3 Awakening III

Sunlight shined down through the leaves of the dozens of trees above Magnus. He was a little distance away from his home this time, he didn't want to have to wash it and clean it again, that was quite a hassle.

This time, just in case, Magnus was fully mentally prepared for no matter what happened. He was holding a first-aid kit, a backpack filled with things he might need was strapped tightly onto his back, and he stood close to a river. He was ready for any sort of pain this time. He had even prepared a route and tent-like shelter.

Although he doubted that the pain would start again, he could never be too careful, in the event of the pain occurring again, he didn't want to be caught helpless again, as such he had brought anything useful with him.

He closed his eyes again to glance at the calibration progress,

『98%』

Magnus could sense it, he was minutes away from something life-changing, that's what his intuition told him.

Unlike the feeling he had last night when his entire body, as well as his intuition, was freaking out, causing him to be anxious, his body was completely calm this time around. In fact, it even felt joyful, if that makes any sense. That, along with his expectant intuition, made him subconsciously ease himself quite a bit.

He was taking a sip of water with his eyes closed, waiting for any progress with the 'calibration', when it finally happened,

『Callibration Complete』

He immediately opened his eyes and waited for any signs of pain or discomfort, a little on edge from yesterday's 'surprise attack'. He finally eased up after 30 seconds of nothing happening. He then closed his eyes again, finding even more messages waiting for him.

『Congratulations to the Host.』

『Host has successfully passed the test of willpower required to access the system.』

"Test of willpower? Is that what that was? You're saying I had to go through all that pain just for you to test me? What the fuck? Who even are you?"

『Answering host: The test of will-power is the only necessary requirement to access the system. Characteristics like power or strength are easily gained with the help of the system. The only prerequisite is to have strong mental power and perseverance.』

『"Who even are you, exactly? Tell me the truth, don't lie to me!"』

Information regarding the system's objective and identity is too far beyond the host's current soul strength, receiving such information will obliterate the soul of the host.』

『Would the Host like to proceed anyway?』

"What? No. Cancel, cancel that." Magnus wasn't sure what obliterating the soul meant, but he didn't want to find out. So far, all these messages did was scare him, he was a little worried, but surely this... 'thing' wouldn't be able to 'obliterate his soul' right? Either way, considering the pain he went through was due to it, he wasn't going to take any chances.

『Acknowledged.』

"Hey, Mister..... System, is there a way for your messages to be read out to me or something. It's a bit annoying to have to close my eyes and read all of this." He said, understanding that the System hadn't done anything to harm him...yet, and considering its previous couple of messages, it was very likely that it could possibly even kill him.

Thus, he was cautious with all of his words, trying to sound as polite as possible, which wasn't something he was ever taught about, and thus sounded pretty awkward, as he kept accidentally switching to his regular, informal way of talking.

『Processing Host's request.』

『Request Acknowledged.』

"Uhm... Thanks?"

< Messages shall now be presented in this manner as per the Host's request. >

"Woahh. Damn, that's... wow."

Magnus didn't have an expectation for how the system was going to end up 'talking' to him, but this was completely out of his expectations. It felt like raw, unprocessed data was being sent to his brain, and was then assembled into actual information. This was oddly satisfying.

What was strange was that this entire process was all instantaneous and that the system hadn't actually sent a message or talked to him. Even though the system had never taken the time to actually tell him that message, his memory was telling him that it had. However when he tried to recall what the system sounded like, or the time it had actually taken to talk to him, his memory just blanked.

"How are you doing that, Mister System?

<Host could be informed of the method of advanced instantaneous spatial communication, however, Host would not be able to understand or replicate the complicated process of doing so in his current state. Would Host still like to try and learn it?>

"Hmm, nah it's okay, you said I wouldn't be able to do so in my current state, so does that mean I'll be able to do so in the future?" Said Magnus, knowing that his complete lack of talent would mean that even if it was possible for him to leave it, it would take a long, long time. Either way, it said he was not going to be able to learn it, but that was only temporary.

<Affirmative. >

"Also, do you have a name or anything? It feels weird calling you Mister System. Wait are you female? Should I call you Miss System?"

Magnus let out a barrage of questions.

<The system does not have an identity, it is only here to serve the host and aid him in his growth, and can be thought of as an ability or unique characteristic. The system can be addressed with whatever the host feels like.>

"Alright, let me summarize my thoughts and I have a few things I'm curious about right now. Please correct me if there's anything I'm misunderstanding, and please resolve my queries."

