‚Ughh, where am I?' Sylas slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. His mind felt as if someone had put a heavy blanket over it, slowing his thought process.
He noticed that he was lying in a large hospital bed, with an IV running into his right arm. The only thing he was wearing was a strange piece of paper that barely covered his front and was open at the back.
The entire room was white and very sterile. When he finally turned his head to the left, he saw his parents looking at him with worried faces.
"What happened? Didn't I die in a plane crash?" Sylas tried to collect his thoughts, but somehow he couldn't really connect the dots. The last thing he remembered was hitting the ground after his plane crashed, so how did he end up in a hospital room instead of splattered on the ground somewhere in Sweden?
"Oh honey, it looks like you're suffering from memory loss," his mother said, her face full of understanding and pity. "You actually landed in the USA, but you were hit by a flying truck right after you got off the plane. You were rushed to the hospital. Fortunately, you only suffered a few wounds from the impact."
"Damn that weird countdown." His father suddenly interjected. "The driver probably didn't pay enough attention to the street due to the planet-wide announcement."
Sylas' head began to hurt from all the information and contradictions he had just heard. How could he remember falling out of his plane when he was hit by a truck? He had never heard of such a thing happening.
Besides, what was the message his father was talking about? He had heard a strange voice speaking in his head, but since his memory was wrong, he had assumed that the voice was also a work of his failing memory.
"Wait a minute, are you talking about the voice that said something about an unawakened planet being detected and then started a 24-hour countdown?"
"Yes, that's the one, Sylas," his father replied. "Although the countdown is almost over. There are only about ten minutes left."
This news hit Sylas like a bomb, and he looked at his parents in doubt. "So you're telling me there's a planet-wide 24-hour countdown that's about to end, and this isn't the first thing you tell me when I wake up?"
His mother tried to excuse herself by saying they were just thinking about him and not even watching the news, but Sylas' mind was on something else.
‚I think it's safe to say that the upcoming event is probably related to alien life or something like that. Not even I have the ability to create a device that speaks directly into a person's mind. And they contacted the entire planet at the same time. The technology required for that is beyond my comprehension at this time.'
His mind tried to think of ways to best defend himself from the dangers that might lie ahead, but there was not enough time.
‚This damn truck/plane crash, whatever it really was, couldn't have come at a worse time. There is nothing I can really do to prepare. I don't even have enough time to get home before time runs out.'
Sylas decided that the best option was to stay at the hospital. Since it was a public facility, it would probably not be much more dangerous than his own home. He also ordered some weapons via several drones, which would arrive within a few minutes. With his money and the value of his research, no one would stop him. He even suspected that the government might have sent some troops to protect him. No one knew what the changes might bring and it's always good to keep the smartest man on earth alive.
Sylas spent the last ten minutes getting dressed. His dark blue Adidas track pants and a slightly oversized black shirt. He liked to keep his outfits simple. Just before the countdown ended, his rifles and the few grenades he had ordered arrived, and he handed one to each of his parents.
As both of them had lived in America their entire life, they knew how to handle a gun and would not hesitate to shoot up a school or two if necessary.
Finally it was time. There were only 10 seconds left in the countdown. Every single person on the planet held their breath, their bodies tense with fear or excitement. Finally, the androgynous voice that Sylas had heard only yesterday spoke again in the minds of every single human.
"Initiate awakening protocol. Begin awakening mana."
After the voice finished speaking, the entire world began to tremble. Earthquakes of unprecedented magnitude erupted around the globe. Volcanoes erupted, and tsunamis hit countless cities. The entire Earth was filled with pure chaos and felt like it was about to break apart as huge cracks opened in cities, forests, and even split mountains.
If you were watching the Earth from space at that moment, you could see a barrier with a slight blue tint slowly forming around the planet. But that wasn't the most noticeable thing. The Earth was also expanding, increasing its surface area by about ten times.
In the hospital room where Sylas was staying, you could feel the earth shaking, the whole building felt like it was about to collapse.
Of course, Sylas was afraid, but he could only hope that nothing would happen. After all, these buildings were supposed to be earthquake-proof.
‚Why does the air feel cleaner all of a sudden? It's almost like walking through the most pristine forest, but that shouldn't be possible in such a huge city filled with emissions.' Sylas noticed that he could breathe more easily, and also felt that the air in general was much healthier.
Thump
A strange sound suddenly echoed to his left. He looked around to see his mother collapsed on the floor.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Both he and his father tried to wake her up, even slapping her lightly, but nothing worked. She was completely limp. If Sylas hadn't checked her pulse, he would have thought she was dead.
"Dad, we need to get her into bed! As soon as possible." Sylas was basically as qualified as any doctor here, probably more so. He knew that she had probably lost consciousness due to the changes in the air. For that reason, both he and his father put on a mask in the next second, less the same thing happened to them.
"We will have to stay here and notify the hospital staff later. They will probably have their hands full with all the injured from the earthquake, so we shouldn't disturb them right now..."
"First phase completed. Commencing second phase. Granting systems to every sentient being that has a mana core. Please say 'status' to check if you have awakened."
The voice echoed through his mind again. This time, Sylas had the additional feeling that something had just entered his mind, even though he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
"Status." His father suddenly spoke, causing Sylas to make a face.
"Are you an idiot? Why would you just do something an unknown voice in your head tells you to do? Who knows if it is dangerous."
"Considering nothing happened," his father tried to defend himself, "it looks like your worries were unfounded, genius."
Sylas decided not to say anything else, as he was slightly embarrassed. His father always called him a genius when he acted like a smartass.
"Status." Sylas said as well. Surprisingly, something actually happened and a blue screen appeared in front of him.
‚Seems like something out of a video game.' He thought before focusing more on the actual content.
[Name: Sylas Aetherstein]
[Realm: -]
[Affinity: -]
[Techniques: -]
[Bloodline: -]
[Abilities: -]
[Special Abilities: Transmigrator's Luck (Ungraded)]
[Chat]
[Teleport]
‚According to the voice, this should mean that I have a mana core, unlike my father. However, I don't know what that means. What I can tell from the status screen is that I'm probably pretty weak right now. No techniques, bloodline, affinity, or even abilities, except for my special one.'
Sylas thought about all the information he had just received from the status screen. The most important conclusion he came to was that magic had probably been introduced to Earth. All those terms were things you would normally only hear in video games. The existence of this screen alone proved that magic or something similar had finally found its way to Earth.
Suddenly, the voice rang in his head again.
"Process completed. Dear inhabitants of Earth. Your planet has just been awakened. This means that mana has been introduced into it. Mana allows all beings who can use it to perform unimaginable feats, as long as you become strong enough."
"However, the new awakening has also brought danger to all of you. Within ten years, the translucent bubble that currently protects the Earth will disappear, leaving it vulnerable to outside influences. During this time, all of you who have awakened the 'system' can travel to another designated world to use the knowledge and resources to become stronger."
"Become as strong as you can. Try to use your full potential. Otherwise, you will all be enslaved or killed exactly 10 years later."