"Huh, did my charm stat increase?"
—---------------------------
∟ CHARM: F+ [●○○○○]
—---------------------------
It jumped an entire level.
"But I didn't pour any stat points into it…"
It was most likely because of his recent interactions with Amy and Rachel.
"So that means if I do the action, then the stat would increase…"
A plausible theory.
But something he could test at another time.
Retrieving his phone, he dialed a number.
Ring… Ring… Ring… Click-
[Lord Moriarty, what can I do for you?]
After conversing with Alpha a lot, Brandon had gotten used to Alpha's subservience to him.
After their recent operation, Alpha had proven his usefulness to him.
Which is why he could entrust him with the next task.
"I need you to protect someone."
[I don't think I'm strong enough to protect you, Lord Moriarty… But I will not allow anyone to harm y–]
"Not me."
He flatly stated.
Since Amy was the only witness, Osborn Company would most likely put all their resources into finding her.
Worse, kidnap her.
Whatever they plan on doing with her is most likely on the bad side.
After all, the Osborn Family were…
'Wraith Cultists.'
In truth, they weren't the company that invented the shiftporters.
They killed the original company's CEO and absorbed the entire company. Thus, founding Osborn Corporation.
After seizing all the rights to the Shiftporters, they rose to the top of the market.
Since Amy was the heir to Ashfield Company, the leading manufacturer for potions, it wouldn't be difficult to find information about her online.
In short, Amy was in danger, and she was unaware of it.
Calling the police was a mistake, she should've just kept everything to herself.
Beep-
After informing Alpha, Brandon ended the call.
What he needed to do next was to brainstorm.
To come up with a skill that could help him win against Raven.
He had already tried world altering skills like [Time Stop] [Black Hole] [Invincibility]. But the system didn't allow it.
For [Time Stop], it said that he needed the Time affinity. For [Black Hole], he needed the Space affinity, and for [Invincibility], he needed the Life affinity.
But those options weren't even possible, he had none of those.
But it was then when an idea sparked in Brandon's mind.
'That's it! A Brain processing skill.'
A skill that could enhance his thoughts to the maximum.
Not only can he use it to memorize all forms of martial and sword arts in a second, but it could help him come up with plans and schemes.
Adding to that, it could significantly help him in academics.
No longer will he be a measly ranked 1,890.
It was the perfect skill for him.
If Brandon was right, and it was in the same branch as [Mana Disruption], then the ability would be correlated to Pure Mana, something that all mages already had.
Seated on the couch in their apartment, Brandon decided.
—---------------------------
[Are you sure?]
[Yes.]
[Initializing Skill Weaver.]
[Downloading data.]
[ETA: 1 Minute.]
—---------------------------
.
.
[Skill Weaver successful.]
—---------------------------
[Skill Tab]
∟ [Elemental Manipulation]
∟ Ice
∟ Lightning
∟ Fire
∟ Wind
[Mana Disruption]
∟ Disrupts mana, causing it to never take shape and scatter. Can only target one specific location.
[Accelerated Cognition]
∎ Timer: 10 Minutes.
∎ Cooldown: 10 Hours
∟ The user's cognitive functions are turbocharged, enabling them to think and process information at an accelerated rate.
∟The user experiences heightened focus and concentration, allowing them to maintain clarity of thought.
∟ By speeding up neural transmission, the user's reflexes and reaction times are significantly enhanced.
—---------------------------
"Eh…? This is…"
The skill was more than he bargained for.
After reaching level 3, [Skill Weaver] had significantly improved in creating skills.
"This is perfect!"
He'd expected the skill to have a timer. But what he didn't expect was for it to have a cooldown.
A pity.
But regardless, Brandon could undoubtedly agree that this was the best skill he had at the moment.
After checking the time, he realized that it was still 11:00 AM.
"If I go to a bookstore now and chunk up as much information as I can, then the cooldown would be over around 9:00 PM."
