I Awakened My Game System! Now Three Great Houses Want Me Dead!-Chapter 103: New

Xenos fluttered his eyes open and...

Ding!

A system screen greeted him.

—

╔════════╗

║OVERFLOW!║

╚════════╝

╔═════════════╗

║☆ LEVEL UP X 3 ☆║

╚═════════════╝

[You’ve Felled A Lesser Daemon]

[You’ve Slain Ten Assassins]

[EXP = 1500]

[Level: 28 → 31]

[+ 9 STAT POINTS!]

—

’Hm.’

Finally, the ’experience’ from the second villain, Zelus, his followers, and the two that ambushed him and Gaia had come... Perhaps it was waiting for him to kill the last one before the notification was to arrive.

—

╔══════════════╗

║Game System Online║

╚══════════════╝

{Level: 31}

[• EXP: 225 / 729 •]

{Health Points}

[• HP: 77/826 → 777/1110 •]

{Divinity}

[• D: 103/1040 → 1147/1147 •]

{Statistics}

[Strength] 21 → 23 (D-) (Academy Avg: C+)

[Intelligence] 35 (D+) (Academy Avg: C+)

[Willpower] 30 → 31 (D) (Academy Avg: C+)

[Speed] 35 (D+) (Academy Avg: B-)

[Endurance] 28 → 34 (D) (Academy Avg: B-)

[Appearance] 70 (B+) (Academy Avg: C)

[Personality] -1 (G) (Academy Avg: C)

[Luck] 60 (B) (Academy Avg: C)

—

Still catching his breath, Xenos smiled at the progress before him.

His Derived Stats were breaking past the four digits now. All of his actual stats were [D-] or above as well.

Everything was climbing fast; too fast, even.

And the gap between HP and Divinity lessened a lot. Though that was mostly thanks to his Endurance, as that was certainly tested just now.

Anyhow, despite all that ridiculous growth, he was nearly dying in every fight.

Many might complain, but he saw that as the price of progress.

He needed to be even faster.

Even stronger.

Even—

’Crazier.’

Yeah, that.

Crazy worked; it won.

And so he needed to be even ’crazier.’

A thought that would’ve sent most who listened to it straight into the grave.

Wasn’t he crazy enough?!

Well, apparently not, and somehow...

’Whatever you have planned, let’s do it before Tartaros.’

Eris seemed to agree.

"I was thinking the same thing."

Only poor Aspro looked up at him, tilting his big, fluffy head, seemingly completely lost.

Xenos looked at his chest, or rather the fur ball lying there, and patted his head.

"Don’t give me that look. You’ll find out soon enough."

The white-furred hound barked once.

"Hm. Well, my destination was Tartaros..."

Xenos scratched under Aspro’s chin.

"But I’m thinking of a little detour first. Something to push my strength up even more."

Aspro stared at him suspiciously.

"Hm? What am I up to now?"

Xenos shrugged.

"Don’t worry about it... unless you’re tagging along, of course?"

The dog barked twice, clearly declining.

"So you’ve got your own business. Good."

He ruffled the fur between its ears and leaned closer.

"Be careful, alright? You’re mine now."

Eris giggled.

’Possessive much?’

"Don’t start."

Perhaps the Goddess truly wasn’t the only possessive one around, though Xenos wasn’t about to confirm that.

Woof! Woof!

Barking in agreement, Aspro sniffed Xenos up, memorizing his scent completely.

"Don’t mind the sweat."

Xenos teased, and the hound ignored him, finishing the imprint before stepping back.

"Now you can track wherever I am, right?"

Woof!

"I see."

And that was that.

"Good luck."

Aspro hopped down and waddled away, while Xenos finally pushed himself up from the bloody and mushy ground.

The two didn’t bid each other goodbye; each simply went their separate way. Because, well, they weren’t worried; they’d be sure to meet in... cleaner circumstances.

...

If one lacked talent...

One must possess madness.

After reaching a small village hidden between the twisted woods, a now much cleaner Xenos headed straight for their medical hub.

There, a grumpy old woman slapped him around with her spells and patched him up. By the time she was done, he looked less like he’d crawled out of a grave.

Fully healed and back to feeling dangerous, he reached his next stop:

A forge.

He needed to buff himself further and push his First Normal Rune even harder.

