12 Miles Below - Book 2 - Interlude - Atius

In a world consumed by monsters and chaos, survival is a cruel game of fate.Every year, the system selects a group of unwilling teenagers by lottery to fight, a death sentence Olivia didn’t ask for. Betrayed by her family and forced to fight, Olivia barely escaped death.In her near-death encounter, her system awakens….. only to deem her abilities “Useless”. But a chance encounter with a mysterious white snake sets her on an unforeseen path.Now, with the monsters lurking in the shadow, she has one goal: survive, grow stronger, and uncover the truth behind her fate.Survival is just the beginning. The real war is yet to come.

At level 2, most people unlocked their first talent; those who didn’t were considered fortunate, as they had the potential to unlock rarer talents requiring higher levels. The world’s most rare and powerful talents were revealed at level 5. But what if someone didn’t obtain a talent? Luck quickly turned to misfortune as they were labeled talentless, with no hope of gaining a talent. Sol was one such person who was unable to unlock his talent, but he refused to give up. He persistently fought and trained every day, slowly increasing his level despite the disadvantage in skills. He held onto the hope that, one day, he would be bestowed with a talent like everyone else. As years passed, his determination began to wane until one fateful day. You have leveled up! +5 Free stats. Talent Unlocked - [Siphoner]! This event marked the beginning of his story.

With just three sentences, you convinced the Paladin to spend five thousand Gold Coins for you.You truly are a master of the Undead who thoroughly understands human nature!…“Respected Master Amberser, after our review by the editors at 'Legendary Spells' Publishing, we regret to inform you that your paper 'Research on the Non-Humanoid Form Modification of Undead Creatures' is unsuitable for publication in our monthly magazine. We suggest that you submit your work to a magical academic journal with less stringent review requirements.”A burst of ghostly blue flame erupted from the tips of fingers, reducing the rejection letter.“Damn it! You bastards are purely discriminating against liches, discriminating against undead magic!!!”“Drop dead!”