“Why was he like that?” Jacob felt confused. He was not blind and noticed something from his father’s actions. But things were still so unclear for him. He only knew something was off.

Jacob looked at the still furball and his skeletons staring at him. He was relieved when they had followed his instructions earlier.

‘To think they’re set to automatically protect me. When they saw Dad come in, I felt they were about to rush to me and stand by my side.’ He was certainly grateful upon discovering this additional feature of his skill.

‘But that would give rise to loads of issues, and it would be impossible to explain to Dad who's a suspicious man to begin with.’

He remembered that Tim still needed a plastic tray to relieve itself, so he quietly left his room, walked down the stairs, and was about to turn left to go to the kitchen.

“What do you mean?” 

A suppressed voice male seemed to be shivering.

He looked right at the location of his living room and noticed the lights were off, but they were voices coming from within. Then he took out his phone and saw the time.

‘It’s night, so Ruby’s probably already in bed. So it must be Dad.’

“What do you mean don’t worry?” 

Peter’s voice rose a few notches and was laced with thick fear.

“Those soul fires stared at me! My soul shuddered! I thought I would die the next second! Then... then those ghostly eyes looked in my son’s direction and vanished from my Clairvoyant Zone!”

Jacob hurriedly walked towards the kitchen, took out a plastic tray, and quietly climbed the stairs. He looked at the right door at the end of the stairway and noticed it was locked.

‘Yep, she’s definitely asleep.’

Then he opened his bedroom on the opposite side and locked his door as well. While the little furball curiously approached the plastic tray Jacob had placed in front of it, his mind was still on the conversation he had heard earlier.

‘Who was he talking to and what was he talking about?’

So many things were unclear, but Jacob felt it was related to him.

‘Let’s think.’

He leaned back in bed after rearranging his two pillows and began brainstorming.

‘My dad saw soul fires, and that’s basically the eyes of an undead creature. He mentioned Clairvoyant Zone, so his talent played some role in this. Then he mentioned those soul fires staring at him then looking at me before vanishing.’

Jacob looked at his loyal skellies and removed any suspicion on them.

‘They’re so weak that there's no reason for him to be afraid of them. And my skellies didn’t even turn around at that time.’

Jacob looked at the locked door in his room. More specifically, he looked at where he had summoned his Bone Spike that was currently kept under his bed.

‘Dad was standing near the lightning rift and probably had his Clairvoyant Zone active since that’s how he discovered my skellies and decided to raid this room. So…’

He finally reached a conclusion, but the thought terrified him.

‘He.. he saw something through his Clairvoyant Zone, and that something was on the other side of that rift connecting this world and the world of the undead!’

Jacob abruptly sat straight, startling the little furball who was sitting inside his new plastic tray.

“I seem to be forgetting something.” He muttered in distress.

There was a feeling of déjà vu, but he could not remember where it came from, yet he was sure it was related to his system. So he did the only thing he could do, scan his notifications.

He saw the tags again, which enabled him to find the desired notifications. They were ‘Daily Quest’, ‘Quest’, ‘Loot’, ‘Achievements’, ‘Quest Rewards’, and a few more. Jacob recalled any significant events that had occurred to him recently and remembered his quest.

‘My class change!’

He scanned the messages from Quest Rewards and found what he had been looking for.

[You are a brave hunter that fears pain but faces it calmly to support those weaker behind you. Your tenacious spirit has earned the admiration of many beings in the darkness who have witnessed your battles. The direction of your growth has changed under their influence.]

“These dark perverts!” his fury rose to the skies. Yet fear soon crept in.

“Did they hear me?” He looked to his left and right, then at his skellies.

“You did not hear anything, got it?” he asked, yet they remained unresponsive. “Nod if you got it!” he insisted, and to his horror, they nodded.

“Dammit! Have you been listening to everything all the time?”

‘Are these my skellies who’ll break their bones and shatter into bone dust for my sake, or are they snitches placed by those dark perverts who seem to enjoy watching me?’

Jacob once again felt that the control of his life was seeping away from him. No matter how hard he tried or how strong he got, there always be someone or something stronger than him. And this being was near him and had unclear or ill intentions toward him.

“There was Angela’s father, and now I realize even before he became a problem, there were these beings in the darkness.”

Jacob lay back down on his makeshift wall cushion and sighed. Nonetheless, there was one thing that relieved him.

“They don’t seem to be against me.”

After all, feelings like admiration were not something one would feel toward an enemy. There would at least be some negative emotion, but there was no mention of it.

“I’ll treat them as allies for now since they didn’t hurt my dad when he took a glance at them which should normally be impossible.”

