Chương 2: The System

Ray woke to the sound of his own breathing. For a moment, he thought he was still inside the tank. The need to remove himself from that cramped space still filled his very being. His eyes snapped open. The ceiling was white, pristine and unfamiliar. Ray inhaled sharply and sat up. His body immediately regretted it. Pain spread through him in several directions at once. His chest ached. His arms felt heavy. His legs were stiff enough that moving them made his muscles twitch. He was lying on a medical bed.

The tank was gone. Or he was gone from it. Ray looked around and found himself in a small white room with a monitor mounted beside the bed. Thin wires were attached to his chest and arms, but no one else was inside.

'Good,' he thought. He needed a second. The last thing he remembered was the pale Nul Mana rising around him. The pressure, t hen words. Ray froze. The words. Almost immediately, green text appeared in front of his eyes. [System Upload Complete] Ray stopped breathing. The message floated in the air. It was not on the monitor. It was not projected from the wall. It stayed perfectly centered in his vision no matter where he looked. Ray raised one hand and waved it through the text. Nothing happened.

The message remained. A second box appeared beneath it. [Welcome, User: Raymond Foley] The message faded, and another took its place. [Formation of the Soul Core has been completed] Ray felt something move in his lower diaphragm. Not physically, no it was closer to feeling air in ones lungs. There was weight but no mass. It was more like becoming aware of an organ he had never known existed. Something round and dense rested deep inside him, near the center of his body. It did not beat like a heart.

It did not move like a lung. It simply existed. Ray focused on it. The moment he did, warmth spread outward from his chest. The warmth stretched into thin lines that ran through his body. They crawled through his arms, legs, neck, and spine. Some were steady. Some flickered. Others felt incomplete, like roads still being built. Another message appeared. [User's body has fully adapted to the Soul Core] [Mana Ways have begun to form] Ray looked down at his hands.

They looked the same b ut something was under the surface now. Something moving. Ray had heard of Mana Ways in this world's memories. Soldiers had them. The powerful had them. People who could fight Beasts had them. He had never imagined feeling them form. A laugh almost escaped him, but it died before leaving his throat. Ray's last few moments were spent on a rooftop trying to save a cat and then he woke up in another world inside the body of a criminal.

He had been arrested, sentenced, dragged to a military base, submerged in magic liquid, and now floating green messages were calmly informing him that his body had been altered. At some point, panic stopped being useful. Ray focused on the word System. The green text reacted. A new window opened. [User: Raymond Foley, Stage: 0 Phase: 0] [Attributes: Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Intelligence: 10 Mana: 0%] [Soul Core saturation: 0%] [Absorbed Essence: 0/7] Ray read it twice. Then a third time. Stage 0. Phase 0.

That sounded pathetic. Ray focused on the Stage and t he screen shifted. [Stage] [A measurement of Soul Core development and total Mana capacity] [Current Stage: 0] Ray focused on Phase next. [Phase] [A measurement of progress within the current Stage] [Current Phase: 0] Simple. Brutally simple. He was at the bottom. Ray looked at Mana. [Mana] [Current Mana: 0%] [Core regeneration pending Mana Way alignment] That explained the hollow feeling in his chest. His Core existed, but it was empty.

Like being handed a weapon with no ammunition. Ray moved to the next part of the screen. [Attributes] [Strength: 10] [Agility: 10] [Intelligence: 10] He stared at the numbers. They seemed so small.

'Ten might as well be zero,' he thought. Ray leaned back against the bed. His head hurt again, and his chest had that familiar feeling of anticipation. Not from the System but f rom the possibilities. That was dangerous thinking. Hope always asked for payment later. Still, his eyes refocused on the message. Below the Attributes was another section. [Soul Core Saturation: 0%] [Absorbed Essence: 0/7] Ray focused on Essence.

[Essence] [Condensed Elemental Mana capable of permanently altering the Soul Core] This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. [Essence Slots Available: 7] Seven. Ray understood the number immediately. Seven chances. Seven ways to become something other than a starving orphan, a failed gang leader, or a man who had stepped off a roof because he could not think of a reason to keep going. Ray's hands curled against the sheets. He was still weak. Still trapped.

Still owned by the military, b ut this was different from a prison. Prison only told him what he could not do. The System was showing him what he could become. The room still smelled clean enough to make him uncomfortable, and the military still decided what happened next. None of that had changed. The difference was that the numbers in front of him could change, and for once, he might have some say in what they became. Another message appeared.

[Stage 1 Requirements: User must fully saturate Soul Core and absorb at least 1 Essence] Ray stared at the requirement. Stage 1. The first step. He had no idea what he was doing or how he was supposed to do it, b ut for the first time since waking in this world, the road in front of him had a shape. Ray focused on the screen one last time. The green text brightened. [Mission Assigned: Reach Stage 1] [Reward:???] Ray stared at the final message. [Reward:???] It was still there. Floating. Waiting.

He focused on the question marks, but nothing happened. No explanation. No hint. No convenient answer from the magical interface living inside his eyes. Ray leaned back against the medical bed.

"Helpful," he muttered. The door opened a moment later. Burgen stepped inside. Behind him was a man Ray had not seen before. He was tall and lean with long white hair tied into a bun. Light armor covered his body, black and flexible, the kind that looked like it belonged to someone who moved quietly. A huge black sword rested across his back. Burgen looked at Ray.

