2. Another World And Status Panel

Leo Nostradamus currently finds himself confused, anxious, and slightly panicked.

"What is actually happening?" I say, looking around repeatedly, finding no abnormalities or differences. All images and scenery seem identical.

But wait... I quickly close my eyes, entering a meditative position and adjusting my breathing pattern following my self-developed training.

Gradually, I regain calmness, and the panic and anxiety subside.

"Ha... this feeling is much better," I say, opening my eyes to the soothing greenery, ancient trees with unbelievably tall and wide trunks, and the pure, serene air.

"The sensation of touching grass, the fresh air, and the warm sunlight feels so real," I say, touching the grass, inhaling the air greedily, and extending my hand to feel the sunlight.

Honestly, my initial thought was a lucid dream, but after conducting some tests, it shouldn't be one.

Despite the empowerment lucid dreams provide, the sensations I experienced were incredibly real. When I panicked earlier, I didn't wake up immediately, which isn't typical of a lucid dream. And, most notably...

I pinch my left hand sharply.

"Ouch! That hurts!" I exclaim, releasing the pinch and rubbing it.

"This shouldn't be a lucid dream because this pain is very real. But if it's not a lucid dream, then what am I experiencing?" I say, bewildered, realizing that no matter how much I assume, I'll hit a dead end.

I never thought this could be a kidnapping case since what profit would they gain, and the last thing...

"Wait a minute... does what happened to me have anything to do with my request before sleeping?" I jerk, remembering what I said just before falling asleep.

I uttered it spontaneously because my greatest desire is to live freely without strict constraints. But to think an event like this would befall me just because of my casual remark? I never considered it at all.

So, what I need to do is to test if I'm truly in another world.

"Open Status!"

My body relaxes after receiving no response at all, but a moment later, it stiffens, and I can only sigh resignedly.

[Open Status]

- [Name: Leo Nostradamus]

- [Race: Human (?)]

- [Gender: Male (17)]

- [Titles: Genius, Descendant of the Genius Seer, The Chosen, ???]

- [Level: 1]

- [Magic Energy: 10000]

- [Skills: Observation, Cooking, Martial Arts, Persuasion]

- [Special Skill: Equivalent Exchange]

[Close Status]

It's there!

I stare at the transparent blue holographic screen in front of me, displaying every piece of data I possess.

Honestly, I feel uneasy after seeing this Status Panel. Somehow, I feel like the panel intrudes into my soul to obtain all the data within.

"No, maybe I'm just overthinking," I shake my head, dispelling the horrifying thoughts.

Focusing my mind, I start to read and analyze each content meticulously.

Starting with the name and gender, it's easily understood. Then, the race makes my eyebrows furrow as my humanity is questioned.

Next is the titles. Intrigued, I press each one.

[Genius]

- [This title is given to you when everyone who sees you considers you a genius and you can prove your genius.]

[Descendant of the Genius Seer]

- [This title appears because you are the last person in the world with bloodline from the Genius Seer Nostradamus.]

[The Chosen]

- [This title is given to you by the World System after knowing that you can endure transitions between universes (From the upper-layer universe to the lower-layer).]

[???]

- [This title appears because you are a manifestation of ???. And as ???, you are a self-existent being not bound by past, future, and parallel universes. Besides, you have no limitations at all, allowing you to continuously develop, evolve, and adapt without bounds.]

"What's with these crazy titles?" I say, squinting at the titles with insane effects.

"Develop, evolve, and adapt without bounds? Isn't that too much?" I say, stroking my chin, pondering how absurd the effects of these titles are—or more precisely, how absurd I am for manifesting these titles.

With this evidence, I'm fully convinced that I'm not a human, especially after reading the settings of the Self-Existent.

"But what's with those question marks? Can't it just be stated outright? Because if these dots were connected, I could easily find clues," I say, shaking my head.

I then focus on Level and Magic Energy. In short, kill creatures, get XP, then level up.

As for Magic Energy, it's a unique form of energy in this world that has numerous uses and is flexible enough to be the basis for various things.

I grin and laugh happily like a child receiving a new toy after seeing the introduction to Magic Energy.

As a lover of novels, comics, games, and anime, I'm very familiar with what is called Magic Energy.

With Magic Energy, I can use Magic, a power system that uses Magic Energy as fuel and is flexible for use in various things with limitless growth potential.

"Damn! I never thought I'd be able to use magic!" I say, unable to contain my excitement after thinking about the prospect of using a form of magic!

I take a deep breath to calm myself, then shift my gaze to the next content.

[Observation] allows me to analyze something in detail and draw conclusions. Like emotions, feelings, and someone's intentions. And not only that, I can also see someone when they're lying, their weak points, and much more.

[Cooking] enhances my already decent cooking skills even further. This skill can also make me learn anything about cooking at an incredibly fast speed.

[Martial Arts] makes my already peak-level Martial Arts skills continue to develop. This skill also makes it easier for me to advance my Martial Arts skills.

[Persuasion] makes every word I say listened to by others and makes them follow my words or commands.

[Equivalent Exchange] is the only skill that confuses me because I've never had it throughout my life. The effect of this skill itself is extraordinary; as the name suggests, I can exchange one or more items for the items I want with the condition that the value of the two items is equal. But the problem is that the exchange itself not only covers one or two worlds but limitless parallel universes! And you know, equivalent exchange on such a vast scale is very blurry, so I will try to find loopholes in this skill that I can possibly exploit to the fullest.

"Ha~ with my extraordinary intellect," I say, placing my palm on my forehead and shaking my head simultaneously.