System Change: Chapter 28

The blinding flash faded away, and Derek looked around. There was a group of seven people gathered in the area around the dungeon orb. They were staring at Derek and Thomas with different emotions. Some were frowning, and some were surprised. One, a level 47 whom Derek supposed was the leader of the group, was looking at the pair with a face filled with confusion.

I’m glad I thought about wearing these facemasks. I’m guessing that man tried to Identify me, and it failed. Derek looked at the confused man, nodded, then picked Thomas up and took off before anyone could say anything. He ran at a moderate pace, for him, which was blazing fast for most people.

“This should be good enough,” he said as he dropped Thomas. The boy, to his credit, stood up and brushed himself off without uttering a word.

“Did you get the achievement for completing the dungeon?” Thomas asked.

“Oh, is that what that notification is? I haven’t bothered to look yet,” Derek answered, then he pulled up the notification.

Derek went to the next message.

“Oh?” Derek looked over at Thomas. “That’s not a bad achievement. Already receiving two skill points for the first tier. It’s almost like I didn’t have to do anything for it, too.” He laughed. “Well, anything but train my Rejuvenation skill. Hehe…” Derek was trying to get a rise out of Thomas, but it didn’t work.

Well, I also leveled Channel Void and got a better understanding of what it does when used to attack. When Derek secretly killed a couple of insects with the skill after leveling, it turned out that the projection of the void on the weapon could slip through any defenses and specifically target the insides of whatever he attacked. Derek was happy with the newfound realization. After thinking about what happened to the Void Beast, it all made sense.

If the void could do this at such a low level, he could only imagine how powerful it would be once it grew. At its current level, level 5, he was able to make the purple projection stretch from a quarter-inch to more than double that. Increasing its level also made him able to channel the void more efficiently and lose less mana per second.

If I could turn this into a ranged attack… Derek had an idea of attaching the void to a projectile like a dagger, then throwing it. The current problem was that he didn’t have enough control to keep the void on an item that he didn’t have direct control of. But, he figured that if the skill leveled high enough, he would gain the control.

“Are we going back home?” Thomas broke him out of his thoughts.

“Mhm… I think we should. The other dungeons aren’t going anywhere. I think we can do two more before we out-level them,” Derek replied. Maybe three, if the rarity of my class lets me level slower. “Okay, let’s go.”

Six or so hours later, the village was in sight. They were walking while chatting about spears. Thomas had decided to change his class and had earned some of the respect he had lost back from Derek. “So, you finally understand why I didn’t want you to use daggers.” Derek smiled. “Good, I have a great spear you can use when you change classes. Its former owner doesn’t need it anymore.”

“Thank you,” Thomas replied as they kept walking.

Soon, they arrived at the village gates. Strangely, the guards that were usually at their posts weren’t there. Derek frowned. That’s odd. Why is nobody guarding the front gate?

Thomas seemed to have the same thoughts. “There should be guards here. Is something going on?”

“Let’s go find out,” Derek said. He picked Thomas up and jumped over the gate.

After landing, he looked around. There weren’t any kids running around like usual. In fact, it seemed like a ghost town. “Something’s up. Let’s see if Mal is home.” The two ran towards Brandi’s residence. When they were close to the residence, Derek spotted a bit of blood leaving a trail through the street, but he didn’t think Thomas saw it, so he said nothing.

When they arrived at the courtyard Brandi used for leatherworking, all emotion left Derek’s face. He looked at the woman and girl sprawled out on the ground.

“Brandi!” Thomas yelled and ran to the girl.

“Shh… Stay quiet.” Derek reminded. He used Identify on the girl.

“She’ll be fine. She’s just unconscious,” Derek told Thomas, then shifted his focus to Malorie.

Derek hurried and cast Rejuvenation on Malorie’s body. He viewed her status again and confirmed that her state had changed from ‘Critical’ to ‘Unconscious.’ He let out a breath and spoke. “They are both going to be fine.” He picked Malorie up and laid her on the bench, then had Thomas do the same with Brandi.

