My Life Changed with the Unlimited System

The stars glimmered faintly overhead, their light barely illuminating the winding path back to the hut. The crisp night air carried a sense of calm, but within the group, the tension was palpable as Elias continued his tale.

Marie and Celia walked beside him, their eyes reflecting both curiosity and unease. At the same time, Ethan, a step behind, wrestled with the weight of what he had just heard.

Ethan's voice broke the silence, low but steady. "Elias… what did Captain Cole mean when he said, 'This is just the beginning'?"

Elias paused mid-step, glancing at Ethan with a faint smile that seemed both knowing and wistful. "Ah," he said, his tone thoughtful. "That was the moment when the world changed. When more Ascendants began to emerge."

Marie tilted her head, her curiosity evident. "More Ascendants?" Find more to read at My Virtual Library Empire

Elias nodded, resuming his pace. "You see, Captain Cole wasn't the first Ascendant, but he was among the strongest. His actions at Stonepeak Ridge shook the world, and as the stories of his feats spread, so too did whispers of others like him."

He cast a glance at Ethan. "Some of the Ancient Families—the great lineages that had long held power—already had Ascendants within their bloodlines. These were individuals who had inherited their abilities and nurtured them over generations. Captain Cole, however, didn't come from such a background. He was different."

"Different, how?" Ethan asked, his brow furrowing.

Elias's smile deepened, tinged with admiration. "He was an orphan. He had no grand lineage, no inherited power, and no prestigious name to bolster his reputation. Yet, he stood among the greatest. That made him a threat—not just to his enemies, but to those who held power in the shadows."

Celia's sharp voice broke in. "A threat? To the Ancient Families? Why would they care?"

Elias sighed, his expression growing serious. "Because power fears what it cannot control. When word of Captain Cole's strength reached the Ancient Families and other nations, they began to scheme. To them, his independence, his defiance of the natural order they believed in, was dangerous."

Marie frowned, her voice quieter. "What did they do?"

Elias's gaze grew distant. "They sought to control him. And how better to control a man than to take what he holds dearest? They targeted his family—his wife and two sons."

The weight of those words hung heavily in the air. Ethan's eyes narrowed. "And did they succeed?"

Elias shook his head, his voice firm. "No. They underestimated one crucial thing—his family wasn't unguarded."

"What do you mean?" Ethan pressed.

Elias stopped walking, turning fully to face them. His expression was grave but laced with an odd flicker of awe. "His family was protected by something—a magical beast. A guardian unlike any other. It was unseen most of the time, but when the situation grew dire, it revealed itself."

Ethan's curiosity was piqued. "What kind of beast?"

Elias's lips curved into a faint smile. "I've seen it only once. A shadowy figure, immense and powerful, its very presence bending reality around it. It wasn't a creature of this world. It was… something ancient. Something tied to Captain Cole's very existence."

Marie gasped softly, her eyes wide. "You've never told us this before, Elias."

Celia crossed her arms, her sharp gaze fixed on him. "Not once. You've told us stories about Captain Cole for years, and this… this you kept to yourself?"

Elias chuckled softly, the sound carrying a hint of regret. "Not everything is meant to be shared, Celia. Some truths are better left buried. But now, with Ethan here, I suppose it's time you learned."

Ethan exchanged glances with Marie and Celia, his mind racing. The idea of a magical beast tied to Captain Cole's family was almost too fantastical to believe, yet everything Elias said carried the weight of truth.

He couldn't help but wonder what kind of connection such a creature had to the man who had become a living legend.

And deep inside, a single thought lingered in Ethan's mind, 'What if Captain Cole had a system like me?'

Celia's voice broke the silence, sharp and inquisitive. "Elias, why share all of this now when Ethan is here? What's the difference?"

Elias chuckled his tone light yet knowing. "Celia, you always ask the sharpest questions." He glanced at Ethan, his eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief. "Let's just say I believe it has something to do with him."

Marie's eyes widened slightly, and she gasped as if struck by a sudden realization. "Wait, does that mean… Elias, do you think Ethan is Captain Cole's descendant?"

Ethan blinked, his steps faltering for a moment. "Descendant?" he echoed, his voice tinged with disbelief. "Even if that's true—which I highly doubt—I wouldn't have any way to verify it. Not with my memories gone. Honestly, even if I did have them, I don't think I'd know how to prove something like that."

Elias waved a hand dismissively, his pace unbroken. "Don't worry about that. What matters is that you're here now. Out of every other place in this vast world, you were sent here. That has to mean something."

Ethan fell silent, the weight of Elias's words settling over him. He wasn't sure if he believed them, but there was a quiet conviction in Elias's voice that made him wonder.

