"So, how do I get stronger?" William asked as he strolled along the riverbank. His steps sent ripples through the water, each movement causing the river to quiver slightly.
[You have to kill living beings. The more living beings you kill, the more power you'll gain.]
"How will I know how much power I have?" William asked, a frown forming on his face. The fading sunlight cast its glow upon him, highlighting his unkempt hair and the mud stains smudged across his face.
*[Well...]*
Suddenly, a blue screen materialised in front of William, and his eyes lit up with excitement.
[Level Up
Name: William
Occupation: Ordinary Homo sapien
Level: 0]
"Level-up system? I can grow stronger by leveling up?" he muttered, a spark of determination igniting in his voice.
William felt a surge of pleasure in his heart as he stared at the screen. He wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the concept; anime and similar media had become a universal staple, especially with Ray's influence. Almost everyone in the world had encountered it in some form.
Who hadn't dreamt of being the protagonist in their own story, even if only in their imagination?
"Soon, I will take revenge on you, Ray," he muttered venomously, his voice dripping with hatred.
Determined, he began his killing spree. His first victim was a lizard casually wandering by. William stomped on it with his bare foot. The sensation of its body crunching beneath him sent a shiver of disgust through his spine.
As green blood oozed onto his foot, the stench and grotesque sight overwhelmed him, forcing him to vomit violently. Despite the nausea and filth, William gritted his teeth and pressed on.
William leveled up to Level 1 almost immediately, and a surge of warm energy coursed through his veins, gradually strengthening him.
"Is this the power I can gain?" he muttered, a chuckle escaping his lips as a new blue screen materialized before him.
[Congratulations! You have broken the chain of your gene and gained a new skill: Pyromancy.]
"I can manipulate fire again," William murmured, his tone tinged with disbelief and excitement. It felt like a dream—a sweet, intoxicating dream from which he didn't want to wake.
A small spark ignited in his palm, flickering like a newborn star. The sight made his excitement swell further.
"Now, can I create this fire infinitely and upgrade it?" William asked himself, his mind racing with possibilities.
Although he had wielded this ability before, it was vastly different this time. Previously, his pyromancy was severely limited—its power static and its duration brief. But now, with the potential for growth, William felt a glimmer of hope for true strength.
In the past, even to create that tiny spark, William had spent years painstakingly conducting research on his own. Despite gathering all the resources and assistance he could find, it had taken him five long years of relentless effort to achieve even a fraction of control over such a meager power.
But now, he wielded this skill effortlessly, as if it had always been a part of him.
[Using skills consumes stamina]
"Oh, is that so?" William raised his eyebrows in surprise, contemplating the implications.
"If I could level up even more, then I might be able to use this power infinitely. No—" his voice grew resolute, "to beat that monster, I need to become far stronger..."
While Ray was enjoying his time, the man on the screen in front of them gradually turned miserable.
As he walked along the riverside, he encountered a ferocious crocodile that stood three meters tall if it were on its two legs.
"This is..." William immediately felt a chill in his heart as he decisively turned around. Unfortunately, the senses of a true predator are much greater than those of its prey.
The crocodile swiftly swam through the river, slowly approaching him.
"Damn it, I need to get out of here."
William dashed to the left with an extremely frightened expression. In the water, the speed of the crocodile was greater than his, but on land, it was an entirely different story.
He was acutely aware of the difference and plunged into the jungle.
"Want to have some amusement while watching the monkey, my dear?" Ray asked, glancing at Yuna and Yukia.
"How?" Yuna cutely tilted her head.
"Haha, you shouldn't ask how. You should ask me how many!"
Ray chuckled.
The moment he said those words, William, who was running through the wild, immediately stumbled and fell into a pit.
"This is..." Before he could comprehend the situation, William felt countless creatures slowly slithering across his body; they were extremely slippery.
"What is this?"
William's eyes fluttered open, his vision blurred by the sunlight filtering through the hole above. A shiver ran down his spine as his breath hitched. Looming unnervingly close to his body was a small head—sleek, triangular, and terrifyingly still.
"A fucking snake!?"
He screamed, realizing that it wasn't just one snake but a den of terrifying serpents wrapped around him, completely covering him like bondage.
Ahhhh—
His loud scream grew more frantic.
"Eww, this is pretty disgusting," Yuna said, quickly turning away, as if trying to unsee the scene.
"Should I stop?"
"Eh, no. It's just that the scene is a little disgusting, that's all. But don't you want him alive? Won't this den of snakes kill him?"
"You don't have to worry about that. There's a Universal being inside him. If he can't even survive this, then he's simply not worthy," Ray replied, casually shrugging with the most nonchalant expression.
"I see."
As expected, a bright light soon shone, and the entire den of snakes was obliterated, turning to dust in the wind.
"Dance like a monkey, William, for my amusement," Ray muttered, watching the screen while sipping his wine.
"This is what you get for messing with my daughter..."
Snickering to himself, Ray watched William's suffering as though it were a circus performance. This was how his days passed—spending more time with his woman and watching the circus.