"You're awake." Ray nodded. The white-haired man stepped closer and studied him like Ray was something strange sitting on a shelf.

"No visible complications," he said. Ray looked at him.

"Nice to meet you too." The man ignored that. Burgen nodded toward him.

"This is Clive. He'll take over from here." Burgen turned toward the door, then stopped. He paused for a moment before continuing, his tone serious and deep.

"The only way to stop losing is to become better." Ray stared at him. Burgen's green eyes glowed faintly beneath the room's bright lights. Then he left. The door closed behind him.

'Weird,' Ray thought. Clive handed him a folded set of clothes, pulling him from his stupor.

"Put these on." Ray unfolded them. The fabric was plain but heavier than it looked. On the left side of the shirt was a small stitched number. 001. Ray stared at it.

"What is this?"

"Your designation," Clive said.

"Recruit 001." Ray looked up, then stood and changed behind a small privacy panel. The clothes fit too well, which bothered him for reasons he could not fully explain. When he stepped back out, Clive was already waiting by the door.

"Follow me." Ray followed. The hallway outside the medical room was bright and clean. Soldiers and workers moved through it without looking at him for more than a second. Everyone seemed to know exactly where they were going. Ray did not. The System seemed to, though. The moment he wondered where he was, a translucent map appeared in the corner of his vision. [Map Function Available] A rough layout of the nearby facility formed in green lines. Several areas were visible. Most were covered in dark blocks.

Ray nearly stopped walking. Clive noticed.

"Map?" Ray blinked.

"You can tell?"

"Most new users make that face." Ray focused on the map again. The green lines shifted slightly as he moved. The pair passed through a wide corridor with glass walls overlooking the base. Ray looked out. The GLMB was even larger from inside. Massive walls rose beyond the inner complexes, separating the base from the world outside. Past those walls were the Beasts. Clive kept walking.

"The Recruit program is new," he said. Ray turned away from the glass.

"You are part of the first official group." Ray looked down at the number on his jacket.

"Why me?" he asked.

"Your body adapted quickly. Your records show survival experience. Your sentence gives the military full authority over your placement," Clive said plainly.

"You are a Recruit. The program exists to create Soldiers faster than the standard military path allows. People with potential are given the System, trained, tested, and deployed. Those who succeed become assets."

"And those who fail?" Ray asked. Clive looked at him before speaking.

"They usually die before the question matters." Ray went quiet. That answered more than he wanted it to. They entered an elevator. For a few seconds, there was only the quiet hum of movement. The elevator opened. Ray immediately felt pressure. It slammed into him like the air had become heavier. His knees nearly bent. A massive man stood in the hallway ahead. He was easily the largest person Ray had ever seen. Broad shoulders. Thick arms. Auburn hair. A grin that looked entirely too pleased with itself.

Wearing armor with protruding spikes, he looked like a walking wall. The pressure came from him. Ray knew that without needing to ask. The System reacted. [Large amounts of Elemental Mana detected] [Element: Earth] [Rank: 3 (Metal)] Ray's skin prickled. The man's Mana pressed against him from every direction. It felt like standing beneath a collapsing building and pretending the ceiling was fine. Ray's heartbeat spiked. The massive man laughed.

"So this is the kid?" he asked. Clive sighed.

"What? I'm barely doing anything," the man continued. The pressure vanished. Ray almost stumbled from the sudden absence of it. He caught himself. Barely. The man's grin widened.

"Not bad," he said. Ray looked up at him, feigning confidence as he spoke.

"I've had worse mornings." The man laughed louder. Clive looked unimpressed and held out his hand before speaking.

"Raymond Foley, this is Gunther Wylheart. He will be responsible for much of your physical training." Ray looked at Gunther. Then at the hallway. Then back at Gunther. The System flashed. [Title Obtained: Recruit] Ray froze. [Recruit: 001] Ray stared at the words. A title. The System had given him a title. All because someone stitched a 1 onto his jacket and decided he belonged to a program he barely understood. Ray focused on his status again.

[User: Raymond Foley, Stage: 0 Phase: 0] [Title: Recruit] Something had changed. Not enough to fix him. But enough to prove the System was not just showing information. It gave rewards. It changed him. Ray swallowed. Gunther was still smiling. Clive let out a sigh. - Ray's room was simple and almost empty, though it was a far cry from the recent dwellings he had. The only furnishings were a bed, a simple dresser and a lone mirror. The door had opened when he thought about entering.

The System recognized the room as his before Ray did. [Room Assignment: 001] He stood in the center of it for a while. It was not a prison cell. That should have made him feel better. It didn't. Ray walked to the mirror. The boy staring back at him looked exhausted. Pale skin. Black hair. Green eyes. Prison still clung to him somehow, even in new clothes. Recruit 001. A System user. He sat on the edge of the bed and willed the System to show his mission. [Mission Assigned: Reach Stage 1] [Reward:???] Ray stared at the mission until his eyes grew heavy. He was still at the bottom b ut now there was a ladder. He laid back. For the first time since waking on Gaia, he fell asleep in moderate comfort.