" But won't they come for you again?" June asked while sitting on one of the chairs looking him.
" No, I don't think so," he responded .Right now he wanted to go back to his room and absorb the awakener stones. With all the attention he was getting the sense of crisis had grown even more.
" Beth, I don't think today I'll be working," he whispered into her ears as the patron started to walk in and pick the girls of their choice.
Bethany nodded at his request.
Alaric had two things to worry about, the dungeons and the association. The thing about the dungeon the guy had mentioned before had really stuck to him. The thought of already closed dungeons reopening gave him stress.
He wasn't sure if it was true but words of a drunk always held some truth. He remembered the S class dungeon that spawned next to the brothel and shivered.
He walked upstairs and entered his room and plopped on the bed. The awakening stones appeared in his hands. Five of them. If the capital learnt of their existence they would spare no efforts to snatch them even though it ment killing him.
The stones looked like crystals, they were transparent but in the middle there was a cleodescope of different colors inside.
He lay on his back on the bed and raised the crystal to look more clearly in the lights. Then closed his eyes and entered the system space.
Alaric looked around the space and check his hands for the stones, he wasn't about to start absorbing them in such an open area.
With all the attention on him now there would probably be someone watching him and if the awakener stone energy leaked out, he would be doomed and exposed.
" System will the stones loose their effects here or will it be the same?" He asked just to confirm an assumption.
( The effects would be the same as a dungeon)
Alaric felt like jumping up and screaming in joy. He'd really made a right bet, if the system could creat a dungeon then the space may also be operating like a dungeon.
Alaric played with the awakeners stones in his hands turning them over and over. He could feel the power on them and he felt like they were calling him.
" All right.. here we go," he mumbled to the empty space and pressed one of the stones in the middle of his chest where his magic core was located.
Every awakened had it but each of it was on different parts of the body for every person. It's what channels the magic needed around the body. It's basically a battery and it needs to be occasionally charged after use with mana , spiritual stones or an awakener stone which is the better option.
The moment the stone touched his chest , he felt himself getting dizzy as the world blurred Infront of him and his vision whitened for just a second before returning to normal.
The stone melted into his skin dissolving into threads of energy that rushed to the core which absorbed it greedily. He could feel it grow stronger which subsequently transferred the energy into his body through the magic routes in his body that are formed eventually after using skills for a while.
The body adjusts to how you use and control magic and skills. If used badly it might complicate the magic routes system.
His knees buckled as the energy coursed through his body hitting every nerve and nourishing it. The pleasure of the in his body was intoxicating and addictive. He could understand why awakened scrambled to get this stones.
You could literally feel your body improve. A final serge of power entered his core as the stone became fully consumed . After this he snapped back to focus, grinning.
" Okay.. that was definitely better than sex," he said to no one in particular.
The system prompt appeared right afterwards.
(+10 spiritual , +2 Vitality,+1 control)
So this was what was in the stone, he thought to himself as he looked at the stats. He could feel the increase literally.
He took another stone to absorb. The stone melted into him.
(+10 spiritual , +2 Vitality,+1 control)
He took another one.
(+10 spiritual , +2 Vitality,+1 control, +1 charm)
At least this time he got an extra point.
(+10 spiritual , +2 Vitality,+1 control)
(+10 spiritual , +2 Vitality,+1 control)
After absorbing all the stones Alaric felt like his core had reached its full threshold. He could feel his core start the rotate faster and faster in his chest, this caused him to feel a sort of pleasure in his body.
He knew the core was trying to keep the excess energy inside but after a few attempts it could hold on and bursted dissolving into small pieces of light.
They washed over his body like a ritual before Alaric noticed a small ball of pink light in the place where the core had been. He knew instantly what it was.
He had upgraded his class . The E class core of like a prison but after improving their strength one breaks through the prison and now enters the official power increase of awakeners.
That was why most people were stuck in the E class since it was pretty hard to improve and break through the barrier. He was now at the threshold of D class and even a small trigger may cause him to improve again. He had absorbed too many awakener stones at once , this had really reduced the effects.
Every core was the color of the magic the owner used . He fell under the seduction magic class, that's why most of his skills involved pleasure and even in combat it has some form of seduction.
He was practically being moulded into a lust God or something.
The system interface appeared.
( Core advancement - E → D Class Achieved.)
( Reward: skill unlocked ( passive)- siren voice)
He looked at the rewards in surprise he had not expected to get a skill or even a reward since his improvement had not been a quest. He felt like the system also noticed that he needed to improve in combat for survival. This was probably a way to motivate him to increase his class.
He considered himself truly motivated, he wasn't about to die again. He pressed on the passive skill to see the functions.
( Basic skill: Siren's Voice)
Your tone gains hypnotic cadence.
Effects:
People listen more
Easier persuasion
Can disrupt weak minds.
He smiled at the skill the skill. This was something he needed when he goes to the awakeners association. Those people seemed to be out to get him.
Since he'd finished absorbing he decided to train on his whip mastery. He knew his skill was crude at best and most of the time it only worked well in his hands because of fear.
Fear was the best power up of the whip but he himself couldn't use it normally. He hadn't bothered to train it.
" System can you create a training room?" H3 asked out loud.
Dummies appeared around him a response to his questions. He summoned the whip and it slid down his arm to his hands.
The whip was heavier than expected. Holding the handle it dragged behind him while he studied the dummies.
He tightened his grip on the handle and raised his arm and tried the motion he had always done while using it. But this time it was just a plain whip with no outside booster.
Crack!
The moment she shot out his hand the whip instead of going forward like it always does, snapped back and hit him directly on the his shoulder. He stumbled backwards from both surprise and the pain.
He had not expected that.
" Okay, this is definitely not as easy as it felt the first time," he mumbled to himself while rubbing the place he'd be hit. It would probably swell a little.
He tried again,this time more slowly and cautiously, but he flicked his wrist too early and the whip slapped the floor with a dull thud. Just an awkward flailing.
At least it didn't hit him, he thought to himself as he breathed out and shifted his stance trying to distribute his weight.
He stepped forward while rotating his wrists to make them loose the tension. This timehe decided not to use the full force of his hand but concentrate on guiding his elbow into a fluid motion instead of just forcing it.
He tried again following his own instructions.
Crack!
This time the sound was cleaner and sharper even though his hands and body felt still. He had unmistakably managed to strike inaccurately but prevent himself from being hit due to recoil.
" Progress," he muttered.
He repeated it again and again. The first fifty attempt were a mess of wild arcs, late flicks and too much strength that nearly hit him most of the time. And little by little his movements smoothed out as he adapted to the whip and it's motion.