Chapter 4: System
Universe X, Planet Zero, somewhere in Nullvard.
A man was alone on the floor, unconscious and vulnerable in an unknown location.
As his eyeballs moved inside his eyelids, Liam's thumb convulsed.
He gradually opened his eyes after regaining consciousness, revealing an entirely white sky.
He tilted his head, still drowsy, to inspect his surroundings, seeing alternating black and white square designs on the floor that looked like a chessboard and was stretched out as far as he could see.
'Huh!? What am I doing?' He pondered as he articulated his thoughts.
There was no visible infrastructure or establishment nearby, but he has the uncanny feeling that someone was watching him.
His emotions were immediately unsettled by the supernatural circumstance.
Regardless, Liam slowly raised his upper body, gently caressing his head as he tried to recall the last thing he remembered.
As his last memories flashed through his mind uncontrollably, he began to panic.
He frantically inspected his body to check his severed limbs, only to discover that he was dressed in the same shirt, vest, coat, tie, pants, shoes, and even undergarment that he wore to his wedding, but with his detective trench coat on top of everything.
Then he lightly choked his neck, hoping to feel the pain that would convince him that everything was still attached and functional after the Warden had severed it just moments before.
'How long was I gone? What exactly is this place? It doesn't look like heaven to me,' Liam said forcefully as he stood up, shaking his head to clear his mind.
He rubbed his blurry eyes instinctively after pushing his eyeglasses slightly upwards as his feet began to take a step forward, sauntering through the strange place he was in.
'I can breathe. I could feel my body, so it wasn't a spiritual experience. But what am I supposed to do in this situation?' Liam grumbled inwardly as his eyes darted around the spacious room, but all he could see was pure white sky and a chessboard-like floor.
It appeared to be a languid and sultry plain.
He felt like he could wander all day but still end up in the same tedious place as if the place was moving along with him.
He had the same sensation as a child, believing that the moon was following him around.
**DING!**
To protect himself, Liam flinched. He instinctively tilted his body sideways and splayed his fingers in the direction of the sound, glancing over his shoulder and peering in the gaps between his fingers to see what appeared from the sound's direction.
A floating luxurious-looking translucent blue screen with high-tech-looking designs on the border.
[Welcome to the <Tyrants' Mighty Tower>]
- You are resurrected on Nullvard to take part in the pre-trial.
"I beg your pardon?" he sought reflexively of the system's mechanical voice.
[The System will scan your disposition]
[The System will scan your physical constitution]
[The System will scan your memories]
[Initiation process]
[Initiation process]
[Scanning. Please be patient.]
[3%] [6%] [1%]
[Scanning. Please be patient.]
[15%] [12%] [10%]
[Scanning. Please be patient.]
Ignoring his question, the mechanical voice rambled several messages that were also headlined on the translucent screen.
[Scanning. Please be patient.]
[27%] [24%] [22%]
[Scanning. Please be patient.]
[39%] [38%] [36%]
[Scanning. Please be patient.]
Before he knew it, Liam couldn't move his body because he was paralyzed by an unseen force.
[Scanning. Please be patient.]
[53%] [51%] [50%]
[Scanning. Please be patient.]
[69%] [65%] [63%]
[Scanning. Please be patient.]
As the system scanned his body, he felt as if millions of ants crawled up his skin, covering him and biting him all at once, even though they weren't there.
'Ahh... What the hell happened?' He reflected as he tried to scream but couldn't move his jaw or tongue.
His body began to twist and convulse violently as if someone else had taken control of it, followed by an excruciating headache.
[Scanning. Please be patient.]
[88%] [85%] [83%]
[Scanning. Please be patient.]
[99%] [97%] [95%]
[Scanning. Please be patient.]
He had been trained to withstand severe tortures as an international law enforcer, but he screamed internally as he felt his flesh all over his body being torn apart by countless ants' mandibles that weren't actually there.
[Complete scan!]
Liam collapsed on the chessboard-like floor, breathing heavily after experiencing the most painful experience of his life, far worse than being crucified.
While the system was scanning, it felt like his internal organs were being disassembled and reassembled, and his blood was literally boiling inside his veins.
Hisssss...
From Liam's steaming body, a hissing sound filled the quiet place when suddenly...
**DING!**
[The system identified your human lesser species]
- The system gave you an Extrasensory Perception because of your Lesser Species traits.
- Your physical abilities and senses are dramatically enhanced.
[The system determined your Battle Type as Marksman]
[The system determined your Battle Type as Brawler]
[Your overall characteristics were identified by the system]
[The system bestowed the Agility Class upon you]
[The system is looking for Battle Skills that are appropriate for you in Skills Galore.]
