The Concordees continued its numbing like a methodical angel. Yet, the pain refuses to fade. A blade lingered and lodged behind Isaac's eyes, it returning for every pulse of 'healing' and blood.
Around him, he hears the whispers and murmurs of other students shifting in their seats, trying not to stare but failing miserably. It was a first-time sight. A student who loved' his 'dessert' so much so that he would continuously 'eat' it over and over again.
Isaac's pain began to subside as his 'Ascension' progress finalized.
He had to address the situation.
Wow, dude~ So much for keeping a low fucking profile. Now I'll be remembered as the kid who broke down, cussed out, and slammed his head into the dessert because of how 'good' it tasted.
Are we fucking deadass…
.
.
.
Progress: 100% |
Temporal Anchor → Temporal Anchor (Version 2)
At last…
Isaac shakily takes a deep breath, like surfacing from deep waters. The agony finally begins to dull to a throb. He didn't dare open my eyes yet. But with a trembling hand, he raised his thumb, just enough to signal Professor Aldrick St. Clair.
"T-thank you... Professor," Isaac whispered, voice frayed but sincere.
He understands. The 'healing' stops. The Concordees retreats in silence.
"Should we head to the infirmary, Mr…?"
"Isaac. Please. Let's go, sir. Thank you"
His chair screeched across the marble as Isaac lurched upright, suddenly insulated by a wall of professors forming a protective cordon around him, shielding him from the curious gaze of, at this point, the entire dining hall.
They hustle Isaac toward the exit. But before crossing the exit, he hesitated, just for a heartbeat.
I wanna see Caelum.
And the world fractures.
Instead of the fluorescent blue grid of Temporal Anchor Version 1.
A static emerald floods his vision.
The dining hall dissolves into a cascading nightmare of binary code, a living, breathing matrix of ones and zeroes. This discombobulated mess of 1's and 0's consumed Isaac's reality.
Students become walking skeletons of binomial code, their laughter translated into green algorithms that describe what they are saying and the emotions behind it. Over time, this mess began to slowly arrange itself in orderly sections per object ID, still messy, albeit.
What the hell???
0̴1̴0̴0̶1̷0̷0̸1̷ ̴0̷1̸1̵1̷0̷0̷1̸1̸ ̸0̶0̵1̶0̶0̷0̶0̸0̷ ̴0̵1̸1̵0̵1̵0̸0̶0̶ ̶0̴1̸1̵0̷0̸1̸0̷1̷ ̵0̵0̷1̵0̴0̴0̴0̴0̶ ̷0̵1̷1̷0̶0̴0̷0̸1̴ ̷0̴1̴1̸0̶1̴1̸0̵0̴ ̸0̸1̶1̷1̴0̷0̸1̶0̶ ̸0̸1̸1̴0̷1̴0̸0̶1̵ ̴0̵1̵1̵0̶0̸1̶1̸1̴ ̸0̷1̸1̴0̶1̴0̷0̵0̷ ̶0̸1̸1̷1̶0̴1̸0̸0̴ ̸0̷0̵1̵1̷1̶1̷1̸1̶ ̵0̸0̵1̸0̵0̷0̷0̸0̸ ̸0̶1̷0̴0̸1̸0̴0̶0̸ ̵0̶1̸1̴0̴0̷1̵0̷1̶ ̸0̸0̵1̴0̴0̴1̷1̵1̸ ̷0̷1̶1̸1̸0̶0̸1̸1̵ ̶0̴0̶1̴0̴0̴0̸0̶0̸ ̷0̵1̷1̵1̵0̴0̶1̶1̷ ̷0̸1̷1̷1̵0̷1̷0̶0̴ ̵0̴1̸1̸0̵0̴0̴0̷1̴ ̴0̵1̵1̴1̴0̴0̵1̴0̶ ̷0̴1̴1̴0̵1̵0̸0̴1̸ ̵0̸1̸1̴0̸1̵1̷1̶0̷ ̸0̴1̷1̷0̷0̷1̸1̵1̸ ̶0̶0̵1̸0̸0̶0̴0̷0̶ ̶0̴1̸1̵0̴0̵0̷0̵1̸ ̵0̵1̶1̸1̸0̷1̶0̷0̷ ̸0̸0̸1̸0̸0̶0̷0̷0̵ ̶0̵1̶1̶1̴0̸1̸0̸1̵ ̸0̸1̶1̸1̵0̶0̷1̷1̴ ̷0̸0̷1̵0̸0̶0̵0̸0̵ ̶0̶1̸1̵1̷0̸0̴1̶1̸ ̴0̷1̸1̷0̵1̷1̴1̶1̷ ̵
Ughhh fuck. Coding class all over again…
Shit Binary… It's ASCII or UTFI-8…
Direct translation… Uhm…
'Is he alright? He's staring at us so intensely.'
