'Arledge Pendragon Sabio? That was my name? Really!?' he thought ' I don't like the sound of it'
Arledge was still talking to himself when suddenly a bell sound rang inside his head.
[NOTIFICATION: Achievement unlocked... Rewarding: Gift unlock... Gift activated]
[NOTIFICATION: Cloning system: Ready...]
'F*ck, that shit was too loud.' he thought.
If the couple hears this they will rethink if their child is really innocent.
The sound was like those dentist's dental drill sounds inside the mouth, those screech still hurts my brain when I think about it. It was a sound that will leave mark on your brain forever!
'Where did that come from?' Arledge thought.
He was still processing what that stupid-looking guy was saying and then an irritating sound rang inside his head.
He did not know that he was saying those out loud but because he was a baby, he can only say 'uh' which the husband and wife thought he was happy at the name he receive.
He suddenly felt tired because of moving and talking at the same time. He felt groggy.
When Sophia and Nicholas saw the baby slowly closing his eyes, Sophia put the back in the crib and kissed him on her forehead.
"We hope you live a long and happy life, our children"
Arledge did not know that will be the last time he will saw Sophia and Nicholas.
---
After Sophia and Nicholas pass their last will, they started preparing a wide-ranged one-way teleportation magic array.
They put the babies in 3 baskets.
After completing the magic array, they kissed each baby one last time.
"We hope you live a long and happy life, our children"
Sophia and Nicholas put an item and a necklace on each basket. The item was called Anti-space compression pearl.
A pearl that will not let any beings from being crushed by space.
They started activating the magic array, draining most of their mana.
The magic array started glowing brightly until it completely fades.
The drawing on the floor also started vanishing after activating the magic array.
"Do you think we will see our babies again?"
They stared at the place where their babies disappeared to.
"I don't know. The conflict between the Peras Kingdom and the Beltran Kingdom intensified because of the tomb discovered near the borders of both Kingdoms. They're said to be a treasure that will make any man 8th tier at least..."
They stared one last time at the space in front of them before they vanish.
Soon after that, a shadow emerged from the corner of the room.
---
In the deserted plain area near the border of Peras Kingdom, a man and a woman landed near a man in a General uniform riding in Fire Blaze Horse.
In their back, millions of soldiers in formation stood. Preparing themselves for the upcoming war.
Firblaze horse was a six-legged horse whose tail and head hair were on fire. Its full body was dark red.
"What's the situation, old man rocky?" Nicholas asked.
"What took you so long, brat!?" Rocky shouted and then said, "Both kingdoms suffer casualties but with resources our kingdom supplies us, we have a little advantage."
He then added, "How are my nieces?"
"They are safe"
Rocky patted the back, Nicholas. He wanted to comfort him but he felt an ominous feeling behind him.
"... we don't have enough time to discuss...they're here"
Soldiers of Beltran have arrived. They look like ants from afar but with many of them, a suffocating atmosphere befalls to the soldiers of Peras.
With each step made an earthquake.
Soldiers of Peras stomp their feet altogether, making the earthquake intensify. When the Beltran soldiers step into the ranged where archers could hit them, a horn sounded.
*toot to toot to toot* (Horn sound)
Rain of arrows imbued with mana soar high. In a matter of seconds, it landed on the soldiers of Beltran.
But the magic users of Beltran used defense magic making it almost useless but arrows with penetration attributes landed successfully causing injuries and death to soldiers.
Most Beltran soldiers was a warrior known for their brute force and physical prowess.
Low to Mid-tier warriors of Beltran ran forward with all their strength. Beltran 5th-tier mages cast area-defense magic on them to protect them from range attacks.
---
Arledge woke up a few hours later.
He feels that he was on a roller coaster because of mental exhaustion happening one after another.
'Argh, where am I?' he said in his mind as he learned that talking and moving exhaust him pretty easily.
He looked around. He does not remember anything here. He is sure that he was in a different place.
The place was filled with beds but there are no people in it.
'System?' he said in his mind then a blackboard appeared in his mind.
[Clone system] [Quest] [Shop] [Host service (Manual)]
'Wow, so cool!' he said excitedly 'Maybe after a few decades or even a century, Earth can achieve this high-level technology'
He clicked on the clone system.
[ Clone System
Perfect clone: 0
Inferior clone: 0
Slave clone: 0
Skills: 0 ]
It only presented that. He asked the system what is clone system is even though he already has answered in his mind with the word clone.
He waited patiently but the system did not answer.
'Is my system stupid? It can't even answer my question... Never mind, I guess I will explore it myself' he thought.
He tried clicking on the word 'clone system' and then a sentence emerge to his mind.
'Hmm? I can see the system with my mind and my eyes? Interesting' he then looked new tab.
[ Clone system as the name itself hints allows the host to make a clone of himself or any beings ]
'That's it? You didn't even introduce me to how to operate it!...tsk, a stupid system indeed'
He then clicked the words below the clone system.
