"I must say..." Seth muttered, letting his body fall heavily onto the hot sand. He supported himself with his arms stretched back, his muscles trembling discreetly with the remnants of the battle. His sunburnt and sparked skin glistened with sweat and dust, and the air still vibrated with residual electricity.
He was shirtless... the last remnant of fabric had been incinerated in the final blow he had delivered to the Centipede. Now, his torso displayed a map of bruises, several parts of his body looked really bad, but he didn't even feel any pain.
"...That was exhausting..." he repeated, with a hoarse laugh, half disbelieving, half satisfied.
His gaze then turned to the still smoking corpse of the colossal centipede. The burnt flesh gave off a dense, almost succulent smell, a mixture of molten metal, ozone and something primitive. It was an odor that would make a predator salivate.
For a second, Seth closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. He sipped that scent like an addict inhaling power.
"Sovereign of the Desert, huh...?" he whispered. He stood up slightly, leaning on one arm, and opened his Status window with his other hand.
And there it was.
Shining like a rough gem.
The reflection of his efforts.
[STATUS]
[Name: Seth (Rank-E)
[Class: [None]
[Title: [Sovereign of the Desert (Equipped)]
[Level]: 23
[Strength]: 53
[Speed]: 56
[Intelligence]: 48
[Stamina]: 51
[Extra points: 30]
Skills: [The End (Rank-SSS)] [Killing Blow (Rank-E)] [Presence of the King (Rank-D)] [Fleeing Instinct (Rank-E)] [Storm Spear (Rank-A)]
[Storage] [Skill Vacancy: (1 of 2)]
[Temporarily stored copied skills: [Electrokinesis - Rank-D]]
[Next Slot: Level 25]
"[Storm Spear]. .." Seth muttered, his fingers trembling slightly as he touched his own heaving chest. "It's used up... all my mana... Not a shred is left. It's like I've been drained from the inside."
He let his head fall back and stared at the faded desert sky. The feeling was of having been drained to the core. Every cell in his body vibrated with exhaustion... and, at the same time, ecstasy.
Out of pure instinct, he called up the Status window again, trying to gauge the collateral damage of the skill. But as soon as the interface appeared before his eyes, something made him freeze.
"...Huh?" His eyes widened. The line indicating [Fragment of the End: ???] had simply... disappeared.
"No..." he straightened up, his tiredness momentarily swallowed by worry. "Where did the Fragment of the End end up?"
Before he could rationalize, a new window materialized in front of him with a dry metallic sound... clac... like an old gear clicking into place.
[Inventory - Fully Unlocked]
It was immense. A three-dimensional space projected in front of his eyes, full of small slots organized in shiny rows. In the top corner, an icon with a stylized drawing of a humanoid body stood out.
Seth narrowed his eyes and mentally clicked on the icon.
The virtual body expanded into a new tab: a translucent silhouette with demarcated spaces for each body part.
"...Two rings. An amulet. Body armor. Head, Hands and Feet... two slots for weapons, and a belt?" he murmured, analyzing it with fascination and slight suspicion. "It's practically a Path of Exile clone... "
His eyes quickly moved to the first slot in the general inventory, where a small icon pulsed with dark, dense energy. It was like a black jewel shrouded in violet mist.
[Fragment of the End]
Type: Unique
Status: Unidentified...
Seth narrowed his eyes, observing the pulsating icon inside the inventory. It was as if the virtual screen itself emanated an icy, oppressive aura. An uncomfortable sensation crawled up his spine every time he looked at it.
"...So that was it. The system just transferred it... reallocated it to the inventory... it was an Item, not a power or anything." he muttered, more to himself than to the world.
Driven by an impulse, he touched the icon with his mind.
Immediately, an uncomfortable pressure filled his head as if invisible nails were scratching the inside of his skull. Distant echoes seemed to murmur inside his mind... a language he didn't understand, but instinctively knew wasn't meant to be heard.
[Status Insufficient - Advance Level to Identify Item]
Seth took a deep breath, letting it out through parched lips. "...I see. The requirements must be my levels or my status... that's going to be quite problematic, but nothing I can't achieve in a few months." he commented, mentally pushing the icon away and cautiously closing the Fragment tab.
But as soon as he returned to his inventory, his eyes were drawn to a new symbol.
It was a box. The icon looked simple at first glance, but its outline glowed a golden yellow, and a small black question mark flickered in the center... like an unasked question. Intrigued, he touched it.
FWOOOSH
A golden flash engulfed the palm of his hand, and in an instant, a real box appeared before him, materializing with a soft thud on the hot sand.
It was small, made of a dark, polished material like obsidian, but with corners coated in a tarnished golden metal. Ancient engravings ran along its surface, pulsing faintly with residual energy.
Above it, a system window protruded:
[Bounty Box - (Rating: Abandoned)]
"An unclaimed item, abandoned in forgotten ages. Its contents have been shaped by the fate of the one who found it..."
Seth arched an eyebrow, staring at the small box in his hands. The eerie glow of the carved runes pulsed slowly, as if they were breathing. The box exuded mystery and antiquity.
"Abandoned, huh...? Looks like someone dumped it a long time ago... but why?" he murmured, sliding his fingers across the icy inscriptions.
The runes reacted to his touch with a slight glow. The system went silent, no alerts, no windows popping up, no impediment. Just... silence. Almost respectful. Like a well-constructed thriller.
Seth gave a slight smile, tilting his head."...Let's see what you've got hidden in there."
