I found myself in a situation that I couldn't comprehend. One moment, I was finishing the last few questions of my exam, and the next, I was in a dark room with a purple/pink Sphere. Then, without warning, I was back in the classroom, only to be jolted out of my thoughts by strange noises popping into my head. My eyes remained closed, but I could hear someone shouting my name. The tone of their voice was filled with fear.
"Elise! Wake up."
I opened my eyes and felt a wave of terror wash over me. A large piece of the ceiling was falling towards me in slow motion, and I didn't know what to do. The voice I had heard before had long since left my mind, leaving me with only one thought - getting out of there alive. As the memories began to surface, the ceiling got closer and closer.
Suddenly, my mind flashed back to a conversation with my dad from eight years ago.
---
"Honey, I gotta go," he had said.
"Noooo dad, I want you to stay!" I protested.
"Sorry honey, daddy has to go on a little vacation, alright?"
I burst into sobs. "Will you ever come back?" I cried.
"I will, don't worry. I'll be back in a jiffy, alright?"
---
The thought of seeing my father again pushed me to fight for my survival. As my mind raced, I began to feel a strange sensation all over my body. The world before me took on a purple hue, and I could feel myself calming down.
"I don't want to die!" I screamed.
In an instant, everything went purple as a blinding flash consumed me.
________________________________________________________
My heart races as I sprint through the classroom, my mind consumed with a single thought: Elise. The fear of not reaching her in time weighs heavily on my mind, intensifying with every passing second. The world around me blurs as I run, everything fading into a hazy background while Elise becomes my sole focus.
"Shit, I won't make it there on time," I mutter under my breath, feeling panic set in. My vision tunnels and all I can see is Elise's wide, fearful eyes staring up at the ceiling above her. I know I have to reach her before it's too late.
"SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT," I shout, my voice echoing through the silent classroom. I try to block out the incessant dinging of my [System], knowing that I have to stay focused on the task at hand.
As I draw closer, a bright purple aura surrounds Elise, its intensity growing stronger with each passing moment. And then, in an instant, everything changes.
FLASH.
One moment Elise is there, her eyes wide with terror, and the next she's gone. I watch in shock as the ceiling comes crashing down onto the empty space where she once stood, sending debris flying in all directions.
"What the hell just happened?" I whisper, my mind racing as I try to make sense of the inexplicable occurrence.
_______________________________________________________
With a sudden flash of bright purple light, I shut my eyes tightly, bracing for impact as I waited for the ceiling to come crashing down on me. Surely, my life was about to end any moment now.
And then, it happened. A loud crash pierced through the air, but to my utter confusion, I felt nothing. After a few moments of disbelief, I slowly opened my eyes and scanned the area where the sound had originated from. That's when my confusion turned into a wave of relief as I laid eyes on a large piece of ceiling lying on the ground. How had I survived this? I couldn't fathom an explanation, but the one thing that mattered most was that I still had a chance to see my father again.
As I struggled to process what had just happened, urgent, fast-paced sounds filled my ears. I searched for the source of the noise but found none, so I focused my attention on the sounds themselves. It wasn't long before a purple screen appeared before my eyes, drawing me into its mysterious depths.
[System Alert: Mana storage is filled up]
[System Alert: Activating of the innate talent [System]]
[System Alert: Analysing host and searching for other innate talents]
[System Alert: Innate talent [Space Affinity] found]
[System Alert: Starting the fusion of innate talents]
[System Alert: Talents fused, obtained innate talent [Space System]]
[System Alert: Congratulations, you've activated your personalised system]
[System Alert: Learned skill [Blink]]
Confusion began to swirl inside me as I read through the peculiar and bewildering sights that manifested before my eyes. Just as I attempted to process the overwhelming influx of information, a voice called out from behind me.
"Elise, are you alright?"
Turning my head, the purple screen that had previously occupied my gaze vanished in an instant. Before I could begin to ponder the strange occurrence, a figure knelt beside me.
"Elise, hey, please respond."
My focus shifted to the person beside me.
"Alex, what just happened and how is it that I'm not crushed?" he pointed to a spot beside me, and as I followed his gaze, my eyes fell upon a large piece of ceiling lying where I had been only moments before. A deep sense of shock reverberated through me as I gazed upon the ruined and destroyed place where I had once laid. Tears found their place in my eyes at the thought that there might still be a chance to see my dad again.
_______________________________________________________
I observed the weeping figure of Elise, her tears a reflection of the tumultuous emotions within her. I couldn't help but ponder what had just transpired, lost in thought as I tried to make sense of the chaos around us.
In the midst of my musings, two arms wrapped themselves around my neck, jolting me out of my reverie and drawing my attention back to the distraught Elise. Her eyes, once a vibrant green, now glinted with a mysterious shade of purple, and her hair had taken on a subtle, violet tinge.
As she gradually began to compose herself, my mind wandered back to the strange, pitch-black void and the notifications that had bombarded me. And just as I reflected on these things, a surreal, holographic image materialized before my very eyes.
[Status]
[Name: Alex Damien]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 1(F)]
[Exp Progress: 0/100]
[Health: 100] [Regen: 0.1/s (out of combat)]
[Mana: 60] [Regen: 0.06/s (out of combat)]
[Strengt I: 13]
[Agility I: 12]
[Vitality I: 10]
[Defense I: 9]
[Intelligence I: 6]
[Undistributed Points: 3]
[Skills]
Shock was the first emotion that hit me when I saw what was in front of me. The hologram looked like something from a video game, where your physical and mental abilities are represented by numbers. After the shock, I felt excitement, knowing that if this were real, levelling up could make me stronger. But soon after, fear crept in as I began to question what was happening. How do you level up? Will we need to start killing like in the video games? And most importantly, what was that chain I saw breaking high up in the sky?
The multitude of unanswered questions swirling in my mind made me feel apprehensive, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen next.
At a certain point, I felt the two arms around my neck loosen, and it pulled me out of my reverie. I turned my gaze back to Elise, who had, at last, regained her composure, only to find that she seemed... upset?
"Never tell anyone that you've seen me cry," was the first sentence that came out of her mouth. I simply nodded in response, uncertain how to react. We locked eyes for a few seconds, then rose to our feet. But before Elise could turn and leave, I summoned the courage to ask the question that had been nagging at me for some time.
"Do you have any idea why your eyes and hair look purple?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly. Elise looked at me with a puzzled expression, then made her way to a broken piece of mirror lying on the ground. As soon as she caught a glimpse of her reflection, she began to run her hands through her hair in frustration. I could see the confusion etched on her face as she studied her reflection.
I asked her, "Did you also receive those strange notifications" thinking that the purple flash might have something to do with a system. She turned around and faced me with a look of recognition. Her eyes started to gaze emptily, indicating that she was either lost in thought or looking at something else, like a system.
I feel a rush of excitement as the realization dawns on me that I am not hallucinating and that the system is indeed real. Out of curiosity, I want to ask what her system is called since mine is called Omni System. I wonder if everyone has a different system. As I open my mouth to ask the question, a groaning sound suddenly emanates from somewhere in the classroom.