Quinn was currently hurrying through the corridor. It was already curfew time. Meanwhile, at Logan's room, when he checked his wristwatch, he had a couple of emergency messages from his roommate, none other than Peter. The message read: Please come fast to the training hall, some second-year students are beating me up.
The message had arrived around the time when Quinn was already knocked out and slumbering in Logan's room. But after seeing his wristwatch later, Quinn excused himself from Logan and promised to return after figuring out the strange message in his head.
Quinn kept chanting, I'm sorry, Peter, for not coming. How will I explain this to you? As he continued to run, he knew that whatever had happened in the training hall would already be over, and he would most likely find Peter either in the dorm or at the hospital. He chose the former and arrived. Putting his finger on the scanner, he entered the room, only to find Vorden and Peter there.
Vorden instantly got to his feet when Quinn entered and started a barrage of questions.
"Hey Quinn, where were you all this time? Are you okay? I looked everywhere for you and even had to stand up against some second years. I was even going to kill Vicky if she did something to you. But after trying everything, it was just like you vanished! You better give me an explanation—and fast."
Quinn gulped. Looking at Vorden, he saw his hair was a mess, and he had genuine concern on his face. That gave Quinn a small joy—at least one person genuinely cared for him. But explaining to Vorden now was big trouble.
Quinn gave a wry smile. "Oh Vorden, I'm sorry. Really sorry. But I'm okay. I wasn't being bullied or anything. I just happened to make a new friend," Quinn said nervously, "and I ended up sleeping there."
On hearing this, Vorden's face turned red-hot, as if he was about to bite Quinn's head off.
"Quinn, you could have at least messaged me, you know! And who is this new friend? I thought I was your only friend."
"Sure, Vorden, you're my best friend. But it happened. I'm sorry. Look—can you see any scars or injuries on me? I'm perfectly fine. You know I'm an adult and I can look after myself."
"Yeah, don't get so cocky just because you became level 2. You think you can just do whatever you want." He turned away, still angry, and slouched onto his bed.
Quinn then turned his attention to Peter, who was sleeping on his bed, wrapped in a blanket. Quinn didn't want to disturb him, so he approached Vorden.
"Hey Vorden, do you know what happened to Peter at the training room?"
Vorden looked at him. "What happened to him?"
"Well, I was… out. I mean sleeping. Peter messaged me to urgently come to the training hall—he said he was getting bullied. I thought he would have texted you too."
Vorden frowned. "What are you talking about? He didn't tell me anything like that. He came back an hour or so after you did and went straight to bed. He seemed fine to me."
"Well, Vorden, I couldn't get to him, but please keep an eye on him from now on too."
Vorden gave a nod.
Quinn went to his bed. He still had a sharp headache, though it had subsided a little. As he turned off the lights and lay down, staring at the ceiling, he thought: Well, now I can focus a little on this new thing.
He had just seen the messages:
[Ability detected][Alterations to the system are being attempted][Alterations have been blocked]
But right now, he couldn't see them anymore. He tried to think back to what happened just before he went out cold.
What was it? A type of system message?
As soon as Quinn thought those words, a status screen appeared before his eyes.
[User: Quinn Talen]
[Race: Human]
[Ability: Mana Eater]
[Ability Level: 2]
[System Level: 1]
[0/100 exp][HP: 10/10]
[Strength: 15]
[Agility: 15]
[Stamina: 15]
"Whoa," Quinn said.
It was like the old games people used to play when Earth wasn't in danger of being overrun by alien creatures.
On the status screen, there were more tabs placed at the top. One such tab had a bell icon with a number tagged on it.
Even without touching anything, just by reading the tabs in his head, the screen automatically switched to [Notifications].
[Notifications]
[Congratulations, you have received My Vampire System]
Quinn read those words in disbelief. What the…? Is vampire even an ability? He had never seen an actual vampire—only in fantasy dramas or web novels people from the old generation talked about.
Who would even want to be a vampire? Quinn wondered.
But the next set of messages surprised him even more:
[Error…][Error…]
[System has been tampered with…]
[Unable to access vampiric powers…]
What does that mean? Quinn thought.
Closing the notifications tab, he looked at the others.
[0 skill points available]
[Skill locked????]
[Skill locked????]….
It was strange, but he played along, curiosity fueling him. Everything seemed locked and greyed out, so he quickly moved to the next tab.
[Shop]
[Unlocks at Level 10]
"Can I do anything?" he muttered.
Then he noticed an ability tab that wasn't locked. This was more exciting, as Quinn was curious to know what the system had to say about his ability.
[Ability: Mana Eater]
[Ability Level: 2]
[MC Cells: 20]
[Attribute: Earth] [Points: 4/8]
[Attribute: Water] [Points: 4/8]
So there are points for each attribute? Quinn thought.
As he thought back to his fight, he remembered both opponents were level 4. The points showing 4/8 was no coincidence—even the military classified eight levels.
After gaining some insights, Quinn saw another interesting tab:
[My Vampire System]
The system was tampered with during the process. Modifications have been made. The user has received a quest.
[Quest: Race Change]
[Quest Info: The user can become a vampire. Activating the ritual will lead to losing all present abilities.]
Quinn read carefully, letting it all sink in. Why the hell would I want to lose my ability?
He had received his current abilities from the tablet—and they were dangerous and powerful. His human ability let him take away elemental abilities, and elemental powers were the most useful. Even the powerhouses at the top—like Sunshiel with fire or Graylash with lightning—relied on them. The military too had earth abilities. With Quinn's special ability, he could have them all. So why would he want to be a vampire?
The last tab was the [Quest] tab. Finally, one that wasn't locked.
[Main Quest]
[Reach System Level 10]
[Reach Ability Level 3]
After checking everything, Quinn just had to think about closing the system, and it did. When he thought about opening it again, the screen popped back up immediately.
Another thought lingered in Quinn's mind. The book his parents had left him—it must have been an ability book. These books could be bought at very high prices from the military or companies. Some even appeared on the marketplace. He had never seen one, only heard whispers from students who would never bother with him.
But Quinn had never heard of an ability book that disappeared, granting the user a system like this. Ability books were meant to be learned manually. They didn't just make abilities appear overhead like a screen whenever one thought of them.