Within a few minutes, Martin was among a crowd of 30 to 40 villagers, all gathered around the weak boy's body.
The only person who caught his attention was a middle-aged man in a dirty red suit, who seemed different from the others.
After inspecting the body, the man let out a deep sigh.
Shortly after, an elderly man and a woman in her 30s pushed through the crowd, crying as they recognized the boy.
A young woman in the crowd spoke up.
"This morning, Malnik and Alminka attacked this boy. No one else could have done this!"
Martin saw her and recognized her from his earlier walk, a slight smile forming on his face.
Her words stirred the crowd, who all knew Malnik and Alminka and wanted answers.
The man in the red suit then spoke, his expression cold and shameless.
"Malnik and Alminka are more valuable than anyone else here.
"Only my son, myself, and Maren, the blacksmith's son—are shapeshifters. We cannot do anything to them, no matter how much this saddens us. Everyone go home."
He ordered two men to collect the body and walked away without looking back.
Martin understood then that this man was the village leader, a shapeshifter himself—the Fire Bull, as he overheard from the villagers' whispers.
Martin wasn't interested in a fight with him yet.
As the crowd dispersed, Martin went home. He checked his status screen.
Paradigna Status
Paradigna Active
Status: Martin
Soul Power: 1.0
HP: 100%
Shapeshifting: None
Paradigna Points: 120
Paradigna Shapeshifting Market: Online
Martin smiled faintly. The kill had earned him 100 Paradigna Points. The system explained,
"You earn Paradigna Points in direct proportion to the soul power of the slain person or creature. You earned 100 Paradigna Points because the person you killed was weak-spirited."
This confirmed Martin's logic: the more powerful the target, the more points he would get. Just then, he heard a new voice in his ear:
"Renovating the Paradigna Market." A moment later, a new message appeared:
"Market Renewed."
Martin took a deep breath and opened the market again. He knew he might not find anything he could afford, but he still wanted to look for a cheap, useful transformation.
Paradigna Market
He was met with three new creatures.
1. Big Bat
Level: W1-Animal
Strength: 0.3
Agility: 0.7
Vitality: 0.1
Intelligence: 0.3
Information: Three times bigger than a normal bat.
Skill: Improved Echolocation (detects beings and objects within 100 meters for 30 seconds; 1-hour cooldown)
Price: 100 Paradigna Points
Martin quickly dismissed this one. It wasn't very strong and didn't fit his style.
2. Dead Spearman
Level: W1-Undeath
Strength: 0.6
Agility: 0.3
Vitality: 0.1
Intelligence: 0
Information: An undead spearman.
Skill: Heart Smell (smells beings and objects within a 300-meter radius for 30 seconds; 3-minute cooldown)
Price: 100 Paradigna Points
He thought this one was okay, but it had nothing special to offer him besides being slightly stronger than a human. He wouldn't choose this either. He looked at the last option.
3. Claw Demon Minion
Level: W1-Demon
Strength: 0.7
Agility: 0.7
Vitality: 0.2
Intelligence: 0
Information: A small body (1.6 meters tall) with extremely sharp, 60 cm long black claws.
Skill: Demonic Frenzy (increases claw damage by 30% and attack speed by 10% for 30 seconds; 1-hour cooldown)
Price: 120 Paradigna Points
When Martin saw this, he made up his mind. He didn't care why it was so cheap; the balance of strength and speed was exactly what he wanted. A confirmation window appeared.
"Do you want to take the creature?" the system asked. Martin took a deep breath and confirmed it within his mind.