“Thomas,” he said. When the boy turned to him, he summoned two red vials from his storage and handed them to the kid. “Keep using Identify to make sure neither of their states drop to ‘Critical.’ Your skill should be leveled enough to do so. If either of their states slip to ‘Critical,’ pour the potion in their mouth. If they both awaken, just give them the potions for good measure. It may be a good idea to move them into the house if they are able.” After seeing Thomas nod and accept the vials, he spoke again. “I’m going to see what’s going on.”

Derek went back to where he had spotted the blood. Looks like someone was dragged from here. I bet they’re all at the chief’s place. He didn’t waste any more time and took off down the street. When he got to the bend leading toward the chief’s residence, he stopped.

Down the street in front of him was a crowd. With his vision, he could see Rayna on her knees, her clothing in tatters. A man was facedown next to her. Richard was roughed up but standing in the crowd.

A group of six adventurers was standing around Rayna. One was standing behind her with a sword, and the others were all facing her. Derek slowed his pace at this scene as he continued his approach. Soon, he was close enough to hear what was going on.

“You think you’re great because you are the chief of some unknown village?” The man in front of Rayna slapped her. “I told you nicely that it was none of your business, but you had to stick your nose where it didn’t belong.”

A surge of anger flashed through Derek when he saw the man slap Rayna. Soon, he was close enough to use Identify.

After seeing Rayna’s status, he was happy that she was not ‘Dying,’ but it still incensed him that things had gotten to this state. He focused on the man on the grown. It was Davis. He checked the man’s status.

Derek’s good mood from earlier had been completely erased. From everything he knew about the man, Davis was a good person. Derek used Identify on the man who had slapped Rayna.

He squinted at that. Why is a level 94 in the village? Derek Identified the others that were standing around. The lowest level was a level 84 female. Is this the group of adventurers that was sent to run the dungeon? If it is, they were way off at the levels that the guild would send.

“Enough!” the apparent leader of the group spoke. “I’m tired of this.” He looked at Rayna. “By the noble house of Gracefall, and for the crime of disobedience. I, Wallace F. Gracefall, sentence you to death by beheading.” He looked at the man standing behind her. “Well, get on with it.”

The man nodded. He raised his sword to the side and started to bring it down, then… his head exploded.

Derek, after throwing the rock, was still walking forward at a slow pace. He watched as the five remaining people went into a frenzy. At that time, Rayna lifted her head, and their eyes met. She smiled at Derek, then fell forward, finally losing consciousness.

Soon, the group noticed Derek. They had all turned and were staring daggers at him. The leader of the group began to speak. “Who do you think you…” was all he got out before a booming voice cut off his own.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” He hadn’t yelled, but the bass in his voice was able to shake the insides of lower-leveled people. The leader opened his mouth to speak, but Derek didn’t let him. “It was rhetorical. I don’t give a fuck who you are.” Derek stopped, then smiled evilly.

“By the power of me, and for the crime of hurting a young girl and her mother, for killing a good man, and for trying to murder the chief of this village… I, a person who is a fuck ton stronger than you, sentence the six… five of you, to death,” he spoke. “Now, who’s first?”

“Kill him!” the leader yelled, and two men sprinted towards Derek. Derek, in his usual black tee and jeans, closed his fists and waited. A purple light flashed in his eyes for a split second before disappearing.

The man on the left held a spear, and the one on the right a sword. But before they got within reach of Derek, he dashed forward, shocking them. He lightly jabbed the two in their chests with his fists, which had a purple glow.

At the same time, an arrow reached him. He plucked it out of the air and returned it to the sender. The woman was not prepared, and soon, the fletching of the arrow was all that could be seen sticking out of her head. She fell.

A jet of fire crashed into Derek, and he smiled at the increase in Magic Resistance. Maybe I should keep him alive… He quickly got rid of the idea. Being at a distance, he decided to just throw another dagger. It took the mage in the chest and forced him to the ground.

Now, all that was remaining was the leader. The man backed up as he approached. Soon, Derek was before him, clutching the man’s throat with his right hand. He lifted him off the ground.

Richard, who was standing beside watching, said, “D-Derek. You can’t. He’s a noble and from the Adventurer’s Guild.”

Derek, hearing Richard speak, looked at him. “Oh, so he’s a noble. In that case.” He squeezed his hand, and the adventurer’s neck snapped. “Whoops, my hand slipped.” The man’s body fell limp to the ground.