Thus, Brandon decided to go to a nearby bookstore.
***
After finishing her lecture, Rachel decided to go to one of her family's bookstore branches.
Growing up, her Father and Mother had always bickered with one another.
They were typically set up in an arranged marriage, to help foster each others' businesses.
Asami Inc.
The largest bookstore chain in the entire world.
Ashfield Company.
The leading manufacturer of potions.
But to the Ashfield Family's surprise, her father, Rafael Asami, had never planned on getting his company absorbed.
This led to a fallout between the two families, and with the arranged marriage setup, there was no love between her parents.
With bickering after bickering, it eventually led to a divorce.
In the end, Rachel decided to go with her Father, while Amy stayed behind with their Mother, Samanta Ashfield.
By orders of the Ashfield Family, Rachel wasn't allowed to bear any relations with the Ashfields.
But regardless, she kept in close contact with her twin sister, Amy.
Since Rachel was about to enter one of their branches, she decided to don a disguise.
She didn't want any of the staff to freak out, alerting other customers.
It's already happened before.
'It was embarrassing…'
With a pair of shades and a cap, her disguise was foolproof.
Entering the bookstore, she headed towards a peculiar section of books.
One of the reasons she donned a disguise was because…
'Okay, here we are, the light novel section.'
She was a closet otaku.
Rachel had always loved reading books.
But after discovering the light novel genre, she–once was a bookworm, had become a full fledged otaku.
She knew it was an embarrassing hobby, but she couldn't help it.
Regardless, she had to put on her typical cold maiden act when she's out in public.
But in bookstores, she could be her real self, with a disguise of course.
After picking out the books she planned on reading, she immediately checked them out with the cashier.
"That'll be 20 silver coins, Miss… Hold on… you look familiar."
"Here."
She immediately looked down, placing the coins in front of the cashier.
"...Thank you, enjoy your purchase."
She then walked towards the reading section, from behind her she could hear the staff murmuring.
"I swear I've seen her before."
"Must've been your imagination."
"Haa…"
She breathed out a sigh.
It was a close call.
After entering the reading section, she tried to look for an empty place to sit.
While trying to scan the room, it was then when she saw a familiar face.
"Is that…?"
Pale-white hair and blue eyes, and he seemed to be wearing his signature black sweater.
It was none other than–Brandon Locke.
And he seemed to be busy, reading a book…
Not book, but books!
There were one… Two… Five.. Ten… Thirty… Forty…
He was reading way too many…
"At the same time...?"
All of the books were spread out open, filling the entire table.
From beside him, were the other customers, looking at him like he was some weirdo.
And…
"Aren't his eyes moving way too fast?"
Was he just skimming?
Then what was the point in buying all those books?
The bookstore had a no-borrow policy. Meaning, if you wanted to read a book, you had to buy them.
If they wanted to borrow books, then they should opt for a library instead.
Her initial impression of Brandon wasn't really anything.
The first time he entered the lecture, he was significantly late.
But it was the first time Rachel saw someone bold enough to speak to Professor Vanessa, like how he did on that day.
Most students would typically be afraid of crossing their Professors, in fear of expulsion.
Astrea Academy was a school for the elites after all.
Thus, she was curious about him.
Was he that strong that he didn't fear expulsion?
From what she heard, Brandon had the Lightning Affinity, and he had great control over it, being the first to shatter the magic orb.
He was interesting, to say the least.
But when she found out the rank he placed, her interest fell off.
Yet for some reason, Brandon didn't seem disheartened, as if he wanted it to happen.
For what reason?
When he provoked Felix during the party, he didn't seem like the same person who placed really low in the rankings.
There was a sense of confidence in the way he spoke that night, as if he was sure he could beat Felix, who placed somewhere in the 200s.
She was curious who would win between the two.
But Felix died, just after the party. The same party they attended.
She didn't know if she was relieved or afraid.
She hated Felix, but she didn't want him to die.
Regardless, she wasn't involved.
