"Wahhh!!!!!" (Daniel). I screamed in fright. The thing appeared in front of me out of thin air without any warning.

"What?" (Cassey)

"Huh?!" (Josh & Mark)

"What happened?" (Julia)

They all looked at me with a concerned face, except for Josh. Julia went beside me and tried to make sense of what's happening.

"What, what is this thing?" (Daniel). I waved my hands on the words that appeared right in front of me, but they only went through it. As I continue to wave my hand, trying to push or blow it away, they all looked at me in confusion.

"What is it?" (Julia)

"Are you high or something?" (Josh)

"What?! Does any of you see this thing?" (Daniel)

"Maybe hallucination?" (Cassey). She put her right hand on her chin.

I stood back up and examined the thing in front of me.

"Are you okay? Maybe we should take a break and head back to the cabin." (Julia)

"I.. I think I'm fine. It was just sudden…" (Daniel). I answered her.

'Is this ever going to disappear?' (Daniel). As I thought of that, the thing or the window suddenly disappeared.

'Maybe it was a hallucination? But… Level 3? What? Like a video game that Cath and I used to play together? System visuals? What is this? Maybe I really need to take a rest.' (Daniel)

"I’m alright. I was just taken by surprise. Nothing to worry about.”(Daniel)

“Okay, are you sure you’re okay?”(Julia)

“Yeah, I said I’m good.”(Daniel)

“Okay...”(Julia)

“Maybe you overused your spells ahahaha, that’s lame.”(Josh). He said as he laughed at me without holding back.

“It’s rare, but there are cases of getting sick when overcasting or when using too many spells in a short period, but there wasn’t a case of hallucinations.”(Cassey)

“Dude, maybe you’re sick or something. Tomorrow I can act as the tank since Josh will immediately crumble.”(Mark). He said as he smirked.

“Hey! Don’t try me, little boy. I don’t have any toy with me to stop you from crying later.”(Josh). He barked back at Mark.

“Okay, don’t start a fight now.”(Julia)

“Let’s just continue hunting.”(Daniel). I looked at my cheap watch. It was already 3 pm.

“Only a couple hours left until it’s time. We can probably hunt a couple more demonic beasts if we tried hard enough.”(Daniel). I stared at where the window was before for a few seconds before moving again.

A couple of hours later, we managed to hunt a demonic boar. We had to evade the packs of demonic wolves along the way. Thankfully an AE soldier was observing the students in the area with a floating spell. He saw us in a pinch and killed off the groups of demonic wolves, and told us to go back. It was already 5:30 pm when we reached the cabin.

“It was a rough day. We didn’t expect to see a pack of demonic wolves kilometers away from their nest.”(Daniel)

“Well, they are territorial by nature. Their whole territory was probably this whole forest itself.”(Cassey)

“Then how come we didn’t managed to encounter one until it was late.”(Josh)

“If you think about it, the soldiers probably cleaned the way for the students. Maybe the ones we saw are scouts from the nest.”(Cassey)

We were inside the cabin lobby sitting on one of the chairs surrounding a table, similar to that in the cafeteria. While we were conversing, a student wearing an apron approached us and brought us plates of cooked demonic meats. When I looked around, I saw more students in similar clothes and were also bringing food to other groups.

“Isn’t demonic meat harmful?”(Daniel). I said as I watched the others eat theirs.

“What? What are you talking about?”(Josh). He said while his mouth was still full of food. He was using his hands to engulf the food on his plate.

“It’s only harmful to regular humans, for us however it is not.”(Cassey). She said as she carefully slices pieces of meat with her knife and eats them with the fork. Unlike Josh, everyone was eating normally.

“I mean, I never had one before, and I was in the impression of it was harming for me too.”(Daniel). I said as I try to take a bite of the meat.

“Dude, you’ve never eaten one?”(Mark)

“Yeah, I never had one before.”(Daniel). I took a piece and ate it. It was delicious. I don’t think I’ve eaten the meat of this quality before.

