"Where… What… What happened?"
Nova muttered absent-mindedly, his eyes flickering with an icy blue luster. His chest felt tight, while immense weakness weighed on his shoulders. His hands felt rough, while an innate numbness permeated across his head.
It was as if someone were pouring hot and cold water on his head simultaneously.
Fragments of memories clustered, forming a faint recollection in Nova's mind. As he realized what he had done, beads of cold sweat began forming upon Nova's forehead, drowning him in a sour, clear liquid.
His heart raced faster than supercars.
Reality struck down on him, reminding him of the fact that he'd killed someone. In cold blood.
A 14-year-old boy would be charged with murder. What would become of him? What would become of Kylie? His mother? His father? What about Great Uncle? His family would be devastated.
Most of all, Nova wasn't certain he could live on with blood smothering his hands.
'What happened to me back there…' he wondered, recalling the overwhelming emotions that overpowered his rationality.
Because of that, he'd become a murderer.
'Wait, but…' Nova looked around, scrunching his eyebrows and narrowing his eyes. Yet, no matter how desperately he searched, there wasn't a single trace of blood or the man's corpse. The alley was merely filled with dirty water and trash bags.
'Did I not kill…'
The man had disappeared.
Nova scratched his head, massaging his temples while recalling what had occurred before he collapsed. He vividly remembered the sensation of slicing through the soft, hot flesh. He clearly remembered the spillage of blood.
'Wait, my ribs…'
'They're not broken…?'
Nova caressed his chest, realizing he was devoid of injuries. So was there no scuffle? How had he ended up in the alley? How had he collapsed? Nova could only suppress the urge to scream, releasing a simple sigh before standing up.
However, at that moment, his gaze fell upon a nearby object.
At the exact location where the man's corpse should've been, there instead remained a black box. As Nova approached it, he quickly realized that the box was–in fact–a very ancient-looking book.
'A book? Who left a book here?'
Nova was instinctively drawn to a simple-looking book. It was wrapped in black leather, with undecipherable words of another language etched upon it. The pages seemed to have been dipped in black coffee and then dried, providing them an appearance similar to that of a treasure map.
As caressed the leather, he felt a sense of comfort.
Opening the book, he was quite surprised as he realized there were only a few words written on the page. The entirety of the book was empty, aside from the first page.
'Is this a journal?'
Scratching his head, Nova began reading the few words of text that remained. Although difficult to decipher, the youth was able to understand the intention and use a bit of context to realize what the Author had written.
He absent-mindedly spoke the words.
"Once upon a time, there existed an Earth devoid of Arcana. It was a world isolated from the clutches of 'that.'"
"Times were better then."
Silence.
'Huh?' Nova cocked his head, confused as to what the words symbolized. Was this a fragment of a fantasy novel? The rambling of a drunk man? Perhaps they were the words of someone suffering from psychosis.
Nova didn't believe they were the words of a sane person.
Definitely not.
Releasing another sigh, he brushed his clothes before grabbing his backpack and heading home. Although the memory was still vivid, there was no proof of his crime. Even he wasn't certain if he didn't just dream it.
As he traversed the streets of Vancouver yet again–this time–with a scarring memory gnawing at the back of his mind, Nova continued to sigh over and over again. His day had been ruined in seconds.
While crossing a busy street, his eyes came across something strange.
[Welcome, Nova Lockwood.]
[You have become the first to acquire the Status Interface.]
[Rewarded 10 Goldenshards.]
A translucent, blue screen manifested under his eyes. Letting out a shriek, he coughed a few times while suffering the humiliation. The eyes of many others lay upon him, but none of them seemed to notice the peculiarity.
"Um, excuse me, do you see this blue screen?" Nova asked a passerby dressed in a conventional dress.
The woman cocked her head, staring in the direction Nova pointed to. Yet, she only shook her head after a failed attempt. "I don't see anything. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Umm…. Yeah," Nova replied, his cheeks somewhat crimson. However, he couldn't help but sigh yet again, wondering what was happening today. His eyes fell on the screen yet again, narrowing.
'This is similar to a game system.'
'Perhaps…'
'Status Interface.'
As soon as Nova muttered those words internally, the screen changed.
[Name: Nova Lockwood.]
[Age: 14]
[Title: None]
[Skills: None.]
[Goldenshards: 10.]
'It's a game system,' Nova concluded, clapping before thumping his chest. However, he couldn't help but be suspicious. 'Why is it that only I can see it? Novels don't usually have this kind of plot, where someone gets a system in the normal world.'
Although Nova was quick to understand, there were still a few aspects he was unbeknownst to.
'Skills… What can I do to get skills?'
'And what can I do with Goldenshards?'
'I shouldn't think much of it right now…'
After a few minutes of tinkering with the Status Interface, Nova realized there wasn't much he could do. He could only stare at a blue screen, as that was all that was available. Sighing, he began walking home.
After arriving at his house, he greeted his sister and parents before flipping open a book.
'I wonder what that book was actually about…'
It was a question that Nova desperately required answers to. Perhaps that was merely gibberish and possessed no true meaning. But Nova couldn't take such a gamble. He instinctively knew there was something about that book that required searching.
He would surely find out.