In the next second, the airship took off again and they flew past the desolated slums that Captain Wegener called the real world.
His expression was now solemn and he did not speak a single word, preferring to be silent. The news that humankind had not changed or even improved, instead the situation went from bad to worse was not an exciting thing to say.
All his reason for existing was beginning to be erased. As they flew by the desolated slums, they crossed over a large body of water. Separating the slums by the body of water was another city. But this city was vastly different.
This city was huge and flourishing. A large blue dome covered the entire city that looked to be floating on water.
The tall buildings and clear skies were nothing like the slums. The streets were clean and the citizens were well dressed. Going about their daily business with casualty and no sign of uncomfortable lifestyle.
They seemed so... so carefree. The tall buildings were shiny and spoke of the long way humans had gone. There were PV, personal vehicles flying everywhere.
The sight was way different from the slums. "Why are we here?" Michael asked when they stepped down from the airship. The air smelled nice and filtered. In fact he felt very nice. But that made him only frown.
"We are here to get you a system. What else?" Captain Wegener was short on words. It was clear that the veteran was not used to talking much but Michael was comfortable with that.
They boarded a PV. The vehicle was piloted automatically and there was no one behind the steering which made him wary, but seeing the old m- Captain Wegener step in with a relaxed expression on his face, he followed suit.
The taxi ride was less than ten minutes but it was very comfortable. 'So these are the comforts of life.' He would have enjoyed the feeling of luxury but the sight of the people suffering in the slums did not let him.
He let out a sad sigh.
When they got down, they were below a big sky scraper. He was having trouble reading the bright neon sign since he had spent so much time away from humanity.
"You will get your system here. Just hope by grace that you get a high tier one." To which Michael just nodded. Some of his words were starting to make sense now.
They went up the elevator and arrived at the 17th floor. After going through the registration process, he was asked to wait for a second while they prepared.
He saw other people, those with similar age as him and people who were older. They were all people who had Awakened their powers and had come to be assigned a system. But they were sweating bullets from anxiety.
Michael didn't know the cause of their nervousness so he acted how he normally would.
Soon it was his turn and he was ushered into the room... or lab, whatever it looked like. He saw a big chair strapped in with several long and big wires connected to it.
They was an unknown runes scribbled on the chair. It didn't look like it was carved there, neither did it look natural. But the Golden glow of the runes was enough to catch his attention.
It did not seem existing... but yet it did. He didn't know how to explain it. Just staring at the runes made him feel weird and strange. Like there was a strange power that was infiltrating his brain and would pull him into the rune.
By the time he got himself together, his face was pale and he was sweating a lot. Captain Wegener thought his strange behavior was one of anxiety as well so he tried to comfort him in the awkward way he could. "Don't worry, it will be quick. You won't even notice the time pass."
Michael nodded and nearly brought himself to throw up but held himself. "Michael Foxe?" A lady attendant said and he went slowly to the chair.
"Just strap in and we'll be good to go." She said in a soft voice, but Michael could hear the tiredness in her voice. Like she had been forced to say that everytime.
Of course, strap into that thing that looks like a torture device'. He thought inwardly but still sat atop the chair while they strapped him in and put a helmet that had a lot of wires going in it to the chair and them out of the room.
"Now this procedure shouldn't take long. Once you're in, your body will automatically choose the system that is best compatible to you". A man in his early thirties said. He had a shaved beard and almond eyes with brown hair.
He looked like someone that isn't supposed to be in this type of place. "Wait isn't everyone using the same system". Michael asked when he heard the word choose.
"Of course not. We didn't create the system, we just found it by chance. And most people use the very basic system so it gives the impression that everyone is using the same system." The man replied.
"So what are the best kind of systems?". Michael asked again but the man didn't answer him and instead started prepping the machine.
'Great, I have no idea what am getting into. I just hope that it is a normal system so I can live a normal life'. He said to himself inwardly while hoping for the best.
The helmet emitted a blue light and the chair followed suit. Michael felt his head slowly spinning and reality becoming hazy to him. He wanted to say something but felt if he did, he would vomit.
The world before his eyes vanished and he was now in a clear blue space. He was floating and there seemed to be certain words floating along with him in this blue space. He couldn't see an end to them and he couldn't see an end to anything.
[Universal System Space]
[New host found]
[Searching for compatibility with Rank E system]
"Wait, woah". He said when he saw the words appear in his line of sight. Even when he turned left or right, they managed to stay in his line of sight and if he closed his eyes he would still see the words.
"So this is the system they were talking about. What is this universal system stuff it was talking about."
[Host is not compatible with Rank E systems. Switching to Rank D]
[Searching for compatibility with Rank]
[Host is not compatible with Rank D systems. Switching to Rank C]
[Searching for compatibility with Rank C systems]
[Host is not compatible with Rank C systems. . .]
"What the f*ck is happening". Michael asked but he got no answer. The system continued searching.
. . . Switching to Rank B]
[Searching for compatibility with Rank B systems]
[Host is not compatible with Rank B systems. Switching to Rank A]
The universal system said again but still continued searching for a system for Michael.
[Searching for compatibility with Rank A systems]
[Host is not compatible with Rank A systems. Switching to Rank S]
Michael was no longer shocked. He was just afraid. What if the universal system could not find any system that was compatible with him. Would he be a systemless awakened?