CHAPTER 2: THE SYSTEM
DING---
[Congratulation the host for regaining he lost memory]
[ Now system has been Activated]
[ System has been merging with the world status with the host]
[Merging completed]
The voice in my head faded into a low resonant hum and then a faint blue screen shimmered before his eyes. it's really unbelievable that he got a system. Before him was like a hologram stitched into the air.
[Gift Pack Available: would you like to open it now?]
[YES/NO]
My gamer brain kicked in instantly, at this moment he knows that he was not going to lives an ordinary life.
"Uh… yes. Obviously yes Motherfucker…"
The screen pulsed and lines of light spiralled outward.
[Opening Gift Pack…]
[Congratulations! You have received]
-------------------
+5 free stats
1x Affinity Selection Card
1x Skill Selection card
----------------------------------
The cards hovered before me, spinning lazily. Each one gave off an aura that made my fingers twitch like they were hovering over mouse click.
"Alright", I murmured and, in my mind, I command 'use Affinity selection Card'.
[Select only one from the list:
Fire, Water, Dark ,Space]
My based affinity is Ice Element but I rank 1 of this know which element I should select, the gamer freak in me knew it which one to select as soon it shown on option list.
"Space" I respond to the system my choice.
Space affinity was ridiculously rare in The Eclipse of Hero. I'd destroyed plenty of opponents in PvP using it.
DING__
[Host acquired Space Element Affinity]
After that my whole body feel an energy pour inside me. It feels like a shockwave of cold and weightlessness rippled through me. For a brief second, it felt like I'd stepped sideways through the world and snapped back.
Next, the Skill Selection Card. Flicking through the projected list felt like scrolling through an old in-game menu. The choices were tempting, combat skills, magic techniques but then I saw it: Shadow Swap. Purple rank. My old bread-and-butter in PvP, the ultimate "now you see me, now you don't" move. There only 6 option available with 2 green skills, 2 blue skills and 2 purple skills.
A sharp chime rang in my head.
[Skill Acquired: Shadow Swap (Purple Rank)]
Finally, my status window unfolded.
---
STATUS
Name: Michael Willson
Age: 15
Class: Magic Swordsman
Traits: Mana Manipulation – Control and optimize internal mana flow with precision.
Rank: F-
Affinity: Ice, Space
Strength (STR): 35
Stamina (STA): 24
Speed (AGI): 26
Endurance (ENC): 75
Intelligence (INT): 43
Mana: 577 / 680
Skills: Sword Swift (Green), Shadow Swap (Purple)
Arts: Basic Swordsmanship (Novice – 87%)
---
A low whistle escaped me. For an "extra" character in the story, this was a disgustingly good start. I'd seen many main characters with worse opening stats in hundreds of games and novels.
Unfortunately, stats didn't feed you. My stomach growled. It seems like he has not eaten food from the last night. He stands up from the floor and walk towards the door of his room.
This inn was near a dungeon area and has a low security and fancy room. Here high rank hunter doesn't stay only some low rank roaming mercenary stay and commoners. I was staying on the first floor and now I am walking down the stairs to the common area.
The inn's common area hit me with a wave of heat and sound. Long wooden tables ran the length of the room, lit by hanging oil lamps. Hunters in mismatched Armor swapped dungeon stories over tankards, while the clink of cutlery and the sizzle of meat from the kitchen made my mouth water.
"Mickael, lad," the innkeeper greeted me from behind the counter. He was a thickset man with greying hair and forearms like hammers. "You've been holed up in that room all day. Training?"
"Something like that," I said, sliding onto a stool. "What's on the menu?"
Behind the innkeeper someone came. It was his wife.
His wife round, cheerful, and something nice smell faintly of bread appeared with a tray. "Grilled boar, fresh from the hunters who came in this afternoon. Bread's just out of the oven, and there's stew if you like it."
"Meat, bread, and orange juice," I said without hesitation.
The plate arrived steaming, the boar glistening with a glaze I didn't recognize. I took a bite—and stopped. Sweet, smoky, with just enough spice to make my tongue tingle.
"This," I said around a mouthful, "is dangerous. I might move in just for the food."
The innkeeper chuckled. "You pay on time, I won't complain."
"Speaking of…" I handed over 140 Ren. My pouch now held 657 Ren. Per day stay at inn coast 100 ren and food coast him 40 ren. He does have worry of money anymore because the system has currency exchange system, where 1 SP is = 10 ren. In SP terms, that was just sixty-five points—enough for a cheap potion in the system shop.
