Kael's consciousness stirred as his vision slowly returned. When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in an open plaza with cobblestone paths, worn buildings, and a soft, early morning sun casting long shadows. Around him stood other players, most looking around with wide-eyed curiosity just like him.
Some of their faces looked vaguely familiar—classmates, maybe—but many did not.
"Maybe they're from different schools," he muttered under his breath.
His eyes shifted as a translucent panel hovered into view before him.
[Location: Newbie Village – 25076]
He blinked, then instinctively opened his inventory.
Ten copper coins—his starting funds, just enough to buy a beginner's weapon from the village blacksmith.
Before he could do anything else, a crisp chime echoed in his ears.
[Ding!]
[Host detected. Beginning system binding—]
1%… 2%… 20%… 69%… 99%…
[100% – Binding Complete]
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Well, that's a familiar sound," he said. "So, System… what kind of benefits can you offer me?"
No answer came.
He waited a moment, then tried the classic method.
"Status."
Nothing.
"…System, status."
This time, a white platinum panel appeared in front of him. Four glowing options hovered in the center of the screen.
[1. Skill Enchantments
2. Skill Experience
3. Skill Fusion
4. Newbie Gift Pack]
Kael let out a breath and folded his arms.
"Passive-type system, huh. Figures."
Still, he was intrigued. His gaze went to the first option.
"Skill Enchantments. Let's see what you do."
He tapped it.
[Skill Enchantments: Evolve an existing skill into a stronger form. Reduces cooldown. No mana consumption.]
He rubbed his chin.
"This system… might be even more broken than I thought."
Reduced cooldown. No consumption. That alone was absurd.
In any game, a cheat like that would be every player's dream.
He moved on.
>[Skill Experience: Increases skill EXP gain by 100x.]
His eyes narrowed slightly. His lips curled into a satisfied smile.
"This just keeps getting better…"
Still resisting the urge to test it all at once, he checked the next tab.
[Skill Fusion: Temporarily fuse two or three skills into one for a new effect.]
Then the last option.
[Newbie Gift Pack: The one item every transmigrator dreams of.]
"Couldn't have said it better myself," he muttered, already tapping the option.
[Congratulations! You have received the following:]
1. Mage Equipment Set
2. Mage Gloves (Pair)
3. High-Grade Healing Potion ×100
__
Kael quickly opened his inventory and equipped the items.
[Celestara Mage Set]
Effect: +100 to all stats, +200% Magic Attack
Skill – Calm Mind: Boosts HP and MP regeneration by 1000%.
[Celestara Mage Gloves]
Effect: Cooldown Reduction 90%
Skill – Multicasting: Allows casting multiple spells simultaneously, apply only true damage to the target.
Kael stared at the stats. His mind buzzed with disbelief.
"These are... insane."
He scratched his head, still trying to process it. The equipment alone would make him a top-tier player. Combine that with his passive system boosts?
"At this rate, I'm basically invincible."
Finally, he opened his character status.
---
[Player Status]
Name: Lumen
Class: Mage
Level: 1 (0%)
HP: 1,050
MP: 525
STR: 105
INT: 105
CON: 105
DEX: 105
DEF: 105
Talent: [Cross-Class: SSS]
Skill:
• Fireball Lv.1 (0%)
---
Kael stared at the numbers. These weren't starter stats—this was a character designed to break early-level balance.
He let out a soft laugh and stepped off the starting platform, heading toward a small wooden building marked by a sign: Village Chief's House.
"Time to pick up my first quest," he muttered. "Let's see how long I can stay low-key... with stats like these."
When Kael arrived at the Village Chief's building, a long line of players had already formed, all waiting for their beginner quest.
He didn't even need to guess what the fuss was about—half the players were already ogling his gear with barely concealed envy.
The robes, the gloves, the glow—it was impossible to hide his elite setup.
Kael sighed inwardly.
"Standing in line just to get stared at like a rare mob drop? No thanks."
He quietly turned around and brought up his map. As expected, most of the screen was covered in black fog—unexplored territory. Only the areas he'd already walked through were visible. Still, the village gate wasn't far, and outside its boundary was a marked zone: Rock Boar Site.
Unlike the usual solo mobs scattered near beginner villages, the Rock Boar zone was known for group spawns. Most players avoided it for obvious reasons—getting ganged up on this early was practically a death sentence.
But for Kael, who had high stats, a broken system, and a refusal to wait in line?
It was perfect.
He passed through the gates and stepped onto a grassy plain lined with scattered trees and gentle hills. In the distance, the heavy snorting of Rock Boars echoed faintly. They were grazing in clusters—thick-bodied, tusked beasts with skin like stone and personalities like bricks.
Kael observed them calmly. No other players were in sight. Just how he wanted it.
He brought up his system panel and tapped on Skill Enchantments.
The plain [Fireball] spell hovered at the top. He selected it.
A soft glow pulsed from the icon.
This system's enchantment feature was reversible, meaning he could toggle it on or off anytime he wanted. Useful, especially if the new version became too… odd.
Then the text changed.
---
[Fireball Lv.1 → Enchanted: Butt-Flameball Lv.1]
Effect: Forms a flameball that automatically targets the enemy's rear. Only targets not considered allies.
Damage: 1000% of base INT damage.
Additional Effect: Inflicts Permanent Burn, dealing 100 damage per second.
Mana Cost: 0
Cooldown: 0.5 seconds
--
Kael stared at the screen, expression unreadable.
"…A flaming spell that aims for the butt?"
He covered his face with one hand, visibly regretting his life decisions. But after a moment, he lowered it and muttered, "It's broken. I can live with the name."
He lifted his hand, but instead of pointing directly at the boars, he raised it toward the sky.
"The one lying near that tree… that one's not a friend."
Dark flames began to swirl around his palm, gathering with an unnatural heat that hummed through the air.
Without even aiming, he fired the spell upward. The flame soared high—then abruptly twisted mid-air, diving toward the distant Rock Boar lounging alone under a tree.
It didn't hit its head.
It didn't strike center mass.
It curved like it had a grudge and slammed straight into the boar's backside.
A small explosion followed.
–30,000
The Rock Boar gave a surprised snort—then collapsed without ever figuring out what hit it.
[Ding! Congratulations, you killed a Rock Boar. EXP +10]
Kael opened his skill tab.
[Butt-Flameball Lv.2 (0%)]
"So… it takes 100 EXP to level up a skill. Not bad."
He looked toward the rest of the herd.
They were still minding their own business, chewing on weeds, unaware that their doom was hiding behind a nearby tree with a spell designed to humiliate and annihilate.
Kael flexed his fingers and smirked.
"No cooldown. No mana cost. And targeting their butts automatically... I might as well farm until the system gives up."
He took aim again.
The flames swirled.
The hunt began.