There was a method he cooked up, a little loophole, that might just work.

Xenos had always wanted to do this, and now that he had some money and time, he certainly could.

One of the ways to rank up a Rune was through repeated use.

Xenos was doing that with his [Wise Fool,] but using it on the same weapon again and again didn’t really make it grow all that much.

So... what if he used it on every weapon in sight, back-to-back, nonstop?

Would that force it to evolve?

He was about to find out.

The forge was small and dimly lit, the firelight reflecting off dozens of blades hung across the walls.

An old blacksmith hammered away at a sword, not even looking up as Xenos entered.

But just as Xenos was about to touch one of the blades, he turned, about to tell him off... And yet, he couldn’t find himself to, for Xenos tossed him a few beautiful silver coins.

"I’ll be here long, but don’t mind me."

The blacksmith caught the coins, grunted, and went back to hammering.

"Perfect."

With that, Xenos looked over the weapons: short swords, long swords, axes, spears, staves, and even a few daggers that looked more decorative than practical.

It was quite a large variety that he didn’t expect from a blacksmith in the middle of nowhere.

In any case, it was time to get to work.

"Let’s break the system~."

Eris, as always, reigned him in.

’Be careful not to get kicked out.’

Nodding at her, he picked up the first sword, a rough, chipped thing.

The moment he touched it, he channeled [Wise Fool,] its faint glow against the metal.

After ensuring it kept true, he slashed, swung, stabbed, threw, and caught.

He didn’t even need to hit anything, of course. Movement was what mattered, that and repetition.

Once he felt that it was enough, he switched weapons.

Sword to spear.

Spear to axe.

Axe to mace.

Mace to dagger.

Over and over, each swing pulsing with that same golden light.

’You know...’

He twirled the next blade while cracking a grin.

’This one’s kind of nice. Its balance is good.’

’Focus.’

’I am focusing. I’m appreciating art.’

He weaved the blade through and around the air, leaving golden ripples trailing behind.

The Rune’s glow flickered stronger each time; it was working, he could feel it.

Already, he was due for an upgrade, so him doing this couldn’t be at a better time. The strain, the hum, and the flow of Divinity along his arms all said the same thing.

Thump!

His connection to [Wise Fool] pulsed heavier.

Xenos switched again, a greatsword this time, about the same size as Aspen’s sword, heavy enough that most men would struggle to lift it; he, however, needed only one hand.

There was no way he could replicate the same moves Aspen did. This and that were different, but hey, he at least could do the basics.

And so, he kept on going, relentless as ever, a lot of sweat continuing to roll down his back.

The whoosh of metal filled the forge, mixed with the old man’s occasional grunt.

Every weapon lit up with the faint mark of his Rune before he discarded it for the next. Even those that he’d never use: a hammer, a club, a lance, and a scythe.

[Wise Fool] was a Rune for a bearer who knew that he knew nothing. A Rune that bypassed a major rule of this realm.

One where Divinity only worked through Runes. Because indeed, Xenos’s Divinity worked through the weapons themselves.

But that wasn’t all, as it worked on armor as well. Something that he focused on when all weapons tasted his Divinity.

His "crits" were essentially the momentary increase of an item’s quality. So that meant the more he understood these items, the more he could succeed at making them grow.

Later, no doubt he’d need to dive further into this. Perhaps even learn a bit of forging and Divine Forging.

But for now, this had to make do.

The jester’s hat flickered, distorted, expanded, and reshaped. His Divinity swirled with it, reacting to his forcing of growth.

Xenos was literally dragging the Rune past its limits. His entire body buzzed, pulsing with Divinity.

’You’re overdoing it.’

Eris was right.

He was overdoing it, but...

’Overdoing is what I do.’

In all those hours, he’d nearly used all of his Divinity.

The armor he touched now barely felt a rise.

Yet that only helped him in his understanding.

His gray eyes were burning, and he...

He touched something that wasn’t a weapon or armor. Something that stood outside the Runes’ established parameters.

A horseshoe.

The metal shimmered under his touch.

Golden lines spiraled, pulsed, and expanded—

Ding!

Xenos froze up.

"Ahh..."

A slow, stupid grin spread across his face.

"That’s my new favorite sound."

A bug was just made real.