Across town, Airam continued smiling from the other side of Maria’s mirror.
At the same time, Dante remained awake in the hotel room while Jennifer slept beneath the blankets.
The room still showed signs of the long night they had spent together.
A lamp stood crooked beside the bed and several pillows had fallen onto the carpet.
Jennifer slept so deeply that even the distant noise from the concert venue failed to disturb her.
Dante sat on the edge of the mattress and looked at her peaceful face.
He gently pulled the blanket higher over her shoulders before standing and walking toward the window.
The hotel bordered a large wooded property behind the concert venue.
Moonlight passed between the trees and covered the ground in pale silver.
Dante was about to close the curtains when three figures caught his attention.
They moved quickly toward the woods while repeatedly checking behind them.
Their behavior made it obvious that they did not want anyone to follow.
Dante narrowed his eyes and watched them disappear between the trees.
A faint blue light flickered deeper within the forest a few seconds later.
The strange glow seemed to pulse beneath the ground.
“Nothing suspicious about that.” Dante glanced back at Jennifer.
She remained asleep and showed no sign of waking soon.
He quietly dressed and slipped out of the room.
After closing the door behind him, he headed downstairs and crossed the empty property toward the woods.
Dead leaves cracked beneath his shoes as he followed the path taken by the three strangers.
The blue light grew brighter until he noticed several fresh footprints leading toward a sunken area of ground.
Three young men stood near the edge of a deep opening.
One of them held a video camera while the other two examined the strange tunnel beneath them.
They seemed excited rather than frightened.
Dante recognized them after moving closer.
Andrew Detmer carried the camera.
Matt Garetty stood beside him while Steve Montgomery prepared to climb into the opening.
Dante’s expression changed as a familiar movie scene returned to his memory.
The three of them were from Chronicle.
Beneath the ground was a strange crystalline object that would grant them telekinetic abilities.
Their powers would begin as harmless entertainment before Andrew’s unstable emotions transformed everything into a disaster.
Steve stepped closer to the opening.
Dante raised his voice before any of them could climb down.
“Hey!
What are you three doing?” All three young men spun around.
Dante walked toward them with a flashlight raised.
“This is private property.
You can’t be back here.” Andrew immediately lowered his camera.
Matt exchanged a nervous look with Steve before deciding that explaining the situation would create more trouble.
The three turned and ran without saying anything.
Dante watched them disappear through the trees.
“That was easier than expected.” He had prepared himself for an argument or at least a poor excuse.
Instead, the future telekinetic trio had abandoned the discovery without putting up any resistance.
Dante approached the opening and shone his flashlight inside.
The narrow tunnel descended steeply into the earth while the strange blue glow pulsed far below.
His excitement began to rise.
Andrew, Matt, and Steve had gained telekinesis simply by approaching the crystal.
Dante already possessed a System capable of absorbing supernatural objects and transforming their power.
The result could be far greater for him.
He placed the flashlight between his teeth and climbed into the opening.
The passage was steep enough that he eventually stopped trying to walk and slid down the damp ground.
Dante landed inside a larger underground chamber.
The air smelled of wet stone, soil, and decaying leaves.
Strange vibrations passed through the surrounding walls as though something beneath the earth was breathing.
He followed the light through the twisting passage.
The blue glow became brighter with every step until the beam from his flashlight was no longer necessary.
Dante turned the final corner and stopped.
A massive crystalline structure filled the chamber ahead.
Its uneven surface released waves of blue and violet light.
Thin veins of energy moved beneath the crystal like blood flowing through a living body.
The object was much larger than it appeared in the movie.
Its presence caused a faint pressure inside Dante’s head and made every hair on his arms rise.
He slowly approached.
The crystal reacted to his presence.
Its light grew brighter while a deep sound moved through the cavern.
Dante could feel invisible energy surrounding him.
It pressed against his body and seemed to examine every part of him.
He extended one hand.
The moment his palm touched the crystal, a violent pulse struck his mind.
Ding!
[Unknown psychic energy detected.] [Compatible supernatural ability identified.] [Absorbing psychic energy…] Power rushed from the crystal and entered Dante’s body.
A sharp pressure formed behind his eyes while information flooded his mind.
He suddenly understood how to touch objects without using his hands.
Distance felt meaningless because everything around him had become something his thoughts could reach.
The System continued processing the energy.
[Telekinesis acquired.] [Telekinesis strengthened.] [Telekinesis strengthened.] [Telekinesis strengthened.] [Telekinesis strengthened.] [Ability upgraded.] [Telekinesis EX acquired.] Dante’s eyes widened.
The crystal had granted Andrew and his friends ordinary telekinesis that required weeks of training to develop.
