The dorm room was small, cold, and utterly devoid of personality. A narrow bed, a rickety wooden desk, and a small wardrobe were its only furnishings. This, according to the fragmented memories of the body he now inhabited, was home. For the former war-god who once resided in celestial palaces carved from starlight, it was a cage.Astraeus sat on the edge of the lumpy mattress, ignoring his damp, muddy clothes. The confrontation in the courtyard replayed in his mind, not as a memory, but as a data log. The glowing lines, the precise instructions, the flawless, calculated execution of a maneuver this weak body should never have been able to perform. It was all the work of the voice, the system.He closed his eyes, shutting out the dreary room, and focused inward. In the silent void of his consciousness, he had felt its presence. He reached out, not with power or magic, but with pure intent."Who are you?" he projected into the silence. "What are you?"For a moment, there was nothing. Then, the calm, dispassionate voice answered, its words forming directly in his mind.
[I am the God System. Designated Primordial Force 001. My purpose is to ensure the survival and growth of the host.]
The answer was both clear and maddeningly vague. "The host? You mean me?" Astraeus asked.
[Correct. You have been designated as the host following the catastrophic failure of your previous vessel and the destruction of your divine core.]
The system's bluntness was jarring. It spoke of his death and the annihilation of his very soul as a "catastrophic failure." A flicker of his old divine pride sparked into anger. "My 'vessel' was the body of a god. I was slain by the strongest demon in existence."
[Acknowledged. The entity designated 'Demon King' is classified as a Universe-Tier Threat. Encountering it at your previous power level was a statistical certainty for termination. The God System was embedded within your divine consciousness as a failsafe protocol, activated upon said termination.]
A failsafe? He, a god of war, had a babysitter he never knew about? The thought was deeply insulting. "So you were there all along? Watching?"
[Correct. My function was dormant, observational only, until the conditions for the Primordial Rebirth Protocol were met.]
Astraeus fell silent, processing the immensity of it all. This system wasn't just a tool; it was an ancient, sentient force that had been with him for an unknown amount of time, a silent passenger in his soul. And it had brought him here, to this weak, magic-less body, in this strange new world."Why this body?" Astraeus demanded. "Why this world? Why am I… so weak?"
[This vessel was the most suitable match for your soul-signature within a viable reincarnation radius. Its complete lack of magical aptitude provides a clean slate. It is a null-vessel, preventing interference with my processes. You are weak because you are now mortal. Your divinity is gone. We must rebuild from zero.]
"Rebuild from zero?" Astraeus scoffed, the sound hollow in the small room. "Rebuild into what? I can't use magic. In this world, that makes me less than zero."
[Your assessment is incorrect. Magic is a derivative, diluted application of universal law. The God System operates on the source code of reality itself. It is a power older and more fundamental than magic.]
As the system spoke, a translucent screen flickered into existence in Astraeus's vision, startling him. It was a simple, elegant interface of glowing blue lines and text, superimposed over the drab reality of his room.
[HOST STATUS]
•Name: Astraeus Ren
•Title: The Fallen God (Dormant)
•Level: 1
•Strength: 3 (Mortal Average: 10)
•Agility: 4 (Mortal Average: 10)
•Stamina: 9/100
•Intelligence: 250 (Divine Remnant)
•Magic: 0•System Authority: 1%
[Abilities:]
•[Analysis]: Passively analyze threats and environmental data.
•[Calculation]: Determine optimal actions for survival.
•[Intervention]: Temporarily guide host's body to execute optimal actions in moments of extreme danger. (High Stamina Cost)
Astraeus stared at the screen. The numbers were insulting, pathetic. A strength of 3? He used to be able to shatter moons. But the "Intelligence" stat gave him pause. 250. A divine remnant. His mind, his memories, his eons of strategic experience as a god of war—that was all he had left."What is this?" he asked, gesturing at the screen that only he could see.
[This is the Host Status Interface. It provides a quantifiable measure of your current parameters. As you complete tasks and overcome challenges, you will gain experience, increase your level, and be able to allocate points to improve your physical parameters.]
A task list appeared below the status screen.
