Chapter 3

He was excited as he thought of every possible thing the system would give him, but he realized it was only an instant level-up that the system promised. He was a little bit disheartened because that was the only reward.

He received a notification from the system and immediately wanted to see what it was.

[QUEST ACHIEVED]

[REWARDS: Instant Level Up]

All of a sudden, Roshan felt a new surge of energy coming from deep within, and he was renewed.

[HOST LEVEL: Level 2]

[CURRENT ABILITY: None]

[STRENGTH: 11]

[AGILITY: 9]

[SPEED: 10]

[STAMINA: 8]

[Mage Status]

[Mage Level: 0]

[Magic Ability: None]

[Mana Control: 0]

[HP: 15/15]

[EXP: 0/15]

[One free stat has been obtained]

Looking through his status, Roshan could only marvel. He had never expected this kind of reward. He went through all his attributes and saw that they all gained a point increase from completing the quest.

He noticed he had what the system called a free stat. ‘What the hell was that?’ he wondered. It was as if the system heard his thought directly, because right after that, he saw another message.

[A free stat is obtained when one earns it. The host would earn it after a wise decision, a successful planned victory. There are other ways to earn it, but due to the host's level, information is currently locked.]

[A free stat can be added to current attribute stats in order to improve them.]

After the brief explanation, Roshan wondered what the system meant by ‘Information Locked’, but he quickly drooled at the fact that he could increase one of his attributes.

Immediately, he thought of the lowest one — ‘Stamina’. It was true that he always got tired easily, and he needed to get rid of that weakness.

He added the stat immediately to his Stamina.

[Stat added to Stamina]

[Current Stamina: 9]

It was still a little, but at least he improved. He smiled as he dragged the dead beast all the way home.

He dragged the dead beast as he went. Though he was a bit far from home, as he had traveled far to search for the beast, his parents would be very angry, but after seeing the food they would have, they would be pleased. The simple thought made him grin.

As a good tracker, it was faster for him to get through the forest using his nose. He followed the familiar scent of his home and avoided every possible trouble.

A faint smile could be perceived as he got closer.

“Darling, we are under attack!” Gray called out to his wife, and a few seconds later, the front door of their house came crashing down.

A group of five men, all dressed in black with their faces fully covered except for their eyes, stepped in.

‘The Night Wings.’ Gray immediately knew what they were— assassins.

He gripped his sword harder and took a fighting stance. He knew this was not going to be an easy fight.

The man in front stepped forward, and from his menacing eyes, Gray could tell he was the leader.

He moved as fast as possible and swung his sword. A loud clang was heard as Gray’s sword was held up high.

“Long time, no see, Teacher,” the man said as he moved his sword again, aiming at the old man’s side.

The old man blocked it again. “Looks like you still have the same sloppy moves,” Gray said, but he spoke too soon. He moved his hand at the right moment to stop a kick coming toward his head, but he was pushed back.

“Surprised?” the young man said as he moved in quicker than before, repeating the same sequence. ‘Strike… kick. Strike… punch.’ He kept pushing Gray back into the house.

Gray knew he had to turn the tides. He gripped his sword tighter, and flames could be seen forming along the edges of the blade as he slashed. The air around him distorted because of that single strike.

The assassin knew he would not escape this, so he moved out of the way, but it was a little too late. Part of the flames touched him, his armor burnt black, and half of the room was covered in fire.

Seeing this, Gray immediately turned to see how his wife was faring.

“Ria, are you alright?” he called out to her.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me,” a soft, silky voice echoed through the room.

Ria was a powerful warlock; of course she would be fine. She had already taken down two of the weaker assassins on her own.

Now she was cornered by the remaining two. The first moved forward with swift movements and slashed at her neck, while the other swung at her side.

She knew this needed to be carefully planned, or she would be hurt. She grabbed a dagger from under her coat and blocked the one aiming for her side. Twisting her body awkwardly, she managed to escape the neck slash with only a slight scratch on her cheek, from which blood flowed.

“How dare you draw my blood!” she boomed in anger, and her eyes turned white— fully white.

She lifted herself into the air, her hair and dress moving wildly as she raised her hands, causing the floor around her to rise. She closed her fist, and a loud bang followed.

The second assassin turned to see his partner explode, blood splashing across the room.

‘So this is the power of a warlock,’ he thought, gaping at her.

He moved swiftly, attempting to flee as large rocks flew toward him. He came close to the door, ready to jump out any second, when a loud slash was heard, and his head rolled across the floor.

At that moment, everything became peaceful. All the assassins were dead.

Ria heaved a breath and fell to her knees. She knew using her power would take a toll on her.

Gray came by her side. “You did well, love. You took out more than me,” he said as he smiled at her.