"IS IT POSSIBLE THAT I'VE ENDED UP IN ANOTHER WORLD?!?!"
Sion shouted in disbelief, his loud voice cutting through the silent atmosphere of the frozen forest. It was getting dark. Snow was falling lightly above his head.
He looked again at the blue veins on his skin that glowed softly in the darkness of the forest. His breathing had calmed down a little.
At that moment, Sion felt something different inside his body, not something physical, but a cold and restless energy, as if it were waiting for his orders.
Sion raised his hand slightly, and, easily commanding that energy, an ice crystal the size of his fist appeared in his hand.
Sion closed his eyes, feeling that cold energy, and soon the ice crystal disappeared from his hand.
"This… is real… all of it."
"Wait, if this is all real, then!"
Sion opened his eyes again as he remembered the moments before he ended up here.
"Just now, in my mind, what I heard was a system, I'm sure of it."
"Yes, before I appeared here, I asked for one. A system to help me. A system without an annoying personality, just something functional and simple… If it's the same as the stories I've read."
Sion took a deep breath and then spoke mentally.
'Status.'
Then, in front of his eyes, a translucent black panel appeared in midair along with a deep metallic noise that echoed in his mind.
"This…"
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[Host Status — Chaotic System]
Name:Sion
Age: 18
Race: Human, Snow Spirit (Partial)
Physique: Ice Spirit Physique (Adapted)
Titles: Blessed by Snow, ******* ****.
Class: None
Cultivation: None
Talents: Adaptive Core (Unique), Universal Will (Unique).
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[Weapons]
[Skills]
[Techniques]
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[System Functions]
— Status Panel.
— Inventory. (Locked)
— *****************
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Sion watched silently for several seconds, staring at that floating panel.
"Really, this is unreal, but it seems right. And it's really simple, just as I wanted."
Sion read and reread each line, trying to guess the meaning of each word.
"Hmmm? Snow spirit? Shouldn't I just be a human?" Sion thought about it, still not understanding where that came from. He looked at the race for a moment when, suddenly.
'Ding!'
[Race acquired by adapting to snow and pure ice energy.]
The robotic voice of the system sounded in his mind.
"That explanation was really basic, wasn't it? Well, whatever, for now. But adapt? Yes, my other two wishes." Sion said excitedly as he searched through his status, which quickly stopped at two points.
Talents.
"Adaptive Core, that's it, system, explain all its functions to me."
'Ding!'
[Confirmed! Adaptive Core: The host's body constantly and instinctively adapts to any type of energy, environment, (Blocked), (Blocked), …]
"That's perfect, so my wishes have become… talents." Sion said with a big ecstatic smile on his face.
"System, tell me the function of Universal Will."
'Ding'
[Confirmed! Universal Will: The host is free from any external influence. Nothing can hinder their actions or choices, be it curses, seals, contracts, (Blocked), (Blocked), (Blocked), …]
"That…" Sion, upon reading the description of universal will, suddenly fell to his knees on the floor as he realized something.
"I don't feel it anymore… I'm not feeling it anymore. HAHAHA!" Sion began to laugh, but not out of happiness, it was something only he would know.
"So I'm really free now?"
Sion spoke as he got up from the snow, then took a step forward, then two, soon losing count of how many steps he had taken. No invisible force stopped him. No weight on his mind. There was no feeling of being watched.
Sion felt as if he were truly breathing for the first time, his thoughts were free, and a crooked smile appeared on his face.
"Finally…"
Sion was completely oblivious to everything around him. But the moment was interrupted by a noise in the distance.
He had forgotten, no, he just hadn't really realized yet that he was in the middle of a forest unknown to him and in an unknown world.
"What?" Sion said as he went on guard, looking around him. It had already grown completely dark, and snow was falling steadily, making it difficult to see. But Sion could still see relatively well for some reason.
In addition, his blue veins glowed softly, their light passing through the snow, falling, and illuminating his surroundings slightly. But even with this small amount of light, no normal person would be able to see a few meters in front of them.
But for certain beasts, that light only showed them exactly where their prey was.
Suddenly, a fierce howl came from behind him. It was from something large. Something starving.
Sion quickly closed the status panel and glanced behind him. He was naked, unarmed, and didn't know what was coming his way.
But unexpectedly, he felt no fear.
In fact, his heart was racing with excitement, countless thoughts running through his mind. He could run, climb one of the trees, and try to hide. And finally, face it head-on.
In the past, even if he had the last thought, he would never have acted on it. But now.
Sion decided in seconds, instead of running in the opposite direction, he ran toward the howl.
Inside his body, the energy he constantly felt stirred.
In less than ten seconds, Sion saw what was making the noise. It was a bear. A huge white bear. On its body were countless scars from ancient battles.
Sion instantly felt a slight pressure from the bear.
But Sion stopped feeling it even faster than it appeared.
"SO IT'S YOU WHO'S YELLING AT ME. COME ON, LET'S SEE IF YOU'RE ALL THAT." Sion shouted excitedly as all the icy energy inside his body was instinctively sent out.
Countless ice crystals appeared around him, which were quickly launched at the bear at high speed.
The ice crystals hit the bear squarely, which stopped briefly while letting out an even more furious roar.
The attack had wounded it, but not enough to kill it.
Sion stopped and saw the huge, bloodied bear running toward him even faster, and his thoughts froze momentarily.
He tried to create ice again to attack, only to realize that he couldn't. He had, without knowing it, used all his energy.
"Shit, I was too impulsive! What do I do now?" Sion said as he watched the bear get closer and closer to him. If he didn't do anything, just one kick with those claws would break him in half.
In that moment of despair, the thought of running away didn't even cross his mind. No, he wanted to fight. Suddenly, a strange and instinctive feeling came from somewhere within him, his blue veins glowed brightly, creating strange white tattoos all over his body.
"Come and obey me! Now!"
Sion shouted mentally as the bear's claw was about to hit his forehead.
But before the paw could hit him, at an even greater speed, much of the snow falling above and an even greater part that was concentrated on the ground suddenly appeared in front of Sion.
The soft snow quickly hardened, becoming a shield that didn't even suffer a scratch from the bear.
Sion didn't wait long before shouting again in his mind.
"Answer my call!"
All the snow on the shield quickly turned into thousands of thorns so thin they were almost invisible. They were all launched simultaneously toward the bear and, in just a second, penetrated every part of the large bear.
The bear couldn't even make a sound of pain before dying.
Sion felt extremely weak, a huge weight hitting him. He couldn't hold himself up anymore and fell face down in the soft snow on the ground.
The large bear in front of him, after his attack, also fell. As they were close together, half of the bear's body fell on top of the unconscious Sion.
His first fight of many was over.
And, unbeknownst to Sion, certain eyes had observed his fight…