'But could Brandon be?'
After all, he stayed behind the party.
'No, it'd be absurd to think so.'
His eyes may have been cold, and he may have seemed distant compared to the others in the group. But Brandon didn't strike her as the type to openly murder someone.
Since Brandon was busy with whatever he was doing, Rachel didn't bother him, finding a different place to sit.
As Rachel continued to read her book, an audible laugh reached her ears.
A really loud one at that.
"Hahaha! This is crazy!"
When she tried to trace the source, she realized it was Brandon, laughing loudly for all to hear.
He seemed to have figured something out… With all the books he was simultaneously reading.
'Was he always this weird?'
Swoosh- Slash-!
Swiftly dashing through the halls of the System's Dungeon, Raven quickly made work of the goblin archers.
After a week, he had finally broken through to the 2nd floor.
The dungeon's layout had significantly changed compared to the 1st floor.
If the 1st floor were narrow corridors, the 2nd floor had spacious hallways.
Not only that, but the difficulty had exponentially increased too.
It took him a total of 3 weeks to adjust and completely clear the 1st floor.
Now on the 2nd floor, there were trolls and goblins.
Swoosh- Crack!
As he dodged the troll's club, an arrow pierced through the air. But with his speed, he was able to dodge the arrow as well.
"Tsk."
He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
It was hard to penetrate through their defense, as the trolls and goblins had cooperated.
The troll would act as the main tank and damage dealer, while the goblins would provide support, shooting arrows his way.
Despite reaching level 6, and pouring his stats into the strength aptitude, a single strike wasn't enough to kill a troll.
"Their skin is way too thick."
To make things easier, Raven targeted the goblins at the back.
Swoosh- Splurt-!
With two daggers, one in each hand, Raven striked down one of the defenseless goblins.
Smash!
As soon as he did, the troll made his way to him and swung down its club.
"Haa… Haa…"
Panting heavily, Raven decided to retreat. It was too much for him at the moment, but he had already done enough.
Making his way towards an empty corridor, Raven slumped down on a wall.
He then muttered to himself,
"System."
—---------------------------
[Name: Raven Blackheart]
[Level: 6]
[EXP: 1,400/6000]
[Class: Assassin]
∟As the one who left it all behind, you have become one with chaos.
[Passive]
∟ Assassin's Rush
∟ Every step you take, your speed stats increase by 1 point, maximum 10.
[Skill Tab]
[Stats]
[Stat Points Available: 0]
∟ STR: E+ [●●○○○]
∟ MP: F [●○○○○]
∟ DEF: F+ [●○○○○]
∟ AGI: E+ [○○○○○]
∟ INT: F [●○○○○]
∟ CHARM: F [●○○○○]
[System Shop]
[System Dungeon]
[System Coins: 0]
[Quests Available: 0]
—---------------------------
—---------------------------
[Skill Tab]
∟ [Eye of Time]
∟ See the move an individual is about to take in the next second.
[Adrenaline Surge]
∟Temporarily enhances the user's speed, agility, and reflexes.
[Shadow Step]
∟ Grants the ability to teleport short distances. Can only teleport to nearby shadows.
[Vital Strike]
∟Identifies and exploits the weak points of enemies, delivering precise and lethal blows to critical areas of their anatomy.
[Contract Expertise]
∟ Enhances the user's ability to gather intel, identify targets, and enhance deduction skills.
Envenomed Mind
∎ Timer: 5 Minutes.
∎ Cooldown: 5 Hours
∟ Temporarily enhances the user's mental faculties, boosting their intelligence.
—---------------------------
Maneuvering through his system, Raven opted for the exit button.
Vooom!
Instantly, Raven materialized, falling from the ceiling, and landing on his bed.
Laying on his bed, he covered his eyes with his arm.
Then he realized…
"Ah, I have to meet up with Claire today."
Removing his arm, he reached out for the phone on the desk, placed on the side of the bed.
