Chapter 46: Level Up
I had zero BP. The ground beneath me was frozen. I was at least 100 feet in the air. There was literally nothing I could do.
I was going to die.
As I fell to my death, I closed my eyes. No point in having them open when I die.
100 feet…
50…
25…
10…
5..
1…
[Alert: Overwhelming environmental manipulation detected.]
[Experience Points (XP) threshold reached.]
[Level Up!]
[HP and BP fully restored.]
A gust of wind blew from under me. I landed awkwardly on the ice, sliding a couple of feet. The level up had saved my life.
I got up and looked around. The stage was still frozen. I went over to the control panel and hit reset.
Everything returned to normal. The fiery stage was back. I smiled. I knew exactly what I had to do now.
I spent the next week freezing everything and anything. A Construct. Dragon. Waterfall. Whatever crossed my path got frozen.
When two Constructs rushed me with fire bullets, I froze the bullets, hands and Constructs in place.
A dragon dove at me while I was fighting constructs and I responded by freezing everything in the surrounding area.
By the seventh day, I was skating down waterfalls and making ice sculptures. After the tenth one, I got the notification I was looking for.
[System Recognition Achieved.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Freeze (Level 1)]
[Skill: Freeze (Level 1)]
Type: Active/Passive Toggle
Description: Instantly freezes an area to absolute zero. Does not require manual temperature calculation. Area of effect spell.
Cost: 5 BP per activation.
This was the Jungle killer. Before a barrier could be cast the entire area would be frozen, the person included. If Chloe tried anything at the graduation, I had a Helmet and eye drops for her.
All of my bases were covered. I felt good and strong.
I checked my status.
Name: Shay Fawn
Age: 19
Level: 51
Title: [Opportunist]
Blessing: Master of the Elements (S-Tier)
HP (Health Points): 1,100
BP (Blessing Points): 295
Attributes:
Strength: 45
Agility: 46
Constitution: 45
Intelligence: 38 + 5
Wisdom: 59
Charisma: 45
Specializations: None
Skills: Burn (LVL 15), Freeze (LVL 1)
Spells: Wings (LVL 15)
Bank Account: $294,124
Rank: Unranked
Items:[Blue Eye Drops: +5 Intelligence and enhanced focus], [Helmet of the Crusader: 20% Mental Resistance]
Unallocated Attribute Points: 5
I put the 5 attribute points into Constitution. My body needed as much protection as possible. With that, my goals before graduation were achieved. I no longer needed to worry. I could spend the next couple of weeks playing video games and watching movies.
Three weeks passed and Chloe’s graduation was right around the corner. I left my house a total of 4 times during the entire time. Today was the fifth.
I headed to the convenience store to pick up some items that room service did not have. When I arrived, the store was mostly empty. It was nighttime. I shuffled around the store quietly looking for what I needed.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
After some time, I found what I was looking for and checked out. I remembered those days. Sitting behind the cash register. Living paycheck to paycheck. That was hell. Everytime I got annoyed with my current job I always remembered my old one.
I began the walk back home. The night air was much warmer than usual. I rounded the corner and headed down an alleyway.
Suddenly, the air started to warp. The air got infinitely more warm. My vision became blurry.
Chloe.
She was nearby and trying to cast an illusion on me. However, my new gear was resisting her. Usually, when she casted her illusions it was instant. You could not see reality distort like this. That’s how I knew that the gear was working.
However, I also knew that regardless of gear Chloe is a level 99 top tier illusionist. Nothing, not even MTX gear could stop her illusions. Luckily, that was never the point. I wasn’t trying to stop her illusions. My goal was merely to slow them down.
Freeze.
The entire alleyway froze. The distortion stopped. My vision returned to normal. I was no longer hot.
“Ahh! Get this off of me!” a voice screamed.
I turned around. It was Chloe. Half her body was frozen.
“Chloe!” I said with a smile. “What are you doing here?”
Chloe sneered at me. “What the hell was that? Knock it off bastard! Unfreeze me now!”
I dropped the smile. “I’m going to ask you again and you would be smart to answer me this time. What are you doing here?”
“I was trailing you” Chloe said, unamused.
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to know what you are planning!” Chloe said, turning the other half of her body. “Why are you on my guest list?”
