Level Up The Colony
Chapter 67: Keycard

Chapter 67: Keycard

[Item: Ring] (Bound to: Timothy Walter)

Name: Bride’s Prayer

Rank: S

Effect: Absorbs all negative energy, emotions, and miasma directed at the host.

[Skills]

Amplify – Stored energy can be used to boost one of the host’s stats by a certain percentage.

Refill – Stored energy can restore cooldown-based skills, HP, or MP.

Note: Energy requirements increase with each use.

Energy: 0/10

...

"An S-rank item? No, this isn’t just an item, this is an artifact." Timothy muttered

The word "item" felt too mundane for something like this.

S-rank? Forget the skill he just got, this made his entire day.

The abilities of an S rank were a dream to rankers and he had one here with him

He was sure he hadn’t chosen this ring himself, which meant it was likely a parting gift from the bride.

The name certainly hinted at it.

That, however, brought something else to mind, what the bride had said to him before she died.

He didn’t know why, but monsters with intellect were always harder to kill.

The only one he had defeated was the wyvern and that had been sheer dumb luck.

Both the goblin and the bride had different purposes.

They weren’t meant for him to defeat, but rather to test him.

It’s not like he could’ve defeated them either way.

He didn’t dwell too much on the ring or the bride, moving on to the final notification: the special reward.

Just then, a loud metallic clang cut through the air as a long piece of metal fell out of thin air into the bathroom.

Both Timothy and Gray jumped back instinctively.

Thankfully, the bathroom had enough space, or else they’d be scrambling naked into the living room; Timothy might have actually died of embarrassment if anyone had seen him like that.

They stared at the object on the floor.

It was familiar.

Very familiar.

It hadn’t even been long since they’d last seen it.

The system had rewarded him with the very same spear that had impaled the bride.

A special reward, it claimed.

’This has to be a joke’ Timothy thought

The system displayed its stats:

[Item: Spear (Weapon)]

Name: Spear of Rot

Rank: A

Attack: 100

Effect: Can only be wielded by those willing to sacrifice or they will be the sacrifice.

[Skills]

Judgement Aura – All within a certain radius have a chance to deteriorate.

Judgment – The greatest sacrifice is oneself.

Note: The price of true freedom is death.

Bound to you as the next after releasing the bride.

...

The note felt like a cruel reminder, almost as if the bride herself had written it, echoing the very last thing she whispered to him.

A weapon he couldn’t use again.

Powerful but suicidal.

If not for the binding, Timothy would have seriously considered selling it.

A C-rank weapon could fetch 50 million naira, a B-rank ten times that. An A-rank? Easily over a billion.

His greed stirred.

He knew he couldn’t sell it, but still, the thought...

Instead, he activated Armament and quickly stored the spear in his inventory.

He made up his mind then and there: no matter what happened, he was never bringing that thing out again.

Finally, he checked the last notification, it was about the scarf.

He hadn’t forgotten it needed to grow, but until now, he had no idea how.

He wasn’t holding it at the moment, so he wasn’t sure if the system would display its status, but then

...

[Item: Silk Cloth ???]

Rarity: C

Type: Control frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

...

There were no major changes to the status aside from its rank.

That meant something had changed, it just wasn’t visible yet.

Timothy didn’t think too deeply about it.

As long as the scarf was growing, whether in power or just durability, he was satisfied.

His biggest worry was that it might tear and become useless.

Now that Timothy was done checking his notifications, it was finally time to step out of the bathroom.

The rewards from yesterday’s raid had been worth the trouble, he was more than pleased.

Just as he was about to close the system panel, it refreshed on its own.

A new prompt appeared alongside his updated stats: Choose a reward; Blessed Box or Cursed Box.

Instead of rushing the decision, Timothy scrolled through his stats.

They’d been steadily improving, and he noticed he had 33 unassigned stat points from his recent level-ups.

His stamina, in particular, was sitting at a healthy 70.

The curiosity itched at him.

What would happen if I pushed it to 100? The intrusive thought wouldn’t leave.

His intelligence pushed to 100, earned him a new skill.

Tempted by the chance of unlocking a new skill, Timothy dumped all 30 points into stamina.

...

[You have reached a threshold.]

[You have gained a new Title.]

[Title: A Working Man]

Stamina consumption was reduced by 20%.

...

He blinked, baffled.

"Huh?"

The system even added a thumbs-down icon next to the notification, which felt oddly personal.

"...Isn’t this basically just a passive skill?" he muttered.

But then he paused.

’Wait... aren’t all titles just passive skills?’ he thought

He rolled his eyes at his own logic and let the thought slide.

