Lorn smiled wryly and picked up the dull colored crystal in his hands. It was long and slim, shaped similarly to the indent in his forehead. But aside from that, Lorn couldn't really see anything special about it.
'If this thing doesn't make me spew fire from my throat, my disappointment would be immeasurable.'
But since Reina was hyping it up so much, he could give it the benefit of the doubt.
Slowly, he brought the crystal to his forehead. But just before he could put it in himself, the crystal escaped his hold and lodged itself onto Lorn's head like a magnet.
Before Lorn could be surprised by the action, searing pain pulsated from his forehead. It felt as if a red hot metal ball was burning through his skull, except the pain came in repeating pulses. He immediately tried pulling the thing out, but the only thing he could do was to scrape at his skin helplessly.
"Help!" he shouted to the mayor. "Take it off!"
The mayor looked at him with worried eyes, but didn't move in help him.
With tears in his eyes and hands on his forehead, he fell on the ground, hoping the pain would pass. But against his wishes, the pain started to flare up even more. Not only that, every sense in his body felt ten times as strong as usual. The light in the dark church felt blinding to him, his moans echoed in his head endlessly, the heat from his forehead felt scorching to his fingers, and the smell of his blood made him want to puke his guts out.
Then, something wet slapped against the back of his hand.
"Put this on your forehead," the mayor spoke, her voice booming much louder than anything he ever heard.
Lorn almost wanted to shout at the woman to shut up, but he was too spent to say anything. He only took the wet cloth and pushed it onto his forehead. Steam hissed as the cloth made contact with his skin.
Lorn was worried for his brain, but thankfully, the pain was lessening. In its stead, odd revelations appeared Lorn's mind. His whole body started to feel more familiar to him. The sturdiness of his bones, the shapes of his muscles, the state of his organs, he even felt like he could sense the blood flowing through his veins.
Soon enough, the revelations ended. The pain was gone as well. He got up, saw the mayor's worried face, and suddenly felt shame for what he displayed. Even knowing that it wasn't his fault, his cheeks felt red.
"Thank you," he said simply.
"No, no. I was just a bit surprised, is all. I thought you knew what was going to happen," the mayor shook her head.
Lorn frowned and cursed Reina.
He picked up the mirror and saw his forehead. Surprisingly, the veins that were protruding all over were gone, leaving only the scratch marks from his nails. The crystal was sitting comfortably on his forehead, and instead of the dull color it had previously, it shone dimly with grey light. It was also lodged in much deeper than he expected it to be. It almost looked like it was drowning in his skin.
He also noticed something different about his status.
[Name: Lorn Ashin]
[Title: N/A]
[Health: 99%]
[Spirit (F): 100% ]
[Strength: 1.8]
[Dexterity: 2]
[Stamina: 1.4]
[Agility: 1.8]
[Intelligence: 1.5]
[Boon: Enhancement]
[Innate skills (generalized): Nimble hands Lv.6; Flexible Body Lv.5; and 25 others.]
[Obtained skills: Strengthening Lv.0; Rejuvenation Lv.0]
[Immersion: 23%]
[RECEIVED: 'Spirit' stat (Level - F); 'Boon – Enhancement (All physical stats multiplied by 1.1)]
[SKILL LVL UP: Nimble hands Lv.6; Flexible Body Lv.5; Heightened Senses Lv.4]
[GAINED SKILLS: Strengthening Lv.0; Rejuvenation Lv.0]
The thing Lorn noticed immediately was his health dropping to 99%. Then he realized that his strength and dexterity increased by two, while his stamina grew by one. He swung his arm to see if he became stronger somehow, and… his punch honestly felt lighter.
"Huh."
"Are you feeling stronger?" the mayor asked.
"Yes..."
"You must've received a boon of Enhancement, then."
Lorn noted that the mayor was knowledgeable with the magic.
He then noticed the spirit stat that was unlocked, his skills that leveled up, the ones he gained and the affinity bestowed upon him.
'Enhancement… Strengthening and Rejuvenation… Is my magical skill just the ability to bulk myself up?'
Lorn didn't want to complain, but a brawler type wasn't really his thing. Even though he was familiar with close quarter combat, it wasn't like he enjoyed them that much. He knew martial artists felt immense joy in improving their strength and skills along fellow fighters, but Lorn had never felt such highs when he fought.
Perhaps it had something to do with how spartan the fights were under the insistence of his father, but that didn't change the fact that Lorn didn't like fighting.
On the other hand, he was much more proficient with a gun. He even considered becoming a proper athlete when he was first learning to shoot.
But looking around, Lorn felt that there wouldn't be many guns lying around for him to use. Even on earth, it was almost impossible for him to get one. But here, in this completely different world, he felt he should be glad if guns even existed.
'Oh, maybe the letter has more information for me,' he thought and started reading the letter again.
[Can you read the letter now?] the letter started. [Did it hurt? Sorry, I lied. Thought it would take you too long to attach the crystal to your head if I warned you of the immense pain. But don't worry. The stronger the initial pain, the better you're off in the long run.]
Lorn sighed, and continued reading.
[Anyway, congratulations. You must've already unlocked your spirit stat and gained the Enhancement affinity, plus the two skills: Strengthening and Rejuvenation. Have you checked them out?]
From the wording, Lorn realized that the hand he got was the only option available. Everyone who was testing the One World received Enhancement. That made him feel slightly better.
[Let me quickly explain how they work. As its names suggest, Rejuvenation is a basic healing skill. You can close wounds, fix bruises, and mend bones if you have the time, but you can't regrow anything. Strengthening is an ability that will briefly increase the density of your muscles, allowing for a great surge of strength and speed. If you want a numerical equivalent, your strength stat will be doubled, your agility will be 50% higher; though it can't grant you more than 10 points.]
Lorn tilted his head, shocked by the skill's effects. Since his Strength was at 1.8, after using this ability, he would be 3.6 times stronger than the average man. That was practically the same as a strongman. And since they're explicitly saying they couldn't grant more than 10 points… was it possible for him to be 10 times stronger than the average man?
'Isn't that ridiculous?' he thought with a smile.
[The problem though, is that it's impossible for you to simply shout out the skill's name and use it. You need to learn how to do so using your spirit. For now, you only have the capacity to use it, so their levels are zero. When you manage to use a skill, its level becomes 1. As for how to actually use them, the mayor will help you out.]
Lorn nodded and read on.
[Finally, we'll talk about Immersion. Remember when I said some people didn't want to leave the digital world? That usually happens when their Immersion percentage becomes too high (above 70% is the danger zone). It's normally at around 12 – 18 percent after you unlock your spirit, so if yours is higher, you should worry. It increases gradually the more you do something remarkable in the One World, so there's nothing you can do about it for now.]
Lorn's was at 23% so he took note of that.
[But don't worry too much. The more you exit and enter the One World, the easier it'll be for your consciousness to adapt, but you can't stay in the One World for too short of a time. That's equally detrimental. Eventually, you won't even need the sensory deprivation tank to access here. The only thing you need to worry about is the first month.
[As a rule of thumb, I recommend you to log out after your Immersion rate nears 50% and you've stayed in the One World for at least three days. But please remember that the risks of brain damage are still there. Also, to log out, lie down somewhere, and say: 'Log out'.]
Reminded of the high risk he was taking to be here, Lorn frowned deeply, but he knew there was nothing he could do at this point, except for hoping for the best.
[Alright! Finally done! Good luck! Explore! Interact! And Enjoy!]