This was it. The moment Landen was waiting for—the Abilities tab. He opened the tab and was instantly disappointed. The only thing he saw was another tab that read:
|| Abilities ||
|| [ Sword (+1) ] || [ Fist (+1) ]
None
"...There's nothing here."
"Of course there isn't," Bob said. "You haven't learned anything yet."
Landen exhaled and opened the Sword tab.
The room exploded.
Books burst into the air from every direction—hundreds of them, thousands, each a different size and color, their titles clearly readable as they spun overhead. He turned slowly, trying to take it all in.
"These are all the abilities you may choose from," Bob said.
Landen was amazed. "There must be thousands of them."
"2,483 to be exact."
"And I can pick whatever I want?"
"Well—actually—no."
Landen's smile dropped.
The books scattered. Whole swarms of them shot away in bursts of light until only a fraction remained, drifting quietly around him.
"You chose the sword as your primary specialization. That narrows it to 168."
"Okay, so now I can pick any ability I want."
"Correct—but with some limitations."
"Of course."
Bob clasped his hands behind his back and began to explain. The abilities were divided into ranks — D through S — and Landen had fifteen points to spend. D-Class abilities cost one point. C-Class cost two. B-Class, three. A-Class, four. S-Class, five.
Landen did the math quickly. He could spread his points thin and grab one ability from each rank, ending up with five different skills. Or he could go all-in and take three S-Class abilities and be done with it. Everything in between was fair game.
This reminded him of a special game mode he used to play, where all character abilities were placed into a shared pool. Players could mix and match different abilities from across different classes. Some combinations worked far better than others, and if you knew what you were doing, you could create a setup that made your character practically unstoppable.
"There's also the matter of your Soul Energy," Bob added.
"Come again?"
Bob snapped his fingers again. The display in front of Landen shifted.
DANTIAN POOL
Two meter bars appeared beneath the title. The first read:
|| Dark Energy (50) | Soul Energy (25) | Light Energy (50) ||
The second:
|| Celestial Energy (1) ||
"At the center of your body exists something called a Dantian," Bob said, gesturing to the display. "What you're seeing is its current state."
He pointed to the first bar. "There are two bars. The first one shows three types of energy: Dark, Soul, and Light."
"Soul Energy works like a storage space. You currently have twenty-five SE, which means you can equip abilities as long as their combined cost doesn't exceed that number. Think of it as your carrying capacity — not your fuel. "
He moved his hand along the bar. "Dark Energy and Light Energy are your fuel. They're consumed whenever you use an ability, similar to mana. Different abilities draw from different sources."
Finally, he motioned to the second bar. "The first three energies are common to everyone in this world. The second bar is yours alone — Celestial Energy. A fragment of my power. "
"Landen looked at it. "Only one point?"
"Correct. Any more than that and your body would simply cease to exist." Bob raised one finger toward him. "Would you like to test that?"
"No, no… one is enough," he said, raising his hands.
"You won't be able to do much with it yet — but it's there. Growing it will be your responsibility."
Landen turned back to the books floating around him and reached for the nearest one. A D-Class ability. He checked its cost: twenty-five soul energy, fifteen light energy, and ten dark energy.
That meant the one ability alone would max out his entire Soul Energy, and he couldn't equip anything else alongside it. With only fifty light energy and fifty dark energy in reserve, he could use it twice before running completely dry.
He moved on. A D-Class ability he could barely use twice wasn't worth locking up all his capacity.
Then he spotted it.
He almost missed it—a small, plain-looking book hovering near the edge of the cluster. D-Class. Passive.
"Wait." He drifted toward it. "There are passive abilities?"
In Legends of Heroes, some of the best heroes are because of their passive abilities. They didn't need activation. They didn't consume resources. They simply worked, every fight, without asking anything in return.
He scanned the other books for the passive ability that he wanted and found it. His eyes went wide.
"I can't believe this," he said.
He touched the cover.
|| Critical Damage — D-Class ||
|| Cost: (1 Point) ||
|| All physical attacks have a 15% chance to deal 200% of the total Physical Attack Power. ||
Level 1: 15% @ 200%
Level 2: 17% @ 225%
Level 3: 20% @ 250%
Level 4: 22% @ 275%
Level 5: 25% @ 300%
It must have been a mistake to place this as a D-Rank ability.
