Felix looked around and saw only darkness.
Complete and oppresive darkness.
He couldn't tell if he was standing, sitting, or floating.
No sound could be heard.
'Am I dead?' Felix thought. 'No... I can think. But my body is gone... Where am I?'
Hours seemed to pass. Days... perhaps even years. Nothing happened. No sense of fear or panic was present in Felix's mindspace. Everything seemed to just... be.
*Ding
Felix felt the sound in his brain. It seemed to echo throughout the entire expanse of space.
[Host Assimilation Complete]
The messages seemed to be coming directly from his mind. For a moment he wondered if he was going insane or if he was even real.
[Dormant Genes Detected]
'Genes? What is it talking about?'
[Genes Unidentifiable Due To Dilution]
[Rewriting Host Genome With Dormant Genes As A Baseline]
Felix felt a strange sensation. It didn't go through his body, considering the fact he couldn't feel his body, but it seemed to permeate everything.
[13%]
[32%]
[64%}
[90%]
[100%]
[Complete]
The sensation stopped but something felt... different.
[System Reboot Required]
[Reboot Initiated]
Suddenly, light exploded throughout the space and Felix felt the sensation of himself being lifted.
A moment later he opened his eyes.
"What just happened?" Felix muttered aloud while picking himself off the floor. He had absolutely no clue what had just happened. "I was probably dreaming..." He told himself uncovincingly while rubbing his eyes. "But why was I on the floor? I swear... This academy is bad luck. This is the second time I've woken up on the ground."
Instinctively Felix rubbed his chest. "Hold on," he mumbled while patting his neck area. "Where is it? Where's my necklace?"
The necklace was completely gone. Felix searched the area where he had fallen asleep but nothing. He felt his irratation rising. That was one of the only things he had to remember his parents by!
Felix tore apart the room looking for the necklace but to no avail. He finaly stood up, fists clenched. How could he have already lost it?
*Ding
[System Succefully Rebooted]
[Your Status Has Been Adjusted]
[To Open Your Status Say Or Think Status With The Intention Of Opening It]
Felix rubbed his eyes again. The strange screens remained. For a moment he thought it was caused by his A.B. but upon closer inspection, the idea fell apart. First, he didn't activate the band. Secondly, he had heard the ding in his head. Thirdly, he clearly remembered the same thing happening in his dream.
And for the second time that morning, Felix had no clue how or what was happening. But, he did have one way of finding out.
"Status."
[Name: Felix Ye'Kito]
[Race: Demi-Human]
[Level: 1 | 0/10]
[Traits]
[Skills]
[Stats]
"What does it mean by Demi-Human?" Felix muttered aloud. "I'm human... right?" Not wanting to wonder about the implications of this, Felix moved his attention to the [Traits] tab. The moment he focused on it, the tab expanded.
[Traits]
[None]
"None? What about my good looks? Or my insane physique?"
The system didn't answer, prompting Felix to open the next tab.
[Skills]
[None]
"Okay. Now you're just being rude. I have skills... I know how to crochet."
Once again, the system stayed silent, refusing to answer.
Opening the last tab, Felix read through it.
[Stats]
[Strength: 4]
[Agility: 5]
[Endurance: 5]
[Dexterity: 4]
[Perception: 6]
[Free Points: 0]
[Note: Peak Unawakened Human Capacity Is 5]
The second Felix read the "note", it disappeared as if saying: "Now you know".
After messing around with the system for a few more minutes, Felix learned one thing.
The system was absolutely dead. No user help. No AI assistant. Just cold holographic screens. It was like someone stuck him with the system and expected him to just learn how to use it.
Fortunately, it did seem pretty easy to use.
"The real question is: Where did you come from?" Felix muttered aloud. "Is this my ability?"
Usually, abilities came in the form of body enhancement or elemental manipulation. This was the first time he had ever heard of a "System" ability. But it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. It was likely just a unique-type ability. His awakening seemed a little weird, but he had never heard what one was actually like.
Shrugging, Felix moved to the closet. When he had been searching for the necklace, he had found that the academy had stocked school uniforms in the closet. They were exactly his size, which he found just a little creepy, but other than that, they seemed like nice clothes. A small metal box connected to the wall was labeled "Laundry", and Felix guessed that it was for his dirty laundry.
Once he finished changing, Felix looked himself over in the mirror.
"Damn, I look good!" He said aloud. While he was still skinny and malnourished, it wasn't hard to see how he could have been quite the handsome person. He had distinct, handsome features, dark chestnut hair, and green eyes. With a little food and gym time, he was sure he could easily be good-looking.
*Beep
Felix glanced around and saw his A.B. producing a small screen.
[Greetings, new students. Please follow your A.B.'s directions to your first classes]
After clicking the screen, the A.B. map appeared with directions to his next class.
Just as Felix was about to leave his room, he spotted something that he must have somehow missed while searching his room. Leaning down, he almost gasped. With shaky hands, he picked the crystaline structure up.
"How?" Felix asked aloud. His awakening crystal was completely intact. That could only mean one thing... He hadn't used it. But he had awakened his ability, right?
Suddenly, a system screen appeared.
[Awakening Crystal Detected]
[Host Can Has One Ability Slot Available]
[Host May Also Convert The Crystal Into XP]
[Would The Host Like To Continue With One Of The Options?]
[YES] [NO]
Felix dropped the crystal, and the screen disappeared. The moment he touched the crystal again, the screens reappeared.
"What is going on?" He muttered aloud. "Did I naturally awaken my ability?" It was unlikely, considering that the chances of naturally awakening an ability were low and almost non-existent after the age of thirteen. As Felix pondered this question, an idea began to form in his mind. "Did that necklace hold an ability?"
It seemed perposterous, but it made sense. He remembered the pain and burning, floating through the dark space, and awakening his ability. He had obviously not used the crystal. So the only possibility was that he was insanely lucky and awakened it naturally, which was highly unlikely, or the necklace contained an ability.
Felix wasn't even sure if a necklace like that could hold an ability. He had never heard of such a thing. From what he knew, abilities were kept in crystals much like the Awakening Crystals, but then again, he didn't know much about abilities in the first place.
Deciding that he would deal with this problem later, Felic hid the crystal inside one of the shirts in his closet and hustled out of his room. He tapped his A.B. and quickly made his way down the hallway towards his destination.
Hopefully, he wouldn't be late.