Adam opened his eyes again. He was standing in his teacher's office.
In front of him James sat behind his desk.
He was looking at him with the same practiced concern he always wore. It was the face of a man who had tried to kill him multiple times. A face he had personally destroyed.
"Adam," James began. His voice was a familiar hollow drone. It was the soundtrack to the beginning of his loop.
"I know you're grieving but you have to fight through this. You have to continue with your daily life."
Adam stared at his teacher. His face was a complete blank devoid of any emotion.
He did not feel fear or anger or even sadness. He felt nothing. There was only a cold quiet emptiness.
The terror and the guilt from his first kill had been washed away by his own death. The cycle was desensitizing him. He was a stone being smoothed by a river of blood.
"I think I'm unwell," Adam said. His voice was flat and monotone. It was the voice of a machine reciting a line. "I'm going to the nurse's office."
He turned and walked out of the cubicle without waiting for a reply. As he left he saw James watching him. He caught a flicker of nervousness in the teacher's eyes. This cold distant version of Adam was not part of his plan. It made him uneasy.
The moment Adam stepped into the empty hallway a system window materialized before him. Its blue light was a comforting presence in his chaotic world. It was the only thing that made sense.
[Congratulations Host. You have successfully eliminated two hostile targets.]
It was immediately followed by another window. This one presented a list of choices a menu of power taken from the dead.
[Please select your reward from the available options:]
[> Locks's Skill]
[> Locks's Stats]
------>
[> Marx's Skill]
[> Marx's Stats]
[Note: Host may select one attribute from each defeated target.]
Adam read the names. Locks and Marx. He deduced these must have been the names of the two thugs.
He had traded his life for theirs and now he was here to collect the payment.
He had to make a choice. He needed to be stronger but he also needed to be more skilled.
His last fight had taught him a valuable lesson. Raw power was useful but he had still been killed by a well-placed knife. Technique could be a deciding factor. Strength without skill was just brute force.
He decided to split his reward. He would take the stats of one and the skill of the other. It was a balanced approach a strategic choice.
He considered the two men. The second one Marx was the one who had killed him. He was faster more aggressive. Taking his physical attributes seemed logical.
The first one Locks had died too quickly for Adam to gauge his abilities. But he was a professional. He must have possessed some useful skill. It was a risk but one worth taking.
His finger moved. First it pressed the option for the second thug's physical attributes. Then it pressed the option for the first one's skill.
[> Marx's Stats]
[> Locks's Skill]
[Selection Confirmed. Integrating Target Attributes.]
[Host stats and skills are being updated...]
The reward window vanished. A new status screen took its place a detailed report of his growth.
[HOST STATUS]
Name: Adam
Species: Human
Strength: 36 (Previously 21) (+15)
Agility: 37 (Previously 22) (+15)
Stamina: 38 (Previously 23) (+15)
Perception: 39 (Previously 24) (+15)
Adam stared at the numbers.
Each of his stats had increased by fifteen points. A calm analytical part of his mind processed the information.
He was shocked. Were those thugs that strong? A fifteen-point increase from a single person's stats was enormous. It meant that
Marx the thug whose stats he had just absorbed was far more physically powerful than he had appeared. He wasn't just a strong man. He was at the peak of human conditioning or beyond. This information changed everything.
The people hunting him were not ordinary criminals.
They were high-level operators. Who would send killers of this caliber after a high school student? The bounty on his head wasn't just money.
It was a death sentence carried out by elites. The scale of the conspiracy was far larger than he had imagined.
He felt the power flow into him again. This time it was not a current. It was a tidal wave. It was a much more potent surge than the last time. His muscles felt denser.
His senses became sharper. He could hear the faint buzz of the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. He could see the individual dust motes dancing in the air with perfect clarity.
It was a tangible invigorating sensation that settled deep in his bones. The new strength was a solid comforting presence. It felt like he was putting on a suit of invisible armor.
He knew he was changing becoming something more than he was before. The frightened boy who had first woken up in a torture room was gone forever.
He clenched his fists. The feeling of power was absolute. He felt like he could punch a hole through the concrete wall beside him. He was becoming a weapon.
The status window faded. A final notification appeared a single line of text that held a world of new possibilities.
[New Skill Acquired!]
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Hey everyone!
A huge thank you for reading my novel! I hope you're enjoying the ride.
If you are, please smash that Power Stone button to show your support! Also, jump into the comments section and tell me what you think. I love reading all of your feedback and theories.
Keep being awesome!
Alphaboss
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