Days had passed since Steven had entered the Fated Colosseum thanks to the Cursed Mark. After the day he had met the Cohort, he decided to focus solely on getting stronger, until he was able to increase his stats enough to decide whether to face the King Beast or not.
The very next few battles he had been picked for weren't as treacherous as the first one had been for Steven. He had been placed together with another group of five against a Shadow Eater that was only at the Spawn Rank.
The group fought with everything they had, and within a matter of minutes against the monster, Steven landed the final strike—killing it and sustaining only a few shallow injuries, which he didn't bother much about.
While he gained an increase in his stats, from a Spawn of that level there were no skills to be taken. Which was a big loss to Steven, since he had been looking forward to expanding his skill list.
After the battle ended, he studied his group to see if there were any other Marked aside from him. Apparently, he was the only one. Strangely, he had a feeling that he and the Cohort from earlier were the only Marked present in this region of the Realms.
After that day, Steven participated in several other battles like this one, all against Spawns. Thanks to his improved stats, he soon began to rely less on the groups assigned to him, his own strength becoming sufficient to handle a Spawn on his own.
On one of his many battles in the Arena, he met Favour—and sometimes Lin. Favour approached him kindly, thanking him once again for saving her life, while Lin remained strong and firm, only teaming up with him when necessary to kill the Shadow Eater they were matched against.
Steven was quite surprised by how well they still fought even without Drake to lead them, each of them proving to be quite powerful on their own.
Still, throughout all his battles in the Arena, he never met Drake. Somehow, by fate, the two of them were not meant to meet yet.
"Fuck fate!" Steven thought, gripping his shoulder tightly as he walked through the corridors of the hellish prison that led to his cell. As soon as he reached it, he was shoved inside roughly, despite the wounds he still carried from his last battle.
"Bastards!" he cursed at the guards, but they didn't bother to exchange words with him, the two simply going off to mind their own business.
Steven frowned, his eyes trailing to his shoulder as the bleeding slowed. His hands throbbed as well, his palms peeled raw from the tight grip he had kept around his dagger, his legs buckling from having carried his body's weight for far too long.
Slowly, he moved to sit by the bars of the prison, resting there as exhaustion washed over him.
'Damn the gods!' he cursed, recalling the battle he had gone through earlier—a fight against a Dreadling, the first one he had faced since fighting alongside the Cohort.
Luckily, he had Favour with him, and thanks to her, he had managed to defeat the Dreadling. Still, it had not been an easy battle. He personally had to play two crucial roles in securing victory.
While Favour provided buffs and dealt heavy blows, he was tasked with protecting her and taking the full brunt of the monster's attacks. This had resulted in a broken arm and injuries that should have killed him by now—if not for the fact that he was a Marked, and with the current increase in his physique, his healing process wouldn't take more than a few days.
Steven summoned his system, intending to check the rewards from killing the Dreadling.
{Name: Steven …}
{Race: Marked}
{System: Limitless Undead System}
{Talent: Gain x5 upgrade from every undead slain. Copy skills from the dead and make them yours.}
{Physique: 20/20}
{Mana: 10/10}
{Skills copied: Rampage Blast, Stun}
Sponsored:
*Dimension Shop
*Astral Chat
{Undead Cores accumulated: 8}
Steven briefly looked through his entire stat sheet. His physique stat was maxed out, just as it had been a few days ago. He had thought that fighting stronger beasts like a Dreadling would improve it further, but it hadn't.
'I guess this is the limit this body can go… or maybe the limit of this realm.'
Then there was his mana, which still remained unchanged, and his newest skill—Stun—copied from the Dreadling he had just faced.
It wasn't the strongest skill the Dreadling possessed, but after weighing what was useful with the amount of mana he had, he had chosen Stun, which consumed only two mana points per use.
This paired well with Rampage Blast, which consumed five mana points. With each skill serving a clear purpose, the combination was undeniably useful.
Steven smiled faintly, then tapped on the Dimension Shop.
[Dimension Shop]
*To access the shop, you need to pay the sum of 6 Undead Cores. Would you like to pay?
[Yes] [No]
Without hesitation, Steven made his decision. "Yes."
[Ding!]
[Dimension Store Description: In this store, the user can obtain whatever material they desire, as long as it is inanimate. The greater the item, the greater the price.]
Steven read the description, quite satisfied with his choice. It was only a few days ago that he had realized the use of Undead Cores after messing around with the system out of boredom. The cores could be used to unlock Sponsored gifts and also to purchase items from the Dimension Store.
He immediately accessed the store. The system screen expanded, growing far larger than before as it displayed a wide variety of weapons, equipment, food, and countless other items that intrigued him.
Steven was first captivated by the food section, his mouth watering and his stomach grumbling in protest, urging him to buy something—anything.
But he suppressed the urge. 'I can't afford leisure now,' he told himself, tapping on a different section of the Dimension Shop.
The interface shifted again, now displaying only weapons, the majority of them daggers.
"Time to get myself a better weapon," he whispered, scanning through the available daggers, checking their descriptions, designs, and weight. It took time, but eventually, he found the perfect match.
Next came the price. Tapping on the dagger, he scrolled down the interface that appeared before him, his heart pounding as he hoped the cost wouldn't be too extravagant.
{Weapon Type: Dagger}
{Status: Common}
{Name: Red Fang}
{Description: The tooth of a Red Viper—a demonic snake that was once the flute of the greatest musician to ever exist. His title and ability to play better than even the gods of music angered them, leading them to curse him. Any instrument he touched became a Red Viper, its bite causing endless bleeding to whoever it struck. Red Fang is crafted from the fangs of this damned race.}
{Effects: Bleeding. Provides the user with slight poison resistance.}
{Price: 1 Undead Core}
{Would you like to purchase this weapon?}
[Yes] [No]
Steven wasted no time selecting Yes.
In the next moment, flickering lights formed before him like a glitch in reality, and then a dagger materialized in midair.
He grasped the sturdy, comfortable hilt, studying its crimson, jagged blade with eyes filled with fascination. Moments later, he dismissed it. The weapon shattered into particles of light, dissolving into the air as it returned to the shop.
"Is that magic?"
Steven's attention shifted to Scribe—the once frail old man now appearing closer to forty, his body no longer showing signs of malnourishment. He crouched within the cage, his expression filled with awe as he watched Steven the entire time.
Steven shook his head, his lips curling slightly.
"No. It's not magic… it's my way out of this hellhole."
//Author's note//
Thanks for the support please keep supporting. Let's get to 20+ fans