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SM/DC Chapter 2 : The System’s Call
🕑 Added 2025-01-26 00:34:45 +0000 UTCArthur blinked several times, his mind refusing to process what he was seeing. His heart thudded in his chest.
“What... what is this?” he muttered aloud, reaching out with a trembling hand to touch the screen. His fingers brushed against the air, but the screen didn’t disappear—it remained, hovering just in front of him like some kind of digital apparition.
He pulled his hand back quickly, his heart racing. The words on the screen seemed to pulse, urging him to make a decision, as if they were waiting for him. The scent of saltwater hung in the air still, clinging to his senses, making him feel strangely grounded, like he was trapped between two worlds.
The confusion bubbled up in his chest, thick and suffocating. He stood up unsteadily, pacing across the room, looking for an explanation. Was this a game? A simulation? None of it made sense.
He looked around again. Posters. Action figures. The bed. Everything seemed normal. And yet...
"Is this real?" He whispered to himself. “I’m dreaming, right? I must be dreaming.”
But the sea salt remained in the air, a constant reminder of the cold grip of the ocean.
The words on the screen didn’t change.
You have been selected.
Accept or Die.
“Accept or die.” The words seemed to echo in his mind, heavy and final.
The screen flickered once, as if impatient. The words “Accept or die” seemed to pulse with urgency.
Liam’s heart pounded. There was no time to think, no room for hesitation. It wasn’t a choice, not really.
“I… accept.”
The moment the words left his lips, the screen vanished. The hum of the computer ceased, and the room fell into complete darkness.
And then, the voice came.
“Awaken, Chosen One. Thy journey begins now. Control the darkness that stirs within thee, or let it consume thy very soul.”
*****
As Arthur's heart slowly settled, he exhaled a shaky breath, his mind still reeling from the strange situation he found himself in. "Now that I'm a bit calmer," he muttered under his breath, trying to make sense of it all. "I think I know what this is... It's clearly a system, but—"
Before he could finish his thought, a voice cut through the quiet, sharp and demanding.
"ARTHUR!"
Arthur's heart leaped in his chest, the sudden call making him jump. Without thinking, he blurted out, "I'm coming, Mom!"
A cold chill ran down his spine as the words left his mouth. ‘Mom?’ What was he talking about? He was an orphan—he had no mother. His thoughts scrambled to catch up with his own slip of the tongue.
Before he could process it further, the door to his room flew open, and a woman stepped inside, her face a mix of exasperation and concern.
"Arthur Blackwynd!" she said, her voice loud and sharp. "You're late for school again! Get up!"
Arthur stared at her, his mind blank for a moment as confusion set in. He opened his mouth, instinctively replying, "I'll get ready in a minute."
She sighed, her shoulders relaxing as she gave him a long look. "Are you alright? You look like you've seen nightmares... and I mean, multiple ones."
"I'm fine," Arthur managed, quickly shaking off the disorientation. "I'll get ready." His voice lacked the usual confidence, a slight tremor betraying his unease.
"Alright," she said, nodding. "Don't take long." With that, she turned and left, closing the door softly behind her.
Once the sound of her footsteps faded, Arthur slumped back into the bed, his mind whirling with questions. ‘God, I really got teleported back in time, or maybe to another world... I don't know... ‘ He rubbed his temples, the weight of the situation settling heavily on him. ‘But it will be weird to ask her these kinds of questions.’ How was he supposed to even begin?
Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus. He needed to act like things were normal, at least for now.
With a deep breath, he stood up and made his way to the bathroom. The mirror greeted him with the reflection of a face that seemed both familiar and completely alien.
Arthur stared at the reflection—his white-ashen hair falling messily around his face, his piercing blue eyes staring back at him with a strange sense of detachment. He had the face of someone younger, around sixteen or fifteen at most, though it was strikingly handsome in a way that still made him feel out of place. It was a face he recognized but didn’t. The kind of face that belonged in a world where dreams and reality could blur.
But what disturbed him the most was the feeling in his body. He felt… weaker. Like someone had wrapped chains around his limbs and was dragging him down. His arms felt heavy, as though he had been carrying weights just moments ago. It was as though his very muscles were sluggish, unwilling to obey him.
He reached up to touch his face, the coldness of the glass against his skin grounding him, forcing him to confront the undeniable truth. Whatever had happened to him, it was real.
"Is this really me?" he whispered to the mirror, the reflection offering no answers.
Arthur pushed aside the lingering confusion, deciding that overthinking wouldn’t solve anything. With a thought, he summoned the system interface, and in an instant, translucent panels materialized before him, glowing faintly in the air.
His eyes widened slightly, though a small smile tugged at his lips as he took in the all-too-familiar layout.
"So, it’s just like a game but this one is familiar," he murmured, a strange mix of disbelief and amusement in his voice. Navigating the interface felt natural, almost instinctive, as if he had done it a thousand times before. When he tapped on the Stats tab, the details appeared before him:
[Name: Arthur Blackwynd
Job: None
Title: None
Level: 1
Fatigue: 50
HP: 100
MP: 10
Strength: 20
Health: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Sense: 10
Available Ability Points: 0
Passive Skill: Tenacity (Level 1)
Skills: Bloodlust (Level 1)]
Arthur scanned the stats, his eyes lingering on each section with growing excitement. A chuckle escaped him, low and disbelieving. "I know these far too well..." he muttered, shaking his head. “it’s the shadow monarch leveling system...”
When his gaze settled on the Skills tab, his grin widened. "Bloodlust, huh? That’s not something you’d expect at Level 1." He tapped the skill’s name out of curiosity.
Leaning back against the sink, he crossed his arms, a triumphant smirk forming on his lips. "Haha... I get it now. It’s that kind of power, isn’t it? This is too good to be true."
Despite the thrill running through him, the reality of his situation hadn’t changed. His smile faded slightly as he glanced around the bathroom, then back at the glowing interface. "Although," he admitted to himself, "I still have no idea where I am."
