Leveled Up

[World View: Infected and Humans.]

[Host, please choose a race.]

[Host has failed to choose a race. Therefore, a race shall be randomly chosen.]

[...]

[The infected race: Zombie, has been randomly chosen for the host.]

[Race morphing will now commence.]

[...]

[Race morphing complete.]

---

Jesse woke up hours later to a dozen translucent tabs in his line of sight. However, before he could scream himself into unconsciousness again, the system dinged.

[Steel mentality will be implemented.]

Like an accursed spell or an ancient enchantment, Jesse kept still, his mind went blank as he felt his head cool down.

'What is this?'

Though shaken by disbelief, not an ounce of fear or panic could be seen in his eyes.

He stared at the tabs in his line of sight. "What are you?"

[-Ding]

[Would you like to know about yourself?]

[Call on the 'system interface.']

His question went unanswered, but still, Jesse remained unbothered and called out the system's interface.

[--System Interface--]

[Host: Jesse Louis]

[Race: Infected]

[Level: 0]

[Health Points: 50/50]

[Awakening Points: 0]

[Experience Points: 0/100]

[-Attributes-]

[-Skills-]

[-Quests-]

[Call out 'Attributes,' 'Skills,' or 'Quests' to check your attributes, skills, and quests, respectively.]

[Host's rash state of mind has been depleted. Steel mentality will now be removed.]

Jesse stood in front of the mirror. The system tabs piled up in a small corner of his eye.

The gem on his chest had dissolved into a black, intricate tattoo. Small but noteworthy, each stroke was deeply etched into his skin, taking a smaller shape of the gem that was once in its place.

'What good was this sudden system to him?'

He was not even human anymore, and living in a place filled with humans was nothing short of an invitation for trouble.

His line of thought was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. Dragging his tired body up, he walked to the door and opened it.

"Yes?"

The middle-aged man who stood behind him stared down at Jesse and then at his bare, tattooed chest. Squinting his eyes, he murmured, "Kids these days."

"I am from EDD, the Enhancement and Development Division. We received a call yesterday about an unregistered ability user," the man said, looking into Jesse's eyes.

"I have no ability." Jesse squinted, slightly bothered by the sudden overwhelming presence.

Raising a small tube of orange liquid, the man pointed at it. "Well, you are in luck."

Jesse stared blankly at the familiar orange liquid. The first time he had laid eyes on this liquid was when he was six. The ability users' government agency had decided to adopt a few of the kids whose families were affected by the breach; however, only kids who had manifested abilities were adopted. And the second time was at school, where a few kids were directly enrolled into SSAD, Spectra School for Ability Diversity.

"I don't want it," Jesse frowned, looking away from the serum.

"You will be arrested for making a prank call."

"I never called—"

"My words against yours," the man interrupted, slowly shaking the tube between his fingers.

Though not wanting to go through another disappointment accompanied by a whole new round of embarrassment, Jesse knew how little his words held against an employee of EDD.

He took the serum from the man's hand, emptying the tube with one gulp.

As soon as the orange liquid touched Jesse's tongue, a burning sensation coursed through his veins. He tried to spit it out, but it was too late. The serum was already being absorbed into his body.

At first, Jesse felt a wave of nausea wash over him. His vision blurred, and his head spun. He stumbled backward, trying to grab onto something to steady himself, but his hands felt like lead weights.

The EDD agent caught him by the arm, holding him upright. "It's just the initial reaction," he said calmly. "It will pass."

But Jesse knew something was wrong. His body felt like it was being torn apart from the inside out. He could feel his cells mutating, changing in ways he couldn't understand.

And then, suddenly, everything stopped. The nausea, the dizziness, the burning sensation—all gone.

This situation had been taught in school a thousand times over, but experiencing it was a whole different story.

Still shocked by the fact that the serum had actually activated, Jesse looked down at his hands, expecting to see a significant difference, but they looked the same.

"What's this?" he muttered.

"What? Did you expect to shoot out wings like Lee?" The man smirked, his lips curling up into a taunting smile.

[-Ding]

[A minimal amount of sterilized Ceteorin has been consumed.]

"It'll take a while for the serum to complete the evolution," the EDD agent said, scribbling a few words on his notepad. "I'll take my leave now. However, I will be returning in a week or two," he added, walking away.

[A sterilized Ceteorin is harmful to your race.]

[Sterilized Ceteorin is beginning to affect your body system.]

"Ugh." Jesse fell to the floor after slamming the door.

[Would you like to concentrate the sterilized Ceteorin?]

[Yes/No]

He covered his mouth and coughed from the pain, dyeing his hands red with blood.

[...]

[Please pick an option.]

[Yes/No]

"Goddammit. Yes!" Jesse groaned. The pain he had felt since he encountered that horrendous 'shooting star' was more than all the pain he had felt in his whole life combined.

[Sterilized Ceteorin is being processed.]

[Your level is below average; hence, concentration will take a while.]

[To aid faster concentration, Host will be forced into a short state of steel mentality.]

[Steel mentality has been implemented.]

A warm red liquid trickled down his nose as the pain slowly faded away.

[Sterilized Ceteorin has been concentrated.]

[...]

[A single-level evolution has occurred.]

[Level: 1]

[Health Points: 100/100]

[AP: +1]

[--Attributes--]

[Strength: 10]

[Agility: 8]

[Perception: 8]

[Willpower: 10]

[Charisma: 5]

[Steel mentality: 20]

[Host can assign an AP point to either attribute.]

Wishing to even out his attributes and increase his speed, Jesse assigned the AP he had gained to his agility attribute.

[Agility: 9]

He waited for a new tab; however, the empty space in his room stared back at him. The serum only got him a single AP point. How disappointing.

[Level up by increasing EXP points.]

The system dinged again.

[Increase EXP points by completing quests.]

[Do you wish to view assigned quests?]

---