[ Starting the system…Success! ]
[ Hello, Alden. ]
Along with a few notices, the system greeted him. With it came a sudden stir of excitement and anticipation inside Alden's heart.
It was a childish curiosity. He just wanted to test out this new 'power' of his.
"Uh… Yeah, hello. Nice to meet you."
There was no further response.
Alden first glanced at the idle Asta. Seeing no reaction, he once again refocused his attention.
"System, can you open the status window?" He voiced out what he assumed was the appropriate command. It sounded dumb. He'd definitely test out direct mental access next time.
Thankfully, the system promptly reacted to his words and a familiar blue window manifested itself.
[ Notice: You are currently deceased. Some stats receive correction ]
===Status===
Name: Alden Vaughn
Age: 23
Race: Human (Soul)
Title: 1st Apostle of Adventure (*New)
Gift: Spark (Incomplete)
Overall Rank: F
Strength: 0 (7.1) / 10
Dexterity: 0 (6.3) / 10
Stamina: 0 (8.6) / 10
Intelligence: 8.8 / 10
Luck: 89 / 100
Charm: 80 / 100
——————————
Active skill:
[Poker Face - G]: You have a face that is capable of hiding your thoughts. After activation, put on an act that makes emotion impossible to read.
Cost: 0.01 stamina/ 10 seconds.
Cooldown: None.
——————————
Passive skill:
[Earth's Support - SS]: Stats improve 50% easier. Reduce the time needed to master a skill or talent within 'Earth'. The probability of success of every action executed is raised by 50% within 'Earth'. Health and Stamina regenerate slowly when standing on 'Earth' natural ground.
[The King's Path - A]: Your instinct will always point in 'beneficial' outcome. More effective when calm.
[Divine Revelation - S] (*New): As an apostle of Heaven. You will heed your God's instructions, following their will. Whenever and wherever. It is now possible to communicate with the Lord you serve.
[Adventure Affinity - SS] (*New): The universe wishes for you to go on exciting adventures! It will do its best to reward you. You are likely to encounter an adventure.
Trigger based on the 'Luck' stat.
==========
"This… this is pretty fun."
Alden muttered to himself as he eagerly examined his existence being broken down into concrete statistics and letters. Reading about it was one thing, but experiencing it was a whole different experience.
Firstly, his stats were unexpectedly high.
Although Alden doesn't have any references, he can't imagine 8 being the average if the limit is 10.
For stats without a cap like luck and charm, Alden is even more clueless. Personally, he felt like he was pretty unlucky. Subjectively, he should probably be smitten for thinking so.
Alden decided just to ignore stats altogether for now. It was from his previous life, anyway.
He let out a soft sigh at the skill [Earth's Support].
Alden wasn't surprised by the effect. He had already vaguely understood the important meaning of being a 'Spark' thanks to Asta. It was just so overwhelmingly beneficial that Alden felt a bit guilty.
This was the first time he knew the planet he was living on had its own will. And based on this information, Earth favors him a lot.
Unfortunately, it was grace unreciprocated.
All of these benefits and Alden still died so pathetically. Not only does Alden let his family down, but he has apparently disappointed a whole planet.
Earth would have been better off picking literally anyone else. Looking at it this way, he understands why it was considered a crime against the world. He could only silently send his sorry and hope the next spark would do better.
A title and two new skills were gained from being Asta's apostle. [Divine Revelation] was straightforward enough. [Adventure Affinity] though, was very concerning based on its description.
"Asta," Alden called on his God. There was something he had always found strange. "Why am I your first apostle?"
"Why are you suddenly asking that now?" Asta was not looking at Alden, but he still answered. "I just don't see a need, that is all. Conceptual gods don't need worship to exist in the first place, and adventure would be boring if I intervened."
"So am I the only Apostle?"
"Yep."
"..."
Alden was not convinced. Asta's answer makes sense, but it also left many loopholes to be answered. However, seeing as the god isn't adding anything else, Alden could only lament and push this matter to the back of his mind for now.
While they were conversing, Alden was also continuously practicing triggering his only active skill [Poker Face]. He wanted to get used to the feeling of actively using 'skill'. It was probably the effect of the system integration, but it is very different from when he was doing it unconsciously.
A faint tingle sparked in his brain every time he thought about triggering the skill, then immediate effect manifested. His face probably looked ridiculous with continuous triggers and dismissal, but what could he do?
After a while, when his facial muscles were twitching from the abuse, Alden decided to explore the system further.
"System, what else can you do? Show me your features." He asked politely.
The system once again reacted to his words.
=== System Window ===
Status Window
Information Tab
Adventure Log
Customization
===================
Ignoring the customization function, there were only three options, one of which he had already explored.
Cool, he will just overwhelm the gods with his vast knowledge.
Alden first opened the information tab.
He lightly selected the option with his finger, it was like touching air in VR.
