"System," Lanor called.
His eyes were half open and gaze fixed on the ceiling. After a whole minute of silence and no response, his brows drew together.
Was he too late? He thought inwardly.
But there was no warning of a time limit to how long he had to respond, right? He sat up, the crease between his brows deepening.
"I guess I'm totally out of options…" he muttered, his voice trailing off when the window only he could see appeared in front of him once again, but unlike before, the screen was blank.
"At least, it's still there," he said, letting out a breath. "Now, what am I supposed to do?
"WELCOME BACK, HOST"
The words appeared on the screen.
"So it still works," Lanor commented, then he asked, "What exactly are you, System?"
The previous text dissolved, replaced by a new line.
"I am the SLOTH SYSTEM."
***
A week before resumption, Lanor woke up, and the first thing he saw was a dark translucent window staring at him, with words boldly written in it,
"HELLO, HOST. YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY SYSTEM."
He froze, and for a good moment, his eyes were wide open, now fully awake as he stared at it.
He blinked and even rubbed his eyes with the back of his palm, thinking he was hallucinating or maybe still sleeping, but no matter what he did, the screen still remained in front of him.
Then suddenly, the words changed.
"ACTIVATE THE SYSTEM"
What the hell is the system?
Lanor had been so shocked and confused at that moment but had no one who could enlighten him.
He had even asked his attendants if they could see it too, but they all said no and thought he was just making up things. That was when he realized that he was the only one who could see the weird window-like thing.
Not wanting to get himself involved in anything that would stress him, he had ignored it completely for days while the screen patiently hovered in front of him.
On the fourth day, the words on the screen changed again,
"ACTIVATE SYSTEM TO GAIN ADMINISTRATION RIGHTS"
As usual, Lanor had ignored it and went on with his day.
"ACTIVATE SYSTEM TO GAIN SYSTEM'S BLESSING"
The words changed again.
Lanor lifted his gaze from the meal in front of him and stared at the screen. "Now it's starting to sound desperate," he muttered when he saw the words change.
"What's this blessing it's talking about?" He whispered, though he didn't expect that it could hear him and respond. The words changed again, and he choked.
"For more information, ACTIVATE SYSTEM"
"...It replies?" he said, coughing in the process.
Seeing the message, Lanor decided it was better to leave it be and live his life. He never expected that he would one day come to need it, especially not as soon as he arrived at the academy.
**
Back to the present,
Lanor let out a slow breath, his eyes on the words in front of him. "The Sloth System, huh?" Lanor muttered, "makes sense, I guess."
"What's this blessing…"
"ACTIVATE SYSTEM FOR MORE INFORMATION"
The message came before he could even finish talking.
Lanor stared at the screen, his expression flat.
"Activate system," he said, like someone agreeing to a chore he had no interest in doing.
"ACTIVATING…"
The words lingered.
Lanor blinked.
"…System?" he called but received no response.
A full ten seconds passed.
Then twenty.
His eyelid twitched slightly. "You've got to be kidding me…"
Just as he was about to lie back down and pretend none of this existed.
"…STILL ACTIVATING"
Lanor let out a slow breath through his nose.
"ACTIVATION COMPLETE"
A new window expanded before him, larger than before, the text appearing sluggishly, as though even it couldn't be bothered.
"WELCOME, HOST"
"…You couldn't do that faster?" Lanor muttered.
There was a delay before the system responded.
"…That sounds exhausting."
At the system's reply, Lanor had no words to refute.
"Now, tell me what you can really do, and what's this blessing I keep seeing?" He asked instead.
"...'s blessing. ..... of Sloth"
"What is this…?" Lanor blinked as he stared at the status window. "Why are the words not visible?"
"Access denied. Admin's level is too low."
"Low level, huh?" he muttered, falling flat on the bed. "Makes sense."
"ACTIVATING BLESSING OF SLOTH"
"What's my current level…" Aaarhhhh!" Lanor's words fell short as a gut curdling scream tore through his lungs as immense pain shot through his body like lightening, his veins burning as if forcefully ripped open.
He fell on the floor, writhing as he cried out. As if to conceal his voice, a thunder clap resounded outside, signaling the coming of a storm.
A minute later, he lay sprawled on the floor, panting. His hands clutched his abdomen as he fought for breath. Sweat covered his body as if the storm outside had reached him inside.
"ACTIVATION COMPLETE"
The system's message appeared before him again, but he was too tired to pay it any mind. With half closed eyes, he saw the system's message change.
"Mana pathways opened"
"Skill: Mana Sensitivity — Activated"
"Skill: Mana Absorption — Activated"
"Passive Skill: Sloth State — Enabled"
The words flickered one after the other until his eyes dropped closed, and he lost consciousness where he lay on the floor.
***
"When do you think he'd wake up?"
"Since there's nothing wrong with him, he hould wake soon, sir."
"Very well, you may return."
"Yes, sir."
"Wake up, master. Please, wake up…"
Different voices made their way into Lanor ears even before he was able to open his eyes.
Slowly, his eyelids lifted. Everything was a blur at first before they started to take shape. The first things he saw were strands of red hair that nearly covered his face. Then, he felt the weight on his chest.
Right, it's Tonia, he thought.
His hands moved to pat her head. "Your head's heavy, Tonia." He said, his voice hoarsed.
"Master…!" Tonia exclaimed.
"Get off me. I can't breathe."
"Ah…sorry. I'm so sorry." Tonia sprung to her feet, stepping back as if just standing close would cause him discomfort.
As soon as she was out of the way, Lanor's eyes fell on director Mormon, and he sat up immediately. "Why are you here, sir?"
"Someone reported that they heard you screaming in agony last night," Director Mormorn said. Stepping closer to the bed.
Meanwhile, Tonia quickly walked to the side and poured a glass of water for him.
"Thanks," Lanor said, taking the water and drinking before the director spoke again.
"What happened last night, Lanor?"
Lanor stared at the glass in hand, his brain working to come up with an appropriate excuse. "Would you believe it if I said I slipped and fell?"
Mornon's eyes locked on Lanor's face, his expression blank as an empty canvas. "No," he said flatly.