Turning Point

While riding the train, Adam checked his "record" to learn more about the characters on the plate. The basic information, such as his name, sex, and height, was obvious.

He, more or less, understood what the numeric stats showed. But, wanted to learn more about them and the other parts of the plate.

'Unveil. ' He tried reciting the word in his mind instead of saying it out loud.

[Name: Adam King]

[Sex: Male]

[Age: 17]

[Height: 170 cm]

[Class: None]

[Akashic connection: Low (low)]

[Level: 1]

Stats:

[HP: 90/90] [MP: 80/80]

[STR: 7] [AGI: 9]

[INT: 8] [VIT: 9]

[END: 10] [DEX: 11]

[ASP: 0]

[Skills: None]

(A/N: Changed the record layout.)

'It worked! ' Adam rejoiced internally before turning his attention back to the plate.

'The first thing I want to check is this class thing... ' Adam rarely ever played video games as his parents believed it was bad for his health.

Although vaguely, he could remember his friends telling him about the rare classes they unlock in games, like battle-mage or elite assassin. But for whatever reason, none of his friends contact him anymore.

He could not remember their names or their faces, only the fact that he had very close and indispensable friends in the past who suddenly backed away from him. Adam did not know the exact reason for that, but assumed that it was because of James' bullying.

'If that's the case, I can't blame them... ' Adam looked at the ground as he thought of excuses for his former friends.

He understood why anyone would fear James. He suspected everyone in his class knew about James's lies, but no one did anything because James was too scary for them.

'I might have silently watched too, if I wasn't the one getting bullied.... ' Adam had a bitter smile hanging over his face, and wet eyes threatening to burst at any moment.

'Back to business! ' He slapped his forehead and wiped his eyes before touching the 'class' section of the floating panel.

[Class: None]

[-Acquired after successfully clearing the class quest granted when the user reaches level 15.

-Grants unique skills according to the user's gained class.

-Once the user gains a specific class, they cannot change it.]

After reading the three rows of information, Adam got a good grasp of what the class was and moved on to the next part he wanted to find out about.

[Akashic connection: Low (low)]

[Not allowed: User's level is too low.]

'Huh? Does that mean I have to wait until I level up? Sh*t, nothing I can do about that... ' Adam moved on to the next part of the screen, which was quite simple.

[Level: 1]

[-User's current combat level.

-Increases as the user fights and gains experience.

-Increase all stats by 1 with every level.

-Grant 3 additional stat points with every level.]

[HP: 90/90]

[-Show the amount of damage the user's current body can withstand.

-For every point in VIT, HP increases by 10.

-User dies when HP reaches 0.]

[MP: 80/80]

[-Show the amount of magic power the user possesses.

-For every point in INT, MP increases by 10.

-Skills activate using MP.]

The rest of the stats were easy to understand. They referred to his current physical capabilities in numerical values, which were very low at the moment. After asking the system, Adam discovered that the average adult male had a stat value of 10 in all of their stats.

'I have decent dexterity and endurance, though. ' Adam thought about his stats and noticed his two highest stats.

'The endurance is probably because of all the times I endured James' bullying and the dexterity is probably because of the long nights of copying the notes in new notebooks to replace the ones James ruined. ' Adam thought with a bitter expression.

ASP referred to additional stat points. He could use those to enhance any stat he chooses, and skills were the abilities he gains by acquiring a class or meeting certain conditions.

Adam looked at the digital clock inside the train and discovered that he had eight hours left till midnight.

'Might as well have a quick nap while I wait... ' He closed his eyes, not afraid of getting robbed, because he had nothing in his pockets, anyway. 'This inventory is the best tool for a New York resident.. '

__________

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn,

"Where is that little dipsh*t? " James said while sitting in front of a local seven-eleven near Adam's apartment complex, along with Darius.

"He's going to show up soon. " Darius said before drinking from the beer can in his hand, "He can't hide forever. "

"I know that, but I need to talk to him. " James spoke with a solemn expression.

"Why are you so obsessed with that guy, anyway? He's already too pitiful. "

"No reason. I just want to beat him up because he pisses me off... "

"You are a sick man, you know that? Hahaha. "

"Hehe, yeah... " James said that, but he had a very solid reason for bullying Adam so much.

'I need to grab hold of this opportunity.... ' James thought as he grabbed himself a beer, too.

____________

4 hours later,

Adam finally crossed the bridge leading to The Bronx on foot. The streets were empty, and the buildings were all dark.

