Alaric was fed up with his life. Waking up early every day to work until late at night with all the strength his body could muster for some pieces of paper wasn't something he enjoyed, but he had no choice if he wanted to survive.
Today was supposed to be no different. He got up early as usual, showered, and set out to work. But something didn't feel right as he walked through the rented apartment. The normally noisy neighbourhood was unusually quiet. As he descended the stairs, his sense of unease grew stronger. Why would it not? The normally busy neighbourhood road was deadly quiet.
"What the..." Alaric froze before he could express his confusion. The clear morning sky was suddenly crimson and gold. As far as his eyes could see, the sky was filled with thick red and golden mist.
Rays of light began to fall from the sky, some red, some golden. The beams descended, passing straight through the roofs of buildings or any other obstacles in their way, illuminating the ground in flashes of red and gold.
"...Hell?" Finally, Alaric was able to close his gasping mouth and finish his sentence.
It was then, two particularly thick and bright beams, one crimson and one gold, descended upon him. Before he could make sense of the situation...
He passed out...
**********
Drawing a long breath, Alaric slowly opened his eyes. Confusion took over him as he looked around the unfamiliar setting.
Two rising suns on the horizon casted a rosy hue across the morning sky while soft clouds drafted below the land, creating a beautiful blend of harmony.
'Wait! Two suns? Clouds beneath the land!?' Alaric jerked awake. He jumped to his feet and took in his surroundings.
He was standing on a circular piece of land, or rather a small island, or, more specifically, a floating island! The island appeared to be 100 metres in diameter, with a small cave at its centre. The cave resembled a large igloo made of rock, with the interior so dark that the entrance appeared to be a pitch-black hole.
Though Alaric had some "questionable" desires and beliefs, he had never considered himself insane or mentally ill, but he was contemplating it now.
[Greetings, Heroic Demon!]
The sudden emergence of a golden-red translucent screen floating directly in front of his eyes didn't help matters.
[Welcome to Genesis, the world's origin and first land.]
This time a monotone voice followed the screen, entering directly into Alaric's ears. Alaric could neither distinguish the gender nor the source of the sound. It was as if the sound had been produced directly on his eardrums.
This was not a dream. Alaric was certain of it. These sensations weren't something that a mere dream or any other mental condition could produce.
Alaric had a theory; he wasn't completely ignorant of the situation. He'd read his fair share of web novels to escape his harsh reality. His rationality, however, refused to believe his fantasy.
[All the humans of planet Earth have been brought here as players to begin the last season of the game: Genesis Subjection.]
[Please note the following points carefully:]
There was a brief pause, as if to give Alaric some time to process the information.
[1: The players are divided into two camps: Heroes and Demons, under the governance of Celestial Will and Demonic Will, respectively.]
[2: Both camps are competing for the Genesis Subjection, since the winner shall be the next ruler of Genesis.]
[3: The first episode of the final season of Genesis Subjection would commence in 1h:59min:59s. Meanwhile, the players should familiarise themselves with Genesis by saying "System" to begin the "Beginner's Guide".]
"Huff..." Alaric sighed, unsure whether the information was too much or too little for him to process. Nonetheless, he chose to follow the advice given at the end.
"System?" He called with uncertainty.
[Good morning, Alaric!]
What followed was the same translucent screen but with a more human-like response and voice. Though the gender and source could still not be determined, there was a distinct enthusiasm in the voice.
"Good morning, System?" Alaric was taken aback by the abrupt change.
[I am Heroic-Demon System. A unique system created by the fussion of the Hero and Demon systems. I am your personal system, created as a result of your Talent.]
[You may think or say the word "Status" to view your attributes and my functions.]
Alaric was just going with the flow for the time being. If he stopped to comprehend the situation, the number of unnatural phenomena he had witnessed today would have him questioning his reality for days.
'Status?' He thought, with the same uncertainty that he had been feeling since morning.
Immediately, a long rectangular screen of the same golden-red colour as all the others appeared at the same distance from his eyes.
┏––«Status»–– ┓
[Host: Alaric]
[Camp: Neutral]
–
[Professions:]
[1. Dungeon Master (Rank: F-) (LV: 1)]
[2. Hero (Rank: F-) (LV: 1)]
–
[Titles: N/A]
[Talent: ???(Inactive)]
[Abilities: Extraction (S+); Combination (S+)]
[Skills: N/A]
–
[Attributes(Rank): 92(F+)]
[Strength: 20]
[Agility: 20]
[Vitality: 22]
[Mana: 30]
┗––––––––––┛
To say Alaric was taken aback would be an understatement. Though he knew nothing about the status of a normal person, he was well aware that his was far from normal.
[Host can concentrate on either of his professions, abilities, or attributes to view their details.]
Alaric was curious about many things, but decided to begin with his two abilities.
As he concentrated on the abilities, two windows appeared to the left and right of the status window, containing the information he needed.
«Ability: Extraction»
[Rank: S+ (Upgradable)]
[Description: A forbidden ability ??? by host from Celestial Will.]
–
[Effect 1: Allows the host to extract cards from aetheric forms that have died. The cards include, but are not limited to, abilities, talents, soul, and rank.]
[Effect 2: The ability can only be used on aetheric forms of "S+" or lower rank.]
[Effect 3: There is a 100% chance of extracting all the cards from aetheric forms of rank "F-" to "D+". The chances of extracting one random card from aetheric forms of rank "C", "B", "A", and "S" are 90%, 80%, 70%, and 40%, respectively; the chances of obtaining more cards are random.]
–––
«Ability: Combination»
[Rank: S+ (Upgradable)]
[Description: A forbidden ability ??? by host from Celestial Will.]
–
[Effect 1: Allows the host to combine cards of the same nature to strengthen a card or create a higher-rank card with similar functions.]
[Effect 2: The ability can only be used if the resultant card is of "S+" or lower rank.]
[Effect 3: The chances of a successful combination are determined by the compatibility of the cards.]
Alaric was speechless...
These two were no abilities; they were cheats! No matter the road ahead, if he used these well, he might...
'Don't let these things get to your head, Alaric. Focus...' Alaric shook his head in an attempt to get his thoughts straight.
Next, it was the professions' turn.
┏––«Professions»–– ┓
[1. Dungeon Master (Rank: F-) (LV: 1)]
[Description: A profesion bestowed by Demonic Will to players of its camp. ??? by host from Demonic Will.]
–
[Effect 1: Able to absorb the souls of Celestial lifeforms killed in the dungeon.]
[Effect 2: Gives right to access «Shop».]
[Celestial souls: 00]
–––
–––
[2. Hero (Rank: F-) (LV: 1)]
[Description: A profesion bestowed by Celestial Will to players of its camp. ??? by host from Celestial Will.]
–
[Effect 1: Able to absorb the souls of Demonic lifeforms killed by the player.]
[Effect 2: Gives right to access «Chat».]
[Demonic Souls: 00/10]
┗––––––––––––––┛
He needed time—a lot more than was given—to process all this sudden dump of information.
[Host is requested to move to the dungeon to start "Dungeon Processing".]
"No!" The refusal immediately emerged from his throat, voicing the frustration Alaric felt at the moment.
"I need some time." He said, his eyes closed. There was no disturbance from the system, as if it understood the condition of its host.
Above the unknown land, below the foregoing sky, Alaric closed his eye, unsure if at least the clouds were normal or a prying spy.