'Status Page!' Oliver thought.
In front of Oliver, a small screen slid out and stretched. Completely translucent, the boy could see what was behind it while still being able to read it. As he moved his head, the floating screen began to follow him.
With a childlike grin, the boy felt challenged to push the limits of the Status Page even further. Using his hands, he tried pinching the edges of the screen, performing a zoom-in and zoom-out motion.
“Welcome back, Oliver!" The voice he had already heard echoed once more.
“What!?" The boy was startled, assuming it was some kind of AI embedded in the Ranger Armor.
‘Hello?’ he thought, expecting a response, but none came. A few moments later, some words started to appear on the screen.
| Status Page
| User: Oliver [Nameless]
| Level: 1 [Pawn]
| Experience: [20/100]
|
| Stats
| Strength: 6 [Pawn]
| Agility: 12 [Knight]
| Constitution: 5 [Pawn]
| Energy: 14 [Knight]
Some of the information was new. For the first time, Oliver saw his level and experience. Although Caine had mentioned training to increase stats and boons, Oliver hadn't realized that the system could display his information in such detail.
Additionally, he had already earned 20 experience points in such a short time, and he started wondering how these points were earned.
‘Do I only get them through training, or do combats also work?’ The boy pondered.
| Boons
| Insight [Pawn] [Growth]
| [Use 200 Experience Points to Upgrade]
|
| Glitches
| [Too Much Information]
| [As long as I see]
|
| Skills
| Ranger Weapon Handling [Pawn]
|
| Ranger Weapon
| Energy Pistol
The first part of the Status Page was easy for Oliver to understand. But as he read more about his boons, glitches, and skills, his brow furrowed. The boy couldn't make sense of what was being shown.
‘Pawn. Is that the level of the Boon? But what does it mean Growth?’ After a few moments of pondering the meanings, he accidentally touched the word "Insight."
The screen expanded as he touched the word, and a second section appeared.
| Insight
| You are capable of understanding systems and mechanics by observing them.
| The more Energy is used, the easier or more completely the mechanic is understood.
| The Boon's level is [Pawn], allowing you to understand only simple systems.
| This Boon is capable of [Growth] and may consume experience to be upgraded.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
'Hmmm, seems straightforward,' Oliver thought. He remembered quickly learning how to use his Ranger Weapon but didn't recall applying Energy. However, during the fight with the Ork, he was too focused on survival to remember much about what he had done.
The boy decided to apply energy while looking at the room's hologram projector.
Similar to when he summoned his Energy Pistol, he felt as if a flow of energy coursed through his body, moving from the center of his chest to his eyes and head.
| Click
Activating the ability was as simple as thinking about pressing a button. However, the result was the exact opposite of what he expected. The moment Oliver activated the ability, a deep and agonizing pain struck his head.
Oliver fell to his knees, feeling his entire body go cold. His only reaction was to close his eyes and grab his head. His throat wanted to scream from the pain, but he clenched his teeth with all his strength.
An overwhelming amount of information seemed to rush through his brain, details he had never noticed or known about the holographic system. Everything from its maintenance to the fact that one side of the room was seeing the hologram with slightly off colors.
When Oliver finally opened his eyes and lifted his head, he felt something drip onto his lips. Wiping his face, he noticed some blood had dripped from his nose. He was astonished. The Boon was more intricate than he had imagined.
The boy could imagine a few different ways to use his Boon.
'But I could have died...' he thought, feeling the grave danger he had just faced.
Without any warning, he had risked his health simply to understand the holography system. If he had tested it on something even more complex, he might have passed out or, worse, died.
Using his military jacket sleeve to wipe his face, he decided to look back at the Status Page. This time, he clicked on [Too Much Information].
| Too Much Information
| The amount of information offered by [Insight] can exceed what your body can handle.
| Information overload may result in Headache, Hemorrhage, Blackout, Insanity, and Death.
| Increase the Boon level to handle more information.
'I should've definitely read this first,' Oliver cursed himself.
Until that moment, Oliver didn't fully understand the concept of Glitches or how dangerous they could be, which is why he hadn't feared using his Boon. However, now it was clear that these powers came with a heavy cost.
Finally, there were only two more options left to click.
| As long as I see
| The Boon [Insight] can only be applied to systems within your line of sight.
|
| Ranger Weapon Handling
| The user has developed the ability to handle the Ranger Weapon through use in dangerous situations.
| Performance with the weapon is enhanced.
| Skill Level: [Pawn]
| Skill Experience: [10/100]
The last clickable option was [Exchange 200 Experience Points to Unlock]. Oliver didn't hesitate; he wanted to understand as much as he could about how the system worked. But then he heard the same system’s voice.
'You don't have enough Experience Points to add another Boon.'
He expected it wouldn't work but needed to try anyway.
Finally, Oliver stood up from the bleachers and began walking out of the room.
‘Am I strong or weak? Clearly, I’m not combat-focused.’ The boy didn't know what to think. His Boon didn't seem helpful in combat or have a clear purpose, but it appeared powerful enough to cost him his life.
Alan, too, was lost in his thoughts. After the class ended, he walked on autopilot, still thinking about which specialization to choose. He had reached a conclusion but still had doubts. There was no other option for him but Energy Combat; it fit his abilities too well, as Energy was his highest stat.
As he neared the second training area, he finally realized Oliver wasn't with him. Looking around, he couldn't find the boy, so he decided to wait by the entrance.
Not far away, Oliver was running, trying to avoid being late after losing track of time while exploring the Status Page. He arrived in front of a large training field, already out of breath. Around him, there was a vast forest, but at the center, it looked like a standard Track & Field training ground.
He spotted Alan leaning against one of the walls near the entrance of the Training Center.
"Where were you?" Alan asked, curious about Oliver's delay.
"I was exploring the Status Page; I finally discovered my Boon and Glitch," Oliver said, lowering his voice on the second part.
"About time. Will it help you decide on your specialization?" Alan questioned.
"I’m not sure, but I don’t think so." Oliver was considering how much he should reveal about his Boon. Alan had helped him many times, but his own advice was not to expose too much about his abilities or weaknesses.
"My Boon isn't combat-focused, so I don't have many options," Oliver explained.
“I see,” Alan spoke.
Both boys stood at the entrance, watching as only a few recruits had managed to find the area so far.
Oliver finally recovered his breath and had time to look around. The path hadn’t been easy to find; he had to check several times between various buildings before locating the way to the N2 training area.
The road to the building’s entrance was broad, with marked spaces for recruits to run and exercise. However, the most surprising aspect was the surrounding trees.
The vegetation seemed equatorial until he crossed the forest, and the climate was mildly pleasant. Yet, the farther they ventured north on the island, the trees gradually changed into towering pines, and the temperature dropped sharply.
‘How on earth did they find this island?’ Oliver thought. ‘Was it discovered? It can’t be artificial, right?’ Feeling a bit like a conspiracy theorist, he tried to ground himself back in reality.
“And you, have you thought about what you’re going to specialize in?” Oliver asked, turning to his friend.
"I don't have many options either," Alan replied as he glanced at the entrance of the training area.
"You saw my fight, and my Boon is closely tied to my combat style. Plus, my best stat is Energy. It's pretty obvious I need to focus on Energy Combat," Alan added.
However, Alan felt this decision would cause issues within his family. But he planned to face those problems when the time came.
Both stood for a few more minutes, observing their surroundings, until finally, larger groups of boys and girls began to approach. In the distance, an officer was accompanying one of the groups.
The next training session was finally about to begin.
Oliver clapped his hands a few times, dusting them off, before speaking, "I think my best option would be..."