A magic circle opened up, and the young man fell out of it. "Blugh," "ugh." As he landed, he opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a dark room.
"W-where am I?" he asked, slowly getting up and looking around.
Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could vaguely make out that he was inside an ancient temple. Large pillars surrounded a vast circular room with nothing else in it. He saw a few statues standing on columns between the pillars.
"W-what is this... am I going to die again?" the young man asked, trembling and hugging himself.
Blar. Suddenly, the statues looked as if they were holding torches that ignited with a purple flame. The young man's eyes widened as he saw himself standing in the center of the huge circular room. Then, glowing purple lines on the floor extended to the nine statues, which represented the gods of the nine races in the world of Atheras.
Creak. One of the statues moved, following the light and stopping right in front of him. The young man was, of course, terrified. He covered his face, fearing he was about to die again. But when he peeked through the gap in his arm, he saw a giant statue of a human goddess standing in front of him, holding a torch and a book.
"P-please... I... I don't want to die again," the young man stammered, covering his face again.
After a few moments passed and nothing happened, he slowly lowered his arms and stood up straight, looking at the large statue in front of him. He saw the statue's book glowing brightly, as if it wanted him to touch it. He tiptoed slightly and touched the bottom edge of the book with his fingertip.
"Bwuuung." A holographic screen appeared in front of his face, confusing him. He couldn't understand the language written on the screen, only the options "YES" and "NO" were clear.
"W-what is this? I don't know what this says," the young man said.
But when he saw the "YES" option blinking, and with a sense of resignation and no other hope, he pressed it. The holographic screen immediately disappeared.
Creak... creak... creak. The young man looked at the statue. It had changed into something horrifying. Its closed eyes snapped open, and its mouth twisted into a sinister, crescent-shaped smile filled with sharp teeth. The hand holding the book lifted and swung down directly at the young man.
"Aaaaaaaaaah!" The young man covered his head with his hands, and suddenly, everything went dark again.
***
"Ugh."
"You awake?"
"Huh?"
The young man opened his eyes. He saw a ceiling made of what looked like rusty iron plates with yellowed screws and a yellow light illuminating the room. He sat up in the bed and turned toward the voice. His eyes widened as he saw a muscular, dragon-like man with black scales, a beard, and a tail, sitting next to him.
The dragon man was holding a bowl of something like porridge and was spooning food into his long, dragon-like snout.
"W-where am I?" the young man asked.
"You're in my home. I found you when I was coming back from a dungeon," the man said.
The young man looked around the room. All the furniture, within the 23-by-16-foot space, was made of yellowed iron. He saw that he was lying on a metal bed with a soft mattress. He also saw a large rifle and a huge sledgehammer in the corner of the room.
"My name's Vozk. What's yours?" the man with the deep voice asked.
"My name?" the young man asked, turning to look at the dragon man, who was wearing thick, black synthetic leather armor.
Suddenly, the young man felt a terrible pain in his head. He held his head with one hand and hunched over, his face contorted in agony.
"Hey, you okay?" Vozk asked.
The young man hunched over, both hands gripping his head. All his memories returned, and he clearly remembered everything that had happened: getting that strange package in his apartment, the ten deaths he'd experienced, meeting the evil goddess, and the terrifying statue in that temple room. He was drenched in sweat from the pain of his memories returning, and his teeth chattered as his whole body trembled.
"Hey... what's wrong with you?" Vozk asked, putting his bowl down and standing up to put a hand on the young man's shoulder.
Feeling the touch, the young man calmed down. He opened his eyes again and looked at the dragon man named Vozk standing next to him. He opened his mouth to answer Vozk's question.
"My name is Leon," the young man, Leon, said.
"Oh... okay. Where did you come from? Were you thrown down from above?" Vozk asked, now calm as he sat down and picked up his bowl again.
"I... I don't know... I don't know where I am. My memories... they're a mess," Leon said.
"Hmm... all right. You can stay here with me for now. When you remember everything and want to leave, I won't stop you," Vozk said casually.
"O-okay, thank you. W-why are you helping me?" Leon asked.
"We both live in the slums, and we're both Non-Factions. We have to help each other to survive and live, unlike the people who live up there who don't care how precious a life is," Vozk replied nonchalantly, continuing to eat his food.
Suddenly, "bwuuung," a holographic screen opened in front of Leon. His eyes widened because the writing he couldn't understand before, he could now read.
========================================
Name: Leon
Race: Human
Faction: None
Job: None
Level: -
Power: -
Gift Skill:
1. Purple Abyss Flame Energy rank SSS (death by burning in abyss)
2. Abyss Flame Rope Bind rank SSS (death by rope)
3. Create Abyss Weapon rank SSS (death by gun)
4. Hell Explosion rank SSS (death by bomb)
5. Purple Flame Breath rank SSS (death eaten by dragon)
6. Undead Regeneration rank SSS (death eaten by zombie and become one)
7. Flame Vortex Shield rank SSS (death by drowning with cement)
8. Areal Paralyze rank SSS (death by electric chair)
9. Abyss Poison rank SSS (death by poison)
10. Dark Room rank SSS (death in outerspace)
Active Skill: Double Shot, Barrage, Multi Stab, Cloak
Passive Skill: Knife Mastery rank B, Firearm Mastery rank B, Eagle Eye rank A, Dual Wield rank A
Race Trait: Sharp Mind, Quick Step, Translator
========================================
Leon gasped. He looked at both his hands and "bwooosh," a small purple flame danced in his palms.
"H-hey, what's that?" Vozk asked, confused, pointing the flame.
"Huh? I don't know. Can you see the holographic screen in front of me?" Leon asked.
"Huh? A holographic screen? What are you talking about? I don't see anything in front of you," Vozk replied.
"Oh, I see. Then can you explain the system in this world? Does every person have a skill or special ability?" Leon asked.
"Hmm... you mean an Orb?" Vozk asked.
"An Orb? What's that?" Leon asked.
"Orbs are a technology created by the Ambrosia faction. They're a kind of light-sphere implant that's put into your body, but it has to match the person's compatibility. An Orb is basically a special ability. For example, a fire element Orb lets a person use fire abilities, or a sword master Orb, or a craftsman Orb, and so on. They can use their abilities automatically without needing to learn them. I use Orbs that focus on firearms and hammers because of my job as a scavenger. The magic stones I find are processed into Orbs in a factory. Every Orb has a rank, from D to SS, depending on the magic stone used to make it and its compatibility with the user. Once an Orb is implanted, it can't be taken out of the user's body, but its function can be replaced," Vozk explained.
"I see," Leon mumbled.
Leon then looked back at the holographic screen that Vozk couldn't see. He saw that all his gift skills were ranked SSS. Vozk continued to explain the world of Atheras to Leon, hoping his memory would return. Meanwhile, Leon just listened silently, but the more he listened and understood, the angrier he got.
"So that's how it is. This really is the world of Atheras, just like I read in that damn game manual. I have to find a way back to my world because my siblings are waiting for me, and I have to kick that bastard goddess's ass. But first, I have to learn everything there is to know about this world," Leon thought to himself.