Shadow Blood and Fire

Eli's screams continued for a good fifteen minutes until they eventually died down and stopped.

"System, can you just give me a few moments before doing things like that?"

[Congratulations, evolution was successful. You are now a Noble!]

[Level 5]

[Race: Demon]

[Rank: Noble]

[20000 EXP / 50000 EXP]

[750 HP → 800 HP]

[150 Energy → 200 Energy]

[Strength: 36]

[Stamina: 10]

[Agility: 21]

[Precision: 10]

[Charm: 5]

[Unassigned stats: 20]

Just looking at his status screen, so much had changed. Eli had yet to assign his extra stat points, but it seemed a new option had been added: the Charm stat. Without an explanation, Eli was clueless about what the new stat did.

However, there were even more messages from the system.

[New skill: Daze]

[This skill has no cost and can be used on the opponent to stun them for 2 seconds or less at a time. Must have direct eye contact with the opponent. The skill has a chance of failing, depending on the strength of the enemy and the user's Charm points. The more the skill is used on an opponent, the higher the chance they have of resisting.]

A new skill had been unlocked, giving him some insight into the Charm stat. But the messages didn't stop there.

[Shop has been unlocked]

[Current balance: 15,500 DBS]

[New tutorials have been unlocked]

[System level 2 will now activate]

Just then, a screen appeared in front of Eli, showing the handsome blonde man with four eyes he had seen before—Lord R'ahlu.

"Congrats!" the man said. "You have now officially joined the family. I thought maybe a simple hybrid wouldn't make it this far, but it looks like my little experiment was a success. Now that the system has been upgraded to level 2, it should no longer be lazy. It's amazing, right? Now you'll never feel alone again, and if you ever have a question about the system, just ask."

"What!" Eli thought. "Why wasn't the system like this from the beginning?"

"Now you're probably thinking why she wasn't like this from the beginning. The truth is, you needed to get this far on your own. Your mistakes along the way can only make you stronger."

For some reason, Eli felt the urge to punch the man if he ever met him in real life.

"She?" Eli didn't miss the man addressing the system as "she."

"Now before I leave you, although the system will help you answer any questions you have about it, it cannot go beyond that. So here are my final recorded words. I'm sorry, but now that you are a Demon Noble, others will come looking for you. They have already blended into society, so it's almost impossible to tell who is one and who isn't. If you want to live a life of freedom as I did, then get stronger and fight back. Good luck, my friend."

With that, the recorded message ended, and the screen disappeared. Eli had many questions for the man, but he knew it was impossible to ask them now.

With the new system upgrade and the shop unlocked, he wanted to check out all the new features. But as he looked at the dead body in front of him, reality hit him.

"Why don't I feel anything?"

Eli stared at all the notifications, yet he still couldn't see the return crystal. Now that he wasn't flustered, he opened the map and saw that the place marked with the blue X was underground at the center of the training ground.

"System, how do I reach the return crystal?"

He suddenly heard a humming, buzzing sound. He rushed toward it and saw the ground open, revealing a platform rising up on a mechanical stand. Eli's face lit up as he recognized the round object on the platform as a teleportation portal. This one was not just turned on; it had a huge bluish crystal at the center, pulsing with an eerie glow like a heart.

[Do you want to use the return crystal?]

"Yes."

Eli was completely drained. He wanted nothing more than to leave this place and crash in a warm bath.

The huge bluish crystal pulsed and started glowing intensely until it lit up the whole dark room. This time, Eli was not affected by the light, and his eyes adapted to it. Countless strings of energy began to leave the crystal and enter Eli's chest. Eli felt a warm sensation, then felt like he was full of energy and about to explode. But the feeling suddenly disappeared, along with the view of the training center, revealing his home. It looked like he hadn't even moved a step. Eli looked at the clock and saw that even time hadn't moved.