When he woke up, Regis was no longer there. Instead, he was placed in a space similar to that when an update to the world occurred. Nothing existed, and the boundary between the sky and the land seemed to be fairly thin.
He was all alone. A great pressure was affecting him.
'It feels weird.'
Elgin took in a deep breath and gripped his fists tightly.
His first instinct was to curse.
'Shit'.
He had lived for so long without ever being updated along with the world, but with this body exchange.. He could feel the skills he had painstakingly honed for thousands of years evaporate away from him.
Even so, he tried to stay positive.
'The important thing is that I'm still alive.'
'This isn't my store. I actually managed to get past that dreaded space.'
'I'm not in my body, but.. I feel great. I think my physique got upgraded by several levels! It feels so light.'
'I was given a chance to prove myself.'
This time, he was going to make sure that nothing could ever hinder him.
He also understood the severity of his situation. Unlike the previous times, where he was still considered an anomaly, he was afraid there was no longer an option to 'restart' his journey this time around.
Once he was brought down, it was the end.
After all, he was about to be a Player. He was different from Elgin the Alchemist.
'If I think about it that way, it makes me feel a bit scared.'
He lost his sense of security that stemmed from all the generations he lived for, knowing that he was invinsible in the eyes of the updaters.
But this was a chance for him to make a change.
He took it, and he had to pay for whatever drawbacks it might contain.
The floor below him was reflective. It allowed him to inspect his newly obtained body.
In terms of stature, it was not much different from his original body, but his features had completely changed. His brown hair had morphed into silver strands, whereas his eyes changed into an eerie turquoise color. A color that you'd think would glow in the dark.
'I know that something is different about me, but I can't put my hands on it. Besides, Regis told me that she would give me power..' Elgin tried to resonate with his own self.
An instinct from deep within him awakened, calling out a command.
'Status.'
A window, similar to the one Regis used when she showed her the Player interface, popped out. It was much more cleaner and not overloaded with text this time.
It displayed the body's bare stats.
??? | Level. 1
Race: [Human]
Title:
- [Play&%#r]
- [Angel's Proxy]
Job: -
EXP: 0/1000
HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
System Points(SP) : -
Strength: 10
Vitality: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Dexterity: 10
Remaining stat points: -
Skills:
- [Soul Link Lv. MAX]
- [Dominion Lv. MAX]
- [Limit Break Lv. MAX]
- [Limiter Lv. MAX]
'...' Elgin was stunned.
'Is this what the Players see?' Elgin wondered.
It was a foreign concept to him. Having your powers displayed as pure numbers and not just a vague understanding of your skills.
'Also, that title section is looking awfully botched.'
'Whatever. I'm sure Regis will fix it before the time comes.'
Elgin calmed his nerves down. The angel's grace was with him.
She wouldn't make a stupid mistake, right?
Surely not?
The more he thought about it, the more his worries grew.
'Let's just trust her..'
Elgin moved on to the other sections. His status was relatively normal. With a good judgement, he quickly understood the meaning behind each stat, and recognized that it was balanced within all sectors, with reasonable numbers.
Three points stood out to him.
His unknown name, the title [Angel's Proxy], and his four skills that were leveled up to MAX.
Oddly enough, all of the skills didn't seem to be offensive ones.
Having no name meant that this body was truly something fabricated in the hands of Regis and her crew, and not just a random body that they found somewhere and threw it over to him.
The thought of possessing a used body was a bit unsettling for him, so knowing this made him feel a bit better.
However, how was he able to name himself? Was his name space going to stay as question marks forever?
He sat down on the floor and began organizing his thoughts. Having non-offensive skills didn't really matter to him, since he had a mindset that any skills leveled up to the maximum level and used correctly would prove to be a lethal weapon no matter what.
These four skills were already enough to make Elgin content, but his primary task was to fight in the tower. The gift Regis gave him seemed out-of-place in this sense.
'I wonder if I can contact her in any way.. Probably not.'
[Yeah, you won't meet her anytime soon.]
A voice rang from behind.
'Who's there?!' Elgin was caught off guard and immediately turned his head around.
There was nobody there.
'Was I hallucinating..?' Elgin rubbed the back of his head in terror.
[No, you just can't see me yet. At least, not in your current state. You have to remove your limiter in order to unlock your mana vision first. Only those who have mana-imbued eyes can see me.]
'???'
It wasn't a hallucination. There was something behind the young man, he could feel it. Very faint, but it was there.
Elgin squinted, focusing on the location he thought the creature was at. Unconsciously, the mana pool inside of him started to brew, and aid him in his desire.
He wished to see more!
A bluish light started to linger around Elgin's eyes, and before long, his way of seeing things changed.
He was able to see swirls of energy travel around the entire space. Mana formations of different shapes and sizes.
His eyes began to sting even if it was just within a couple seconds of usage, but that wasn't important.
Right in front of him, his conversation partner finally appeared.
Turns out, there was a small faerie was floating in the air this whole time!