Cairen returned to his cave and closed the door. As soon as he entered, he saw that a few things had changed. It was cleaner, and there were some fruits on the table.
"Hmmm, the siblings must have left these for me before leaving," he said, approaching the table and eating a red fruit that resembled an apple. The taste was different, but it was quite delicious and sweet.
He then ate three more different fruits until he felt satisfied.
After that, he sat on the couch while saying in his mind:
'Status'
The translucent panel finally appeared before him.
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[Fallen System]
Name: Cairen Veyrith.
Age: 16.
Bloodline: Fallen Human (Grade 3), Fallen Narakai (Grade 3)
Titles: *** ******** ***
Cultivation: 1º stage of the Affinity Awakening realm.
Passive Abilities: Narakai Physique.
Active Abilities:
Fallen Abilities: Shackles of the False Genocider, The Serpent's Plague.
[Missions] {+}
----------------------------------------------------
Cairen looked over all the changes in his status. The first thing he noticed was the change in the grade of his human bloodline. Previously, it had no grade, but now it had risen and matched the Narakai bloodline.
'Probably due to the fallen ability,' Cairen thought and lowered his gaze to the new ability.
Just reading the name, a strange weight spread through his body.
Cairen stood up and extended one of his hands. At that moment, a dark gray chain, as thick as two fingers, emerged from the center of his palm, slicing through the air with a dry sound. It seemed alive, responding to his every thought.
He took a few steps forward before gripping the start of the chain. With a thought, it returned to his body, and with another thought, it appeared again with extreme speed and struck the wall of his room. A deep hole opened.
Cairen felt the chain as an extra arm. When he fully extended it, he saw that its maximum length was three meters for now. But his control over it was total. With a simple mental command, he saw the chain begin to thicken until it reached the width of a fist.
In this state, Cairen managed to make the tip of the chain transform into three different forms. First, a sharp blade that reflected a shadowy glow.
The second form was a compact mass the size of a human head. Cairen could make spikes appear from it, ideal for striking with pure brute force.
And finally, the last form. He looked at a pillar, and the chain reacted at high speed. The tip of the black chain split into two smaller chains, passed behind the pillar, and reconnected, transforming into shackles identical to the ones that once bound him in his cell.
Cairen focused, and memories began to flood his mind. Memories of his life before arriving there. Cold shackles binding his wrists and ankles. And an even larger one around his neck.
The gaze of hatred, fear, and satisfaction of those who had cast him aside to be executed.
And then, his execution.
His eyes closed for a moment. He understood that these chains didn't just carry his will but also the weight of the false accusation he suffered. The distorted judgment of those who unjustly killed him. What had made him become a fallen.
This was not just a weapon. Cairen knew well the true power of these chains would only be revealed when used against someone real. It was a sentence.
'Should I thank them? One day, if I get the chance,' Cairen thought.
He then sighed before testing each of the three forms in the air. He was impressed by the chain's malleability and resistance. He used the blade at the tip of the chain to cut his finger and let it drip into the chain, but absolutely nothing happened.
He then looked at the panel again. The other thing that had changed was his cultivation. He felt his body slightly stronger, but nothing too noticeable. His strength now depended entirely on his abilities.
He also knew he had awakened his affinity, but didn't yet know how that would affect him. So he left it for now. He went straight to bed to sleep, feeling mentally and physically tired after using so much blood today and then using the shackles.
Even though it didn't use his blood and seemed to be just another part of him, like another limb, Cairen noticed it was somewhat exhausting for his mind to use his ability.
…
The next day, Cairen left the cave after the two siblings arrived in the morning, bringing some food. Cairen saw the girl preparing some beast meat and found it interesting, so he ate before heading out to explore.
He passed through several places he had read about in the book on the sect. The technique hall, the mission hall, the exchange hall, the poison hall, etc.
He walked through some gardens and training courtyards where there were many arenas with many disciples fighting. Cairen drew attention wherever he went, primarily because of his central disciple robes. Because of them, no one dared to cross his path.
And the second reason was his appearance. Cairen didn't care about this, so he hadn't looked at himself anywhere yet, but he was definitely different from the others.
He enjoyed himself alone, watching people fight, though all of them were quite weak. He noticed that the outer disciples were all in the first realm, and the inner disciples were in the second realm, the same as him.
But even though these people were weaker than him, he was surprised at how they fought. It was truly incredible for someone completely inexperienced like him.