<The system will answer to the best of its abilities without giving away information that will harm the host.>

"Thanks. Umm, you won't mind if I'm not really polite, would you? I have difficulty talking like that"

The system immediately confirmed, to his surprise, that the relationship status between them was that he was the 'Host' and he could do whatever he felt like doing.

Oddly gaining a slight self-esteem boost, after seeing that the system talked pretty nice to him, considering everyone else in his life pretty much spat on top of anything he said.

"Ahem, so, firstly, what did you mean by power and strength are easily attainable with the help of the system? And secondly, what exactly do you do, mister system? Also, do you have any idea where my ring went? It was really important to me. Did it's disappearance have something to do with you, or did I actually just lose it?"

<All answers have been filtered to be helpful without putting the Host's soul at risk.>

<The system was designed for the sole reason of aiding the Host in his legacy. The Host was selected due to a reason that is undisclosable for the present.>

<The system has a variety of functions, such as the Status Function, the Growth Function, and the Quest Function, the Inventory Function, as well as a few other minor functions such as the Mapping Function, the Clock Function, the Appraisal Function, the Translation Function, and a few more.'>

Each message entered his head one after another before he even had time to react to them.

<However, those are not the only functions in the system. The Quest Function is the platform in which the Host can go through certain scenarios in order to receive rewards, and there is a certain possibility of the quest reward being another function of the system. However, the functions given are limited by the characteristics, and paths that are taken by the Host.>

<For example, if the Host goes on the route to becoming a priest, the Host wouldn't receive functions that aided the Host in managing armies, but rather one that would allow him to view the condition of those around him, and what they need healing in. '>

<As for 「The Philosopher's Stone」that was in possession of the Host, unlike what the Host assumed, it is not a regular stone. It is an object of legends with unbelievable properties. After sensing the arrival of the system, the philosopher's stone began to react. Once the Host had overcome the Test of Willpower, the system had calibrated and noticed that the Host was in a dangerous condition. As such, the system decided that the only possible option was to fuse the philosopher's stone with the host's body, in order to heal it.>

<After confirming that the host's condition was back to optimal, the system decided to recalibrate itself in order to not conflict with the energy of The Philosopher's Stone present in the host's body. The system immediately began recalibration after the host had fully woken up.>

<Although the Host has now absorbed the Philosopher's Stone, the digestion of the energy inside the stone will take the system around 3 weeks to fully ingest, in order to keep the body of the Host in a stable condition.>

<Additionally, once the Host has reached a certain level of power, he will be able to recreate the Philosopher's Stone using its energy, and its essence has been noted by the system, for identical creation.>

<Now that the Host's queries have been answered, the system will begin with the commencement ceremony, to reward the Host for his passing of the Test of Willpower.>

"Uhhh, sure," replied Magnus, somewhat caught off guard by the amount of information the system had given him. Even though he now knew that the ring was now a part of him, he was somewhat dismal that he wouldn't get to see it for a while, until he 'Identically Recreated' it, whatever that meant.

[Host has passed the Test of Willpower.]

[Host has confirmed his position.]

After these 2 messages, a barrage of messages all appeared at once, without time for Magnus to properly read them all, but he was able to recognize them as the same functions the system had introduced earlier.

[Status Function has been unlocked.]

[Growth Function has been unlocked.]

[Inventory Function has been unlo...]

[Quest Function has be...

[Map Functio...

[Transl...

...

The messages paused for 3 seconds before even more immediately popped up.

['Strengthened Physique' has been acquired.]

['Resolute Willpower' has been acquired.]

['Rational Mind' has been acquired.]

['Master of The Philosopher's Stone' has been acquired.]

<Advising the Host to view his status.>

"Uhh, how exactly do I do that?"

<The Host can just think about using the status function in order to pull it up. The same process goes for viewing any other function or activating any skill.>

<The Host can also just think about any queries in his mind, and the message will be conveyed, as the system is a part of the Host's body. However, the system will never interfere with the Host's thoughts unless asked to, or in the case of an emergency or necessity.>

"Oh, alright, that makes sense I guess."

Magnus then thought about opening his status, and the information about his status was immediately transferred to his mind, similar to how the system delivered its messages to him.

