System

[POV: Lucas]

As I entered the room, something seemed wrong. The air seemed heavy with a weird calm, as if it were a chamber that had been untouched for years, leading to a certain stillness.

My mind once again becoming unperturbed and frighteningly still. I halted at the threshold, examining the room for any signs of familiarity. 

The tall chestnut dresser and wardrobe loomed at the side, the bed made and arranged, most likely due to Luna. It seemed normal. Yet what felt peculiar was the brightness of the room. It was dark—alarmingly dark. Something nagged at me, something that I couldn't quite place.

Then it struck me. The voice I had heard just a few minutes before while eating. It has to do with that.

The low murmur of the enchantingly beautiful voice. Like a whisper that was carried on through the wind. At first, I thought it was my imagination playing tricks on me. But now, standing in the sombre silence of this room, I wasn't so sure.

"Who's there?" I questioned. It felt as if someone or something was watching me. But despite that, I felt unconcerned. I took a few steps, moving to the centre of the room. The floorboards creaked after each step I took. Adding to the tension that welled up in the atmosphere.

Then suddenly, all went black.

[Third-person POV]

Lucas was knocked out cold. His body sprawled on the floor. Suddenly, a strange phenomenon began to unravel.

A ball of darkness, a swirling mass of inky blackness, materialised out of thin air. It lingered just above the ground, warping the space around it. The ball pulsated with an almost sentient-like energy.

Without warning, the ball of darkness shot forward and descended upon Lucas. It then began to merge with his body. There was no physical disruption nor any sign of intrusion. It just seamlessly entered his body.

The moment the ball entered, the air around seemed to pulse with a new unsettling energy. His body then shivered slightly, fingers twitching involuntarily, his heartbeat momentarily increasing.

All of a sudden, his body relaxed, coming to a halt as it once again became motionless.

[POV: Lucas]

I stood there, in the middle of a vast area where destruction lay waste everywhere I peered. The sky was a mixture of two ominous colours: crimson red and an abyss-like black. In the midst of this were two figures.

Their figures were not properly visible. Their faces were obscured, yet I could tell they were locked in fierce combat. The intensity of their struggle is palpable. I couldn't tell who they were or why they were fighting, but the air crackled with tension. Their blows land with bone-jarring force. I was completely engrossed, unable to look away.

Something about this felt important. I felt a strange connection to it. Just as I could come to realise what about it felt similar, the dream shattered like glass.

I jolted awake, gasping for breath. My heart still pounding in my chest, the remnants of the dream still clinging to my mind like cobwebs. I lay still, feeling the cool of the floorboards, bringing me back to reality.

I felt strange, i could feel power surging within my veins. I felt stronger. Much stronger than I initially was.

With a sudden jolt, a shimmering interface materialised before my eyes. Suspended in the air like an ethereal hologram. The panel floating a few inches from my face with a blue-coloured screen.

*Ding*

[System activated]

[Welcome User. System interface assigned to the user 'Lucas Greymore']

[STATUS]

[Name: Lucas Greymore]

[Age: 17]

[Rank: Beginner]

[Affinity: ???]

[Skills: None]

[Quests: None]

The words hung in the air, and my mind raced to understand what I was seeing. This was no hallucination; the interface was real, and my heart was pounding out of excitement and disbelief.

The concept of a system felt like something out of a game or fantasy novel. Yet here I am with one right in front of my face.

The original Lucas was not talented, having no affinity for any element or being an awakened. This left me at a big disadvantage for the future.

Normally, people awaken at the age of 15, yet Lucas didn't due to unknown reasons causing him to start slacking. So having a system allows me to overcome the initial disadvantage I was placed in now that I have awakened. I will have to hope the system works as I think it does.

*Ding*

[Main Quest Activated: Reach the end of the game]

[Reward: ???]

[Failure: ???]

The details of the quest materialised before me. My heart was pounding harder as my mind raced. Out of both anxiety and excitement. I was excited since I was a born gamer. Without a doubt, I was completely enamoured with this game back when it was only a game.

This isn't a game anymore. It's now a reality. I felt more and more dreadful as I considered it. The more I thought about it, the more dread washed over me. The world will come to an end if the protagonist fails, which he might despite being overpowered, and yet I am supposed to reach the end.

I needed to get stronger. I had to. My resolve to survive in this world became even stronger. I cannot rely on the protagonist to beat the game. I have to take matters into my own hands now.

Although I was sceptical of the system, I had no other choice but to use it. The world might end even without it telling me, so I might as well put my faith in it.

[Quest activated: Reach the apprentice rank before getting into the academy]

[Reward: unlocking of the affinity ???]

[Failure: affinity will be forever sealed]

As if reading my desires, the system sent a new quest prompt. Initially, I was not going to enter the academy to avoid my fate of being screwed over by the protagonist and getting expelled from the academy. But it appears that that plan has gone awry.