A few moments passed, and the distortion stopped. Instead, his surroundings changed one more time.
This time, it was a realm filled with nothing but light. Even brighter than the realm Regina brought him to.
'What is with these blinding realms? Couldn't they have chosen something more tolerable for the eyes?' Lucas complained.
The next thing he noticed, though, was the fact that his body.. had changed.
'Shit.' He cursed.
After living in the same old body for thousands upon thousands of years, there was no way he would mistake his body for something else. He.. had entered a new body!
'So this was what caused all that trippy stuff to happen..'
He panicked internally, but still tried to stay positive.
'I'm not in my body, but.. I feel great. I think my physique got upgraded by several levels! It feels so light.'
'The important thing is that I'm still alive. And free.'
'I was given a chance to prove myself.'
This time, he was going to make sure that nothing could ever hinder him.
He also began to understand the severity of his situation. Unlike the previous times, where he was still in the body of an abnormal character.. he was afraid that there was no longer an option to 'restart' his journey this time around.
Once he was brought down, it was the end.
After all, he was about to be a Player. He was different from Lucas the Alchemist.
Players didn't get the privilege of being 'reset'.
'If I think about it that way, it makes me feel a bit scared.'
He lost his sense of security that stemmed from all the generations he lived for, knowing that he was invincible in the eyes of the updaters.
But this was a chance for him to make a change.
He took it, and he had to pay for whatever drawbacks it might contain.
Luckily, the floor below him was reflective. It allowed him to inspect his newly obtained body.
In terms of stature, it was not much different from his original body, but his features had completely changed. His brown hair had morphed into silver strands, whereas his eyes changed into an eerie turquoise color. A color that you'd think would glow in the dark.
'I know that something is different about me, but I can't put my hands on it. Not just in terms of appearance, but.. I feel like a great power is sealed inside me.' Lucas tried to resonate with his own self.
An instinct from deep within him awakened, calling out a command.
'Status.'
A window, similar to the one Regina used when she showed her the Player interface, popped out. It was much more cleaner and not overloaded with text this time.
It displayed the body's bare stats.
??? | Level 1
Race: [Human]
Class: -
Title:
- [Play&%#r]
- [Angel's Proxy]
HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
Strength: 10
Vitality: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Dexterity: 10
Remaining status points: -
Skills:
- [Soul Link Lv. MAX]
- [Dominion Lv. MAX]
- [Limit Break Lv. MAX]
- [Limiter Lv. MAX]
'...' Lucas was stunned.
'Is this what the Players always see?' Lucas wondered.
It was a foreign concept to him. Having your powers displayed as pure numbers and not just a vague understanding of your skills.
'Also, that title section is looking awfully botched.'
No matter how hard he tried to ignore it, his eyes always drifted back to his supposed 'Player' title. Wasn't that the most important part? How come it's broken?!
'Whatever. I'm sure Regina will fix it before the time comes.'
'Right?'
Lucas calmed his nerves down. The Goddess' grace was with him.
That high-ranked angel, Regina wouldn't make a stupid mistake, right?
Surely not?
The more he thought about it, the more his worries grew.
'Let's just trust her..'
Lucas moved on to the other sections. His status was relatively normal. With a good sense of judgement, he quickly understood the meaning behind each stat, and recognized that it was balanced within all sectors, with reasonable numbers.
Three points stood out to him.
His unknown name, the title [Angel's Proxy], and his four skills that were leveled up to MAX.
Having no name meant that this body was truly something fabricated in the hands of Regina and her crew, and not just a random body that they found somewhere and threw it over to him.
The thought of possessing a used body was a bit unsettling for him, so knowing this made him feel a bit better.
However, how was he able to name himself? Was his name space going to stay as question marks forever?
Then.. why was he called [Angel's Proxy]? Was he not a representative of the Goddess, but rather just Regina's? Wording it like that made him feel a bit unsettled. For such an important issue like the Great Cataclysm, shouldn't he be awarded a higher status than just an angel's proxy?
Oddly enough, all of the skills didn't seem to be offensive ones.
He sat down on the floor and began organizing his thoughts. Having non-offensive skills didn't really bother to him, since he had a mindset that any skills leveled up to the maximum level and used correctly would prove to be a lethal weapon no matter what.
These four skills were already enough to make Lucas content.
'I don't even know how these skills work. How can I use them properly?' Lucas grumbled.
He had so many questions in his mind.
'I wonder if I can contact her in any way.. Probably not.'
Lucas recalled Regina's words which warned him to stay cautious of the Phantasm and stay under the radar. She wouldn't contact him unless there was something extremely urgent and can't be delayed.
[Yeah, you won't meet her anytime soon, child.]
A voice rang from behind him, causing Lucas to jump like he had just seen a ghost.