Three days had passed, not a single person came for the envelope. Lucas had kept his curiosity for himself, but this was taking too long. Checking through the cameras, no one even bothered to look for it.
"What a drag... Does any one of you people feel something is missing?" Checking through the windows, he didn't see anyone who felt bothered to look for it.
The envelope, white in color, had only a thin feeling of what was inside. It was a feeling of rubbing a card, possibly a credit card inside. Opening it could make him liable of stealing, and the evidence would be clear if he unfold it.
Sighing with frustrations, he kept waiting and waiting until the man came. In his afternoon shift, Lucas had thought of something to juggle his academic pursuit with his job, surely Bareld would permit for such reasonable reason.
Sadly for Lucas, he wasn't all that rich. Not even his parents could afford the tuition fee. This was why he was forced to work in the city, and the only one he was close to was Bareld, who treated him like his own grandson.
The only way to make a good amount of money is to join the magic knight ranks. Unfortunately, an average guy like him would scarcely pass the test.
As he was jotting down his plans and recapping everything in his vision, his glance could not control over what was in that envelope. The urge to pull it out of what was inside.
Eventually he gave up...
He opened the envelope to see what was inside, expecting something worth his curiosity. With a sound of rustling paper, the seal was opened.
He took out the content of the envelope, feeling a cardboard-like sensation as his fingertips rubbed the edge. Gently pulling it out, easing his curiosity.
"A... random joker card?" His voice lowered into a murmur, not expecting a joker card to pop up. "Is this some kind of prank they're into these days? Or maybe there's a hidden camera?"
He flipped the card back and front, clueless of what such ridiculous thing to seal away a joker card. Magic sensing its origins, Lucas couldn't detect a single hint of magic inside. It was only an inanimate object.
"Should I..."
Ripping the card open was his next plotting, but he put his curiosity on hold as he did not want to get into trouble if the man suddenly appeared. He slid the card back to its envelope, sealed it with tape.
Though his curiosity had been stripped, it was exchanged with confusion. The only possibility he believed that it was an exclusive card that could be sold for millions, then again, it wasn't any of his problems. Selling it would risk him as a thief. In a much more safer way, he would wait for the owner and with his generous offer to give him a share for helping.
Nothing piqued his interest on that, he continued writing down his notes for his future to come. With each stroke of his pen echoed throughout the room, each ticks from the clock resounding of a time bomb, and a prickling sense of uneased chilled through his body.
"*Yawn* I guess a small nap time wouldn't hurt..." Lucas fixed his posture in a relaxing position to sleep.
His head slowly shoved into his arms, dozing off at work for a brief. Customers were absent, nothing concerning to heave his mind.
In a brief moment, a sudden voice invaded his mind.
.
『Loading...』
『Loading...』
『Loading...』
〘Acces granted... Welcome, player.〙
.
A melodic voice with a tinge of emotionless feel, Lucas found himself adrift in a silent, inky void. A strange numbness, both physical and mental, enveloped him. Despite his awareness, his body refused to obey his will.
"Is this a lucid dream?" he muttered, panic rising in his chest. "I can't move..." Each passing moment, the fear grew, constricting his breath.
"Help!" he cried out, his voice echoing in the emptiness. But his plea was swallowed by the darkness, leaving him alone with his terror.
Suddenly, the void began to distort, twisting and warping into a chaotic, alien landscape. Layers of reality, strange and incomprehensible, unfolded before his eyes. The very fabric of existence seemed to bend and stretch, a mind-bending spectacle that defied all logic.
Roused from a vivid dreamscape, Lucas found himself blinking awake, as if plucked from the threads of a fever-induced fantasy.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and discovered he was enveloped in a room bathed in deep, shadowy purples. Rubbing his eyes once more, he couldn't shake the reality that his surroundings had morphed—same desk, yet a different realm. A parallel universe, perhaps.
As he wandered, searching for an escape, the magic in the air felt almost suffocating, wrapping tightly around his lungs, igniting a wave of panic that sent his heartbeat racing like a train.
Just as he was about to pivot, a strange hooded figure burst forth from the ether, startling him.
"Who the hell are you!?" Lucas gasped, instinctively backing away in trepidation.
The mysterious figure was clad in black robes, hiding its mysterious face. Its hands were on the back of its waist.
