MERIT POINTS
"Hey, nurses! What the hell is going on over there?! Is the doctor okay? Why did he faint just as he was about to start the surgery?!" Asked one of the security personnel as he and his partner slowly stepped toward the bed that Alexander was on.
"Speaking of starting the surgery. Why is the donor awake? I thought the gas you gave him was supposed to knock him out. Did you not use enough or was it not as strong as it's supposed to be?" Asked the second security personnel.
One of the nurses paused from trying to help the doctor. She grimaced and then looked at the security personnel who asked the last question
"Awake? What do you mean the donor is awake? I administered the anesthetic myself and I made sure he was unconscious before taking it off—" the nurse with the name Julie on her uniform name tag said before she faced up and saw that Alexander was looking at what was happening beside his bed.
"Wait a minute. Is he awake? How is he awake?" Nurse Julie mumbled with an expression of utter shock.
While everyone around him still acted in panic and confusion, Alexander got another message from the system.
[THE GOD OF VENGEANCE IS PLEASED BY THE CHAOS YOUR FIRST SLOT SELECTION HAS CAUSED
REWARD: 10 MERIT POINTS
PLEASE USE WISELY]
Alexander grimaced and tilted his head in confusion.
'Merit points? What the hell are merit points and how does causing this ruckus warrant me getting something like that? And ten of them for that matter. Why ten? Wait, are ten merit points considered high or low?' He thought and then grunted.
'Hey, system! Tell me what merit points are' he asked, not knowing if the system would answer his question or not as it had never done so up to that point.
Granted, he had never asked a direct question to the system until now so there was only one way to find out if he could communicate with this strange system or not.
He waited for a response and within a split second, he got his reply.
[A MERIT POINT OR POINTS ARE A METRIC USED BY THE GODS TO SHOW THEIR SATISFACTION TOWARDS THE ACTIONS YOU HAVE TAKEN OR THE OUTCOME YOU HAVE CAUSED. THINK OF IT LIKE A BLESSING AND THE NUMBER OF MERIT POINTS YOU GET CAN BE CONVERTED INTO EITHER STATS FOR PROPERTIES POSSESSED OR MONEY]
This meant that Alexander could only increase the quality of the things he has Possessed and not the things he already had before the system was gifted to him. So, unless he used his slots to possess something like strength or speed from someone else, he couldn't convert the merit point to increase the strength or speed he had before receiving the system.
"Oh," Alexander said reflexively, and then a smirk crept onto his face "Sounds interesting"
[WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONVERT THE GIFTED MERIT POINTS INTO?
REMINDER, YOU ONLY HAVE VITALITY AS A POSSESSED ITEM SO THAT IS THE ONLY STAT TO BE INCREASED WITH MERIT POINTS IF USED]
"Umm—" Alexander said as he pondered on what to do with his gifted merit points. He didn't need more vitality, so, he thought about the only other option but then he was interrupted when one of the security personnel grabbed his arms.
"I have the donor and I'm going to make sure the straps are secured around his limbs like they used to be. Josh, you, and Nurse Rose should take the doctor out of the room and get him some help. While doing that, you should also find another doctor and bring them here to continue the surgery" Said Bob, the security personnel that pinned Alexander down.
"Alright, Bob. Be right back" Josh, the second security personnel replied as he was about to lift the doctor off the floor when…
'Instead of thinking about what to do with the merit points, I should find a way to get out of here' Alexander thought as he struggled with Bob's weight holding him down.
Not only that, the straps around his wrists and ankles were still a problem and he needed to free himself of them no matter what.
Luckily for him, he was now able to do the impossible and it was all thanks to the system.
'I still have two free slots left. Hey system! I know what I want my second possession to be. I want to possess strength!'
[SECOND SLOT FILLED. SEARCHING FOR NEARBY CANDIDATE(S) TO TAKE STRENGTH FROM… SEARCHING… CANDIDATES FOUND.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO POSSESS THE STRENGTH OF CANDIDATE NUMBER ONE(BOB MURRAY) OR CANDIDATE NUMBER TWO (JOSH SPRINGFIELD)?]
