Leo's mind, after a brief daze, snapped back into clarity.
Forty years!
A full forty years!
Damn system, do you even know how I've survived all these years?
His heart pounded wildly.
In the early years of his new life, not a day passed when he didn't long for the system's arrival. He had waited on the day he turned eighteen, only to be disappointed.
As decades passed, he had long since accepted reality.
Never could he have imagined that the system would appear now, of all times?!
[Error… System binding delayed… Calibrating time…]
[Detected system binding delay of 40 years. Calculating compensation…]
Leo: …
What?
So all these decades of eating gruel and boiled weeds were for nothing?!
Thinking of the rare occasions when he managed to eat a decent meal with three dishes and a soup, Leo suddenly felt they'd all lost their taste.
[Compensation merging and issuing…]
[Congratulations to the Host, you have received 9,999,999,999… points.]
[System Shop now open…]
A flood of information slammed into his consciousness.
Leo jolted upright.
Those deep blue eyes, always calm and wise, now revealed raw, almost horrified shock.
Before him shimmered a translucent interface of faint blue light.
What stared back at him, next to his personal status bar, was a number so long it left him dizzy.
Leo blinked rapidly.
"Am I hallucinating from stress? Or have I finally gone mad?"
That number was enough to pave Dalton Town with gold bricks all the way to the sun!
"System?"
[Yes, Host!]
"You're… real?"
[This system is the Supreme Creator System, designed to assist the Host in mastering the authority of creation itself.]
[With this system, the Host never has to worry about resources again. Whatever you desire, it shall be yours!]
Leo's lingering doubts evaporated like smoke.
This wasn't an illusion!
The long-awaited, overwhelming fortune had finally landed on him!
And from the looks of it… wasn't this basically a hacked, unlimited version of the system?!
[Opening personal panel.]
[Host: Leo Grey]
[Identity: Mayor of Dalton Town]
[Current Realm: Nobody (Upgradeable)]
[Equipment: None]
[Items: None]
[Available Points: ∞]
[System Evaluation: Creator, please adjust to your new identity promptly.]
Leo stared at the ∞ symbol, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Surely there had to be a catch—what if all the goods were trash, or there was some hidden scam?
Clutching the last shred of doubt, he opened the system shop.
[Ding!]
[System Shop opened…]
Radiant light burst before his eyes!
Leo scanned through the endless sea of treasures, dazzling like a starry sky.
Countless magical scrolls shimmered with arcane brilliance, runes flowing across their surfaces. Weapons of every kind gleamed with a chilling aura—from legendary blades to robes woven of liquid starlight, each radiated overwhelming might.
Rows of crystal-clear potion bottles sparkled like constellations, their labels bearing names such as Divine Bloodline Awakening, Root Reconstruction, and Elixir of the Undying Soul—names alone enough to cause bloodshed in the outside world.
Even more items were utterly incomprehensible—strange in shape, emanating otherworldly presence, as though drawn from the breadth of the cosmos itself.
This wasn't a shop.
It was a treasury of all worlds!
"System, can I… actually buy these?"
[As long as the points are sufficient, redemption is instant!]
Glancing again at his infinite points, Leo's confidence surged.
His focus instantly locked on one particular item:
[Constant-Temperature Magical Preservation Chest (Agricultural Use)]
[Grade: Common Magical Artifact]
[Effect: Inscribed with a minor frost array. Maintains stored goods at a constant low temperature, greatly delaying food spoilage. Once depleted, may recharge with ambient mana or sunlight.]
[Cost: 5 points]
"Yes, this one!"
Leo's eyes flashed with unrestrained excitement.
In Dalton Town, preserving fresh meat and produce had always been a major problem; ordinary cellars were insufficient.
This seemingly simple chest could revolutionize the townspeople's daily lives!
And it cost only five points!
Without hesitation, Leo confirmed.
"Now that I'm loaded, give me ten at once!"
[Ding! Redemption successful. Points consumed: 50.]
[Items delivered to System Inventory.]
Leo gazed at the row of unassuming yet life-changing chests now resting in his system space.
For the first time in decades, he felt he had taken a massive step forward for Dalton Town's future.
[…]
[This is what it means to not forget one's roots… Forgive me, Host. It is I, the System, who arrived late and forced you to endure so much.]
Ahem—
Realization struck Leo, and his cheeks flushed red.
Damn. Decades of frugality had warped his instincts! He was still thinking too small!
"Fine. Then let's first raise my strength… all the way to this world's highest level."
After a moment's thought, Leo concluded: strength was the foundation of survival.
Based on his knowledge, the world's hierarchy of power was:
Magic Apprentice, Novice Mage, Junior Mage, Intermediate Mage, Senior Mage, Junior Magus, Intermediate Magus, Senior Magus, Magus Lord, and Truth Magus…
To be honest, he wasn't sure what the true pinnacle was.
But for him, achieving a simple, absolute invincibility would suffice.
[Command confirmed. Retrieving the power system of the current plane…]
[Analyzing based on known world structure and power capacity limits…]
[Initiating infusion: Sanctuary Rank Peak. Infusion in progress…]
A torrent of power erupted into Leo's body!
His blood surged with ancient, noble might. Mysterious star-runes surfaced across his bones, weaving together into radiant constellations.
His spiritual sea expanded infinitely, transforming into a boundless, star-strewn cosmos.
The magic elements floating in the air responded to him like obedient starlight, utterly docile beneath his will.
His awareness spread outward—covering Dalton Town, the nearby seas and mountains, the entire kingdom, the entire continent, and even… the entire vast planet!
He could hear the whispers of the earth's ley lines beneath his feet, see the ancient bubbles sealed under the eternal ice of the far north!
Mana perception surged like an invisible tide, blanketing the entire world.
Sanctuary Rank Peak!
The ultimate limit of what this world could contain.
At this moment, he was no longer a mere man, but a walking deity!
Just as his consciousness gazed upon the world like a god, an unprecedented sense of dominion swelling within—
Knock, knock, knock.
Crisp knocks on the door echoed like pebbles cast into a still lake, rippling through his vast awareness and snapping it back to the small oakwood chamber.
"Father? Are you there?"
A girl's clear, springlike voice rang softly from outside the door.