Chapter 91: Need to talk!
Chapter 91
A week had passed since the portal break that the SilverFall Clan faced. It was a disaster so destructive that they lost a few clan members, especially Renzo.
The loss hit the clan hard, and the entire group took the week off to recover and heal both physically and mentally.
The atmosphere around the clan grounds was heavy with grief and silence, especially for Rina and Erin. Both had locked themselves in their rooms, each of them trying to cope with the guilt and pain in their own way.
Rina mourned because she had lost the love of her life, the one person who meant the most to her.
Erin, on the other hand, suffered from the crushing reality that she had unknowingly killed a fellow clan member due to the interference of the beast. Both girls carried their pain differently, but the weight was equally unbearable.
Zen himself didn’t take on any quest during that week. Instead, he dedicated his days to honing his physical body and familiarizing himself with his Veil.
No matter what he tried, however, the Veil refused to activate. After multiple failed attempts, he had no choice but to shift his focus completely toward building his body, making sure it was strong enough to handle anything.
During that period, he also allocated the new stat points he had earned from the battle with the B-ranked beast. After his adjustments, his status looked as follows:
{Status}
{Name: Zenixx}
{XP: 600/1000}
{Level: 10}
{HP: 70/70} {STR: 45}
{AGI: 45} {INT: 43}
{NP: 150}
His strength and agility were now perfectly balanced, and only when he equipped his boots and sword would the stats become uneven.
Seeing that progress made Zen feel more than confident. At this point, he believed he could easily take down a C-ranked beast without breaking much of a sweat.
But that wasn’t all. As an additional reward for his victory over the beast, he obtained two brand-new skills.
{Skills!}
{Two new skills added}
{Skill name: Strength Boost. This skill allows the host to increase his strength stat by ten percent for five minutes. Once the time expires, the skill will enter cooldown.
Cooldown: Thirty minutes}
The second skill read:
{Skill name: Step Shift.
Description: Instantly teleport up to five meters in any direction. While moving, the host can phase through physical attacks.
Note: Skill can only be used three times a day}
Those were the two skills Zen had acquired from the battle, and he was thoroughly impressed with them. He even began to imagine scenarios where each ability could come in handy, strategizing possible moves and outcomes in his head.
At present, Zen had just finished his daily physical training. He sat on his bed, body still dripping with cold sweat, his breathing steady as he fell into deep thought.
"Now, what do I do about this?" Zen muttered, scratching his damp hair in frustration. He raised his palm, and a shimmering light began to form within it.
A few seconds later, a small red box appeared in his hand. It was wrapped neatly, tied with a ribbon, and looked exactly like a gift one would receive on a birthday.
"Now, what did the system say this was again?" he mumbled, turning his gaze back to the system interface and rereading the description of the strange box.
{A personal gift from the system upon reaching level ten. The gift is a random loot box. Once unwrapped, the host will receive a random reward ranging from money, potions, skills, or even new weapons. The reward depends entirely on the host’s luck.}
"Depending on my luck?" Zen repeated, his voice dripping with suspicion. He sighed heavily and shook his head.
"I’ve left this thing unwrapped for a few days now, but maybe it’s finally time to see what the system has so generously decided to give me. My first gift in forever."
{Be grateful, punk.}
"I see. Still as venomous as ever," Zen muttered with a scoff. "Honestly, I don’t even have any hope for this gift. Knowing you, it’ll probably be something designed to kill me.
I don’t even know what your problem is. From all the anime and novels I’ve read, the systems are always kind and loving toward their users. They shower them with rewards, helpful advice, and even companionship. Meanwhile, I get stuck with you."
But you? You are so annoying that I wish I could poke a few holes in your motherboard." Zen barked in anger.
{Are you done barking? If so, open the damn loot box and stop whining like the puppy you are... no, much more accurately, like the pussy you are.}
"ARGHHHH!" Zen roared in fury, clutching his head as he glared at the system message hovering in his view.
Even though he always heard the system’s robotic voice echoing inside his head whenever it spoke, the damn thing loved to rub salt in his wounds by also sending the words directly as glowing text. It was as if it wanted him to suffer twice as much.
"Fucking system," Zen muttered under his breath before turning his gaze back to the red box in his hand. He drew in a long, steady breath as though he were preparing for battle.
"Just ignore the damn computer and see what it gave you. And I swear, if it’s garbage... I’ll reserve my comment for now." He huffed, his eyes narrowing.
{Computer? Tch! How disrespectfully rude.}
Zen rolled his eyes and chose to ignore the snide remark. He carefully began unwrapping the box, his fingers lingering over the neat folds of the ribbon. He braced himself, half-expecting the worst, when...
Bang!
The door to his room suddenly swung wide open. Zen’s instincts kicked in at once as he jolted upright, quickly sending the box back into his system before anyone could see. His body tensed, his senses sharpened, and he stood ready for trouble.
Only then did he realize he wasn’t even wearing a shirt. His lean but well-toned physique, the product of his relentless training, was fully exposed. Droplets of sweat clung to his skin, running down the lines of muscle, and he immediately locked eyes with the intruders.
Actually, it wasn’t one intruder. It was a group.
"Jace? Aria? Erin? And... wait! Aren’t you that lightning Reaver from the B-ranked battle? What the hell are you all doing here?" Zen asked, suspicion flashing in his eyes as he scanned each face.
The last to enter was Vynn, who quickly shut the door behind them and placed some strange mechanical device against it.
"What’s that?" Zen demanded, staring hard at the unfamiliar object.
"We need to talk. All of us," Jace answered firmly, stepping toward the center of the room. His voice carried a seriousness Zen hadn’t heard in him before. "And we don’t want anybody who isn’t in this room eavesdropping."
Zen’s brows furrowed in confusion. "Talk? Talk about what?"
Aria, meanwhile, was having trouble keeping her eyes off Zen’s bare torso, though she tried to mask her reaction by crossing her arms.
"Did you forget?" Jace reminded him, his gaze unwavering. "During the battle with the B-ranked beast, you said we needed to share information with each other."
Zen blinked, then nodded slowly. "Yeah, I remember that. But why are they here?" His eyes shifted to the others, searching their expressions.
"Because they’re like us, Zen," Jace replied gravely.
A hush immediately fell over the room. Zen’s mind raced as he tried to piece together what Jace had just revealed. Slowly, the realization dawned, and his eyes widened in shock.
"Don’t tell me..." Zen whispered, his voice sharp with disbelief. "They’re transmigrators too?"