[ Location: Limbo Dimension. ]
[ Description: A place where the deceased comes to rest. ]
[ Notice: No further information can be collected. ]
Underwhelming. Alden rated this feature one star. Below expectation. Would not die again for this.
Now, he was really worried.
Alden quickly moves to the next function.
=======Adventure Log========
Earth's Spark: Earth expressed its wish to evolve to the Mythical Age. You were chosen to herald this change!
Status: Failed
==========================
Alright, Alden officially got nothing.
The system seems to just display what was already there, it did not give Alden any significant power boost like he had covertly hoped for. He doesn't get any quests and rewards like in the manga.
Alden let himself sprawl down to the floor with a tired sigh.
This would be a perfect moment to sleep, a quick reset, but unfortunately the dead don't have such luxuries and Alden was forced to be perfectly conscious.
Lying in silence with his thoughts.
Well, this was pretty much his normal Sunday morning.
"System, do you have any other functions?" He asked the air, hoping for miracles.
"System, how can I get stronger? Give me a quest."
"System, take control of body operation."
"System, change the color of windows to green."
[Configuring Customization. The color theme is set to 'Green'.]
"Tsk."
Unfortunately, there was no meaningful response.
Still, it was pretty fun. If he were to die, it was because of Asta, not the system. Alden was actually happy with the functions of his supernatural auxiliary power, getting to feel like a protagonist was an added benefit.
"We had it tough, system. You did well."
He sighed at his new partner, receiving no response.
Just having the system makes him feel a bit safer. It was a familiar concept from his previous life, a welcomed connection to his past on Earth.
'A concept… I wonder if there is a conceptual god of system…' Alden mused.
He then tilted his head to look at Asta hovering nearby.
This god remained carefree, even in the face of the looming dark future ahead of them.
After spending a while together, he was able to understand when Asta was interested in what he was watching, and when he was not. His posture would turn a little bit more upright, and his arms would cross. Such as… right now?
Honestly, that was a guess. Even with their soul being connected, Asta remains unreadable.
Contrary to the mischievous spoiled kid image he displayed when talking to Alden, there normally was rarely ever an expression on his face. And despite Asta talking about himself pretty often, Alden didn't get the feeling that he was getting to know this god any better.
An enigma. He intrigued Alden.
Just as Alden was analyzing Asta to entertain himself, Asta's head suddenly snapped toward him.
At the same time, a few windows suddenly popped up.
[ Warning: Access Denied. The target status exceeds system current authority level. ]
[ Forcibly Bypassing Restriction. The user receives penalties. ]
===Status===
Name: □□□
Age: □□□
Race: □□□
Title: □□□ Eyes □□□ □□□; □□□ of □□□; Chaos □□□ □□□
Gift: □□□ □□□ Seeker
Overall Rank: □□□
Strength: □□□
Dexterity: □□□
Stamina: □□□
Intelligence: □□□
Luck: □□□
Charm: □□□
+ □□□ Unknown attributes.
——————————
Active skill:
Unable to retrieve information.
——————————
Passive skill:
Unable to retrieve information.
==========
"ARGGHHHH!?!"
Before Alden could comprehend what was happening, he was struck with an overwhelming pain in his eyes.
It was so sudden and painful that Alden's body convulsed in shock. If someone were to power drill a hole in his eyes, it would probably feel like this.
"Close your eyes, Alden. Dismiss the system." Asta calmly gives instructions.
However, the god's attention was placed more on the hovering status window than on Alden, who is rolling around in agony.
"Interesting." Asta mused.
"SYSTEM! STOP!" Alden screamed. It was lucky that he even heard Asta's words amid his pain.
As soon as the window disappeared, the excruciating pain stopped. However, the feeling of his eyes being drilled into him was still very much fresh as Alden breathed in deeply to calm himself down and recuperate.
"What the hell was that!?" Alden failed at calming down. His eyes were still closed.
"This is surprising. Not only does that power work on you, but it can also peer at the nature of others. Even me. That was very unpleasant."
Asta replied in place of the system.
"Well, inspecting a god is a little too arrogant for now. This is on you, Alden." He chuckled. "This is exciting indeed. What a fun power!"
"System, do not open the status window of a god from now on! Absolutely not!"
[Configuring Custom Command. Information on Being of Higher Status will no longer be automatically displayed. Please access through manual commands.]
It was his mistake.
Alden was arrogant. He was too curious and casual, playing with power he did not understand.
The entity next to him was not just a simple spoiled kid. He was a being of higher 'status'. Alden was once again reminded of how weak and insignificant he was in this new world.
It turns out that system customization was probably the most important function of them all.
Such excruciating pain just from glancing at a god's information, Alden resolved himself to be more careful in the future. He needed more practice.
"Mortals, always so dramatic."
Asta doesn't seem to think the same, though.
"Alright, apostle." He commanded with finality. "It's time to leave."
Alden forced open one of his bloodshot eyes. Asta was grinning.