3 Ascension III

Time seemed to freeze in that exact moment, and only Hunter's thoughts flowed with time. Upon noticing the predicament he was in, he gazed at Catherine and couldn't help but feel his heart sink.

She was one of the only people who accepted him as he was, who allowed him to be free, who made him feel like it was okay to be alive. And yet, there she lied, her body without its soul to guide it.

'It should've been me...' Hunter said to himself as he sobbed and clenched his fists in frustration.

[Uploading Profile...]

The voice of a woman quickly grabbed Hunter's attention. He looked around him and could not figure out where the voice came from. Then, it spoke once again.

[Greetings, Hunter Quinn. Welcome to The Black Magic Files. I am Rosana, your personalised system]

Hunter was still perplexed. Perhaps he was going insane after losing too much blood.

[Ah, that's right. You can't exactly see me]

Suddenly, Hunter's necklace began glowing, imbuing a blue color. From the necklace, a bright orb emerged, making Hunter shut his eyes in fear of losing his eyesight.

The blue orb floated in front of Hunter, his eyes widening in pure awe as he witnessed the miracle unfold before him.

[As I said before, my name is Rosana, and I'm your personalised system]

Hunter was still a little confused. "Uh, what exactly is a system?"

[Huh? You don't know what a system is, Hunter Quinn?]

"Why would I know what that is...?"

[Sigh. I suppose since I am going to be responsible for you until you die, I could explain my role in all this. My name is Rosana, servant of the Quinn Dynasty. Hunter Quinn, you come from a long line of strong mages and fighters.

Unfortunately, your bloodline was to be wiped out three days after you were born. In fear of losing their newborn baby, your parents dropped you off at St. Jonah's Orphanage in an attempt to save you.

Once you turned 18, your abilities would've activated, and you would've been able to fend for yourself. But, after today's events, it's clear to me that your parents miscalculated your chances of survival]

"No kidding..." chuckled Hunter. "Arg!" he groaned immediately afterward, forgetting that his ribs were torn and he was stabbed multiple times.

[But, you might be wondering what my role in all of this is?]

Hunter nodded, clearly intrigued by the talking magical orb before him.

[I am the spirit holder of all the deceased Quinn family members. You were supposed to eat me the day you turned 18 in order to get your powers. But, because you just died, and I don't want these powers landing in the wrong hands, I underwent a transformation and turned into your personalised system]

"You have yet to tell me what that is..."

[Since the power I hold was originally supposed to be yours when you turned 18, it should return to its original host. My job as your system is to make sure that you receive all your abilities by completing tasks, training, and dungeon diving.

And, it looks like your first task has arrived...]

Hunter raised an eyebrow and smiled gently. "Yeah, I'm not doing any challenges in my current state. And, with those cucks right here, I doubt I'd do the challenge effectively."

[That's your problem, Hunter Quinn]

"Mh?"

[You are so quick to give up. Even when your own lover was in need, all you could do was sit and watch her die, like the loser you really are]

Hunter let the words of Rosana sink in. He looked at Catherine and knew that the system was indeed correct. He chose weakness over sacrificing himself, and that alone makes him a loser.

Hunter wore a serious expression and furrowed his brows in frustration. "What can you give me?"

[How about we start with this? Heal!]

A green, ethereal light covered Hunter's entire body, healing all his wounds and restoring his energy.

[System Rosana has gifted you a spell!

- Black Flames]

Hunter felt his body surge with energy he has never felt before. Time was now unfrozen and Ian was confused. He slowly stopped smirking and widened his eyes in surprise.

Hunter slowly stood up and raised his head, looking at Ian with a death stare. Ian slowly backed away and held his dagger in a defensive stance.

"I didn't think you were capable of healing yourself. Or, that you'd wake up after being stabbed in the heart three times..." he said as his energy began surging.

[System Rosana has gifted you infinite inventory]

[System Rosana has gifted you a steel dagger]

[System Rosana has gifted you with infinite mana for one minute]

[Do me a favour, Hunter Quinn. If you're going to stay weak, don't call yourself the young lady's boyfriend. Because, the man she fell in love with wouldn't allow some punks to get away with taking her life]

'I get it, Rosana,' Hunter replied as he reached into the air, where a small ripple opened, and pulled out a dagger from his [Infinite Inventory]. "I'll make sure that Catherine says she was proud to have a boyfriend like me in heaven!"

"Huh?" Ian raised his eyebrow. 'Wait, did he just pull a dagger from thin air? And what's with that aura surrounding him? He's never been like this before...'

As he stared at Hunter, he felt an uneasy sensation emanating from him. His eyes were different. They were sharper, focused primarily on Ian and Ian alone. That sent a chill down his spine. As he was about to back away, he heard his friends behind him.

"Beat his ass, Ian!" shouted Paul!

"Yeah, get him! And make sure he stays dead this time! You're not the strongest in our age group for nothing, are you?!" another exclaimed.

'That's right... I'm Ian freaking Brown, the strongest hunter in age 15-18's group, a tier 5 hunter... I won't let this useless piece of crap beat me!'

Ian charged in. Without hesitation, Hunter faced his palm towards Ian, his mana rising quickly and his eyes glowing in blue. Heat waves surrounded Ian and in a matter of seconds, he was engulfed in black flames.

Shocking Ian's goons and himself, Hunter looked at his palm and released a dry chuckle. 'That was... awesome...' he said afterwards.

[Why stop at just one target? They're all responsible for the death of Catherine, are they not?]

"... You're absolutely right," said Hunter. "These bozos needs to meet their maker too...!" he added as he pointed his steel dagger at the remaining members of Ian's crew.

"You piece of shit! You killed him! I'll report you to the-"

Before Paul could finish his sentence, half of his head had already fallen to the ground. The others witnessed it happen and couldn't help but scream their lungs out.

"Stay away!" one of them exclaimed as he backed away.

"Don't worry, you'll all be going to the same hell. Eventually..." responded Hunter as he faced his palm towards the remaining members.

Without any hesitation, Hunter released his black flames and burnt the crew, not even giving them enough time to scream. Even though they were already charred, Hunter did not stop blasting his flames.

As he did, a sinister smile emerged from his face. The longer he continued releasing his black flames, the wider his smile became. Suddenly, the flames died out and stopped moving from Hunter's body.

He looked at his palm and ceased smiling entirely. After clicking his tongue, he kicked Ian's charged head, causing it to roll to the side and turn to ash, along with with rest of the youth's body.

[You have successfully eliminated your enemies!

Reward:

- $1,000]

After looking at his screen, Hunter's eyes widened. "1,000? That's... a lot..."

And suddenly, his eyes returned to normal. He walked towards Catherine's body and held her in his arms. Gently brushing her brown hair, he apologized softly and wiped her perfect skin.

"System, can you bring Catherine back?" inquired Hunter.

[I can not]

"... I thought so..."

Tears fell from his eyes as he held Catherine closer, her blood smudging his face and covering his hands. But, he didn't care. If only if he was stronger, then none of this would've happened.

That's when Hunter decided that he would not allow this to happen to someone else anymore. He would become stronger and prevent something like this from happening to someone else.

"Hey, System. Ian was a bad guy, right?"

[He abused his power and manipulated those around him for his own personal gain. Of course he was a bad person]

"You don't suppose I'll be able to find more people like him, do you?"

[In your line of work, you'll find plenty of dicks like Ian Brown]

Hunter smirked. "Then I'll be the one to rid the world of monsters like him. Grant me your strength, System Rosana."

[Very well]

And so, Hunter's journey on cleansing the world began with a rare bloodline system. Would his newfound power become a gift of a curse to the youth?