“It’s good, isn’t it?”(Julia)

“Yup. It was unfortunate I never eaten one before.”(Daniel). When I went out to eat with Cath’s family, they never mentioned anything about food from demonic beasts. They would take me out to an ordinary restaurant with them. I’m still grateful for that.

“Come to think of it, Daniel. You said you don’t have a phone yet?”(Julia)

“Yeah, I was planning on buying last month. But I don’t have enough money on me. My balance right now is about 2.3k. The 2k was from our allowance.”(Daniel)

“Why?”(Daniel)

“Don’t you have your friend Cath with you in the Academy? Why can’t she help you with this? You said she’s in class A. They receive like 20k a month. She won't mind.”(Julia)

‘It’s embarrassing to ask her for money.’(Daniel). I thought as I stare down at my plate.

“Because It’s embarrassing, and she told me that I couldn’t ask for help, remember?”(Daniel). I answered as I look into her eyes.

“I see. I can share the cost if you want to buy a phone. I wouldn’t mind.”(Julia)

“No, it’s alright.”(Daniel)

“Both of you are close to each other. Is there something happening behind the scenes?”(Cassey). She was directly in front of us, sitting on the other side of the table.

“Like I said earlier, nothing.”(Daniel). I denied her. Julia had been kind to me, and I don’t want her to be awkward because of me.

“He’s like my little brother, I guess. You don’t want to take off your eyes on him as he might do something.”(Julia). She giggled.

“Hey, I’m not like that. I can manage even if you weren’t there.”(Daniel)

“Ahahahaha. I know, I know.”(Julia). She continued to giggle.

“Can I touch your hair again?”(Julia). She said when she stopped giggling.

“No. That’s a war crime.”(Daniel). I refused her request and took another bite.

“By the way, who was Cath that you mentioned? You know someone from A-Class?”(Cassey)

“Catherine. She’s the friend that I said I live with too earlier. I don’t actually live with her, but I will stay at their house from time to time.”(Daniel)

“So, is she like your sister or something?”(Mark)

Sister? No. All this time, she’s the one I look up to. She was perfect in every aspect. I don’t know if this is just admiration, like, or even love. But I know it hurts every time she ignored me when I tried to talk to her.

“Yeah. You can say that.”(Daniel)

“That’s rough, man.”(Mark)

“Ha! Probably because you’re weak, so she didn’t want to talk to you in the Academy. She’s ashamed.”(Josh). After Josh said that, everyone peered at him.

“Josh, what is wrong with you. Is that in your blood, or just you?”(Julia)

“No. He’s probably right.”(Daniel). That’s definitely the correct answer. Because I’ve been a pain for her for a long time, she didn’t want to deal with it anymore.

“Did you guys know that the UDA raided another syndicate group? Although it was unfortunate that it wasn’t the Null group. But at least they reduced the number by one.”(Cassey). She said as if she noticed my tone and changed the subject.

“The thing is, it was just outside LionHeart, in Whalelight.”(Cassey). She added.

“What?”(Mark)

“Yup! Because including LionHeart inside Whalelight, the total area covered is about 40km. LionHeart is only about 15km inside. So it wasn’t actually that hard to believe one or two in Whalelight. But! Here’s the interesting part.”(Cassey). She gulped down her cup of water.

“They say that Null was probably hiding inside LionHeart.”(Cassey)

“What!?”(All of us). We exclaimed at the same time, causing the surrounding groups to look in our direction.

“Shhhhhh, don’t let anyone know.”(Cassey)

“How’d you even know this stuff, dude.”(Mark)

“Did you already forgot? My parents work in UDA. I heard it from them”(Cassey)

“Stop lying, you little shit. They wouldn’t just tell you just because you’re their daughter.”(Josh)

“They didn’t. I found it out on my own.”(Cassey). She chuckled as she revealed that she was spying and eavesdropping on her parents.