With a decisive snap, he opened the box.
FLASH!
An intense golden glow exploded in front of him... and, for a moment, Seth thought he was going to get a strong sword or something really incredible from the glow in his eyes that almost blinded him...
But then...
DING-DING-DING!
The box fell apart... turning into a slot machine roulette wheel. Yes, with flashing lights, annoyingly upbeat music, and even a shiny side lever with a button that read: "SPIN AND WIN!"
A holographic interface leapt into the air, dancing in front of him with silly animations of spinning coins and a smiling chest.
[ROLL OF REWARD - MAKE YOUR LUCK CHAMPION!]
"Spin right now and find out what forgotten fortune awaits you!"
{Tap to spin}
Seth stood still for a few seconds.
Blink.
Another blink.
"...Lootbox?" he muttered, incredulity painting his face.
He looked around, as if expecting hidden cameras, then raised his eyes to the sky. "Really? Was that the ancient mystery? A gacha roulette?"
Nothing answered, of course.
He crossed his arms, snorted, and let out a dry comment. "Apparently, not even the system has escaped the influence of the games industry..."
He imagined an executive in a suit floating between dimensions, selling cosmic microtransactions: "Only 1,000 chaos crystals for a chance to take out the Legendary God of Suffering as a Pet!"
Seth sighed with the weight of all the bad decisions that had led to this moment and pressed the button.
"All right, System. Surprise me. Just don't give me some common healing potion or whatever..."
The wheel spun.
DING-DING-DING-DING-DIIIIIIIIING-
The images flashed by: a flaming sword, a pair of black wings, a rabbit in armor, a shiny stone with eyes, armor that looked alive, a... duck?
Then, little by little, the roulette wheel slowed down... slower... slower...
CLACK. CLACK... CLACK-
She stopped.
Silence.
QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!
"...Three ducks?" He tilted his head to the side, trying to decipher whether it was a prank or a cursed prophecy.
The lights around the roulette wheel began to flash excitedly, as if they had just revealed the biggest prize in the universe.
"What do I win with... three ducks?" he repeated, already considering the possibility that he had acquired something ridiculously strange. Who would put ducks in a slot machine?!
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE RECEIVED A PET!]
The system screen appeared with an animation bursting with fireworks and a balloon with the words "BIG LUCK!" floating behind it. Seth, completely stunned, was expecting a talking duck to appear...
But then...
The ground shook.
A giant shadow stretched out behind him.
Seth turned slowly, his eyes darting around, ready to see a duck the size of a bus.
But no.
No feathers.
No beak.
No ridiculous noise.
Out of the darkness, emerging with a silent, deadly step, a black panther stepped out of its shadow, its golden eyes shining like desert sands. Its presence made the air around it shudder.
It was pure wild elegance, with tense muscles, absurdly long claws and fur shining like liquid black ink under the desert sun.
It approached without making a sound, as if its very existence was a secret that the world whispered from time to time.
[You have received: "The Twilight Panther" (Rank-SSS)]
[Innate Skill: Twilight Veil]
Allows advanced shadow manipulation, total camouflage in dark environments, and shadow possession of hostile targets.
Seth stared at the system, then looked at the panther, then back at the roulette wheel... and slowly raised a finger.
"...Rank...SSS?..."
QUACK!
A strange sound echoed in the air, but it was just a glitch in the interface, which closed abruptly. The panther yawned. And when she yawned... it was as if the night itself had folded up inside her mouth.
"...Right. So I've won something really good..." The panther stared at him in silence, then approached with lethal grace and leaned her head on his shoulder like a needy cat.
Seth froze for a second, then muttered... "There's a panther... asking for affection... like a... kitten?" he murmured...
[Please name your pet to establish a permanent bond!]
"Really? I just killed a giant centipede, got a dark panther from beyond and now... I have to fill out the adoption form?"
The panther let out an almost offended grumble, as if to say, "Get lost, human."
Seth crossed his arms, thought for a few seconds... and then smiled.
"You know what... you deserve a name to match." He snapped his fingers, pleased with his idea.
"Your name will be... Bastet."
[Name 'Bastet' successfully registered.]
[Permanent bond established with Bastet - The Twilight Panther.]
[Loyalty: Maximum.]
[Status: Curious, Protective, Lazy.]
"Lazy?" Seth read aloud, glaring at her.
Bastet yawned widely, showing fangs that could tear armor with a sigh, and lay on her side with her belly facing up.
"...Okay. Apocalypse cat with a pillow soul. Got it." He reached out and cautiously stroked behind her ear. Bastet squeezed her eyes shut and purred again, clearly satisfied.
Seth smiled... he had a strange feeling. But he ignored it and stood up. "Looks like we have to go back, Bastet." Seth said, smiling.
The panther stood up, stretched like a real feline... with its paws outstretched and its back arched, and entered his shadow as if slipping through a veil.
Seth slumped his shoulders, looked at the desert ahead, and with a smile on his lips, whispered "I've gotten a lot stronger." and looked at the system screen...
[Time to Return: 00:00:26]
When he saw the timer... he thought of something... something he had forgotten due to the adrenaline rush of having to survive for many, many hours in that place while surviving several monsters...
"... I was here for four hours... Connie didn't say... if I wasn't back in two hours she was going to..." Seth shivered for a second... Even his shadow trembled.
"Please... time distortion in the punishment... please... 4 hours here was 40 minutes outside... please system..."