System Change

After mentally agreeing to his choice, a new window appeared in his vision.

Congratulations

You are now a ‘Champion of the Void.’

That’s it? Just a single message, and nothing different? Derek closed the message, only for another to pop up.

For obtaining an epic rarity class, you have received 15 skill points.

You have received 20 stat points.

Now that’s more like it. Status! Derek checked his new status screen.

Status

Name

Derek Hunt

Age

29

Level

10

Experience

375/545

Class

Champion of the Void (Epic)

Race

Human (Modified)

Health

4000

Mana

1950

Stamina

4910

Defense

49 (Armor + 135)

Attack

46 (Weapon + 0)

Stats

Strength

343

Dexterity

241

Endurance

491

Vitality

400

Intelligence

203

Wisdom

195

Stat Points Remaining

110

Skills

Greater Meditation Lv 1, Identify Lv 8

Skill Points Remaining

15

Awards

Giant Slayer

Hmm. Not enough XP for another level. I could have sworn that my remaining experience would have been more than enough for at least one more level, if not two. Derek was having a difficult time understanding his lack of experience points. Either the XP needed jumps at class selection level, or something else is going on.

Derek decided that he might as well get more information out of Leon. “Yo, Leon.” Leon looked back over to Derek. “You said that you have an uncommon class, right?” Derek got straight to the point.

“Yes, I have the ‘Forrester’ uncommon class. It’s a small step up from a ‘Hunter’ class. I was able to receive seven skill points for the upgrade, though there are some skills that cost me two skill points to buy.” Leon did not hold any information back.

“Interesting. So, did you find it hard to level your uncommon class?”

“Of course it’s harder to level an uncommon class than a common class. It is quite well known that the higher the rarity of the class, the more experience it takes to level. My uncommon class isn’t too bad to level, but a rare class is said to take 50 percent more experience than a common class.” Leon explained.

Derek sighed. Of course it’s like that. Now I have to get what, twice as much XP to level? And this is with this greedy ass system. Derek was lamenting his bad luck when something else Leon had said struck him. “You said that your class skills cost more than usual?” Derek then glared at Thomas. “I thought you said that skills cost one skill point.”

“N-no, I said that some skills may cost more.” Thomas corrected. He did not like the look he was getting from Derek.

Derek thought back to their conversation by the campfire. He did say that. He remembered. He moved his gaze back to Leon, waiting for an answer.

“Thomas is right. Some skills from higher rarity classes require more points to buy. There are also Awards and Dungeons that reward skills upon completion, but you still have to spend the skill points in order to use them.” Leon saw his gaze and speedily answered.

“Cheap ass system” Derek muttered under his breath. Thomas and Leon looked at each other, eyes wide at Derek’s remark. Derek did not notice the actions of the two, his mind was stuck on Leon’s last sentence. Dungeons. I wonder if they are anything like the dungeons from my old system. Derek was going to ask Leon more questions, but decided that they could wait.

Derek believed he was going to be flush with skill points, but now he dreaded looking at his new skills. Well, let’s get to it then. He gritted his teeth and looked at the first skill.

Channel Void

Channel the void through your body. Using void energy, attack or defend. The higher the level of the skill, the easier it becomes to manipulate the void, also reduces the amount of mana needed to use.

Uses 200 mana/s

Cost: 5 Skill Points

Derek flinched at the cost of the skill. This better be worth it.

Would You Like to Learn Channel Void?

Yes. Derek responded internally, and the notification disappeared before being replaced by a new message.

Channel Void Learned Successfully

Skill Points Remaining: 10

Derek still felt the same as before, but he had not tried to activate his new skill yet. Here we go. He thought about the skill, then willed it to activate, as he had done before with his old skills.

Thomas and Leon were in the middle of a discussion when they noticed Derek acting strangely. They hushed, and both curiously stared at the young man, wondering what this odd person was now doing.

Thomas had already seen some unimaginable things happen around Derek, so he was not too worried at first. Soon, however, he became concerned, very concerned. As he was staring at Derek, everything around the three of them stilled. Almost as if they were in the eye of a hurricane.

It was even getting harder for Thomas to breathe. He backed away a bit, just enough to allow him to catch his breath. Leon did not seem as troubled by the atmosphere as Thomas was, but Thomas could tell that it agitated him.

The still atmosphere around Derek seemed to draw into him, like he was magnetic. Once the atmosphere was normal around the other two, a thin layer of purple light began forming around Derek. Soon the light pressed into his skin and vanished.

Everything seemed back to normal, so Thomas let out a breath. He looked up towards Derek, waiting for him to open his eyes so he could find out what happened. But when Derek opened his eyes, no words were able to escape Thomas’s lips.

