Sin arrived outside of a tavern, having donned new leather armor.
The tavern stood on the edge of Solstar's bustling square, a building that seemed alive with noise and energy.
Its heavy wooden door swung open and closed constantly, releasing waves of raucous laughter, clinking mugs, and the faint melody of a lute played by someone who clearly valued enthusiasm over skill.
Sin stepped inside, his head throbbing faintly as the atmosphere engulfed him.
The air was thick with the scent of spilled ale, roasted meat, and the sweat of a dozen unwashed bodies.
Dim lanterns cast flickering shadows across walls adorned with faded hunting trophies and old wanted posters, their edges curled from years of neglect.
The patrons were as varied as the smells. Hunters with armor dented and scratched sat in groups, trading stories of their latest exploits over frothy mugs.
Sin moved toward an empty corner table, his steps uneven but purposeful.
His leather armor creaked slightly as he sat, wincing as the pain in his half-healed body flared with the movement.
Finally, he let out an exasperated sigh. Although there were many people here, their presence allowed him to be unnoticed.
Ironically, this was the most secluded place he could think of being at. He needed that right now in order to think.
Firstly, he thought to himself just how stupid his decision-making was right there.
'I usually let my anger get the best of me if someone takes it too far. It's what they deserve... and it's what I stand for. But... this is a large city. It's advanced... there are people here with actual powerful backings, and most importantly, people who have powerful Spirit Energies.'
He shook his head, disappointed at himself for the actions he took.
'I should have never even entered a battle here. It was a cocky move... even though I have relentlessly trained my body to a level that most people aren't even close to, a well-used Spirit Energy, even if it's weak, can still destroy me in seconds. I have learned that today.'
He paused, 'I could have died today... no... in fact, I should have. There was no way I should have gotten to survive.' He addressed the elephant in the room now, 'But that dinging noise. Those panels, those messages... it still all doesn't feel real to me. I don't know what those were... but they helped me survive somehow.'
He recounted his memory, trying to make sense of it all.
At first, the voice in his head, which sounded like a monotone female human, attempted to use the Spirits that Sin had in his body.
After that failed, it then 'rewrote' his parameters and unlocked a new Spirit for him using his natural ability to heal, and evolving it.
'That was the bug.' Sin said to himself, still flustered by all of it. He couldn't help but mutter to himself in pure disbelief, "Just what in the hell was that?"
A screen flashed before him as soon as those words escaped his lips.
[Infinite Spirit Energy System]
"Huh?"
---
[Status]
[Name: Sin Alaric Dalroth]
[Species: Human (F) + Undefined (?)]
[Bloodline: Dalroth Lineage]
[Class: --]
[Titles: --]
[Level: 1]
---
[Health: 78%]
[Durability: 6]
[Strength: 10]
[Stamina: 7]
[Speed: 5]
[Wisdom: 10]
[Will: 10]
[Spirit Energy: 1]
---
[Spirits: 1]
[Unstable Spirits: --]
[Common Spirits: 1]
[Rare Spirits: --]
[Elite Spirits: --]
[Superior Spirits: --]
[Legendary Spirits: --]
---
[Arts: --]
>[--]
---
Although it was all abrupt, Sin took his time analyzing everything on the different panels that had appeared.
Firstly, his name looked almost completely different. He had always known himself to be 'Sin Clemoth Falmerdic,' as that was the name his mother had given him.
Despite that, his name was now 'Sin Alaric Dalroth,' which made no sense. Why did the last parts of his name change, and not the first part?
Did his mother lie to him about his name? None of it was piecing together in his head.
Dismissing that, he moved on. His species was human, which was rated 'F' tier.
'I guess that's understandable.'
Apart from that, there also seemed to be another species besides human that was marked as 'Unknown' with a question mark for a rank.
This meant that he was more than just a human, which really threw him off. What else could he be? Some sort of creature? Or maybe something not of this world...
More and more questions seemed to pop into Sin's head as he continued scanning the info.
His bloodline was Dalroth, which stemmed from his new name it seemed. His level seemed to be the lowest possible—1.
'Level must mean how strong I am... right? If it's at the lowest, then can I increase it, or will it stay at one forever?' He mused, continuing down the panel.
All of his stats seemed to be on a spectrum of one through ten. It might have been possible that for a person that is level one, their base stats, depending on their genetics, would fall somewhere in that spectrum.
His stats specifically were on the higher end, with notably three of them reaching the 10-point mark.
Those stats were Strength, Wisdom, and Will. By simply taking a look at these stats, Sin seemed to automatically understand what they meant.
Strength was the stat for generatable power within one's body. Right now, Sin's Strength stat was based on his pure muscular ability, but it seemed other things could increase it as well in the future.
Next, his Wisdom stat represented his base IQ, how intelligent he was when it came to his raw, natural brain power.
Despite the stat being so high, it actually shocked Sin slightly. Out of all the stats, this was not one he expected to be the highest.
Finally, his Will stat represented his resolve, tenacity, and ambition.
He also had a stat that was at the lowest of the low: his Spirit stat, which was at one.
It represented his current Spirit Energy prowess, and how much Spirit Energy he held within his body.
It was quite disappointing to see that it was at a minuscule number like one, but it was better than nothing.
Especially considering the fact that merely an hour or so ago, he tested for 0 Spirit Energy affinity whatsoever.
'At least this is a step in the right direction...' Sin thought to himself, finally allowing himself to breathe a sigh of relief.
In his moment of temporary relaxation, he couldn't help but overhear a conversation occurring next to him among a small group of Hunters.
"Lucel? Yeah... of course I've heard of that city."
"Quite the sad tale it has."
"I know, right? To think Trinion Republic knights would want to have anything to do with a puny town in the middle of nowhere like that... it truly is sad."
"Yeah... it's really a wonder why they would destroy that place."
"Why would they even venture so far away from the Trinion Republic in the first place? That is inside of an entirely separate Sanctuary."
"I'm sure they had to travel through thousands of miles in the Dark Lands to get to this Sanctuary... it gives me shivers just thinking about it."
Out of nowhere, this small group of people were surprised to see a young man standing over them.
"What... are you guys talking about?" Sin said, his eyes wide with a concentrated yet simultaneously intrigued look.