In the black market, two young men chatted as they made their way toward the section beasts were sold. These two young men were Scarlett and Alan.After completing yesterday's quest she had gotten the shape-shifting sticker from the system. Too lazy to pick a new look she just went with the avatar Aviva had selected before but she made the silver hair shorter. She was wearing a hoodie and black jeans she felt comfortable in. The auto dressers Alan had gotten before were rendered useless since she decided to transform into a guy so they had to get new ones before leaving for the black market."Ahh" Scott sighed in contentment as he felt the evening breeze touch him. "It's been so long since I felt like this""Me too. It feels nice" Angelica added for once agreeing with Scott."What about you Aviva, can you feel the breeze" Scarlett ask since Aviva was the only one with her hands on her side. The other four had their arms stretched out like they wanted to embrace the wind."Yeah, I can
Charles Smith was a wealthy man, that was the most people remember about him now he's gone.His son Jorden was still young when he passed and to top it he never really knew the boy's mother. He had many women in his lifetime but non gave him a child let alone a son.One night he heard a doorbell ring, he had a servant open the door and then a 2-year-old boy walked in with a piece of paper in his hand."What is your name child?" he thought the boy was an orphan who was lost."My name is Jorden Smith" despite being just two years old, his voice was clear.At first, Charles thought he heard wrong but the boy spoke again. "My mom asked me to give you this" the boy then handed him the paper in his hand."Dear Charles,I have returned the stain you put in my life. There is no need to suspect me, he is your son. Go ahead and get a DNA test done and as for me, I want nothing to do with you. You may not remember or the incident was never in your memory but you had forced yourself on me when yo
Down at the underground facility, Wallace had to undergo a memory wipe more than five times just because Samson was suspicious.No matter what, Wallace was still a child so there was no way he could keep pretending all the time without Samson noticing something was off and those times Samson saw him with clear eyes he made sure his memory got wiped again until it was finally time to move him to meet the others.Memory wiping was very painful, it was like your brain was being split apart and every time Wallace always felt a headache when his memory healed by itself, each time he felt like he was placed in a centrifuge. The only thing keeping him together was the thought that his sister was out there.He followed obediently behind Samson who was still trying to see if he was blank or pretending again.They arrived in front of a large metallic door that looked like a vault. Samson stopped and turned to him. "I don't know how you do it but I will figure out how to wipe your memory for goo
[Name: Scarlett Lekrosh][Race: Human][Exp: 178,000/204,800][Level: 13][H.P: 1800/1800][S.P: 10][SOP: 1000][STR: 102][AGI: 100][VIT: 75][STA: 92][M.P: 0][CHA: 55]It was becoming increasingly hard to level up but during the week she had leveled up twice and that too without Aviva's help.Scarlett noticed that her vitality stat affected her health points one way or another but didn't really understand how the system calculated it. And after her charm crossed 50 she became even more attractive and Maple kept praising her to the skies.The system has gone back to giving normal daily quests but today was a bit different.[Daily Quest][Spend 2 hours inside level 10 gravity][Rewards: +100,000exp, unlock new skill]Scarlett was having a headache just looking at it. While it seemed easy, the gravity room was no joke, the highest she had ever climbed was level 5 and that too for only a few minutes, how the hell was she supposed to stand level 10 for 2 hours? no wonder the system w
"We still have a little less than two hours, try to get used to the pressure until then" Scott stretched.Despite Scott's mocking, Scarlett ignored him although she couldn't tell if it was because she actually couldn't do anything or she was tired of constantly arguing with him.Two hours became so long that Scarlett doubted if it was just two hours or if the system was taunting her.[Quest completed][Rewards granted][+100,000exp][+New skill]"Phew, finally it's over" Scarlett sighed as the pressure in the gravity room returned to normal.She sat on the floor panting when she suddenly received Alan's call."Will you be coming today?" she heard him ask through the phone."Maybe, but even if I can't make it Aviva should be able to" Scarlett turned to Aviva who raised her head after hearing her name.During the week, Scarlett found out that the souls had become strong enough to be apart from her for 12 hours and the distance wasn't limited because no matter where they were they would
While the elites introduced themselves one by one Scarlett thought about what teacher Cain said at the beginning. She just got her helmets but with what he said it meant she wouldn't use them for long. When she thought about the money she spent on purchasing the helmets, she felt like killing someone.Maple sitting beside her thought she was exhausted from using too much energy. "Don't worry just rest, you were so cool"Scarlett was too tired to roll her eyes or she would have.* * *After the ceremony ended, Scarlett left and did not wait for another second to familiarize herself with the elites. Even Maple didn't notice her leave.With an exhausted sigh, she lay on her bed. "Alan must be waiting for me but I'm tired, please Aviva can you go for me?"Aviva nodded and left. Seeing Scarlett like that even Scott did not have the heart to trouble her. Using that amount of soul points in one go might not have been fatal but it was still a bit dangerous.After changing her clothes Scarlett
