I felt like liquid fire had been pushed into my veins. I grit my teeth, trying to stop the building scream within me from erupting. My knuckles went white I clenched them so hard, I think I even pierced the skin, drawing some blood.
No small feat considering I was now as hard as stone.
My entire body shook as I fell to the sand, the world spinning around me. My mind was assaulted with copious amounts of knowledge. All centred around how to wield and manipulate mana.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the pain vanished.
"I swear…" I panted, air visibly leaving my mouth as I held myself up on two shaking arms. "…If I go through that pain even one more time today…" I glared at the screen hanging above me, my long hair covering my face. "…I will kill you."
It flashed, a new screen appearing and overlaying the previous one.
[====]-[===]-[====]
|| [I am shivering in fear user] ||
[====]-[===]-[====]
"Oh, so you're a comedian now." I growled, my hands clawing into the sand beneath me. "Only I could reincarnate with a sarcastic system."
[====]-[===]-[====]
|| [Stop being a baby] ||
[====]-[===]-[====]
"I-No, no. I am not going to argue with some blasted screen, I am better than that." I told myself, pushing my weary body to sit on the back of my heels. The bitter anger coursing through me began to dwindle, the influence of my first Attribute soothing it.
"Why did this last bout hurt so much more than the other two?" I finally asked. "I only received one Aspect this time."
Instead of answering me directly, the screen flickered, showing me my newly gained Title.
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|| [Title]: [The Honoured One] ||
|| [Level N/A]: [Progression: N/A] ||
|| [Status]: [Passive] ||
|| [Rarity]: [Mythic] ||
|| [Between heaven and earth, you alone are the enlightened one, reaching into the realm of the very gods] ||
|| [Description]: [The user is granted the physique of a divine being] ||
[====]-[===]-[====]
I looked over my body almost instantly. I had grown a few inches taller and slimmed down as well. Where my arms had been thin and gangly, they were now muscled and lean. Similarly, my hands and legs followed that same example. Pulling up my suddenly very tight shirt, I blinked at my stomach.
"You gave me abs?"
The System didn't respond to my question. But it's silence was answer enough. Pulling up my stats page, I looked to see if anything had changed. Surprisingly, the only difference lay in my Stat and Perk Points.
Which made sense in hindsight. The Title said I had received the physique of a divine being, not the strength or mind of one. Either way, it explained why the pain had been nigh unbearable this time.
My body had just undergone a transformation which changed both the large and the small in me. In other words, everything about me had become something more. It was equal parts terrifying and exhilarating.
Even now, with my new control and understanding of mana, I could feel those changes beginning to settle within me. Summoning the blue energy into existence, I was able to see the changes just as well.
Where it had come out as nothing more than a frail wisp before. It was now almost solid in nature…fuller, so to say. As if there was more mass to it than before.
"Then again, that could also be because of my changed understanding." I muttered, pushing my body up to stand and dismissing the blue energy with a wave of my hand.
Grabbing the hem of my cloak, I raised it up to my chest, bunching it slightly to cover my fist, before imbuing a small trickle of mana into it. The reaction was instant, though it was underwhelming.
Instead of any great flash, the pearlescent cloak was covered in a subtle golden glow.
'It needs more mana.'
Pushing a little more, the glow began to grow stronger. It was slow at first, just as my imbuement was, until it finally began to coalesce.
'Just a little more-'
I let out a startled yelp as a bright flash of light suddenly manifested into reality. My eyes danced with stars, and with my surprise, I both dropped the cloak and disrupted the control I had over my mana.
Rubbing my eyes to clear the subtle blindness I had inflicted on myself; I saw another screen appear before me.
[====]-[===]-[====]
|| [Level Up] ||
|| [Aspect]: [Mana Manipulation]-[Level 1 > Level 2]-[Progression: 14%] ||
[====]-[===]-[====]
"Well, that's something at least." I muttered, watching the screen vanish not a second later.
Wordlessly summoning the System again, I scrolled down, past my stats and directly onto my unlocked Aspects. Whilst I wasn't too comfortable with using Blinkbolt just yet, I still had another Aspect which I had been itching to try.
A small golden glow began to manifest in the palm of my right hand a moment later. It was an easy task, as my mind had been engraved with the knowledge of how to utilise it just a few hours before.
Visualising what I wanted it to become; I could only marvel as it began to take shape. A long, curved dagger, roughly the length of my arm, coalesced into being.
It fit perfectly in my palm. It was light too, I realised, as I gave it a few practice swings. The air seemed to part as the blade moved through it, specks of golden light trailing after it.
Honestly, it felt a little like glass.
Feeling curious, I took a few steps away from the boulder next to me and took aim. The golden dagger whistled through the air only a moment later, striking the stone surface. It shattered almost instantly upon contact.
"Huh, not so useful-" I paused as I noticed a new, small detail within the boulder. Stepping closer to it, I grinned at the visible cut which had been left in its rocky hide. "Never mind then, maybe it's me who's lacking."
Another screen suddenly appeared next to me, announcing the level up of my Aspect.
[====]-[===]-[====]
|| [Level Up] ||
|| [Aspect]: [Forge of Radiance]-[Level 1 > Level 2]-[Progression: 48%] ||
[====]-[===]-[====]
The grin on my face didn't last long as a sudden cold wind passed by me. Blinking in mild surprise, I looked up into the sky. Where it had once been a bright blue, it was now covered in tongues of orange and red.
"It really did take me a few hours to find and unlock my mana." I sighed quietly, noting how far the sun had fallen. "Its winter, so I've got at most an hour, maybe two before night falls."
Understanding that my time on this beach was finally coming to an end, I summoned the System again. With nowhere else to go, all I could do now was finish my preparations and begin my journey through the woods.
It was my only way forward from this beach, after all.
"First the weapon, then my stats. After that…let's hope lady luck is on my side."
A swarm of golden lights began to coalesce in my hand only a moment later.