Which of both is the fake?

At this information, Devon sighs in relief somehow.

'So this lake wasn't without danger after all.'

Remembering his master's reckless actions which were freely swimming in that lake, a cold draft runs through his body.

He soon realizes how challenging his new life will be from now on.

'Can I really survive in this world?' He wonders as he stares at Mystic who now seems to take a moon-bath under the moonlight.

Everything was so disturbing to him like the consequences of a choice he cannot explain.

'That girl almost killed us because of her recklessness.' He gets troubled by her nonchalance. 

Since he didn't know yet what level of strength Mystic had, he couldn't tell if she was just being confident or just plain ignorant.

Above all, he was relieved to see her come out of the lake safely.

Even though the system didn't say too much, the texts of the grimoire were still freshly engraved in his mind.

Although he runs no risk, his pseudo-immortality is linked to his contractor's life. 

To simplify things, his master's death can also sign his end.

However, now that the worst is behind, Devon could only swear to be more cautious in the future before taking the next step.

Like a child learning to walk for the first time, Devon limped ahead at the lake. 

He then holds out his hand in front of him once at the edge of the lake and concentrates.

Although it was the very first time he tried to cast a spell, he knew what he had to do, as if it was etched deep in his soul.

He could not explain this feeling, like a gosling taking flight for the first time, he also knew what he had to do to activate his only skill.

At the same time and completely unpredictably, a black sphere begins to channel in front of his palm.

It was as if there was a black hole floating before his palm that sucked in the surrounding energy to form a ball of darkness-like black energy.

In half a second, the sphere grows to the size of a basketball, surprising even Devon who's the caster.

Finally feeling ready, he lowers his hand, aims, and shoots the lake with the black sphere like a bullet! 

To his surprise, his sphere did not explode in contact with the water but made its way to the depth under the lake.

On contact with the ground,

-BOOM!!!

Like an undersea mine, a deafening explosion made the ground shake slightly, turning the peaceful waves of the lake to fierce.

The deafening noise startled Mystic who was lounging near the lake and no longer paying attention to Devon's actions.

But when she saw the creatures living in the lake lifelessly pop up above, and the clear lake's tint turning blackish and stench-like sh*t, she lost her words. 

Her mouth remained wide open for a long time while thousands of stars twinkled in her crimson pupils.

'Wh...What the hell is this guy!?' 

Her face paled with fear as she tried to apprehend the situation.

Rather than her naive excitement, or her twisted joy every time she saw her soul beast display its unique traits, she felt something else this time. 

'Is it really safe to be alone with him?' 

For the first time ever, that hectic thought crossed her mind. 

Although it is very rare, it happens that some guardian beasts kill their masters just cuz they are too weak. 

She was not naive enough to ignore that her beast's spiritual energy exceeded her own. 

But the fact that Devon only had one skill that was also a level one had reassured her somehow.

'Why did it suddenly become dramatic when I should be happy to see it so powerful?' She thought for a second.

Driven by curiosity, she hopped to her feet and trotted towards Devon.

She stopped just a meter next to him, to better contemplate the scene.

'...This skill is more powerful than I thought. With a single blast, I almost wipe out all the fishes.' 

Devon wanted to laugh out loud as he simultaneously contemplated both scenes that occurred instantly before his eyes. 

One was the effects of his skill, and the other... the dozens of announcements from his system that kept appearing before his eyes.

[Double kill! You've killed two Golden Mutated Fish Caps (Llv01). You've earned 02 evolution points.]

[Combo x2! 

[Combo x4!

[...

It was such a pleasant sight to him that he didn't notice Mystic frowning at him.

[You've leveled up!]

Devon was taken by surprise when he caught sight of these words directly in front of him and the new sensation that accompanied them.

Even though it was minuscule, he could somehow feel his body becoming lighter as if he was freeing himself from a weight that was always pulling him down.

At that moment, Mystic could also notice a faint black halo rising above Devon's body.

Up till now, she never shows such surprise on her face. Her pupils trembled as if they were seized by a fit of madness.

"Huh!? Wai...Wait! Did you just level up!? Just like that!?" She was like a rabbit hopping towards her grimoire which she picked it up with lightning speed. 

She then came back to Devon's side while vulgarly flipping through the pages before stopping on the fourth page. 

Then, her eyes widened as she swallowed nervously as if she was going to die of thirst.

