Twice as hard

The session was over but the events that occurred remained fresh in Klaus's head. They kept on repeating themselves and after hours of laying on the ground in pain and unmoving, he finally got up and walked slowly out of the dark room's exit.

But half way through, he stopped and turned to look at the room. Turning around, he headed back into the room and closed the door behind him. He didn't know why, but it felt like it was the only thing he could do at this point that was right.

His face portrayed only sadness and defeat. And as he stood alone in the room, his thoughts wandered to what he had seen earlier. So he opened the system window to have a look at his profile.

[Host's profile]

-Name: Klaus Dean Jackson.

-Level - 2

-[250 Exp needed to level up]

•Exp status - [0%]

-Nether Gene - Shadow

-HP - 100

-Ep - 0

-Race: ???

-Class: ???

Stat attributes.

-Strength - 12 [+2]

-Agility - 7 [+2]

-Speed - 7 [+2]

- Durability - 6 [+2]

- Perception - 8 [+2]

...

"Wow, things really have changed. The HP was down to five and then it said something about energy points replenishing it. I'm guessing the energy point is the "EP".."

"I've even got a level and experience points now. So what this means is i can start leveling up like in those vintage games right?".

"It most likely has to be. I mean I'm at level two which can only mean I have leveled up from my previous level 1. And some how it seems new things are added in new levels". Klaus thought as he searched for any new update made by the system but there was nothing else. So his attention shifted to something else.

"Now I should get down to why I'm really in here" Klaus muttered to himself and once again opened the system window with his mind. It was becoming more like a normal thing for him now though sometimes it felt unreal. Now that the system was opened, what was on display was the profile most likely because it was the last thing he opened. But he wasn't out to look at his profile anymore. He had something else in mind he wanted to see or perhaps try out.

"Now to those notifications.." Klaus muttered silently to himself all alone in the dark room.

*[Congratulations, you have unlocked a new skill]*

[Shadow shuriken Bomb]

-View more information-

[Yes] or [No]

"New skill huh".. " It looks like it has to do with that nether gene ability called the shadow. I wished I had a manual for this thing!!!!" Klaus said frustratingly in his mind. There were just some weird terms and symbols that were on display that he just didn't know anything of.

But thankfully, this time around, the system provided an option to view more about the subject in question. So not wasting time, with his mind he chose the "yes" option and straight away a drop down menu appeared revealing more information.

[Shadow shuriken bomb]

•Level-Basic

[When skill is activated, depending on host's level, a number of shadow shurikens will appear in host's hands. This can be used as projectiles and on contact with target cause an explosion]

"Explosion ?" Klaus muttered with his eyes almost popping out. The reason he had locked himself in was to see if he could test out the skill straight away. But with the term "explosion" in the mix, he wasn't sure he wanted to try it out. At least not at the moment. He was a bit disappointed there wasn't something else he could try out. But switching back to his profile display screen, he made his way down to his stat attributes and when he saw the numbers attached to each one, a smile leaked from his lips and he said...

"Get stronger he said..."..

The rest of the day wasn't so eventful for Klaus. He skipped the usual lunch after training and went straight to his room. After what happened in that dark room, he just couldn't get his thoughts straight. And the one person he wanted to avoid the most was his dad. After what happened in there, he just couldn't look at his father's face for the time being.

To make it worst, Arsha had not showed up for the day. This was very unusual as it was unlike her to miss a day without visiting Klaus. It was a want as much as it was a necessity for him to see her. She was one of the critical parts of his day that he looked forward to the most. Mainly because with her, he was able to let loose and not be so uptight like he usually was around his parents, more or less his dad.

Both of Arsha's parents were healers and spent most of their time in the city hospital. They went out to do their jobs and returned back to the settlement which was outside the city almost daily. They could have gotten accommodations within the city but what that meant was more expenses than they could Bahrain for. The Bottom line being it would have been more or less an unwise decision mainly due to their earnings.

They were both rank D healers meaning there wasn't a lot they could do to get the big money they needed. And there wasn't a lot they were allowed to do in the first place. Patients would typically go for healers at higher ranks to attend to them. Even when this choice was not left in the patient's hands, the hospital would ensure only the best took care of a patient . So in a way, they were only living off scrubs and got lucky with minor cases.

The ranks were based off of what a healer could do. Magic healers usually had the power to heal others but not themselves. Now where the uniqueness came in was in their range and versatility. Some magic healers are capable of restoring as much as a dead organ or a torn limb. But these were very few and in most cases weren't even in cities such as Blackwood. There was a higher tendency of meeting those types close to big names. As they would naturally recruit these special ones for themselves.

But even with their terrible income, that wasn't the only problem they had. The couple particularly didn't get along and would often fight and disagree over most things. To get out of the way and avoid some of their altercations, Arsha resorted to leaving their house for Klaus's.

Mrs Angie being aware of this fact was always welcoming to the teenage girl and tried her best to make her forget her home situations while she was with them. Mr Zen on the other hand wasn't in on the gist and always thought Arsha just loved the company of Klaus being the reason she always came over.

Klaus decided to skip dinner as well as he still couldn't get over the fact that his dad left him beaten and almost unconscious back then. The reality of the situation was beginning to dawn on him and now that he thought about it, those sorry feelings were gradually converting into something else he didn't quite clearly understand.

His parents decided they wouldn't bother him. But this by no means meant they weren't worried. Mrs Angie for the most part was the one disturbed about him or perhaps showed a bit more of her feelings than his father, Mr Zen.

"You two since you came back from your session have been acting weird and no one will tell me what happened. Why are you two so upset?" Mrs Angie asked again. This was now becoming a song of some sort as all she had been pleading to know was the truth. Mr Zen not willing to keep his wife in the dark anymore decided to tell her.

"I may have gone too far today" Mr Zen said staring at his wife in the eye. Mrs Angie hearing this came closer to where he sat holding a rectangular black object in his hands and running his thumb around it.

"The session today was unlike any other. I might have hit him hard"... He ended up saying.

"How hard?" Mrs Angie asked and all Mr Zen did was turn around to look at her face. Almost instantly she placed her hand on her head and walked around the room.

"I don't know. But he was different in there today. And some how, he was actually able to make me feel comfortable that he could take it. There was this familiar look of hunger in his eyes, like me, like my kind. I saw it through all the motions. He loved the fight. He enjoyed it ...." Mr Zen stood up placing his hands on his wife's shoulder and this stopped her from moving about.

"But he is not ready... He is still too weak to protect himself from whatever he has done to himself..."

"If he is not groomed fast, I fear what.... I fear what will happen"..

"I can't watch that happen. I can't watch him not being able to defend himself against them. At any point my time will be up and I won't be here always to fight for him" ...

"It then occurred to me. I have been training him for the wrong reasons. I have been training him to match the people of this world who hold nothing against him".

"If he must survive, then he must fight. And I can't keep holding back and letting him fall into the delusion that the battle is here...or that it's fair" Mr Zen let go of his wife's shoulder and walked back to pick the black rectangular object on a table in their room. Then he turned and faced his wife before saying.

"We might have made a huge mistake. But it's not late ...I'll correct it"..

"If it means hitting twice as hard, then so be it. It is necessary.He needs to grow stronger.."

Hours later in Klaus's room whom by now was sound asleep suddenly jolted up with a smile plastered on his face.

*Bing*

[Daily quest now available]

[Trophy hunter]