NOVEL NEXT After Awakening
Arthur sat with his eyes closed, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead as he clenched his teeth to endure the terrible pain. Every fiber of his being was being torn apart and remade.
'Just a little more!'
Arthur had gone through an awakening once, so he knew what kind of pain he would experience and was prepared for it. Not to mention, his years of battle experience against the Voidborns had made his pain tolerance incredibly high.
However, pain tolerance worked in two ways—mental and physical. He had high mental pain tolerance; however, his body was still new to this pain. Even though the Academy had prepared every student for this, the pain was still intense.
'A little more!'
Suddenly, the pain stopped; however, Arthur knew it wasn't the end. The awakening had finished changing his body, but there was still the awakening of the System Core.
After a minute of silence and peace, a pain ten times worse assaulted him from his chest. It felt as if someone were forcibly ripping his heart apart, and technically, that was exactly what was happening.
The System Core always replaced the heart in a human's body and performed all the functions a heart would, like pumping blood. However, it also made it possible for Soul Energy to flow around the body like blood and also served as a storage container for Soul Energy.
The final stage of awakening was essentially having the heart ripped out and, in its place, a spherical core emerging. How it worked? No one knew, even with the new advanced technology.
They only knew that it worked this way, and that was all that mattered.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the awakening ended for Arthur as he dropped to the ground, where a pool of his own sweat lay.
*Ugh! Why can't we just use the damn anesthesia? It would help so much!*
Arthur groaned, feeling a warm sensation pass through his body from his chest like overflowing water. That sensation brought the aftereffects of awakening to a milder level. The pain was slowly decreasing, and everything was returning to normal.
He would have used anesthesia, but it was actually forbidden to take anything before awakening because it could affect the process, especially something like anesthesia. It was as if the system wanted to test people to see who was worthy of having the System Core.
Arthur lay there for a few minutes before he stood up and went to take a bath. After awakening, a person didn't have to spend hours or days recovering. The System Core took care of that and healed everything to its prime condition.
Of course, it didn't help with the mental torture, but Arthur was used to such things, so he didn't need rest. After spending half an hour in the bathroom, Arthur came back and dropped onto the couch.
His eyes glistened as he rubbed his hands in excitement. He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart... the System Core?... and then said, "Status!"
[Name - Arthur Stark] [Age - 18] [Rank - Novice] [Level - 1] [Soul Fragments - 0/100] [Path - ] [Skills - ] [Artefacts - Abyss Destroyer.]
Arthur rubbed his chin as he looked at his status and sighed. He had thought maybe he would get a cheat since he had regressed, but there was nothing. He had started just like any other human after awakening.
The system was fair; it gave a fair chance to anyone wanting to become strong. Everyone's starting point would be the same, and only after one advanced to the Apprentice Rank would they be given the option to choose their Paths. Even that depended on their experience in the Novice Rank.
As for the levels, there were ten levels in each rank, and there were some requirements to ascend to the new rank, which Arthur didn't want to think about. He only knew what he had to do currently, which was to raise his levels quickly— as much as he could in this one week.
There were two ways to level up. One was to hunt Abyssal Creatures or Voidborns and absorb their Soul Cores to gain Soul Fragments, which were ultimately necessary to level up. Once he collected the required Soul Fragments, he would level up.
He could gain Soul Fragments in two ways: either by directly killing the Void Army or absorbing the Soul Cores of others. There was a problem with both methods.
For the first, he would have to fight them directly, and for the second, he would have to engage in a Soul Battle. Just thinking about all that made his heart waver. He really missed the days when he could wave his hands and kill a horde of the Void Army.
Arthur sighed and stood up. He donned some protective gear and packed a few items in his bag that would be useful later. After packing everything, he picked up his black sword and watched as it disappeared from his hands in fluttering particles of light.
Since it was his weapon now, he could store it in his System Core and summon it whenever he wanted. It would also be nurtured with his Soul Energy, so even if it got damaged, it would repair itself.
One more thing that advanced humans had no clue about.
Arthur checked once more to ensure he had everything he needed before picking up his phone. He sent some texts, and after making sure everything was good, he left his apartment.
The bustling city was now very quiet, with only a few people remaining awake at this hour. The nights were too dangerous, so some guards patrolled the entire city, making sure everything was secure.
On top of his apartment building, Arthur sat as he gazed upon the distant tall walls that had been protecting the city for years.
Now, Arthur had to make sure he crossed those walls for his next training, so he jumped down and headed toward the giant walls.