The sky looked red...
Many unknown creatures soared through the sky. Their shadows appeared—dancing on the ground...
I tried to stand...
Looking around, I found I was in a place I didn't recognize...
Grass beneath me...
A cool breeze made my body cold...
I saw two suns shining brightly in the sky...
It didn't take long for me to realize that I was not in the world I used to live in...
As I got up, I felt dryness in my throat. I needed water...
As I looked around for water, I saw that...
The surrounding area was covered in big and tall trees...
Filled with many noises of different creatures...
It seemed peaceful and normal at a glance...
But my instincts were telling me it was not...
As I felt chills all over my body...
Which made me aware that I should not go near the forest...
As I was thinking this, I saw a river near me...
And I made my way towards the river, knowing the dangers...
I looked around it and found there was no creature near it...
And the water was flowing continuously, as the sound of water flowing and falling was heard...
Which made it clear that there was a waterfall nearby...
As I got near the river...
I could see the water...
It was so clear that I could directly see the surface and the fish...
It was the clearest form of water I had ever seen...
As I drew near the river, and bent and looked in it, I could see my own face in the river...
Black eyes like emotionless voids, dark, long, messy hairs that were not taken good care of, which were tied together with a hairband, Pale white skin like ice, wearing a white T-shirt with a light blue jacket and black jeans, and white shoes... looked slightly older than 16 and wearing an expression which has seen a lot...
A sudden anger surged in my mind as I saw my face after a long while...
Remembering something rather unpleasant...
But I quickly calmed myself down...
A sudden killing intent rose from my mind...
Only a single thought repeating in my mind...
"I will make him suffer, I will make him beg for his life, I will kill him..."
But I put that thought aside quickly and drew some water in my hand...
...Took it near my mouth and drank it...
It was pure, cold, and surprisingly good, which made my mind calm...
But as I was drinking water...
I heard a voice in my head, it was like a middle-aged person's voice, which contained plenty of knowledge and experience...
"Do you want to take revenge?"
I was slightly taken aback as I suddenly heard a voice in my head...
Many questions rose in my mind about the voice...
"Who is he?, where is he?, how is he talking to me?, and what does he want from me?...etc."
But they were instantly answered...
"I know you are curious about me, which is expected, so let me answer your questions..."
"I can't tell the current you who I am..."
"I can't tell you where I am either..."
"As for how I am talking to you, hmm, you can say it's like telepathy..."
"As for what I want from you, I can't tell you that either..."
"I know you are unsatisfied with my answers, but if you want to know them and ask more questions, then you just have to grow stronger, as the current you is too weak to know them..."
As I heard the voice answering all the questions I thought in my mind, I dropped the idea of thinking, and I directly asked him...
"How do you know about me and my revenge?..."
And the voice answered...
"Because there's nothing that I don't know, and I have been watching you from the moment you were in your mother's womb and to the day when she died, and I have been watching you till this moment so let alone your revenge—you and your revenge, I know everything..."
When I heard about my mother's death, a wave of different emotions surged in my mind...
But I suppressed them instantly. It was not the right moment to let them out.
I calmed myself.
Noticing this, the voice inside my head said...
"If you accept my offer, I can help you in your revenge—as with your current capabilities, you can't even dream about surviving in this forest, forget about even taking your revenge."
It's not like I was unaware of what he said.
From the moment I opened my eyes here, I could sense that this forest is dangerous, and I will not be able to survive with my current abilities...
But it's not like I can just accept his offer when he will probably not even inform me about the details of this offer, and will say I am not worthy yet. And I can't trust this mysterious voice when I don't even know anything about it...
Knowing all this, I still asked him in my indifferent tone...
"So what do you want from me in return? It's not like you will help me for free. There's nothing free in this world, after all."
The voice answered...
"I can't tell you what I want from you in return. I will tell you when I feel you are worthy of knowing it."
"And I know you don't trust me yet. Be assured, I have no plans of harming you. If I had those in the first place, I wouldn't be giving you this offer."
I replied in my usual tone...
"You are keeping many secrets, which is making you more suspicious. And you can't expect me to trust you when I don't even know anything about you."
I knew that no matter how tough I act, I wouldn't be able to survive without this voice's help. It would have been different if I had any information about this world.
But since I currently don't have it, the situation is quite unfavorable for me. Even if I accept the offer, I wouldn't be able to know what he would want from me in return. Even if I try to manipulate or plan ahead, he can read my thoughts... which can also be dangerous.
I was contemplating and...
The suns were setting...
The birds started returning to their nests...
The air grew cooler...
The forest was getting quiet...
I felt a chill down my spine from the sudden quietness...
