Warlock of War: My Ares System

Surprisingly, the ring sparkled as if it was reacting with the blue liquid.

But, the reaction soon disappeared as the ring returned to its normal, dry, and dull state.

I noticed this and immediately poured the entire bottle onto the ring, and none of the liquid spilled as everything was absorbed into the center gem.

[You have successfully reawakened your ring]

.

[You have completed the Hidden Quest: Awaken a Piece of Magical Equipment]

[Reward has been granted]

[The next Hidden Quest will be revealed once ready]

.

All of a sudden, two earrings with long, dark purple fabrics that had the patterns of what looked to be a moth's wing appeared in my hand.

They were quite strange as the fabric fell all the way down to my shoulders when I placed them near my unpierced earlobe, where I assume they were supposed to go…

"*sigh*... This is why I hate these rewards. Give me such an interesting-looking thing but don't tell me a single thing about it… So stupid," I muttered before opening my status.

『Status』

[Name: Orion]

[Race: Human]

[Class: War Spearsman]

[Level: 1/35] (0/200) XP Needed

[HP: 50/50 MP: 25/25 SP: 35/35] - Normal Human

[Strength: 34] - Normal Human

[Defense: 25] - Normal Human

[Magic: 25] - Normal Human

[Speed: 33] - Normal Human

[Skills: [Tangible Bloodlust] [Spear Coating] [Berserk Coating] [Cloak of Blood] [Empower] [Scout]

[Passive Skills: [Toxic Immunity] [Toxic Body] [Night Vision]

[Equipment: [Magic Ring] [Paralysis Barrier Ring]

…

"Wait, that's actually really good," I muttered upon seeing the effects of this awakened ring.

Five was a significant amount, especially for the stats which I don't specialize in, such as magic and defense.

DING DONG

But I had no time to think any further as the bell for first period had rung.

…

"Orion! Is Orion here!?" The teacher's voice finally came into range as I turned around the school building.

"Yes! I'm here!" I shouted.

I didn't have Magic Theory for first period today but Spear Theory, so I met up with my class towards the back of the school, where we all gathered in order to take a bus to New York.

"Why are you late?" He asks as I take a knee in order to catch my breath.

I sprinted at full speed and still arrived late.

"Sorry. I have no excuse," I replied before walking over to Cy and Treyni, who were already conversing… kind of.

Cy was trying to provoke Treyni into having a duel with him right here, on the spot, but she was calm and collected as she held her sword tight to her body.

Treyni was part of Sword Theory, obviously, since she practices with a sword, but there were some others from our friend group which we weren't that familiar with… so we didn't talk with them.

"Sorry about him," I quickly apologized before elbowing Cy in the stomach.

"God damn… When did you get so strong?" He mutters, trying to catch his breath that had quickly exited via my hit.

"I dunno… Anyway, let's get the back of the bus," I suggested as the bus we were taking rolled up next to us.

Maybe one more class up, and I can make up for my skill with stats...

…

The drive was only about ten minutes, and the view wasn't as spectacular as I had initially thought.

But, everything got much more interesting as soon as I looked up at the hill, which tortured me for half my waking life…

The tower was back.

I was calm, yet I could feel my blood slightly boil.

I made sure not to show any anger and suppressed it deep down to where even I couldn't reach or grab it.

"It's bad to do that," Treyni muttered, speaking for the first time since we arrived on the bus.

"To do what?" Cy asks, ready to fight.

"Orion. It's bad to do that," Tryeni guided her speech towards me, and I rolled my eyes before glancing back at the magic tower piercing through the clouds.

Soon, after about five more minutes, we took a sharp turn towards the top of the hill, and I began to question what we were doing.

Or maybe… we were going towards that dungeon that I had encountered early in my second life?

I still hadn't forgotten about that damn metal ant, but the stronger I became, the more I realized the gap between my power and the boss's power.

The ants were surprisingly strong, but I guess I did know their weakness… and that was fire.

"We are taking a slight detour in order to show you a very monumental building. It is used to hold the most dangerous of prisoners, and it was even able to hold the traitorous Arch Mage that plotted to control the world," The teacher announced to the bus as we soon reached the top of the hill.

Upon laying my eyes on the grass streaked with tiny bits of blood and a large crater still denting the top of the hill like an unwanted tattoo… my blood boiled.

[A few gods sit on the edge of their seats]

[A few gods smile sadistically as they wait for your next move]

[A few gods encourage you to storm the cloud-piercing tower before you]

"It's bad to do that," Treyni said as she suddenly placed her hand on my shoulder.

"My bad," I muttered before taking a calming breath.

I ignored the teacher's words each time he mentioned the traitorous archmage as I knew he was talking about my mother.

I didn't care if she was a traitor, an evil magician, a villain who wanted to take control of the world, but in my eyes, she was still a loving mother…

"Alright, let's continue our trip to New York. We don't have any free time as we only have a day to spend in this booked-out dungeon, so be prepared to fight. Anybody who doesn't have gear will come to me once we arrive there,"

"Yes, sir," We all replied before hopping back onto the bus.

The few minute drive into the city felt long and tedious as I kept glancing back at the tall magic tower.