Arlo's sudden outburst drew the attention of several passersby, who stopped to stare at him curiously. His abrupt appearance out of thin air had not gone unnoticed, and the onlookers began to murmur amongst themselves, their eyes fixed on the peculiar sight before them.
'T-They're all looking at me...' Arlo thought nervously, his eyes darting left and right. 'I-Is it my clothes?'
It couldn’t have been his looks, in terms of appearance Arlo was as average as they came. In height, physique and face. He was an average all-rounder with curly black hair and orange eyes.
His casual orange tracksuit and white trainers on the other hand, stood out in stark contrast to the medieval attire of the inhabitants. Moreover, the fact that he was sitting on a chair in the middle of the road only added to the spectacle, further piquing the interest of the growing crowd.
While most young men would have been thrilled at the prospect of being transported to another world, Arlo, a shut-in who rarely ventured outside his room unless absolutely necessary, began to panic.
"A-Ahh..." His mouth and body trembled, overwhelmed by the unwanted attention.
Desperate for a way out of the situation, Arlo glanced down at the grimoire in his hands. His eyes quickly scanned the page, seeking a solution to his predicament.
To his relief, he spotted a variation of the same spell further down the page, accompanied by a note indicating that it would transport the caster back to their previous world.
Arlo's frightened eyes lit up with hope. He quickly opened his mouth to recite the chant, but before he could utter a single word, a robotic female voice resonated in his mind.
[You have unlocked Dimensional Magic.]
[Requirement Met.]
[Grimoire's System Synchronising...]
The unexpected interruption caught Arlo off guard, his thoughts momentarily derailed by the strange message. However, before he could fully process its meaning, a large hand fell upon his shoulder, gripping him from behind.
Startled, Arlo turned to face the owner of the hand, only to find himself dwarfed by a towering, muscular bald man clad in leather armor. As their eyes met, Arlo couldn't help but shiver.
"Shirer, whi sur na kun ma?" the man spoke.
Puzzled and drenched in cold sweat, Arlo realized he couldn't understand a single word the man had uttered. For the already anxious Arlo, this was the final straw.
Without hesitation, he looked down at the grimoire and began to chant the spell, his mouth trembling with each word. Despite his fear of slurring the incantation, the words flowed from his lips with surprising clarity.
As Arlo's chanting filled the air, the bald man who had approached him suddenly took a step back, his guard raised in anticipation. However, Arlo paid no heed to the man's reaction, his focus solely on the ancient tome before him.
A golden magic circle materialized beneath Arlo's feet, its intricate patterns pulsing with magical energy.
"H-Heed my call... Divine-Class Dimension Magic: World Transportation," Arlo declared, his voice wavering yet determined.
The moment the final syllable left his lips, a blinding light erupted from the grimoire, engulfing the surroundings in its radiant glow. In an instant, Arlo vanished, his figure disappearing as abruptly as it had appeared.
Confusion rippled through the crowd as the bald man lowered his guard, exchanging perplexed glances with the equally astonished onlookers. Murmurs of speculation and wonder filled the air as they tried to comprehend the extraordinary event they had just witnessed.
Unbeknownst to those on the ground, a single figure hovered several feet above, observing the scene. It was a girl, dressed in a long black robe and a pointed hat, her long silver hair cascading beneath the brim. Her crimson eyes sparkled with amusement as she stared at the area where Arlo had been seated.
“Hmmm~” she hummed, smiling amusedly as a pair of fangs peeked out from her lips.
-
Arlo collapsed onto the floor of his room, his chest heaving as he gasped for air. His eyes darted left and right, slowly taking in the familiar surroundings before a wave of relief washed over him. The sight of his cluttered room had never been so comforting.
"I... I'm back..." he whispered, his breathing gradually steadying.
His gaze drifted down to the grimoire still clutched in his hands. There was no denying the truth any longer—the book was real, and its power was undeniable.
"It's a genuine magic book..." Arlo marveled, his voice tinged with awe.
The grimoire had not only transported him to another world but also brought him back safely. As he stared at its cover, Arlo's mind raced with the endless possibilities and the potential value of such an artifact.
Before he realized it, a grin spread across his face, excitement bubbling up within him.
"With this... I might be able to change everything..." he muttered.
Arlo sprang to his feet, his heart pounding with anticipation. He raced out of his room, eager to share his incredible discovery with his mother and sister.
"Sylvia, Serena, you won't believe this!" he called out as he flung open the doors to their rooms.
To his surprise, both rooms were empty, the tidiness a stark contrast to the disarray of his own space.
"Ah, right. I wasn't in the other world for that long... they're still not back." Arlo sighed, a twinge of disappointment in his voice.
As he gazed at the pristine state of their rooms, Arlo felt a pang of self-consciousness, as if their tidiness was a silent jab at his own messiness.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Come to think of it, I got carried away for a moment, but maybe keeping this a secret is a better idea," he pondered, gently closing the doors and retreating to his room. "If they end up telling the wrong people about something like this, they might try to steal it from me."
Arlo had heard tales of individuals stumbling upon rare items from gates, only to become targets as a result. Although he was uncertain of the grimoire's origins, he couldn't shake the feeling that his situation was similar.
With that realization, he retreated to his room and settled back into his chair, his gaze drifting to the alarm clock on his desk. The glowing digits read 8:02 PM.
"Hmm, I didn't check the time before I went to the other world, so I don't know how long a minute there equates to here," Arlo mused, his brow furrowing. "More importantly, isn't it a bit late? They're not usually out until this hour. Did something happen?"
A flicker of worry crossed his face as he glanced at his phone lying on the desk.
