The hours passed and the sun had disappeared into the crack, only the sound of the water flowing and getting lost in the confines of the abyss just a few meters away remained.
Matt didn't know how much time had passed under the pain of his body being consumed by fire, he only knew that finally, all that burning had vanished, leaving behind a tired, aching body and a throat torn from screams of despair.
He could say that he had never felt anything like it, he had even wished to faint, but under that hopeless pain, losing consciousness seemed impossible.
It was only when his muscles stopped convulsing and his stomach growled that he managed to gather the strength to get up.
Driven by hunger, his gaze scanned the area. On the other side of the river rose a mass of picturesque trees whose sap shone brightly, not even the bark that covered them could stop their glow.
As a result, a gigantic expanse of a dense forest was displayed, covered by a golden glow and green bushes populated with red and striking berries.
The sight almost made him forget all the pain and exhaustion in his body.
'What a waste.' He thought as he imagined crossing that forest hand in hand with Marie.
His gaze fixed under the trees, although the bushes lacked the beautiful glow, the berries that populated them turned out to be even more striking than the trees themselves.
Matt could feel an uncontrollable desire to pounce on them and devour each one. But he didn't.
He could feel that there was something there, not only in the bushes and their berries, but in the entire forest, as if the shining forest was no less dangerous than the darkness of the abyss he was about to throw himself into.
Maybe, worse.
His body trembled at this thought, but he did not let himself be consumed by terror. He had just awakened from a nightmare of hopelessness and pain. A simple forest was nothing after that.
Besides, he still had much to think about.
'What were those messages?' The memories of the voice narrating just before falling to the ground returned to his mind.
'Have you accepted the system?' It was then, when he thought of the last word, that the strange signs surprised him again.
[I will give you the power that many desire… But the price will be just as great.]
[Mission: Blood Pact]
Bathe in the blood of your enemies or I will bathe in yours.
Objectives: 0/5.
Time limit: Two years.
[Mission: The vengeance of the extinct people.]
Unlock condition: ???
Then, Matt remained cold and distant.
Beyond the initial surprise, the words shown by the system made something clear: there was no turning back.
The message was direct, with no detours.
The system demanded blood... but not just any blood.
It wanted to taste one stained with the sweet and bitter flavor of vengeance.
And Matt understood it immediately.
Even though it did not name them, he knew exactly the names of the five targets the system desired.
The same five who marked his life with pain.
Matt let out a sigh.
He always knew he had to end them, he wanted to. But now the system gave him a compelling reason to do it.
Literally, his life was at stake.
"The vengeance of the extinct people." He murmured.
He had no idea what these words really referred to, but for some reason, he sensed it was related to the desperate screams within his soul before accepting the deal.
Even so, he decided to leave it for another time. It made no sense to think about a locked mission. He already had enough with the first one.
With a thought, the sign closed.
But before he could think of anything, it emerged again.
This time there was no message filled with emotion nor a blood pact that promised strength, but a simple sign with his name and various linked attributes.
[Matt]
[Vitality: 10]
[Strength: 10]
[Dexterity: 10]
[Perception: 20]
[Energy: 10]
He remained silent for a moment, lost in thought.
Had the strange system arranged his attributes in numerical form? And why was his perception double the rest?
Then he remembered his past. And understood why.
'After all, it took good danger perception to survive in the orphanage.'
Before Marie arrived at the orphanage, Matt's life had been extremely harsh.
Garren and his group used to seek him out, lurking in every corner to beat and even torture him.
Over time, Matt developed a sort of sixth sense. It allowed him to perceive danger even before anything happened. In this way, he managed to avoid many tortures and remain alive to this day.
Even now, that sense was still working and was screaming that the forest hid something behind its enchanting facade.
After observing his attributes, Matt wondered if it was possible to increase them. However, this question was answered just below.
[Blood Power: You can absorb one point of your enemy's outstanding attribute by consuming their blood.]
[Blood Blessing: It is difficult to make you bleed.]
[Fairy's Blessing: The system will show you what you know.]
[Desired: Many covet your power.]
'Huh?'
Matt reread the messages over and over again, almost fearing it was all his imagination. Fortunately,
They were still there!
This was surprising in many ways.
To begin with, cultivators had to spend hours in intense training, training both their mind and body for years just to achieve the increase of a single fruit.
Of course, each one's training varies depending on the type of gift one obtains.
Normally, a Potentiation gift depends directly on the user's physical strength. The stronger their body is, the greater the power the gift can release, which eventually allows advancement in their energy.
Garren was a clear example of this.
His gift granted him a beastly transformation that enhanced his body and senses. In his case, the stronger his base physical state was, the more fearsome his transformed form became.
As for Emitters, the manifestation of the gift usually occurs outside the body, whether allowing them to throw fireballs or even secrete poison. Their strength usually relies on the user's mental fortitude.
By elevating the mind, the gift would become more powerful.
Of course, there are countless gifts, and there are cases where this rule does not apply—potentiators who benefit from the power of the mind and Emitters whose gifts depend on physical strength.
