When consciousness returned, the world was strangely quiet.
I opened my eyes to find myself lying beneath the ancient willow tree. Moonlight spilled through the swaying branches, painting silver lines across the ground. My chest rose and fell in shallow gasps, sweat soaking my robes.
But the real terror was inside my head.
That voice. Cold, mocking, eternal.
It hadn't been a hallucination.
Ding!
The system's screen flickered weakly into view. The crisp blue glow I'd seen before now sputtered with lines of red static.
[System Integrity: 68%]
[Warning: Foreign Will Interference Detected.]
[Stabilization in progress…]
My hands trembled. I forced myself to speak, my voice hoarse.
"System… what was that? Who spoke just now?"
The screen shimmered.
[Answer: The Eternal Rift connects countless realms. When Host collects attribute fragments, residual wills may attempt to synchronize. The voice belonged to one such will.]
Residual wills? My stomach twisted.
"You mean… some ancient being knows about me?"
[Affirmative.]
I staggered to my feet, clutching my head. For one blissful night, I had believed I was untouchable, chosen by fate to rise from trash to king. But reality was crueler. My strength wasn't just mine—it was borrowed. And now, the original owner wanted it back.
The next morning, whispers followed me wherever I went.
Students stared as I walked through the academy halls. Some looked at me with awe, others with naked hostility.
"The trash defeated Chen Hao in one punch…"
"I heard he awakened lightning affinity overnight."
"No, no. He stole a secret technique! That has to be it."
Rumors spread like wildfire. I ignored them, though every word pressed like a blade against my back. My only thought was survival.
But Chen Hao wasn't going to let yesterday's humiliation go unpunished.
He limped into the dining hall, chest wrapped in bandages, eyes blazing with hatred.
"Li Feng!" he roared, slamming his fist onto a table. Sparks crackled from his fingertips. "You dare disgrace me in front of everyone? I challenge you again—this time, to a death match!"
The hall fell silent. Students gasped. A death match wasn't like sparring. It was life or death, sanctioned under academy rules. Refusal meant eternal cowardice. Acceptance meant risking everything.
My jaw tightened.
I wanted to say no. I wanted to survive quietly, gathering fragments in the shadows. But the system chimed in my head.
Ding!
[Quest Triggered: Face the Lightning Prodigy.]
[Reward: Attribute Multiplier x3 if victorious.]
My pulse quickened. A triple multiplier. If I defeated him now, my strength would skyrocket.
But the voice from last night whispered in the back of my mind:
"Borrowed power… thief…"
I gritted my teeth. Fear warred with greed. In the end, only one thought anchored me:
If I backed down now, I would forever remain prey.
I raised my head, meeting Chen Hao's glare.
"I accept."
The hall erupted in chaos.
The duel was scheduled for that afternoon in the academy's main arena. Students crowded the stands, eager to witness the downfall of "trash" or the rise of a new dark horse.
As I stood in the center of the stone platform, the sun beating down on me, the system's screen floated in my vision.
[Host Attributes:]
Strength: 35
Agility: 27
Endurance: 22
Lightning Affinity: 18
Sword Comprehension: 9
For a first-year student, those numbers were monstrous. But compared to Chen Hao, a recognized prodigy… would they be enough?
The referee raised a hand. "Combatants, prepare."
Chen Hao sneered across the platform, lightning dancing wildly across his arms. "Today, trash, I'll burn you into ash."
I exhaled slowly, forcing my heartbeat to steady. My fingers curled into fists.
The referee's hand dropped. "Begin!"
Chen Hao exploded forward, his body a blur of crackling energy. He moved like a thunderclap, faster than my eyes could follow.
But the moment his lightning flared, fragments burst into the air around him.
Ding! Lightning Affinity +2.
Ding! Reflex +1.
My body reacted instantly, sidestepping just as his fist sliced past my cheek. The crowd gasped.
Chen Hao snarled, spinning with a kick. Sparks flew.
Ding! Agility +1.
Ding! Strength +2.
I ducked low, my fist snapping upward.
Boom!
My punch slammed into his ribs. Chen Hao staggered back, coughing blood. The arena roared.
"The trash is holding his own?!"
"No… he's overpowering Chen Hao!"
But Chen Hao wasn't done. His eyes blazed with fury. "You think you can humiliate me again? Fine! Die with my strongest move!"
He clasped his hands together, lightning condensing into a spear of pure energy. The crackling weapon hummed with lethal power, arcs scorching the stone floor beneath it.
The students screamed. Even the referee tensed. This was a killing technique far beyond academy rules.
Chen Hao hurled the spear at me.
Time seemed to slow.
Fragments flooded the air, brighter and denser than anything I'd ever seen.
Ding! Lightning Affinity +10.
Ding! Comprehension +5.
Ding! Endurance +7.
Heat surged through my veins. My muscles coiled like springs. And in that instant, I understood.
My hand rose, instinct guiding me. Lightning burst along my arm, shaping into a crude spear of my own.
Gasps echoed through the stands.
"He… he manifested lightning too?!"
The two spears collided midair.
BOOM!
The explosion shook the arena, blinding light engulfing everything. When the smoke cleared, Chen Hao lay unconscious, his body twitching with residual sparks.
I stood alone in the center, my chest heaving, my crude lightning spear dissolving into smoke.
Silence reigned for a heartbeat. Then—
The arena erupted in cheers and screams.
"The trash defeated him again!"
"Impossible… he's a monster!"
But as I raised my head, the system chimed again.
Ding! Victory Achieved.
Reward Multiplied.
Strength +30.
Lightning Affinity +45.
Comprehension +15.
My body trembled as power surged like a flood, reshaping me from the inside out. I had done it. I had won.
But then—
A shadow flickered across my vision.
The sigil on my chest burned, searing me with white-hot pain. I staggered, clutching myself. The crowd's cheers faded into distant echoes.
And in my head, the voice returned.
"So… you've grown bolder, thief. Very well. Let me see how far you can climb… before I tear it all from you."
The world darkened at the edges. My knees buckled.
And then, for a split second, I saw it—beyond the sky, through the Rift.
A colossal eye, ancient and unblinking, staring straight at me.