Jay Arkwell hated mornings.
But this one, he hated even more.
Because his dorm wall was still glowing with red system glyphs, and the System Voice was speaking in a tone that screamed "bad news in polite packaging."
> [Tier Upgrade Detected.]
[Warning: Evolution Cannot Be Halted.]
[999x System Entering Phase Two – Accessing Core Memory...]
Jay blinked at the floating notification and muttered, "Can I hit snooze on reality?"
> [Request Denied. Core Awakening Required.]
Suddenly, the glyphs vanished.
And a new screen formed in the center of his room—silver with jagged violet borders, unlike the usual blue.
> [Locked Memory Fragment Recovered: Subject – Jay Arkwell.]
Jay frowned. "Subject?"
> [Playing Fragment...]
Memory Playback – 8 Years Ago
Jay was younger. Barefoot. Dirty. In a cell.
An old man stood outside—his eyes hollow, but glowing faintly blue.
"He’s compatible. No talent, no aura. The perfect shell."
Another voice replied, robotic and cold.
"Install the system. Wipe the past."
The boy-Jay screamed—then it cut to black.
Jay stared at the screen, heart pounding.
"Wait—wipe the past? Am I... not even real?"
The system didn’t respond.
> [Tier 2 Unlocked: Unique Trait – "System Leak."]
• You now passively affect other systems.
• Nearby artifacts may activate.
• Locked skills will start surfacing.
New Passive Unlocked: "Fragment of Origin (Lv. 0)"
• Recovers lost memories through system stress.
Jay sighed, flopping back on his bed. "System stress? Great. So the more my life sucks, the more I learn."
Meanwhile – Outside the Academy
Atop a moving airship, two cloaked agents stood over a glowing map.
The taller one, Agent Vahl, tapped a blinking light on Jay’s dorm.
"Tier 2 has awakened. That’s our green light."
The second, Agent Cora, licked her thumb and flipped her dagger. "Finally. Been dying to meet the ’Lazy Genius.’ Bet he screams like a dropout."
Back at Vija Magical Academy
In the main library, Alicia Renvale barged through restricted shelves.
"A Tier-2 evolution? That shouldn’t exist without royal clearance," she muttered.
She yanked a book from a sealed shelf: Legacy Systems & Forbidden Hosts.
The pages showed drawings eerily similar to Jay’s HUD.
"999x Boosters... Originally designed for military weapons. Never intended for humans."
Alicia’s blood ran cold.
"Jay... what did they do to you?"
Later That Night – Jay’s Room
Jay opened his inventory out of boredom.
One item glowed strangely. fre\e(w)ebn ov.e l\. co.m
[New Effect: "Shrouds user’s system presence."]
[Link Detected: This belonged to you... before the wipe.]
Jay blinked. "Wait... before?"
> [Would you like to Equip?]
"Do I even want to know who I used to be?"
> [Warning: Equipping will trigger a system memory spike.]
But then—he heard something.
A sound. From his window.
And saw two cloaked figures floating outside.
One held a blade that shimmered with anti-system magic.
The other grinned and mouthed: "We found you, Jay."
> [System Alert: Danger Level – Maximum.]
[Auto-Skill Activating: ??? – Locked Memory Signature Detected.]
Jay’s eyes flickered gold.
His hair lifted slightly in a breeze that wasn’t there.
> [New Combat Skill: "Unknown Origin: Sleepbreaker – Lv. 1"]
"Guess we’re doing this... even if I haven’t had lunch yet."