Chuck's life since birth had been nothing short of disappointing. Growing up, the people around him always treated him with extreme hostility, and the same could be said for his parents.
Chuck was born into a prestigious family that had a good connection with powerful people, so when his parents discovered that he couldn't possess or control any magical affinity, they saw him as a disgrace to their legacy. A stain in the family.
All they ever wanted to do was make everyone believe that Chuck wasn't their child. They would give excuses that he was adopted, or that he was a family friend.
They even went as far as telling people that Chuck was a slave boy that they picked from the streets. Seeing as they couldn't outright disown their own child, they did the next best thing that they could. Something that would benefit them, and if possible, help Chuck also.
His parents decided to transfer him to an academy specified for the growth of mages. Sending him to the academy was a perfect excuse to finally get him out of their lives for as long as possible.
Navigating his life in the academy was difficult, given that there was a power hierarchy. The strong and talented students were always seen together. And the weak one's tried their best to stay out of sight.
At this point, all Chuck ever wanted to do was to prove that he wasn't useless, that he could become somebody some day. Acquiring this mysterious system that he didn't even know the origin of, was the only way Chuck could finally get to prove himself.
In theory, Chuck thought that if he completed quest after quest, he would be given rewards from the system, thus leveling up and growing stronger.
This theory was starting to make sense the moment he saw the new piece of information he just received from the system.
/ New skill unlocked /
/ Infernal shroud: LV 1 /
/ Skill info: When activated, this skill shrouds the user with the immortal essence, enhancing the user's magical and physical feats. It also gives the user resistance to attacks at a certain level /
Reading the details on the system screen, still in the same strange language that he somehow understood, Chuck started sweating frantically.
Except Chuck wasn't sweating due to anxiety or nervousness. He was sweating due to overexcitement.
"So does this mean that I can finally do something extraordinary?"
The only thing stopping him from jumping out of his bed was the pain he could still feel on his skin.
Quickly wanting to test the skill, he clicked on the "activate" button he saw.
/ Infernal shroud has been activated /
Chuck felt an instantaneous warmth circulate all over him. A golden colored flame quickly enveloped him, making it seem like his body was on fire.
Except the flame didn't hurt him in any way. He felt the heat on the surface of his skin — The kind of heat that threatened to burn anything that got too close to it. But instead of feeling the searing pain from the flames that shrouded his figure, he felt a kind of relief that he couldn't explain. It was inexplicable.
Chuck began to notice that the sores that he was feeling on his body was beginning to fade. The intense pain that he felt as a result of Kaiden's attack was gone… like it was never there to begin with.
One second, Chuck could feel the ever growing discomfort that he couldn't quite shake off, and the next second, he felt nothing. Nothing but the glowing feeling that made him feel like he was floating.
"Did this skill just heal me completely? Something that even the academy's healers couldn't do? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!"
Chuck couldn't contain his excitement anymore. He stood up from the bed and started inspecting his body. He somewhat expected himself to feel a little sting, but it was all gone.
"Ohh this is great. No, this is beyond great. It's amazing! At this point, I will definitely be able to take Kaiden's attack without any fatality. Ohh I can't wait to test it"
Chuck's emotions were all over the place, but there was something wrong somewhere. Something that he couldn't quite place his finger on.
Turning around, the joyous feeling he had was immediately replaced with a horrified look.
The entire sheet that covered the bed he was lying on earlier, was burnt beyond recognition. The entirety of the sheet was blackened, leaving a weird smell in the room.
"Ohh shit shit shit! Did this happen because of the skill? Damn I didn't know it's an actual flame that consumes everything it touches."
Summoning the system interface, he deactivated the skill.
/ Infernal shroud has been deactivated /
I have to take care of this before the healer comes in.
—
A dark room could be seen in view, almost like it was night time already. Except the sun was still reflecting its light faintly on the academy grounds.
The air gave a slightly chilling sensation, making the entire arena give off an eerie vibe. The only source of light in the dark grounds was the little lamp placed on the table.
The light from the lamp was so dim, making it seem like it's only purpose was to make the book under it, visible enough for its reader.
…The forced absorption technique requires an adequate amount of focus. There must be no struggle between the two parties involved, and the technique must be done with the absorber's palms resting on the chest of the other party. This is to certify a one hundred percent success….
…If too much core mana gets absorbed, one might end up stealing the life force of the other, leading to an instant death.
A bald headed man read the contents of the book with extreme focus.
"If someone knew about what I'm planning, they would think that I've gone mad. But I know what I felt. That energy…"
"My best guess is that he has a large amount of energy, making potentially powerful, but he just doesn't know how to use that power yet."
"I have done a background check on him. His parents are elite figures, which makes him a highborn. But no prestigious parent will ever send their child to an academy, knowing fully well that they could just hire a private tutor to teach them."
"This only means that they saw how useless he was, so they decided to just get rid of him by sending him here. Well if that is the case, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I… use him for my benefit."
I don't care if he lives or dies. I will use the forced absorption technique on him.