~Two months later~Earth went through a lot of change, ability users kept popping up here and there and Scarlett's popularity was eventually drowned as people stopped paying attention to her.Scarlett and the others students were currently in the combat hall. Not just freshers, sophomores, and FYBs were there as well.Everyone was gathered to have their ability test done. After the test, the information of each student will be uploaded to the new platform, only then will they gain access. Customized VR goggles will be given to each student based on their ability.While Scarlett stood in the line, her mind kept replaying Alan's words."When it gets to your turn, swap with Aviva, do not for any reason forget that. Your natural affinity is water and fire and you will awaken without the stupid ability orb. The ability meter can notice this and if that happens the world will know that your psychic power is not an ability"Alan's words were integrated into her mind, her powers were not an a
After thinking for a bit, Scarlett decided to tell Alan about it. Then she checked out the instructions for SSO.After reading through the came to one conclusion. SSO had adapted the settings of VR games, killing monsters to gain experience, and level up or completely quest. That was what a typical VR game was like and Scarlett couldn't understand what they were trying to gain by doing it.The only confusing thing about all this was now she had two systems.«Name: Scarlett»«Level: 1»«Exp: 0/50»«Affinity level: Fire (10), Water (10)»"Just leave it the way it is, now let's go kill some monsters I'm already bored" Scott appeared. Scarlett rolled her eyes before walking away.* * *Ten minutes later.«You have left the safe zone»"What does that mean?" Scarlett asked looking at the notification with weird eyes. She had only heard about VR games from Scarlett so her knowledge was limited."It means you can now be attacked by other players or users" Mary replied. She and Scott had expla
Two hours later, Wallace regained consciousness with absolutely no recollection of himself, he was completely blank."Let's begin separation and then we'll call for the young master" Dr. Link said to the other men in white coats.Wallace was then moved to a circular table where his code would be temporarily removed. Things were done carefully this time as they made him unconscious again.Several minutes later, a floating disk with a white manacore sitting on top flew towards the glass pod in the center of the room and ever so gently placed the manacore inside it.After the manacore was placed in, other floating disks started appearing, each carrying a purple or red mana core and then flying towards the opening of the pod.What happened then was a feast for the eyes. As the other manacores entered the pod, each released a hue that was absorbed by the white core.Thirty minutes later, the white core was brought out again, still retaining its color even after absorbing all those differen
Deep in an underground facility, a young man stared at the reports in his hand and smiled. He couldn't suppress the joy in his heart."You have finally found a way to wipe his memory?""Yes, young master and you should probably continue reading the report" the man standing beside him said.The young man being referred to as young master nodded and continued reading until his eyes widened. "White? How is that possible?""I had them redo the test a couple of times but it kept giving the same results," the assistant said."A white mana core? It sounds unbelievable, the highest so far is gold and Aviva is the only one we have captured with a golden core, how can there be white all of a sudden" the young man lost his composure.While the world was still in the dark about mana core and other related subjects, he had been studying them for years."I was shocked as well, but isn't this a good thing? We have someone stronger than Aviva ever was" the assistant said."Do not say that...Aviva had
Few hours later Scarlett logged out. Fortunately, she got almost everything, the one thing remaining was elemental stones, not just hers but for the others too and she was hoping on them to get the coins she needed to buy them.After putting down her glasses, she was greeted by Maple's angry expression."I thought you said it was important?""It is important" Scarlett mumbled and then shook her head. She told her everything Alan told her while removing a lot of things though and inputting hers just to be safe."How do you even know all of that?" Maple eyed her suspiciously."Well actually..." Scarlett tried to explain but she was interrupted by Maple."Don't tell if you don't want to. I can't take it when you lie to me" Maple sighed with a dejected look. Ajax wasn't the only reason she was stressed, she had no idea what Scarlett must be going through but she wasn't telling her about it.Seeing the atmosphere becoming awkward she decided to change the topic."Where are your ghost frien
