Lucas stood tall and righteous, as if none of his earlier tantrums had ever happened.
"Clive it is, then. At least he's from an action game. That counts as devil-hunting by association. I'll just treat him as an alternate Dante."
[Ding~ Host must claim template immediately.]
A ten-second countdown appeared on the screen before him.
"Damn it, System, that's underhanded! Fine—claim! Claim it now!"
Lucas jabbed at Clive's figure on the screen without hesitation.
[Ding~ Congratulations, host. You are now the sole Dominant in the Marvel Universe. Attribute screen unlocked. Please review your stats.]
"This damn system. Zero intelligence, zero personality. Just a soulless program."
Lucas grumbled and said, "Show me my attributes."
The screen shifted, displaying something painfully simple:
Name: Lucas Norman
Unique Template: Clive Rosfield
Ability: Dominant
Manifestable Eikon: Garuda
Skills: Rook's Gambit, Garuda's Embrace, Aerial Blast
Items: None
"Holy—Garuda?! That's awesome—wait, no, it's not!!"
Lucas clutched his stomach, furious.
"System! Open your damn eyes! I'm a man. A man!! And you expect me to manifest as Garuda? She's a woman! A woman! You think I never played FF16?!"
He swung punches at the screen, fists swiping uselessly through the hologram and slamming into empty air
Not because they were weak. Just… misplaced anger. Totally different.
Holding his waist, Lucas muttered under his breath like a mantra: Don't get mad, don't get sick, nobody will take your place if you croak…
[Ding~ Host should adjust his mindset. Manifestations are Eikons only—they do not affect host's gender. If the host is dissatisfied, the system can retract the template and unbind immediately.]
"You—!"
Lucas was speechless, choking on his own fury. But setting gender aside, the fact that he could manifest Garuda at all already made him stronger than Clive. In the game, Clive could only summon Ifrit.
"Wait a second!"
Lucas froze. His template was Clive. And Clive could only manifest one Eikon… Did that mean he was stuck with Garuda forever?
He panicked.
"System, don't tell me I can only manifest Garuda from now on?"
[Ding~ Host may rest assured. With this system's optimization, host can manifest any Eikon.]
"Phew… that's a relief. Good on you, System—my boy, my A-Tong."
Lucas patted his chest, finally breathing again.
[Ding~ Host still has an unopened newbie pack. Would you like to open it now?]
"What are you waiting for? Open it! Quick, before it disappears!"
Lucas hurriedly tapped the glowing gift box on the screen.
[Ding~ Congratulations, host. You have obtained: Weapon – Ultima Weapon. Ability – Rapid Recovery.]
Lucas' eyes lit up, hands rubbing together greedily like a fly.
"Question!!" He shot his hand up.
[Answer~]
"This Rapid Recovery… is it what I think it is?"
[Ding~ Exactly. It heals non-fatal injuries instantly. Fatal wounds will still take time to heal.]
"Wait—fatal wounds too?"
Lucas' eyes widened. He'd expected quick healing, but this… this was practically cheating. It was as close to immortality as it got.
[Ding~ Correct. Fatal wounds will heal, but missing limbs cannot regenerate.]
"Bah. I thought it was more broken than that. Guess I got my hopes up."
He sulked.
[Host should learn to be content. Healing fatal wounds is already pseudo-immortality.]
The system's monotone somehow carried a note of disdain.
"…Fine, you're right. But hey, System—could you swap this Ultima Weapon out? It's ugly as hell. Give me Ragnarok, or Blood Sword. Worst case, a Curry Stick will do. I'm not picky."
He eyed the crystalline blue blade in his inventory, unimpressed. Sure, it looked fine on its own, but compared to the other swords from the game, it was definitely the runt.
[Ding~ Host dissatisfaction detected. Convert Ultima Weapon to training wooden sword?]
"No!! Absolutely not!! I love Ultima Weapon. It's my favorite. System, you really get me!"
Lucas shook his head so fast he looked like a bobblehead.
[Ding~ Conversion canceled.]
"Damn, System, you almost killed me there! Turning my main weapon into a wooden sword? You've got jokes."
Lucas flipped the hologram off with an international hand gesture.
[Ding~ Reminder. Apart from issuing quests and rewards, this system provides no additional assistance. Host is on his own.]
Lucas gawked.
"System, you dare call yourself the Strongest Demon Hunter System? Look at other systems—they babysit their hosts. And you? You just wash your hands of me. Strongest, my ass! Where's your shame?!"
He pounded at the screen in a flurry of punches, impotent rage fueling every swing.
[Ding~ Host must not grow over-dependent. This system's role is to help you become the strongest demon hunter. If you rely on me for everything, who's truly strong—you or the system?]
Lucas paused, frowning. Damn it, that… actually made sense.
"…Didn't think you had it in you, System. That was almost touching."
He smiled—until his face stiffened in realization.
"Wait. Did you just try to lecture me?!"
[Ding~ Host is overthinking.]
The flat tone carried a suspicious tinge of guilt.
"Forget it. I'll let it slide. It's better than no system at all. And now—I finally have the power to take revenge."
Lucas calmed himself and focused inward. Strength surged through him, filling every fiber of his body. He felt like he could punch through a brick wall.
From his inventory, he drew the Ultima Weapon. The crystalline blue blade gleamed with a cold radiance, its black hilt coiled in strange patterns.
Gripping it, Lucas felt an uncanny resonance—like the sword was an extension of his very being, flowing seamlessly with his will.
"System, I think I'm falling for this sword."
The longer he held it, the more he liked it.
[Ding~ The weapon has perfectly synchronized with its host. All rewards from this system will achieve 100% compatibility. No side effects.]
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