Night was nearing, which would make the forest more dangerous than before...
So, I asked in my cold tone...
"So hypothetically, if I accept your offer, how are you going to help me? You should at least tell me that."
The voice replied...
"I can give you some skills and abilities that will help you grow stronger and survive. They won't make you powerful instantly, and I won't be able to interfere too much, since it would be dangerous for you if someone were to find out."
So, he'll give me abilities to survive and grow strong. In short, he wants me to become stronger on my own—no instant power-up. And since he said he won't be able to interfere directly, it means he has limited authority here.
After thinking a bit, I said in my icy voice...
"I have made a decision."
With a slight pause, I continued...
"I will accept your offer—if you accept one condition."
The voice replied...
"So what is it?"
I replied in my usual tone...
"I will accept your offer if you agree to this: you will not control my mind, body, or actions in any way possible. And if you do, you must give me something that can destroy you."
The voice replied...
"Haha, I accept that condition. If I break it in any way, I will give you that power to destroy me."
As those words left his mouth, a circle with a strange pattern formed at the center of my forehead, radiating the same energy as the voice.
The voice said...
"In any case, if I break my promise, the seal that just appeared will unlock—and you will receive that power. But you must not tell anyone about it. If you do, you will die too."
I felt like—if he accepted my condition this easily—then he probably didn't have any intention of controlling me in the first place. But there might also be another motive behind it... Nothing can be done now. I've already accepted the offer.
And if something happens in the future, I'll just be prepared for it.
So I said in an accepting voice...
"Yes, I won't tell anyone about this. So, how are you going to give me those abilities you talked about?"
"And what kind of abilities will they be?"
Since he said the abilities would help me survive and grow stronger over time, I didn't have very high expectations.
While I was thinking this, the voice replied in a hurry...
"I don't have much time to explain. Just say 'Analyze' while looking into the river—you'll understand what abilities I gave you."
"It seems like I have to go now. Bye then. Till we talk again."
As he said this, his voice faded from my mind. Before I could ask anything else, he was already gone.
So, I could only do as he said. I looked into the river, where my own reflection stared back at me, and I said...
"Analyze."
And a screen appeared before me, containing information about me.
[ANALYZE]
Name: Kaal
Age: 17
Race: Human
Height: 183 cm
Mental State: Stable
Affiliation: None
Stats:
Intelligence: High
Strength: Average
Speed: Average
Defense: Below Average
Charm: High
Luck: Bad
Skills:
Information Analyze (Active) – Allows the user to observe detailed information about anything visible. Depending on the power gap between the user and the subject, information will be displayed according to that.
Instant Regeneration (Passive) – Automatically restores physical damage. Limb regrowth is possible but consumes significant energy. Slows down if the user is exhausted.
[???] – Unable to display.
Memory Capture – Upon killing someone, Kaal absorbs a random fragment of their memory—either tragic or positive. Effects vary.
Abilities:
Silver Tongue – Can manipulate conversations to gain favor or deceive.
Strategic Thinking – Able to plan logically under pressure and adapt to shifting scenarios.
Manipulation – Skilled in psychological manipulation and influencing others' decisions.
Additional Information:
Likes to talk less.
Can do anything to achieve his goals.
When I saw this, I felt like this skill knows too many things about me, but I set that thought aside and looked at my stats, which were as expected—nothing out of place. Even the skill knows about my luck...
Moving on, I looked at the skills. Information Analyze is going to be quite useful in the future when dealing with unknown threats. As for Instant Regeneration, it's also quite good, so I have to maintain good energy, and I will be able to regrow even lost limbs.
As for the third skill, it seems it is hidden, and I will not be able to see it unless certain conditions are met. And as for the fourth skill, it seems to be a skill given to me by that scumbag...
I felt hatred when I remembered that bastard, which made me clench my fist and narrow my eyes, but I controlled my anger and remained calm as the thought of killing him came to my mind.
I discarded that thought and looked at my abilities, which were nothing sort of surprising. And Additional Information is something which can help me the most in the future. Overall, this skill is quite useful, leaving the part of the power gap.
Which means, if the power gap is too big, I won't be able to see much information about it. And if it is low, I can see more information. And if someone is weaker, I will be able to see more than enough information.
As I was thinking this...
The suns had already set...
A bright red moon took its place...
The air was freezing...
The darkness surrounded the forest...
The red eyes of the creatures were visible in the darkness, ready to hunt their prey.
As I heard a noise from the bushes behind me...
An enormous shadow was visible, staring deeply at me...
As I felt the hairs on my back stand...
And I heard a loud howl as I turned around to look at the creature of shadow...
It howled loudly...
"grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"
To Be Continued...