I smiled. “Mom wanted me there.”
Chloe’s face twisted. “Lies! Mom would never want you there. You're a failure!”
I stepped closer, positioning my face directly in front of hers. “Not anymore.”
“Huh?” Chloe said.
I started chuckling as I heated her leg slowly, thawing the ice painfully. The temperature around heated rapidly.
I walked out of the alley leaving her body to thaw.
“See you at graduation, Chloe.”
Chloe’s graduation finally came around.
I went to my closet and got my black tuxedo. Even after being repaired, there were slight marks in the design. If anyone noticed I would just say it’s part of the design.
After eating breakfast and getting a quick workout in at the gym, I headed out. It was time.
I arrived at the Academy thirty minutes later. The parking lot was packed and there was a line of cars that wrapped around the corner. I instructed my driver to drop me off at the back.
The driver pulled up to the back entrance and let me out. I slicked my hair back and entered the building.
I was met with a guard who looked me up and down. “Name?”
“Fawn,” I said. “Shay Fawn.”
The guard nodded and led me to the parents section. He pointed to the very top where the elite families sat.
I took the stairs and reached the Fawn section. My entire family was there. My mother, father, Sarah, and grandmother and grandfather. I hadn’t seen them in years.
My father, who sat at the head, got up to let me walk in. There was a black and gold card on an empty seat next to his with my name on it.
“Glad you could make it.” He said, sitting back down.
The ceremony finally began. A man with a white suit and black tie walked out. His hair was slightly green at the ends.
He bowed. “Parents, friends. Welcome to the 85th Metropolitan Academy Graduation! I am Headmaster Kiros. We are happy that you could make it today and hope you enjoy your time. Now let’s get started.”
The graduates walked out one by one. In the very front was Chloe. She looked directly at the family section and her eyes locked onto mine. I smiled.
“Now that the graduates are all assembled, we will begin the showcase!” Headmaster Kiros said, waving a hand towards Chloe.
As is tradition in Hero academies, graduates are required to showcase their abilities for the recruiters present.
Recruiters today are looking to see those who cracked under pressure and those who do not.
“Starting us off… is Chloe Fawn!” Headmaster Kiros said. “Our number one ranked student!”
Chloe bowed and began her demonstration.
“Lucid Dreams!” She shouted.
All of a sudden the world before us changed. We were no longer in an auditorium. Now we were in fields of green pastures. Pink petals floated down from the sky. The sun was circadian, emitting a light brown color, dampened by grey clouds. It was accompanied by a light drizzle.
In front of us was a lake of. Orange elephants were drinking from it while purple flamingos were flying around above. The scent was peppermint.
It was a wonderland. We had been transplanted to a different world. I looked around to see everyone smiling, impressed by the display. My family however were emotionless, focused entirely on the present.
Chloe materialized in the middle of the pastures and floated. She looked at everyone and smiled, creating a lightshow with her hands. Her control and skill was immense, being capable of manipulating the illusion at will while also keeping everyone trapped in it.
That was until she looked at me. Her eyes met me and her focus faltered. I smiled as wide as I possibly could, mouthing a sentence to her.
I am rooting for you sis.
She choked and her illusion stuttered before completely falling apart.
In an instant, we were back in the auditorium. The dream world was gone.
I looked towards my parents. Their faces were completely cold. Across us, on the other side, were the recruiters. They looked away. Chloe went completely numb.
The headmaster congratulated her and everyone clapped before hurrying her backstage. For the rest of the showcases, everything went as planned.
After another hour of boring small talk and academy protocol, the graduation ended. We got up from our seats and headed for the exit. Chloe met us at the doors.
She had tears in her eyes. Our parents took one look at her and kept walking. My grandmother massaged her shoulder before following behind my parents.
I was last to leave and gave her a smile before opening the doors.
When I got outside, my driver was already waiting for me. As I got in the car, I felt a tug on my shoulder.
A very tall man was behind me. “My boss would like to talk to you.”
I was confused. “Who is your boss?”
He pointed to his nametag on his suit jacket. Borab of Brand.
Brand? That was the second most powerful defense contractor in the country. I signaled to my driver to park to the side and I followed Borab to his boss’s vehicle.
What the hell could Brand want with me?