“How did they even manage to get past the guards?”(Daniel)

“That's because they are UDA soldiers themselves. Not only that, but there are definitely corrupt AE soldiers, politicians, and private companies out there. Not only are they well hidden, but well backed too.”(Cassey)

“That’s crazy.”(Mark)

“Not really, maybe a teacher inside the Academy is one of them too. We just don’t know. Even the students, one could be one of them.”(Julia). She said with a trembling voice and evident anger from her eyes.

“Did something happened in the past?”(Daniel). I asked her. She smiled at me and said.

“Since it’s you that asked, I’ll tell you.”(Julia). She paused for a few seconds.

“Five years ago, a Null member was rampaging in our area. We were evacuating, but rubble hit my brother in the head. He was in a coma for a year. He woke up with amnesia and…. He was acting as if he was a kid again. He never recovered from that.”(Julia)

I see, is that why she treats me like her brother and why she decided to become a AE soldier? Julia was very kind. Unlike me, she was popular in the class, but she never leaves my side.

“Those guys are always ruining innocent people’s lives. As expected of them.”(Josh)

“Yeah, dude, I’ll definitely hunt them down once I become a AE soldier.”(Mark)

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought this topic. I didn’t know.”(Cassey). She said with an apologetic look. I know it wasn’t her fault since she only changed the topic because of me.

I put my right hand on Julia's hand and held it.

“I want to apologize too. I didn’t know anything about your past, I only talked about myself. From now on, I’ll listen to yours too.”(Daniel). I tightened my grip on her hand. I was selfish. I wasn’t thinking about her at all.

After, we continued our conversation on different things until it was time to sleep. The genders are separated. The girls will be sleeping inside the cabin, where they will have to share the rooms with others. But for us boys, however, are not so lucky. We have to sleep outside, and there are only a few tents available.

Including me, some of us decided to sleep on the grass around the cabin. I was looking at the night sky, thinking about the day.

“Mark and Josh were probably already sleeping inside one of the tents.”(Daniel). I muttered to myself. My eyes were still wide open, unable to sleep.

Julia has something that keeps her going. But for me, I’m only it for the money. I wanted to repay Mrs. Carla’s family and give my grandparents a good life before they disappear. But I don’t have real motivation. As I was thinking by myself, I remembered something bizarre that happened earlier. The window popped out, out of nowhere.

‘I wonder what it was. Is it going to appear again?’(Daniel). As I thought of that, the window appeared again. But it was showing a different thing this time.

-Daniel Bernal-

-Level 3 – EXP 7/50-

Health: 130 / 130

Stamina: 130 / 130

Mana: 70 / 70

16 – STR – Strength

12 – AGI – Speed

15 – INT – Increases Spell learning rate and prolongs Spells’ effectiveness time.

14 – VIT – Health & Stamina Capacity

10 – DEX – Increases body armor and Health & Stamina Regeneration

7 – LUK – Increases Chances of critical damage and loot quality.

“What? It really does look like the game we played. But what is this thing.”(Daniel). As if it heard what it said, another window appeared right beside it.

-Daniel Bernal – ME/Bloodline power: Player-

‘What? I have a bloodline?’(Daniel)

-Yes- Another word appeared.

It can read what I’m reading, then? But it feels weird without using my mouth to talk to someone or, in this case, to something.

‘What are you?’(Daniel)

-I will be your helper. I will help you get stronger and survive in this world.-

‘I see. Why did you only appear now? Did I have you before?’(Daniel)

-You have me all this time. I only appeared now because you have not reached the required level.-

That explains what seemed right in front of me earlier.

