Chapter 260: May fortune smile upon you
Elion’s eyes snapped open as he took in a sharp breath, sitting up a bit too quickly as his body reacted on instinct, because the last thing he remembered was not exactly a safe situation, and so his mind woke up in that same tense and alert state.
He was ready to react to any danger around him, but after a couple of seconds, his thoughts caught up with his memories, and he slowly realised that the system had actually succeeded in teleporting him away from that mess.
His breathing gradually slowed down as the tension left his body, though he did not lie back down and instead remained seated on the ground, steadying himself briefly before turning his attention inward.
’System?’
He called out mentally, but there was no response.
When he called out again, ’System.’
There was still nothing, which made him frown slightly as a bit of annoyance crept into his thoughts. After all, this was not the first time the system had gone quiet on him.
Still, considering everything that had happened, and now this... something about this particular ghosting felt different.
Usually, when the system ignored him on purpose, he could still feel it there in some way, like a faint presence in his mind, almost like a light hum in the background, as if it was simply choosing not to answer.
But this time, there was nothing at all; his mind felt too quiet, almost empty, and that silence made him uncomfortable in a way he did not like.
He let out a small sigh and shook his head slightly, deciding not to dwell on it for now, "No matter," he muttered under his breath, before calling out, "Status."
The familiar panel flickered into view at the edge of his vision, clear and stable, and he couldn’t help but smile a little when he saw it, at least that was still working, and even though he had only called it out to check if it was functioning properly, now that it was already there, he figured he might as well take the opportunity to see what had changed.
His blue eyes moved across the familiar panel as it hovered in his vision, taking in every detail slowly as he read through it, letting the changes settle in his mind.
{[Status]}
[Name: Elion Nova]
[Age: 19]
[Race: Human / Incubus Hybrid]
[Talent: White Grade]
{[Classes]}
• (Water Mage)(Earth Mage)(Fire Mage)(Illusion Mage)(Blood Mage) {[Advanced Rank]}
{[Hidden Affinities]}
• Time Magic – ???
{[Weapon Classes]}
• Swordsman – Advanced Mastery
• Lancer - Basic Mastery
[Level: 41 → 42 (145 / 42 000 XP)]
[Strength: 386 → 399]
[Agility: 366 → 380]
[Speed: 350 → 366]
[Vitality: 1050]
[Stamina: 1050]
[Intelligence: 410 → 415]
[Mana: 366 → 377]
[Will: 230 → 300]
[Charm: 1000 / 10 000]
[Perception: 200 → 300 / 1000]
{[Mage Skills]}
[Water Bullet – Lv2] [Water Blade – Lv1] [Tidal Wave – Lv2] [Frost Edge – Lv3] [Ocean Pulse] [Stone Bullet – Lv2] [Earth Wall – Lv2] [Tremor – Lv1] [Terror Shield – Lv2] [Sinkhole – Lv2] [Quake Step – Lv3] [Earth King’s Guard – Lv4] [Encasement Wall – Lv1] [Stone Fist – Lv2] [Fireball – Lv2] [Flame Wheel – Lv2] [Hell Flare – Lv2] [Flashbang – Lv1] [Flaming Fist – Lv1] [Rain of Flames – Lv2] [Blazing Rush – Lv3] [Crimson Surge – Lv4] [Mirage – Lv1] [Life Drain – Lv2] [Telepathy – Lv3] [Shapeshifter – Lv3] [Blood Chains – Lv2] [Marionette – Lv4] [Coagulate – Lv3]
{[Sword Skills]}
[Footwork][Slash][Thrust][Parry][Flowing Edge]
[Piercing Fang] [Perfect Parry] [Dead Angle Strike]
[Mountain Splitting Slash] [Phantom Blade] [Starfall Requiem – Lv1]
{[Unique Skills]}
[Sinful Touch – Divine] [Mind Control – Divine] [Harem Seal – Divine]
[Irresistible Charm – Divine] [Discerning Eye – Divine Lv2]
[Enhanced Cognition – Lv2] [Poison Immunity] [Love Meter]
[Sword Mastery] [Ailment Immunity] [Golden Seed - Divine]
[Photographic Memory - Lv1] [Presence Lv1 (New)*]
{[Permanent Partners]} [Aria] [Mira] [Esmeralda] [Ophelia] [Celeste]
{[Temporary Partners]} [Beatrice]
[System Points: 5000]
[System Store Tab]
[Storage – Common grade sword X2, Spare clothes X2]
[Wallet: (50 Gold) (75 Silvers)]
Elion let out a slow sigh as he finished reading through it, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he leaned back just a bit, letting the panel hover there for a moment longer before reacting.
He really had lost his points.
Well... not all of them.
Five thousand still remained, and while that was not a small amount, it still felt like nothing compared to what he used to have, and he could not help but think back to when he had over two hundred thousand points just sitting there, ready to be used whenever he wanted, and now that felt like something from a different life.
The good old times.
Maybe the system had taken pity on him and decided to spare him a few points in case of an emergency?
The worst part was not even the points themselves; it was the fact that Esme and Ophelia were not here, which meant no easy way to farm them back, and if he was right about where he was, then that was not going to change anytime soon.