"S-seriously? It just leveled up! How is that even possible? Above all... How the hell did it manage to succeed without my help though?" 

However, she was not yet at the end of her surprise. 

Right after the special effects on Devon's body, it was her turn to be rewarded, even though she had done nothing to deserve it.

The next second, she felt a surge of adrenaline in her veins as a beam of light similar to Devon's took over her body as well.

She jumped in surprise, almost throwing her book away as she stared at her body in amazement.

"I... could it be that I also... leveled up?!" She had a hard time saying those words, much more than believing what she was saying.

As she held her breath, she directly turned back the page to have confirmation.

"I-Impossible!" She yelled one more time!

Devon didn't need to see the contents of her grimoire to understand what was happening.

'So this is how my blessing works? It seems to guarantee the same gains that I reap for my master.' He began to think once more to take note of everything that was happening before his eyes.

[Not quite, although the host's master also receives gains, it is only fifty percent.]

'...I don't get it. She merely leveled up like me. How can that be considered half of the winnings I've collected?'

[...]

For the first time, Devon didn't get a response from his system.

But he didn't feel irritated by it.

'That's actually good news; the stronger she is, the safer I'll feel.' He concluded.

To make sure everything was fine, he used his appraisal eyes on Mystic.

-STATS-

[Host's Master: Mystic Shadow(Lvl 02).]

[Lifespan: 16/250 years.]

[Espèce: Mutated human.]

[Class: Shadow necromancer.]

[Spiritual energy: 15->18.]

[Body strength: 49->51.]

[Combat power: 64->69.]

[XP: 03%]

-

Skills: 

-Arise (Lvl 01)

-Shadow blessing (Lvl 01).

-Tamer (Level 01).

..

'...After leveling up, her spiritual energy and body strength also increased. Hmm, her combat power also pretty well increased.' He muttered.

Without lingering too long, he also tried to take a look at his own statistics.

'System, can you display my stats without me needing to stare at my reflection?'

He then asked.

--STATS--

[Host: Devon Cradle (Lvl 02).]

[Lifespan: 71/72h.]

[Race: Undead skeleton]

[Classe: none.]

[Spiritual energy: 50->55.]

[Body strength: 15->20.]

[Combat power: 65->75.]

[XP: 70%] - [EP: 25]

--

[INNER ABILITIES: Death's blessing (Lvl01).]

1- Herald of death. 

2- Grim Reaper.

3- Appraisal eyes.

Skills: Dark energy (Lvl01).

--

'Okay, I understand what the system meant by talking about the percentages between our gains.' 

After some comparative analysis between their gains, Devon told inwardly. 

Although both received roughly the same experience points, Devon was more privileged than Mystic in terms of their stats. 

He received ten additional points in his stats while Mystic only received half of that.

'No wonder my beam lasted a second longer than her when she leveled up.' He knowledgeably nods.

But, before he sets up all things, Mystic thwarts his plans by opening the first blank but red page of her grimoire towards him.

Devon stares at her strange actions with perplexity.

'...What is she planning to...!!

Before he ever finished, his senses all went on alert when he saw a black sphere similar to a black hole manifest in front of the first red-brown page of the grimoire.

The mere sight of that portal made him step back as he followed his very first instincts. He looked at it warily.

'What's suddenly up with that insane one?'

For some reason, the small black spherical portal, about half the size of a basketball, gave him a feeling that was both unsettling and haunting.

This feeling of insecurity mixed with a kind of obsession attracted him like a magnet—Although dangerous, something stronger than he couldn't explain with mere words pushed him to ahead at it.

He was unable to think clearly, nor look away. He stood there staring at the portal as if he were hypnotized by its mysterious dazzling effects.

"Heh heh heh, even though you can't show any expression with that face, I can still feel your agitation. But it's too late to struggle." 

Her personality completely changes as she says those words with a sly smile on her lips. 

Instead of the naive girl who gets excited about whatever, it was like she had just been possessed by a sly demon. 

Which of the two was the real one? Devon struggled to connect the two here. 

But one thing was for sure for him.

As the portal of the grimoire gradually swallowed him, plunging him into the darkness he had seen just before his awakening, a thought crossed his mind. 

'She trapped me.' 

Even if he didn't yet know what awaited him at the portal's other side, the feeling of unease he currently felt was more than enough of an answer.