22. Unlocking Abilities

Mai hurried to get to work, but when she arrived at the library, it lay in ruins. Many people were present, busy cleaning up, and cranes assisted in moving heavy objects.

She furrowed her brows. "What in the world happened here?"

She approached the nearest person, an elderly woman named Liselotte, who had worked at the library for many years. 

"Where is Flint?" she asked.

Liselotte looked up at her, furrowing her brows and shaking her head. "Haven't you heard? Creatures rampaged through the library yesterday, and Flint passed away."

Mai felt a small stab in her heart and sighed deeply. 

Liselotte's eyes fell on her forehead. "What happened to you?"

"I hit my head. I was also attacked by creatures," Mai lied, touching her forehead. "but I was saved by someone." she added and smiled.

She said goodbye to Liselotte, and before leaving, she glanced back one last time at the library and sighed. The books were the only things she felt connected to that still made her human. Was it a sign that she should move on? She took out Liam's business card and furrowed her brows.

"Is this karma because I rejected him?"

Mai stood in front of the Roedovre police station, now a white rectangular marble temple with broad columns. 

When she entered, she asked the first person she saw, a woman sitting at a counter, "Is Liam here?"

The woman looked up, furrowing her brows. "Are you referring to Lord Liam? Do you have an appointment with him?"

Mai shook her head. "No, I just wanted to talk to him."

The woman scolded her immediately. "You can't talk to him without an appointment, and he's not part of our department."

"Okay, but if you see him, tell him a woman inquired about him," Mai commented, turning around. "I don't want to waste any more time here."

"There are hundreds of women asking about him every day." the woman commented with a cold voice.

At the entrance, Mai was suddenly stopped by a familiar voice. "Mai, what are you doing here?"

She turned around and saw Liam standing with a woman with medium-length blonde hair and a young man with short red hair. They all wore black cloaks, and the woman stared intensely at Mai, narrowing her eyes.

Mai looked at the woman at the counter, who raised her eyebrows and lost her composure. She broke into a smile, suddenly getting an idea, and walked up to Liam, staring deep into his eyes.

"I tried to ask about you, but she scolded me instead. I didn't think the police were so rude." she said with an innocent voice, casting a glance at the woman at the counter who swallowed hard.

Liam walked up to the counter, his eyes seemingly glowing. 

"You are hereby dismissed. I'll speak with your boss later. It's time for you to find another job." His voice was piercingly cold.

"My lord..." the woman started with a nervous voice, but Liam shook his head, turned around, and walked toward Mai.

"That's taken care of." his voice was gentle, and he gave her a charming smile.

Mai cleared her throat and mumbled, "You didn't have to fire her, but she was really rude."

Liam quickly changed the subject. "Are you feeling better?"

"I..." Before Mai could answer, she was interrupted by the woman with blonde hair.

"Who are you?" Her voice was cold with a threatening undertone.

Mai studied her again and admitted that she was beautiful. "I'm just an acquaintance."

"Have you changed your mind?" Liam asked.

Mai quickly explained her situation, and luckily, the police were short-staffed due to too many cases involving soul-sucking creatures. She expressed that she didn't want to investigate murder cases as she was afraid of seeing a corpse.

The woman with blonde hair gave her a sharp look. "Do you think you can just get a job like that?"

Mai shook her head. "No, I'm not that foolish."

"Okay, you're hired," Liam said, chuckling.

The woman with blonde hair protested, "Liam, if everyone could get a job in the police, money would grow on trees."

Liam gave her a sharp look and furrowed his brows. "Didn't you get yours because your father is in the government? What's the difference?"

Mai was quickly introduced to the two individuals. The woman's name turned out to be Lira, and the man's name was Hans. They belonged to the government, not a Spirit Temple, and both were S-class.

She exchanged numbers with Liam so they could contact each other, and even though she strongly expressed her reluctance to handle murder cases, she was still afraid he might assign her those cases. He just stood there, smiling, and nodding at her words, making her suddenly doubt if he had listened properly.

"I'll contact you when we have small cases." he said, and she went home.

In the following days, Mai sought Waves.