[Searching...]
Despite not knowing what was going on, Liam ignored everything because all of his strength had left his body earlier and he couldn't figure out what was going on.
After a while, he mustered his strength and tilted his body to read the message because the mechanical voice after the notification sound was too loud for him to understand.
It rang again, this time with a different set of messages.
**Ding!**
[You've received Psychometry skill]
<Psychometry (Active)>
- by making physical contact with an object or a creature, the player could peer into the past events in their history via a spectral presentation in the player's surroundings.
Mana Cost: None
Cooldown: None
Cast time: None
Note: The skill is extremely powerful for your species. It would quickly deplete your mental fortitude and stamina. Use it wisely.
[You've received Death Shot skill]
<Death Shot (Passive)>
- In Marksman Mode, the player has a chance to deliver devastating critical shots from great distances.
- Critical Chance: 15%
- Critical Damage: 200%
[You now have the Ash Phoenix Fist skill.]
(Passive) Ash Phoenix Fist>
- In Brawler Mode, Ash Phoenix ignites the player's feet with dark fire, dealing 5% more damage with each successful hit on the same enemy. If you do not attack the same enemy within 10 seconds, the bonus damage will be reset.
Stackable up to 200%. Can be applied to multiple targets at the same time using the same 10-second rule per target.
[Initializing... Please be patient...]
Even though Liam was an elite international detective, the unbearable headache made it impossible for him to comprehend what was happening to him.
**Ding!**
[Please choose your codename in the tower!]
An on-screen keyboard appeared above him on the screen, encouraging him to play along.
'I have no idea what's going on, but that wasn't a fun experience,' he complained inwardly before exasperated sighs escaped his agonizing face, eyes darting at the floating translucent screen.
The headache eventually subsided after a few minutes.
Thanks to the system's mechanical voice earlier, he had a better understanding of his situation.
He surprisingly played along with the unknown circumstance, whether because of his curiosity or something else.
Liam stood up and began to move around, punching the air and jumping here and there.
He felt a new sensation, which he had never felt before, despite the fact that he was one of the healthiest humans on the planet.
He focused his attention on the blue translucent screen that asked for his codename.
During his school years, whenever he played online games, he would use a girl's name to trick other stupid simp players, eventually getting help and valuable items for free, and he was seriously considering doing the same in this game-like afterlife.
As he typed his codename, he cracked a grin, remembering those days.
Click... click... click...
[Successful!]
<Status Screen>
[Codename: Ronin]
[Gender: Male]
[ID: A81-69-8411-2-2]
[Temperament: Phlegmatic]
[Player Level: Novice]
[Species: Human (Lesser Species)]
[Cultivation Type: None]
[Cultivation Level: None]
[The Last Floor Cleared: None]
[Class: Agility]
[Affinity: ???]
[Innate Battle Trait Type(s): Marksman/Brawler]
[Player's Signature Skill(s): Psychometry
[First Skill: Death Shot or Ash Phoenix Flame]
[Second Skill: ???]
[Third Skill: ???]
[Fourth Skill: ???]
[Profession(s): None]
[Profession Skill(s): None]
[Wings: None]
[Tail: None]
[Battle Pet(s): None]
[Mount(s): None]
[Guild: None]
<General Attributes>
[Health Points: 80]
[HP Regeneration: 2.3 per minute]
[Mana Points: 70]
[MP Regeneration: 3.5 per minute]
[Attack Damage: 13]
[Attack Speed: 9]
[Armor: 6]
[Basic Attack per second: 1 Basic attack per 0.727 seconds]
<Main Attributes>
[Strength: 3]
[Agility: 8]
[Intelligence: 5]
[Available points to distribute: 0]
Liam clenched his fists subconsciously, reading the nickname of his parents' murderer as his code name.
He would like to be reminded of the tragedy that inspired him to become a detective at all times.
Simultaneously, a green health bar appeared beneath his feet.
[Ronin] [ID: A81-69-8411-2-2] [Player]
Liam was taken aback when he noticed the health bar beneath his retina.
Following that...
**Ding!**
[You have been given a basic gun]
Handgun Fundamentals>
F grade
- One of Marksman's first firearms.
- Endless ammunition.
- Bullets have a range of up to 20 meters.
- Works in Marksman mode.
[You have been given Basic Shoes]
Gloves made of leather>
F grade
- A Brawler's starting weapon.
- Range is limited to the player's reach.
- Works in Brawler mode.
**Ding!**
[Do you want to learn more about the tower?]
<Yes/No>
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone