The trio stood in silence, as a heated tension could be felt in the entire room. Kaiden stood between Chuck and Erik,
trying to avoid another physical scuffle between them. Erik was so enraged because all along, he thought that Chuck was someone without any magical affinity.
The interaction between Chuck and Erik wasn't enough to rule their friendship out as an extremely close one, but Erik still felt a bit of connection between the both of them. As a result of this, he felt betrayed.
"What are you waiting for?" Erik said, breaking the awkward silence, "go on then, 'cause Kaiden won't be able to stop me when next I lash out."
Chuck felt uneasy for several reasons. Aside from the fact that he just got attacked by someone who was supposed to be hospitable to him, there was no way he could outright spill his secret to them… not every single detail to say the least.
"Alright," Chuck started,"but firstly, I need you guys to understand that about a week ago, I didn't have any powers at all. So technically, I wasn't lying about anything. I just decided to conceal the truth afterwards."
"It all started the day before you saved me from that asshole." Chuck said, pointing at Erik.
"When we saw you sleeping on the cold ground far outside the building?," Erik replied, the rage in his voice starting to diminish.
"Yes, exactly!" Chuck sighed in a relieved tone, "I went to bed quite early because of the injuries I sustained from Bobby, throwing me off using his wind magic. Amidst my sleep, I heard this large bang right outside my dorm room so I decided to go investigate."
Chuck could see that the hardened expression of Erik's face was no more. Kaiden just stood there digesting every single word Chuck said.
"Initially, I thought it was a random student, but when I got a clear view, I saw this golden figure hovering still. The figure somewhat seemed to take on the shape of a human in a way, and when I looked even closer, I could see that it was made up of tiny golden particles." Chuck said, with an expression that made him seem like he was almost in a trance-like state. Just envisioning the image of the golden figure made him feel out of this world.
"I take it this golden energy is related to the reason as to why all the attacks you produced while fighting Bobby were all covered in a golden colored flame," Erik speculated.
"It is," Chuck continued, "as I got closer to the golden essence, it suddenly accelerated its way into my position, and it seeped through every opening in my body. I reckon that is why I collapsed, leading to you seeing me sleeping outside my room."
"So you're trying to say that all the powers you exhibited while fighting Bobby was due to this energy entering inside your body?" Kaiden asked, now understanding the full picture.
"Yeah. Ever since I absorbed this golden essence, I've been unlocking these strange powers," Chuck could see that the looks on their faces had changed from anger to confusion.
"Unlocking these powers? How do you unlock them?" Erik said, feeling a little bit confused.
"Honestly, I don't know. It just happens all of a sudden, and I learn to master it." Chuck decided not to tell them about the system, feeling that it would only complicate things even further.
"So from what I've heard so far, this energy doesn't seem to be like mana. So if it's not mana, then what is it?" Erik asked, still feeling extremely confused.
"I don't know. But I decided to give it a name. I call it Harelm energy." Chuck shrugged.
"Jesus Christ, Chuck. That's a stupid name," Kaiden said, feeling a little bit disgusted, "but I have a question though. When I attacked you earlier, that strange thing happened to you, and I deduced that it was some kind of breakthrough. Explain."
The more they spoke, the more things got confusing for them.
"Remember when you attacked me with your fire ball back at the combat hall?" Chuck said, "when I recovered, I felt stronger, more powerful. So I decided to test it again with you, and it worked..."
"Wait hold up," Erik cut Chuck off, "are you trying to tell me that Kaiden knew about your abilities beforehand?"
Chuck sighed at this statement, "Yes. She caught me using it ."
Things were starting to get less confusing, but series of questions still flooded Erik's head, but he decided to stay quiet for the time being.
"I don't fully know how this energy works, and I'm still learning, so that's all I can say for now," Chuck concluded.
Both Kaiden and Erik knew that they were just as clueless as Chuck. The origin of the golden energy that resided inside of Chuck was still unknown. The full potential of the powers given to Chuck was still unknown, so they had a lot to discover.
Kaiden and Erik decided to help Chuck out, now understanding how the whole event went down. The next day, they both helped Chuck with his daily quest, by reducing his HP by fifty percent.
The week had just begun, which meant that the weekly quest was now updated. Suffering an excruciating pain from both Kaiden and Erik, Chuck was able to reduce his HP by eighty percent, increasing his exp, and giving room to level up.
Finally, the day for the pocket dimensional expedition had arrived, and Chuck, along with Kaiden and Erik were going to travel together. Sitting on his poorly looking chair, Chuck smiled as he looked at his stats.
Name>> Chuck Nectar ]
[ Race>> human ]
[ Class>> mage ]
[ Stage>> neophyte ]
[ HP>>20/20 ]
[ level>> LV 2 ]
[ Exp>> 50/400 ]
[ Skill>> ]
[ Infernal shroud: LV 2]
[ Infernal craft: LV 2 ]
[ Forced absorption technique LV 2 ]
[ Harelm energy pool>>> 150/150 ]
[ Mana pool>>150/150 ]
Chuck got 80 exp points for completing his daily and weekly quests, using both Kaiden's and Erik's help. It maxed out his exp, upgrading him over to level two. Followed by this upgrade, all his skills also got an upgrade, along with his HP.
Chuck wasn't just ready for today's expedition, he was more than ready.