Was his encounter with the Portal Boss… all but a dream?

He didn't think about it before, but it was the easiest explanation to describe what happened to him. But still, it felt so real. Or maybe it was some sort of illusion? Van had heard that some monsters were capable of doing something like that.

"Kki!", his thoughts were then disrupted by the uncomfortable and itchy feeling on his back. He finally couldn't help it anymore as he took off his shirt and ran towards the mirror to check his back.

His skinny but slightly muscular body was littered with scars. Each scar, containing a memory of his father. But didn't even seem to give it any mind as he quickly turned his body towards the mirror.

"!!!"

Van could not help but widen his eyes as he leaned his body even closer to the silver mirror, "W… what the", were the only words that managed to come out of his mouth.

There was a tattoo on his back, just below his left shoulder. It was a tattoo of… a feather. Van was quickly reminded of the feather that the voluptuous arachnaea handed to him. So… it wasn't a dream then?

Van could only shake his head as his confusion reached its limit. This was too much for his underdeveloped brain to process, he thought.

One thing he did know, though, that this tattoo was definitely real. As real as the scars that littered his body. He tried rubbing the black ink off his back, but no matter how hard he tried, it truly wouldn't come off.

Van could not help but think what exactly this tattoo does besides making his body look scarier than it already is. He doesn't really notice any difference in strength, he was still the same as before.

"..."

'System Window'

[Base Lv. 6 EXP: 113/1600, System Lv. 5 EXP: 56/500

HP: 210/210 | SP: 39/39

STR: 50 | (Atk: 117+0)

AGI: ??? | (Speed: ???)

VIT: 20 | (Max HP: 210, Def: 24 +0)

INT: 5 | (Max SP : 39, MAtk: 14+0)

HP Regen: 5 | SP Regen: 1

Status Points left: 0 ]

[Active Skills

Air Step Lv. 1 | SP Consumption: 1

Basic Info: Able to create an invisible platform below your feet. Disappears after 3 seconds.

Time Perception Lv. 1 | SP

Consumption: 1 per Second

Basic Info: Able to slow down your perception of time. ]

[Passive Skills

Gift of Hermes Lv. ?

Basic Info: Harness the speed and durability of the Messenger of the Gods by will.

Able to speak and understand any language.

Conductor of Souls Lv. ?

Basic Info: Able to gain EXP by sending a soul to the afterlife. ]

Van immediately opened up his System Window, but even then, he couldn't see any difference in his Status and Skills. In fact, according to his limited knowledge, shouldn't he also have gained points to level up his Skills by now like in his Status Window? But there wasn't even a 'Skill Point' section in his Skill Window.

"This…", Van could not help but let out a sigh of frustration. This is truly weird.

He was about to close his System Window when he noticed something. The information on the Gift of Hermes… seemed longer. He quickly squinted his eyes as he read the part that wasn't there before.

"Able to speak and understand any language?", Van could not help but blink a couple of times, "That's… quite vague", he thought.

He could barely read or write in his own language, and now it's telling him that he can now understand any language? What does that even mean? Is this... from the tattoo on his back?

"W… wait", after a few seconds of deliberating, he retrieved the parchment that he signed earlier from his desk and thoroughly read it.

"Ho… oooh", he could not help but let out a sound and covered his mouth. He indeed could understand the contents of the paper more. What he signed truly was just containing details about the ownership of the house, he knew that already, of course. He cleared his throat as he convinced himself.

The only thing he could think of right now though is why this power couldn't have come sooner. If it did, then maybe Beatrice wouldn't have wasted her time in teaching him how to read and write. What would he even tell her? ...Surprise?

"The feather huh…", he could not help but sigh as he once again looked at the black tattoo on his back. He then sat on the bed as he tried to recall everything that has happened to him this day.

The Gods of Olympus sends you a gift-- he could finally understand the words that popped up in front of him before the Portal came to life. But even though he could understand it, he still had no idea what this 'Gods of Olympus' is supposed to be. It was familiar, but Van just couldn't remember where he heard it before.

"Fu…", Van let out a sigh as the weariness and exhaustion of everything that has happened today finally entered his body. There was no use in deliberating something he had no knowledge of.

Maybe Ms. Elton would know something. She seems... to know a lot, after all. And so, with that final thought, Van let himself fall to the comforts of his bed.

He did, however, found it hard to sleep as he could somewhat hear whispers entering his ears. He tried to check on Andrea, but aside from the sedated snoring, she wasn't really saying anything.

After a while though, his body couldn't take it anymore and he was finally able to fall asleep, his head, covered by a pillow.

***

"Brother…"

"Harv!?"

Harvey was currently inside the Lauder mansion, his head slightly leaning to the ground as he approached his Gerald. The halls, which were well-lit by lights powered by crystals, could not hide the gloominess in Harvey's eyes.

"What are you doing here!?", Gerald widened his eyes as he looked around, "Did father see you?"

"Can we talk?", Harvey said, not even minding his brother's voice that was filled with concern.

"About what?", Gerald quickly replied.

"I… have been hearing rumors about you in the Academy", Harvey then looked his brother straight in the eye, "I hoped to talk to you about it"

"...", hearing Harvey's downcasted voice, Gerald could not help but furrow his eyebrows,

"...Sure"

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