The crystals are small, round and clear. But in it spinning a whirlpool of purple light, as if the spirit was trapped. When Zey grabbed her, she could feel something crawling from her palm to her cold chest, piercing, but ... turned on.
"XP +30."
"Level: 3."
Vibrating phone display, featuring another notification:
"New power available: Select one."
• Shadow strike (shadow strike)
• dimensional senses (dimensional sense)
• 3 seconds (Iron Skin 3s)
Zey pondered. His breathing was still unproducted after a short battle that almost killed him. But his instinct is back with the instincts of a competitive player. He examines every choice.
"Shadow strike ... too aggressive. I'm not quite fast.
Dimensional Sense ... If the zone is complex, this will be a savior.
Iron skin ... just to survive ... but I'm not the kind of running. "
He hit the second option.
[Dimensional Sense is activated]
Immediately, a thin layer of light is formed on the retina of his eyes. Zey's vision changed. The walls of his familiar room now show a glowing crack, as if other dimensional boundaries were about to explode. The floor reflects strange symbols, and the air around it looks like a flow of digital data, flowing like a invisible river.
"This world ... the boundary is slim," Zey whispered.
He stands, opening the window of the room for the first time in a month. The light of the moon pours in. But outside, the apartment buildings across the other is no longer normal. Some windows reflect purple light. There was a fog in the hallways, and one two black shadows appeared to be walking without sound, for no purpose, as if the NPC was lost in the real world.
Zey took a deep breath. His hands are still holding the XP crystal which is now slightly cracked. The micro-fraction of the crystal absorbs into his skin, leaving a glittering effect on the veins.
"What exactly is this XP crystal ... energy? Spirit? Or ... the fragment of the creature's soul?"
The phone in his hand suddenly sounded. Not a regular notification, but like a call. The display changed, and the hologram face appeared. Not a human face, but a metal mask floating with one red eye.
"Zey x ... you have shed blood. The world system has detected."
Zey is ready, the finger is clenched.
"Who are you?"
"I'm just a sender. The world is rough. The more xp is collected, the less the boundaries of the reality. You're not the first ... but maybe you're the last."
"What do you mean?" Press Zey.
"The first crystal is just the beginning. After this ... the blood you drop, not only yours. But the world."
Delete screen.
Zey is silent. His breathing is getting deep. His body was light, but his soul was getting heavy. In his heart, a small voice began to speak. Not from the outside, but from the inside:
"Do you think this power is free? Every XP crystal is debt ... and one day, all debts are to be paid."
Zey looked at her hand. The veins are shining vague. He held back the phone and opened the Dungeon map now showing a new zone, "Bunian Prison".
"If this is a bloody game ... then I'll be the last player."
Without wasting time, he put on a hoodie, kept the phone into a cock, and headed to the door of the room. The outside world is no longer the ordinary world.
And the first XP crystal, was just an appetizer.