No one lived here anymore and people called it the ghost town ever since a vast horde of monsters destroyed it 5 years ago. The authorities ignored the monsters after evacuating the place.

The only people who have come here ever since have been hopeless people who desired suicide. Of course, no one stopped them. Suicide was understandable in the crazy world humanity lived in now.

Adam carefully walked around the silent streets on the outskirts of the borough. It's common knowledge that the deeper you move into the place, the stronger the monsters you encounter. That's why the young man stayed on the outskirts, hoping to find three goblins.

Thankfully, it didn't take him that long. Adam saw four goblins walking around the street and immediately hid behind a building to avoid being seen.

The goblins were all short, skinny, with green skin, red eyes, and jagged teeth. They looked around 130 cm in height while holding random things to use as weapons, like metal pipes and wooden bats.

'I can do this... ' Adam's eyes flashed as he followed the four goblins silently. He had to wait for the right opportunity to strike.

After 10 minutes of following the goblins, one of them separated from the others, making him Adam's first victim.

The young man quickly pulled out his sword from the inventory and dashed towards the ugly monster.

"Ggek? " The goblin noticed the approaching Adam instantly and raised the metal pipe in its hand while running towards him.

'Dammit! It noticed me! Should I just run away?'

'No, I need to fight it. '

'But it looks scary. '

All kinds of thoughts ran through Adam's mind when he saw the goblin move towards him. He wanted to run away, but he also wanted to fight and get stronger.

'I need to choose. Either I run away here and return to my previous pathetic life or I fight this bastard and change it... ' Adam gripped his sword tightly while thinking about what to do.

He looked at the goblin running towards him and hardened his resolve.

"I don't want to run away anymore! " He held his sword with both hands and ran towards the goblin, too.

*CLANG! *

The two weapons collided, and a small spark shined in the darkness.

"Ugh! " Adam felt pain in his wrists, but endured it and grabbed the goblin's head before he pulled it down, smashing it with his knee.

"Gyaa! " The goblin exclaimed, but Adam paid it no mind and pushed it away.

*Slash! *

*Thud! *

Once the goblin backed away, Adam quickly brought his sword down and cut its head off.

[Level up!]

The system notification flashed in front of him, but he was too busy at the moment. The three other goblins showed up and looked at Adam with bloodshot eyes.

"Gyaaak! " All three of them ran towards Adam while lifting their weapons, clearly intending to kill the boy.

"Oh, come on!! " Adam begrudgingly accepted their challenge and dashed towards the three goblins while holding his sword.

He can already feel the effects of the recent level up, making his body much lighter, his vision clearer, and his judgment more accurate.

'Let's calm down. I can do this! I just need to watch their movements. ' Adam calmed his mind and watched the incoming goblins.

The one at the back did not have a weapon, so he was the easiest one to kill, while the one on the right held a metal pipe and the one on the left had a thick wooden bat.

Adam turned to the goblin on the left and performed a sword slash.

*Slash! *

*Thud! *

But the goblin blocked the sword using the wooden bat.

The sword cut deep into the bat. Adam did not miss the opportunity and used it to kick the goblin's legs, causing it to fall to the ground before pulling his sword and moving towards the unarmed goblin in the back.

*Slash! *

The unarmed goblin was an easy prey. Adam performed a horizontal sword slash.

"Gyaaa! " Swiftly ending its life.

"Gyaaak! " Seeing another one of its kin dying infuriated the metal pipe goblin, making it run towards Adam with crazy eyes hell-bent on killing the boy.

Adam saw the approaching goblin and easily avoided it before turning towards the other goblin, that was helplessly trying to stand up.

*Stab! *

Killing it by burying his sword deep in its chest.

[Quest complete!]

"Not yet. " Adam's green eyes reflected the moonlight as he looked at the last goblin.

"GUOOOK!! " The goblin dashed at him one more time while letting out a loud roar.

*Slash! *

Adam avoided the metal pipe and slashed the goblin's back. The goblin fell to the ground, covered in its blood as it slowly died.

[Level up!]

"Haah, now, it's complete. " Adam looked at the goblin corpse on the ground with cold eyes before turning his gaze towards the deeper parts of the area.

'Will I get stronger if I go deeper? ' Even he did not understand why he felt nothing after just murdering four goblins. He had never been in an actual fight before, nor did he ever kill an animal bigger than a rat.

'If I get stronger..... I can avenge my family, I won't allow people to talk trash about them... ' The boy looked at his bloodied hands while various thoughts crossed his mind.

But he was sure about doing one thing at the moment.....