章 6: Circuit
Leo stared blankly at the message before his eyes.
'What should I even make out of it?' he thought while his eyes already scanned the surroundings.
The more shocking and in-your-face the event, the more likely it was to be merely a cover for the real deal that was happening in the background. In moments like this, it was of vital importance not to get blindsided by the shiny system screen floating steadily before his eyes, but by the thing that it aimed to distract one from.
'So far, no real threats,' Leo thought, calming down only after running a full diagnostics on his surroundings.
'Haaa…' Leo closed his eyes and took a shallow breath. 'My body might be weaker than expected, but,' he looked down at his hand, opening it only to close it right back into a fist. 'At least I managed to keep my cores well…'
The condensed seeds of power, links to the powers he gained during his former lives were all still there, safely lodged at the deepest part of his soul. And while dormant for now, it would only take a tiny bit of effort and preparation to get them going again.
Still, with what little powers Leo could afford, he scanned his surroundings with the help of his enhanced senses, surveyed the nearby auras, and audited the stagnant mana of the modern world.
Everything was well in order. At the very least, the order was perfect within Leo's direct surroundings.
Judging from a series of distant noises coming from all over the place, though, this wasn't the case for the rest of the city and likely, the rest of the world.
'Now, what?' Leo squinted his eyes as he turned his eyes back towards the system message before waving it away.
The use of the system proved as intuitive as he hoped it to be. And after some more testing, he didn't even need gestures, for the act of willing the change itself was enough to direct the so-called circuit.
Still, before daring to look any deeper than through the surface of the system, Leo closed his eyes and focused.
There were a lot of things to be done right this very moment. From catching up with his family and extended family, learning what happened in this world while he was away, explaining his own circumstances, figuring out what the audible commotion was all about, ensuring everyone's safety…
But this system's presence promised its likely great influence on the world going forward. And how could Leo ignore something so major?
'Let's not forget, it's likely either the lore or the BBEG event.'
Leo breathed out and kept his lungs empty for a while before taking in a mouthful of fresh air. And as the fresh, live-giving oxygen flooded the young man's blood and later brain, his focus grew by the slight above and beyond necessary to look into the deeper fabric of the world.
Or in this case, a force that blatantly interfered with what the original rules of this world allowed, forcing various phenomena to occur outside of the bounds of physics.
'That's…'
Upon looking deeper into the fibers that made up the system at its very core…
Leo couldn't help but start gasping for air.
It was overwhelmingly complicated. A masterpiece of turning something simple into a convoluted mess of absolute chaos. An already complex program authored by an expert in the field yet rewritten by an inexperienced rookie.
In other words, it was a tangled mess that shouldn't be allowed to work… And yet, against all odds, somehow managed to establish logic so profound, it could resist the unifying force of the fabric of the universe.
And what was even worse, despite how much of a convoluted mess this system was, as Leo studied the mana weave making it up, it all nigh instantly made sense to him.
'What the hell?'
Leo's head started to hurt when merely a glance at this chaos allowed him a glimpse into the greater purpose of this ungodly mess.
The greater picture, the whole of this system still eluded him, but by estimating the whole by a sum of its lesser parts, he could breathe a sigh of relief.
'As far as I can tell, this really is some sort of circuit.'
Literally breathing a sigh of relief, Leo pried his eyes open, only to realize his long-lost family was currently all up in his face!
"You are back?! Really, really back!"
"What the hell is this thing?"
"L…L-Leo…"
"I...It's been, ugh…"
"Is this really what I think it is?!"
Everyone spoke all at once, going heavily against the inner peace Leo built for the moment. Some still couldn't process his return, others were freaked out by the system. The two girls struggled to find ways to call out to him while the guys of the group that Leo wasn't familiar with appeared to be strangely excited.
"First," Leo spoke with a low, brimming voice. "Let's all calm down."
As if by a touch of a magic wand, the whole area went silent. Save for all those stuck in the other apartments of the building and random passersby who just happened to see the system notification while walking nearby.
At least in Leo's direct surroundings, he managed to grab everyone's attention.
"First, we should all get to one, secure place. Who knows if this thing is real and if it is, when will the invasion begin."
Rather than questioning the likelihood of the system telling the truth, Leo removed this very point from the equation, acting in the way that ensured the best outcome no matter the circumstances.
Whether they would have to fight for their lives, discuss the past and the present, or prepare for a coming apocalypse, doing so from the relative privacy of an apartment seemed like a much better choice than just standing around.
"Eh," Millie jumped a little, startled by the sudden development, "what about my parents, though?"
'Oh, right,' Leo turned his head towards the skimpily dressed childhood friend of his.
The little girl was terrified. The slight make-up that she added to add to the charm of her mischievous outfit did a poor job of concealing her nearly tearful worry.
'We are not all just one big family,' Leo realized, only for his face to turn even darker. 'And she used to be quite the softie, wasn't she?'
That's why, saying what he had to say next inherently scared Leo's sympathetic soul.
"We don't know what's going on. Frantically rushing around while the whole world is about to erupt in chaos will do no one any good."
Leo's stare lingered on the cute woman for a while before moving away. His gaze moved over Tina though, not giving his step-sister even a single reason to believe he noticed her.
"What are you all standing for, let's—"
A small, green light flickered a fewteen meters away into existence. It started as a mere spark that then started to spin, leaving behind a greenish, see-through trail. Yet, as it spun in wider and wider circles, the circular afterimage quickly grew, only stopping once it grew as tall as Leo's head and then some.
'A portal?'
All of a sudden, the situation turned worse, in more ways than one.
The people around the young man all froze yet again, unable to make a decision on how to react to the strange sight.
"Everyone, to the house, now," Leo ordered in a stern, emotionless voice.
His words finally broke the mental stalemate of his long-estranged family and friends, pushing them to move while he moved slightly to the side, standing in the way of whatever could come out of the portal and charge them down.
Yet, by the time everyone climbed the outside stairs leading up to the first floor…
Absolutely nothing happened.
The portal just continued to lazily spin in circles, threatening to hypnotize anyone who dared to look at it long enough. And right by the side of the portal, Leo could still see the home page of his newly obtained system…
Along with all of his statistics, that finally allowed him to make some sense of his weakened body.
[Name: Leo Pesterny]
[Level: 4]
[Rank: Average]
[Race: Human]
[Special Traits: Cursed (7th tier)]
[Strength: 3(-7)]
[Agility: 5(-7)]
[Vitality: 3(-7)]
[Wisdom: 4(-7)]
[Potential: 1]
[Mana:1]
There was Leo's system and the green, spinning portal ahead while his friends and family safely retreated behind. So far, no threats appeared from the portal, but this was prone to change at any given moment.
Quite notably though, the mana tendrils that extended to Leo's body… only grasped into his physicality. His soul, and the cores hidden deep within, were outside of its scope.
Still, the connection was obvious. And just like two young men from the local groups of delinquents who appeared to be excited by the prospect of a system, Leo now stood in place, staring right into the most obvious clue into the secrets of this strange circuit.
"We are going in."
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