{Ding!!!}
{Conditions for awakening completed.}
{Condition: Murder three men in cold blood.}
{Syncing with Host in Progress.}
{Syncing Completed.}
{Welcome to the "Host Killing" System.}
I stared, mouth ajar, at the blood red tabs that floated right in front of me.
'Kamirn didn't have to be so explicit for crying out loud,' I tried to touch the tab, shaking slightly. Instead, my hand slipped through it.
'Only I can see, but then I should be able to control it with my subconscious.'
I willed the tabs to disappear silently, and they all vanished in a shower of red sparks reminiscently like blood drops.
'Good, at least I won't look stupid tapping the air when trying to converse with it…good job, Kamirn. I never imagined you'd be this sensible.'
Ever since, I'd been stabbed, the throbbing in my stomach region had never subsided. But now, it worsened.
My eyes began to droop, my head drowsy. My knees buckled and my body slammed to the ground.
'If this is enough to take me down, then…I really have to get stronger.'
With this thought in mind, I lost consciousness and fell.
…
My eyelids fluttered open and I focused on the white ceiling.
I was back here again.
Suddenly then, a stifling presence descended heavily on the room. Breathing became a chore, moving my fingers an achievement.
I felt nauseous, my body pushing farther down into the bed, as though some gravity god stood right beside me.
BANG!
The bedside table buckled suddenly, tumbling all those potion bottles to the floor.
'This reminds me of Kamirn…is he here?!'
With great difficulty, I turned my head to the right.
A shady outline of a bulky man lingered on the door. I still struggled to keep my eyes open so they couldn't focus well.
The outline threw on a very furry cloak, and immediately the pressure reduced to absolute zero. I sprang up and took in deep breaths, flexing my fingers slowly.
I could see more clearly now.
The man standing at the door wasn't burly at all, he only seemed to be putting on bulky clothing.
He walked closer, his smiley eyes twinkling kindly, accentuating his docile face. His long dreadlocks spilled out of their bun, dancing across his face.
As they moved, I noticed a gnarly scar that ran across his neck into the folds of his robe. Also, his dreadlocks never fell apart enough to reveal the right side of his face.
Was he some god?
That assumption wouldn't be farfetched, his power pressure rivalled Kamirn's by a good shot.
However, my perception of gods contained a myth that all gods had flawless, or near flawless skin.
'Could this be the grandpa guy? He doesn't look old, but really powerful guys sometimes look far younger than their age.' I kept on a calm expression, gaze sharpening as he approached.
His smile didn't reassure me. In fact, I hated people like him who smiled. That was a very dumb approach to deception.
He stopped dead, a little distance away from me. His eyes lingered on the light cloth wrapped around my injury.
My instincts whispered to back away a bit. I didn't.
I stared, waited for him to speak first. Just then, he did.
"How are you feeling?" his voice had a caring edge to it, with a tint of authority buried underneath.
"Much better now, thanks," I replied quickly, glancing past him to ascertain the time.
From the length of shadows outside, I could tell that it was late evening. "How long was I out?"
"Just a few hours," the man replied boastfully. "That's record time for any injury like that. I didn't expect you to die, but you're recovering pretty fast. Also, Rain stayed by your side throughout, so be sure to thank her," he added emphatically.
"I will," I promised, remembering the caring healer. A first-class waifu material.
The man's voice cut roughly into my flashback.
"I don't have all day, but I'll say this," he leaned in, voice dropping conspirationally. "I'm mightily impressed, so I'll grant you a perk. Keep this up, kill a few Altumbrias and get stronger, then you get to succeed me without any competition."
Without waiting for my reply, he rose and turned away. "Think about it well, Askin. I haven't seen such a talent that surpassed mine since birth.
And also, Welcome to the House of the Halvelk."
I opened my mouth, but he turned away and swished his cloak dramatically. A cloud of mist descended briefly and when it cleared, he was gone.
'How am I supposed to know what I'm succeeding when you didn't give an introduction? Also, what the hell are Altumbrias?'
I sighed and got out of bed, cradling my injury. It still stung, but much lesser than before.
I put on a fluffy robe I saw laid out on the bedside chair.
With no location in mind, I left the room. Hopefully, I'll find some nurses – healers, I mean, and find Rald through them.
I hadn't gone ten paces, when I noticed I was being followed. But who, this time?
Rain was my best guess. Maybe, Ray even. I'm guessing she'll become a yandere someday. And I prayed to anything that's holy to stop it from happening.
Painfully, I already know that would be a prospective tragedy so it will.
