Gregory Skoll was just as dumbfounded as Norlan. He had just used his innate Expression and unceremoniously found out that he could not pry deeper into this human's memory before that hospital scene.
'why is he in the hospital? Is that really the man with the yummy body?'
'And why can't I go deeper inside his memory?"
He was really shocked! Ever since he awakened his racial Expression, it had never failed him. And even though it had it's shortcomings,that would still require the opponents cultivation to be higher than his or a treasure ranked above his cultivation level.
But that was just ludicrous!
He had already seen that the place where these humans used to live was deprived of spiritual energy, so the treasure would most likely not even work. While the human was still just a mortal.
It was quite the conundrum and it only made him more curious.
"Ohh, what do we have here?"
Then he noticed something peculiar.
It was not the talk of descendant targets or fries that caught his eye, but the thin crimson thread of karma that extended from the Tuxedo wearing guy..
He replayed the memory once more and he really was onto something. He smiled, then he moved his spiritual senses onto compartment No.6. He compared the human in the compartment with the Tuxedo guy. He looked onto the threads of Karma and a smile crept out of the blob of fire.
They are the same people!
"Things just got spicier!." He grew some flame hands out of his blob body and rubbed them in anticipation before he weaved hand signs. His karma threads visibly got thicker and he dived into No.6 memories.
No.6 was called Sir Richard Hexwill. His life was well laid out onto Gregory Skoll to browse through at his own convenience. But Gregory Skoll chose not to.
Gregory deemed him unworthy. Plus,his body did not suit his refined tastes.
He decided to follow up right after he left Norlan's hospital bed.
***
Sir Richard Hexwill was already shrugging into his turncoat, the kind that carried authority by association rather than cut.The hospital lobby exhaled him into the night,automatic doors wheezing open, then closing with a tired finality.
Outside, sodium streetlights washed the parking lot in amber, making everything feel slightly unreal, like a paused memory.
The air smelled of rain-soaked asphalt and cigarettes.
"Bloody place," Hexwill muttered.
Beside him walked Edwin Marsh, shorter, broader, his laughter always half a second too late,as if he needed confirmation before committing to emotion. Edwin jingled his keys unnecessarily, a habit he'd never broken.
"Still," Edwin said, "beats being inside it won't you say?."
Hexwill grunted in agreement as they reached the car: a dark green sedan, late-model for its time, boxy and self-assured. The paint reflected the lights in dull streaks.
He unlocked it with a firm click.They got in,and the doors shut with a solid, mechanical thump.The engine turned over slowly, then caught.
The radio came alive immediately, as if it had been waiting, saxophones could be heard plaing, slightly distorted but Hexwill didn't change the station. He never did.
They pulled out onto the road.
The town at night was a different organism. Shops closed, signs dimmed, streets stretching longer than they did during the day. The hospital fell behind them, swallowed by darkness and distance.
Ten minutes later, Edwin pointed ahead.
"Fancy stopping?"
Hexwill already knew where he meant.
The fries stop sat alone near the highway turnoff, neon sign flickering between FR–ES and FRIES.
A relic even in its own decade. Red plastic booths inside. A faded menu board with prices scratched and rewritten. The smell of oil, salt, and nostalgia hit them before they even parked.
They pulled in.
Inside, the place hummed softly: a deep fryer bubbling like it had secrets, an ancient cash register chiming obediently. A teenage attendant barely looked up, hair tucked under a paper hat, eyes already tired of the future.
"Two," Hexwill said tiredly.
They waited in silence, leaning against the counter. Edwin drummed his fingers on one hand,a lighter on the other. Hexwill watched the oil, entranced and taken by his own thoughts, disappointment evident in his eyes.
"Those bastards really didn't leave it to him!"
"I guess not. I even had my hopes up. So ruthless aren't they?" Hexwill scowled.
"You wanted to give it to your son?"
"How did you know?" Without letting Edwin answer, he asked again in a sour tone.
"Would you have fought me, for it?"
He already figured it out. Edwin also had the same idea as him, giving it to his kin.
"Well, we'll never know now, won't we?" Edwin said in a hushed voice.
"Probably for the best."
Silence loomed.Paper trays slid across. Fries,thick-cut, uneven, unapologetically greasy. They looked at each other, each taking his own tray and ate standing up, salt dusting their fingers.
"Strange night," Edwin said through a mouthful.
Hexwill didn't answer right away. He stared out the window, where moths battered themselves against the neon light with pointless devotion.
"Yes," he said finally. "Strange."
Thirty minutes later they were out on the road.The road to the outskirts opened wide and empty.Streetlights grew scarce. Houses thinned into fields, then into silence.
The sedan cruised steadily, tires humming,while the cold breaze flushed into the window.Hexwill drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting calmly,like a man who believed the world would continue to accommodate him.
Then the gates appeared.
Tall iron bars, black and ornate, opening at the push of a button. Beyond them, a long driveway curved through manicured darkness. Trees stood in disciplined rows, their branches arching overhead like watchful sentinels.
The mansion emerged slowly. Stone walls pale in moonlight. Tall windows dark and reflective.
Hexwill parked beneath the portico. The engine cut. Silence rushed in to replace it.
They stepped out, gave each other a nod and parted ways.
Edwin entered a different sedan, the chauffeur ready to drive him to his unknown destination.
Hexwill on the otherhand, entered the mansion with practiced steps. Servants parted ways as he walked straight to his study. Opened a drawer, took out a bottle of whiskey,put on some music in his record and sat in his reclined chair.
Taking a sip in a nonchalant way, he uttered.."System status"
Gregory Skoll's blob eyes almost popped out, excitement evident as he looked at the status screen within Sir Richard Hexwill's memories. One had to know, he could not sense Norlan's system since it was too high up the spectrum.
This was also why he was too excited. He had never in his wildest dreams thought that he would come into contact with such a treasure. He was even begining to like these filthy humans, his eyes glowing at the prospect of becoming rich and famous.
Contribution points, so many contribution points! And they are all free, served to me with a silver platter !
'Do all human's in this trial have a system? Is that why they are here? No that can't be, That Norlan kid doesn't have one or...'
He begun to entertain the idea of Norlan having a higher rank system. That would explain why he could not dive deeper into his memories.
He shuddered.
The next moment however, a confident grin overtook his blob of a face. Fierce and scary. Yes, fierce and scary!
Not cute by any means!
He decided to continue browsing Richard Hexwill's memories. His mentality simple and clear.
Even if Norlan has a higher rank system,in the end, isn't he still at his whim and mercy?
A chuckle escaped him.
STATUS:
Name - Richard Hexwill
Age - 45/ 90
Race - Human
Cultivation - 3rd stage Awakened
Class -Mutant
Sub class - Business man.
Expression - N/A
Strength - 36
Constitution - 30
Vitality - 34
Dexterity - 39
Speed - 37
Intelligence - 42
Will - 31
Free points - 12
System points - 15,000
Main quest [prepare for the spiritual Renaissance of Earth]
Reward [Based on how much origin spiritual energy absorbed during Renaissance. Current 0%]
Side Quest [Absorb a suitable system for subsidiary functions]
Reward [Subsidiary system: Can be given to kin with blood relation of 51% purity]