When he woke up only a few moments later, Alec sat up in a hurry and peeked into his shirt. It had burned like someone had spilled hot wax directly into his chest. He had to see if it had left a mark.
"There's…"
[Huh?]
"There's nothing there!" Alec suddenly shouted.
[Well, of course not? Why would there be? Granted, I don't know what kind of skill—]
"Where is my chest hair!?"
[...]
Alec's outburst stunned the System into silence. That was not what she had thought he would say.
Alec directed an angry glare at the empty air in front of him.
"Where. Is. My. Body. Hair?" He asked in a stiff tone, already fearing the worst.
[Uhh…] The System's voice was nowhere to be found for a couple of awkward moments.
[H-how should I know?]
Alec narrowed his eyes at where he imagined the System to be before inspecting the rest of his body. He didn't have a mirror to look at himself with.
But his hands were smaller, slimmer, and smoother than he remembered. It was the same with the rest of his percievable self.
He had shrunk. Not just that. All signs pointed to his body being that of a young boy.
"You did not do what I think you did."
[W-well, that depends. What, uh, what do you think I did?] The System asked nervously.
"You gave me the body of a child." Alec's voice was akin to ice. It froze the System's vocal chords.
At least until the System realized that it didn't have any. It also realized that no matter how threatening Alec sounded, he had no way of hurting it.
[That…Well, this quest to save the world that your book—sorry, your brother's book—is about…It will take years. We can't have you kicking the bucket from old age before you're done.]
"Old age?!" Alec exclaimed in outrage.
"I wasn't even thirty! How long is this stupid book anyway?! Are you expecting me to spend fifty years or something here?!"
[Maybe not that long, but you will need to be in your prime. What's an old man supposed to do in the face of the end of the world? Complain about back pains until the world is saved? Whack it away with his cane?]
This time, it was Alec's turn to be silent as he stared dumbly at nothing.
'I'm so tired…'
"Whatever."
Alec was in a slight daze. The past few minutes had been overwhelming in many ways. He wanted to believe it was just a nightmare and that he would wake up soon. Unfortunately, passing out in dreams and waking up still in the dream meant that it was no longer a dream.
"Can I see the skill somehow?"
[Of course.]
A trilling sound rang inside Alec's head, and a moment later, it appeared.
[Alec Lanterns]
[No Title Available]
[Stats:
[Strength - Mud]
[Dexterity - Mud]
[Agility - Mud]
[Durability - Mud]
[Resistance - Mud]
[Intelligence - Mud]
[Energy - Mud]
[Skill Energy - Mud]
[Skills:
[Reader]
[Seed of ???
[Registered Keywords:
[???????????]
[???????????]
[?????????????]
[????????]
[???????]
[????? ?????? ????:
[?????]
[?????]
[????]
[????]
[?????]
[?????]
[????????]
"..." Alec stared at the holographic screen that flashed into existence in the center of his vision. It followed when he looked around, and he couldn't feel it when he tried sweeping his hand through it.
It was the embodiment of the typical system window he had read about and seen in comics multiple times. It was easy to understand.
The only thing he didn't get, though, was…
"That's a lot of question marks."
[That's subjective.]
"Is that all one skill? And is it the skill I ordered?"
[Yes and yes.]
"What's it do?"
[I…don't know.]
"What's that supposed to mean?"
[It means that I can divide the types of skills I can offer into two categories. Ones from me and ones that aren't. The ones not from me are automatically categorized. That's why I know it's a growth-type skill. But for some, that's all the information I get. That's why I don't know what it does.]
"Hmm."
Alec was silent for a moment as he looked at the rows upon rows of question marks. It seemed like the skill also didn't know what it did.
"Doesn't that mean that it might have severe downsides?" Alec asked, already knowing the answer.
That was why the System had answered with 'Not that I know of,' when he asked if it came without drawbacks. He sighed.
"You better hope that this thing doesn't suck. But I guess that's that."
'Can't hold an idiot responsible for being an idiot.'
"What's this other one? Reader?"
[Displaying additional information:
[Reread any book you have read.]
[Comprehension improved while reading.]
[Can read all languages.]
[Insufficient Skill Energy.]
Alec nodded.
'Not bad. Not bad. Sounds useful, even if it doesn't seem like it has anything to do with combat.'
"But where does it come from?"
[The transmigration. You could consider it an innate skill that took the opportunity to spring forth as your body was remade in this world.]
"Does that mean I could have learned it back on Earth?" Alec asked, more curious than anything. It wasn't like it mattered now. He just wondered if his life could have been different with such a gift.
[No.]
"Alright…As for the stats…" Alec trailed off as he looked at them again.
"They're the worst of the worst, right?"
'There's no way Mud is a good rank.'
[That's right. I'm actually a little surprised. I thought at least something would have reached Wood rank.]
Alec sighed. It sounded like he was in for a tough start.
But it was a start nonetheless.
"So, what now? What's the plan? Do I find a hermit swordmaster to train me until I can slay a dragon with one blow or something?"
[Do you know where to find a hermit swordmaster? Or a dragon for that matter?]
"No… But aren't you supposed to be some magical, awesome guide?"
[Yeah. I told you about your situation and gave you a skill, and I'll be there to advise you when you need it.]
"Yeah, I need your advice now. What am I supposed to do?"
[Okay, so, I know you're not the author, but the idea was for the author to be in your position. Naturally, you were supposed to already know what would need to be done to make sure the world doesn't end in the protagonist's absence, maybe even do a better job than they did.
[As part of that, you would have needed to rely on your perspective and knowledge to do it.]
"I know my brother. Give me a semi-detailed run-through of the book and I'll figure something out."
[It would have been different if we were talking about just books, but this is reality. Revealing events of the future exceeds my permissions. Exposing secrets of the world exceeds my authority.]
"So, you're useless." He didn't bother hiding it in his mind this time. He complained out loud with a deep sigh as he plopped down on the grass again.
[...] The System didn't have an answer to that.
"Welp, I guess we're rawdogging it."