While getting lost visiting the sect's places, suddenly a commotion began. He saw that many disciples had gathered everywhere and were gossiping about something.
He managed to hear one of the disciples running quickly to his friends while speaking.
"The central disciples are back from the mission! All of them." The boy seemed happy as he spoke to his friends, appearing to hold them in high regard.
At that moment, suddenly, someone touched his shoulder. He looked back startled, and from the center of his hand, a tiny but sharp blade appeared and was about to be fired. But as soon as he turned, he saw it was actually Elder Xu.
The blade, along with the chain, returned to his hand and disappeared.
"Elder Xu, you scared me," Cairen said, realizing he had almost attacked his elder.
"Hahaha, your reflexes are pretty good. Come, the leader wants to see you. It's a matter of extreme importance, so if you'll excuse me," Elder Xu said before grabbing Cairen's wrist.
Then Cairen felt his body being pulled by a force he couldn't resist at all. After some time, he realized he was in front of the sect's grand main hall.
Following behind the elder, Cairen entered. Today, unlike the day he arrived, the place was quite full.
The sect leader was on his throne, while four elders wearing the same robes as Elder Xu were seated nearby.
Standing before them were nine youths. Cairen saw four girls and five boys, all wearing the same dark blue robes with purple embroidery as his.
Cairen looked at them just as the nine looked back. Seeing him wearing the central disciple robe, all were surprised. Among them, Cairen felt one of the girls look at him with clear hostility.
'They all have higher cultivation than mine. I can't sense their strength like I could with the other disciples,' Cairen thought, but he wasn't afraid of them, not with his abilities.
"This is Cairen, our new central disciple and your new companion," the leader suddenly said.
The surprised gazes of the nine and the other four elders focused on Cairen again, but beyond his appearance, they couldn't sense anything special.
Cairen simply walked up to stand beside them, ignoring the hostility from one of them and the looks from the others.
"Now, report, how did the mission go?" the leader asked with a serious face.
One of the five boys stepped forward. He looked around twenty, had blond hair, and had an average appearance.
"The mission was successfully completed. The Fortress City of Darik was completely eradicated."
He approached the leader and handed over a wrapped cloth. When opened, it revealed the head of a man. Half of it was completely unrecognizable, corroded by a powerful poison.
The leader nodded.
"Good! I knew I could trust you all, and I see that none of you were seriously injured. The sixth has been avenged. This is excellent. You'll all receive rewards proportional to your contributions," the leader said, appearing satisfied.
Cairen, when the leader mentioned the sixth, noticed that the girl who had been glaring at him had tears falling from her eyes.
"Now tell me, what is the matter of utmost urgency?"
Then the blond boy returned to his place while a girl with a cold expression stepped forward.
"Sect Leader, we returned as quickly as possible because on the way back, we found something in the mountain. There was an extremely strong protective formation at the entrance, but it seemed unstable and about to collapse in a few days."
"We believe it's a inheritance place. We returned for you to decide."
The leader furrowed his brow while looking at the elders, quickly making a decision.
"Old Xu, Elder Feng, and Elder Yu. Depart immediately with the ten. When the heritage opens, it will attract attention from other sects and forces. Protect everyone at all costs. If even one of you obtains the heritage, it will bring immense benefits to both yourself and the sect."
He then looked at Cairen.
"The presentation ceremony will have to wait. You'll go with the others today."
"No problem. I'd rather go and see this so-called heritage," Cairen said calmly, but inside, he was pleased. So soon, something had appeared that had sparked his curiosity while reading the common sense book. inheritance place were extremely rare.
The leader laughed. But before the meeting ended, the girl who had been staring at him from the beginning suddenly spoke.
"With all due respect, master… Someone as weak as him shouldn't go. That's practically asking for death. All of us are at least in the third stage of the Qi Accumulation realm, and even so, we don't know if we'll be safe."
Elder Xu, who had been silent behind them the whole time, finally spoke.
"If Cairen wanted to, he could easily kill any of you if you're careless and underestimate him. He can protect himself."
The leader, who had already heard from Elder Xu about Cairen's bloodline test, nodded before saying:
"You don't need to worry about him or his strength. He's stronger than he looks. Focus on protecting yourselves. I don't want any of you to die. Remember, the Tournament of the Realms is coming in two years."
Everyone nodded, understanding what he meant.
The girl fell silent and no longer looked at Cairen.
"Follow me!" said the leader, leaving the hall.