The glowing text still flashed brightly before Lan's eyes, and for once, he felt genuine fear.
It… determines my path in this world?
[Y/N]
Lan's baby mind was in chaos. Ever since he'd learned about knights, the importance of this cursed system had skyrocketed.
Finally, he swallowed his nerves and answered.
"Yes."
Immediately, new text appeared in front of him.
[Ding! Host must choose: the Primoris of Lux Inferna or the Primoris of Celeris.]
"…Wait. What? What's a Primoris?"
Lan's heart raced. He knew this was important—the system had told him before that this decision would shape his entire life. But before choosing, he needed to understand not just Primoris, but this world itself.
"System, I think it's about time you explain this world to me," Lan said in as serious a tone as a baby could manage.
[Alright. Host just needs to ask.]
"Wait, what? You—you could've explained earlier? …Ah, forget it."
Lan almost exploded but held back. He already knew arguing with this thing was pointless.
[Host is in a world similar to Earth in some ways. There are humans, empires, and kingdoms. But this isn't a world for humans alone. The main race of this world is the Primoris creatures—terrifying beasts that humans see as gods.]
The system paused, letting Lan's baby brain process.
[Among humans, there are two factions: good and evil. You are lucky to be born into the strongest human empire, and your father is the Duke of the Origin Empire. You are already ahead of most. As for the evil faction, they worship powerful Primoris beasts and willingly merge their bodies with them—half human, half Primoris abominations.]
Lan was shocked, but at the same time… it felt familiar. Almost like the fantasy novels he used to read.
"So Primoris is… a form of energy in this world?" Lan asked.
[Correct. Primoris is the source of power here. Humans with it are rare. Those who awaken Primoris are called knights. Now, Host has awakened Primoris, and the system has carefully selected two choices for you. Please choose wisely—your future depends on it.]
Lan calmed himself. He'd read enough novels to understand this part—he was in a fantasy world now, and the power system was becoming clear.
"System, tell me about the two Primoris."
[The Primoris of Lux Inferna is an ancient Primoris, ranked above almost all others. It controls a supreme source of power, and users of Lux Inferna are one in a billion.]
[The Primoris of Celeris is a high-ranking Primoris of speed. Its users are swift and agile, moving like shadows. One moment they are there, the next they vanish. Masters of assassination and escape.]
Lan's jaw dropped.
"…System. Isn't this just one insanely strong Primoris against a… fast one? Isn't this obvious?"
He thought the two would be somewhat equal. Instead, it looked like one was god-tier and the other was… running fast.
Something felt fishy.
"System, tell me. Are Primoris ranked? And what about knights? Is there a hierarchy?"
[Yes. Primoris have ranks based on rarity and strength. From lowest to highest: Green, Blue, Yellow, Red, Purple, Black, and White. White Primoris are ancient and extremely rare, like Lux Inferna. Celeris, on the other hand, is Yellow rank.]
[As for knights—they are ranked from 1 to 9, with 9 being the highest.]
Boom.
Lan's tiny heart nearly gave out.
"…Wait. Yellow versus White?! That's not even a choice! Why would you even put Celeris here?!"
[The system considered the Host's perverted nature. Host will be chased a lot, so having Celeris means Host can run quickly and escape.]
"…Fuck you." Lan spat the words immediately. Of course. Only this damn system would give such a reason.
And yet, unease filled his chest. This system had tormented him for days already. He feared its punishments, its shameless missions. It always made him do embarrassing things.
"…This isn't some free reward, right? No hidden… quest?" Lan asked, swallowing hard. He could already imagine the nightmare: peeping into the maid's bathroom, stealing panties, things no baby should ever do.
[Relax, Host. This is a free gift. This system loves Host.]
Lan narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Loving. My ass."
Still, as he looked at the two choices, his grin spread. With this power, he could rise above all. He could dominate this world. Live in wealth, luxury, and respect.
"I choose the Primoris of Lux Inferna."
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. Ancient Primoris chosen. +10 stat points.]
Lan's eyes lit up. "Finally! Something good from you without me being a pervert."
[Ding! Title gained: One Second Hero.]
Lan froze. His heart skipped a beat. "…System? What does that mean?"
[Ah, almost forgot. Lux Inferna is far too powerful for your current body. You can only use it for one second before suffering fatal backlash. As Host grows stronger, that one second will increase to two, then three, and so on. Congratulations.]
"WAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Lan burst into tears, startling everyone. His mother rushed in, cradling him.
"Oh no, he must be hungry!" she said, quickly feeding him warm milk.
The maids fussed around. His father and sister even peeked in, full of concern.
Lan drank desperately, gulps of milk sliding down his throat. For once, he didn't care about embarrassment. This was his only comfort after what he'd just learned.
Tears still streaked down his cheeks as he thought bitterly:
"…I should've known. This system was never normal. One second of power? Really? I should've chosen Celeris…"
[One second isn't so bad, Host. I've seen others with only milliseconds. You're still okay.]
When Lan first heard this, he brushed it off. But the more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt.
"System… we're still talking about my Primoris, right?" Lan asked cautiously.
[Oh… were we talking about that?]
The System's response only made Lan feel weaker. His infant body trembled as he clung tighter, sucking with more desperation.
"System, did you tamper with it? No… even if I didn't have a girlfriend in my last life… Still… System, what can I even do in one second?" Lan's tiny fists clenched as he buried his face, tears streaming down.
Outside, laughter filled the room as the baby's cries echoed.
"It's so good that our young master is moved to tears," a maid chuckled, and the others nodded in agreement.
Even Lan's father felt relieved.
"Ah… a double attack…" Lan thought weakly as his body shuddered. It was over.
[Host, the System doesn't know. Honestly. You'll have to uncover the truth in the future.]
The System's voice trembled, as if even it wasn't convinced of its own words.
"My life… is over…" Lan thought in despair.
[Ding! New Quest: Host must look into his sister's eyes for ten seconds while feeding.
Reward: +59 seconds of Performance.]
"From one second… to one minute? Waaaaaah!"
A loud infant cry shook the room.