Free Web NovelChapter 4: 4 | Returns: 50,000 Dollars, Talent Awakening &Flame Demon Bloodline
"You gave them everything," Mira’s flat voice snapped Dexter out of his shock.
He managed to steady himself, leaning his shoulder against the peeling wallpaper of the entryway.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, leaving a dark red smear across his face as he chuckled bitterly.
"I had no other choice."
Mira’s lips curled into a sharp sneer. "You’re too weak."
Dexter’s eyes flashed with irritation and he retorted. "Pot calling the kettle black."
As though she hadn’t heard him, Mira closed her eyes and sunk into her own world.
As for Lyra, she stared at him for a brief moment as though trying to figure something out but then she eventually gave up, turned to stare at the window.
On the other side of the sofa, Selene hadn’t moved a single bit even when the thugs came, it was as though she hadn’t heard anything and remained closed off in her world.
Dexter sighed but didn’t say anything else. While he felt they were disappointed in him, his system told him something else.
Dragging his feet, Dexter made it to his small bedroom and sat cross legged on his airbed.
He closed his eyes and breathed out. The glowing golden text of the system still hovered in his vision, bright and steady in the darkness of his closed eyelids.
```
[Returns Granted:]
1. 50,000 Credits — Direct Financial Return (10x original investment of 5,000 Credits).
2. Mana Affinity Upgrade: F-Rank → E-Rank.
3. Talent Awakening: Enhanced Hearing (E-Rank) (200-meter radius + sound differentiation).
4. Cultivation Boost: 10 Months of compressed mana refinement applied.
5. Flame Demon Bloodline (Royal Grade).
[Do you wish to accept Rewards? Y/N]
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Dexter stared at the prompt with shivering hands.
He had spent his entire life believing he would always be a useless, unawakened nobody. But these girls he thought were burdens turned out to be the ones to unlock his system.
"Accept."
***
In that instant, a notification rang out on his phone. Dexter took out his Samsung Galaxy 9 out and saw 50,000 dollars had been deposited into his bank account.
"It’s actually real!?"
Just as this shock rippled through his mind, an invisible shockwave exploded outward from his chest.
"BOOM!"
A violent shockwaves exploded from his body as something within him snapped like massive chains clacking and unlocking all at once.
Dexter’s eyes flew wide open as his body trembled uncontrollably as his heart began to beat with a force of a piston in an engine.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
The force of the heartbeat was so strong that it sent vibrations down the bed and to the ground.
Every single pore on his skin suddenly opened wide and in that instant, started to suck in the mana in the surroundings like a vacuum.
Gradually, an invisible vortex of mana formed around him as his body rapidly absorbed it like sponge.
The raw energy rushed toward him like a vacuum as mana forced its way into his skin, filling his empty, dry meridians with mana. Just like a dress well finally producing water.
"Kra-ka-ka!"
His bones popped, from his toes to his skull. It sounded like a string of firecrackers going off inside his skeleton. Dexter gasped as his muscles began to tighten, and hardening under the sudden influx of raw power.
He felt so light and incredible free. All his life he hadn’t notice just how sluggish and heavy he was.
`[System Notification: Cultivation boost applied. 10 months of compressed mana refinement integrated.]`
`[Host has leveled up: Awakened Hero Level 1 → Level 2!]`
The pain in his ribs began to fade, replaced by a warm, solid pressure.
But before the happiness could fully settle, a sudden, terrifying heat bloomed erupted from within him.
***
The heat grew rapidly and it felt like someone had poured liquid fire directly down his throat.
His eyes widened as steam began to rise from his skin. The blood inside his veins felt as though it had turned into molten lava, bubbling and boiling as it rushed through his newly widened pathways.
’Damn it! What is this!?’ Dexter thought, his teeth slamming shut.
He bit his tongue hard, as he fought not to scream in pain.
Sweat poured from his forehead, sizzling as it dripped onto the dusty wood. The pain was intense, consuming every single nerve ending in his body. It felt as though his very cells were being torn apart and rebuilt.
Deep within his chest, his cellular structure was changing. A dark, powerful demonic essence was weaved itself into his human DNA, fusing with his flesh and bone.
Then, just as the heat came, it vanished back and faded into nothing.
A soft wave of hot air burst outward from his body, carrying a faint scent of sulfur and ash, before dissipating into the corners of the room.
"Huff!" "Huff!" "Huff!"
Dexter slumped on his bed and panted heavily. But his eyes shine brilliantly.
```
[System Notification: Flame Demon Bloodline (Royal Grade) successfully integrated.]
[All basic attributes have received a permanent +2 bonus.]
[Bloodline Profile: Flame Demon Bloodline]
Grade: Royal
Passive Skills:
1) Fire Resistance (20%): Host can resist 20% of all damage caused by fire-based attacks.
2) Flame Will: Host can conjure and control basic flames using personal mana.
Active Skills:
1) Scorching Fury: Increase overall physical strength by 50% for 3 minutes.
- Cost: 20 Mana per minute
- Cooldown: 24 hours
2) Flame Demon Transformation: Awaken the innate bloodline to temporarily gain 1% of a true Flame Demon’s power. (Locked: Requires higher cultivation level).
3) Flame Slash: Release a destructive blade strike composed of concentrated fire. 200% attack power and speed.
- Cost: 20 Mana per strike
- Cooldown: 24 hours
4) Flame Burst Step: Gain a sudden burst of speed, increasing movement velocity by 300% for 1 second.
- Cost: 30 Mana per burst
- Cooldown: 10 seconds
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