Chapter 16: Status Window? System?

After a long day of scheming and testing out his new toy on various servants and maids, Neo finally learned how to interpret their hidden emotions.

The artifact worked like a charm in passive mode. It constantly let him know what the people around him were feeling. He didn’t bother trying it on his parents, knowing it was useless against them. His parents were far too powerful for such an insignificant artifact to read. Besides, he didn’t even need magic to know what they felt; whenever he stood before them, whatever stress they carried vanished the moment they scooped him into their arms.

The only person Neo hadn’t tested the bracelet on yet was Nora herself. He wanted to try it out on her, but for some strange reason, she was nowhere to be found. It was almost as if she was actively hiding from him.

Exhausted, Neo finally returned to his room and flopped flat onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling with a blank face. As he took a moment to relax, a random thought popped into his head.

"Oh, now that I think about it, I should check my status window first. I totally forgot about it with all the crazy stuff happening."

The status window was relatively different from the regular System, it is the world’s will which helps the Awakener to interpret their power.

He closed his eyes, concentrated on his core, and willed the status window to appear.

[Ding!]

-----

[STATUS WINDOW]

> Name: Neo Draven

> Titles: Final Hope

> Talent: Paragon

> Race: Half-Human

> Core: 1st Circle

> Rank: Initiate (I)

> Bloodline: Unawakened

> Affinity: None

[ATTRIBUTES]

[STR: 7/100] [AGI: 9/100]

[DEF: 7/100] [STA: 8/100]

[INT: 30/100]

[HP: 50/50] [MP: 50/50]

[TECHNIQUES]

> None

[SKILLS & ABILITIES]

> None

-----

Neo scanned through the text, and a small frown creased his brow.

’Wait a second, what the hell does "Final Hope" mean? I have never heard of such a title in the anime. The usual titles are things like "Brave Warrior" or "Grand Mage." This is something entirely new. It seems another strange mystery has just been added to my arsenal.’

His eyes dropped down to his race, which clearly stated he was half-human.

"What?! Am I not entirely human?!"

He sat straight up in bed, looking down at his small hands and body to find any unusual trait that separated him from normal humans. He found nothing out of the ordinary.

"I might have to ask my mother or father about this later. But will they actually tell me, or just brush it off? Still, I have to try."

He shook his head, postponing the mystery for another day, and checked his core status. Since he was only in the first circle, his rank was just an Initiate. He couldn’t form spells or use magic yet. At this stage, the most he could do was circulate mana internally to strengthen his body piece by piece.

To actually open his circulation pathways and push mana outward, he needed to reach the Apprentice rank by forming a second circle. That was also the stage where most awakeners discovered their elemental affinity and class.

Even his bloodline section showed as unawakened since he was still a toddler and far too young for it to trigger.

’Well, as the Draven heir—a bloodline famous for birthing monstrous geniuses since ancient times—I should have a strong bloodline power waiting for me. But in the original lore, the original Neo never awakened his bloodline. That means there is no absolute guarantee I will get it either. I’ll just have to work hard.’

When he looked at his attributes, he felt a bit underwhelmed. His stats were weak because of his toddler body. The only high stat was his intelligence, which made sense given his past life as a reincarnator.

Finally, he looked at the one section he had missed, where his Talent was shown as ’Paragon.’

This meant that the highest rank he could potentially reach was Paragon, which was one rank below Ascendant.

However, having Paragon-level potential didn’t mean he would reach that rank in no time. It only meant that, with enough time, effort, and opportunities, he had the potential to reach a rank close to it.

This clearly meant that he could never become as strong as Nora or the male lead, Kael. No matter how hard he tried, he would always remain behind them.

Neo dismissed the status window with a sigh of frustration. Without skills or techniques, and talent, looking at it was pretty boring and frustrating.

’I feel rather disappointed. After reading about the male lead’s overpowered status in the anime, mine looks like a joke. I’m lagging behind. I don’t know what kind of butterfly effects are coming, but I need to get stronger.’

He threw his hands up in mock frustration.

"Why the heck don’t I have a some golden-finger to boost my power?! It is so unfair!"

Just as his words faded into the quiet room, a series of chimes rang out loudly inside his head.

[Ding!]

[Initiating connection protocol...]

[Scanning host’s potential...]

[Potential assessment complete.]

[Result: Satisfactory.]

[Host meets the minimum requirements.]

[Ding! Do you want to bind yourself with the KARMA EXCHANGE SYSTEM?]

[Y/N]

Neo’s eyes snapped wide open. He stared blankly at the floating notification hovering in his mind.

"Wait a second... is this an actual system? Am I hallucinating? Or is this some kind of sick prank? Where were you when I was born? You show up five whole years later?!"

He shook his head to clear away his annoyance, taking a slow breath.

"Alright, calm down. At least it’s here now, and I am definitely not going to say ’no’ to a golden opportunity like this!"

Without a second thought, he mentally clicked ’Y’.

[Ding!]

[Establishing connection with the host...]

[10%... 35%... 67%... 100%.]

[Connection established successfully.]

[Congratulations! The ’Karma Exchange System’ has finally emerged from its long slumber to aid the host in their journey!]

[Ding! All previous features have been integrated and updated.]

[The host has received a beginner’s gift package!]

[Would you like to open it now?]

[Y/N]

Neo grinned from ear to ear. A beginner’s package? This was getting good!

Without hesitation, he clicked ’Y’ again, eager to claim his very first reward.

[Ding!]

[Opening Beginner’s Gift Package...]