Chapter 13

[Congratulations! You have reached level 20]

Blake smiled, knowing what reaching this milestone meant. A new skill. However, he wasn't hasty in looking at the requirement as he wanted to sort everything out later, including the reward he got from the quest.

Blake looked down at the bloodied body of the yellow-haired woman, pitying her for her miserable fate. He had to gather the information the old-fashioned way, his [Karmic Authority] not working for some reason.

No, actually, he knew the reason. People, who got into this world through the portal, didn't seem to have a soul. Or maybe he was misunderstanding. Maybe their souls disappeared immediately, unlike others.

It was another mystery, which he was unlikely to figure out.

"Shall I head back?" Blake said as he started walking away from the body. With some money that he got from that trio, he and Suigetsu rented a room, so they could rest a bit. The crazy teenager was probably deep in slumber right now.

While Blake walked, not bothering to use his skill, he thought over the gathered information. The first and most important thing that he understood was that their quests were indeed intertwined, and that the trio had to defend the sword.

They had formed a party, which basically meant that they would get the same quests. The experience was still dispersed based on how much one has contributed to the battle, making everything fair.

It was unknown how many people had been transported here, but it should be a fair amount since they had originally been a group of ten. Three of them had not completed quests and had to accept the penalty, which was still something unknown.

Out of the three who disappeared, only two came back. They suddenly appeared at the same place, yet at different time frames, and were completely demolished. Their bodies were torn and bloodied as if they had been fighting against an army.

This once again reassured Blake to continue doing quests until he could find another option. Anyway, the best news was that he had lucked out a lot. His class was completely superior in every aspect to theirs.

That trio all had rare classes, and it only gave them a few attribute points at each level and not a single free point. Even more, his skills were far superior to theirs. Finally, there was also an issue with the authorities.

Neither of those three or the initial ten of them didn't have a clue what is it, while Blake already had two of them. It seemed that it was quite rare, making Blake even happier.

As he was deep in his thoughts, he finally entered the little town they had come across. The night was deep. Everywhere he looked, Blake saw shadows, so he fell into them. It was an embracing feeling as if he was being held by someone.

Slowly, Blake traveled through the night, passing through buildings with people sleeping inside of them. They were all so vulnerable... so easy to kill. Blake then reached the house that they have rented, and he appeared on its roof.

The majestic scenery of the sky opened up before him, and Blake admired it for a few moments before turning his attention to the lingering screen. The new skill he had gained was called [Mind Castle], and the requirement was to simply experience the pain of the mind.

At first, Blake didn't really understand what exactly he would have had to do, but it probably meant undergoing a traumatic incident. Well, Blake had enough trauma in his life, so the requirement was naturally already finished.

Though, it made him wonder what he would have to do in the future to obtain skills. [Mind Castle] itself was vague. Unlike everything else, he didn't get an explanation of what skills could do, but he only felt what they could approximately do.

In this case, he understood it was passive, and it protected him from mind attacks, which he understood were pretty frequent in this world. Blake had no idea how much the skill protected him, or if there were any other additions to it, but he could only sigh.

Only time would show whether it was useful.

Blake then focused on the quest, accepting the reward. At that moment, the space itself seemed to crack as a peculiar white ball appeared in Blake's hand. It startled him, but he remained coolheaded.

'Damn, this screen is truly one scary thing.' Blake noted to himself, instead focusing on the ball. He couldn't really describe how but he felt like he could change this ball into whatever he wanted.

A bow. A sword. A shield.

The possibilities were endless, thus Blake closed his eyes, forcing more strength into his grip. He felt the ball changing with his hand, as a handle started to form.

He had already long ago known what weapon he wanted. In this world, where guns and similar weapons were unavailable, Blake considered only one choice: an axe.

It was not only because he had some proficiency in using it, but it was also because he truly felt it was the best option. A sword didn't suit his style, while daggers were something he didn't like. Other weapons were entirely out of the question.

When Blake finished forming his future weapon, he opened his eyes. A thick axe of around 70 centimeters in length rested in his hand. It was made of some strange metal, which Blake felt to be extremely tough, perhaps even indestructible.

The axe was heavy, but that was exactly what Blake wished for. He placed it near his face, glancing at his reflection. Then, Blake put his finger against its sharp end, and blood trickled down instantly.

"I am going to take good care of you." Blake gripped it with even more strength and it almost felt like the weapon was trying to respond to him, though it could not just yet.

"Don't push yourself," Blake said, glancing at the endless sky. "We have all the time in the world."