The mysterious figure then released its hood of, revealing its faceless head. "You have come, player." A voice of a woman as she spoke evident only of her jaw movement.
"Player? Who, me?"
"Correct."
The strange bred more stranges, comprehension was out of Lucas' brain. Player? A word that was unbeknownst to his own that aroused his curiosity even more.
Under the guidance of the mysterious figure, she placed her hand on Lucas' head as if unlocking something.
"How may I assist you, player?" A sudden voice came from his head just as she was stepping away from him.
"Who are you?"
"Unidentified. My name has never been coded, but what I am is an entity to serve the player that is you." The same melodic voice again, responding to Lucas' question.
The mysterious figure then spoke, "Shout the word "system" to display what it had stored for you," with a gentle she commanded.
"System!" A shout escaped from Lucas' mouth, echoing the surrounds.
〘Request granted: Showing system...〙
[Initiating...]
[Success]
_________________________________
〘System〙
〔Level: 1〕
『Power level: 1,125
Durability: 110
Speed: 65
Race: Humanoid
Magix: Pyronus
Rank: C
Physical prowess: 199
Magical prowess: 128』
_________________________________
A holographic board displayed in front of his face, no one but him can see. His powers were as mysterious as the origins itself. In his world, magic was a common occurrence, but something like this did not share very commonly.
The mysterious figure addressed herself as a "guider". The guider eventually share her otherworldly knowledge as if she already knows what Lucas was about to say. It was a frequently asked question. Yes, a question frequently asked by fellow players who had played the game.
The game here was a simple rule. Once Lucas had entered the stage where the system recognised him as its user, things would be all kinds of fucked up. The revelation shocked Lucas even more.
As to why the words "fucked up"? The world would shift into a game of its own. Players from countless parallel universes had endured this kind of ordeal; Lucas was not alone.
"W-Why me?" he asked, his voice filled with confusion. "When the balance of a universe is at stake, the system seeks a willing player."
Willing? Lucas had merely opened an envelope out of curiosity. He couldn't fathom the idea that she thought he had volunteered. All because he'd unsealed a random joker card.
Back to the importance of what the guider needed to say, "Now, I want you to be familiarised with your ability. Each player plays a unique role, you included."
"Hold on, so... Players... Are they in my world?"
"Currently, none. You are the only one who has this ability," once the question was answered, she commanded Lucas to shout the word "Gacha."
"Gacha!" A loud shout escaped his lips, giving another echo to his surroundings.
〘Request granted: 12/100. Gacha cooldown: 55 seconds 31 milliseconds〙
A horizontal rectangle-shaped board displayed upon Lucas once again, counting down his next gacha.
『Waiting command...』
The system changed its code, waiting for Lucas' next command.
"The system in you has been around 24 minutes, it seems. A single Gacha counts down to two minutes each. Now, command it to summon."
"Summon 12."
〘Request denied: Summon limit 10 per gacha...〙
"Summon 10." Lucas gave another command after the system corrected his mistake.
[Initiating...]
[Success.]
________________________________
1. Attack [Physical]『C』
2. Summon [Basic weapon][Sword]『C』
3. Skill: "Anti-magic barrier: [1 min]"『A』
4. Attack [Physical]『C』
5. Skill: "Fireball" [Elemental magic: Pyronus]『B』
6. Attack [Magic][Elemental: None]『C』
7. Attack [Physical][Special boosts: Increases damage by 20% upon impact]『C』
8. Amplify: "35% movement speed increase [1 min]"『C』
9. Amplify: "Remove mana consumption for 3 cards thrown."『B』
10. Domain: "Time stop [4 min][10km]"『SS』
________________________________
"Guarantee『S』or above: 10/80"
The board, a canvas of transparent holo display, was awash in a kaleidoscope of light. An extreme chunk of words, stretched across its surface. A cluster of random cards, each a unique star, pulsed with ethereal radiance. The C, an emerald green, the B, a sea-like blue, the A, a shimmering silver, and the SS, a dazzling gold, each card with its own distinct aura.
Upon Lucas' commands being granted, these cards coalesced, merging into a single stack. With a gentle hum, the cards materialized in the palm of his hand.
"Very good," The guider acknowledged.