[System Interface Activated]
[Name: Kaelthar Duskborn (since you were expelled from the family, you adopted your past life's surname)]
[Title: None]
[Race: Tarnished Human]
[Age: 16]
[Level: 0]
[Vitality: 6]
[Strength: 5]
[Speed: 6]
[Mana: 1]
[Defense: 4]
[Endurance: 4]
[Divine Authority: None]
[Skill: None]
[Special Stats]
[Soul: 2]
[Luck: 11]
[Comprehension: 34]
[Intelligence: 58]
[Charm: 67]
[Evaluation: A slightly handsome yet frail bamboo stick]
Kaelthar stared at the translucent panel in silence for a few seconds, his eyes slowly moving line by line as his expression gradually froze, then his brows twitched slightly and his lips curved downward unconsciously, "…you've got to be kidding me," he muttered, his voice carrying a dead seriousness yet clearly laced with irritation, he looked over it again from top to bottom, then once more, and then a third time, as if hoping the numbers would suddenly change, "Level zero… fine, I get that," he said to himself, "but what do you mean mana is one, one?" a brief silence followed, then he tilted his head slightly, "Is that even a number or just a typo?" his eyes narrowed, "Defense four, endurance four… so I can take… what, two hits?" his shoulders dropped, then suddenly his gaze moved to the bottom of the panel again and he fell completely silent for a few seconds, then took a deep breath and read in a flat tone, "Evaluation… slightly handsome… frail bamboo stick…" another pause followed, then Kaelthar slowly raised his head and stared into the void, "Seriously?" he said, his face strangely calm yet faintly broken, "The thing that's going to kill me won't be the bosses, it'll be my self-esteem," he let out a short laugh, but it didn't last long, followed by a sigh, "Alright… alright, it's fine," he muttered, as if trying to convince himself, "At least charm is high… maybe enemies will hesitate before killing me," then he paused, narrowed his eyes and added seriously, "Though… in this world, I doubt anyone would care…"
[Would you like to receive the One-Time Starter Gift?]
[Warning: This is the system's first and final function, what you obtain from this will determine your future]
[Warning: The reward will be completely random]
Kaelthar stared silently at the words displayed on the panel for a few seconds, there was neither excitement nor hope on his face, only a strange sense of acceptance, his shoulders slightly lowered as he let out a quiet breath, "Random, huh…" he muttered, his voice tired yet indifferent, his current situation was already bad enough, so it didn't seem very likely that whatever he received could make things worse, in his current state, even an ordinary insect in the world of Elder Ring might have a better chance of survival, at least some of them were poisonous or moved in groups, while he was alone, weak and completely defenseless, "To be honest," he said, tilting his head slightly, "at this point, whatever I get will probably increase my chances of survival by a few points," a faint, ironic smile appeared on his lips, "or it might just help me die faster… which is also a kind of relief," he turned his gaze back to the panel, this time his eyes were calmer, filled more with curiosity than fear, "I have nothing to lose anyway," he added, and without hesitation, he confirmed the option.
When Kaelthar looked at the contents of the reward, the moment he saw the number displayed before him, his eyes widened instantly, his breath halted for a second and he simply stared at the massive figure in silence, "345,234,129,123,000…" slipped slowly from his lips, his voice hollow with disbelief, the number seemed endless, as if it stretched infinitely, Kaelthar blinked several times, then reread the panel from top to bottom, then again, and again, as if hoping to find an error somewhere, but nothing changed, the number was real, "What… what the hell is this?" he muttered, this time his voice more alive, more reactive, his brows furrowed as his eyes narrowed and he began examining the options more carefully,
Countless options scrolled across the screen, bloodlines, abilities, special stats, divine remnants, cursed powers, unknown categories… each accompanied by a small note, but Kaelthar quickly realized something, most of them weren't guaranteed rewards, they were merely probabilities, the system wasn't saying "you will get this," it was saying "you might get this," the moment he understood that difference, his expression darkened, his lips twitched and he remained silent for a few seconds, then tilted his head slightly and spoke into the void,
"Seriously…" he said, his voice dangerously calm, "did you just shove in every damn thing you could find here?"
