Back in the storage container, Tsukuru continued to stare at the white light emitting from the open door. However, he was snapped from his musings, as he felt a sudden jolt run through him. It was as if someone had suddenly run up behind him, and had given him a static shock. Tsukuru's eyes widened, and he felt his heart jump. Instantly, Tsukuru's eyes snapped towards the direction of the far east side of the shelter. And Tsukuru had no ideaWHY.
'What the hell was THAT?!' Tsukuru thought. It was similar to the "jolt" he had received after Quinn had awakened his System, despite the two of them being Solar Systems apart. A moment later, a System message popped up in front of him.
[System Model 1.0.0 has been upgraded to System Level 2. System is now System Model 1.1.0.]
Tsukuru stared at the System message in shock.
'Wait, what?' He thought. 'Quinn's System was…upgraded?'
***
Back in the training center, Quinn stared at the screen in front of him, as he took in the words that the blonde-haired Vampire had just said.
"What?!" Quinn replied. "Why wasn't the System set up like this in the first place?!"
As if predicting Quinn's question, the man continued speaking.
"Now, you're probably wondering 'Why didn't I design the System to be like this from the very beginning?'." The man replied. "The truth is, I needed you to be able to get this far on your own. That way, you could learn from your mistakes, allowing you to make even better decisions in the future!"
For some reason, Quinn now felt astrong urge to punch this man if he ever met him in real life.
"Now, although the System AI will answer any questions you have about the System, it does have its limits." The man replied. "Additionally, before I leave you, I have a few, final words for you."
The man's face lost its cheeriness, and became solemn.
"I'm sorry, but now that you're a Vampire, the others will come looking for you." He warned. "They have alreadyblended into society, so it's almost impossible to tell who is and who isn't a Vampire. If you want to live a life of freedom, as I did, then heed my words. Get stronger, create a force of your own, and fight back. Good luck, my friend."
With that, the recorded message ended, and all the System screens that had popped up disappeared.
Quinn suddenly found himself at a loss. He had so manyquestions he wanted to ask the blonde-haired man, but he knew that was impossible. However, he had no time to dwell on that. With his System Upgrade and his Shop finally being unlocked, he had so many things he wanted to check out.
'I wonder if my System's Shop is anything like Tsukuru's?' Quinn thought excitedly. He imagined being able to purchase all sorts of new gear. Maybe his Shop even sold "Blood Packets" like Tsukuru's sold his Health/MC Potions. If that was true, then he'd never run out of blood again. Then, his eyes narrowed. He had suddenly remembered something. The things Tsukuru got from his System weren't free. They all cost money. The only reason Tsukuru was able to use his System's Shop to such great effect was due to his abundance of Credits.
Quinn looked down at his wristwatch. In the lower left-hand corner, the number "120" was visible. This meant that Quinn currently had 120 Credits to his name. And if he remembered correctly, that Basic-Tier dagger Tsukuru had bought off of his System's Shop had cost him 1,000 Credits. If the two Shops were alike in that aspect, and he did need credits to pay for things, it would be worthless to him.
As Quinn was thinking this over, he subconsciously looked down at Ian's upper torso, still on the floor.
"I'm really not Human anymore, am I?"
***
Back in the storage hanger, Tsukuru dismissed the System message, and glanced backwards towards the east side of the shelter.
'Why did I suddenly look there?' He thought. 'Is my System telling me that's where Quinn is?' Tsukuru narrowed his eyes. He snapped his attention back towards the open steel door, the white light bleeding through.
"I'm positive this won't take long." He replied to himself. "Then, I'll go find Quinn."
Tsukuru motioned to his Hobgoblin to follow him. There was no cost to keeping his Summons active, and dismissing her would just be wasting time. Tsukuru walked up to the steel door. As he stood in front of it, his eyes narrowed.
'Looks like a military storage container.' He thought.
Looking down, he saw a passcode machine built into the metal siding of the room. A moment later, his System's "Scanner" function automatically activated, and information was shown.
[Name: Military Storage Container
A steel door with an electro-magnetic lock linked with a passcode machine. Entering the right combination will successfully disengage the electro-magnetic lock.]
'Looks like someone already did that FOR ME.' Tsukuru thought, seeing the information.
As he walked in, he saw a series of bookshelves. The bookshelves had three rows, with the back row being the biggest among them. There were also hardcover books thrown haphazardly along the floor. The room looked like it had been ransacked.
Tsukuru walked up to the closest book on the floor. He knelt down, and looked at it. The book was currently on its back cover, and upside-down. He hooked his finger underneath it, and flipped it around so its front cover was facing rightside-up.
As the book's front cover was shown, Tsukuru recognized it immediately.It was an Earth Ability Book, the same kind that he had seen that woman in the Ability Level Placement Test hand Peter, and try to hand Quinn. The cover was molded into a shape that made it appear as if it was made of stone. It also had words written on it near the bottom, the words being written in a font that gave them a prehistoric look.
Earth Element
Underneath, it had more words written in a slightly smaller font.
Level 2 Ability Book
Upon seeing the book, Tsukuru instantly knew what this room was.
"An Ability Book storage area, huh?" He muttered, with a slight smirk on his face. There was most likely a storage room exactly like this one somewhere on the military base. However, it was then that a thought came to Tsukuru. He remembered that there was something Quinn could do with these books. And if he could do it as well, then maybe Tsukuru could reach Level 10 before leaving this planet, afterall.
Tsukuru's smile widening, he reached down, and picked up the book. As he did, a System message popped up in front of him.
***
Quinn looked down at Ian's corpse. He wanted to get stronger so he could protect himself and others from the abuse of those above him in power. But now, he had just killed a man. And yet, for some reason, he didn't feel sad about it. In fact, he felt like he was just doing something he needed to do to survive.
Before Quinn decided to check on all the new things his System had revealed due to his Level Up, Evolution, and System Upgrade, there was one more problem he needed to face. And it was on the other side of that door. It was time to confront Vorden.
***
Back in the storage container, Tsukuru grit his teeth in irritation as he looked down at the System message in front of him.
[You have found a Level 2 Earth Element Ability Book.
You already know an Ability. You are unable to learn a new one.]
Tsukuru stared at the message for a second, a deep silence filling the room. Finally, Tsukuru spoke.
"That's it?!" He asked, his voice a mix of fury and incredulity. "That's all you have to say?!"
Tsukuru's hands tightened around the book in his anger.
"When Quinn picked up one of these books, he was given the option to convert it into Exp!" Tsukuru replied. "Why can't I?!"
Tsukuru put the book down on the ground. He then picked it back up, seeing if the message had changed. It hadn't.
[You have found a Level 2 Earth Element Ability Book.
You already know an Ability. You are unable to learn a new one.]
Seeing the repeated message, a vein began to bulge on Tsukuru's temple.
"Gah!" He yelled in anger. He spun his whole body, flingingthe book across the room, and into the far wall. "USELESS!" He shouted.