Chương 3: The City of Love

"...Now what?"

Azriel was confused as he looked back at his own reflection in the mirror of the car. His hair had grown out and was unkempt, indicating that a while had passed since the last of his memories.

"I wonder what happened to... Father."

It still felt a little weird suddenly calling someone else his father, but just like the memories he inherited, he also did the same with everything else from the previous Azriel Crimson.

"Right, I can check my status."

Status refers to a holographic interface that showcases a person's information, which is only visible to the person themselves. With their status screen, someone could at the very least easily find out what their affinities are.

One could only unlock their affinities after they become a grade 3 awakened.

There are only two methods that can help you upgrade a human's mana core.

The first is one that no one actually prefers, which is trying to consume the mana in the air.

This can get quite tiring, and the progress is extremely slow compared to the other method.

The second method is the easiest to upgrade or at least kind of easy since all you have to do is consume the mana core of a void creature.

The mana cores for both void creatures and humans are next to their hearts, though the position of the heart for certain void creatures will be different.

The mana core will still be there. After killing the void creatures, you are supposed to dig out the mana core and consume it.

This method is the easiest way for someone to get stronger and is much more efficient.

Though perhaps it wasn't the easiest and... safest.

Of course, consuming the mana core of a Grade 3 Abyssal will be much more beneficial than that of a Grade 3 demon, but that is only if the human who kills the Grade 3 Abyssal is also a Grade 3 advanced.

If a Grade 3 Expert tries to consume a mana core of a Grade 3 demon, they will barely get any benefit from it.

Also, the mana cores of a void creature that died don't last forever, meaning they will start to deteriorate and lose their worth after 2-48 hours have passed.

The higher ranked the void creature, the longer its mana core will last.

"Before I see my status though, I need to check one thing,"

Azriel said with a little excitement and anticipation in his voice.

He was transmigrated into a book, so doesn't that mean like most similar stories he has read that he will have something unique to him to help him get stronger like the protagonist has?

"System."

Yet, to his immense disappointment, he didn't get the system perk like the protagonist has.

The damn protagonist isn't even a transmigrator like him!

"...How unfair."

He was becoming a little depressed as he thought he would have the benefits like the protagonist.

The system was basically what it says, a system that only the protagonist of Path of Heroes could see.

It gave him a lot of benefits and made it much easier for him to get stronger, being able to buy health potions, sword arts, and even unlocking more affinities the stronger he grows and mana cores of void creatures that were on his level.

Obviously, the system didn't just hand them to the protagonist since he had to complete quests for them which perhaps were quite fair for the rewards he got.

"Still, I wish I had a system."

As Azriel muttered to himself, he decided to check his status window instead.

"Status"

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Status Screen:

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[Name]: Azriel Crimson

[Age]: 16

[Gender]: Male

[Titles]: Son of Death

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[Mana Core Rank]: Intermediate

[Mana Core Grade]: Grade 3

[Mana Core Level]: 2

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[Affinities]:

- Lightning

- Ice

[Unique Skill]: Redo -> one time use

[Sword Arts]: Dance of Death -> 0% mastery

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[Soul weapons]: Void Eater

[Soul armor]: None

[Soul Echoes]: None/Locked -> unlocks when reaching higher rank

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[???]: None/Locked -> unlocks when reaching higher rank

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"...Huh."

Azriel's mind blanked as he read his status window.

He knew for a fact that before everything in his memories stopped, he was only a Grade 2 Awakened, but now he somehow became a Grade 3 Intermediate.

He was already at the same level as the protagonist at the age of 16!

...And 16.

Azriel's blood went cold as he realized how long ago the last of his memories were. He was only 14 years old before everything went black.

"So it has been 2 years... 2 years of memories missing or perhaps I really died not only in my previous world but also in this world but got reincarnated in this body?"

"Son of Death."

Muttering the title he had gotten, he read the description.

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[Son of Death]: The god of death has taken pity on you and decided to bless you with another chance at life and additional benefits... make the best of this life.

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Azriel sucked in a cold breath at reading the description of his title. He didn't know what to really think of all of this. A god actually giving him a second chance because of... pity.

"So that means the gods are real now?"

As Azriel said to himself, he decided to check on his unique skill [Redo]. A unique skill is something everyone gets after they reach Grade 3 Intermediate rank.

But he couldn't ever recall in his memories there being a unique skill that was only usable once. Not wasting time, he decided to read its description.

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[Redo]: Given the unique title by the god of death itself and its blessings, you have earned a skill never seen or heard of before. Being the son of death means that death isn't something you should fear.

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"Eh?"

"To be able to cheat death... this is crazy!"

The chances of dying in this world were already as huge as they could get, but now he had a skill that gave him another chance.

"To think that the god of death would be so generous!"

Azriel said happily with a smile on his face. Being happy, he looked towards the sword arts.

He remembered that he never got any sword arts, meaning that this was something the god of death also blessed him with.

"I definitely won't complain about not having a system anymore."

Having a sword art called [Dance of Death] that is probably never seen or heard of like the unique skill [Redo] he has was already something extremely valuable, though he wasn't going to get overconfident since he would prefer not using [Redo] ever.

"Void Eater, huh... the sword that... father... has gifted me after killing my first void creature."

He was happy that he still at least had the trusted sword that had accompanied his previous self, though he unfortunately never got a soul armor.

Looking towards the [Soul Echoes] that were locked, he knew that this would be unlocked when he reached Grade 3 Expert.

Hell, he knew that a Master and Grandmaster would get even more, but the weird [???] shouldn't show up on his status at all just like [Soul Echoes].

"So another benefit from having the death god's blessing, huh?"

After calming down again, Azriel started to walk around.

He knew he was probably in a death zone since everything was abandoned and broken.

The chances of him encountering a void creature were big if he stayed in one place for too long, and he wasn't eager to meet them yet.

Even though he had the experiences of the previous Azriel, his mind and body were still trying to sort everything out.

His entire life had changed so fast.

Yet...

His heart was beating loudly against his chest as he gazed at the old, ruined buildings.

"...This place."

He really hoped that perhaps he was wrong and just being paranoid.

But the more he walked and explored, the more he started to fear the worst.

The city he was in had become a ghostly wasteland, with buildings crumbling, streets cracked, and deserted. Nature had taken back what was once its own, and the air was heavy with the scent of decay.

When he finally stopped, he gazed at a tall structure, freezing as his heart skipped a beat.

In front of him was once a majestic monument, a symbol of human achievement, now standing in ruins. Rust corroded its iron framework, and vines and moss had claimed its surfaces, turning the metal into a dark, twisted skeleton of its former self.

Gazing at the once beautiful monument that stood at the pinnacle of human achievements 150 years ago, he realized where he was.

...Europe.

Namely, in The City of Love.

"Dammit."