"Well," Elias continued, a faint smile playing on his lips. "We might as well finish the tale—especially about what happened to someone as strong as Captain Cole."

Marie's face lit with excitement, though her tone carried a hint of exasperation. "You'd better! I've been asking about that for years, and you never told us what happened. All we know is that you, Mara, and Tanner stayed here to guard this place. And now, you're the only one left."

Celia's gaze narrowed, her expression unreadable. "You've always dodged that part of the story, Elias."

Elias sighed, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his face before he smiled again. "It's a tale I've never wanted to tell before now," he admitted. "But maybe, with Ethan here, it's time."

Ethan exchanged a glance with Marie and Celia, and they were all excited for Elias to continue.

"After the war," Elias began, "Captain Cole decided to take the three of us—me, Mara, and Tanner—under his wing. We still acted as soldiers, but now we had a far more specialized role. We were assigned to monitor this region. He was convinced that more demons would eventually come, and he wasn't wrong."

"For fifty years," Elias continued, his tone lightening slightly, "he trained us like madmen. Not a day went by without some insane challenge he set for us and demons. And somewhere along the way, we stopped calling him Captain Cole. We started calling him Richard."

Marie smiled faintly at the mention of the name. "Richard," she repeated softly. "It's strange to think of someone like that having such a… normal name."

Elias chuckled. "That's what made him so grounded. But don't mistake the man for being ordinary. There were times when highly powerful Ascendants from other regions came here to cause trouble."

Ethan frowned. "Ascendants? Why?"

"They accused Dalkorr of plotting something similar to the Feroshians," Elias explained, his voice darkening slightly. "The fear of another demon invasion lingered for years, and paranoia was rampant. At first, Richard dealt with those Ascendants himself. Later, he let the three of us handle them. It was part of our growth, he said."

Marie, her curiosity always getting the better of her, asked, "What about the Feroshians? Did they come back?"

Elias shook his head. "No. After the war, alliances formed between nations to ensure their eradication. The Feroshians were hunted down relentlessly, their strongholds razed, and their people scattered. By the end, they ceased to exist as a nation."

Ethan's expression tightened, his voice low. "That's… that's cruel."

Celia interjected before Elias could respond, her tone matter-of-fact. "There's always cruelty and unfairness in this world, Ethan. Sometimes, it's unavoidable."

Elias nodded, his face grave. "It's true. War has a way of blurring the lines between justice and brutality. But our task remained clear. We weren't just guarding this place against demon invasions; we also traveled with Richard on missions. He'd take one of us at a time to far-off places. He called them missions, but… looking back, they were so much more."

Ethan fell silent, but inwardly, his thoughts churned. Missions. Tasks across the world. A growing sense of power and responsibility. 'It's starting to make sense,' he thought. 'Could Captain Cole really have had a system, too?'

Elias's voice broke his reverie. "That's when the three of us started making names for ourselves. People began calling the three of us the Three Dark Kings. And as for Richard… he was labeled a demon himself."

Marie couldn't help but say, "That's ridiculous."

Elias chuckled. "Oh, it was more than ridiculous. They tried to associate us with the very demons we were fighting to protect them from. But that's the way of the world—people fear what they don't understand."

Ethan's brow furrowed, and he asked, "But… if all of this was happening, why didn't the other Ascendants help?"

Before Elias could answer, Marie jumped in, a spark of pride in her voice. "Because not everyone knows the Demon Slaying Techniques, Ethan. You can't just fight a demon of your rank without it unless you're exceptionally powerful. It's why people like Celia and me—well, let's just say we're a little special."

Ethan raised an eyebrow at her boast, but before he could respond, his mind wandered back to something nagging at him. "But I don't know anything about Demon Slaying Techniques," he said slowly. "And yet, I've fought demons…"

His words trailed off as realization struck him. The bullets. The bullets Elias had given him. They were infused with Elias's Ascendant energy.

Celia smirked, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Well, congratulations. You can use your brain, after all."

Elias laughed heartily, patting Ethan on the back. "Now, now, no need to be so tense. I still have a story to finish."

His expression sobered slightly as he continued. "As time went on, Richard took us on fewer and fewer missions. The demons coming out of the rift grew stronger—some even a rank below him. We had our hands full just keeping this place safe."

Elias's tone deepened, and his gaze grew distant. "That's when he told us. He had an important mission of his own. And he had others he needed to pass on to us."

Something shifted in the air, a weight settling over the group. Even Celia's usual sharpness softened as she glanced at Elias.

"What kind of mission?" Ethan asked, his voice tentative.

Elias didn't answer immediately. His face darkened, and his next words came with a gravity that made the air seem heavier. "A mission that changed everything."