Oh shit. I don't wanna be a creep on my first day.
Isaac quickly flicks his head up to the ceiling. But it drips with streaming data, every stone block demarcated by glowing partitions like some grotesque chess board made of neon green light.
Even the oxygen is getting turned to binary… What the fuck… This is so trippy.
I'm gonna puke…
But… I need to see it… I must see him…
Isaac turns back. His eyelids flutter open one final time, fixing on the last place he saw Caelum.
Successfully obtained Inhabitalight: Caelum Veldt's statistics. Displaying…
Oh? At least…
Name: Caelum Veldt
Class: ???
Title: "Archon of the Element's Accord", "The Blessing of a Curse: The Curse of a Blessing", "Your Greatest Actor"
Age: 16 (Biological Age). ??? (Mental Age)
Stats:
- Strength: 2-Star
- Vitality: 2-Star
- Agility: 2-Star
- Intellect: Unreadable, your difference is too great
- Stamina: 100%
Attributes:
Dramatis Personae: The protagonist of the game, whether he realises it or not, this attribute grants him a body naturally attuned with all 4 Main Elements and amplified by a 15% boost in Magical power.
Artificial Spiritual Sensitivity: The one attuned with the building blocks of nature. Caelum is extremely sensitive to Mana, being a near extension of Ȉ̵͔̬̻̭̰̪̙̙̹̈́̒̐̇̈̃̐̀́̓̕͝ͅT̴̡̼̦̣͚̟̭͙̙͕͑̓̓̄̓̇͑́̌̉͒͑̔͒͜͜͝'̸̡̛̖̘̯̻̰̲̹̪̱͔̦͕͎̭̮̽̿̔͑̔̓̽̇̓́̇S̵͚͔̺̍̐̇͗̆̓̈́̊̅̈͘͝ will, in which Spirits will be more easily perceived by him and efficiecny of use will be heigthended.
Second Blessing of the World: The world has taken a favor to Caelum; his Spells consume 20% less Mana than the average individual, with an additional boost of 30% in Magical power.
Phylogenetic Root: An individual possessing the necessary genomes to be the pinnacle of existence. Grants an increase of all physical stats by 1-Star. Alongside the opportunity to learn multiple Sources of Science.
Plot Armour: Reality bends to the will of the Actor in this Play. Ignorance of Ontological Laws set by T̶̢̢̡̡̛̮̙̩̰̬̥̭̞͕̙̙̅̎̑̾̾̆͒̀̕͝͝͝͠͝͝ͅH̵̛̛̗̻͙͖̯̱͔̠͖̱̩͆͋̄͗͋̃̍̆͗̇͑͘͝E̴̛̹͊̈́̇̆͆̏̏́͊̀̈́̇̍̍̈́M̶̨̢̧̻̝̺̜̞̣̥̬͍̗͓͎̳̝̃̑̽́̀̒̄̏́͘͝ is the source of this Authority. This Actor is, effectively, the play itself. In unfavorable situations, where conceptual laws and mathematical impossibilities state that the Actor will fail.
T̵h̷i̵s̵ ̵T̶h̶e̶s̵p̶i̷a̴n̸.̸ ̷W̸i̷l̷l̸ ̷Pr̸e̴v̵a̷i̵l̷.̷
Element Affinity:
None
Mana Remaining: ???
Eh, no wrong student. These stats aren't Caelum-
'Name: Caelum Veldt'
This can't be right.
The data streams warp and flicker like malfunctioning code as Isaac frantically rechecks the stats.
His statistics should be pristine, flawless 5-Star ratings across every category except intellect, no?
But what the fuck is this shit?
It was an exact inverse of his original statistics.
Isaac's hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
His intellect is unreadable; it means he is smarter by a margin of at least three full stars above my own? Three stars at the bare minimum beyond my intellect? Nevermind how intellect is graded by the System. I have knowledge from a world that sees this as fiction.
And you're saying he's smarter? Smarter than someone above this fiction?
Impossible… All his physical stats are 2-Stars, and his attributes are unchanged…
No.
Dramatis Personae | should have been | The Chosen One |, right?
At least the attribute itself is unchanged.
But…
Phylogenetic Root |?
Plot Armour |?
The words hang in his vision like a death sentence.
His mouth goes dry.
These attributes weren't in his EAA profile, nor was it in any profile.
