Alex watched the teens happily forming a line, stepping forward one by one to place their hands on the large stone tablet. With his aversion to showing his status screen, he naturally drifted to the back and made himself the last in line.
First was a cheerful girl with long, waist‑length black hair, skipping ahead to the stone tablet. Following Sylvester's instructions, she placed her left hand on the stone tablet, which stood like a mountain. An indentation shaped for a hand sat at its center at the height of 2 meters, surrounded by mystical symbols representing the elements. Above them, several trees were carved, one at the center dwarfing the others, its branches rising over what looked like floating continents.
As soon as her hand touched the stone, two elements lit up, along with several leaves on the central tree that glowed with a soft green light.
From what Alex could tell, the elements corresponded to earth and water. The random glowing leaves, however, meant nothing to him. What bothered him more was Sylvester's reaction: a simple nod, no explanation, and a gesture for the next person to step forward. It gave Alex a bad feeling for some reason.
The girl was grinning wildly at something in the air. The next girl in line tapped her on the shoulder, snapping her out of it.
"Ren, what happened? Why are you smiling like a goblin? Move, it's my turn now."
Ren pulled her hand back, and the tablet dimmed. She turned, nodded to the girl who had tapped her, flashed a V‑sign at everyone, and then vanished. The other students stared, mouths hanging open.
"Um… what happened? Where did she go?" the next girl asked, her hand frozen halfway to the tablet.
"Do not worry," Sylvester said smoothly. "She has been sent to one of the kingdoms in answere to their summoning. Her status and attributes were strong enough to support a country single‑handedly. Now, go on. Follow what she did. I have great hopes for each and every one of you, my chosen heroes."
He sounded slightly hurried—at least, that was how Alex read from his body language. With a forced smile and slight tapping of his foot, it seemed this was a chore for him, but he needed to keep up appearances.
Alex hadn't seen any status window when Ren touched the tablet, but her reaction made it clear she had it in front of her.
'Her status must have updated, probably with new skills.' Alex thought the reason for her overflowing happiness.
As for the self‑proclaimed god, Alex wasn't sure if he could see everyone's status directly, or only when they touched the stone. He bet on the latter; if Sylvester had already seen Alex's real information, he would likely have died by now. Alex's status made it obvious he didn't belong in this summoning.
So, the question was this: were the skills from the tablet worth provoking Sylvester?
He decided they were. The alternative was reversing the summoning—basically killing himself, just without physical damage. The ritual he'd performed would cost him only a permanent 1% soul loss. If he were killed by anything else, he would lose 5%.
Lost in thought for a while, he didn't notice the line shrinking until it was his turn. Everyone else was gone, transported to their destinations. He stepped forward and placed his hand on the stone. It lit up like christmas, and his status window appeared.
Two new messages popped up:
Skill acquired: Farming
Skill acquired: Soil Enrichment
"What the.. Of course. My farming life starts here. All that's left is dropping me in the middle of nowhere," Alex laughed inwardly, weighing the gains against the risks. If he didn't get something good, all he'd have done is anger a god for nothing.
Status
Name: Alexander Shadowborn
Level: 0
Race: Human
Age: 10 days
Classes:
Shadow Master
Attributes:
HP: 30
Mana: 30
Strength: 30
Agility: 70
Luck: 69
Charm: 6
Spirit: 10
Soul Power: 1
Innate Skills:
Shadow Affinity (B)
Light Inversion (C)
Shadow Creation (A)
Class Skills:
Shadow Sword (B)
Shadow Body (C)
Shadow Travel (D)
Entropy Freeze (S)
Future Sight (S)
Timeless Chant (S)
Immortal Body (SSS)
Storage (A)
General Skills:
Flight (C)
Water Magic (C)
Fire Magic (C)
Earth Magic (C)
Light Magic (E)
Space Magic (F)
Shadow Manipulation (C)
Cultivation Trans (B)
Mana Absorption (A)
Spirit Absorption (B)
Farming (D) {New!}
Soil Enrichment (D) {New!}
Cultivation Levels:
Body: None
Soul: Foundation Establishment (Adjusted language for local world rules)
Bloodline (restricted to low level):
Night Raven
Crystal God
Bloodline Skills (restricted to low level):
Darkness Bloom
Crystal Palace
New system node detected. Updated System 0 to local world rules…
"YOU. You are not one of my summoned heroes."
A thunderous voice crashed over him. A crushing pressure slammed Alex to his knees, his hand sliding down the stone but still touching it.
Skill acquired: Divine Aura Resistance
The pressure spiked, like a mountain pressing him into the ground.
Skill acquired: Divine Aura
Sensing death closing in from behind, Alex poured all 30 mana into Immortal Body (SSS).
'Why cant you delete the other skill and make this one Divine Aura Farming, it would have made it all worth the pain' He grimaced while distracting his mind from pain.
His body suddenly felt weightless. The overwhelming pressure faded to a cool breeze on his skin. With only 30 mana, he knew it would last five seconds at most—but five seconds were enough. He'd counted earlier—every student vanished within three seconds of removing their hands from the tablet.
Skill acquired: Eyes of Reprise
The instant the message appeared, he yanked his hand off the stone and turned—only to be grabbed by the throat and slammed against the tablet. His feet left the floor.
"Dont want speak? Then you can die."
Alex counted silently in his head: one.
Next he was thrown like a ragdoll, bouncing across the ground like a stone skipping on water. Immortal Body dulled the pain and regenerated his injuries almost instantly; all he felt was an itchy sensation as bones shattered and reformed.
He didn't know how much time passed—it was definitely not more than one second, but he felt like he was dragged around half the continent. He finally stopped when he hit another wall , last of the many which he broke; only to be hoisted up again by vines erupting from the floor.
Two—Alex counted again.
"Don't think you'll leave here alive," a cold voice whispered directly into his mind. "It doesn't matter what skills you use when you don't have a heart."
A spear of pain tore through his chest. His heart was pierced; blood filled his throat and spilled from his mouth.
Three. He said aloud, spitting blood with a grin that was more a pained grimace filled with broken tooth and bloodied mouth.
Then, without warning, he was telepoarted somewhere else.
The vines vanished. He fell face-first to the ground.
Dirt and fallen leaves met his cheek. Looking to the side, he saw dense trees and uneven soil—no buildings in sight. He was in the middle of a forest.
"Of course it's a forest," he thought.
Fortunately, Immortal Body lingered for one more second. It repaired enough of his heart and body to keep him alive, but not enough to fully heal his injuries.
The moment the skill ended, the real pain hit him.
Broken bones. Torn muscles. Half-crushed organs. It rushed over him like a runaway train.
Alex blacked out.
The last thing he felt before darkness claimed him was soil under his cheek—warm, real, and very much alive.