'A system???!'
Keith froze in utter shock.
The systems he knew in his past life were the ones he read about in web novels. Although the main character of Fallen Mages never had a system, he had come across many other novels where the MC had one.
'Based on my knowledge... A system usually appears like this in the first place—the strange robotic sound and the floating screen. It's really the kind of system I know!'
Keith didn't know how to accept all that was happening to him at this moment as reality. It all felt like a dream, yet it was so undeniably real at the same time.
[You can now proceed with choosing a Summoning Mode.]
The last robotic statement he heard resounded again, startling him.
Matilda was standing not quite far away, and he noticed that she was trying to explain something to him, but he was completely absentminded about her presence.
He was utterly drawn to the system screen—a square-shaped blue screen that she didn't seem to see. Keith quickly understood that he was the only one who could see it.
'Oh, perhaps because it's appearing on my retina, not in front of me.'
At this time, he realized that this was not the right moment to explore the system. He knew he needed more information about this world, which made him more interested in listening to the woman he had woken up to.
"Some of the Negators are wandering around the countryside... They will get you killed even before you get to Kingdom Salvador," Matilda shouted worriedly.
"And why should I be afraid?" Keith asked.
"You... You are not a mage. You can't protect yourself," she said.
"Is there any difference between an ordinary human and a mage now?" Keith chuckled and asked.
Matilda was suddenly knocked off by the implication of his words. The mages had just been unable to defeat the Negators. Their spells couldn't even harm the weakest of the Demonic Army. Only the strongest mages—those who had reached at least the peak of the Silver Level rank, and the Gold Level rankers—could manage to confront the Last Order, the weakest of the Negators.
"But you don't have to go to Kingdom Salvador. I don't want you to die. I made a grave promise to your mother that I will never let you die before me," Matilda's face held a deep sense of despair as she spoke.
However, it was now that Keith became even more drawn to ask questions.
"What? My mother? What happened to her?" He couldn't help but ask.
Matilda hesitated for a while but seemed to be moved later on to respond. She judged that he was already old enough to hear the truth, after playing the role of his mother for eighteen years.
"After being banished by the king, your mother, Queen Anice, died while confronting five thugs on our way to Fogmount. While she fought them, she asked me to escape with you and begged me to protect you with my life. That's what I'm doing, and I'll continue to protect you till my last breath," Matilda explained.
Keith flinched. "You mean, my mother was Queen Anice?" He couldn't help but ask again.
"Yes... You never grew up to meet her. That's why I have been acting as your mother. You were only six months old when she died," Matilda responded.
After hearing this fresh information, Keith took his time to recollect some things.
'Queen Anice... The King of Kingdom Salvador's second wife... Her son's name wasn't mentioned in the novel... I get that... So...'
'If I'm the son of Queen Anice, then I must be the one who couldn't awaken! Shit!'
'So, the king banished me and my mother because I didn't awaken, and she didn't want me away from her? Why am I interested in going to help them? Bullshit!'
There was a sudden change of mood on Keith's face at that moment as he went back to sit on the mattress, clenching his fist.
"Tell me, why did the king send me away?"
Keith decided to question Matilda further to know if everything was the same as he expected. After realizing that he was actually a prince—although a banished one—he knew that Matilda wouldn't refuse to respond to his questions.
Besides, she had been waiting to tell him about this as he grew up, and this might just be the right time.
"You failed to awaken after six months. Your heart could not absorb mana, which is considered an abomination according to Salvadoran law. Your father, the king, was disappointed and had to send you away, wishing you'd never show up again," Matilda explained.
"Hmmm... So, what was his reaction to my mother's death?"
"I'm not sure he ever heard about it. It happened in the Terror Zone, and not all incidents there are reported unless there is a survivor."
Matilda sighed.
Keith nodded after that revelation. He knew that Matilda wouldn't have been able to tell the king since she was banished as well, so he couldn't blame her.
Why would he?
"I'm completely enlightened. I'll stay here to fulfill your oath," Keith said with a faint smile.
Matilda smiled, her face filled with relief. She seemed glad that he wasn't so eager to take revenge for what had happened to his mother. But deep in her mind, she remained worried about Elon's sudden strangeness.
"I'll be outside while you stay in here, okay? You had a bad sleep and need to relax."
With Matilda saying that and leaving, Keith quickly switched his attention back to the system.
[Choose Summoning Mode:
**[Undead Summoning]**
**[Heroine Summoning]**
**[Beast Summoning]**
**[Weapon Summoning]**
'Undead Summoning. Being a necromancer is pretty disgusting! No way... I won't choose that.'
Keith declined the first option, moving to the second.
'Heroine Summoning. Honestly, I'd love this one, but what can powerful women do in this situation? It's the Negators we're talking about.'
Again, he declined the second option.
The Beast Summoning was even worse. The Negators were ten times stronger than a normal dragon. They tore beasts apart with their terrifying, poisonous claws and feasted on them.
'No freaking way. I can't make such a huge mistake.'
Keith declined the third option and moved to the last one.
'Weapon Summoning. No way! This is even more terrible. Swords can't even cause a tiny scratch on a Last Order Negator...'
[The Weapon Summoning System is mistaken for something else.]
[The Summoning System has automatically been requested to drop a description.]
Keith: "..."
**[Weapon Summoning Description: This System Mode will help the host summon any and every arm possible, with keys required to complete certain summonings.]**
'Arms? You mean guns and stuff?'
Keith didn't get a reply because the system had already explained it fully.
'It's truly the real arm weapon. Woohoo!'
'If magic can't destroy the Negators, then weapons will. For sure!'
Without hesitation, he chose the Weapon Summoning option.
[Weapon Summoning Mode Chosen.]
[You have successfully chosen your path... This decision cannot be reversed.]
[The Weapon Summoning Mode System is merging with the Extra.]
[Merging completed.]
[Congratulations, you have gained 1 Summoning Key at the start.]
Keith smiled.
'With this, I can change the fate of the people of Salvador and Edon at large.'
With that in mind, he stood up at once.
'I'm going to Kingdom Salvador!'
'And from today, my name is Elon...!'