The dried toad tasted like salted leather and stale ash.
Ren chewed it slowly, trying not to gag. He could feel the spiritual static around his body dampening. It was like putting a thick wool blanket over a lighthouse.
"Stop making that face," Jian whispered, his eyes still glued to Zelda. "It's a delicacy in the Southern Underworld."
"Your family has terrible taste," Ren muttered, swallowing the last tough chunk.
Ren checked the countdown.
[ TIME UNTIL PURGE: 63 HOURS, 20 MINUTES. ]
He was alive. He was hidden. But he was empty. He looked at his Spirit Core status.
[ MANA: 0 / 1000 ] [ REGENERATION RATE: 0.01 PER DAY ]
Ren grit his teeth. Point-zero-one. At this rate, it would take him three years to cast a simple fireball. His core wasn't just empty; it was calcified.
He needed a jumpstart. He needed a Mana Potion. But the System Shop didn't accept credit cards. It only took Spirit Coins.
I need to kill something, Ren thought grimly. And I need to get paid for it.
"Alright, class," Mr. Henderson announced, tapping the whiteboard. "Put your books away. Pop quiz on the Qin unification."
A collective groan rippled through the room.
But in the front row, Sarah Miller didn't groan. She gasped.
Ren watched as the Smoke Monkey on her head reacted to the word "Quiz."
It shrieked—a sound only Ren and Jian could hear. The creature doubled in size. It tightened its grip on Sarah's neck. Its fingers, which looked like tar, dug into her temples.
Sarah started to hyperventilate. Her hands shook as she reached for her pencil.
[ ENTITY EVOLVING... ] [ STAGE 2 DETECTED: PANIC INDUCER ]
The monkey opened its mouth and clamped down on the top of her head. It wasn't just sipping vapor anymore; it was chugging it.
"Jian," Ren whispered. "It's hurting her."
Jian didn't look up. "It's a stress reaction, Ren. She's panicked about the quiz. The spirit is just feeding on the spike. It'll pass."
"She can't breathe," Ren hissed.
"If I interfere," Jian murmured, tapping buttons rapidly, "I have to file a Use of Force report. Do you know how many pages that is? Twelve. Single-spaced."
Ren looked at Sarah. She was clutching her chest. Mr. Henderson was passing out the papers, oblivious.
The Shaman inside Ren felt a cold, arrogant fury. A bottom-feeding parasite daring to suffocate a human in My presence?
Ren looked at the System window floating in front of him.
[ NEW QUEST: PEST CONTROL ] [ OBJECTIVE: REMOVE THE PARASITE ] [ REWARD: 10 SPIRIT COINS ]
Ren's eyes narrowed. 10 Coins. That was exactly the price of a Tier-1 Mana Potion.
"Hey, Jian," Ren whispered. "What happens if the monkey just... leaves?"
"It won't," Jian said. "It's latched on."
"Watch me."
Ren picked up his heavy hardcover history textbook.
He focused on the monkey. He didn't have Mana to cast a spell. But he had Authority.
Authority was the weight of his soul. It was the memory of being a King.
Ren tried to project it.
[ WARNING: INSUFFICIENT MANA. ] [ ACTIVATE AUTHORITY USING VITALITY (HP)? ]
Ren didn't hesitate. Do it.
He felt a sharp pain in his chest, like a rib cracking. His vision blurred for a microsecond.
[ HP: 100 -> 95 ] [ SKILL ACTIVATED: AUTHORITY (TIER 1 - INTIMIDATION) ]
Ren didn't look at Sarah. He looked directly at the monkey. He didn't shout. He just projected a single, violent concept: SCRAM.
For a split second, the air in the classroom grew heavy. It wasn't magic; it was pure, distilled Killing Intent.
The Smoke Monkey froze. It felt something looking at it. Not a boy. Not a Reaper. A Predator.
The monkey shrieked in terror. It released Sarah instantly, scrambling backward, tripping over itself in the air. It dissolved into a thin mist and shot out the open window like it had been scalded.
THUMP.
Ren dropped his textbook onto the floor. The noise broke the tension.
Ren grabbed his desk, dizzy. A drop of blood fell from his nose onto the paper.
"Sorry," Ren muttered, wiping his nose. "Slipped."
In the front row, Sarah took a huge, gasping breath. The color returned to her face.
"I..." Sarah whispered. "I'm okay."
Mr. Henderson frowned. "Ren, pick up your book. Sarah, eyes on your paper."
Ren bent down to pick up the book.
[ QUEST COMPLETE ] [ REWARD: 10 SPIRIT COINS ]
Ren smiled, wiping the blood from his lip. Worth the 5 HP.
When he sat back up, Jian was staring at him.
Jian wasn't playing Zelda. His Switch was on the desk. He was looking at Ren with a mixture of confusion and suspicion.
"What did you do?" Jian whispered.
"Nothing," Ren said innocently. "I dropped a book. Loud noises scare animals, right?"
Jian narrowed his eyes behind his black frames.
"That wasn't noise," Jian said slowly. "For a second, the pressure in the room spiked. It felt like... a Judge walking into court."
Ren shrugged. "Maybe it's the toad. Side effects?"
Jian studied him for a second longer, then shook his head.
"You're a weird guy, Ren Wu," Jian muttered. "But nice shot. I didn't want to do the paperwork anyway."
Ren turned his attention to the test paper. But in his mind, he was opening the System Shop.
[ SHOP ACCESSED ] [ BALANCE: 10 COINS ]
[ ITEM: VIAL OF MORNING DEW (TIER 1) ] [ COST: 10 SPIRIT COINS ] [ EFFECT: RESTORES 50 MANA ]
Ren mentally clicked [ BUY ].
A small, cool sensation manifested in his pocket.
Ren reached in. His fingers brushed against a tiny glass vial.
He smiled. He had sacrificed a bit of blood, but he had gained fuel.
"Ren," Mr. Henderson called out. "Eyes on your own paper."
"Yes, sir," Ren said.
He looked at the first question: Who was the primary architect of the Great Wall?
Ren circled General Meng Tian. Wrong, Ren thought. It was me. Meng Tian just took the credit.
He tapped the vial in his pocket.
Let the Reapers come. The Shaman was rearming.