The white light faded.
Lucian opened his eyes. Or at least he thought he did. He was still in that empty space. No ground. No sky. Just him and the screen floating in front of his face.
But the screen was different now. Cleaner. Sharper. No more red errors. No more yellow warnings. Just gold text on a dark background.
SYSTEM MENU
HOST: LUCIAN VALE
LEVEL: 99
CLASS: [REDACTED] - LEVEL 99
RACE: HALF HUMAN / HALF ???
He stared at the redacted parts. Still hidden. Still locked away from him. The system knew what he was. But it wasn't telling him. Not yet.
Then the screen changed.
SKILLS (LEVEL 99)
A long list appeared. Names and descriptions. Each one glowing faintly.
[PHYSICAL ENHANCEMENT] - LEVEL 99
All physical capabilities increased to peak human condition. Strength. Speed. Endurance. Reflexes. Your body is a weapon now.
[WEAPON MASTERY] - LEVEL 99
Any weapon you touch becomes an extension of yourself. Swords. Guns. Knives. Sticks. Doesn't matter. You know how to use it like you've trained for decades.
[HAND TO HAND] - LEVEL 99
No weapon needed. Your fists and feet are enough. You've mastered every martial art that exists and some that don't.
[PERCEPTION] - LEVEL 99
You see everything. Movement. Weaknesses. Intentions. Nothing happens around you without you knowing.
[STEALTH] - LEVEL 99
You can disappear in plain sight. Footsteps make no sound. Presence leaves no trace. People will look right at you and see nothing.
[PERSUASION] - LEVEL 99
Your words carry weight. People want to believe you. Want to agree with you. It's not mind control. It's just... presence. Charisma. Whatever you call it, you have it.
[INTIMIDATION] - LEVEL 99
When you want someone to be scared, they get scared. Your eyes. Your voice. The way you stand. It all screams danger.
[ANALYSIS] - LEVEL 99
You look at something and you understand it. Weak points. Composition. History. Your brain processes information faster than any computer.
[MULTILINGUAL] - LEVEL 99
Every language. Dead or alive. You speak them. Read them. Understand them. Even ones that shouldn't exist anymore.
[SURVIVAL] - LEVEL 99
Put you anywhere. Desert. Forest. Arctic. City ruins. You'll live. You'll find food. Water. Shelter. You'll thrive.
[MEDICAL] - LEVEL 99
You know the human body. Better than any doctor. How to fix it. How to break it. How to keep someone alive against all odds.
[DRIVING] - LEVEL 99
Anything with wheels or an engine. Cars. Trucks. Motorcycles. Tanks. You drive it like a professional stuntman.
Lucian read through the list. His mind felt strange. Like all of this knowledge was already there. He just hadn't noticed it yet.
The screen scrolled.
ABILITIES (LEVEL 99)
[INSTANT REGENERATION] - LEVEL 99
You heal. Fast. Cuts close in seconds. Broken bones mend in minutes. Lost limbs? Give it a day. As long as your heart beats, you come back.
[ENHANCED SENSES] - LEVEL 99
You hear whispers from across a building. Smell blood from a block away. See in complete darkness. Taste the ingredients in any food.
[SPEED] - LEVEL 99
You move faster than the eye can track. Not teleportation. Just pure speed. A blur. Then you're already somewhere else.
[REFLEXES] - LEVEL 99
Things move in slow motion when you focus. Bullets. Fists. Falling objects. You see them coming. You get out of the way.
[PAIN SUPPRESSION] - LEVEL 99
You feel pain. But you can turn it down. Way down. Broken bones feel like stubbed toes. Stab wounds feel like paper cuts. You keep moving.
[FEAR IMMUNITY] - LEVEL 99
Nothing scares you. Not death. Not monsters. Not loss. Your heart doesn't race. Your hands don't shake. You face everything head on.
[SLEEP REDUCTION] - LEVEL 99
Two hours of sleep is all you need. Maybe less. You wake up fresh. Alert. Ready. No grogginess. No dreams. Just rest and go.
[TOXIN RESISTANCE] - LEVEL 99
Poison? Doesn't work. Venom? Barely a tingle. Drugs? Your body burns through them in seconds. Alcohol? You'd need a barrel to feel anything.
[TEMPERATURE RESISTANCE] - LEVEL 99
Fire feels warm. Ice feels cool. Extreme heat and extreme cold don't hurt you. You walk through both like a casual afternoon.
[PRESSURE RESISTANCE] - LEVEL 99
Deep water. High altitude. Your body doesn't care. Lungs adapt. Ears don't pop. You breathe like normal anywhere.
Lucian felt something stir inside him. Like these abilities were waking up. Stretching. Getting comfortable.
The screen scrolled again.
PROFESSIONS (LEVEL 99)
[FARMER] - LEVEL 99
You grew up on a farm. But now? Now you're something else. You can grow crops in dead soil. Raise animals that shouldn't survive. You understand the earth. And the earth listens to you.
[STRATEGIST] - LEVEL 99
You see battlefields like a map. Ten moves ahead. Twenty. You know where enemies will go before they do. You win fights before they start.
[SCHOLAR] - LEVEL 99
History. Science. Philosophy. You've read every book. Or at least your system has. The knowledge is yours now. You understand the world in ways most people never will.
[ARTIST] - LEVEL 99
You create. Paintings. Music. Stories. Whatever medium you choose, you master it. Your work moves people. Changes them.
[LEADER] - LEVEL 99
People follow you. Not because you force them. Because they want to. Your presence inspires loyalty. Courage. Hope. You build armies. You build nations.
[HUNTER] - LEVEL 99
You track. You stalk. You kill. Prey never sees you coming. Man or beast. Doesn't matter. You are the apex.
[ENGINEER] - LEVEL 99
You build things. Machines. Weapons. Shelters. Give you scraps and you'll give back something incredible. Your hands know how to create.
[MERCHANT] - LEVEL 99
You understand value. Money. Trade. Deals. You never get cheated. Always walk away with more than you came with.
[HEALER] - LEVEL 99
You fix people. Not just with medicine. With your hands. Your presence. You pull people back from death's door like it's nothing.
[ASSASSIN] - LEVEL 99
You kill quietly. Efficiently. No mess. No noise. No witnesses. People just... disappear. And no one ever finds out why.
Lucian stared at the last one. Assassin. Level ninety nine.
He didn't ask for that. But the system gave it to him anyway.
The screen flickered.
ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONS DETECTED. TOO MANY TO DISPLAY.
ALL PROFESSIONS MAXIMUM LEVEL.
ALL SKILLS MAXIMUM LEVEL.
ALL ABILITIES MAXIMUM LEVEL.
HOST STATUS: COMPLETE.
WARNING: BLOODLINE RESTRICTIONS STILL ACTIVE. NEW DATA WILL UNLOCK AS HOST GROWS STRONGER.
SYSTEM READY.
Lucian stood there. Or floated there. He wasn't sure anymore.
He had everything. Every skill. Every ability. Every profession a person could want. All at level ninety nine.
But he still didn't know what he was. Half human. Half something else. Something the system wouldn't name.
And his father was still out there. Trying to kill him. Again.
The screen dimmed.
EXIT SYSTEM?
Lucian thought yes.
The white light came back. Brighter this time. Then softer. Then he felt something solid under his back. A bed. Sheets. The smell of medicine.
He opened his eyes.
Hospital ceiling. White tiles. Fluorescent lights.
He was back.