[A/N: Keep in mind that this chapter is still being worked on, so it will be improved throughout the day!]
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In Lughys' honest opinion, things could never get weirder than they already were.
You see, it wasn't as if he had any sort of clairvoyance supernatural ability to say this beyond a shadow of a doubt, but he steadfastly clung to that hopeful belief that things couldn't get any worse.
First of all, he had suddenly awakened from the most intrepid depths of his soul, regaining absolute control of his new body and facing a new world.
The same world of the game he hated most in his past life, [The Wheel of Fortune], when he was still known as Harlan Jiro.
Second, and also the worst and most detestable of all facts, was that he had been reincarnated in the body of one of the most irrelevant characters in the story, whose only purpose was to serve as a worthless cannon fodder.
''Things should stay within the script, probably.'' He continually asserted, calming inwardly. "I just need to change my destiny, little by little."
But unfortunately, Lughys couldn't have been more wrong about his beliefs.
And that event that unfolded before him, just a day and a half after he had finally regained his true consciousness, proved exactly the point of Keishin's immeasurable strangeness.
''What the hell?'' The dark brown haired boy asked in disbelief. ''Since when is there a system in the WOF world?''
Strings of words suddenly appeared before the bewildered Lughys in bright greenish flashes. The holographic program's letters looked like little snakes swinging back and forth in endless cycles.
It was scary. Any ordinary person would be scared of that.
Moreover, to make matters worse, they refused to disappear, even if he deliberately closed his eyes tightly.
It was as if, similar to what happened in famous internet stories — like [My Dentist System] and many other novels he'd heard about through his friends — that program was etched deep into his eyes and his skull.
Ding Diring~
{Exclusive Gift Assignment Completed: Hope}
{Rating: 3 Stars Grade (Growth Type)
☆ The user can utilize some functions currently available in the 'Akashic System'.
☆ Initial use of system function will be limited temporarily to suit user current statistics.
☆ Hope provides a link between various dimensions. When crossing the portal, entering the 'world of transcendence', the basic functions for 'Hope' were activated automatically.
— The user's past life memories have been partially restored;}
{Remember that this screen will no longer be displayed by the system after initial attaching.}
''This is very similar to those glowing letters that appear during the game progression, so that the player can choose the growth of the protagonist.''
Lughys commented, calming down from the earlier shock. His eyes clinging to the description that said, 'Initial use has been restricted' and 'User may utilize the functions of the Akashic System'.
''But wait a minute, what does this thing mean by restoring memories?'' Curious, he questioned. ''Does this strange thing have any relevance in the awakening of my previously dormant consciousness?''
Ignoring the fact that it was strange from the start, Lughys found himself at a crossroads regarding the issue of 'partial' memory restoration cited among the program's descriptive lines.
'Is there anything that can help me unravel this?' He thought inwardly.
First things first, even forcing his brain to remember everything it could, Lughys couldn't find any memory that described a system or anything close to it, in the course of the game's [The Wheel of Fortune] main plot.
Another interesting fact was that he also couldn't remember a time when the real Lughys, the earlier villainous one who didn't have Harlan's consciousness built into his body, had said anything about having a system as his main innate power.
To begin with, did innate powers even work that way?
Weren't they supposed to be just an mere extension of the Ether manipulation capabilities -- the magical energy that flowed through all beings, and that moved the entire world, keeping it as it was -- of their wielder?
''And to clarify even more, if I remember correctly, his innate power was two sword-related skills, and nothing more.'' Lughys said aloud.
The boy wasn't wrong in his assumption at all.
His bland descriptions made it abundantly clear that the original Lughys was a sword genius, and the game's script had lived up to that by presenting him as a capable swordsman whose principles were twisted.
No wonder he'd die like a complete piece of shit.
But then why did things seem to be so different so early in the world's history?
Who the hell was responsible for all this nonstop mess, which left the new Lughys confused to an inhuman level with every second that ticked by on the clocks?