'Umm, I don't know which candidate is which' Alexander thought as he looked at both Bob and Josh.
'Can I pick both?' He asked.
[IF THAT IS YOUR WISH. THE COMBINED STRENGTH OF CANDIDATES BOB MURRAY AND JOSH SPRINGFIELD HAS BEEN POSSESSED BY MR. ALEXANDER CURRY.
ONE MORE FREE SLOT REMAINING. PLEASE USE WISELY]
Suddenly, Alexander who was surprised that with only one slot he could possess something from two people started to feel a surge of strength and power coursing through his entire veins and muscles.
With ease, he began resisting Bob's hold on him.
"What the hell? I'm being pushed back? But how? Where did the donor get this sudden burst of strength from? But most importantly, why do I feel so weak compared to just a second ag—?" Bob complained when suddenly he heard groaning from the floor.
When he looked, he saw that it was coming from Josh.
"What's the matter, Josh?" Bob asked.
"I don't know, Bob. For some reason, the doctor suddenly feels really heavy. One minute he was easy to pick up and now he weighs more than five bags of cement. I don't really know how to explain it but if I try to it's kind of like my strength just vanished and left me" With a confused face, Josh replied.
Meanwhile, Alexander whose newly possessed strength kept increasing by the second was about to free his arms from not just Bob's grip but also the strap around his wrists.
Bob saw that Alexander's legs were also rising and was about to force themselves free from the straps and as a result, panicked even more.
"Josh, leave trying to get help for the doctor a moment and come help me over here! I don't know why I can't hold someone so small down when I could do just that only a couple of minutes ago but if you don't help right now then he's going to escape!" Bob said hurriedly.
Josh left the doctor with Nurse Rose and Nurse Julie and then went to hold down Alexander's legs from forcing the strap around his ankles apart.
Sadly, just like Bob, he too struggled to do so.
Both security men used their body weight to try and keep Alexander down rather than using the strength of their muscles because, in actuality, they didn't have any anymore. Alexander had taken it for himself.
Because of the disadvantaged position he was in, Alexander found it hard fighting against both grown and how heavy their combined weight was on his body. However, if there was one thing the young man was good at, it was being quick to think on his feet.
'Hey system, I don't know how many strength stat points I would need to get these two off me so take as many merit points as you desire and convert them into stat points for my strength'
[AS YOU WISH, MR. ALEXANDER CURRY.
CALCULATING REQUIRED STRENGTH NEEDED TO BE FREED
CALCULATION DONE.
NOW ACCESSING MERIT POINTS
5 MERIT POINTS TAKEN AND CONVERTED INTO STAT POINTS
STAT POINTS ADDED TO STRENGTH
5 MERIT POINTS LEFT. PLEASE USE WISELY]
Immediately, Alexander felt an even greater surge in strength coursing through his body and he smirked.
"Sorry to break it to you idiots but you can't stop me from leaving this place. Not anymore" Alexander said, oozing an outstanding level of confidence as he drew Bob and Josh's attention to him.
They could feel his limbs vibrating, causing their entire bodies to shake, and then in a burst of energy akin to an eruption, he raised both arms and legs.
Like rag dolls, both Bob and Josh were flung off his body. They flipped over Alexander and the bed and then landed on the ground with their backs and tailbone, not being able to stand up due to a sprain.
Both nurses yelled and panicked while Alexander came down from the bed and looked at everything around him. This time, he could see the chaos properly and it put a smile on his face.
[THE GOD OF VENGEANCE IS PLEASED WITH THE CHAOS CAUSED BY YOUR SEARCH FOR FREEDOM
REWARD: 5 MERIT POINTS
PLEASE USE WISELY]
[THE GOD OF POSSESSION IS IMPRESSED BY YUIR GREED TO TAKE THE STRENGTH OF BOTH CANDIDATES INSTEAD OF ONE
REWARD: 20 MERIT POINTS
PLEASE USE WISELY]