1 Chapter 1
He looked at the cell bars that faced him. Sam questioned his eyes. What was he seeing? How in the hell had he gotten into this place when the last thing he remembered was sleeping while watching some anime about Chainsaw Man?
"What the hell!?" He looked at his hands. His skin had gotten fairer, and he couldn't be more confused.
A few flashes entered his head.
In the memory, he was looking at the mirror, and he saw a different face from his own. Black sharp eyes like an eagle. Fair skin, and neck-length silk black hair.
Someone attacked him with a bat and dragged him all the way to a car. That's when he lost consciousness.
However, the guy was Japanese, as were almost everyone else. In this particular memory, the signs were written in Asian alphabets. Surprisingly, Sam could tell the meaning of each character, despite never studying Japanese.
"Please… Please… I want to live."
"Sorry, buddy. The devil demands his contract to be fulfilled."
"I didn't make a contract. I simply took a loan from you."
"And what did you think would happen if you didn't pay? I would just beat you so you can change your address later? The mud devil offered me a better deal with people like you, so here you are."
Sam turned his head, seeing a man in black, along with other people who looked like his bodyguards. They grabbed a chained man who was begging for his life.
'Could it possibly be that my friends pranked me, and these are paid actors?' He scratched his head. 'But no way I just understood the Japanese dude that fast.'
'Most importantly, my friends are broke. No way they can afford actors.'
His lungs tightened, and his heart started pounding faster and faster.
'I'm screwed.'
In reaction to the intense pressure he felt, he started laughing loudly. "Hahahaha!"
The mob stopped dragging the man and looked at him with weird gazes.
Sam just kept laughing. 'I usually laugh when I mess up, but this is a whole new level of screwing up.'
"He's lost his mind."
"If I were in his situation, I'd lose my mind too."
"Better for him. No fear, no pain. Just an easy trip to hell."
They shrugged and continued taking the other guy, who cried in fear.
'This has to be a bad joke. It has to be.' Sam didn't believe that this unbelievably realistic situation was anything but a dream.
[Ding. System has been installed.]
A rush of information flooded his mind. It was about a system and how to use it.
Sam felt confused again as he thought, 'Surface.'
A screen appeared in the middle of the air. He waved his hand near it, and he didn't touch it at all.
However, he could scroll through it using just his mind.
There were a few options: Stats, Skills, Affinities, and Quests.
He chose stats.
[Stats.
Name: Sam Lee
Level: 0
Class: (not chosen yet)
MP: 100/100
HP: 50/100
Age: 17
SP: 0 (Skill Point)
AP: 0 (Affinity Point)
Skills:
Affinities:
-Strength: 3
-Agility: 4
-Wisdom: 5]
It didn't make any sense, but sense wasn't what Sam was looking for. Knowing that he might die, he needed a way to survive.
He scrolled to the main page of the system and found an exclamation mark on the quest side.
[Quest: Choose your class
Reward: You get a class]
'Thank you, Captain Obvious.' He thought as a list of classes appeared on the system.
[Berserk - Monk - Black Knight - Spirit Summoner - Devil Hunter...]
'Since there are devils, let's choose Devil Hunter.'
[Devil Hunter has been chosen]
[+ Skill : Devil sense (Passive)
Sixth sense to detect Devils]
[+ Skill: Devil Aura (Passive)
Extra 50% experience when defeating a devil]
On the skills screen, each skill was represented inside a circle, which had a symbol in them. Those symbols were linked to other symbols. He assumed that they were associated skills that should be unlocked when he leveled up his skills and used enough skill points.
There were other skills that he could unlock with a skill point.
[Level up to level 1 (0/100 xp)]
[+2 affinity points]
[+1 skill point]
'A skill point. Let's see what's good.' He looked at the list of the skills that were hidden from him. There weren't too many choices, so he wasn't confused.
Some circles had gun shapes in them. Some had swords and other weapons. And there were fists and feet.
Mainly, this class had skills about using weapons, specifically swords and guns.
'Devil May Cry? No. But definitely I would,' he thought to himself before deciding to unlock a skill that had foot symbols with a gust of wind around it.
[+ Skill: Wind Footwork (Active). Level 1 (1/100)
Increases speed by 20% at current level
10 mp/minute for the current level]
By MP, it should be the blue bar on the screen. Noticing that no one was around and the fact that the cell wasn't that small nor was he chained, he decided to test it.
The skill didn't need mental effort. It felt natural for him to use.
He started running toward the wall. The moment he activated Silent Footwork, his speed increased. He managed to run gracefully across the wall before flipping backward and landing on his butt.
[wind footwork +5 xp]
'Ouch.' He scratched his butt. 'This is good for escaping, but I'm still missing something.'
According to the system, he had three affinities: Wisdom, Strength, and Agility.
Wisdom increased his gained experience and MP and improved his skills. Strength increased his power and health points. Agility increased his flexibility, speed, and attack speed.
For his situation, he assumed that he needed speed.
He didn't believe that increasing his power would allow him to break the walls or bend the cell bars.
He had only one shot. Once this cell was opened, he would run as fast as he could.
For now, he put the affinity points into agility, making it 6.
'So, according to math. I'm 50% faster compared to my previous 4 agility points.'
He punched the air, and while he could tell that his jab got faster, it wasn't enough to reach the level of a trained boxer.
But he wasn't trying to be a boxer. He simply had to get away. Just as soon as the door was opened, he would run away.
[Ding, new quest]
[Quest: Escape the prison.
Details: Escape the prison and go far enough that they can't find you.
Rewards:
+500 exp
+Mid-Grade Mystery box]
He closed his eyes, trying to get some rest.
A metallic clash sound echoed through the air.
Sam opened his eyes.
Someone was delivering food and water to the prisoners. It was a piece of bread and water.
Sam didn't complain as he approached his food. But when he smelled it, he changed his mind. It felt like expired food that hadn't been refrigerated for a few days.
Nevertheless, since he was too thirsty and hungry, he decided to start with the water.
[+10 hp]
He raised his eyebrow. Just by drinking water, he felt like his fatigue had decreased.
He tried eating the food. It was disgusting, but the notification was quite satisfying.
[+10 hp]
His HP increased to 70, and his body felt more energized. Shamelessly, he looked at someone in another cell who was refusing to eat his food.
"You gonna eat that?" he asked.
"You like this crap?" the other prisoner looked at him with disgust. "Does this happen to you when they keep you here this long?"
"Yep."
"Crap. Guess I shouldn't have taken that loan."
"I think we all shouldn't have."
"Whatever. Take it."
He kicked the plate to Sam's cell, and it teetered on the edge. Sam had to grab it, and luckily he succeeded. After enduring the bad taste, he received the same notification of his health increasing by 10. He smiled. There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes to escape. All he had to do was wait for them to try to take him out of the cell."
