The training grounds hummed with a different kind of energy. Only two days remained until the end of the one-month grace period, a subtle deadline that hung over every first-year like a freshly sharpened blade. Students moved with newfound urgency, their practice swings more deliberate, their spells imbued with a stronger will. Arin, leaning against a rough-hewn pillar, watched them. He saw the gleaming, customized gear – a stark contrast to the academy-issued training weapons.
There was Rei, swinging a Greatsword that now hummed with a faint, internal light, its polished blade reflecting the morning sun with a faint, almost ethereal glow. It wasn't just a heavy piece of steel anymore; it was an extension of his being, a true Light Knight's weapon. Beside him, Kaela was a bastion of defiance, her circular shield no longer a dull grey, but a striking reddish-gold, infused with protective runes that rippled subtly with her mana. She didn't just block; she absorbed, deflected, and even retorted with controlled force, a true Shield Guardian in the making.
Their weapons, born from months of dedicated practice and mana refinement, were personal statements, tools perfectly attuned to their users. Arin, with his borrowed bows, spears, and daggers, felt a quiet ambition stir within him. He had mastered the forms, yes, but he needed his tools. Weapons that were not just extensions of his will, but reflections of his unique, adaptable nature.
A sharp, metallic clang drew his attention as Rei's Greatsword connected with a practice dummy, shattering it with a resounding crack. "Hah! Almost there!" Rei boasted, wiping sweat from his brow.
Kaela lowered her shield, her voice carrying across the yard. "You hit like a brick wall, Rei. Try hitting something that moves next time!"
Rei grinned back, flexing a bicep. "Why bother, when they'll just shatter anyway? Besides, we need to be ready for Wild Dominions, right? Heard they're forming teams already."
He caught Arin's eye and waved him over. "Hey, Arin! Thinking of diving into a dungeon with us? We're brainstorming team comps. Standard fare, you know: scout, tank, damage dealer, healer, usually some kind of specific class skill like a trap master or crowd control."
Arin walked closer, the conversation sparking a new chain of thought. Dungeon diving. Teams. Specialized roles. It made perfect sense. He had spent his time perfecting individual combat styles, but exploring these dangerous zones required more than just personal prowess. It required synergy, strategy, and distinct capabilities. Before he could even think about joining a team, he needed to solidify his own unique skill set, something beyond just being an instant master of various weapons.
"Yeah, I've been thinking about that," Arin replied, his gaze distant as his mind began to race, sketching out theoretical team compositions and the gaps he could fill. "A lot to consider before heading out there, especially if we want to hit the deeper."
Rei sighed dramatically. "Honestly, if we could just awaken some kind of system like in those old novels, it'd make everything so much easier. Just 'Ding! Quest complete! Gain skill point!' No more endless drills, just clear progression." She chuckled, shaking her head.
The words "awaken system" hit Arin like a mana bolt. His distant gaze snapped into sharp focus. A system. The term echoed, resonating with a thousand memories from a forgotten past – worlds of digits, levels, stats, and neatly cataloged skills. His breath hitched. Of course! His own existence was already based on a kind of system: Arcane Frame and Mind Vault were essentially game-like mechanics. If he could quantify his unique abilities, measure his progression in tangible digits, it would streamline everything. It would be the ultimate tool for optimizing his growth, understanding his potential, and truly becoming "something else."
His mind, already a supercomputer, began to whir at an unprecedented speed. All those novels, all those games, all those meticulously designed character sheets... it was all raw data. A blueprint. He could manifest a system. Not just for himself, but perhaps, as a skill. An innate ability to quantify and optimize his own existence.
"Right," Arin said abruptly, his eyes wide with a sudden, overwhelming idea. "That's it. I've got to go." He didn't wait for a response, turning on his heel and sprinting away from the training grounds, leaving a bewildered Kaela and Rei behind.
"What's got him in a twist?" Kaela wondered aloud.
Rei scratched his head. "Beats me. Probably remembered he left a book open in the library."
Arin, meanwhile, tore through the academy grounds, his mind a storm of concepts. He burst into his dorm room, slammed the door shut, and pulled out his largest, blankest parchment. His quill flew across the surface, writing furiously:
System. Tasks. Missions. Rewards. Titles and their effects. Item drops. Stats.