He paused, then pointed at the panel, "Bloodlines, abilities, special stats…" his eyes twitched slightly, "all of these are just probabilities," he took a deep breath, clenched his teeth, then continued, "So you're telling me… there are billions, trillions of options, but 99.999999…" a brief pause, "none of them will actually come to me," he lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly, a few seconds of silence passed, then suddenly he raised his head and let out a dry laugh,
"Great," he said, "welcome to the gacha system, Kaelthar," his eyes narrowed as a half-mocking, half-dark expression formed on his face, "and in Elder Ring, no less," he sighed softly, then added in a calmer tone, "This will either save my life… or make me the funniest death story ever"
"Whatever… I've got nothing to lose anyway," Kaelthar muttered, his voice surprisingly calm yet laced with tension, "start it… how much worse can it get," he shrugged slightly and confirmed the option on the panel, he hadn't truly thought about the consequences of his decision, or perhaps he simply didn't want to, because at this point fear had been replaced by a strange sense of acceptance
The reward package processed for a few seconds, the text on the panel flickered, numbers shifted and then suddenly everything stopped, a brief silence followed before the system activated sharply and the reward was revealed, right in front of Kaelthar, a serum vial and a thin metallic syringe suddenly materialized out of thin air, the liquid inside the vial was dark, almost pitch black, yet upon closer inspection it seemed to move as if alive, strange ripples devouring the light itself, at the same time a new line appeared on the panel.
[Congratulations Host: Ultimate Blacklight Virus]
The moment Kaelthar saw that name, his eyes widened instantly, the calmness on his face shattered completely and he froze for a few seconds, then he took a step back, his gaze shifting rapidly between the serum and the panel, "Blacklight…" he whispered, his voice trembling as memories associated with that name surfaced in his mind, destruction, transformation, uncontrollable power and most importantly… death, his lips twitched as his expression darkened
"Are you serious…" he said, this time his voice filled with panic, "are you trying to kill me?"
He paused for a moment, then pointed at the serum with frustration, "I know this thing!" his eyes looked almost unhinged, "This is Blacklight from Prototype, it kills the user and replaces them!" silence fell for a few seconds, then he slowly tilted his head, narrowing his eyes with suspicion, "So technically… did you give this to me because I'm already dead?" a strange, irritated smile formed on his lips, "That's… a pretty dark logic," he took a deep breath, his gaze returning to the serum, this time mixed with fear and hesitation, "What if this time it completely erases me…"
[Ultimate Blacklight Virus: This is the perfected version of the Blacklight virus from the Prototype universe, unlike the original version it does not kill the user, instead it fully synchronizes with them, additionally, compared to its in-game version it has no growth limit, its evolution is theoretically infinite, after reaching a certain stage you will be able to consume not only physical entities but also abstract ones, and every living being you consume will grant you their strongest traits permanently]
Kaelthar carefully read the description displayed on the panel, at first his face still carried suspicion and caution, but as his eyes moved line by line, his expression slowly began to change, his brows relaxed, his gaze deepened and a faint curve formed at the corner of his lips, "…it doesn't kill," he muttered, his voice lower this time but clearly holding relief, then he reread it from the beginning, more carefully, weighing every word, "perfected… limitless growth… even devouring the abstract…" he fell silent for a few seconds as his mind processed the information, then slowly raised his head, there was something different in his eyes now, not fear, but a dark curiosity, a suppressed excitement
"This…" he said, his voice almost a whisper, "this can't be a joke," he took a deep breath, his gaze shifting back to the serum, this time seeing it not as a threat, but as potential power, "so… if this is true," his eyes narrowed slightly, "I won't just survive," a brief pause followed, then a more defined smile slowly formed on his lips, "I'll become the hunter,"
A moment of silence passed, then he tilted his head slightly and added, "Still risky," he muttered to himself, he hadn't completely lost his reasoning, "but in Elder Ring, there's no such thing as a safe option anyway," he let out a soft laugh, this time calmer, more resolved, "at least now I actually have something,"
He closed his eyes, thought for a few seconds, then opened them again, his gaze now clear, the hesitation gone, he slowly reached out and grabbed the serum,
"Alright…" he murmured, "let's see… whether this world consumes me," a dark glint appeared in his eyes, "or I consume this world"