LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 2: System Unveiled
Elias sat on the edge of his bed, the faint hum of the System screen lingering in the air like an uninvited ghost.
His heart was still racing from the Awakening, his muscles still tingling with energy. The room felt unnaturally still, as if the world itself was holding its breath, waiting for him to make sense of the impossible.
[Welcome, Elias.]
The message hovered in the air, a stark reminder of what had just happened. It wasn't a mistake. It wasn't a dream.
Somehow, he had defied every known rule of the System. Every other person he knew had struggled for months to scrape together enough experience to level up even one skill.
But him? Everything was already maxed out at Level 100.
Elias hesitated, his fingers twitching with nervous energy before he reached out to the glowing interface. The System responded immediately, opening with a smooth, mechanical chime.
[Status Screen]
[Name: Elias Drake]
[Age: 18]
[Title: Anomaly]
[Class: None Assigned]
[Affiliation: None]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 100]
[Agility: 100]
[Vitality: 100]
[Intelligence: 100]
[Dexterity: 100]
[Willpower: 100]
Elias's jaw tightened as he read the numbers again, his mind reeling. Strength alone meant he could lift things that should be impossible for someone his size.
Agility at 100? That meant faster reflexes than the best hunter he'd ever met.
And Intelligence — how did that even feel? Would he suddenly start solving problems with ease, or was it something subtler?
"This doesn't make sense," he muttered, running a hand through his dark hair. No one had stats like this. Even the settlement's top hunters barely scraped 40 in their strongest areas.
He scrolled down, and another window popped up, listing his skills.
[Skills]
[Physical Skills]
[Combat Mastery]: Level 100
[Unshakeable Will]: Level 100
[Stealth]: Level 100
[Weapon Handling]: Level 100 (Includes [Blades], [Blunt Weapons], [Projectile Weapons])
[Acrobatics]: Level 100
[Magical Skills]
[Elemental Magic]: Level 100 (Includes [Fire], [Water], [Earth], [Air])
[Healing Magic]: Level 100
[Illusion Magic]: Level 100
[Mana Control]: Level 100
[Summoning]: Level 100
Elias's eyes widened as he read through the list. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Combat Mastery alone would have made him unstoppable in the settlement's arena tournaments, and Mana Control was rare even among those trained at elite academies.
He barely even understood what half of these skills meant, let alone how to use them.
Scrolling further, he found yet another category.
[Abilities]
[Active Abilities]
[Overdrive]: Temporarily boosts all physical attributes by 200% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes.
[Arcane Nova]: Releases a burst of magical energy, dealing area-of-effect damage based on Intelligence stat. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
[Phantom Step]: Teleport up to 10 meters in any direction. Cooldown: 15 seconds.
[Passive Abilities]
[Iron Will]: Immune to fear and mind-altering effects.
[Mana Efficiency]: Spells cost 50% less mana.
[Regenerative Vitality]: Health regenerates at an accelerated rate.
Elias let out a low whistle as he read the descriptions. Abilities were incredibly rare compared to skills, and most people only ever unlocked one or two in their entire lives.
Yet here he was, sitting in his run-down apartment, looking at a list longer than any hunter's he'd ever seen.
And everything was already maxed out.
The reality of his situation began to sink in. He wasn't just powerful — he was something else entirely. A walking anomaly. The System's glitch. The gods' mistake.
Whatever he was, it was clear he didn't belong in the same category as everyone else.
His fingers hovered over one of the abilities, curiosity getting the better of him. He selected [Phantom Step], and the screen flickered.
A moment later, a faint blue glow surrounded his body, almost like a ripple in the air. Without thinking, he willed himself forward — and in an instant, he was standing by the workbench across the room.
The rush of adrenaline left him breathless. "That… was insane."
Teleportation. Instantaneous movement.
He'd seen high-level hunters use similar skills, but those required years of practice and obscene amounts of mana. For him, it felt effortless, like taking a single step forward.
The questions came flooding in faster than he could process them. Was this a gift from the gods? A punishment? Did anyone else have an Awakening like his? And most importantly, what did it mean for his future?
Elias sat back down on the bed, his head spinning.
Tomorrow was the Hunter exams — a grueling test designed to weed out anyone who wasn't prepared to face the horrors outside the walls.
He had planned to give it his best shot, even with the odds stacked against him. But now? Now he wasn't sure what to think.
Part of him felt a flicker of hope. For the first time in years, he wasn't powerless. He could stand on his own, without relying on scraps or pity.
But that hope was quickly overshadowed by fear. If anyone found out what he was — what he had — would they accept him? Or would they try to destroy him? The settlement wasn't kind to those it didn't understand.
The System interface flickered, dimming slightly as if to signal the end of its updates. The words [Status Saved] appeared briefly before vanishing into the void.
Elias closed his eyes and leaned back, exhaustion finally catching up with him.
He didn't have all the answers, but one thing was certain: tomorrow would change everything. Whether he passed the exams or not, his Awakening had already set him on a path he couldn't turn back from.
The cold wind rattled the windows as Elias drifted off to sleep, the faint glow of the System still lingering in the corner of his vision.