Capítulo 3: A Root Awakens
I woke up to the sensation of warmth all around me. A soft, rhythmic chirping filled the air, mingled with rustling leaves and the faint hum of the glowing forest. I blinked groggily, trying to make sense of my surroundings.
And then I froze.
Critters. Dozens of them.
Tiny creatures huddled around me, some snuggled against my arms, others perched nearby as if they'd been standing guard. Fluffy, rabbit-like things with antlers. A fox with two tails curled against my side. Even a bird, silver feathers glinting faintly, nestled near my knee.
"What the hell?" I yelped, jerking upright.
The movement sent the animals scattering. The bird took flight, the fox vanished into the underbrush, and the horned rabbits darted off with surprising speed. All except for one—the silver bird. It didn't get far before instinct took over. My arm lashed out, and I grabbed a nearby stick, hurling it like a spear.
The bird dropped instantly.
Ping!
[You have killed a Silver Bird.]
['Root' will now activate.]
The moment I read the notification, something extraordinary happened. The bird's body fizzled and sizzled as if eaten away by acid, disintegrating into ash in the blink of an eye. Floating above the remains was a shimmering, colorless wisp of air, ethereal and impossible to grasp.
Then it moved.
The wisp surged toward me, slipping into my right hand before I could pull it away.
"Woah!" I yelped, clutching my wrist as warmth spread from my palm, coursing up my arm and into my chest. It wasn't painful, but it was intense—like standing too close to a roaring fire. My pulse quickened as I felt the energy seep into my being, a faint hum vibrating in my bones.
I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking my head to clear the disorientation. When I opened them again, my right hand had changed.
There, etched into the skin, was an intricate symbol—an Emblem. The design glowed faintly, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"An Emblem," I muttered, breath catching. "The symbol of The Omega."
The words spilled from my lips before I even realized I'd spoken them. And then came the memories. Fractured, incomplete flashes of something ancient, something powerful.
[Emblem of the Omega (Copper X).]
Skill Unlocked: [Root].
"What the actual fuck is going on?" I hissed, clutching my head.
My vision blurred for a moment before another ping echoed, and a familiar blue screen materialized in front of me.
+
Status
Name: Alice
Race: Colossal
Title: Irregular
Emblem: Emblem of the Omega (Copper X)
Abilities:
[Root], [Mystic Eyes]
Stats:
Strength: D
Agility: D+
Endurance: D-
Intelligence: C
Luck: EX
+
I stared at the screen, my jaw tightening as I took it all in. My stats were…garbage. Absolute trash, save for one glaring exception: Luck: EX.
My eyes widened, a flicker of excitement cutting through my frustration. EX wasn't just rare—it was unheard of. Luck was a talent, immutable and untrainable, and an EX ranking meant it was immeasurable. Infinite.
"Okay," I muttered, trying to ground myself. "That's…something."
Then my gaze fell on my Race: Colossal.
My breath hitched, and for a moment, my chest felt like it had been hit with a hammer.
"No way," I whispered, shaking my head.
The Colossals. A race so powerful, so absurdly broken, that they had been hunted to extinction during the Great Colossal Hunt. They were known for one thing: Mystic Eyes, a racial ability that granted them one, if not, all of eight specialized ocular powers, each capable of reshaping the world around them. The Colossals were limitless in their potential—growing stronger as their eyes evolved.
But their strength had also been their downfall. The other races of Alterra banded together to wipe them out before they could fully realize their power.
And now, somehow, I had their bloodline.
"Irregular," I muttered, my eyes flicking to the title. In my previous life, I'd been an Otherworlder, a standard title for summoned heroes. My old Emblem had been the Emblem of the Celestial Hero, a decent tool for growth and some boons that seemed really cool until I met the real monsters that were hiding in this realm.
Now? Emblem of the Omega.
The name alone sent a chill down my spine. Omega—finality, the end of all things. It reminded me of the Devil's authority, The Alpha, which had allowed him to create his own unstoppable force, the DevilForce. If this new Emblem had a similar connection…
I reached out to tap the Emblem in the status window, but a translucent wall appeared.
+
[Please input your name to proceed.]
+
My name? I frowned, glancing down at the body that wasn't mine. No—Alice's body. The name surfaced unbidden, echoing in my mind like a distant whisper.
"Alice," I said, almost hesitant.
The system blinked in acknowledgment, and for a moment, I felt a strange lightness, like a weight I hadn't realized I was carrying had been lifted.
I tapped the Emblem again, and a new description appeared.
+
[Emblem of the Omega (Copper X)]
Rank: EX
Description: ???
+
I frowned. Rank: EX. That meant it was either ridiculously powerful or an absolute wildcard. Either way, I had no clue how to use it yet.
Moving on, I tapped the abilities listed below.
+
[Root]
Type: Cultivation Ability
Description: The user absorbs remnants of origin to grow. Mastery required.
[Mystic Eyes]
Type: Racial Ability
Description: Grants eight potential ocular powers. Growth is determined by the user's Origin. Next Level: 90% remaining.
+
I sat back, exhaling sharply. My hands trembled as I processed the overwhelming flood of information. I was no longer just Adam. I wasn't even human.
I was Alice. A Colossal. An Irregular. And somehow, I had been given a second chance in a world that had already destroyed me once.
For a moment, my mind drifted back to Earth. The old world felt like a distant memory, hazy and untouchable. Back then, things had been simple—frustrating and mundane, sure, but simple. Homework, traffic, coffee that never stayed hot long enough. I used to think Earth was boring, that its problems were trivial compared to what I'd read in the stories and games I obsessed over.
But now, those thoughts felt naive. Earth was a name I hadn't spoken aloud in years. A name tied to a life that seemed impossibly far away. Here, in Alterra, survival wasn't about spreadsheets or rent checks. It was about power.
Power to change things. To shape the narrative instead of being crushed by it. And for all its madness, this world had given me that chance.
I clenched my fists. My stats might be trash now, but [Root] and the [Mystic Eyes] offered something no one on Earth ever could have dreamed of—growth without limits.
The glowing forest pulsed faintly around me, alive with possibility. I wasn't just some summoned soldier this time. This was my story, my chance to forge something new.
Earth felt like a forgotten chapter in a book I'd already finished. This was where the real story began.
This time, things would be different.
Presentes
-- Presente
recebido Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder