Chapter 1: Glitched Godhood
A searing pain, the sound of crumpling metal and plastic, and then… nothing.
That was the summary of Shiya de Leyyes' life. His last thought wasn't profound; it was about the unfinished report on his desk and the can of cheap coffee that had somehow triggered the collapse of a vending machine onto him.
He did not expect the nothingness to be so brief.
[Soul detected… Compatible. Transporting to Elysium Prime.]
[Error… World Barrier resistance anomaly. Compensating…]
[Error… Mana saturation critical. Compensating…]
[ERROR… CONNECTION TO ADMINISTRATOR LOST. INITIATING SAFETY PROTOCOL: SOUL BINDING AND SYSTEM INTEGRATION.]
A kaleidoscope of colors assaulted his non-existent senses. Then, with a gasp that burned his new lungs, Shiya was lying on his back, staring at a sapphire sky with two moons—one large and silver, one smaller and tinged violet.
"Wha…?"
[Congratulations! Welcome to Elysium Prime, Host: Shiya de Leyyes. The 'Grand System of Divinity' is now bound to your soul.]
A transparent blue screen materialized before his eyes, hovering like a futuristic display. It showed his name, and a series of status bars and numbers.
"A System? Like in those webnovels?" He sat up, finding himself in a lush meadow. The air was crisp and sweet, filled with the scent of unknown flowers. His body felt… light. Powerful. He looked at his hands—they were his, but without the callouses from long hours of typing.
He focused on his status.
Name: Shiya de Leyyes
Race: Human (Soul-Bound Otherworlder)
Level: 999
Title: [The Glitched], [Error-Born], [Over-Saturated One]
HP: ∞/∞ | MP: ∞/∞ | Stamina: ∞/∞
Attributes: STR: 9999 | VIT: 9999 | AGI: 9999 | INT: 9999 | WIS: 9999 | LUK: 999
Skills: [Omni-Magic Affinity (MAX)], [Swordsmanship Deified (MAX)], [Unarmed Combat Deified (MAX)], [Alchemy Godhood (MAX)], [Forgemaster Godhood (MAX)], [Analysis (MAX)], [Instant Learning (MAX)], [Spatial Dominion (MAX)], [Chrono-Barrier (MAX)]… [List Continuos. Display 3427 of ∞ Skills?]
Unique Skills: [System Administrator (Locked: Tier 9)], [Reality Edit (Locked: Tier 10)]
Quest: [Final Quest: Unravel the Truth of Elysium Prime. Rewards: ???. Penalty for Failure: None (Irrelevant).]
Shiya blinked. Then blinked again. "This… is a joke. An overpowered joke."
He stood up, his movements fluid and effortless. He willed a simple [Fireball]. Instead of a tennis-ball-sized flame, a miniature sun, silent and terrifyingly hot, coalesced above his palm, warping the light around it. He dismissed it in a panic.
"Okay. Overpowered. Check."
[Warning: Host's passive mana emission is destabilizing local ecosystem. Recommend active suppression.]
A wave of vibrant energy pulsed from him. The grass around his feet grew visibly taller, flowers bloomed and withered in seconds, and a nearby squirrel-like creature glowed before scurrying away with visible intelligence in its eyes.
"Right. Suppression." He concentrated, trying to pull the radiating power inward. It was like trying to contain an ocean in a bottle, but after a moment of intense focus, the visible aura faded.
[Passive Skill 'Mana Supremacy' learned. Now auto-suppresses 99.9% of Host's aura. Note: Remaining 0.1% still categorizes Host as a 'Demigod-level' entity to high-level perception skills.]
"Great. Subtle," Shiya muttered.
He needed information. A town, people. He picked a direction and walked. His [AGI] made his walk faster than a galloping horse, the landscape blurring. Within minutes, he reached a forest road. And on it, he found trouble.
A merchant caravan was under attack. Three brutish ogres, each over three meters tall, were roaring and smashing wagons. A group of armored guards fought valiantly but were being overwhelmed. In the center of the defense, a young woman with fiery red hair and elegant armor wielded a sword that blazed with orange light. She was skilled, parrying an ogre's club, but she was tiring, her movements slowing.
[Analysis]
Name: Kaela Ignis
Race: Human
Level: 47
Title: [Flame Knight Captain]
Affection: 0 (Neutral)
Status: Fatigued, Determined.
