a reward and acquired through a medium (blue) loot box. Due to the assimilation rate, certain potential abilities that might have been present in the original authority have been lost.

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The instant the message appeared, Frederick's face changed. Instead of avoiding the ring, he caught it with his left hand and examined it. The ring was black and looked rather simple, with its only unique feature being a silver-white border and the words "Unreciprocated Loyalty" engraved on it.

Frederick frowned. He had never seen such a peculiar item before. This ring's abilities were extremely interesting and a bit scary if used correctly. He could clearly see how the woman intended to use this ring.

Seeing him hold the ring and stare at it, the woman smiled with satisfaction. In a flirtatious and alluring voice, she spoke, "My name is Aurora. What's yours, handsome?"

"..." Frederick did not bother answering her and was still examining the ring while thinking.

The woman, or Aurora, frowned a little. She was a bit disappointed with the response but still tried her best to maintain the atmosphere. She knew that she needed to get his approval or else...

"... Not a man of many words, huh? Well, a man of your caliber is bound to be mysterious." Aurora sighed. "How about this, then? You keep the ring and I will give you all 60% of my earned experience points," she proposed without any hesitation. She knew that offering less than that would make Frederick less cooperative.

Frederick was still ignoring her, and the atmosphere became awkward. After a minute or so, Aurora broke the silence.

"How about I show you how determined I am?" Aurora added in a teasing voice as she lightly bit her lips and revealed a bit of her cleavage. Her golden eyes stared right at Frederick. She was confident that her beauty would get his attention.

Aurora was considered a very attractive woman. Her long dark-brown hair trailed to her legs, and her face was sculpted to perfection. To a certain extent, she was inhumanly stunning.

However, Frederick once again ignored her. He didn't seem the least bit interested... No, rather than being uninterested, he seem slightly disgusted.

"..."

"...Don't tell me you like men?"

"..."

"Okay, fine! Let me tell you then, that ring is useless if you don't have someone you can use it with. And considering your long silence, strength, and the fact that I am still alive, it only means that you don't have a better candidate to use this on."

Aurora was not dumb. She could guess pretty much that Frederick wasn't the average candidate. From her point of view, his strength was mostly because of "his high" level. Meaning that he did not shy away from killing.

In addition, his fighting technique was too sophisticated to belong to a person who only passively waited for the main story. In short, he could be both an extremely dangerous foe ... and the best ally for her.

Aurora's lips curved upwards."So, how about it? It's not a bad deal, isn't it? You just have to accept, and you will get free experience points for practically free. You only have to let me live."

"Considering that I am at a lower level than you, you won't even gain that much by killing me, right? You can consider this an investment," added Aurora with a smile.

In a normal case, what she said would have been true. If a candidate with a higher level slaughtered a candidate with a lower level, there would be a deduction in experience points. Of course, the bigger the level difference is, the bigger the deduction. However, she did not know that Frederick was only level 7, nor did he plan to tell her.

Aurora didn't even consider or mention the possibility of dying. Frederick didn't press the issue, either. If she was willing to go to such lengths to stay alive, she clearly had a strong sense of self-preservation and was ready to do anything.

Frederick finally took his eyes off the ring and looked at the woman. He did not answer immediately. He first gave her a long, hard look, which made her shiver. After a couple of seconds that seemed like an eternity, he finally answered.

"Sure."

Aurora's eyes opened wide, and a grin appeared on her face. Slowly standing up, she approached Frederick, struggling to hide her excitement.

As she approached Frederick, she noticed that he was rather plain-looking. His brown hair was a bit messy. In general, he had an average appearance. The only thing that was strange was his eyes. He had crimson-red pupils.

'That's strange... Wasn't his eyes green when we first met-'

Her eyes widened suddenly as a sharp pain spread through her chest and to her heart. Aurora stumbled backward before collapsing with a thud.

Looking at her chest, she saw a dagger embedded into her chest. Blood was dripping down the knife, which was slowly washed away by the pouring rain. The wound was slowly spreading. The feeling of death crept through her veins, and her face turned paler.

No matter how hard she tried, she could only move her head. Yet she did not seem to care. Slowly, her expression twisted into something strange, and she began laughing like a maniac, though the sound was weak.

"Oh ...I thought I tricked you ... It's your win. How did you know?" pondered Aurora as she looked at him with some blood flowing out of her mouth.

"I did not know," answered Frederick with a cold tone.

Honestly, Frederick would lie if he said that he was not interested in this item. However, he still chose not to, as he did not trust her—nor anyone, for that matter. Using this item would be akin to giving your life and death in someone else hands, which is not acceptable to him.

"That... That is even better ... I think I am really falling in love with you...ahah."

Frederick did not react, and as he was about to finally end this strange interaction, a blue orb fell out of Aurora's mouth.

"...I won't need this anymore anyway. Take this and my authority as a farewell gift. I truly hope that... you will... win... in the end."

At the same time, the woman's last breath was taken.

As the blue orb rolled on the ground, suddenly, her body started to age at an incredible speed, which even took Frederick by surprise. It was as if her vital force was being sucked out. Her smooth skin became wrinkled, and her once long, black hair gradually thinned and turned gray.

In only a few seconds, her beautiful appearance was gone. Looking at her body, he could no longer find traces of the once beautiful and stunning woman. She was now a woman in her forties who had lived a good life.

Frederick was a bit perplexed. He had never seen such a strange woman. Usually, in this kind of situation, people would do anything to escape or to make a last push to bring down their attacker with them. Not to mention giving a "farewell gift" to their murderer.

At first, he thought that she perhaps had a bomb on her body. It wouldn't be the first time for him as he once died because of a candidate who actually self-destructed once. However, after a few minutes and seeing that nothing actually happened, he slowly approached her body before examining it.

'Rather than aging ... This should be her true form.' thought Frederick as he turned his head to a panel that appeared.

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<Congratulations 2 on reaching level 9. Please assign your free points to an attribute>

- Constitution + ( 18 -> 19)

- Mind + ( 16 -> 17)

- Perception +( 15 -> 16)

- Dexterity + ( 15-> 16)

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As he clicked twice on "mind," his mind became more focused and clearer. This time, he clearly felt that the attributes were indeed exponential. There was a stronger feeling of lucidity compared to the last time he leveled up.

With a mad laugh, it was Frederick's turn to laugh. "Great! This feeling ... This is bliss! Happiness in its true form!" Frederick only showed some genuine emotion when he leveled up. The feeling of getting more powerful was what he was living for.

His expression was extremely short-lived. He quickly composed himself before turning his attention to the two authorities' orbs. Slowly approaching them, he started to examine them.

With a nod, Frederick was satisfied ... Because one of the two authorities she had dropped was actually a purple one, meaning that she had a high-tier authority.

'This is truly a great harvest.'

As he read the purple authority description, his expression shifted from amazement to a grin... and then to a sigh of disappointment as he finally reached the part where the curse was written.

"... Unfortunate. I can't use this. I hope that I can at least transform this into an item."

Turning his attention to the other authority, he was not expecting much. Yet, his eyes grew bigger as he read the description of the medium rarity authority.

"I need to find a permanent smith."