Kyle slowly sat up on the bed and tilted his head. "System?"
Even as he spoke, sothing felt off. This was not the usual system. The voice was different, and even the notification box had a slightly altered shade.
[I am not your usual system, but an observer. I have been assigned the role of helping you adapt to your new side.]
Kyle blinked in surprise. "By whom?"
[Soone among your daily viewers. You may ask them directly when you interact with them. For now, please tell if you are in the middle of anything urgent.]
Kyle leaned back slightly before asking, "Where is my system?"
[I am right here, host!]
The familiar golden-black box appeared, along with the voice he recognized.
Kyle let out a quiet sigh of relief. "System... is this legit?"
[Indeed, it is, host. Your viewer has assigned it to help you train with Genesis more effectively.]
Kyle crossed his arms. So, it was WarHorse.
It made sense. Even he was aware that he had little to no control over Genesis right now. Most of the ti, it only activated by accident, and whenever it did, sothing inevitably went wrong.
Kyle shifted his gaze to the clock. It was only three. He had nothing to do at the mont.
So, "Yeah, I’m free."
[Initializing transfer....]
The world shifted before his eyes.
In the brief mont it took him to rise from the bed and plant his feet on the ground, his room faded away completely.
"Huh?" A soft exclamation slipped from his lips as he found himself standing in a blank space.
Utter silence surrounded him, as if he had been placed inside a sealed box with a heavy lid pressed shut.
"Hello?" he called out.
His voice did not echo.
"Hmm."
Hearing the faint hum, Kyle imdiately spun around to face its source.
A woman stood there. Dark green hair rested over one shoulder, round glasses frad her golden eyes, and a faint frown of concentration marked her forehead.
She was an undeniably beautiful woman, clad in a body suit and a lab coat over her shoulders.
"Excuse ? Are you the one who brought here?" Kyle asked, cautious, keeping a asured distance.
Just then, the system notified him,
[Don’t worry, host. That person is trustworthy.]
Kyle gave a wry smile. Right. Dragging him here without warning was hardly the best way to build trust. Still, he chose not to argue and addressed her again.
"Excuse , miss..."
"You can call Aleda," she said, finally lifting her gaze from what looked like a notepad.
Kyle could not be entirely sure.
"You have a very interesting body, Kyle," she said, her eyes studying him, as if seeing beyond his face. He could not tell what exactly she was looking at.
"What do you an?" he asked, brows raised.
The woman lifted her hand, and in an instant, a projection appeared. It was a human body, stripped of flesh and skin.
A vast network revealed itself. Nerves, internal organs, the brain, and among them, the aether veins.
"This is a normal awakened body," she explained. "As you can see, the brain, which governs magic, gradually adapts to coordinate with the aether veins and Arcane Circuits."
She pointed at several round nodes within the hologram, along with the golden veins that spread through the body like a second nervous system.
"The producer, the regulator, and the executor. All three work in perfect harmony to shape a magician. Without the need for conscious calculation, a person can use Genesis to cast skills, enhance their body, and much more."
Kyle nodded slowly, absorbing her words. This was the first ti he was seeing the inner workings of magic explained with such depth.
Aleda added, "That only happens when one awakens their core at a young age and is given ti to adapt. But you... are different."
Kyle was not surprised. Thanks to One-eyed, he had been forcefully awakened without going through the usual process. Unless he actively used his abilities, he was no different from an ordinary human.
Aleda humd softly and inspected him again from head to toe.
Kyle felt a little uncomfortable under her intense gaze, but he stayed silent and let her observe.
"Alright, I have a theory to test. Will you help ?"
Kyle nodded. "Yes, sure."
Aleda raised her right hand. The notepad vanished, replaced by a simple wooden bow and an arrow.
She handed them to Kyle. "I’ll stand over there. Shoot an arrow at with all your strength. Aim anywhere below my face."
Kyle froze for a mont. "But you’ll get hurt." He was confident enough in his aim to know that if he ant it, the shot would land.
Especially with this weapon.
Aleda gave a faint smile. "Don’t worry, dear. Neither of us is physically present here. Only our consciousness exists in this space, so you don’t have to worry about killing ."
Kyle blinked in surprise. So he was not physically here? That was... strange. Interesting, but strange.
Aleda walked away until she stood about ten ters from him.
"Alright, go on. Shoot."
Kyle took a deep breath and nocked the arrow.
’System... is this safe?’
[Yes, host. Aleda is highly reliable when it cos to guidance. Follow her instructions.]
Kyle exhaled slowly and drew the string. The wooden bow bent under tension, the arrow pulled to its limit. A faint tremor ran through the fra.
He closed his left eye.
A breath slipped out.
He released.
SWISH
SNAP
Kyle’s eyes widened.
His body shifted without warning, and in the next instant—
SQUELCH
Sothing pierced just below his right shoulder.
He looked down.
It was the sa arrow he had just fired.
Aleda now stood where he had been a mont ago.
’She tricked ...’ Kyle groaned, gripping the arrow embedded in his flesh.
Aleda walked over to him. "Do you want help removing it?"
Kyle clenched his jaw. "What kind of sick joke is this—agh!" He yanked the arrow out, a sharp burning sensation tearing through the wound.
Aleda tilted her head. "Did you expect this to be smooth and painless?"
Kyle clicked his tongue. "No, but you could have at least warned before changing things like that."
She shrugged. "If I had told you, that wouldn’t have happened."
Kyle frowned, following her gaze.
The mont his eyes landed on his shoulder, they widened.
The wound was already healing. Rapidly.
Aleda grinned. "Just as I thought... you’ve awakened a very interesting body, Kyle."
°°°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading.
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