STATUS:

{Magnus}

Occupation: N/A

Titles:

-Master of the Philosopher's Stone( condition: Partially Absorbed)

Traits:

-Strengthened Physique

-Resolute Will

-Rational Mind

Stats:

Strength: 12

Agility: 11

Vitality: 32

Mana: 1

Spirit: 15

Skills:

N/A

"Woah. So the status is like a game-like interface? I like that, it's easier to read. Also, how come my vitality is so much higher than anything else. Is it because of the philosopher's stone fusing with me?"

<The status was designed to be easily comprehended by the host. As such, it has taken the form of an RPG interface.>

<Responding to the Host's question. As the Host has said, the vitality of the Host is above everything else. It is due to the small amount of energy of the Philosopher's Stone that has already been fused with the Host, which gave the Philosopher's Stone the Condition: Partially Absorbed. The Host has acquired the trait: Strengthened Physique for a very similar reason.>

Magnus nodded his head in understanding and took some time to completely observe everything about the status.

"Also, I wanted to ask about the skills part. The only way to acquire skills is to enter the tower, right? And also, are my stats above or below average? I can't tell if I should be happy or not."

<The System will grant the Host certain skills depending on if the Host clears certain conditions. The Host can gain skills both by completing quests or doing something that insinuates the acquisition of a certain skill.>

<For example, if the Host treats the wounds of a multitude of people, the Host would receive a healing-type skill, depending on other conditions and factors as well. There is no limit to the number of skills the Host can have.>

<The Host's stats are above average when compared to other 15-year-olds. The average is approximately 8 for each category. Unfortunately, the Host's mana is very low compared to average, due to his innate conflicts in his body.>

[Commencing final part of Introduction]

"Commencing what?"

<The system is allowed to grant the Host one high-grade skill from a certain selection of skills. The system has decided that the skill: 'Mana Mastery' is the most necessary skill for the Host in the present.>

[Acquiring skill: Mana Mastery]

Before Magnus even got to say anything, he had already acquired the skill, which was displayed in his status. He was pretty annoyed, though.

"Wait what? No, wait, don't I get to chose what skill I want? You said those are all high-grade skills, can't I get a skill to like fly or something."

<The first skill has to be decided by the system to be the most pertinent skill for the host. Apologies to the Host.>

Seeing the ever polite tone of the system, Magnus realized that it was doing its best to help him, and he should've tried and controlled any negative feelings. "Ah, it's alright then, I guess. Thanks, system!"

[Skill Acquired: Mana Mastery]

[Mana Stat has increased by 50]

['Mana Circuit' has been acquired.]

['Blessed by Mana' has been acquired.]

"Woahh, I thought it would only be one skill." Magnus had received a whopping 50 mana, which was just barely smaller than every stat he previously had, all added up.

<Receiving the mastery of mana has let the Host gain full control over mana, letting the host receive other effects as well.>

Magnus looked at his status again to confirm the changes, and there it was.

{Magnus}

Occupation: N/A

Titles:

-Master of the Philosopher's Stone (partially absorbed)

-Blessed by Mana

Traits:

-Strengthened Physique

-Resolute Will

-Rational Mind

-Mana Circuit

Stats:

-Strength: 12

-Agility: 11

-Vitality: 32

-Mana: 51

-Spirit: 15

Skills:

-Mana Mastery

'I wonder if it'll show an explanation for the skill if I think of it.' thought Magnus, and right on queue, as if waiting for him to think so, the description popped up on his status.

-Mana Mastery {passive} :

Host now has the ability to produce the purest form of mana. All mana will bend to the Host's will, and gives the Host affinity to all elements and attributes.

Gives the Host complete control over mana, and mana will now bend to the Host's will. Gives the Host affinity to all the elements and attributes. Host now has the ability to learn to cast magic.

Magnus read the description multiple times, pondering over every word. He was really pleased with this new skill. His weakest point, his mana control, now became his strongest suit.

It was then, just as he was about to thank the system once again-

[The Philosopher's Stone (condition: partially absorbed)'s is reacting to the pure energy present in your body.]

"It's doing what now?"

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(Another small Author Note: there might be a lot of different titles, skills, and overall information that'll be hard to actually remember, so don't worry about it, these names are explained a lot more later when they get their time to shine. For this novel, I wouldn't recommend skim-reading, however, don't try and remember each part of each person as well, if that's how you like reading, feel free, but you don't exactly...need to. Anyway, this is just for reference to all my incredible readers. <3.)