My Tribrid System: More than a Monster

Chapter 106

With Ray’s enhanced speed, it didn’t take long for him to make it back to the safety of his dorm room.

Bolting inside, he immediately checked the digital clock on the wall.

9:56 PM.

’Just in time,’ he thought with a sigh of relief as he turned to see his friends still awake, occupied with their own nightly routines.

Kai lay sprawled on his bed, lazily scrolling through his phone with an earpiece tucked into his ear, seemingly lost in music or a video.

Van, on the other hand, had already taken full reins of the study table and transformed it into his personal mini-lab.

He was deep in the zone, working on several strange, intricate designs.

It was as if he were multitasking with a supernatural focus; one hand was building a new component while the second tinkered with another metallic object.

’Damn! I wish I had multiple hands,’ Van mused inwardly, his eyes subtly flashing a faint blue as he kept creating.

Neither of them paid Ray much attention; they were so engrossed in their tasks that they barely seemed to register his presence in the room.

He liked it that way. It made hiding his secrets much easier.

With a tired exhale, Ray walked toward his bed.

He discreetly pulled his bag of snacks out of his ’Inventory’ and placed it on the mattress before collapsing beside it.

He was thoroughly exhausted at this point, his muscles aching from the clash in the woods.

But before he could close his eyes to sleep, a familiar notification chimed loudly in his head.

[Quest Completed]

’Right. I think I got the notification for a quest the moment the werewolf attacked me. I didn’t have the luxury of time to even check the details back then. Let’s see what I earned.’

[Rewards for surviving your encounter with the werewolf]

’Survive? Was that really all the quest was about?’ Ray wondered, slightly miffed.

[Rewards: +5 AGI; +3 END]

’That’s it? That is all I get for almost having my head cleaved off?’ He rubbed his temples as he stared at the translucent screen hovering in front of him.

He was about to check his status tab when he suddenly remembered another pending matter.

’Hang on! I didn’t even check the rewards I earned for successfully landing a hit on Captain Jake. Yeah—System, pull the rewards up for me now.’

[Quest Completed: Host successfully landed a hit on the Captain during their spar within the allotted time frame]

[Rewards: +4 INT; +3 AGI; 2 Stat Points; +2 STR]

’Hm... now that is more like it.’

”Pull up my attributes tab,” Ray mumbled under his breath, watching the data reorganize itself.

{Attributes:}

[STR: 40 >>> 42]

[AGI: 38 >>> 46]

[INT: 29 >>> 33]

[PER: 28]

[END: 30 >>> 33]

[Stat Points: 2]

***

Ray grinned at the new numbers reflected in the glow of the screen.

Even a small increase in his stats was enough to make him feel a pleasant tingle of power deep within his bones.

He could feel himself growing stronger with every encounter.

His gaze drifted toward the free stat points which he could allocate wherever he saw fit.

’Now, which stat should I prioritize first? Hm... currently, my agility is significantly higher than my strength.

For a werewolf, speed and power are the ultimate pillars, followed closely by endurance. I need to bring my strength up to a more desirable level before I focus on anything else. That settles it.’

”System. Dump the points into my strength stat.”

[Done]

[STR: 42 >>> 44]

’Good. Unfortunately, I didn’t gain any EXP this time, but that’s fine... for now.’

A loud, jaw-cracking yawn rippled through the room, causing Ray to turn his head.

He saw Kai stretching broadly on his bed.

With a soft click, Kai dropped his phone aside and shuffled deeper into his blankets.

Van, however, remained hunched over his project, his focus unwavering.

Glancing at his watch, Ray noted the advancing time.

10:15 PM.

”Hey, Van. Don’t you want to get some rest? Tomorrow is another grueling day of training,”

Ray called out.

He was met with a wall of silence, punctuated only by the occasional click of metal and a few frustrated mumbles of curses from the boy.

”Van?”

”Un? Oh! Uh... yeah, I will go to bed soon. I just need to finish dealing with this,” Van replied without even turning his head to acknowledge Ray.

After a brief, contemplative pause, he added,

”... This is an assignment given to us by the instructor. I need to complete it tonight since I’ll be submitting the final prototype tomorrow.”

”Oh,” Ray muttered and then, with a heavy sigh, he shuffled into the comfort of his bed.

”Just don’t stay up too late, Van.”

”Mhm. I won’t.”

”Goodnight.”

Van didn’t provide a verbal reply as he went right back to a cycle of quiet cursing and frantic working, causing Ray to simply close his eyes and drift off to sleep.

****

It was as if a mental alarm had suddenly rung in Ray’s head, causing his eyelids to snap open in a flash.

He yawned silently before rubbing his eyes gently to clear the sleep from his vision.

It was already morning.

Turning his head to the side, he could still see Van sitting at the desk, working intently as if his very life depended on the project.

’Huh?’

”You didn’t sleep at all?”

A sudden pause followed the question.

Van stiffened like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

He slowly turned around to face Ray, revealing deep, dark bags under his eyes as he forced a weary smile.

”Uh... err... good morning, bro.”

Ray scowled, his eyes slanting as he glared at his roommate with concern and annoyance.

”Why didn’t you go to bed like you said you would?”

Van just let out an awkward, sheepish chuckle as he scratched the back of his head.

”Uhm... I—I was unable to complete the assignment on time. But I’m almost done, I promise.”

Ray sighed, rubbing his temples as he rose out of bed, feeling the stiffness in his own joints.

”Medicine after death. It’s already morning, so what is the point of a promise now?”

He stretched his limbs and then began walking toward the door, causing Van to lift an inquisitive eyebrow.

”Where are you headed?”

”None of your business. Face your work,” Ray replied flatly.

With that, Ray twisted the knob and walked out of the room, leaving the quiet dorm behind.

He was ready to complete his daily quest before the official training schedule began.

Van just stared at the closed door blankly.

His eyes blinked slowly for a few seconds before he let out a tired sigh, shrugged his shoulders, and turned back toward the intricate machinery on his desk.

’You can’t understand, Ray. I need to complete this. A nice prize awaits me after I’m done. Once I secure that reward, I will finally be able to work toward finding out what is truly wrong with me.’

Van paused for a moment, his hands hovering over the components as he stared at the window, which was still covered by a thick curtain.

’... Why is it that whenever I touch a piece of machinery, I can almost communicate with it? The sensation is faint, but I know it’s there. I feel like if I can tap deep into that connection, I will unlock something vital about who I actually am.’

He paused again, a shadow of sadness crossing his face.

’... I have never met my father before, and my mum refused to say anything about him before she passed away. I need to know more about my heritage.’