Axel smiled lightly. "Young master, you flatter me. Aren't you going to see your parents off?"
Hearing those words, a look of stunned surprise crossed Modret's face. "That's today already?" He frowned at the thought. '10 years has already passed so soon,' Modret felt slightly melancholic.
To think that in the blink of an eye, the time his parents had spoken of had finally arrived. Over the past decade, Axel had become more than just a bodyguard. He was part of the family now. He was Modret's closest friend.
Modret hadn't been wrong in his judgment of Axel's character. The scrappy boy from before had matured into a composed, strikingly handsome, and respectable young man.
Modret, however, was still slightly more handsome. 'It was the disparity between a noble and a commoner,' Modret mused with a slight chuckle, then returned to his reminiscence.
His own strength had soared over the years, rapidly breaking through the Star Core Realm and the Cosmos Realm, steadily approaching the elusive Galaxy Realm. He was already formidable, though still far from his parents' league. Nonetheless, it was an achievement worth pride.
Aside from that, Modret had given himself a rather eccentric nickname— 'the man with a thousand abilities!'
In truth, he had become absurdly versatile in nearly every aspect of life. He had awakened so many abilities that he could not keep track of them anymore.
'If it wasn't for the system,' he often thought, 'I wouldn't even remember half of them.' There were abilities that made him immune to most poisons. Others enhanced his cells, healed his genetic structure, or extended his lifespan beyond the limits of ordinary men.
In short, the abilities he had received from the roulette were practically endless. 'Unfortunately this fucking roulette spin seems to have completely decided not to grant me an s-grade ability and above!' Modret cursed silently in his heart.
He stood up from his seated position, brushing the dust from his trousers, then glanced toward the system panel hovering steadily in front of him.
[Status: A monstrous genius of the Awakening World, possessing more abilities than his confidence.]
[F-grade abilities: Agile Steps, Strength Increase, Mana Affinity, Elemental Affinity, Heat Resistance, Potion Master…]
[E-grade abilities: Mending, Repair, Wood Work, Physical Strength, Poison Master…]
[D-grade abilities: Enhanced Agility, Enhanced Hearing, Earth Affinity, Wood Affinity, Healing…]
[C-grade abilities: ???]
[Ability: SS-grade Null Fire.]
[Bloodline: Unknown]
[Shadow Fragments: 635/1000]
[Shadow Roulette: 1]
[Remark: A pitiful soul cast into a terrifying world of deception and manipulation. The world has abandoned you, but the shadows embrace you without question.]
[Monthly Remark: Times have changed. You may have become stronger over the years, however the currents are truly too great. Can you survive them? Or will the storms submerge you? Don't worry tho, you still have the shadows to crawl back to....]
Modret had grown used to the cryptic remarks. With a sigh, he pressed both hands together and prayed silently, 'let's pray that this spin will be fruitful before bidding farewell to my parents!'
"Give me a moment," he said to Axel before entering a trance.
Axel, already used to seeing Modret like this from time to time, simply shrugged and stepped to the side. He leaned slightly against the wall, arms folded, his mind drifting elsewhere.
…
Modret appeared in the mysterious void space. Unlike before, when his eyes would burn with anticipation, this time they were flat. He had learned better than to hope. He had learned to expect nothing.
As though he was saying to the roulette spin, 'please be fast and give me a useless ability let me continue with my life…'
The roulette, unaffected by his attitude, began spinning at high speed. It whirled faster and faster until it became a blur of light and motion. Gradually, the speed decreased.
It skipped past the vibrant purple light, then red, then green, then blue. It hesitated slightly before finally settling on red.
Modret's eyes popped out and he felt his heart skip a beat.
'Surely it can't be right?' Modret chuckled lightly and shook his head feeling as though he had fallen under an illusion.
But then the system flashed a line of glowing text across the void.
[Congratulations. You have spun the roulette and awakened an SSS-grade ability: Death Puppet.]
[Effect: This is a one-time use ability. It can substitute the killer of the user for one's life, granting them a chance at rebirth.]
On his knees, silent tears trickled down Modret's face. He didn't realize when his consciousness was forcefully tossed out of the system's space.
"The curse is broken! The fucking curse is broken!!" Modret's loud shout tore through the air, stunning Axel and causing him to open his eyes, glancing at Modret who was now on his knees with slight tears at the corner of his eyes.
'Is he crying?' Axel didn't know whether to laugh or cry seeing the state his young master was in. 'What in the world?' This was also the first time he had seen Modret in such a state. It was vastly different from the calm and composed young master he knew.
At the thought, he couldn't help but clear his throat, alerting Modret of his presence.
Hearing the voice, Modret froze, then with widened eyes stiffly moved his body to stand up. He coughed awkwardly then said in a solemn voice, "Axel, you didn't see anythihng right?"
Axel chuckled lightly, then replied, "Sure, young master. I didn't see you at all…"
Modret coughed awkwardly once more, sensing the teasing laced in Axel's tone, then turned his gaze towards the distance and said, "Let's go bid my parents farewell." The joy in his voice was difficult to suppress…
At the same time as he walked, he couldn't help glancing occasionally at the SSS-grade ability. After seeing that it didn't disappear after a long while, Modret breathed out in relief, then quickened his steps…
…
The Axarel Manor was far from peaceful today, because two of the strongest were heading to the battlefield. Most of them had heard gossips and whispers about the battlefield from their neighbors, so they knew what kind of deadly place it was.
"According to the information passed around, beast gained intelligence and gradually decided that they didn't want to be under the reign of humans. Wanting to carve out a home for themself from bloodshed, there are even rumors of some beast being able to take human forms…" one of the servants in the midst of a group of people chatted idly.
The others surrounding him showed a look of understanding and faint horror on their faces…
"To think the animals we were carefully tending after years ago would turn their back on us so easily, and would equally become so terrifying!" the gossip continued on.
There were others who believed that mana was a form of curse sent by the gods to punish mankind for the errors in their ways. However, till this day, the mystery surrounding the descent of mana remained unsolved.