Chapter 610: Handicap

Chapter 608

"H-H-Hey! What the flipping hell is this?!" Ray screamed, jumping out of the throne with a flustered, confused, and panicked expression all mixed together on his face.

His heart raced at an astonishing speed as he gulped, staring at the System screen that was now vanishing after delivering its terrible news to the Tribrid.

"Wh-What is this? Wh-Why now? What?!" Ray muttered like a madman, staring at the empty air.

’System! Explain yourself now!’

"...."

Silence!

The System didn’t even attempt to appear, and Ray’s head remained completely silent. He slowly turned his head to the side, only to see King beginning to vanish into a crimson mist.

"No-N— Wait!"

It was too late.

King was gone, leaving Ray alone in the throne room.

His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he continued staring at the spot where his Echo had stood moments earlier.

"Echo Registry!"

[....]

The System remained silent. Nothing appeared.

His throat tightened as he tried again.

"System, pull up my Echo Registry! Now!"

[Echo Registry Unavailable at the moment.]

"Wha—?!"

His head spun, and he began to feel almost nauseous.

"S-S-Skills! System, pull up my Bloodline Skills now!"

[Bloodline Skills Unavailable at the moment.]

"Status Tab!"

*Tring.*

====== [Status]======

[Name: Ray Dawson]

[Age: 16]

[Race: Tribrid Master]

[Level: 50]

[EXP: 4,300/200,000]

[Celestial Points: 500/500]

[HP: 1,130/1,130]

[MF: 500/500]

[Energy: 500/500]

{Attributes:}

[STR: 150]

[AGI: 150]

[INT: 130]

[PER: 130]

[END: 140]

[VIT: 186]

[Stat points: 0]

======

His face began to brighten as he looked at the screen hovering before him.

"System Skills!"

===== [System Skills]=====

[Name: Inventory]

[Description: This skill allows the Host to store non-living things or objects in the System indefinitely. There’s no space limit. The Host can store whatever he wants, in whatever quantity he wants.]

****

[Name: Inspect (LV 2)]

[Description: Allows Host to pull up extensive information about an object, human, or creature. This includes their name, grade, rank, and so on.]

*****

[Name: Full Recovery]

[Description: Allows Host to recover everything he has lost in the past twenty-four hours. All skills on cooldown, exhausted energy pools, and exhaustion will be reverted. Host will be as good as new.]

[Note: Skill can only be used twice a day.]

******

[Name: Stealth]

[Description: Completely conceals the Host’s aura, sight, sound, and smell from enemies, allowing the Host to remain imperceptible to them for a limited amount of time.]

<Time Limit; 10 minutes..... Cooldown: 2hrs.>

******

[Skill Acquired: Tribrid’s Hand]

[Description: Generates a force from the user’s hand capable of pulling or repelling targets without physical contact.]

=========

Ray let out a shaky breath as he activated his Inventory. Right there, his weapons were still safely stored, waiting to be equipped whenever he wanted.

Everything else he had kept inside, including his change of clothes and other belongings, was still available to him.

His chest tightened as he stared at the System information before him.

"Pull up my Quest Tabs."

[....]

Nothing came up.

Ray spent the next twenty minutes throwing commands at the System, trying one function after another and going through the different features he had used over the past year.

Nothing worked.

Aside from his Status Tab, Inventory, and System Skills, everything else was inaccessible, leaving Ray dejected in the abandoned throne room.

Not only was he in an unknown world filled with threats lurking around every corner, but the one thing that had always helped him overcome those threats had suddenly been taken away.

No... Not taken away. Restricted.

And if he failed to make the Tribrid System his own within three weeks, he risked losing everything permanently.

All his power came from the System itself. Without it, there was no Ray, and neither was there any Tribrid. So what the hell did the System mean by that accursed quest?

Where was he even supposed to begin?

’Hang on....’

For some reason, the silence was becoming unbearable. Nobody was speaking around him or within him anymore.

’...Do-Don’t tell m—’

«We’re still here, dumbass. We just decided to let you process your loss in peace.» Bruce snarked, though without his usual taunting tone.

He had already realised what Ray was going through at that moment. After all, they were both sharing his vision and could see everything the System was displaying.

Although neither of them had any control over the System since it was directly bound to Ray, they could still see whatever it showed whenever they shared the boy’s outside vision.

Hence, Bruce and Elyon had decided to remain silent and observe what Ray would do next.

The quest was brutal.

It was like giving a crippled person a pair of legs, allowing them to enjoy the freedom of walking for a few months, only to suddenly snatch one leg away and leave them struggling while demanding that they work to earn the second one back.

And in the Werewolf World, where Ray had no allies and his friends were back in the human world, this handicap couldn’t have come at a worse possible moment.

"Again, again, again! Why do I always end up in places where my full strength is taken away?!" Ray bellowed, kicking the ground with all his might.

The flooring cracked massively beneath his foot, a testament to the strength he still possessed.

"Why am I getting nerfed all of a sudden when I need my full power the most?! What the fucking hell is this?!"

Ray was more than dejected. He eventually fell back onto his backside, crashing against the throne behind him with a miserable look in his eyes.

A downcast expression settled over his face as he clasped his hands together, his teeth grinding against each other.

Only one question kept repeating itself in his mind, causing lightning to crackle deep within his eyes.

[Are you a Tribrid because of your System or are you a Tribrid because it is what you are?]

"BULLSHIT! As if I asked to be a Tribrid?! You fucking gave me this power, and now you’re taking it away with some stupid quest?! AAAAARGH! DAMN IT ALL!"

Ray grabbed his silver hair with both hands, gripping it with all his might. His teeth grated against each other as tears welled up in his eyes, overwhelmed by the frustrating situation he had been forced into.