---
[The Special Authority - Creator's Will, has been activated!]
[Connecting Host to the "System"...]
---
For a brief moment, Lucian stared blankly at the strange translucent screen before his eyes.
Reading through the text, he felt strange.
'Although the holographic screens exist today, even the most expensive ones would pale in comparison...'
For once, many thoughts rushed to his mind. Some doubted his eyes, some claimed it to be a hallucination.
Lucian turned his head around, looked towards the window again, and questioned himself. Maybe his eyes weren't wrong. Maybe it wasn't a hallucination after all.
Maybe the world he knew, truly had changed?
Seeds of doubt sprouted within his mind, stemming higher than any of his thoughts. His mind and heartbeat, both calmed down.
Lucian let out a deep sigh and looked towards the floating screen once again.
"System, huh?" He muttered softly.
System — A term that revolutionized the world in the most minimalistic yet effective way. Though it originated to represent a well-designed pattern, it spread worldwide carrying a completely different meaning.
A broken cheat that allowed one to reach the pinnacle in an abnormally short time — It was precisely because of its new definition that it took over the entire fiction community like an unstoppable storm.
Lucian knew it more than anyone else, after all, the one who rippled the sea the most was none other than him.
As an author who once used the word endlessly, Lucian couldn't help but smirk at its sudden appearance in reality.
For a moment, he grinned wholeheartedly. The next moment, his expression turned grim. Lucian was in a dilemma — whether he should be happy that he got himself a 'system' or if he should curse the gods for ruining his retirement day.
He let out a long, deep sigh and slightly shook his head sideways. Clasping onto his forehead, he closed his eyes in frustration.
"Why is all this happening today out of all days... And why the hell did I get a System..? I mean, I'm not complaining but.. Why me?" He said in a low voice, grumbling.
Just then, the same alert sounded loudly in his ears.
*[Ding!]*
Lucian snapped open his eyes and saw a new screen floating before his eyes.
---
[System has sensed more than one element of creation fused within the host's soul.]
[One element of creation will be chosen at random as the primary.]
[Rolling...]
---
*[Whirr!!]*
Just then, a rather soft chime of clicks echoed in his mind. Its sound was similar to the whirling noise of slot machines.
Lucian's eyes lit up with all sorts of expectations. In the reflection of his irises, the slots spin. One after another, as countless results spun through the wheel of gacha, its speed gradually began to waver.
Slowing down, it passed a spectrum of colors — each representing a certain level of rewards. As the sound came to a halt, the rolling wheel stopped over the dark color of black.
"Black?" Lucian raised an eyebrow and keenly looked forward to the system's next notification.
Although he figured out the significance of colors, he could not find out their exact meanings. From his point of view, the black could represent both the top grade and trash alike.
---
[#~Congratulations!!!~#]
---
The system did not make Lucian wait for long either, as it materialized in front of his eyes in bright sparkles of light.
Seeing this, his thoughts consolidated and a wide grin spread over his face.
"Yes!" He shouted at the top of his lungs and expectantly stared over the screen, waiting to witness the birth of his cheat.
The next moment, a new screen popped up before the previous one.
---
[The Highest graded element of creation — Black Rank — has been chosen!]
[Initiating immediate synchronisation...]
---
Reading through the words, Lucian's eyes grew brighter than ever — sparkling with a newfound excitement.
"So my life is finally about to change, huh?" He muttered to himself as his body stiffened upon the hardened cushions of the sofa.
His head tilted back, staring into the poorly plastered ceiling, he felt strange. Nauseous.
It hit him like a bullet — sudden yet effective. His consciousness blurred in a second and before he could think anything straight, his vision blackened.
***
"Mmm..."
In a white, desolate realm, where the luminous, bright color spread for as far as one could see, Lucian grumbled.
Slowly getting up, he sat down comfortably. His mind was unstable, still nauseous. As he tried to grab onto his forehead, something felt wrong.
He snapped open his eyes as his gaze sharpened instantly.
"This..." His hand twitched uncontrollably, almost as if it was trying to grab onto something.
"Why don't I feel my forehead...?" His face stiffened in sudden shock as he jolted his hand before his eyes.
His eyes widened in horror, as what he saw was definitely not something he'd consider to be his hand.
A cloud. His body, his flesh, bones, everything had turned into a mere collection of transparent gaseous cloud.
Hallucination was one thing, but being unable to feel his own body despite endlessly stabbing himself only solidified his concerns.
Then, his eyes wandered towards the strange ground, the strange place. One after another, getting shocked in so many ways, Lucian was completely baffled. He could not think as in which was the most shocking for him any longer.
Just as he was pondering over his thoughts silently, a sudden sound disrupted his focus as a sharp wave of frost ran through his spine.
*[Ding!]*