She stood in Nakskov amidst a large gathering fighting small blue furballs with red eyes. 

She looked at her hands and furrowed her brows.

"I haven't gained more skill points, and I haven't leveled up yet. What am I doing wrong?"

She had managed to complete her daily quest, but the system hadn't rewarded her, and she felt it was a waste of time. Besides, she got a severe headache every time, although it wasn't as bad as before. She looked at the Wave, which lacked a dome.

Something strange had happened to the Waves. Some had domes, while others didn't, causing chaos in the world. The figure with the army she had encountered in Marbella was nowhere to be seen, but the world was still plagued by soul-eating creatures now named Soul Suckers. 

Temples overflowed with bodies, and when they ran out of space, they had to "dump" them into mass graves. It sparked many debates, and the forums exploded with activity. Some believed the plague episode was about to repeat itself, while others thought it was the final doomsday. There was even a cult calling themselves "The Dark Force," claiming the world needed to end before it could be reborn, and everyone would be born with divine powers and live eternally.

Goddess Elaria, along with her disciple Celestia, strengthened their name by establishing shelters for the surplus bodies, preserving them until a solution was found to bring their souls back. Because of this, they were hailed as true merciful goddesses. It was precisely the hope the population needed right now, so Mai couldn't criticize the women even though she despised them. She was born the year the plague came to the world and had only seen it on TV and read about it. What was happening now reminded her a lot of it.

One morning, she sat and looked at her hands, furrowing her brows.

Lvl: 1

 "How can I level up? The monsters I kill don't seem to work like in games."

Skills: 

Status Recovery 

Slave: You can make another being obey you. 

Spirit Drain: Cooldown 3 days 

Predator Quest: Eliminate 5 humans. 

Warning: There will be severe consequences for failing the task... A kiss with the opponent.

She hadn't completed her Predator quest yet.

"How do I kill one? My Spirit Drain still has 3 more days until I can use it."

The skill was her only offensive, and she hadn't gained any more abilities, and her stats hadn't changed. Well, not entirely true. Her fists could hit, but only to a certain extent.

"It's better than nothing. Healers usually can only heal, besides throwing a few shields."

Unfortunately, Mai couldn't do the same. Her forehead suddenly began to tingle, and she massaged it. The wound had healed neatly and disappeared as if there had been nothing there in the first place.

*Ping*

She was reminded of the Daily Quest and chose to skip it since it hadn't given her anything for several days, which had irritated her. 

"Maybe I'll handle you tomorrow if you give me something good." 

*Ping*

Her heart skipped a beat. 

"Have you listened to me?"

 Unfortunately, it turned out to be her phone. 

Liam: "There's a Wave nearby suspected to be a Soul Sucker. Do you have time? If not, you make time for me :3" 

Mai furrowed her brows. "Man, really? I don't have a choice, do I?" 

She was reminded of the woman who got fired and snorted, casting a glance at Kenta, who lay on the couch with closed eyes. "If you ever become a man, never use him as an example." 

Mai: "I'm on my way. I assume it's the police station?" 

Liam: "Come at 10." 

There was an hour until 10 am, so there was plenty of time. She checked the Essence forum again to see if the person who had experienced death had replied to her, but unfortunately, there were no messages.

"Why is he ignoring me? He sounded so eager in his thread." She sighed deeply.

Mai skimmed through the latest topics and noticed everyone eagerly discussing the mysterious person with the charred face, now named "Mysterious Charred Hero."

"They could at least give me a heroic name like the creature killer or something."

She became curious and read some of the comments since she might as well use her time for something sensible.

"Who is that chick? Why is she so close to God Ezekiel?" 

"No one should approach Prince Victor. He's untouchable." 

"My beloved Elijah has been tainted by a charred chick." 

"Where's Prince Liam? I heard that God Ezekiel was supposed to be on a date with Lord Liam. Kyah" 

"Where is that black swine? How dare he be close to Goddess Vira!"

Mai furrowed her brows. "What the hell! They should be worrying about losing their souls instead."

PART II

She wanted to read about magical creatures from the Netherworld, but unfortunately, there was no information about them. She was suddenly reminded of Ezekiel's knowledge and quickly sent a message to Victor.