‘What are you?”(Daniel)

-I am your System. Only exclusive to your bloodline. But you are currently the only one in the entire world to have access to this bloodline.-

‘How about my grandparents?’(Daniel)

-They also do not have the bloodline-

“I see. Sigh.”(Daniel)

‘So… what can you show me?’(Daniel)

-I showed you your stats, and I can show you your job-

-Job: Wanderer-

“Wanderer?”(Daniel)

-When the Player has reached level 5, you will be able to pick your next job.-

The System showed another window. There are four jobs that I could see. Warrior, Hunter, Cleric, and Mage.

‘System, why is it only showing me four classes?’(Daniel)

-Picking one of them will unlock more classes for that job. And will unlock more as you rank your class up. An example: Warrior -> Knight -> Paladin -> Holy knight.-

‘I see…. Can you tell me the difference between the four starting jobs?’(Daniel)

-With pleasure, Player.-

-Warrior: High Attack, High Defense, and Low Speed. – Frontline defense-

-Hunter: High Attack, low Defense, and High Speed. – Hit and Run tactic-

-Mage: High Magic Power, Medium Defense, and Low Speed. – High Magic/Spell power-

-Cleric: Low Magic Power, Medium Defense, and Low Speed. – Support. High Buff and Healing power-

‘This is similar to a game. System, can you show me the paths for each class?’(Daniel)

-Negative.-

“Why?? You already showed me one. It won’t hurt for another.”(Daniel)

-I only showed the player what I am allowed to show and to what extent. It is the Player’s choice to decide what path he wants to know.-

“Then, how many tiers I can unlock?”(Daniel)

-Unknown. But your current tier is 0.-

“How am I going to get stronger then?”(Daniel)

-The Player currently has nine unallocated stat points.-

“Stat points… I see. I get what you mean. Could you show me the stats again?”(Daniel)

-Yes-

“Hmmm. Nine, where should I put them at. Hmmmm. Okay, I got it.”(Daniel)

I put 3 points for LUK, 3 in AGI, 1 VIT, and 2 for STR.

-Daniel Bernal-

Health: 130 / 130 -> 150 / 150

Stamina: 130 / 130 -> 150 / 150

-Level 3 – EXP 7/50-

Mana: 70 / 70

16 -> 18 – STR – Strength

12 -> 15 – AGI – Speed

15 – INT – Increases Spell learning rate and prolongs Spells’ effectiveness time.

14 -> 15– VIT – Health & Stamina Capacity

10 – DEX – Increases body armor and Health & Stamina Regeneration

7 -> 10 – LUK – Increases Chances of critical damage and loot quality.

“What a minute.”(Daniel). I suddenly stopped after I allocated the points I had.

“What’s loot? Like the materials from the monsters? Is that going to make any difference since we can just butcher a demonic beast carefully and get the same amount?”(Daniel). I asked the System confusedly.

-It increases the chance that the monster will be of better quality when it dies. Destroying the monster will negate the LUK effect.-

‘I see.’(Daniel). As I thought of this, another window popped out.

‘Quest? Achievements? System what does this mean?’(Daniel)

-I will be giving the Player a mission depending on the current situation.-

‘Then what about the achievements?’(Daniel)

-Missions that are already generated for the player.-

“Why is the achievement side of the window is empty?”(Daniel)

-It is left for the Player to discover.-

‘Dang it.’(Daniel). It doesn’t matter since there are quests anyway.

There are three quests in front of me. The first one is to kill 20 demonic beasts for 50 exp, just ten more to complete it. The second one is to reach level 5 for extra three stat points. And the last one is…

“System, what the hell is this. The third quest. It says to kill another student for 50 exp. Why is this here?”(Daniel)

-Is there a problem with the third one?-

“I can’t do this one!”(Daniel). I shouted silently as there are people who are already fast asleep.

-Then, the Player will have to wait for a week until the mission is replaced with a new one.-

“Can’t you do it now?”(Daniel)

-Negative.-

Sigh

I guess I’ll go to sleep soon. I’ll need all the energy I can get for tomorrow’s raid. We will have to attack the demonic nest, and it won’t be easy.