Chapter 12: Level Up Effect
His formerly frail upper body, which made his ribs as clear as day, seemed to have gained more muscles.
There were no longer any ribs in sight, but there were also no signs of abs. However, to Nolan, it was an incredible improvement.
Clenching his fist, the sound of bones crackling rang out, and suddenly he threw a punch to the side.
VROOOOM!
Immediately, a wave of air blasted out from the spot where Nolan had punched, causing some towels hung on the stand to fly off.
"Is that even possible?!" he mused in shock. Even in his past life, he couldn\'t cause a single minor ripple in the air, and now, he had just caused a blast with a simple punch.
[There\'s nothing amazing about your strength. It\'s a shame to even call it strength at all.
Unless you erase a mountain out of existence with your fist, you are still nothing but a peasant to me!] The system\'s mockery rang out, causing Nolan\'s expression to drop and his joy to diminish a little, as well as his rising pride.
It seemed no matter what, the system would never approve of his strength growth. Well, at least for now.
\'It might be nothing for you, but to me, it\'s everything...\' he thought to himself before switching off the shower and heading out of the bathroom, quickly donning a pair of new clothes.
His stomach grumbled as he exited, and he headed to the kitchen.
Opening the three cupboards within the place, there was nothing for him except those stale pieces of dried bread.
[Tch, you don\'t even have food in your house? As expected of a peasant!] The system mocked, but Nolan\'s eyebrows furrowed as he took out the loaf of bread and discovered there were already bread mold growing on them.
The previous Nolan had probably kept it as a safe for the next day, but Nolan had spent an entire week in the hospital, making the bread already expire.
"I need to get provisions or it\'s only a matter of time before I die of hunger..." Nolan mused to himself and quickly searched through his memories, finding what he needed.
There were two places where the students could eat.
Firstly, they could go to the supermarket and buy their own food and cook it with their money, or they could go to the free academy cafeteria and eat there.
The only reason why the previous Nolan had only a single stale loaf of bread in his drawer and not try eating from the cafeteria was because he had once been bullied and humiliated within the cafeteria while also getting banned away from it by his bullies.
Ever since then, he could only scramble for food around, making do with whatever he found.
"I don\'t have money to pay for food, so my only choice is to go to the cafeteria.
I should at least be able to secure myself something, and besides, I think it\'s already dark.
Not many students will go to the cafeteria in the dark..." Nolan mused to himself, looking through the window and finding the stars in the night sky. It was his best opportunity to forage for food.
"But that can wait. Let\'s talk about the second quest," Nolan said loudly to the system.
He had seen the effect of increasing his strength and right now, all he wanted to do was grow as strong and as fast as possible.
And that would mean completing more and more quests.
Opening up his quest tab, he viewed the second quest on the bar.
[Quests]
[Active Quest: 2]
-Reawaken your Pantheon Will
Status: Uncompleted.
-Undergo the first dream trial of the God King and obtain your first crown.
Status: Uncompleted.
"Hmm, the first one seems simpler but I don\'t have any idea how to go about it."
[Bring out your dagger,] the system said to him as Nolan raised an eyebrow but stretched forth his hand and the dagger appeared once more, looking as rusty as ever.
[Try cleaning off the rust,] it said, and Nolan moved his hand, trying to peel off the rust, but his eyes soon narrowed as he discovered no matter how much he scratched, the rust remained completely unmoving!
It was like it was glued there, and if his fingers couldn\'t do it, then a cloth wouldn\'t either.
[The rust on your dagger is not just from you not using it. It denotes your Pantheon Will.
Right now, Nolan, you lack a strong will. It has nothing to do with wanting to grow strong or anything like that.
Your Pantheon Will is dead, and you have to reawaken it.
Reawakening it will mean that the rust on your dagger gets cleaned off, and then you\'ll be able to use it once more.
Without that, your dagger is just useless and you won\'t be able to complete the quest and grow...] the system explained lengthily to him, and Nolan\'s eyes furrowed before he thought of the most important question.
"So, how do I reawaken my Pantheon Will?"
[There are many ways, really, but I\'ll choose the best for you. I\'m guessing this is an academy of sorts, right?
So is there some kind of special area where those with the Kratos bloodline undergo their training?] the system asked him as Nolan\'s eyes narrowed and his memory came flooding in.
"Yes, there is. It\'s in the Greek Descent training area. I have never gone there before though. Just heard of it," Nolan responded.
[Good, that\'s the perfect place to reawaken your will and fulfill your next quest. Now get going!] the system said to him as Nolan prepared to leave the house, but his eyes narrowed as he went back in and grabbed a hoodie that he possessed.
It was so big it covered the upper part of his face. At least this might be enough to avoid the majority of eyes.
With that done, Nolan exited his little house, on his way to completing his second quest and improving his strength.