''Urkgh...!''
Another metallic sound went through his ears, making him uncomfortable.
Lughys fell silent.
[A voicemail was left by ??????]
[Starting projection]
Lughys listened intently, not making a sound.
The room, lit by the afternoon sun, which was fading farther and farther into the sky's horizon, was strangely silent.
[Well, if possible, please pay attention to what I say next. It is directly related to your survival and journey here.]
Cold sweat trickled down his slender back, though he kept an impassive expression on his face.
Whatever his doubts or criticisms, they simply vanished like dust in the strong wind. After all, in that strange atmosphere, in the world of a ridiculous game, a bottomless pool of danger lurking on all sides, he heard the word 'survival'.
He swallowed for a moment, saliva ripping through his dry throat as the sound resonated through his underdeveloped ears.
A procession of flashy messages with windows of varying colors, like a rainbow relentlessly glittering in the blue sky, interrupted the tense moment for a second.
At the same instant, the metallic voice that had previously creaked continuously making Lughys' head ache a little, stopped for a while, being replaced by a charming voice that made his heart flutter.
What weird feeling was that in the boy's mind?
[I'm guessing you've heard some of the pre-set messages this thing made a point of showing you... Anyway, let me cut to the chase here.]
The raised part on his forearm gave off a strange sensation with the entity's speech, as if somehow it had some sort of intelligence.
Furthermore, mysteriously, with every second that passed with that thing active, Lughys felt more and more exhausted.
[The gift 'hope' makes it possible for you to use the Akashic System, one of many in the universe. I believe that very soon you will be able to unlock all abilities freely. But for now, I strongly suggest that you check out your stats.]
'That's a lot… I know I'm stuck in the WOF world, but now a damn system?'
Whether Lughys was convinced or not, the entity didn't seem to care, when something else suddenly appeared in the air.
[If you want to check out the tab I told you about, say it out loud, or just think, 'Stats Window']
{End of voice broadcast}
'Ah, I understand. It's really like those webnovels, he thought, his breathing ragged. Statistics window…'
The man felt he should proceed with caution in this situation, but he couldn't control himself enough - his curiosity quickly overcame his logical rationality.
He wanted to find out who was the entity behind that occasion, maybe it was the same one that had put him on that planet. He also wanted to know how that worked, so he quickly found himself drowning in a sea of curiosity.
Ding~
[Name: Lughys Verlane]
[Race: Geo-Human]
[Title(s): None. Maybe you should try a little harder.]
[Age: 6]
[Gift(s): Hope (3 Stars Grade)]
***
> Statistics <
[Strength: 5]
[Toughness: 7]
[Stamina: 8]
[Agility: 13]
[Magic: 0]
***
> Skills <
[?????(blocked)]
[?????(blocked)]
****
He didn't have any benchmarks to compare to, but his stats, with the exception of agility, didn't look very optimistic at all.
"This is cliché as fuck..."
Apparently, in terms of tropes, he was in a pretty common situation where a reader somehow ended up in the world of some work he knew with a game system.
However, although it seemed to be a familiar situation at first glance, the thought that he had such mediocre talents as that, made him to be on the verge of losing his own line of judgment and simply going mad at any moment.
To begin with, it was hard to accept the fact that fiction had suddenly become reality.
Now, to even be reincarnated and imprisoned in another world with insufficient growth potential?
That was an efficient method of torture.
The system was quite convenient, but Lughys didn't appreciate that his statics were so low.
''Heha...''
The lad found it absurd.
So, with so much information trying to get inside of his head and invade his mind, the little brown haired boy just laughed, dumbfounded.
Lughys was also really tired after everything that took part at that day.
The mind of a twenty-eight-year-old man, overloaded with work and negativity, could not handle such an absurd scenario.
"Ugh..."
Dropping himself onto the bed once more, he collapsed into an uncontrollable sleep.