[CURRENT OBJECTIVES]
1.[Main Quest: Survive]: Do not die again. (Ongoing)
2.[Main Quest: The Trial of Summoning]: Survive the upcoming trial and form a contract. (Time Limit: 1 Week)
3.[Side Quest: First Step to Power]: Complete one full cycle of the 'Primordial Body Tempering' exercise. (Reward: +1 Strength, +1 Agility, 10 EXP)
The last quest caught his attention. "Primordial Body Tempering? What is that?"
[It is a foundational physical conditioning sequence designed by the System to rebuild your vessel. It is brutally efficient and extremely painful. It is the only way to rapidly increase your physical parameters before the trial.]
Pain was an old acquaintance. "Show me."
The system didn't show him; it compelled him. The moment he gave his consent, a new energy surged through his limbs. It was not the gentle guiding force from the courtyard. This was a relentless, tyrannical puppeteer. His body, not his own, moved to the center of the small room.
[Initiating Primordial Body Tempering: Cycle 1.]
[Warning: The host's current physical condition is far below the recommended starting level. Failure to complete the cycle may result in muscle tearing, bone fractures, or cardiac arrest. Proceed?]
"Proceed," Astraeus gritted out, a spark of his old defiance flaring. He would not be intimidated by a list of potential injuries.His body snapped into a low squat, legs trembling violently under the strain. It was a simple enough position, but the system forced him to hold it with a geometric precision that put an excruciating strain on every muscle fiber. Sweat beaded on his forehead almost instantly. His legs felt like they were on fire.
[Hold for 60 seconds.]
The seconds crawled by like hours. The mortal boy's body screamed in protest. The memories of his past life mocked him—he had once held a collapsing star gate open for three days straight. Now, he could barely hold a squat for one minute. The humiliation was a sharper pain than the physical agony.Just as his legs were about to give out, the system shifted him. His body dropped into a push-up position, his arms shaking.
[Execute 20 repetitions. Form must be perfect.]
He managed one. Then another. His arms felt like jelly. By the fifth, every muscle screamed. By the tenth, his vision started to black out at the edges. He was weak, so incredibly, pathetically weak. But the system was relentless. It used his own willpower against him, forcing his muscles to contract and extend, again and again. He wasn't just doing push-ups; he was fighting a war against the limitations of this pathetic mortal shell.repetition, his body refusing to obey.
[Repetitions incomplete. Administering bio-electric stimulus to complete the set.]
A jolt of pure, white-hot agony shot through his arms. His muscles seized and contracted, forcing his body up and down in five more jerky, excruciating movements. He cried out, the sound raw and broken. Finally, it was over. He lay in a heap on the floor, gasping for air, every inch of his body a symphony of pain.
He lay there for what felt like an hour, his chest heaving, a pool of sweat forming on the dusty floorboards beneath him. He had never felt so utterly spent, not even in the final moments of his battle against the Demon King. This was a different kind of defeat—a complete subjugation of his body.
Then, a notification chimed softly in his mind.
[Side Quest Complete: First Step to Power.]
[Reward: +1 Strength, +1 Agility, 10 EXP.][LEVEL UP!]
[Host has reached Level 2.]
[You have 5 Stat Points to allocate.]
A warmth, faint but distinct, spread through his aching muscles. The worst of the pain receded, replaced by a deep, throbbing ache. He pushed himself up, his arms still trembling, but he could feel it. A minuscule, almost imperceptible change. He was stronger. Faster. It was a drop of water in a desert, but it was there.He opened the status screen again.
[HOST STATUS]
•Name: Astraeus Ren
•Level: 2
•Strength: 4
•Agility: 5
•Stamina: 2/100 (Critically Low)
•Intelligence: 250
•Magic: 0•System Authority: 1%
•Unallocated Stat Points: 5
"So this is the path," Astraeus whispered, his voice hoarse. It was a path of pain, humiliation, and brutal effort. A path that required him to claw his way up from nothing, using a body that was a prison.But it was a path.For the first time since his rebirth, a flicker of something that wasn't despair or confusion ignited within him. It was the cold, hard resolve of a warrior who had just been given his weapon. The God System was not a babysitter. It was a forge. And it was going to burn away this mortal weakness, one agonizing exercise at a time, until what was left was strong enough to survive. Strong enough to fight back.He looked at the unallocated stat points, his mind already working, the divine strategist within him taking over. The Trial of Summoning was in one week. He was weak, magic-less, and surrounded by enemies. But he was no longer hopeless.The God System had awakened. And so had the god within.