Ivan observed the plain, barren terrain that seemed to stretch out miles.
'How do I level up?' Ivan mused.
>>>
Do you want to level up to F-rank now?
Levelling up to F-rank will cost you 1000 exp and 10 mana rocks.
'Hmmn, it's cheaper than I expected. I expected my entire exp to be expended on levelling up. Maybe, it's too soon to make conclusions,' Ivan reflected on the information he was shown.
Ivan said, "Yes, I want to level up now."
Ivan felt a strong vibration from his kit bag.
"What in the world!" Ivan cussed.
The mana rocks flew out of the bag, ripping the kit bag.
"Damn it! It tore my kit bag!" Ivan said, well pained.
The mana rocks floated some inches above Ivan's head. They began to swirl around, starting at a slow pace and gradually increasing to a fast pace.
Ivan felt his body calmly and gradually increase to a violent vibration. The state of his body disoriented his thoughts, and he couldn't keep track of time and his own existence. The swirling rocks transformed into a green vortex. If one looked into the vortex, they would see a mass was quickly approaching to exit the vortex. The mass happened to be a green bolt of energy.
The green bolt of energy exited the vortex and struck Ivan.
Arrgh! Ivan yelled.
The bolt formed a bridge between the vortex and Ivan's head. Energy continuously flowed in pulsating waves through the energy bridge from the vortex into Ivan's body. Ivan felt his body being ripped apart molecule by molecule. It was the worst experience in his entire lifetime.
BOOM! A voluminous amount of energy was dispelled from Ivan's body. It was as if the entropy of his body had suddenly increased, hence releasing a tremendous amount of energy. This event was a necessary part of levelling up. This was nature rebuilding a player's constitution to ascend the power rank.
Five minutes of excruciating pain and torture passed by. The green tinge of the vortex began to rapidly diminish until the vortex became colourless. Instantly, the vortex collapsed into dust, and Ivan was free from the torture.
Ivan collapsed on his knees, hyperventilating. His thoughts had not registered that he was free. He still felt the lingering sensations of pain throughout his body.
>>>
Congratulations!
You have levelled up to F-rank!
You are now a special character.
>>>
Mission Complete.
Upgrade to F-rank in power level
Reward: 2000 exp.
The appearance of the information bar dragged back some ounce of sanity into Ivan's mind. His vision focused on the figures on the information bar, but he couldn't understand it. It didn't bother him that he couldn't understand the figures because he couldn't think properly. The pain from levelling up had done a number on him.
>>>
Since you are now a special character, you have to choose an avatar name.
Note: An avatar name cannot be the same as your name.
Insert Avatar name.
Something inside Ivan's kit bag vibrated the bag. This time it was Black Riot, the black longsword that formerly belonged to humanity's legendary S-rank character, Merlin_13. Due to his state of mind, he couldn't notice the vibration.
>>>
You Sword, Black Riot has resonated with your power.
Black Riot has 100% acknowledged you as its new owner.
Throughout the Torn Indigo, an announcement appeared in the sky, attracting the attention of every player, both special and regular.
The S-rank weapon, Black Riot, has acknowledged its new owner.
The S-rank weapon, Black Riot, has acknowledged its new owner.
The S-rank weapon, Black Riot, has acknowledged its new owner.
The announcement sparked discussion among people. Many people asked the question, "Is the new owner the same person who possessed it yesterday, or has another person possessed the sword?"
This sparked rumours that Merlin_13 wasn't dead and had faked his death to escape something. He had returned through a secret medium and repossessed his mighty S-rank weapon, Black Riot.
Meanwhile, the surveillance crew at the gaming hub where Ivan visited were contemplating intervening to help Ivan revive from his dazed state.
Rodrygo, one of three people in the crew handling the hub's surveillance, laughed, amused by the scene he was watching. "Let him revive by his own might."
Tony, a colleague, said, "What if he dies?"
Rodrygo replied, "He won't die. He is already awake. He is just temporarily overwhelmed by pain."
'Black Riot? Resonate with my power? Where am I? What is going on?' Ivan questioned himself. His reasoning had gradually returned to his best.
The first thing he did was to pull up his system info.
System Info>>>
Character name: Nnamani Ivan
Avatar Name: Pending (Player is yet to insert an avatar name)
Power Rank: F rank.
Weapon: Sword.
Weapon name: Black Riot
Type: Unique.
Weapon Power: S-rank.
Inventory: Player lacks an inventory.
'I'm F-rank now?' Ivan was taken aback by what he saw.
He observed his environment. It was strange to him, and he expected to be in his apartment.
'What am I doing here?' Ivan almost panicked.
Suddenly, past memories from a few moments ago returned to him.
"Oh my word." Ivan facepalmed with his two hands. He couldn't believe he forgot what happened a few minutes ago.
'That was one heck of an experience. I just hope levelling up to subsequent levels won't be as painful as that,' Ivan mused.
He read other info bars that had popped up before he pulled up his system information.
Ivan said in his thoughts, 'Insert Avatar name? What name should I choose? Ah, why is this difficult for me?'
>>>
Avatar name inserted.
Avatar Name: Black_Riot 79: Reborn
Ivan had chosen Black_Riot 79: Reborn because that was the name of the S-rank monster Merlin_13 defeated to obtain Black Riot. Actually, the monster's name was Black_Riot 79. The monster was known to be very powerful, and there needed to be a collaboration of 40 S-rank characters to take down the monster.
The name sounded cool to Ivan, and he liked the strength the monster had exhibited. That was the reason he chose the name.
The monster was severely injured after running riot on the S-rank characters, causing them to flee. Merlin_13 seized the opportunity to battle the beast in its weak state, defeating it and accomplishing the final requirement for him to ascend from A-rank to S-rank.