Waking up, I found myself under an unfamiliar white roof, noticing a patch covering my shirtless torso.
"Oh, you're awake. Good. I just finished implanting the mana stone," Mike's voice came from the side of the table where he was arranging his tools.
"How are you feeling?" He turned around and sat next to me.
"I'm fine."
"That's good. You're healing from the surgery, so don't engage in any extreme exercises." He retrieved a case full of medicine and set it on the table near me.
"Eat this once every day along with a lesser potion. Nothing more potent, or you may get a permanent scar," Mike warned.
I got up from my bed, clothed myself, and retrieved the medicine.
"I'm surprised you can even walk around," Mike commented as he packed up his equipment.
"I'm used to the pain," I said without further explanation.
"Hmm, well, if you experience any weird symptoms, just call this number here." Mike handed me a calling card and left the room, leaving me alone.
Looking at my hand, I tried to manifest my mana into it, but a sudden fatigue washed over me as I lost control of my legs.
---
Sufficient mana detected...
Absorbing...
Absorbing complete...
---
"What the hell?" I muttered, clutching my head to clear my mind.
A notification rang from my phone: "New mail inbox." I checked to see who it was from:
[From: Unknown]
[To: Ethan]
[I'll introduce myself first. My name is... well, that doesn't matter. For now, what matters is I'm the one who transferred you to your novel.]
[You might be mad, but calm down. I had no choice but to do this. The outer gods are getting pretty bored and ordered me to do this. I'm risking my life if I refuse, so I have no choice. As an apology, I've given you your writer's privileges back.]
[To explain briefly, you can edit any property that the item exhibits to some degree (you'll figure that out quickly), but you will need mana to change the property. The greater the change, the more you need to spend.]
[And also, your potential will be limitless, just from a bonus from me. Unfortunately, I won't be able to give you any more power now, or the gods will be angry.]
[Anyway, sorry again, and enjoy life here. If you get to the end of the story, you might be able to return to your old world. - From yours truly]
I sighed, slumping my head against the wall, processing the information I was given.
After a while of clearing my mind, I pushed all the questions to the back of my mind and left the mage association.
Returning to my dorm, I immediately crashed into my bed and contemplated the content of the email.
It mentioned that I could "edit" anything, so I focused on a cat statue set on my table. Suddenly, a huge portion of my mana disappeared as the statue morphed into a black cat.
"Meow." The cat hopped off the table and rubbed against me. I lifted her with both hands.
"Luna?" I called her name, recalling the cat I used to have as a novelist. However, I wasn't certain if this cat was the same.
"Meow," Luna replied as I set her down on the bed, contemplating my next plan of action.
A blue screen suddenly popped up.
---
Writer's privilege: Due to being the creator of this world, you are privileged to peer into the statuses of items and people.
---
'Hmm, convenient.'
I shifted my focus to Luna and willed a status to appear. Soon, a blue screen showing her status materialized.
---
Luna
Health: 10/10
Mana: 0/0
Rank: F-
Potential: F
Art:
---
This status displayed her full information, including HP and Art. Arts are skills learned through training or skill books obtained from dungeons. Of course, originating from Earth, Luna lacked mana. Dismissing her status, I turned to my hand to view my own.
---
Ethan Smith
Health: 40/50
Mana: 8000/10000
Rank: F-
Potential: Cannot be detected
Art: Paralysis, Mana Dart
---
With my new implant, my mana pool skyrocketed to 10,000. However, the cost of morphing a statue into a living being left a bitter taste. It meant I couldn't manifest a powerful weapon out of thin air, as it took a lot just to create a normal cat.
With this newfound power in mind, I turned to the book and read about what lay in store for the next day.