[2:00 PM]
"What time were we supposed to meet again…?"
It was then he noticed he had several notifications.
No, not several…
There was one… Two… Five… Ten…
Ten notifications, and all from the same person.
It was none other than–Claire Victoria, his partner for the upcoming Combat Class session.
From: Claire Victoria
1 HOUR AGO
[Hey, I'm here, where are you?]
57 MINUTES AGO
[Bastard, I told you we'd be meeting up at 1:00 pm.]
54 MINUTES AGO
[Where the fuck are you?!]
And it just went on and on…
There were several text messages from Special Force as well. But Claire was more important at the moment.
"Fuck…"
The image of an angry Claire etched on his mind.
Suddenly, he felt chills all over his body, just imagining it.
He abruptly got up, changed into cleaner clothes, and instantly left his dormitory room.
.
.
.
"So? Care to explain why you were so late?"
"..."
Claire furrowed her brows, while Raven couldn't respond.
Cold sweat started beading, dripping. But it was mostly because he was running to the coffee shop.
At least... That's what he thought.
Of course, he couldn't tell her that he was risking his life inside a dungeon.
"Haa… Whatever. I understand that we're all busy. Anyway, what do you know about Brandon?"
"Ah."
"Ah?"
He just realized why they were meeting up in the first place. To exchange information about Brandon and Amy.
"I don't know anything about him..."
"..."
When he thought about it, he realized he knew nothing about Brandon's abilities, besides the fact that he was a Lightning Attributed mage.
But at least, it was the same for Brandon–who also didn't know anything about him.
...Is what he thought.
"Okay, understandable, barely anyone knows anything about him."
At least she didn't blame him.
"I know…"
"We'll work with what we got then."
At that, Claire started talking about everything she knew about Amy.
From her Water Affinity, to her fighting style.
Raven took in every detail. He was now starting to understand why Amy was ranked 4th.
She specialized in Water Magic, but her control was second to none among the first years.
And to his surprise, Amy could somehow manipulate the weather as well–to a certain degree.
A total prodigy.
Suddenly, he felt like their chances of winning had significantly dropped.
After Claire debriefed, they decided on who would fight who.
Claire would fight Brandon, and Raven would fight Amy.
The reason for this–was because water was a complete counter to lightning.
Since water was a conduit, then the lightning would scatter around it.
Just because Claire was a Lightning Attributed Mage, didn't mean she was immune to it.
If Amy traps her in a bubble of water, then Claire wouldn't be able to use her lightning.
She would electrocute herself.
A basic law of nature.
It was a good matchup, per say. Both Claire and Brandon were Lightning Attributed Mages, it would definitely be an interesting fight.
But Raven didn't like the plan, though he didn't speak his thoughts out loud.
'I wanted to fight him…'
For some reason, he'd always seen Brandon as a rival.
It was as if they were polar opposites somehow.
He wanted to know who was stronger between them.
But in the end, the plan was set in place. He didn't want to disagree with Claire, who had brainstormed and came up with the plan way before he arrived.
Though he didn't say it, his expressions told a different story, as Claire seemingly noticed.
"You want to fight him, don't you?"
"...No?"
"Your face says otherwise."
"It's fine. We have a better chance at winning with your plan."
"Sure, but we still don't know the details of the next Combat Class session. Who knows? It might be a one on one fight, and Miss Evelyn would be the one to decide who fights who."
She had a point.
Professor Evelyn had never stated the details of the next session.
It could be a tournament type, or a simple contest of strength.
Who knows?
Disrupting their discussion, the coffee arrived–via shiftporter.
Claire immediately grabbed it, sipping on the coffee.
"You're not gonna order?"
"...I don't like coffee."
"Suit yourself."
Claire just shrugged.
Raven never understood the appeal of coffee. But his friends seemed to enjoy it a lot, especially Rachel.
"It's too bitter…"
"A sweet tooth, huh? How cute."
"..."
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