"Alright, I gained fifty EXP from those goblins, that's pretty good," Jake thought. The goblins that Drake had killed had turned into ashes—there was absolutely nothing remaining.
"Thank you, Drake," Jake said.
"I'm here to serve you, Master," Drake said. He bowed his head, but then looked up at Jake again. "But please, Master, don't use me for petty reasons, please," he asked in a pleading tone.
"Nah, I can't promise you something like that. I might still need you for something like that," Jake said and unsummoned Drake.
"Now to keep heading forward." He continued walking through the forest for an hour. He slowly became lonely and needed someone to talk to, at least.
"Hey, are you gonna stay asleep forever?" he asked the system but got no reply.
"Ignoring me, are we? Well, screw you. I don't care," Jake said and kept walking.
[It sounds like you do.]
"Oh, so you were awake. Why the hell didn't you respond?" Jake asked.
[Because I'm not obligated to do that. I like my peace and quiet, and frankly, whenever you open your mouth, you destroy that.]
"You know you have a really pissy attitude," Jake said.
[Get used to it.]
Jake let out a sigh. 'I guess an obnoxious system is better than not having anyone to talk to.'
"Since you are up already, tell me about my power as a necromancer," Jake said.
[You mean my power—the one you have because of me.]
"Well, you can't use it yourself, now can you? Our case reminds me of a really popular movie from Earth. It was about some sort of alien symbiote that comes to Earth.
On its own, it was pretty darn useless, but when it merged with the right person, it gave him power. Crazy power."
[Sigh As much as I hate to admit it, our case is similar, but still vastly different. I possess the consciousness and all, but I'm in a dormant state when I haven't been picked.]
"Huh? So you mean like in a coma or something like that?"
['Suspended state' is a better word. That's all I know. And the moment you laid your dirty hands on me, I reactivated.]
"Do you have to sneak an insult into everything?"
[Do you have to make a fuss every time I do it?]
"Sigh, forget it. Just tell me more about your power as a whole," Jake asked.
[You possess the power of necromancy. Everything that could ever be part of necromancy—you can do it. As time goes on, you'll be able to do more and more.]
BOOOOM
Suddenly, an explosion shook the whole forest. A massive pillar of flames shot into the air, birds flew off the trees, and the smell of wood burning immediately covered the area.
"What the hell is happening?"
[Why the hell are you asking? Go and check it out, dumbass.]
Jake immediately ran in that direction. He moved as fast as his feet could carry him, and when he arrived near the area of the explosion, he was huffing and puffing, placing his hands on his knees in an arched-over pose.
[Man, you are weak and pathetic.]
"Screw you," Jake cursed. He looked up; he could hear the sound of smaller explosions happening. He moved closer and hid behind a tree. He peeped at what was happening.
And then he saw it—two figures momentarily paused in their movements. One was a man in blood-red armor. In his arm was a black spear with a foot-long black and silver blade.
He stood in a stance that showed dominance. Through the eye slits of the helmet, two glowing red eyes could be seen.
And on the other side was a lady, no more than twenty, draped in a beautiful, knee-length purple robe. She had purple hair and eyes that matched as well. In her hands was a twisted staff with a blood crystal at the top.
Her entire body was covered with bruises and injuries. Her breathing was heavy. She struggled to keep standing. But there was a fire in her eyes—she was not ready to go down without a fight.
The entire area around them was filled with debris, massive craters, and destruction.
"Sofia, throw away your pride and come with me. There is no way you will survive the Hundred Trials with that strength of yours," the armored man spoke, his voice heavy.
"I'd rather die than allow you to come close to me," the lady replied. She raised her staff into the air and the crystal began glowing.
She started muttering something under her breath. A magical circle formed beneath her, spreading to a two-meter radius. Above her, a massive fireball formed.
The flames burned hot, causing the air to crackle. She held onto the flames, her arms trembling, but she refused to let up. She kept pushing herself.
"You will only cause yourself more harm. Stop," the man said. But she refused to listen and shot the ball at the man immediately.
The man spun his spear around. Mana gathered at the tip of the spear. He planted his feet into the ground and shot forward.
He jumped into the air, spun his spear, and slashed through the fireball.
Slash.
A bright flash followed, and the fireball was destroyed. But the man didn't stop there. He thrust his spear at the lady, the spear spinning in his hands as he moved.
"The Red Warrior Sect special technique—Raging Tornado!" he yelled. The spear spun faster. The lady had no way to dodge the attack, so she immediately used her staff and caused a wall of earth to rise from the ground—but she was unable to block the attack.
Boom.
The spear shattered the wall and struck her right in the chest. Her robes managed to stop it from piercing, but she flew through the air and slammed into a tree so hard that she couldn't get up again.
"You should have just followed me," the man said, and started approaching with slow and heavy steps. Suddenly, he stopped and looked in Jake's direction.