Another woman, in green robes, was chanting healing spells from behind a broken cart, her face pale with fear and concentration.
Name: Lyra Verdant
Race: Half-Elf
Level: 39
Title: [Forest Warden]
Affection: 0 (Neutral)
Status: Mana Depletion (Moderate), Frightened.
Shiya sighed. This felt like a cliché intro. But he couldn't just watch. He didn't even need to fight.
He activated [Spatial Dominion]. The world seemed to grid itself in his vision. He pointed a finger at the ogre about to crush Kaela.
"[Gravity Well]."
A pinpoint of black light appeared on the ogre's chest. It didn't explode or flash. The ogre simply compressed, folding in on itself with a sickening crunch into a sphere the size of a grapefruit, which then vanished. The other two ogres froze, their primitive brains struggling to process the sudden disappearance of their comrade.
Kaela stumbled back, her flaming sword dimming, eyes wide with shock.
Shiya pointed twice more. "[Gravity Well]. [Gravity Well]."
Pop. Pop.
The remaining ogres were gone. The forest road was silent, save for the crackle of burning wood and the heavy panting of the survivors.
All eyes turned to him. He had walked forward without realizing it, his simple otherworldly clothes (a t-shirt and trousers the System had provided) looking utterly out of place.
Kaela recovered first, sheathing her sword with a shaky hand. She approached, her gaze a mixture of awe, wariness, and intense curiosity. Up close, she was strikingly beautiful, with emerald eyes that held the heat of her magic.
"You… what was that? Who are you?" she asked, her voice husky.
"Just a traveler," Shiya said, offering a small, hopefully reassuring smile. "Are you all alright?"
The half-elf, Lyra, rushed over, her worry for her friend overriding her fear. "Kaela! Your arm!" She placed her hands on a nasty gash on Kaela's bicep, a soft green light emanating from them. She then glanced at Shiya, her large, leaf-green eyes filled with profound gratitude and a spark of something else—fascination. "Thank you, mysterious traveler. You saved our lives."
[Kaela Ignis's Affection has increased by 30. Current: 30 (Grateful/Intrigued).]
[Lyra Verdant's Affection has increased by 35. Current: 35 (Grateful/Deeply Curious).]
The merchant leader, a portly man, bowed profusely. "Thank you, great sir! Such power! You must be a ranking Adventurer or a Royal Mage!"
Shiya shook his head. "Just passing by."
Kaela studied him, her analytical gaze missing nothing. His calm demeanor, his strange clothing, the residual, almost imperceptible pressure that made the hair on her arms stand on end. "A traveler with the power to erase ogres from existence. That is not 'just' anything." A fierce, intrigued smile touched her lips. "We are heading to the capital, Astraea. The Merchant Guild and the Knightly Order of the Flame will reward you. Please, travel with us. It's the least we can do."
Lyra nodded eagerly. "Yes! Please. I… I've never felt mana like yours. It's vast, like the sky, but calm." A slight blush colored her cheeks.
Shiya considered. A guide, information, and a destination. It was perfect. And he couldn't deny the first human (and half-elf) connection in this new world was… appealing.
"Alright," he said. "I'll accompany you."
[New Quest Added: 'Arrive at the Royal Capital, Astraea.']
[Sub-Objective: Learn about the political and magical structure of Elysium Prime.]
As the caravan was patched up and set moving again, Shiya walked beside the lead wagon. Kaela marched on his other side, asking pointed but respectful questions about his "magic." Lyra often drifted closer from behind, listening intently, occasionally asking a shy, insightful question about nature spirits or mana flow.
Shiya answered vaguely, speaking of "unique training" and "faraway lands." He watched the two women—the bold, fiery knight and the gentle, insightful healer. They were the first threads in the tapestry of this new world.
He looked at his status screen, at the infinite values and the [Final Quest].
Unravel the Truth of Elysium Prime.
With a glitched system, infinite power, and the beginning of what felt like an inevitable and complicated circle of companionship, Shiya de Leyyes took his first real steps into his new life. He was overpowered, he was lost, and he had a harem seemingly starting whether he planned it or not. But beneath it all, he was still a man from another world, searching for a purpose in a land where he was, for all intents and purposes, a god walking among mortals. And perhaps, that was the most dangerous thing of all.