I lingered in the common area after eating, listening. Hunters talked about dungeon runs, caravan jobs, and rumours from Atlan City. Most of it was noise, but I caught mention of "unusual deaths" among academy applicants. My grip tightened on my mug.
Back in my room, the system pinged.
[New Quest: Day 1 Training Regimen
Sword Swings – (0 / 1,000) Run – (0 / 5 km) Push-ups – (0 / 200)
Rewards: +1 Free Stat, +2 STA, +100 SP]
I lay down on the bed and looking at system function that can be useful. As I see something caught my eye a function the Leon system doesn't have it is.
"Custom skills" I muttered. "Yeah, this is busted."
Custom Skill: It's a function allows the host to create any skills they can imagine from combat techniques to passive buffs skills. However, it requires SP to create and upgrade it.
---
The next morning, the park behind the inn became my training ground. The first hundred swings were easy. The next hundred burned. By the time I hit three hundred, my shoulders were screaming. Push-ups were worse by fifty, my arms trembled like jelly.
The run was brutal. Five kilometers through cobblestone streets and uneven alleys, dodging carts and stray dogs. By the time I stumbled back to the park, I was drenched in sweat.
In the afternoons, I trained my Ice affinity. Frost Edge was simple in theory—coat the blade in frost. In practice, the ice shattered after seconds, the mana slipping like water through my fingers. I could feel the Space affinity, too, lurking at the edges of my perception, but I didn't dare touch it yet.
That night, I lay in bed, mentally sorting through the Hunter ranks—G to Monarch, skill tiers from Novice to Transcendent, monsters from F to Cataclysm Beast. All things I'd known in the game… but now, each one felt real.
And whoever killed Michael was still out there.
The system's glow pulsed faintly in the dark. Tomorrow, the grind continued.
---
The morning air bit at my skin as I returned to the park the next day. My arms ached from yesterday's swings, but the quest counter still glared at me.
[ Sword Swings – (312 / 1,000)
Run – (5 / 5 km) — Complete
Push-ups – (71 / 200)]
At least the running goal reset daily. The sword swings, though, were a grind in every sense.
I tightened my grip and focused. Breathe. Swing. Recover. Repeat. Every tenth swing, I tried to channel frost into the blade, but it shattered each time with a crystalline crack, melting away in the winter sunlight.
By noon, I'd made it to 600 swings and 150 push-ups. My shirt stuck to me, and my breath steamed in the air. I bought a cheap meat skewer from a street vendor—20 Ren—and ate it on the walk back to the inn.
Inside, the warm smells of bread and stew hit me like a wave. The innkeeper's wife, Marta, glanced up from behind the counter.
"Training again?" she asked, eyeing the sweat clinging to my collar.
"Trying hard to get into the Academy," I said, keeping my tone casual. "Exams in March."
Her brows lifted. "Arcade Hunter Academy? My cousin's son tried last year. Didn't even make it past the Endurance Trial. Said half the kids there fainted before the first hour ended."
"That's encouraging," I muttered, and she laughed.
"You eat more, you'll last longer," she said, already ladling stew into a deep wooden bowl. "You're too lean for all that sword-swinging."
I didn't argue. The stew was thick with carrots and chunks of meat, steaming hot and rich enough to make me slow down and savour it.
The innkeeper, Roderic, came over with two mugs of cider. "On the house. Academy hopefuls bring prestige, even if they don't make it." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Though you don't have the look of a green boy trying his luck."
I kept my face blank.
"I don't needed luck I will definitely enter the academy and even its mean to train hard training to break my body"
He grunted, clearly unconvinced, but didn't press. "Well, keep your head down. This city's been… strange lately. Some folks have been found dead in their rooms. Quiet, no signs of a fight. Just… gone."
I forced my hand not to tighten on the mug. "Sounds… bad."
"Bad for business too," Marta said, her voice dropping. "Be careful, lad."
---
That night, I worked on Frost Edge skill, that my mother has given him. Closing my eyes, I felt the mana pool in my core, then flow along my arm. The trick was not letting it leak into the air too soon. When I opened my eyes, a thin sheen of frost clung to the blade for nearly four seconds before it splintered away.
[Skill Progress: Frost Edge – 4% Mastery increase]
Progress, however small.
I leaned the sword against the wall and glanced at the window. The street outside was quiet—too quiet. For a moment, I thought I saw a figure standing in the shadow of the lamppost across the street. I blinked, and it was gone.