The World Cataclysm

[The World is staring at you.]

...

"..." The World was staring at him, while Dave stared at this weird message window in front of his eyes. He had never heard that a system notification like this had even existed in his past life.

'What does it mean the world is staring at me? How is it even able to stare at me? And what about the World stuff? Is the world...alive? I mean it's staring at me, so it should be alive first...no? And what does the word "world" even mean? Is it our planet? Or is it the whole universe staring at me? Damn, it's too ambiguous!' Dave thought in confusion.

The only thing that came to his mind when Dave looked at the system notification was about how some classes signed a contract with beings from other worlds. If he recalled it right, Enhancers, who struck a deal with otherworldly beings, usually received such system notifications from their masters or sponsors...except for them being more elaborate than his system notification.

Enhancers, that had otherworldly beings supporting them from behind, usually wielded powers of their sponsors for a certain cost depending on the desires of their sponsors. Such classes were quite rare depending on how powerful their sponsors were, but the most common class in that category would probably be a Warlock's class.

Warlock was sort of a mage's class that wielded a foreign strength, having usually more a definite source of their powers. Their sources of power may vary, but they were usually the ones to make a deal with otherworldly beings. However, since such warlocks needed to follow to the end of their deal with their sponsors, they usually weren't much welcomed by other Enhancers.

However, Dave knew much simpler cases of signing a contract with an otherworldly being. They were priests and Elementalists like Rebecca. She may have such a system notification, but in her case, Star was still in its basic form and couldn't provide her with much power.

As for priests, they prayed to Gods to wield their powers and, as in games, had a more supportive role rather than an offensive one. However, since their faith was more one-sided and since they won't sign contracts with their Gods, common priests usually won't receive such system notification.

And the question was?

...

How could he receive a system notification like that if he hadn't signed any contracts in his life? And even if he considered the possibility of unknowingly signing a contract with an otherworldly being that might have caused the appearance of that system notification...How could anyone sign a contract with the world?

...

'Haaaaah...Well, I believe nothing's bad with receiving such a system notification.' Dave thought as he massaged his temples. All this situation with a weird system notification made him even more confused. 'Maybe...Have I unknowingly signed a contract with the World? Ehm...Damn, whatever it may be while it won't harm me.'

So finding no explanation about how the world was staring at him, Dave decided just to ignore it. Besides, it won't help him if he kept overthinking it. It may even be sort of a lucky encounter rather than something harmful.

If he had unknowingly signed a contract with the world, then he may even benefit from it. If it became his sponsor...

...The world might bestow him with its powers.

...The world might give him sort of an unparalleled treasure.

...The world might bless him with a new skill.

Well, at least, it was what he had heard about receiving help from their sponsors. Getting excited with his thought process, Dave couldn't help but smile smugly since the whole world was staring at him. 'Interesting, when it will provide me with its powers. I'm ready for it! Bring it on!'

...

"..." However, no matter how much he waited for his blessing, nothing happened even after 10 minutes. As his excitement died off, Dave felt like he was tricked and lied to, even though he was the one to delude himself.

'Probably, I am mistaken about all the contract stuff.' Dave heaved a long sigh. However, why then would he receive such a system notification? Dave couldn't understand it. 'Right! I still have a new skill. I'm sure I'll feel better after reading its description.' Dave thought as he smiled.

'Status'

[David Murckly

Level: 8

Survival coins: 1403

Class: None

Mana: 54/64

Strength: 21 (+1)

Agility: 19 (+1)

Stamina: 17

Intelligence: 11

Spirit: 7 (+1)

Free points: 0

Innate ability: Regression

Skills: Elementary Cooking (LVL 2), Gaming (LVL 8), Mathematics (LVL 7), Leadership (LVL 1), Meditation (LVL 3), Flash Step (LVL 1), Mana Application (LVL 4), Mana Threads (LVL 4), Mana Barrier (LVL 2), Mana Enhancement (LVL 2), Reinforced Breathing (LVL 2), Swordsmanship (LVL 5), Battle Focus (LVL 4), Mana Sensing (LVL 2), Muscle Expansion (LVL1)]

'Here it is. My first unlocked skill!' Dave thought inwardly as he stared at it. It was the first skill he had learnt and it was a quite common skill in the past. He had learned it since, otherwise, he wouldn't have stood a chance as a hunter.

[Muscle Expansion

Level: 1

-Increases the strength stat by 10 points for a minute.

Description: It causes expansion of the body muscles, making a user stronger when active.

Cost: 1 stamina point

Cooldown time: 10 minutes]

Reading the familiar description, Dave was happy that all of his efforts had paid off. 'Although considering that it was level 3 when I died, I didn't spend any skill points to learn it. And also, I think I still can raise it to max level.'

Normally, people would have spent a skill point to learn an Iron grade skill. Although you'll get a skill point every 10 levels, it was still too valuable to waste it like this. Moreover, skill points needed to learn a skill will rise depending on its grade.

You'll need 1 skill point to learn Iron grade skill, 2 skill points for Bronze grade skill, 3 points for Silver grade skill and whooping 5 skill points for Gold grade skill. So you'll need to reach level 50 to learn a Gold grade skill. However, Dave had never seen a skill of Gold grade.

If he recalled it right, after 5 years, the highest level among Enhancers Dave knew or heard didn't even go higher than level 350. It meant, at best, Dave could earn around 35 skill points after 5 years. And that only amounted to 7 Gold grade or 11 Silver grade skills. Dave expected that such skills were worth all the skill points they needed to learn them.

'I spent close to three weeks to unlock Muscle Expansion. Actually, it's quite slow. Can I somehow speed up the process of pouring my spirit into those runes? I can't wait until I unlock all my skills and bring them to their maximum level. I spent 8 skill points to learn those skills and if I will unlock all of them...I'll be undefeatable!' Dave thought excitedly.

If he would be able to unlock all of them...It would be similar to restoring his level to the one he had before dying...Well, except for his stats. However, skills were more important than stats since he could always increase his stats upon levelling up. But it wasn't the same for skills since he needed first to find a suitable skill for him and have skill points to learn it.

Also, there was one universal truth. No matter how hard humans raised their stats, they would never be able to catch up to beasts that had stronger bodies than humans. Although there were only zombies now, the disparity between humans and monsters would rise only further.

Therefore, humans relied on the skills to multiply their powers since skills' powers increased proportionally with the user's stats. For instance, Enhancers could raise the attack power of their magic skills by increasing spirit and intelligence.

When he thought up until here, Dave smiled in satisfaction. If he could unlock all of his skills, then he might stand at the top of other Enhancers. Actually, after returning back in time, it was smooth sailing for him up until now. He founded a safe place in the university, dealt with Future Tyrant, and was currently searching for Devourer. He must be on his lucky streak!

...

Ding!

[The World is glaring at you in a hostile manner.]

Ding!

[The World is warning you not to use your ability.]

Reading sudden system notifications, Dave's darkened as he exclaimed, "Like hell, I would stop using my ability! It's my ability and passed through a lot to reach here. What's with your demand? Do you think that if you're a world I need to listen to you. Either way, otherworldly beings like you can't meddle in our lives even if you wanted. They can't use their powers without a medium in front of their contractor."

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

...

'What the heck?' Dave glanced at the sky through the window in his room. Although it was still sunny when he returned to the dorm, dark clouds suddenly started gathering in the sky. A short while later, the sky became so dark as lightning danced in the dark clouds like serpents.

Ding!

[The World is angered by your decision.]

As Dave read the new system notification, the bright light flashed before his eyes. Then, everything blacked out...

Boom!