There are even cases where gifts benefit from something completely different.
If there was something they all had in common, it was that each one of them had to train to the limit to increase their level.
But Matt would only need to take his enemies' blood to grow stronger!
After this, it seemed nothing else would surprise him, but he was very wrong.
'Blood Blessing?'
Although it wasn't as much as "Blood Power," this ability was really useful. At least he wouldn't have to worry about bleeding out.
However, the rest left him with more questions.
What did Fairy's Blessing and Desired mean?
Even though he didn't understand it, the first one seemed meant to help him. But the second…
It left him with a cold, dark feeling.
It didn't seem like help or an ability, but rather a warning from the system.
Matt closed the system with a thought and swallowed hard.
'I have to become strong as soon as possible.'
The problem now was how to hunt those beasts. He had the power to grow through the blood of his enemies, but he didn't have the strength to bring them down.
Then, he remembered the system messages before falling into pain.
His eyes shone with excitement.
'Your gift has evolved.'
The system itself had told him that.
That means he might have a chance!
Matt quickly searched within his soul.
Gifts existed inside each person's soul, so he only had to enter and pull it out to summon it, or simply look inside and his mind would automatically be filled with information about how it works or what it looks like.
That's why each user usually knows everything about their gift as soon as they awaken it.
However, this time was different.
As soon as he thought about his gift, he didn't feel any information flooding into his head.
Although the gift was there, it felt as if it were surrounded by a dense fog that denied him any information about it.
Matt almost despaired because of it.
Fortunately, in the next instant, the system appeared, providing all the information in the form of words.
[Gift: Liquid Mutagen]
[Your Gift is capable of adapting]
[Your gift is capable of degenerating, analyzing, and modifying cells at will]
[Loyal companion: Your gift lives for and by you, it will never betray you and will do everything to serve you.]
[Stage: Awakening of Energy of one fruit.]
The sudden change surprised him, but not too much. The way the system presented the information was clearer and more concise than before.
Certainly, it was more useful.
'Is this what the ability: Blessing of the fairy refers to?'
Not wanting to waste more time, he reviewed the new information, surprised by the first words.
[Gift: Liquid Mutagen.]
'Liquid Mutagen?'
Although he knew the appearance of his gift, he had no way of knowing its name, so seeing it here was somewhat curious.
His mind recalled the dark and useless mass in the stable;
'Now, at least I could give it a name.'
But what is a Mutagen? Matt was completely unfamiliar with that word.
So, he continued reading.
His gift was no longer the same, that was clear. Where before it had no use, now it seemed to have several abilities. However...
'What is a cell? And why would it be loyal?' This last part was strange. After all, a gift could never betray its… master? As far as was known, a gift had no consciousness to do such a thing.
Something like that was impossible.
Feeling a bit disappointed with the information, since he didn't quite understand what it meant, Matt kept reading when his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
[Stage: Awakening of Energy of one fruit.]
"Awakening of energy!"
Even if it was a lie after he failed in the ceremony, he thought he would never have the chance to gather energy, and now they were telling him that he was in the energy awakening stage of one fruit!
It could even be a dream!
Matt pinched his forearm.
The pain ran through his body and a smile formed on his face.
Of course, it's not a lie, that torture he was subjected to could not have been created by his mind alone… It was real. Therefore, this is too!
However… Matt looked at his hands in confusion.
It's said that the awakened can feel the energy constantly coursing through their body, enhancing their muscles and senses and reaching a new level thanks to it. But Matt…
There was no change, it was even…
Disappointing.
Then, what was happening? Why didn't he feel stronger?
Suddenly, the memory of the message came to his mind and his body shuddered.
[Your gift has awakened its energy.]
'Could it be?'
Matt quickly searched for the connection to his gift and pulled on it to summon it.
'It can't be true!'
The thought that his gift had entered the path of cultivation entered his mind.
However, this didn't make much sense.
Gifts were the manifestation of the user's talent. There was no logic in it awakening its energy when its master couldn't even use it.
But once again, his gift had evolved.
No one knew how an evolution affected gifts. After all, the first king was the only case where a gift evolved.
There were no other cases to rely on.
Even so, all his doubts would be resolved just by testing his gift.
The dark liquid detached from his palms, adhering to the rock in front of him like a dark mass with its opalescent gleam reflecting the golden light of the trees in the distance.
Its surface expanded only to contract in the next instant, giving the appearance of breathing.
It was just as he remembered…
His gift was disappointing in many aspects, but… Matt's eyes remained on it for quite some time as he studied the liquid it was made of.
Unfortunately, not even the most intense gaze had noticed any change in it.
It wasn't until he was about to forget about it that something happened.
A strange swirl formed in the center of the liquid, and then a small tentacle emerged, moving in all directions as if searching for something until it finally stopped in front of Matt.
As if it had found what it was looking for, with an energetic motion, it moved its tentacle closer and remained expectant in front of Matt.
A chill ran down his spine and his body stepped back two steps before completely freezing.
"W-What!?"