Similar to before, ancient survival instincts scream at him that something is fundamentally wrong, the fear similar to the uncanny valley. Even brushing aside the two new additions.
The true horror of deviations comes into focus last.
Caelum's Elemental Affinities.
Where are they?
Why is there nothing?
Nothing at all…
Each pathetic rating flashed at Isaac; their implications were more terrifying than any transmigration, death, H̵̡͍̞͓̳̋͗̄̈͊̒͆̒͆͋͗̏̐͜a̸̢̨̨̲̩̳̟̜͇͕̞̱̠͌̽̓͊̄̒̓̇̈́̇̓͌̕͝͠r̶̯̹̩̂̿͜b̸̳͓̰͕̩̾͠͝i̵̢̨͎̮̠̥̟̘̤̘̖͎͔̇̇̈̂ͅn̸̹͉̳̞͓̻̺͙̻̞̻̼͊̾̂̐̊̌̈͆̂͜͠g̷̢͈͔̙̏̎̈́̍̽̈́̀͌̃͋͂̔̕͘͝ȩ̸̨͎͈͕͚͈̹̔̽̆ŗ̸̣̹̱̼̘̤̻̲̻͍͔͕̙͔̽̔̂̒͘ͅͅ or Headmaster could every be. For him, what was a world where the person that the world followed was flawed?
The world itself would be basically ruined.
Screw the entire main story if the MC himself is screwed…
I get that it could be a lack of practise on his part as someone so talented.
But what the System is showing is a completely untrained Mage. So much so that he hasn't even attuned himself with an element… HOW?! EVERY FUCKING KID GETS ONE AT BIRTH!
It's legit showing someone who's never fucking touched his Magic in his LIFE!
But...but that would mean… huh?
I don't get it!
HOW?!
W-wait…
The professors' hands guide Isaac forward, but his body moves on autopilot. The corridor walls blur into a tunnel of flickering green torchlight, yet all he sees are those numbers burned in front of his vision like the afterimages from a lightning strike.
Phylogenetic Root…
The facts circle like vultures. Every sense, even his sixth, screamed that Isaac had just witnessed something that shouldn't exist, like seeing a corpse stand up and recite languages fluently.
An animatronic possessed.
His fingers dug crescents into his palms.
If the System isn't wrong… Then what the fuck did I just have dinner with?
That 'Caelum' isn't Mage who forgot his training… Fuck… It isn't even a beginner.
Mage? Alchemist? Spirit Tamer? Mana Swordsman? Cultivator? Vidvān? Esoteric Kabbalist? Transmigrator? Regressor? Marionette? Puppet? Robot?
Or perhaps… Not…
It is NOT any of the above… And most importantly…
IT is NOT Caelum.
And IT has infiltrated EAA.
"Almost there,"
Professor Adlrick murmurs, but his voice comes muffled, as if heard through layers of wool.
For Isaac had one last thought.
Wait…
Who are | Ȉ̵͔̬̻̭̰̪̙̙̹̈́̒̐̇̈̃̐̀́̓̕͝ͅT̴̡̼̦̣͚̟̭͙̙͕͑̓̓̄̓̇͑́̌̉͒͑̔͒͜͜͝ | and | T̶̢̢̡̡̛̮̙̩̰̬̥̭̞͕̙̙̅̎̑̾̾̆͒̀̕͝͝͝͠͝͝ͅH̵̛̛̗̻͙͖̯̱͔̠͖̱̩͆͋̄͗͋̃̍̆͗̇͑͘͝E̴̛̹͊̈́̇̆͆̏̏́͊̀̈́̇̍̍̈́M̶̨̢̧̻̝̺̜̞̣̥̬͍̗͓͎̳̝̃̑̽́̀̒̄̏́͘͝ |一
His eyes popped immediately.
Not metaphorically, not figuratively.
Literally.
.
.
.
The infirmary door loomed ahead. Normally, their soft light would be comforting for a adrenaline rushed professor and an injured student.
But due to a terrible truth that settled over Professor Aldrick.
A sudden fearful vertigo gripped him, as a warm, soft matter splattered against his arm.
"ALDRICK!" Doctor Esquivel's hand closed over Isaac's shoulder, guiding him upright, bracing his back against her knee as she snapped open two Fox shields and set them over his detonated eyes.
Around her, the assistants began immediate emergency practise. A sterile gauze arrived in stacked armfuls as Doctor Azucena Esquivel was already winding it around Isaac's skull.
The room had fallen into the hush of disaster.
Or, perhaps.
It was the frantic shouts of the staff that were overpowered by a boy's howls of agony.