A boy of about fifteen lay on a hospital bed. Silver hair matted against the pillow, a thin hospital gown clinging to him. Slowly he opened his blue eyes.
They were dazzling—anyone who dared stare too long would get lost in them. The boy's name was Ethan. He had been reincarnated ten years into the past. He remembered the earlier raid: an earthly dungeon, goblins, the squad healers unable to patch him up fully. He nearly died.
A voice sounded inside his head.
[congratulations on gaining the ASTRUM system — press the home page to claim rewards and check attributes]
"Ah—damn," Ethan breathed. The old immortal had been no joke. The man claimed to be the creator of the jade temple and had said he was on his last rope. If such a being could die, and could hand down a system — what level of power was that?
He opened the system interface.
[congratulations you have slain the
[Chaos Harbinger level 1: soul type — mount]
"Ah—that's what I'm talking about," Ethan grinned, then frowned.
[To use the Chaos Harbinger soul mount you must be Ascended level __.]
Still, it was fine — the mount's base was already god-tier. He kept reading.
[congratulations you have gained 1000 Astrum coin for slaying the Chaos Harbinger]
[Use Astrum coins to purchase goods at the store
"What? I'm not Awakened yet?" Ethan blurted, and checked his attributes.
[name: Ethan Sylvester]
[Rank: Half-Awakened — Level 1]
[0/20 EXP
"WTF! Half-Awakened?" Ethan muttered. He'd always thought those who could control mana were full Awakened. Still — this system was the real deal. He scrolled.
[Aspect: Space and Time]
"So I don't just have one aspect… I have two," he said, stunned. "Never heard of anyone with two aspects at once."
[Life Expectancy: 250 years
[HP: 100]
[EXP: 0/50]
[Attributes: Strength 10, Agility 10, Speed 10, Stamina 10, Mana 10, Intelligence 120, Charm 15, Dao Force 2]
[Skills: Space Teleportation Lv.1, Star Sword Technique Lv.1]
[Dao: Reincarnation
[Inventory Lv.1: 3/10]
[Starless Sword Rank 4, Lightning Armour Rank 3, Chaos Harbinger Talisman Rank 5
[Beast Souls: Chaos Harbinger Lv.1 — Beast Mount]
A grin spread over Ethan's face. He'd come away with a lot, even if his stats were low. He'd level up — dungeons, cores, and bargains in the Saint Market would fix that.
He tapped the Immortal Pavilion to peek at Star Sword Technique Lv.2 — and a new prompt popped in.
[new daily quest received: Do 200 push-ups, 1-mile run, 150 squats, drink 1 liter of water — complete to gain reward and enter Level 2]
Ethan looked at his thin body and nearly choked. "Ah, damn it. Who said gaining power wouldn't hurt?" he laughed. He flexed a weak fist and set his jaw. "I'll work harder. I won't bow to any guild that throws lives away."
The system's timer chimed.
[timer set: 30 minutes — failure to complete daily quest will result in severe punishment]
"Severe punishment? Show me some respect, AI," Ethan muttered. "If this thing's sentient, I'll give it a beating."
[You may select the planet where you'll do daily quests — as descendant of Space and Time.]
(A list of four planets appeared. He recognized only New Eden.)
He chose New Eden.
Just then, two figures entered the ward — his mother and his little sister.
"Mom—Little Finger!" Ethan called, scrambling up to hug them. They hugged back, and dirt mixed with tears. Ethan's eyes blurred. He had almost left them to die. Now he'd been given a second chance.
He listened as his mother talked about the shop, the customers, the exhaustion in her voice. He thought of his father—dead, the company seized by the military (they'd claimed he was developing a world-threatening weapon). They'd been cheated out of compensation; the little food stall was near bankruptcy.
Ethan vowed: this time would be different.
"So, big brother, your eyes are so blue and gorgeous now—are you gonna start chasing girls?" Cynthia teased, cheeky as ever. She was five and adorable, silver hair in a ponytail just like his. Ethan pinched her nose and laughed.
"Don't be ridiculous," he said, smiling. "I'll work hard. I'll make things right."
He'd remembered how, in his last life, Cynthia had started a top school but had to drop out when he couldn't pay. Once, she'd become A+ in her aspect despite everything. This time—he'd protect his family.
He checked the system one more time, confidence and hunger sitting in his chest.