Staring back at Thomas were not the light blue eyes that he was used to seeing from Derek, but a deep purple. Not just the irises either, both of his eyes were a solid purple, almost black. If Derek would have had eyes like this when he first met, he would still think he was a demon. In fact, he was beginning to doubt his previous judgement.

Fortunately, the new eyes did not have the same effect on Leon. He had been to the city and had previously seen a mage channel lightning. Though, the effect that the spell had on that mage paled in comparison to what was occurring with Derek. Still, Leon was much less concerned now that he had an idea of what was going on. It seems that the atmospheric change around Derek happened because he had yet to get control of the spell.

What surprised Leon the most was Derek’s ability to get what was clearly a new spell under control so quickly. I really want to know more about this young man.

The entire spectacle happened within ten seconds. Actually, that was as long as Derek was able to have the spell activated.

“Ah!” Derek clutched at his head. Shit! That hurts. Derek complained inwardly.

“Haha, mana deprivation, I presume?” Leon chuckled and asked Derek.

“Yeah, new spell. I wasn’t thinking about my mana. Fuck, 200 mana a second is insane.” Derek muttered offhandedly.

What? Did he say 200 mana per second? That means his Wisdom has got to be around the 200 mark. Leon thought back to the few things he had seen Derek do. The speed in which he brought Brandi and Mal back, plus his stamina and Strength to carry them for such a distance. Not to mention the fact he fought off that horde of monsters without any armor on. Wisdom is probably one of his lowest stats. Leon was finally getting to know just how big of a monster Derek was. What happened next, however, shocked him to his core.

Derek closed his eyes and cast Greater Meditation. Four minutes later, he used Channel Void. Ten seconds later, he scrunched up his face and held his head. He repeated this cycle a few more times.

Derek was in love with his new skill. There was a power flowing within him, threatening to escape. The more he channeled the void, the more he understood it. He was able to direct the flow, focusing it all at one point. He had no clue what kind of damage it would do if used to attack, but he knew it would not be light. He focused with all his willpower, finally managing to bring a small ball of purple out of his body, into his hand. The ball was no larger than a pea, but he knew there was an incredible power sealed within. If I hit something with this, what will it do? I don’t even know what properties void has. I mean, fire would burn, lightning would shock, what will void do? Null? Erase? He could not wait to find out.

Derek was no longer mad that the skill had cost so much to learn.

Leon thought he was going insane. He knew Derek was using Meditation in between casts, but what he was seeing was impossible. Five minutes, no, maybe less. He’s recharging his mana in less than five minutes. What level has this monster’s Meditation skill reached?

Leon had previously thought he would have something to talk to Derek about when he realized Derek was learning a new skill. But seeing what Derek was doing now, he did not dare speak. And he’s letting his mana go dry every time. Masochist, he’s a masochist.

Thomas was oblivious to Leon’s thoughts. He had calmed down after hearing Leon’s words. He was getting impatient, so he interrupted Derek. “What are you doing? Is that Meditation?” He asked.

“Oh, sorry. Yeah, it’s Meditation. I’m using a skill I just picked up, then using Meditation to refill my mana. I’m trying to learn how to best use the new skill.” Derek had a soft spot for Thomas, so he did not mind explaining to him. “In fact, when you finally unlock your system, the first skill point you use should be put into Meditation. Meditation is one of if not the best general skill to get. If you level it up enough, you can use it without losing your senses. Hell, if you upgrade it, you can activate it while moving, possibly while fighting.” Derek did not know how valuable the information he had given the boy actually was.

Leon, however, did know. Finally, he could not restrain himself anymore. His village was in ruin, friends that he had known for ages were torn apart, and his best friend was lying in the arms of his family, dying. But all of that fled him, and he could only focus on Derek. “You said Meditation can be used without loss of one’s senses? And you can upgrade the skill?”

Derek squinted his eyes at Leon, starting to realize how eager Leon was for this information. Well, it’s not like he hasn’t helped me. “Yep, it can be upgraded to Greater Meditation. I suspect that most skills can be upgraded. It takes an extra skill point and level 20. I’m not sure about other skills.”

“So, do you have this Greater Meditation? Can you meditate while moving?” Leon knew how rude it was to ask these questions, but he could not hold back.

Derek smiled, but did not respond.

Leon knew that was all he was going to get out of Derek, so he did not ask anymore questions. He ruefully smiled, then looked over to the grieving family. Travis’s time was almost up.

Derek, on the other hand, went back and looked at his remaining skill.

Void Call

Call to the Void

Cost: 7 Skill Points

What, what kind of description is that? And 7 skill points, this system is trying to rob me blind. I mean, I guess it has to be amazing, right? Channel Void seems like it will come in handy and it only cost me 5 points, this costs 7. Derek had already forgotten his previous complaints about the cost of Channel Void. Now he was looking at this new, more expensive, skill with fire in his eyes.

Would You Like to Learn Void Call?