skills and shop(1)

Leon's POV

After who knows how long, I had been cursing the system. I started feeling dryness in my throat. I stood up and started cleaning the blood off the floor, rearranging the room to its original state. As I was doing this, the system's voice sounded with a seriousness I had never heard from it before, considering we had been in that simulation for almost seven years.

"Host, you should not have survived." Her words cut through the silence, and I blinked, processing them. As I absorbed what she said, my anger resurfaced.

"So, you wanted me dead?" I asked the system, gritting my teeth in frustration.

"Yes, host, you should have died. But somehow, you survived," the system's serious tone persisted, but this time I could feel that it wanted me to listen to its reasoning.

"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling a knot of unease forming in my chest.

"You are not from this world," the system continued. "When you first arrived, I severed the connection between this body and the world's main system, which means this world considers you as dead." The system paused, allowing me to digest its words. Nodding to it, I signaled for it to continue.

"Normally, people like you, coming from other planes, would be considered hostile, a threat to the plane itself. The world should have eliminated you upon knowing you are not from this world."

I frowned at the system's words and voiced my doubt. "But I wasn't eliminated. In fact, I got skills from the system. How is that possible?"

The system seemed to hesitate before responding. "That is what I don't understand. The world system considered me as native because of my very high existence level. I am capable of fooling it into believing I belong to this world."

The system stopped briefly before continuing. "The problem is you. You are not from this world—or more specifically, from this plane. Your existence should have been detected the moment the world system reached out to give you skills. But it did not detect you, or perhaps it chose to ignore it. I suspect something…"

A chill ran down my spine, and I interrupted the system before it could finish. "So, you're saying I should be dead?"

"Exactly. Yet you are alive. Even more perplexing, you have been granted a semi-divine bloodline."

My mind raced as I considered the possibilities. "What if..." I started slowly, "what if someone more powerful than the system is watching us? Maybe they're amused by my situation—by how I ended up in this plane. Could it be that they're preventing my elimination for their own entertainment?"

The system was silent for a moment, processing my words. "It's possible, but unlikely," it replied. "I would sense if a being of such power were involved. From the memories I've read from you, the strongest entity in this world is the world system itself, which is around a Type 11. I, too, am a Type 11 existence, even in my weakened state. If a higher being were watching us, I would detect them."

I considered her words, recalling something crucial. "The heroine's future husband in the game fought a very powerful being—a fallen god who liked to see amusing things. Could it be him?" I asked, remembering the battles from the game's storyline.

"No," the system responded. "he is the lowest of the Type 9 beings. He wouldn't be able to interfere with the world's system on this level. It's impossible that such a being would be responsible."

I clenched my fists, frustrated by all of this. "Then why are we both alive? If this world operates by the rules you said, why hasn't it done anything to us?"

The system hesitated again before responding. "I don't know the answer to that yet, host. But I do know one thing: if you can get skills from the world system, you don't have to buy them from the shop, which means..."

"My system points will be saved, and I'll have a huge advantage," I finished what the system was trying to say.

*************

Sighing, I moved toward the window. From there, I could see the city, which looked exactly as it did in the game. The architecture resembled 16th-century Europe, and the wealth gap between the people was evident.

Forty percent of the city was a noble area, housing only around 500,000 people, including guards. The rest of the city was occupied by commoners, numbering over 32,000,000—almost three times the population of Tokyo, Earth's most populated city.

"Open system window," I said after some time, gazing at the city.

---

[The Eternity Nexus System]

++++ Status++++

Name: Leon Raven

Bloodline: Obsidian Raven

Class: Sentinel Archer

Age: 21

Rank: Soulforged [Tier 2] (rank up)

Mana: 12,000 / 12,000 (1,000 ↑)

Astral Power: G => G+

Astral Potential: D => B

-----------

"The increase in rank was expected, but the increase in astral power was not. Even in the game, this isn't possible."

"It is due to your bloodline activating," the system explained. Hearing that, I couldn't help but notice that it sounded more human than usual. In the simulation, it felt like she was speaking words as a person who had practiced for many years. Now, it feels like she's speaking as a human.

"Host."

"Oh... sorry for zoning out," I said to the system, offering an apologetic smile. "But system, isn't my bloodline a semi-divine bloodline? Why is its potential so low?"

"Host, I think you've forgotten how trashy this body is, except for its mana control."

As the system pointed this out, my mood dropped. But then, remembering how I could solve this problem, a smile appeared on my face.

"Anyway, tell me about my skills."