Vox shifted his weight and fell into a fighting stance. His body moved differently now. When he threw a jab, his fist cut through the air with a speed that made him freeze in the middle of the motion.
"What the…"
That was fast. Faster than any punch he had ever thrown inside and outside the ring. Apparently, the enhanced physical attributes the system had shown him weren't just words on a screen.
He threw another punch, then a combination. His body responded with an ease that felt almost supernatural. The martial arts training from his old life was still there, his muscle memory intact, but now amplified.
He could work with this.
His gaze drifted around the room as his mind continued to race. What he had thought were candles in the hanging chandeliers were just glowing white sticks.
The room was massive. Easily three times the size of his old apartment. Tapestries hung from the walls with strange designs. And that was it, the room was almost bare. A bed and fancy designs.
Then again, everything screamed of wealth. And somehow, him who had died with accumulated debt, now inhabited a body that owned all of this?
It felt surreal.
He noticed a side of the wall that only had one tapestry at the far end. As he drew closer to it, he noticed a small groove at the side which he pulled to discover it was a sliding door.
The light from the bedroom slipped in to illuminate the space and Vox could suddenly make out the shapes inside the adjoining room.
It was a bathroom.
He he found a rope hanging from the ceiling, similar to the one the maid had pulled earlier. He tugged it.
Light flooded the space.
A large basin. What looked like a carved stone tub and shockingly, a modern toilet. Then there were shelves with bottles and folded clothes, along with three large closed cupboards.
It was smaller than the bedroom but no less luxurious. The stone bathtub was large enough to fit three people comfortably, and directly across from him, mounted on the wall, was a full-length mirror.
He froze, slowly realising he had been avoiding this moment.
He stepped in front of the mirror and a stranger stared back at him.
The face was angular and sharp, with high cheekbones and a strong jawline. His tanned skin was darker than the other elves pale shade. And his hair was a wavy long black colour that caught the light with hints of deep red… almost like dried blood.
His ears swept upward into points, though it wasn't as dramatic as the other elves. And his left ear had a small notch near the tip, like an old injury that had healed wrong.
'Well damn…' he pondered.
His eyes were different colours, one was a striking amber that almost looked like gold, and the other was a light forest green. Both stared back at him with an intensity that felt alien.
If anything, he looked more like an elf than an orc…
The clearest difference was how tall he was. He slid the loose night gown off his frame and frowned in the mirror. This body barely had any muscles, but he could see the definition there.
He would have to start from scratch again.
When he lifted a hand to his face and touched his cheek, the reflection mimicked him perfectly.
This was real.
"Vox Arachi," he said aloud, testing the name.
It felt foreign on his tongue, but this was who he was now.
Vox stared at his reflection for a long moment, trying to reconcile the person he had been with the person he had just become.
An underground fighter who died in a rigged match was now a half-breed with SSS-Rank power, and a murderous wife.
He flexed his fingers, feeling the energy or mana as the system called it in his chest. He didn't know how, but he instinctively knew what it was, along with how exactly to use it.
However…
'System.'
The screen popped up in front of him.
[At your service!]
"You haven't given me any information about this world."
[Hmm? But I did]
Vox glared at the screen. "What the—you didn't."
[!INCONSEQUNTIAL!]
[!INCONSEQUNTIAL!]
[ERROR]
Vox stepped back, but the screen followed him. A strong sense of foreboding made him uncomfortable.
Something was wrong with this thing.
[Ah… I recall now. Yes, I did show you your stats and basic information]
Vox stared at it cautiously.
"What was that?"
[What was what?]
"You were literally glitching. Are you faulty?" Vox asked.
[I may have some slight tics, but it will not impact you in anyway]
He stared at the screen, not knowing what to make of this.
"I need information on this world I am in."
[I cannot grant you that request]
"What?"
[I am unable to grant you that request]
"What is that supposed to mean? That information. The basic stats on me. That's it? That is all you're giving me?" Vox asked, incredulous.
[You literally just woke up in a new body! ╰(‵□′)╯]
[A powerful one at that!]
[Did you want a full instruction manual too?]
Vox frowned.
Why was it being so uncooperative?
"Hold on… what are you exactly?"
[Your fateful guide]
[Here to help you with your basic needs!]
"Well, you aren't being very helpful right now," he grumbled. "What are you exactly? I think I saw you in that void—"
[Cannot provide that information—]
The screen glitched repeatedly in chaotic patterns that made Vox's eyes go wide. Symbols and corrupted pixels filled the brackets where the texts usually appeared and a constant static noise tore at his ears.
It wasn't loud, but it was uncomfortable for Vox to want to cover his ears and block out the irritating sound.
"Okay. That's enough," he called out, but it continued to glitch.
Vox raised his voice. "That is—"
The glitching stopped along with the static, leaving a blaring large text all over the screen.
[!RESTRICTED INFORMATION!]
A new thought came into Vox's head, and he wasn't sure if he would like the implication of it.
"Was I sent here for a purpose?"
It might have been a risky question to Vox, but he wouldn't know if the system would be able to answer it unless he asked. And he hoped it wouldn't give him an error message because if it did, the answer would basically be a yes.
[No?]
[What gave you that funny idea?]
[(¬‿¬)]