He didn’t feel any immediate change in his body, no surge of power, no divine aura.

Just the same lingering fatigue sitting at 20 like always.

Then his eyes landed on something else besides the title section: [Evolution: Unavailable].

He sighed.

Forget leveling up, if evolution were available, he’d take it in a heartbeat.

New skills? Maybe even wings? He’d be flying by evening.

’One day’ he thought to himself. One day. He daydreamed.

Further down, his hybrid trait now displayed:

[Trait: Hybrid (Unstable) 2%]

2%? What did that even mean? Two percent progress? Or two percent corrupted? He wasn’t sure, but it didn’t feel good.

His thoughts drifted back to his battle with the Human King, the way his arm had darkened.

Then, to the time he went berserk against the sirens.

He couldn’t remember all of it, but he remembered enough to know something was wrong with his body.

The system had warned him about permanent damage, but what could he have done? There were no doctors for something like this... or were there?

He was beginning to realize he might’ve been looking at things too narrowly.

But still, if the system couldn’t help him, what could?

And then came the question,

"Would evolution help me?"

Only one creature might know the answer since it had its own evolution waiting.

Timothy turned toward Gray, who was now lying on its back, seemingly playing with its antennae like an innocent bug.

He posed the question, and the reply came instantly through their mental link.

"Not satisfied. Need more time. Eat!" Gray communicated in a burst of thought.

With its Mind Skill now at level 3, talking was getting smoother almost too natural.

"Well, just let me know when it’s time," Timothy replied.

Not because he had plans, but because he wanted to witness the process himself.

The conclusion was obvious now.

Evolution was locked because of his unstable trait.

That was the most reasonable explanation.

Timothy leaned against the bathroom wall, thinking more about the hybrid trait.

So far, the poison immunity had been the only benefit.

Beyond that, it felt more like a ticking time bomb than an advantage.

His status now looked like

...

[Status ]

Name: Timothy Walter [Evolution Unavailable]

Title: Goblin Slayer, Mount, A Hardworking Man.

Trait: Hybrid (Unstable) 2%

Level: 33

HP: 21,000

MP: 200

Fatigue: 20

Strength: 60

Stamina: 100

Agility: 60

Intelligence: 100

Perception: 60

Free Stat Points: 3

[Skills]

King <Unknown> – Lv. Max

Dash – Lv. 2

Pheromones <Passive> – Lv. 4

Armament <Enhanced> – Lv. 1

Tenacity <Passive> – Lv. 1

Colony Genesis <Active> – Lv. 2

Force <Passive> – Lv. 1

Mana Control <Passive> – Lv. 1

Escape <Passive> – Lv. 1

[Colony] <5>

Silverback Termite (Gray) – Lv. 33 [Evolution Available]

Silverback Termite (Rex) – Lv. 6

Silverback Termite (Vox) – Lv. 6

Silverback Termite (Pax) – Lv. 6

Silverback Termite (Lux) – Lv. 6

...

His gaze shifted back to the reward options.

The Blessed Box.

The Cursed Box.

What do I want... or what do I need?

He wanted to fly, he couldn’t lie about that.

But did that mean he’d just grow wings? What kind? Angelic? Demonic? Insectoid? His mind raced with images of dragons, fairies, and mutated bird wings.

The blessed box felt like rubbing a genie’s lamp.

But the truth? He didn’t know what he wanted most.

What he needed... was peace.

Peace of mind.

Freedom.

Liar, a voice in his head whispered.

Frustrated with himself, Timothy chose the second option on impulse.

The Cursed Box.

The moment he selected it, the virtual box opened, and an ominous black miasma poured out, swirling around him like ink in water.

Timothy instinctively wrapped a towel around his waist, feeling exposed.

Priorities misplaced.

His inventory blinked open on its own.

A faint shimmer caught his attention before a familiar item shot out, spinning mid-air.

The black keycard.

The reward he’d received at level 25 was now partially streaked in gold.

Just as quickly, the gold was swallowed by black, turning darker than before as it absorbed all the surrounding miasma. Then it dropped into his palm even more heavier and Colder.

...

[Keycard: Hell’s Colosseum]

Grade: ??

Entry Limit: 5

...

A fresh system window followed, revealing the keycard’s new status.

The rank was now unknown.

Mysterious.

Even the name, Hell’s Colosseum sounded like a trap.

There was also a faint, barely visible imprint etched into the card.

Timothy tried tracing it with his finger, trying to make out what it was.

Then came the prompt:

[Do you want to use Keycard?]

Timothy stared at it.

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