Nebillon city had many markets, there was even a grocery market but players rarely went there, although one could eat in SSO. It was still advised to log out at least once in two months.As SSO was a prototype it could have many unforeseen side effects, well at least that's what the students thought and the only thing keeping them at bay were these thoughts.Scarlett made her way into the busy market looking for any life-saving tool although she already had one, it didn't hurt to have another. Losing her hard earn levels was a nightmare, not because she was afraid to fight more creatures but because she had no time. It was just a week before the assessment and losing just one level could spell the end for you.She then walked into a store that sold accessories made of jade. Most life-saving tools were accessories so a good start."Welcome, welcome!!" an enthusiastic voice came from the other side of the counter."Hello?" Scarlett tilted her head in confusion. She heard the voice but c
Time slowly went by and before anyone could realize it, it was just a week left before the monthly assessment.Scarlett had patched things up with Maple and placed her full concentration on training, even though she felt that her instructor was pretty slow.She also ignored the third chain of the quest for the time being. The quest could be shared with ten people and that spoke volumes of how dangerous the quest was.In all this, Scarlett never forgets that her main goal was to save her brother but she was still weak.* * * Scarlett was currently in the training room with instructor Talon."Concentrate!!" Instructor Talon corrected again messaging his temples."I'm trying but it's hard, being on fire without actually catching fire, what do I even need that for, assessment is just next week. Please instructor Talon teach me something that is offensive" Scarlett pleaded but her pleas fell on deaf ears."I will teach you at my own pace. Now quit whining and start working on increasing t
Maple stood outside Scarlett's room, trying to comprehend what she was seeing."You guys?" she asked confused.When Scarlett started letting out curses, she knew something was up. "Scarlett?""You can see us?" Scott asked shocked. Being seen in SSO was rotatably different from being seen in real life and they all knew that. In fact, Maple just did them a favor by discovering them in the room, imagine they suddenly appeared in the class like they normally did, the outcome would be disastrous."What kind of question is that?" Maple frowned. "Scarlett?""I'm sorry for hiding it from you" Scarlett sighed, but the others had a change in expression."What are you doing Scarlett?" Bruce asked with a serious expression."What? I have to tell her about you guys at least. Scott back me up here, even if I make up an excuse, sooner or later she'll find out the truth so what's the use""If it makes any difference, I'm still here and I can hear you" Maple folded her arms.Scarlett facepalmed, who c
[Quest info: Oseremen is the village priestess, the original owner of the golden sand. Two days ago she was found missing from her cottage. You must find clues of her whereabouts on your own][Quest can be shared with a maximum of 10 players][Difficulty: S+][Quest item: Rainbow stone]"I'm back baby, who missed me?" Scott shouted upon entering the mind space."No one, you are causing a major disturbance just as you arrived" Angelica scoffed."The peace was great while it lasted" Mary commented, moving her glasses."I don't care what you guys say, I got a quest" Scott folded his arms."Yeah, like we couldn't get one""Angelica please don't bring yourself down to his level, and you guys should get out a bit, we need to talk" Scarlett sighed. She was tired of having to separate their squabble every single day.The souls appeared except Aviva and Scarlett decided to ignore them. Aviva was behaving too strangely these days and there was no time to address the issue yet.«Name: Scarlett»
"I have to complete this quest soon, 24 hours is almost over," Scott said before walking out of the room given to him but then he saw Obehi walking towards him from afar and immediately went back to the room. He had gotten an idea and planned to utilize it.'Don't know if it will work or not but there's one way to find out' he thought before using the small knife on the fruit plate to slightly injure his neck. The injury was healing at a fast pace but at least blood came out and stained his neck.Scott then sat down on the couch making low groaning noise and pretending to struggle.Obehi entered Scott's room and saw him groaning while closing his eyes. She immediately panicked and went to him cupping her face in her hands."What's wrong with you?" after caressing his face for a long time she noticed the blood on his neck and gasped.Scott gave himself a thumbs up before slowly opening his eyes to see Obehi's teary eyes, a part of him felt guilty but he used the fact that she was an NP
Scarlett stood in front of instructor Talon, listening closely as he exile the different tiers of the fire ability."While other instructors believe that there is no ability stronger than the other, I like to believe the fire is at the top, understanding your ability makes it stronger""Every ability has its tier, ranging from five to ten. Fire has seven, the first tier is 'Fire Control'"'That isn't so badAs if reading Scarlett's thought instructor Talon scoffed before he continued. "Fire control doesn't just involve you setting something on fire, your control over its will is what counts. Will it stop burning when you ask it to or will it continue to burn even after your orders?""Abilities were never ours in the first place, it's a way of earth's compensation towards our different lack to its current evolution so abilities do have a mind of their own, you have to tame them""Moving on, each tier of an ability has two sides, control over your element and that of others"Scarlett st