First Fight and System Upgrades

The guards faltered at the sight of seeing him wielding weapons.

'It seems like they were not preparing for someone who would be armed...' Drew thought as he stared at the guards who had rusty iron blades on their sides.

He cast his gaze towards his weapons and realized they were most likely of a superior make.

His gleamed like moonlight while theirs were splintered everywhere and didn't even have an even coloration.

The guards slowly closed in on Drew and as they did so they drew their swords that were in terrible condition.

"Just lay your weapons to rest if you know what's best for ya!" Another of the guards said with a hint of fear in his voice.

'Fear... I can feel it,'

Drew remained silent as he raised the scythes in front of himself in a menacing way.

The guard's tension increased at a noticeable rate.

'There is a slight shake in their posture and movements... they are not ready to fight,' Drew examined with a newfound analytical ability.

The guards looked at each other for a moment before nodding hesitantly.

They then took their first step forward.

Drew moved forward as his will commanded him to do so and he found that he moved far faster than he previously thought possible.

The guard on the left was his first target.

'He is drunk and is in the worst shape out of the three,' Drew concluded as he swept his scythes in a dual motion to cut the man off.

A look of fear and shock filled the middle-aged man's face before his left leg and right arm had heavy gashes in them.

'Why can I cut so easily?' Drew questioned himself as he realized he was much stronger than he ever was in his first life.

The drunkard's eyes opened wide in terror as he fell to the ground, blood following in a trail as he did so.

Drew felt nausea fill his mind for a moment before something pushed it away.

The other two guards strike at the moment the drunkard fell and at the moment that Drew was overextended.

The rusty blades swung in a downward arc and met purchase with Drew's left arm.

Pain filled Drew's mind but something stronger fought back as he systematically sliced with his right arm at the middle guard's throat.

It was a clean cut.

Drew felt the feeling of cutting through flesh and could feel blood splatter against his face and hands as blood began to gush out of the man like a fountain.

The man on the right looked at him and collapsed to the ground with fear and defeat filling his being.

Drew gritted his teeth as he felt the waves of pain fill him from his bleeding left arm. He quickly holstered his left Scythe as he wouldn't be able to use it in his state.

He then took down the alley into the open street and sprinted back towards the poorer side of the town.

[System Warning: User has lost a large amount of blood. Please heal your wound soon or death will be imminent!]

'Hmm,'

Drew continued his sprinting game until he came upon some dilapidated fields of grain that he had seen when walking towards the stone district.

He ran into the field and ran and ran until he could run no more.

The world seemed to be crawling to a slow.

He found himself on the floor of this dilapidated field, surrounded by tall stalks of golden wheat.

He stared at the sky and found that the sky itself seemed to begin to dull and turn to shades of grey and black.

Yet no panic filled Drew's mind. Instead, there was an eerie calm.

'I don't know anything about first aid and don't even know magic,'

'It would seem as if my second life is about to come to an abrupt end... weird,'

'It came so soon,'

The light began to dim further as Drew finally closed his eyes and allowed death to grip him.

-

Atun stood on the highest level of the temple.

He stared across the city that he served yet no smile could be seen on his face.

"Such an interesting turn of events," He muttered as he stared into the distance of the outer section of the town.

"At first a blessing appears but next it is snuffed out,"

"I suppose such is the luck of a Child of Oleander,"

Atun stared into the distance with a look of sadness that betrayed the order he placed on the new god-chosen child.

"If I had refused... It would have been betrayal in the eyes of Cardinal Folley,"

"And I cannot sacrifice my life so easily for another... Not with so much left to do," Atun said with a note of finality to his statement.

He tore his gaze away from the distance and put on a gentle expression once more.

"Such a pity..."

-

Light blossomed in front of Drew's sight as a strange sensation overwhelmed him.

[The System has detected that the host is in close proximity to death and has no means of saving himself. The System has entered 'Fight or Flight mode and has decided to enter a moment of sacrifice to save the host,]

[Randomly deciding a skill to sacrifice to turn into energy for the system to use...]

[Light Magic Mastery: LV: 1 has been selected. Energy converted is equal to 10% of the system's current maximum]

[6% energy is still required to save host]

[Useless Affinity has been found with the termination of Light Magic Mastery skill. Sacrificing Light Magic Affinity: Spark for an additional 10% energy addition]

[The System is at max energy levels! Auto upgrade commencing]

[Please choose a parameter to upgrade or introduce to the system out of the following list!]

Drew found that though he could witness the System's notifications he could not move and seemed to be in a state of simulated consciousness.

'Strange... It seems like this 'System' of mine is truly a life-saving gift... but why would a demon give me something like this?' Drew thought in a confused manner as he stared at the list of upgrades in front of him.

-

[Improved Data Base:] Allows the system more information on the world and better analytical capabilities as well as access to future upgrades such as [Map function] and [Data Collection Function]

[Skill Point System Function:] Allows the user to convert 25 Energy points into a single skill point that will allow the user to upgrade a skill by one level.

[Affinity Point System Function:] Allows the user to convert 50 Energy points into a single Affinity point that will allow the user to upgrade a skill by one level.

[Permanent Sacrifice Function:] This will permanently allow the user to sacrifice skills and affinities for system energy! And at the host's choice at that!

-

'Interesting... but how will these even save me from dying?' Drew thought in his mind as he looked over the options presented before him.

[The host will get a full refresh after a system upgrade occurs! Therefore the host's body will be fully restored to its pinnacle shape]

'Nice!' Drew thought with happiness obviously within his voice as he realized death was not on the table for him today.

'So... 4 options,' Drew thought as he moved his thoughts towards the choice in front of him.

'The first seems like a general upgrade towards the systems information capabilities,'

'This should increase its knowledge and its ability to help me in the upcoming days,'

'An overall good choice to make,'

'The next two seem pretty self-explaining,'

'They are useful skills but I have no way to gain energy for the system in a way that would make them meaningful and... another system upgrade could be better than wasting precious energy on skill and affinity points,'

'But the last one... could solve the previous two's issues,'

'It would provide a simple and efficient way to gain energy for the system and also for future system functions,'

'Though a sacrifice is quite substantial and could hurt my growth... it would still be worth it for an overall permanent upgrade for my abilities,'

'Therefore the [Permanant Sacrifice Function] would be the best choice,' Drew confirmed as he methodically looked at the upgrade paths before him.

'Then probably [Improved Data Base] and then other auxiliary choices,'

[Confirm Choice?]

[Yes] [No]

'Yes,'

[The [Permanant Sacrifice Function] has been permanently unlocked and the host has healed to perfection!]

After that simple statement from the system Drew was jerked awake with a sudden influx of energy that coursed through his body and mind.

He stared at the brightly lit sky and realized it was still morning.

'It seems mere moments had passed since I passed out,' Drew thought to himself as he felt unbound energy fill his body.

He stared at his body in amazement as a subtle electric pulse filled each and every muscle, causing a light massaging feeling to fill him and cause him to shiver in an uncontrollable manner.

'Damn this feels good!' was the last thought that filled him before he threw up everything he had eaten since he got here into the wheat field he stood in.