[∎ Welcome, Administrator: Haru Tsukishiro ^.^]
A blue screen hovered in front of Leon.
His eyes, still half-lidded, tried to follow the lines appearing one after another like a bash script.
"Administrator?" he quietly read it out.
Somehow, the world system had recognized the original soul residing inside Leon's body.
'I feel different…'
Noticing the changes in his body, Leon instantly turned to glance at his once-burnt hand.
"!?"
His right hand, which had been burnt to a crisp just a second ago, had now returned to its natural state.
His vision had also become clearer—he could now see thin threads of three different colored lights drifting from his hand. It was faint, but Leon could see them.
'Is this... Mana?'
Every living being in this world possessed some degree of mana, and the brighter the color, the denser the mana.
"..."
He didn't waste a single second, and without a thought, he did what most gamers do when they start any new game.
"Status!"
Almost instantly, a blue translucent screen appeared in front of his vision.
———「Status Window」———
◆ Name: Leon Valentine
◆ Level: F
◆ Rank: Awakened
◆ Mana Core: Crimson Core
◆ Core Level: ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (1-Star)
◆ Race: Human
◆ Age: 17
◆ Affinity: ❄ Ice / 🔥 Fire / ✦ Light
———————————————
"...Ah?"
As expected, he had the lowest level among humans his age. Even his mana core was just Crimson Red.
'Well, at least I'm awakened.'
That meant there was still room to grow.
The thought made Leon excited.
In a world ruled by knights and magic, not being awakened was practically a death sentence.
Still, what truly caught his eye was his [Affinity].
—————————————————
◆ Affinity: ❄ Ice / 🔥 Fire / ✦ Light
—————————————————
Not just one, but he had three affinities.
And among them… was [Light Affinity].
"That's… weird."
Only the protagonist of Rebirth of Fivefold Calamity possessed [Light Affinity] — the element feared by demons. It was the very thing that made him the chosen one.
'Would that make me his equal?'
That's what Leon thought, until he checked his stats.
———「Statistics」———
◆ Mana Capacity — F+
◆ Strength — F+
◆ Defence — F+
◆ Stamina — D-
◆ Speed — D-
◆ Intelligence — S+
◆ Charm — F
————————————
"..."
After witnessing his stats, only one word escaped his mouth.
"Trash!"
Except for his Intelligence, everything else was at rock bottom.
"Hm?" He scrolled through the stat window. "Since when did this third-rate villain have S+ ranked Intelligence…?"
He remembered clearly that Leon had always been bottom-tier in every stat.
'Is it because of me?'
That was the only explanation. His Intelligence had maxed out because Haru, the century's greatest genius, had transmigrated into Leon's body.
A small grin crept onto his face.
'This makes things so much easier.'
Leon had been worried about the upcoming interview with Eclipse's headmaster. He had no idea how he'd make a good impression.
But now… with S+ Intelligence, everything changed.
There were only a handful of students in Eclipse Institute with S-rank stats. They were treated as prodigies.
'So… I'll be treated as a prodigy?'
That thought alone made Leon—or rather, Haru excited for Eclipse Institute.
He didn't like the idea of someone looking down on him.
Treated as a genius since birth, Haru had always taken pride in himself.
Compared to Haru, Leon's life was… pathetic.
"Does he have any skills?"
With a single thought, he opened the Skill window.
———「Skills」———
◆ Analyze : Rank E+
◆ Quick Step : Rank F
◆ Hawk Eye : Rank F
◆ Mana Sense : Rank F+
——————————
"Heh, trash again!" he cursed. "What the hell is wrong with this character?"
Sure, he was the one who designed him, but still, giving a villain F-rank stats and garbage skills? That wasn't normal.
'No wonder Leon ranked so low in the forums...'
It was all the developers' fault.
Giving him bottom-tier stats just to turn him into a running joke.
After staring at the skill window for half a minute, he exhaled loudly.
"Sigh… it's over…"
He pulled at his hair in frustration.
"My life is over."
And right then, another window popped up in front of his vision.
———「Unique Skills」———
◆ Skill Deconstruction — A+
——————————————
"!?"
He almost tripped.
Rubbing his eyes, he read the words again.
"U-Unique skill?!"
Now that was something to take pride in.
A Unique Skill was rare. For a trash character like him to have one, and an A + rank at that, was giving Leon a hard time accepting his fate.
Is this really the Leon Valentine I designed?
He didn't recall ever giving Leon a Unique Skill.
'Did my transmigration into Leon's body… alter his fate somehow?'
"I don't know what's happening anymore…"
He'd never questioned it before, but now… this was freaking him out.
"Who exactly transmigrated me here?" he muttered. "And why Leon, of all characters?"
He had no idea who or what was behind it.
For now, he just stared at the empty sky above.
Clenching his fist, he made a mental note:
Whoever brought him here, Leon would make sure to find them… and ask directly why they chose him.
"Sigh… there's no time to think about that now…"
With that in mind, he turned his focus to the Unique Skill.
———「Skill Deconstruction」———
◆ Usage: Allows replication of a witnessed skill.
◆ Limitation: Requires full observation. Only works on known affinities. Replication needs complete understanding of the skill's mechanics.
◆ Rank: A+
◆ Cost: 1 Fate Point
—————————————————
"Th-that's useful."
The limitations were manageable.
After all, Leon himself had designed most of the skills, so he understood their principles better than anyone.
'Does that mean. I can replicate all those skills one I saw them in action?'
He would definitely try it.
Anyways.
'What's this… Fate Point?'
It was an unfamiliar term.
He had never seen it before, not even during the game's development.
As he asked, another screen appeared in front of his vision.
———「Fate Points」———
◆ Current Points: 0
◆ Earned by altering the story's flow.
◆ Calculated based on how deeply the user changes fate of the story.
—————————————
Leon read it.
Rubbing his temple, he murmured,
'…I knew it wasn't going to be that easy.'
Fate Points were earned by altering the original storyline.
Leon scoffed.
"How the hell am I supposed to do that?"
Taking out a small silver-chained pocket watch, he checked the time.
"Shit! It's already 7 PM?!"
There was a birthday banquet for Princess Rinna at exactly 8 PM tonight, and Duke Orion had strictly ordered him to attend.
'Do I really have to go…?'
He had no choice.
Princess Rinna of the Liora Kingdom, third in line to the throne and the undeniable genius of her generation. In the near future, she would go on to claim the top score at the prestigious Eclipse Institute.
"I really don't want to face her."
In the original storyline, Leon had a bit of a crush on Princess Rinna.
And, surprisingly enough, he had once proposed to her. Not too long ago.
In front of her entire family.
'Fuck you Leon!'
He had made a complete fool of himself, and narrowly escaped the king's wrath, all thanks to his elder sister's reputation.
'But I don't want the Duke scolding me again…'
Really, he had no choice.
Standing up, he took a few extra [Drop of Limitless] potions with him.
With his awakening complete, his work here was done.
As he entered the market area, he caught his reflection in a shop's glass window.
Golden eyes. Long, jet-black hair falling over his cheeks, with flawless skin.
He looked... somewhat refreshed.
Staring at his reflection, he murmured to himself.
"I really need a haircutt."