If this really was some sort of trial, then he was walking blind, because he had no idea what the rules were, what he was supposed to do, or how long he would be stuck here.
He noticed the level up again, but it did not feel as impactful since it had already happened earlier, though his stats had clearly gone up, especially his will, which had jumped quite a bit compared to last time, and he still did not understand why, since the system had never explained what exactly affected that stat.
His storage looked exactly as expected.
Which made it worse.
"...Damn," he muttered quietly.
He had just gotten a rare grade sword.
And now it was gone.
Yup, he hadn’t exactly had time to pick it up after getting struck out of nowhere.
Just thinking about it made his jaw tighten as the memory resurfaced. The way everything had played out still did not sit right with him at all.
’How the hell did they find out...’
It was not like their claims had been completely wrong. Sure, they were exaggerating and twisting things, but the core truth was still there, and that alone had been enough to put him in a position where staying would have been a gamble he was not willing to take.
Maybe the duke had just been throwing shots in the dark and somehow happened to hit the mark.
He would never know unless he asked the man himself.
But what annoyed him more was Maximus. The old man had hesitated a bit, as if torn between antagonizing Dawncrest or backing him up instead.
And if Elion was right, it was not because he cared about him, but because he cared about something else entirely.
The origin core.
That was probably why he had tried to push that contract onto him.
Elion scoffed lightly.
He had not even bothered reading the terms. Maybe it would not have been as bad as he thought.
Maybe it would not have been a ’slave contract’ as he had called it.
But there was no way in hell he was signing something like that.
Not then.
Not ever.
At least now he understood something clearly.
This world was full of opportunistic bastards who only chased benefits.
He engraved that thought into his mind.
Never trust anyone just because.
You have no one to rely on but yourself.
...Well.
Maybe not entirely. Maybe he now had a few people that he could somewhat count on.
The goddess.
Mira.
Celeste.
Esme.
Ophelia.
...Aria.
He let out a small laugh.
The list kept growing.
And when he really thought about it, he had more people he cared about now than he had ever expected to.
That realization brought a faint smile to his face. There was a time he had given up on happiness.
And now... he had people he could call family.
Though—
"They’re all women..." he muttered.
He swung his fist lightly.
"...Damn this bloodline."
Yes.
He blamed the incubus bloodline.
Even though it brought him nothing but trouble these days.
His eyes finally moved to the last few noticeable changes in his status. The base stat of his perception had also received a big jump, and he had acquired a new skill.
[Presence Lv 1]
He activated it without hesitation, and the moment he did, the air around him grew heavier, a subtle pressure spreading outward from his body, confirming what he had expected.
"...I see," he muttered.
His will had also increased a lot this time, unlike his last few level-ups, but the reason was still unclear, and without the system explaining anything, he could only leave it as a mystery for now.
Other than that, there were no other major changes. He dismissed the panel with a thought, and it faded from his vision.
Only then did he finally lift his head and properly look at his surroundings.
He spread his perception out wide the moment he dismissed the panel, letting his senses expand in all directions as he took in everything around him.
The first thing he noticed was that he was standing in a clearing in what looked like a dense forest. He didn’t sense any lifeforms nearby, which at the very least meant that he was not in any immediate danger, and that alone made him relax just a little.
The trees surrounding him were massive, towering far above him like ancient pillars, their thick trunks stretching upward into a dense canopy that covered most of the sky, casting a wide shadow over the clearing
Though even through that cover, he could clearly tell that it was daytime, because bright rays of sunlight pierced through the gaps in the leaves of the canopy, falling down in slanted beams that illuminated patches of the ground in a soft, almost surreal glow.
He slowly turned in a full circle, his eyes scanning everything while his perception continued to probe outward, trying to get a better understanding of the terrain, mapping out the area in his mind, noting the positions of the trees.
He noted the density of the forest beyond the clearing and any signs of movement or hidden danger, but for the moment, everything seemed calm.
He sighed, "Looks like I’m safe for the moment." At least the trial knew better than to throw him straight into the frying pan.
But, it seems he had spoken too soon.
The light began to fade. Elion paused and looked up.
"...Hmm," he muttered quietly, narrowing his eyes slightly as he stared at the sky above the canopy, "is it getting cloudy...?"
The bright sunlight was slowly fading away from the skies, so it had to be.
But what met his gaze shook him to the core.
The sky was not darkening because of clouds.
It was burning.
"...What..."
"...The..."
"...Fuck...?"
Hundreds, no, thousands of flaming projectiles tore through the sky, streaking downward like a meteor shower, each one blazing with intense heat as they descended toward the forest, the air itself seeming to distort from the sheer number of spells falling from above.
It looked like fire was raining down from the heavens.
And as if that was not enough, the sky itself seemed to deepen in color, darkening unnaturally as the flames painted everything in shades of orange and red, turning the once calm clearing into something apocalyptic in an instant.
And then countless layered voices echoed from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
[Welcome... to the Primordial Bloodlines Trialm Aspirant...]
[This is your first trial... The first of three.]
[First objective identified...]
[Survive...]
[Failure will result in immediate death.]
[May fortune... smile upon you...]
Elion stood there for a split second. Then reality caught up.
It seems he was just about to get fried. Literally.