One-in-seven odds to double his damage—and that was just the starting point. By max level, it was a one-in-four chance to triple it. Permanently. No cost, no activation, no trade-off.
This wasn't a D-Rank ability. Someone had made a mistake.
"This one," he said, keeping his voice even. "This is my first pick."
The book fell open the moment the words left his mouth. His eyes fell into a trance. As he stared at the flying pages, the other books swirled into a light, then disappeared into his head. The room fell silent, and Landen had finished learning the ability.
He looked around, dazed. Then he saw it in the system.
|| Abilities ||
|| [ Sword ] || [ Fist (+1) ]
|| Critical Damage: Level 1 ||
Then the room shuddered.
The light dimmed. The edges of the space folded inward like a dream beginning to collapse.
"What's happening?"
"Unfortunately, our time here has come to an end." Bob's form flickered. The abyss thundered.
"When you gave me a human name, you forced me to take human form. That transformation consumed a great deal of power, and I can no longer sustain this space." He looked down at his own hands, already beginning to fade.
"Wait! You haven't given me any orders."
Bob paused.
"Then I'll be brief."
"As I told you before, I am a son of the Creator—but I am not the only one. My brother and I were once entrusted with the care of this universe—to maintain it, to preserve its balance." His voice darkened. "That arrangement ended."
"My brother now believes the only path forward is to erase everything and begin again. He has tried before. I stopped him."
The area trembled harder. Bob flickered like a candle in the wind.
"After millions of years, he is ready to try again. And like me, he has chosen a champion from this world."
"That person—"
His gaze sharpened.
"—must die. And you are the one who will do it."
The words landed with a weight that Landen hadn't expected.
"If you fail, you will be the one who dies. Now go. Do whatever it takes to grow stronger, because the day will come whether you are ready or not."
Landen tried to speak, but the shock left him momentarily speechless.
He watched in silence as Bob disappeared, and his vision faded into complete darkness. The abyss—and Bob with it—vanished entirely.
When his senses returned, Landen found himself back in the real world, sitting inside a janitor's closet.
"What do I do now?"
Right away, the system replied. "Return to the auditorium."
He flinched. He'd completely forgotten it was there.
"That facility is Aegis Vanguard Military Academy. There, you will train, adapt, and learn how to properly use your abilities."
Landen slowly processed the words, the pieces clicking together one by one. The strange registration, the overwhelming presence of power, the system interface—none of it had been random. This wasn't just an introduction or a transfer into a new world.
It was a starting line.
And suddenly, he understood why Bob had brought him here.
The auditorium was nearly empty. A handful of students lingered near a registration table, speaking with a woman who looked like she'd been there since dawn and was long past ready to leave.
He could hear their voices, but he couldn't understand what they were saying.
"System."
"Yes?"
"Can you translate this language into English?"
"Umm… yes, I believe I may be able to do so. Allow me a moment to see what may be done."
Landed waited for a few seconds. Then suddenly the words of the people in front of him mumbled and then—
"...You're all set," the lady said to the student. "Thank you. Next in line."
Landen walked up and smiled. "All right, I can finally understand you, strange people. Can you understand me?"
The lady glared at him, clearly exhausted.
"Yes, kid, I can." The lady glared at him. "Scan your ID tag," she said, pointing to his wrist.
"Oh, is that what this is?" he said, scanning it over her machine.
She rolled her eyes.
Beep.
The machine processed.
"Mr. Mifaso Latido."
Landen waved his hands dismissively. "No, that's not my name. They got it wrong."
"Okay, then what is it?"
He paused and pondered for a second. He was in a new world now—he could be anyone he wanted to be.
He opened the system menu and saw his name and the edit option.
[Name: Landen Thorne]
[Edit]
Delete… delete… delete…
"Hello?" the lady said, annoyed.
It was the last damn kid, and he had to be this idiot. What the hell is he thinking?
"Hey, kid, wake up. Are you there?"
Landen's eyes flickered.
A few seconds later, he finally made eye contact with the lady. "I'm back," he said.
"Yeah, you spaced out for a minute there."
"Okay, my name is…"
He paused again.
"Oh my god… kid, the suspense is killing me."
Wait for it…
…
"Landen Knight," he finally blurted out.
"Okay, Landen Knight," she said, typing his name in, then handed him a school uniform. "There you go, Mr. Knight. Welcome to Aegis Vanguard Military Academy."