The forest was quiet now. No sign of the students or the chaos from earlier. Just the soft rustling of leaves and the occasional birdcall.
Zane sat cross-legged under a tree, staring at the obsidian-black blade now sheathed beside him—End Blade, the reward from his recent quest. Its presence still gave off an eerie hum, like it pulsed with some ancient hunger.
> [System Notification: Personal Storage Unlocked.]
He blinked. "Storage space, huh?"
Zane focused, and a translucent grid materialized in front of him. It hovered midair, nine empty slots glowing faintly. Simple, functional. No bigger than a small backpack's worth of space.
"Well, let's test it."
He grabbed a rock—basic, round, and dirty—and willed it into the grid.
Next, a stick. Another slot.
Then leaves, berries, a shiny beetle he found crawling nearby (gross, but hey, testing was testing). Each time he added something, a slot filled. After the ninth item, he picked up a pinecone and tried to store it.
> [Storage Full. Remove an item to store a new one.]
"Figures." He removed the rock, and the pinecone slipped in easily.
"Only nine slots. Not bad... but I'll have to be smart about what I keep in there."
Zane leaned back and sighed. The rush of power from earlier had faded, but he still felt different—stronger, more aware.
"Alright, system," he muttered, "give me a full check."
> [System Status: Void's Chosen]
> Voidwalk (Lv. 2): Teleport to a visible location within 50 meters. Chance of misfire reduces with level.
Void's Eye: Analyze creatures and objects for basic data.
End Blade - Bound: A weapon forged by the Void. Can only be wielded by the user. Growing with you. Currently dormant.
Personal Storage: 9-slot inventory space. Items can be stored or retrieved mentally.
> [System Note: Further features locked. Continue leveling to unlock.]
Zane read through the stats with a thoughtful hum.
"Voidwalk leveled up. That's good. Still not sure what 'Luck' being a question mark means, though... kinda creepy."
He summoned End Blade, feeling the strange pull as it materialized in his hand. He could feel it whispering—not in words, but in emotion. Hunger. Purpose.
He dismissed it quickly.
"Okay, next goal... survive long enough to not die horribly."
With a stretch and a yawn, Zane leaned back against the tree.
The world had changed. He'd changed. And now he had a system, a sword, and something close to an inventory.
Time to see what comes next.