Shock mixed with multiple other emotions assailed him unexpectedly.
At the appearance of the vicious notifications about the penalty, Rex's pupils wavered.
He was expecting a cut to his limb as a penalty, not a painful death.
It was only a Race Evolution Quest—something that he would definitely complete, no matter what as he needed it—there is no reason for the penalty to be this severe. Losing one of his pack members at random is unacceptable.
As if that was not enough, the System made a specification that it would be the inner pack.
Not from the outer pack members or the pack as a whole, but the inner pack.
He could handle it if Prof. K or Giana were chosen, however, both were excluded from this.
All those who he cared about were in the inner pack members.
For him, this is not a mere penalty, this is a death sentence as he couldn't bear losing more.
Out of anything, he didn't expect the System to give that kind of penalty.
But then again—from the very start, Rex has never questioned the System and its power.
Just like a child being given a birthday surprise, that he desired most—Rex was so infatuated by the fact that he could get his revenge against Ruston, that the very notion of the System's origin had never crossed his mind.
He never knew why he was the one chosen and never knew where the System came from.
All he knows is that the System wanted to make him invincible under the full moon.
Rex was desperate, so he didn't question things too much.
Sure—he was unwilling to be turned into a Werewolf back then, but that was about it.
Other than that, he was very accepting of the System.
Compared to the darkness of his world—filled with pain, and suffering, the System, came out as a beacon of hope. It was the only way he could transform his life from shadow to light, the sole path to overcoming his trauma and putting it behind.
For Rex, the System was the only way he could head, and he didn't dare to question it.
Something that could understand him and offer a solution to his problem.
He rather takes the System as a second chance to life.
Rex wanted power to repay what Ruston did to his biological parents, and the System gives.
Now, as time passed and that hatred recede, he still barely knew about the System.
It was quite true to a certain point that his understanding of the System remains the same.
But that chanced after the fight against the Fifthborn—he learned the fact that someone, like him, possesses the System back in the ancient era. He knew that the System was some form of entity that could be passed to others.
All was revealed because of the System Relaying Bet quest.
Losing against the Fifthborn mean that he would be the successor of the System.
From those little facts, Rex could deduce that the System has its unwavering aim.
It searches for someone capable of achieving its ultimate goal.
One obvious aim was to make the 'user', whoever they are, invincible under the full moon.
Since the System was now in his possession—that aim must not been achieved by any of the previous users of the System. Rex was an ordinary man before all of this—he couldn't believe that the previous users couldn't reach, that aim of the System, when even he reached this far relying solely on his willpower and hatred.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that the System is here, and its aim was not achieved.
But now, curiosity about the System began to spar inside of Rex.
For once he wanted to learn more about the origin of the thing that helped him get strong.
And that desire grew more at the sight of these notifications.
Rex reads the notifications multiple times, trying to affirm what he was seeing was right.
Since he asked no questions that required the System to answer, this was an odd reply.
Rex also felt like he should've remembered this notification, but he forgot.
In the next second, he sucked in a cold breath with his eyes still glued to the notification.
"System... are you, in any possibly way, sentient?" He asked suspiciously.
...
Meanwhile, back to the outskirts of the forest right outside the Dark Elf Kingdom.
Bevryth was frozen in place when she heard what Kyran said.
She was expecting that Kyran would come tomorrow, and she and her family would have the time to flee before he arrived—knowing full well that their family would be hung at his arrival, but that was a complete mistake.
It was Kyran's plan to make her think that she had time to escape.
He was testing her, and now with her choices, he didn't like the result one bit.
Gritting her teeth—Bevryth tried to keep a calm composure, her expression returned back to normal as she looked at Kyran directly in the eyes, "Let go of him and my family—this matter is already settled, Lord Flunra already punished us. All of the people also condemned us, we already knew what we did was wrong, there's no need for this"
Looking at her husband, Valthor, Bevryth couldn't help but frown deeper.
She couldn't stand the situation she was in right now.
Aside from being used as a seat by Kyran, despite both of his hands being impaled by an ice spike each, causing excruciating pain—there was also another knee-length ice spike directly below Valthor's stomach, forcing him to keep a perfect bowing posture.
If he as much as bent down a little, his gut would be impaled by the ice spike.
Even a touch from its tip forced out a hiss out of his lips.
Such a degrading sight angered Bevryth inside, for one, that is her esteemed husband!
"Don't twist the situation with your words, it displeases me," Kyran commented, leaning back a little and putting more weight onto Valthor, causing him to moan in agony as he tries to in a desperate manner, keep his balance.
His stomach was already bleeding, his enchanted clothes didn't help mitigate this at all.
Upon seeing this, a bead of cold sweat ran down the side of Bevryth's face.
Not only was this situation a slap to her face, but she also couldn't accept the fact—that she was being treated like this by someone who was practically a kid, even by Human standards. She is thousands of years old, so this humiliation is getting under her skin.
"Let... go..." She rasped, a dangerous edge to her whispering voice.
"Hmm?" Kyran raised an eyebrow in response. "If I don't? What are you going to do about it?"
Boom!
Exploding with an intense amount of dark-nature energy, exposing her power to someone in the ninth-rank realm, Bevryth shot towards Kyran with murderous intent. She harnessed the blessing of dark nature, summoning a sleek dark bronze-colored short bow.
It materializes in her hand from essences into a solid object.
Unlike the normal Orb of Life of the Dark Elves, hers was bigger and thick with energy.
It amplified the power of the shortbow multiple times when it was activated.
Swoosh!
Only when some sort of tattoo appears along Bevryth's arm does she fire a bow made of pure energy, piercing the air with extreme speed. It then splits into dozens of arrows and begins circling Kyran, indistinguishable from one another.
Bevryth made a tornado of arrows, whistling around him.
After doing that move, Bevryth vanished—blending into the surroundings.
In the invisibility embrace of the dark nature, she kept her eyes locked onto Kyran.
'I will use the arrows to distract him, and ambush him from below' She mused, forming a plan. 'Unlike the other arrows, the main arrow will not attack him. It serves only as a conduit for my later attack—distorting the sound, and the scent of energy to tamper with a Werewolf's keen senses. Someone young like him would not be able to dodge this'
Seeing an opportunity, Bevryth dashed at Kyran—keeping her body low to the ground.
'Even if you are a Silverstar Pack member, I can still defeat you!' She thought confidently.
Splash!