Jacob decided to fall asleep and rearranged his pillows.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

His pocket began vibrating, and his phone began ringing.

“At this hour? Who could it be?” he wondered, but the caller id made it clear it was not a call he could miss.

“Hello, sir!” he spoke excitedly. After a day of ups and downs and of grim realizations, he needed someone to guide him in the right direction.

“Hello, Jacob. I hear you have been living quite the eventful life since we last met yesterday.”

Jacob wryly smiled. “Yes, sir, so many things have happened. I could really use your help now.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The phone went static for a dozen seconds before Adam’s voice came through.

“Sorry about that. The network’s not really good here. Did I miss anything? Ask away!”

Jacob had already realized in those twelve seconds that it was no ordinary network issue.

“Sir, what should I do about her?”

But he also knew he was balls deep in trouble already with all these situations that had occupied his mind. He neither had the ability nor strength to help or get involved in his teacher’s matters.

“Well, you did well. I think I should commend William for that. He always tried to arrive at a peaceful conclusion despite his obvious indifference to matters outside his forest. You needn’t worry about Angela anymore; I’ve already notified her father. He won’t come and trouble you.”

Jacob smiled in relief. 

“Thank you so much, sir!” he said with genuine joy.

Boom!

“Anything else?” Adam’s tone was slightly heavy, but he still asked calmly.

“My father discovered abou-”

“Don’t worry about it. I spoke to him some time ago. There’s nothing to worry about.” Adam cut in and quickly spoke. 

He thought momentarily and added, “We’ve just confirmed that your talent can be both an opportunity or the beginning of a crisis. Learn to control it well. Okay, goodbye. Message me if something urgent comes up.”

The call ended abruptly, and Jacob remained staring at his phone briefly. Ultimately, he could not help but mutter, “What was he doing? Why did they sound like bombs? Who exactly is Mr. Adam?”

But clearly, he wouldn't get answers to these questions anytime soon. So he quickly sent his teacher one final message asking him where he could get stronger since William didn’t want his undead to stain that forest filled with life.

A minute later, he got a reply.

‘Kaelen Blackthorn at our gym. Give him my name.’

Jacob smiled in relief at finally finding a way and wondered who this person was to get his teacher’s recommendation. He had already understood that William was someone powerful after seeing his ability. So it would be interesting to find out what was special about this Kaelen Blackthorn.

He finally slept with a peaceful smile and a furball that struggled to get out of his hand for a few seconds. Then it gave in and found a comfortable position for itself and slept. At the same time, a Skeleton Archer and a Skeleton Warrior guarded the bed.

The night was silent yet cold as a son slept with hope for the future while a father could not sleep at all and remained filled with worry and dread after having had a close call with his death.

***

“School Gym,” Jacob read aloud the words written at the entrance of a building on a board. It was the first time he had visited this place, and he was eager to find out if all the praise he had heard all along held some kind of truth or it was simply an exaggeration.

At the reception, he was greeted by a young woman with gentle blue eyes and long silky black hair tied into a bun. Seeing a student approach, she gently smiled at him and asked, “Are you here to apply for a gym membership?”

“Gym membership?” Jacob asked, confused. He had never heard about it and thought the gym was available for use by every single student.

The young woman maintained her smile at his lack of knowledge and said, “Yes, you need a separate gym membership to use this gym. We have facilities for cardio, strength training, swimming, and a spa. While we do get some funding from the school, it's barely enough for equipment maintenance, so there’s a need to have a gym membership.”

Her detailed explanation brought clarity to Jacob, and he began feeling embarrassed after checking his pockets. She noticed this, and while she might have thought something negative inside, she maintained her gentle smile. 

She said, “If you’re not here for the membership, is there anything else you need here?”

She had naturally said this to countless students. They would normally shake their heads and leave in embarrassment. But today was meant to be different.

“I am looking for a Kaelen Blackthorn. Is there someone by that name working here?” Jacob asked and made a mental note to carry cash with him wherever he went in the future.

The young woman’s smile froze. While looking curious, she asked, “You’re looking for Mr. Kaelen Blackthorn?”

“Yes, that’s the man,” Jacob nodded.

“Wait a minute,” she replied, pointing at the three benches on her left adjacent to the entrance. Jacob sat there and looked to his right where a wooden door with the label of ‘Instructor’ remained closed.

The young woman made a call, and a minute later, the Instructor’s door opened. 

An imposing 6'6" man with a muscular build wearing a tank top with medium white hair, a short white beard, and piercing blue eyes left the room. He had prominent scars under his eyes and a dragon tattoo on his right arm.

The imposing man stared at Jacob with his piercing blue eyes.

“Who the heck are you?”