As the system fell silent, Skyler exhaled deeply and pressed his hand to his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heart.
It was calm, too calm to be exact, almost as if the agony he had experienced earlier was just a fragment of his imagination. A minute ticked by, then another. His hand trembled, and his eyes widened.
"Something's wrong..."
His words were followed by 505 startled words as the system, despite being told to shut up, flashed a screen before him.
("Host!! Check your Status!! Hurry!")
505 excitement was palpable, radiating in the air even without explicitly naming it.
Skyler was dazed, his mind reeling.
He had a hunch what was going on. How could he not, when it was his damn body? Yet, his brain refused to comprehend the sheer absurdity of the change in his body.
Swallowing, he let out a faint whisper.
"Status."
The familiar gray screen lit up before him, showing him his status. His eyes, now back to the familiar crystal-like blue hue, couldn't believe what they were seeing.
_______
Status:
Name: Skyler Ironhart
Elemental Affinity with:
1) Light: 4-star (Final stage)
2) Darkness: 5-star (Final stage)
3) Space: 0-star (Final stage)
4) Lightning: (Locked)
5) ???
Overall Strength:
5-star Novice (Final stage)
Potential: 10-star Adept
(Currently locked due to 'Special Spirit Constitution'. No further information.)
Class: None
Skills/Spells: (6)
System 505 Functions:
- System store: (Opened)
- System points: 910
Imagine pressing the words to:
- Enter 1st level of Battle Royal (In Use)
- Exit Battle Royal (Not available)
_______
Skyler rubbed his eyes a bit, but the sight before him remained unchanged. His mind was racing, trying to make sense of it all.
He already knew his potential was locked because of his Constitution.
He also knew that because of the same Constitution, he could unlock affinity with more elements over time. A power unique to him, perhaps in all of Eldoria.
But who could explain to him how the hell his Darkness element, the one he had just formed an elemental crystal for, had gone straight to the peak of 5-star? It had grown even stronger than his Light element!
"Is this also because of my Constitution?"
Skyler muttered softly to himself, his hand caressing his heart where he could feel the small dark crystal floating quietly. He asked the system, but it remained silent.
505 had already scoured the database but found no relevant information or records related to what had just transpired.
A smirk spread across Skyler's face.
"I guess the pain was somewhat worth it. Not that I want to go through that again."
He shuddered even recalling the pain.
"I would prefer a less painful way to get stronger. So, if what just happened is going to happen every time I form an elemental crystal, I need to be prepared."
505 agreed with him solemnly. It would be bad if its host died so early in their journey. The system failed to notice when Skyler's eyes narrowed in contemplation.
He wasn't an idiot to think that his sudden increase in strength was entirely due to his Constitution. There was something else at play. Something within him.
He closed his eyes, recalling the massive mirrors he had seen in his subconscious.
One mirror reflected a future of him where he possessed white eyes, while other reflected a future where he possessed dark eyes.
"Did the other me wake up too? The one I haven't found any information about yet?"
505 felt confused. It wanted to ask who had woken up, but missed the right time.
Skyler opened his eyes, pushing away the thoughts. He shouldn't waste time thinking and instead should focus on the present.
'I will find out everything eventually.'
Glancing at his status one final time, he was about to disperse it when his gaze landed on the number of points he had.
"505? What happened to my points??"
If he could grab the gray screen, he would have shaken it a few times with all his might.
"910 points?? How is it possible? Last I remember I had 1910 points!"
505 wanted to vanish but came clean.
("Um... Host, I bought you an Adapt tier healing potion a while back. It cost 1,000 points, but your life was more important, right? You can always earn more points!")
Skyler clenched his heart again. This time, he experienced a different kind of pain.
It was the pain of the harsh realization that 50% of his hard-earned points, the ones he had sweated and bled for, were gone!
("Host, are you okay?")
Skyler shot a glare in a random direction, successfully silencing the system. It could sense it had angered its host again, but it had no idea what it had done this time.
With a tired groan, Skyler dragged himself out of the tree cavity. His muscles felt stiff, likely due to the sudden strength boost he had received out of nowhere. He stretched a bit and then dusted his clothes.
"Let's try out the new element."
Holding out his hand, he channeled the Evol within his darkness element crystal to form an elemental bullet. He lacked any spells or skills for the darkness element, so this was the only way to test his power.
His eyes sparkled when he noticed how a dark-colored bullet formed above his palm. He could tell that it was way stronger than the bullets he formed with his light element.
"I need to test the new bullet, hehe!"
With a swift movement, he took out his handgun and rushed in a random direction.
For some reason, the atmosphere was very quiet in his vicinity. It took him more than ten minutes just to locate a monster.
The familiar sound of bullets being fired rang out in the air as he effortlessly killed a 5-star Root Eater. A satisfied smile lit up his face.
"Incredible! I can now take down a 5-star monster with just a few bullets."
His dark elemental crystal was far more potent than the light one, not just because it was stronger in terms of star rating, but also because it could inflict a lot more damage.
Skyler decided to utilize his dark Evol for the Physical Augmentation skill to enhance the power of his physical attacks. The light Evol was better for increasing speed, so he would use it to boost his agility.
Loading the handgun, he hummed. It was time to earn back the points lost due to that ridiculously expensive healing potion! If he had known its price beforehand, he would have sipped it bit by bit to make the most of it instead of gulping it down all at once!
"505, I know that you can't guide me towards the monsters anymore. Any way we can lure them toward me? Seems like we're stuck in a dead zone, and I am wasting all my stamina just trying to find them."
505 thought for a second. Skyler already knew that the monsters were attracted to noise and the smell of blood, especially the blood of their kind. But these methods only attracted a small number of monsters. Also, they were in a relatively safe area with few beasts. So, he was probably asking for a better method to lure more monsters.
("Host, I know a way. There is a monster attractant in the system shop. You can buy it and pour the liquid out. Its scent will attract a lot of monsters within a short time.")
Skyler raised a brow, then frowned.
"Tell me the price first."
("Host, it only costs 100 system points because no one buys it normally.")
505 wanted to add that no one was crazy enough, like its host, to buy such a thing, but decided it was best not to add those words.
"The price is reasonable. Buy one."
Skyler held out his hand, and a bottle of murky dark liquid dropped into it. He didn't immediately open it. Instead, he found a good hiding place above a tree nearby.
Only when he was certain no one could locate him did he open the bottle and pour a small amount of the liquid below. Within a minute, a few trolls arrived in the area.
He held his breath when 505 told him that one of them was a 9-star. Fantastic, he had failed to consider that the attractant's scent would also draw the stronger beasts!
Skyler wanted to bang his head against a wall for missing such an important detail, but now that he had already poured the liquid, there was no point in dwelling on it.
'I can do it! For more points! And more points means I can buy more gems! This is for the sake of something truly important!'
Taking out the familiar gray spear from his storage ring with a solemn expression, he used the Object Manipulation skill on it.
The spear flew in the opposite direction to distract the green trolls, who were drunk on the scent of the liquid he had poured. In an instant, the trolls rushed toward the sound.
Skyler moved and aimed the end of his handgun at the strongest troll, the 9-star one. He knew he was too weak to defeat it, but for some reason, after getting a boost of strength, his confidence had skyrocketed.
He fired multiple bullets at the same time. The tall troll who was attacked cried out, but when it suddenly snapped its head back and looked exactly at Skyler's location, both 505 and Skyler knew they had fucked up.