"Holy shit… I never thought I'd get to brush my teeth again!"
Arlen's voice echoed through the trees, half muffled by the toothbrush between his teeth.
Foam streaked down his lips, while his reflection in the stream grinned back at him like a stranger.
Cold water shimmered with each careless splash while the morning light poured through the canopy in soft beams.
He leaned forward, scrubbing with exaggerated intensity, eyes half-shut in bliss.
[Didn't think the shop would actually have basic stuff for hygiene…]
He spat into the current, laughing quietly to himself. If anyone from Windket had stumbled upon the scene, they wouldn't recognize him.
The hollow cheeks, the skeletal frame, and the dull skin that once looked half-dead were all gone.
His hair, burnt away during the assimilation, had regrown overnight.
That matted nest on top of his head was now black as wet ink, smooth and straight down to his neck.
His skin carried color again. The ribs that once jutted like prison bars were hidden beneath new muscle, lean but strong.
The boy bathing in the forest stream wasn't a beggar anymore.
He rinsed off, dragging a hand through his hair, and stepped out of the water.
A towel appeared in his hand with a flicker of blue light, another small miracle from the system.
He dried himself slowly, taking his time as if to confirm this wasn't just a dream.
When he was done, he reached into the inventory once more and pulled out clothes: a simple white shirt, black pants, and a pair of boots that still smelled faintly of leather oil.
He dressed in silence, adjusting the collar, tying his neck-length hair back with a rubber band.
All that had cost him five Credits.
Not a bad deal, he thought, glancing at the faint shimmer of the interface still hovering in his peripheral vision.
Toothbrush, towel, soap, clothes… apparently, civilization came cheap.
[That also means I can't just sell junk in there to farm credits…] he mused, clicking his tongue.
But it didn't matter. Not yet.
He stretched, the motion slow and deliberate, feeling how his body responded.
The pain that once pulsed through every breath was gone, replaced by something new: potential.
He stood there for a moment, barefoot on the grass, eyes closed, letting the cold morning air fill his lungs.
For the first time in five years, he didn't smell of rot or blood.
Just water and soap.
And a quiet smile found its way to his lips again.
He almost reached for the toothbrush again before catching himself.
"Get a grip," he muttered under his breath, chuckling softly.
Then he exhaled, and the faint blue shimmer returned before him, lines of text forming in midair like familiar ghosts.
With a thought, the [Status] window opened.
[Protocol: Chronos]
Name: Arlen Hale
Race: Human
Circuits: 2
Affinity: Time, Red Lightning
Level: 0 / 100
XP: 0 / 100
Status: Normal
Stat Points: 0
Stats
STR — 1
AGI — 1
EDU — 1
DEX — 1
MP — 1
MP Regen — 0.1/sec
LCK — 1
Magic
Red Lightning Reinforcement (Epic) (5 MP/sec) (7 Circuits for Optimal Function)
Skills
Precognition (Legendary) (2 MP/sec) (2 Circuits for Optimal Function)
Gear: Crossbow (Heirloom), Partisan Spear (Rare)
Credits
95
Tabs
[Shop] [Inventory] [Map] [Crafting]
A satisfied smile crept onto Arlen's face. It was the fourth time he'd opened his status since waking.
He couldn't help it. The very sight of it filled him with a quiet, almost boyish thrill.
[Now I just need to level up a bit… my MP's so low I can't even activate anything.]
According to its description, Precognition allowed him to sense what would happen a few seconds ahead.
Not through vision, but instinct. His body would simply know what was coming.
The problem? It drained 2 MP per second, which was already double what he even had.
[But still… how is something that cheap labeled 'Legendary'?] he thought, his grin twitching wider.
Red Lightning Reinforcement, on the other hand, was a whole different beast.
It took 5 MP per second to sustain. Completely unusable for now.
But that didn't bother him either. He hadn't risked assimilation for immediate power.
He'd done it because of what was coming.
The Royal Association would reach Windket in a day, and he planned to take part in their screening.
It was just as big an opportunity for him as it was for everyone else.
And he needed an affinity to show. Just not that one.
If anyone saw he possessed the Affinity of Time, it wouldn't be an opportunity that'd follow.
It'd be the kind of attention that got people dissected in labs or declared divine property.
So the Red Lightning would do. Flashy, destructive, rare… perfect camouflage.
He looked down at his reflection in the water again.The ripples distorted his face, half shadow, half light.
[Good thing I didn't wait. If I'd started the assimilation while the Association was already here...]
He still remembered the storm. The strikes. The pain. The sound of his skin burning.
And a shiver ran through him.
[Yeah… that would've caused a problem or two.]
He crouched, dipping his hand into the cold stream, letting the water slip between his fingers as his thoughts calmed.
He couldn't prove it yet, but he knew the system could hide his affinities.
It was the kind of failsafe that only someone who'd read far too many webnovels would know of.
He smirked faintly.
"I'll keep that card close… at least until I'm strong enough to play it before the world."
-Ding!
{Optional Quest Received.}
He blinked. "Wait… what?"
The faint hum of the interface flared to life again, rippling blue across his vision before a new panel unfolded.
{
Quest:
Fifteen of Chief Vale's men, led by the vice-captain, have entered the forest to investigate the site of the Red Lightning Assimilation.
Objective: Eliminate all intruders.
Rewards:
Bonus: 2× Experience from all kills during the quest
Enchantment: Auto-Repair (Rare)
Currency: 400 Credits
Accept Quest?
[Yes / No]
}
Arlen stared at it, the grin spreading before he could stop it.
[Shit… it's got quests too?]
The forest rustled softly behind him, birds scattering somewhere up in the canopy.
His face in the water reflected a calm expression, before breaking slowly into something else.
Something darker.
And a beat later, a low chuckle left his throat, quiet at first, then rising just enough to echo faintly across the stream.
"Vice-captain…" he murmured. "One of my mother's murderers… Looks like someone upstairs just offered me two birds with a single stone."
He tilted his head, reading the glowing text one more time.
Eliminate them.
"Why the hell not," he said finally, a manic curl tugging at the corner of his lips.
The panel pulsed once.
-Ding!
{Quest Accepted.}
{Objective: Engage and Eliminate Targets. Progress: 0 / 16}
"Alright then…" he whispered to himself, eyes flickering with faint violet light as he glanced toward the forest's deeper shadows. "Let's nab some vengeance and farm some EXP while we're at it..."