"Well, they didn't text me or anything. Maybe I'm just overthinking it," he sighed, his attention returning to the grimoire. "For now, I should focus on learning more about this book—"
Suddenly, Arlo's thoughts were interrupted by the same robotic voice that had echoed in his mind earlier.
[Grimoire System Synchronisation Complete.]
"What—"
[Arlo Axton.]
[Race: Human.]
[Core Rank: Awakened.]
[Level 1 (0/50)]
[HP: 100/100%]
[Energy: 100/100%]
[MP: 90/100%]
[Strength: 5]
[Agility: 5]
[Stamina: 5]
[Sense: 5]
[Mana: 0]
Arlo's confusion deepened as a glowing, translucent panel materialized before him, displaying a series of text and various tabs with icons at the top.
[Spells] (1)
[Ability] (1)
[Shop]
[Quests] (0)
[Mail] (0)
'Hold on, this is too much to process at once,' Arlo thought, his mind reeling. 'I just teleported to, I was just teleported to another world, and now I suddenly have a system? And It even displays my core rank…’
***
A decade ago, the fabric of reality began to unravel, causing mysterious gates to emerge across the globe. These structures appeared in the heart of bustling cities, the countrysides, and even the remote corners of the wilderness, serving as portals to a different dimension.
This new realm, known as the Labyrinths, was a twisted maze filled with monstrous creatures. The emergence of these gates marked the beginning of an era of chaos and uncertainty.
The Labyrinths were not merely passive gateways; they posed an active threat to humanity. If left unchecked, the gates would unleash hordes of monsters upon the world, leaving destruction and havoc in their wake. As a result, countless cities crumbled, and the number of areas habitable by humans dwindled with each passing day.
When all hope was lost, a mysterious energy source known as "Evolution Energy." emerged. This energy manifested as small, spherical cores within the chests of a select group of individuals, granting them extraordinary abilities that defied explanation when awakened.
These chosen few, known as the Awakened, became humanity's last line of defense against the darkness. With powers ranging from the manipulation of the elements to enhanced physical prowess, the Awakened took up arms and ventured into the depths of the Labyrinths, determined to clear the gates and prevent further destruction.
In response to this new reality, society underwent a drastic reorganization. Governments, corporations, and independent organizations scrambled to recruit and harness the power of the Awakened, forming specialized teams tasked with tackling the gates head-on.
Among these entities rose the Hunters' Organization—an establishment where those who had awakened could register and join the fight against the Labyrinths. The Hunters' Organization became a beacon of hope, uniting the Awakened and providing them with the resources and support needed to face the challenges that lay ahead.
***
Each person's core was assigned a rank, measuring its level of power. Awakened was the lowest rank among the awakening stages, situated just above dormant.
"This... not only does it display my core rank but this system thing also displays my stats perfectly," Arlo marveled, his eyes widening in realization.
Some time ago, Arlo had undergone a physical assessment at the Hunter's Organization when he first awakened. The purpose was to determine his rank. Despite having awakened, his stats were dismal, with a uniform score of 5 across strength, agility, stamina, and sense.
Even the F-Ranked awakened individuals boasted an average of 10 in each stat. It was a somewhat depressing revelation for Arlo, seeing that his abilities hadn't improved since his initial awakening.
"The energy bar is probably a measure of how much evolution energy I possess," Arlo mused, his gaze shifting to another section of the system interface. "And MP likely stands for magic power. It seems to have decreased by 20% after I used the dimension spell."
The moment Arlo uttered the word "spell," one of the system tabs expanded before him.
[Spells.] (1)
[Dimension Magic.]
[Shows Details…]
"Show details," Arlo commanded, his voice clear and steady.
As he spoke those words, the information displayed on the screen expanded, revealing more intricate details.
[Dimension Magic.]
– [Divine-Class Dimension Magic: World Transportation]
[Mastery: 0.40%]
"Ah, so the spell I used appears in the system," Arlo observed, his curiosity piqued. "It seems there's a mastery level associated with it, and it has increased because I cast the spell."
Arlo couldn't help but wonder what would happen once he mastered the spell, but he knew he was still a long way from achieving such a feat.
With that realization, Arlo's attention shifted to the next tab, which had caught his eye. He was eager to finish inspecting the system screen so he could explore this new world that had opened up before him.
[Ability]
As he opened the tab, a different screen appeared, revealing what appeared to be a skill or, more accurately, an ability tree reminiscent of those found in video games. At the base of the tree, a single word stood out: Abilityless.
Much to Arlo's disappointment, the tab was devoid of any usable skills or abilities. He had been anxious to discover what ability the system would reveal, only to be met with a disheartening emptiness.
"Well... that's just about what I expected anyway," Arlo muttered dejectedly. "It's the reason I was stuck as an F-Ranker."
Most individuals who underwent awakening would emerge with a unique ability. However, Arlo was one of the rare cases where no ability manifested upon awakening.
Coupled with his below-average physical stats, Arlo's lack of an ability placed him among the weakest of hunters, if not the weakest of them all.
Of course, those without an innate ability had the opportunity to acquire one by absorbing an ability orb. However, this was an expensive measure that Arlo could not afford. Enlisting in the military was an option, but even then, the abilities granted were often low-ranked, hardly worth dedicating years of one's life to obtain.
"Normally, being reminded of my lack of an ability would have left me depressed," Arlo acknowledged, a flicker of hope in his eyes. "But that's fine. Thanks to the grimoire, I'm sure I'll be able to manage."
Arlo's gaze fell upon the grimoire he held, a sense of certainty washing over him. He believed that within its pages lay countless spells that could compensate for his weaknesses.