He scribbled, sketched, theorized. His Mind Vault spun, cross-referencing every fictional system he'd ever absorbed, stripping away their flaws, optimizing their efficiency. His Master's Encyclopedia provided the foundational arcane theory, mapping abstract concepts like 'mana pool' to quantifiable metrics, and 'skill mastery' to precise numerical progression. How would mana manifest as a stat? How would his skills be categorized? What kind of "missions" would lead to "rewards"? He designed a conceptual interface, a mental framework for measuring his own evolving power. He needed a way to visualize his progress, his mana pool, his adaptability, his very physical resilience as quantifiable data. This wouldn't be just a mental exercise; it would be a fundamental re-shaping of his internal reality, a skill born from pure conceptualization.
With every line, every diagram, the mana within him surged. He was pouring his will, his intent, his very essence into this concept. He visualized the skill, not as something granted, but as something forged from his understanding of arcane principles and the mechanics of existence. He pulled on the accumulated mana in his core, the vast reservoir he had meticulously built over the past month. It drained from him like water from a breached dam, a cold, sickening emptiness spreading from his core outwards. His vision began to tunnel, the parchment blurring into an incandescent glow. His body trembled uncontrollably, not from cold, but from the raw void where his power had been, every nerve ending screaming as the last vestiges of his reserves flowed into the grand, ambitious design.
A sharp, piercing pressure built behind his eyes, then a sudden, dizzying emptiness. The quill clattered from his fingers, and Arin crumpled to the floor, consciousness slipping away into a profound darkness.
The first thing Arin registered was the low murmur of voices. He was warm, too warm, and the distinct scent of sterile herbs filled his nostrils. He blinked, his eyelids heavy, and found himself staring at a white ceiling. An infirmary.
"He's coming around," a familiar, concerned voice whispered.
He turned his head slowly, his vision still a little blurry, to see three faces hovering above him: Kaela, her brow furrowed with worry; Rei, looking unusually solemn; and standing beside them, the imposing figure of Professor Helros, his Class 3A instructor, known for his piercing intellect and no-nonsense attitude. Helros's dark robes seemed to absorb the dim light of the infirmary.
"Arin?" Kaela's voice was soft with relief. "You gave us a fright! What in the name of the Void happened to you? We found you unconscious in your dorm room, drained pale as a ghost."
Professor Helros crossed his arms, his gaze sharper than any blade. "Indeed, Arin. You've been out for nearly two days. Your mana core was completely empty, a feat rarely seen outside of extreme magical exertion or prolonged ritual casting for summons. Care to explain why a first-year student, even one with your… aptitude, would push themselves to such a dangerous extreme?"
Arin's eyes widened. Two days? He'd been out for two days?! His mind raced, scrambling for an excuse, a plausible cover story. He couldn't tell them the truth, not yet. Not about trying to manifest a system. They'd think he'd gone mad, or worse, expose his unique abilities before he was ready.
He managed a weak, embarrassed smile. "Professor... friends... I... I apologize. I was simply trying to... push the limits of my Master's Encyclopedia skill. You see, I was trying to truly quantify its full potential, to see how much data and conceptualization it could handle at once. I got a little carried away, testing the theoretical energy expenditure for… complete, absolute understanding." He winced, trying to look genuinely sheepish. "It seems I exhausted my mana far more than anticipated. A learning experience, truly."
He held his breath, waiting for the interrogation. Professor Helros merely studied him for a long moment, a flicker of something unreadable in his deep-set eyes, before finally nodding slowly. "A valuable lesson, then, Student Arin. Mana exhaustion, while unpleasant, can teach discipline. Next time, inform an instructor before attempting such... thorough empirical research." There was a hint of dry amusement in his voice as he left, but his eyes, for a fleeting moment, held a knowing glint that suggested his acceptance of the explanation was more about convenience than conviction.
Rei let out a relieved laugh. "So you just... read yourself unconscious?"
Kaela punched his arm lightly. "Be nice, Rei! He was trying to push his limits! Though, two days? That's impressive, Arin."
Arin managed a weak nod, inwardly breathing a massive sigh of relief. They bought it. Or at least, Professor Helros seemed to. The man was too shrewd to be completely fooled, but Arin had given him just enough of a plausible, if eccentric, explanation.
As his friends continued to fuss over him, Arin's eyes drifted to his hand, hidden beneath the thin infirmary blanket. A faint, almost imperceptible symbol, like a stylized binary rune, shimmered just beneath the skin of his palm. He felt it. A new connection. A new awareness.
The system was there. It was active. And his true journey had just begun.