I sat on a long bench, watching the sun descend farther into the horizon. To my new fan, I paid no further attention. As long as it wasn't an assassin, I was safe.
Luckily, I had something very crucial to kill time with.
Inwardly, I thought, 'System, show me my Stats.'
…
{Affirmative}
{Character Information}
{Stats}
<
<
<< STR: 100>>
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
{Skills}
{Active Skill Slots: 3}
<
<
<
{Passive Skill Slot: Infinity}
<
<
{Bloodline Abilities.}
{Mage Aspect}
<
<< First Release : Unattained>>
<< Second release: Unattained>>
<< True SR: Unattained>>
<
<
<< Divine Miracle: Unattained>>
(NH: Unattained Abilities will be revealed when certain conditions are met, alongside their Costs and Drawbacks.)
[NH: Note to Host.]
{Dormant Bloodline Aspect}
{Dormant Bloodline Aspect}
(Dormant Bloodline aspects would be awakened when certain conditions are met.)
{SYSTEM RULES}
If the host can prevent a downhill resolution and bring things partly to his advantage, he'll face a 60% tragedy chance in his next ordeal. If he survives two after that in the same manner, the next two Ordeals would be a guaranteed success. Also, rewards would be given.
NH: The ordeal advantages run consecutively. If the streak is broken, it'd restart.>
…
'That bastard!'
The tabs wiped clear at my command, and I leaned on the wall with a sigh.
The system was almost exactly as I expected, but the presence of that BDK stat worried me.
BDK stood for Bad Luck.
I got an infinite slot of Passive skills, but using each one increases by Bad luck 'exponentially'. That said, I don't think I'd be using any more than five. Better safe than sorry.
Then, there is my only skill; Bloodlust.
I don't know how or why I had it, but pertaining to what had happened in my earlier fight, it had to be something connected to the MC as the previous owner of the body.
However, it had a drawback I didn't like; I couldn't use it unless my opponent was fighting with the intent to kill. I knew I can just egg some people on, but not everyone is as loosely minded as others.
Take for instance, my first target, 'Grandpa.'
If he was the guy who'd visited me a while ago, then I'd just halt my plan till I get to his level. That would take me about a year, if all things go well (It won't.)
Also, I wondered why my beginning Stats were so high, but now I could understand that it was due to the gifts of this inherited body.
Somehow I know my ARX (arxra) meter was the one that mattered the most. It's what fuels use of skills and abilities, so I needed it in excess.
Now, last but not the least, was the Mage Bloodline Aspects. From the unoccupied slots, I knew that I have two dormant bloodlines, but I'm not in a hurry to awaken them either.
Perhaps, the buffs of the Mage aspects would suffice for my plans.
Problem is, everything there was completely alien to me.
"Looks like I'll have to visit a library…if they have one." I thought aloud, my expression troubled.
A slight shuffle in the shrubs just up ahead disrupted my thoughts. I looked up, remembering I was being followed.
I rose and walked towards the shrub. Before I reached it, Ray surfaced from it, scowling deeply.
'Fuck, I don't like where this is heading to!'
I hid my annoyance beneath a quizzical look. "Ray?"
"It's not what you think! I'm looking for Rain," she retorted sharply, avoiding my gaze. "We sensed The Great Lord's aura, so we scampered."
'We? The Great Lord?' my quizzical expression turned confused.
Ray sensed my confusion. "I and Raldy were on our way here, and Rain was with you, when we sensed it. So we ran."
She still didn't, or rather, couldn't meet my gaze.
By now, I knew that my arcane visitor was the one addressed as Great Lord here.
"But why did you run? Aren't you supposed to blood relatives?"
Ray didn't answer, her gaze still fixed somewhere else. I gave up, and turned away. Just then, Rald and Rain came from my room's direction, both panting.
"We've been searching for you," Rald explained hastily. "What did he say?"
"He just welcomed me to the family, and commended me" A tingling instinct told me to leave out the details about the Replacement.
"You're kidding! He commended you?" Ray's face turned askew with disbelief.
Rald shook his head regrettably. "Trust him to say something like that."
I waited until they'd all calmed down. I didn't even ask why they had fled, but had a more important question in mind.
"Who's this Great Lord guy?"
All three of them perked up at the mention of the word "Guy", and Rald corrected me.
"Don't call him a 'Guy', that's blasphemy."
'Blasphemy?! Towards who?!' I looked at them in comedic outrage.
"His name is Balak Halvelk, Great Lord of the … Territory, and Shadow Monarch, one of the 10 Monarchs of the Empire," Rald declared, trembling more in fear than admiration.
'10 Monarchs in an Empire? What's going on in this novel?'