Mai: "Uhm, how does Ezekiel know so much about the Netherworld? Is it possible for him to share that info?"

She didn't want to waste the day on nothing and planned to further explore her system. 

She took a walk alone towards the lake park, covered in a thick layer of snow. The weather was freezing, and her breath was visible, resembling thick smoke. As she looked at the meadow, she was reminded of the day Liam had saved her. There were few dog owners, and it didn't surprise her.

"Everything has happened so fast. I'm still confused about everything." she mumbled.

When she reached where the row of trees began, she spotted a large, fat dead rat with its intestines hanging out. Next to it lay a headless fat pigeon without blood.

She furrowed her brows. "What in the world. Did a fox have a good time?"

*Snap*

She stepped on a branch that broke loudly. She stared down at the rat and the pigeon and suddenly felt a strange sensation in her stomach. She hated rats and pigeons, but they shouldn't be left out, as it could attract other animals. She took out a doggy bag and covered the rat. When she felt its soft body, she sensed a disgusting feeling on her hands. She looked away and gently squeezed the rat, afraid the bag would tear.

"So gross, but everyone else ignores them."

Suddenly, she felt a warm stream shoot out of her hand, and her heart skipped a beat. What the hell?!

*Ping*

You have absorbed Essence. 

You have activated Rodent Resilience. You can neutralize and resist poison. 

"What? It wasn't dead?"

She certainly hadn't revived it. Suddenly, she felt the rat start to move.

*Squeak*

Startled, she pulled her hand back and saw a lively rat without guts and blood.

She furrowed her brows. "What's going on?"

*Ping*

You have leveled up. 

"I leveled up! Finally!" Her heart pounded, and her temples throbbed.

Rat Friendliness +1

Suddenly, the rat ran to her feet and began rubbing against her legs. Startled, she kicked at it and took a step back, but it came running back, rubbing against her shoes.

"You carry diseases. Go away." She yelled and kicked again, hitting it this time.

"Why is she talking to a rat? She's so weird." commented a man walking with his wife as they watched her.

The rat came rushing back but stopped at her foot, looking up at her with large begging dog-like eyes.

Mai furrowed her brows. "Stop that."

*Squeak*

She grunted and looked at her hand, then back at the rat, deciding to compromise with it.

"Fine but keep a long distance."

She bent down and held her hand over the dead pigeon.

*Ping*

You have absorbed Essence. 

You have leveled up. 

Pigeon Friendliness +1.

You have activated Weather Sensing. You can predict the weather.

Mai grunted. "I don't need to predict the weather. What a crappy skill."

The pigeon flapped its wings and flew towards her face, prompting her to automatically swipe at it.

"Go away. I already have an annoying rat."

*Coo-coo*

The pigeon flew over her head, and she thought it would fly away.

*Bump*

It perched and made itself comfortable on her head.

"Seriously?" She sighed deeply and gave up. "I can't speak animal language, but you gave me skills, so I can't really complain."

*Squeak*

*Coo-coo*

She looked at her hands and around the meadow, suddenly getting an idea but quickly pushed it away, shaking her head.

"I can't waste my time searching for dead animals. The question is whether it also works on just wounded animals."

In the living room, Kenta stared at the rat glued to Mai's left foot and the pigeon sitting on her head.

*Bark*

"Don't eat them, or you can if you're hungry." said Mai.

*Squeak*

The rat ran behind her foot and hid.

*Coo-coo*

The pigeon took off and landed on the high table.

"No, that's where my food is," scolded Mai, hurrying to remove her plate.

She gave the pigeon a sharp look. "if you're going to live here, you must not mess or eat anything without permission. If I find out you've infected me, I'll send you to Lord Hell."

*Coo-coo*

*Squeak*

*Woof*

She looked at Kenta, who jumped onto the sofa and curled up into a ball.

She furrowed her brows. "Really? You just accept them like that?"

She quickly got ready and glanced at the animals one last time.

"It's better than ending up with a bunch of angry, screaming cats pissing and shitting everywhere."