Nathan sat down slowly at his desk, placing the sleek black box in front of him.
For a few seconds, he just stared at it.
'The crow turning into a delivery box must have been a skill...'
The thought lingered in his mind longer than he expected.
He had seen strange things in the rifts. Monsters that bent logic, abilities that looked like magic. But seeing something like that happen in his own hallway was something he had not expected, especially in the bizarre way which it did.
'There's so much I still don't know.' Nathan realized.
'I'm still barely scratching the surface.'
He shook his head lightly.
'I'll think about it later.'
Right now, there was something more important that he to do.
Nathan placed both hands on the box and slowly opened it.
The lid lifted smoothly, revealing a soft, dark interior and resting at its center was a familiar sight.
A small blue crystal.
For a moment, Nathan felt almost disappointed.
"…That's it?" he muttered.
Although, item shards were something valuable, he had gotten over the excitement of seeing them after seeing dozens of them over the past week. He reached in and picked it up, the crystal felt cold in his hand and was faintly humming with energy.
'So this is the Riverborn Spear?'
'How does this even work?'
He turned the crystal over, searching for anything that might hint at how it transformed into a weapon but there was nothing.
Then it clicked.
'The system!'
Nathan narrowed his focus inward, just as he had done countless times before. The sensation came naturally now almost like shifting his attention to a different sense.
The moment his intent brushed against the crystal a new window appeared out of nowhere.
[Would you like to Absorb: Riverborn Spear?]
[Yes / No]
Nathan's eyes widened.
"…Wow," he breathed. "This is new."
He had never absorbed an item before. As all of his gear so far had been physical that was issued by the government.
"Yes." He said out loud without wasting any time.
The crystal dissolved in his hand instantly, disintegrating into particles of pale blue light that seeped into his palm and vanished.
Nathan blinked.
"…Huh?"
Nothing happened.
There were no dramatic flash, no sudden surge of power, the spear didn't even appear in his hand.
He stared at his empty palm, then around the room.
"Did… it bug out or something?" he wondered.
Then another memory resurfaced.
Chris. Or more importantly the way Chris would dismiss his sword mid conversation, letting it dissolve into light before reappearing moments later. He would do the same for his armor when they would exit the rift and reappearing when they would enter the tunnels.
'It's in the system!' Nathan realized slowly.
Heart beating faster, he pulled up his status window.
--------------------------------
Status Window
Name: Nathan Hale
Tier: Unawakened
STATS
Strength (STR): 8
Agility (AGI): 9
Precision (PRE): 8
Endurance (END): 8
Awareness (AWR): 9
Focus (FOC): 7
--------------------------------
Items: Riverborn Spear
Abilities: Reversal (Active)
--------------------------------
His eyes skimmed past the stats that he had gained over the past week and after moving his gaze down he spotted something immediately.
Nathan exhaled sharply.
"There you are."
He raised his hand experimentally.
"Appear," he said quietly, feeling a little foolish.
Nothing happened.
Nathan frowned. "Okay… Maybe I need to focus."
He closed his eyes, visualizing the spear.
'Appear!'
The air shimmered.
Light gathered in his grasp, gathering rapidly slowly forming into a shape and after a split second the spear was there.
Nathan sucked in a sharp breath.
In less than half a second, the Riverborn Spear had fully taken form in his hand.
And it looked beautiful.
The shaft was smooth and dark, etched with faint wave-like patterns that glowed blue. The spearhead looked nothing like forged steel, instead it resembled crystallized ice with the edges gleaming with a cold sheen.
"Holy shit." Nathan whispered.
He adjusted his grip instinctively. The balance was perfect and it was also lighter than his old spear.
He carefully ran his thumb along the flat of the blade and he could feel the danger of touching the edge.
'This is sharp... way sharper.'
His gaze flicked to the corner of his room, where his government issued spear rested against the wall. It looked dull and the blade looked bent from the countless impacts.
'This is not even a competition.'
Nathan stood up slowly, giving himself space and then made a cautious spear thrust.
The difference was immediate.
His body had moved faster.
He barely completed the motion before the spear had already cut through the air, the tip stopping inches from the wall.
Nathan froze.
"…What?"
He tried again, slower this time.
Another thrust.
'I'm faster, not just the spear but me' he realized.
Nathan pulled up his status window again, eyes flicking straight to agility.
Next to the stat value was a small indicator.
Agility (AGI): 9 (+2)
"So that's what it means…" he murmured.
The spear wasn't just a weapon but it also enhanced him by giving him additional stats.
"This is insane." Nathan said, half laughing.
Two week ago, he'd been afraid of goblin scouts.
Now he was holding a weapon that felt like it belonged in a completely different tier of the world.
His excitement slowly settled, replaced by a more thoughtful expression.
His eyes drifted lower on the status window.
Abilities: Reversal (Active)
"…And you're still being useless." he sighed.
Nathan leaned back against the desk, spear held loosely at his side.
Reversal, the ability just sat there, unchanged since the day he awakened. He was unable to find any description nor any conditions for activation.
He had searched forums and guides but everything pointed to the same conclusion.
'Conditional ability.'
Until he met the condition, it might as well not exist.
"I wish you were as easy as this..." he muttered.
Still, there was no real frustration in his voice as he had learned that abilities were beyond valuable and the day he learns how to use it, it might change everything for him.
He focused again, willing the spear away.
The Riverborn Spear dissolved into pale blue particles, dispersing like mist before vanishing completely.
Nathan stared at his empty hand, then laughed softly.
"This is so cool."
His gaze shifted back to the old spear leaning in the corner.
He walked over and picked it up.
He saw how the shaft bore deep scratches and how the spearhead was chipped and slightly bent.
Nathan ran a hand along it slowly.
"You served me well, old friend..." he said quietly.
This spear had carried him through his first kills.
He set it back carefully.
Then Nathan straightened, eyes sharp, posture different than it had been even a week ago.
Tomorrow, he would return to the rift, and this time he would be taking the lead.