I woke with a gasp, the phantom pain of last night's failed harmonization still coiled around my ribs like a vise. The relic-bed's glow had faded, leaving me in the dim light of Virion's domain—a cavern of stolen treasures and half-lies.
Three days of almost syncing my Loci, only for everything to shatter at the threshold. It wasn't just frustration gnawing at me now—it was suspicion.
There was definitely something wrong with me.
I exhaled and willed the System awake.
◈ Messages (3 Unread)
◈ Techniques/Styles/Arts
The System flared to life before me—a sleek, holographic dashboard suspended in the air. Each tab pulsed with its own distinct energy:
- Personal Info shimmered with a translucent overlay of my own image, frozen mid-movement like a ghostly afterimage.
- Funds glowed with three-dimensional Aura Coins, their metallic surfaces only partially filled.
- Techniques/Styles/Arts bore the jagged insignia of crossed blades wreathed in flame, while Achievements displayed a fractured crown hovering above many slots.
- [MESSAGES (3 Unread)] pulsed with red urgency, its icon shifting between scroll and envelope.
- The locked tabs—Shop and Bonds—were shrouded in shadow, marked only by heavy padlock icons that seemed to absorb the light around them. [SHOP]'s lock occasionally revealed shadowy merchandise.
- [PATHWAYS] caught my eye - its branching tree diagram mapped my developing warrior and channeler paths, limbs growing as I focused.
Satisfied with the new UI, my focus brushed Personal Info, and the screen dissolved into my Status Sheet—the same one I'd stared at for nearly an hour, willing it to reveal answers.
Rank: Awakened (Unranked)
Resonance Gift: ??? (Unawakened)
◈ Role / Affiliation(s) *
◈ Abilities / Skills *
I skimmed lower, hunting for anomalies. But there's nothing useful related to my condition. I wish the system showed full info about my condition - loci, affinity, etc.
And as I suspected, it also didn't show my resonance gift, but at least it was clear that I had one.
I exhaled through my nose, fingers twitching against the cool stone floor. The System had always been half-riddle, half-taunt—why would today be different? Still, if there were answers anywhere, they'd be buried in the one section I haven't dug through yet: Storylines.
I swiped back to the Dashboard and stabbed a mental finger at the option.
▸ AVAILABLE STORYLINES:
1. "My Sword Skills Are OP, But My Love Life is a Disaster!"
2. "Until the Stars Forget Your Name"
3. "The Merchant Queen System: From Ruin to Riches"
4. "A Sky Too Small for the Both of Us"
My teeth ground together. The first and third were familiar—Aeron's sword-and-heart dramatics, Cassandra's rise from ruin. But the others…
The second title coiled in my gut like a live wire. "Until the Stars Forget Your Name."
Grand. Final. An epitaph carved in moonlight...
Zephyr and Luna's, I decided. It had to be.
The fourth, then—"A Sky Too Small for the Both of Us"—was Nolan and that sunfire spitfire Shaela. The order lined up: I'd met Zephyr before Nolan, after all.
I focused on the first storyline. The screen bled into something new.
STORYLINE: "My Sword Skills Are OP, But My Love Life is a Disaster!"
"A blade sharp enough to cut the myths—but not the tangles of his own heart."
◈ Fated Encounter - The New Transfer Student
◈ Reunion Written Under The Stars
◈ Academy Tour - The Transfer Student's Journey
◈ Monstrous Chaos In The Academy (*)
◈ The Moment Light Fades (*)
◈ A Sword Without Rest (Ongoing)
My eyes flicked over all the events—most of them either comedic or poetic in name, but chaotic in memory.
Reunion Written Under the Stars—that was the very first scenario I completed - thinking back on it, I might have been a bit over the top, probably because I had just 'woken up'. But it wasn't that bad. Right...?
Academy Tour—more like being paraded like a rare bird through every classroom and club while trying my best to avoid attention. But I still ended up in trouble thanks to the blonde young master.
Urgh, should I really focus on them?
I am not here for nostalgia.
My gaze stopped at the latest three.
Three I hadn't reviewed in detail.
The most recent threads tied directly to the incident.
I focused on the first unchecked scenario—"Monstrous Chaos In The Academy"—and the System responded instantly, text scrolling across my vision like a mission success alert.
SCENARIO: "MONSTROUS CHAOS IN THE ACADEMY"
"Where steel meets fang, and bonds are forged in blood."
▸ OBJECTIVES COMPLETED:
◈ Divert Livia's Coma Fate (Hidden)
◈ Spatial Tear Neutralized (No Casualties)
- [Skill Upgrade Token] (Only for Lv1 skills.)
- [Twilight Fang & Dawn Thorn]
- [Reputation: Fallen Hero (Academy)]
- Titles Earned - [Monster Among Monsters], [The Shield in Shadow]
- Achievements Unlocked - [Monster Hunter], [Academy Defender]
My eyes scanned the scenario summary, searching for anything unusual—hidden conditions, unexplained triggers, anything that might hint at why my Loci refused to sync. But the report was frustratingly clean. Just another completed mission with its usual rewards.
Since I was here anyway, I might as well check what I'd earned.
The Skill Upgrade Token glowed faintly in my mental inventory, its description clear: "Elevate any Level 1 skill to Level 2."
A bit useless to me now—all my core skills were already beyond that. But I can save it for the future, use it when a good skill shows up.
200,000 Aura Coins - more Aura Coins were always welcome, especially with travel expenses looming. I might even open my own business in the future.
But Scenario Points... I frowned.
Are they like aura coins or system currency? Were these for the locked Shop? Or something else? The System offered no explanation.
Shaking my head, I moved to the Titles and Achievements.
Monster Among Monsters: "For facing the monster army alone and standing taller than the beasts." (I will be more courageous when facing monsters more than 30 alone... Good I think?)
The Shield in Shadow: "They never saw you coming—until you stood between them and death." (Effectless.)
Typical System grandstanding. Flowery words with no actual benefits.
But the Achievements were different.
[Monster Hunter] - "First step into a larger world." (Reward: Monsters 101)
[Academy Defender] - "You held the line when it mattered. Prevented catastrophic casualties." ([Monsters 101] Upgraded to [Monster Hunter's Encyclopedia])
Oh, is this what I think it is?