His System had absorbed the entire source and compressed its power into a far more advanced ability.
The transfer did not stop there.
[Excess psychic energy cannot be integrated.] [Converting excess energy into Gold Coins.] [51,879 Gold Coins obtained.] The crystal’s blue glow disappeared.
A deep red light immediately spread through its surface.
Cracks formed across the chamber walls as the entire underground structure began shaking.
Small rocks fell around Dante.
“That can’t be good.” A section of the ceiling collapsed behind him.
Dante pulled his hand away and ran toward the passage.
The red crystal pulsed faster as he escaped.
Each flash caused another violent tremor to move through the cavern.
Dante raised one hand while running.
Several large rocks fell toward him, but they stopped in midair before reaching his head.
His new telekinesis caught them without effort and hurled them aside.
More debris crashed into the passage.
Dante pushed against it with his mind and sent the stones flying back into the collapsing chamber.
Telekinesis EX responded like another limb.
There was no delay and almost no mental strain.
Anything within his awareness could be moved the moment he focused on it.
Dante reached the steep tunnel leading toward the surface.
Instead of climbing, he wrapped telekinetic force around his body and launched himself upward.
He shot through the opening just as the ground collapsed beneath him.
Dante landed several yards away and turned toward the site.
The entrance folded inward as soil, roots, and stone filled the hole.
A final red glow flashed beneath the ground.
Then everything became still.
Dante approached the place where the entrance had been.
Only flat earth and scattered leaves remained beneath the moonlight.
It looked as though the tunnel had never existed.
“That takes care of the original plot.” Without the crystal, Andrew, Matt, and Steve would never gain their powers.
The destruction caused by Andrew’s breakdown might never happen in this world.
Dante raised his hand and looked toward a fallen branch.
The branch floated from the ground.
He rotated his wrist and caused it to spin several times before sending it through the trees like a spear.
The wood struck a distant trunk and shattered from the impact.
A satisfied smile appeared on Dante’s face.
Telekinesis EX was far more powerful than he expected.
He returned to the hotel before anyone noticed his absence.
After quietly entering the room, he found Jennifer sleeping in the same position as before.
Dante went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.
Warm water washed away the dirt and dust from the underground passage.
Once he finished, he changed into clean clothes and returned to bed.
Jennifer shifted closer in her sleep as Dante pulled the blanket over both of them.
The psychic energy inside his body still felt unfamiliar, but exhaustion soon overcame his excitement.
He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, sunlight entered through the gap between the curtains.
Dante woke before Jennifer and remained still for several moments while remembering the events beneath the woods.
He raised one hand.
A glass of water floated from the nightstand and stopped above his palm.
Dante moved his fingers and made the glass rotate without spilling a single drop.
The ability felt completely natural.
He returned the glass to the table and opened the System panel.
[Name: Dante] [Gender: Male] [Age: 18] [Main Quest: ???] [Inventory: Ebony & Ivory, Sterling Silver Cross ×2, Gourmet Tablecloth, Ox Talisman, One-Star Dragon Ball] [Abilities: Eidetic Memory, Sun-Blessed Constitution, Charm +1, Holy Light Effect — Basic, Purification, Telekinesis EX] [Pet: Marquis] [Achievements: Ghost Hazard — Caused a ghost to trip over you three times] [Gold Coins: 51,879] [Basic Draw: 1,000 Gold Coins for ten draws] [Standard Draw: 100,000 Gold Coins for ten draws] [Premium Draw: 1,000,000 Gold Coins for ten draws] [Mythic Draw: 100,000,000 Gold Coins for ten draws] Dante stared at the Gold Coin total.
The crystal’s remaining energy had been converted after the System finished strengthening his telekinesis.
The amount was enough for fifty-one Basic ten-draws with several hundred Gold Coins left over.
That meant more than five hundred rewards.
The number sounded tempting, but Dante remembered how his previous Basic draw had begun.
Tissues, condoms, pantyhose, and a useless lighting effect had consumed the first several slots.
He had eventually received incredible rewards, yet there was no guarantee that another massive group of Basic draws would be equally generous.
Dante imagined filling his inventory with hundreds of tissue packets, toothbrushes, socks, and other worthless items.
The thought made his excitement fade.
A Standard ten-draw cost one hundred thousand Gold Coins.
It would take longer to reach, but its rewards should be far better than those from the Basic tier.
Spending everything now could leave him with nothing except a mountain of household supplies.
Dante closed the draw screen.
“I’ll save the coins.” He looked toward the glass on the nightstand and lifted it again with his mind.
Telekinesis EX was already one of the strongest abilities he possessed.
Before chasing another reward, he needed to discover exactly what it could do.