[ Perfect clone is a clone with the same battle strength as the host. Absolute Loyalty]
[ Inferior clone is a clone 1 level below the host. Can receive part of stats host. Absolute Loyalty]
[ Slave clone is a clone loyal to the host. The host needs to kill the being himself to activate ]
[ Skills can be received if the host chooses to absorb the clone. Can only perform after using slave clone ]
Arledge was amazed at how the system can make him strong. He imagined his clones getting into every corner of this world! He can't help but be excited about the future.
After a minute of admiration, he then continues exploring other tabs.
Arledge originally find his previous world boring except for books, mangas, anime, and games, anything else is boring. He did find other hobbies to relieve this emptiness in his chest but as time passed they also felt boring.
But one thing he finds more enjoyable than everything that is reading. He was always excited to see the adventures the protagonist tread through and the obstacles it will overcome.
But he finds many protagonists stupid. They are not cautious enough. They always love to be in the limelight. They are always in the middle of conspiracies. He was frustrated with them.
Not until he discovered 'Hidden boss', they were practically the protagonist in their world. They are cautious enough to have their identity hidden. They were in the limelight yet they are not. They are the ones who make conspiracies!
Yet, they are always defeated by the protagonist.
He did not hate the protagonist for defeating the hidden boss but he just felt frustrated that anyone in the way of the protagonist can only be a stepping stone.
So, with this new life given, he wanted to be the hidden boss that is not below anyone!
'But first, let me see what the other tabs' descriptions are'
[ QUEST
>Daily
>Exclusive ]
The quest tab only presents subtopics: Daily and exclusive. Daily quest as the word itself says is an everyday mission. An exclusive quest can only be given when an opportunity or danger comes.
He clicked the 'daily' quest.
[ Daily: Drink milk (Mother's milk is recommended) (complete)
-Reward 5 coins ]
'...That's it? No training for my body, for my brain, for my eyes? That's it?' he complained at how shitty the quest is.
He felt frustrated at first at this system but now he was angry. He feels he is being debuffed again and again.
But what can he do? There's no one to complain to. The system is stupid, no one will answer his question.
He moved on to the 'exclusive' quest unwillingly but what he saw is nothingness. He understands that there is nothing in a particular interest system to make an exclusive quest.
He then moves on to the next tab 'Shop'. The 'shop' is where you can buy anything not limited to skill, items, and information.
He clicks the 'shop' tab.
[ Coins: 5
System point/s: 0
Healing potion (Tier 1): can heal bruises and swollen parts of the body.
Buy 30 coins
Mana potion (Tier 1): can recover 20℅ mana of Tier 1 individual. Unavailable to Tier 2 individuals.
Buy 1 system point
Strengthening potion (Tier 1): can be consumed to boost body strength. Limited to Tier 1 and below. Can be consumed up to 3 times.
Buy 2 system points ]
Only three items were shown in the shop. He read each description of the items.
The healing potion was useless to him as he already how to tend it himself but it was also cheap. He can buy it after 6 days of drinking milk.
The moment he read the description of the mana potion, he already has an idea of what kind of world he resides in.
He currently did not have any interest in healing and mana potions, as he was not injured and know how to even use mana.
What interests him is the strengthening potion. It can boost his physique and strength but the price is 2 system points. He only had 5 coins where the exchange rate of coins into system points is 100:1 which means the strengthening potion is equal to 200 coins. But he can only get 200 coins after 40 days.
He can only pray that a strengthening potion will come up next month in the shop.
'Why the f*ck this keeps happening to me?!' he cursed.
He looked at the last tab which says 'host service (manual)'.
The first time he saw the name, he thought it was a manual on how to use the system. But as a player that was not reading game manual even if he liked reading.
He clicks the tab.
[ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ]
!!!
'What the f*ck is this?!' he exclaimed.
He clicks it hoping that it may, perhaps, have a description.
But what he saw in his mind shocked him.
[ Host can enter his inquiry within the blank. This tab will answer any inquiries the host has if it is within the authority level the host has or system reserve. Authority level 0 ]
[ Note: The host can enter his inquiry by the will of thought or by hand using a keyboard ]
After reading the description, it fades a few seconds later.
'G*ogle?' he can't help but think about it.
He followed what the notes said and immediately thought of entering 'Why are you stupid?! You don't even know how angry I am with you right now! You keep debuffing me over and over again *groan*...'
He still wants to complain but the system answered immediately.
[ The system currently has insufficient energy to provide Artificial Intelligence. The host needs to provide energy. ]
'So, it is not stupid?' he thought and entered 'How can I provide you energy?'
[ By using system points and influence ]
'Is there any other method of using system points? and elaborate influence' he asked.
[ No ]
[ Influence refers to how much can the host affect any being ]
'But why should I provide you with energy?' he asked.
[ It is with the host whether to provide energy to the system or not. ]
The system answered his question.
'Hmm? Is it telling me to be responsible for it?' he thought.
[ Notification: An exclusive was given to the host. ]
He wanted to see about the quest and experiment more with the host service tab but he was interrupted by the noise outside the door.