Chapter 3: A System?

Lian opened his eyes slowly, the morning light filtering through the wooden shutters of his room. A dull pain throbbed in his ankle, and the memory of the battle in the forest rushed back to him like a sudden wave. He struggled to sit up, his body heavy as lead, and looked around. He was home, lying in his bed, with a rough blanket covering his body. The door to his room creaked open as Elyse burst in. She had heard the bed creak and rushed inside. "Lian! Thank the heavens you’re awake!" she exclaimed, placing a bowl of broth on the table beside the bed. "You scared us yesterday—what happened?!" she added, placing a hand on Lian’s forehead to check his temperature. "I have no idea. But... I’m fine now," the boy replied, trying to sit up on the edge of the bed. His body felt heavy, but he didn’t feel too restricted. Torren appeared in the doorway, arms crossed, his expression a mix of reproach and relief. "Fainting out of the blue isn’t normal... are you sure you’re okay? You were handling those three Stone Bulls like a pro!" Torren said with a grin. Elyse shook her head, pouring some water for the boy. "Mira didn’t sleep a wink last night, asking about you." "How is—" Before Lian could finish speaking, a warmth surged through his head. Then, a clear voice echoed in his mind. [System: Magic Lines, awakened] [Welcome, Lian Veyr] Lian’s eyes widened, his breath catching. "What... what’s happening?" he murmured, his voice trembling. Torren stared at him, frowning. "Lian, what’s wrong? Are you okay?" "Yeah, I’m... I’m fine," Lian stammered, trying to hide the chaos in his head. With a grunt, Torren stepped back. "Good, recover. We’ve got to keep training. We’re going hunting again today." Elyse smiled at Lian. "Don’t push yourself too hard this time, okay?" "Yes, Mom—" "Big brother!" a high-pitched voice interrupted them. "Mira, don’t cry, I’m fine!" Mira’s arms wrapped tightly around Lian’s body as she sobbed uncontrollably. "You scared me!!" she said, squeezing her brother even tighter despite his reassuring tone. "Come on, Mira, Lian’s fine. Let’s let him rest for now; after all, he’ll have to fight again later," Elyse whispered in Mira’s ear as she gently pulled her out of the room. Now alone, Lian could focus on himself and the strange voice he’d heard earlier. Was it just his imagination, or was it real? With that thought in mind, the boy closed his eyes, focusing on recalling the words he’d heard before. "...system?" The moment Lian uttered that word, a voice resounded in his head. [Welcome back, Lian Veyr. Would you like to activate the system?] "Yes!" the boy’s words left his mouth almost instinctively. A moment later, a sensation of warmth and well-being enveloped his body. "What’s happening?!" Lian raised his hands, watching them as a new, unfamiliar power filled every inch of his being. "Am I awakening? Is this mana?!" The excitement was palpable on Lian’s face as he reveled in the sensation. The heaviness in his body and the wound on his ankle were vanishing before his eyes. Lian immediately assumed the lotus position and began using the Basic Breath Cultivation, adjusting his breathing method to absorb the spiritual energy around him. After a full minute, the sensation of warmth and well-being surrounding Lian’s body faded. He stopped using the cultivation technique at once, focusing on his new body. "I feel amazing!" he muttered excitedly. Then, the system’s voice resounded again. [Magic Lines System successfully activated] [Abilities unlocked: Geometric Meditation, Geometric Spells] [Geometric Meditation: Assume the lotus position and form lines in your mind to enhance your magical capacity] [Geometric Spells: Visualize shapes in your mind to channel mana and cast a spell] [Shapes unlocked: Circle] [Circle: Draw a circle to cast a fireball] [Mission: Achieve 70% accuracy with the Circle to unlock a new shape.] "What the hell?!" Lian was speechless as he listened to the messages. Had he become a mage just like that? Could he cast magic with a simple thought? And what about the arcane words that regular mages used? Questions upon questions filled his head, but one thing was clear. He had gained access to mana. And with it, his body had grown stronger. Not to mention the three beasts from earlier—he could likely face and defeat even their pack leader, an Iron 2 monster. Mana didn’t just grant magical abilities to its user; it also enhanced their physical strength and capabilities. "Incredible, I feel so strong!" he said as he stood up from the bed, moving his body through the martial arts forms his father had taught him. "Now... should I keep this power a secret, or tell someone, like my father...?" With these thoughts in mind, Lian decided to lie back down on the bed. "First, let’s see how this works..." he whispered to himself, thinking about his new ability and closing his eyes. "Geometric Meditation." Even the name of the ability sounded strange, but that only made Lian more curious. Suddenly, his mind filled with lines—geometric shapes of all kinds. His head felt like it might explode from the sheer volume of information his brain was receiving. Lines, circles, squares, strange symbols formed by curved lines. It was a jumble of shapes of every kind. But before Lian could even curse, everything changed. His mind regained its calm. Simple lines appeared and disappeared in this black space. "What am I supposed to do now?" Lian thought as he watched these lines traverse his mind. Then, a sudden realization hit him. Like a child picking up a pencil and writing for the first time, Lian used his mind as a brush to trace the lines in his head. But things didn’t go as planned. It was much harder than it seemed. The lines depicted in Lian’s mind had a precise shape. The boy had to replicate that shape exactly, without deviating by a millimeter. "Damn, this is exhausting!" he said with a sigh as he failed yet again. He had been trying to draw lines in his mind for five minutes already, but he hadn’t succeeded once. Plus, with every mistake, mental fatigue piled up. "Fine, this is pointless... to cast magic, I have to draw an entire circle?!?" Lian forced a smile, thinking about the effort it would take to achieve such a thing. If even the basic lines were this hard to draw, what about a circle or more complex shapes in the future? Wasn’t this some kind of joke? "Is this system mocking me?" Lian said as he closed his eyes to rest. "Well, I guess I’ll just have to explore this system. After all, I now have access to mana—I’m finally a Mage!" A small laugh filled the room as Lian drifted off to sleep. "Torren, what did you do out there? Why is our son talking and laughing to himself? Has he gone mad?" Elyse murmured to her husband, her brow furrowed and arms crossed. The rooms weren’t soundproof. They could hear Lian muttering something inside his room, but they didn’t know what. "Love, I have no idea!" Torren replied, throwing his hands up. "Maybe he’s just happy about his first kill?" Elyse didn’t respond. She just stared Torren straight in the eyes. The man gave a fake smile as he slowly backed away from his wife. He intended to return to what he did best—training. And so, he grabbed his things and bolted out of the house. "Mira, come with me," Elyse said, shaking her head toward where Torren had vanished. "Help me prepare lunch, alright?" "Yes, Mom. Big brother needs to eat well so he can recover his strength and go back to fighting!" Elyse smiled warmly as she patted her daughter’s head. "Of course. How about we make that thing Lian loves so much?" "Yesss!" And while the two women of the house prepared lunch and Torren was off training alone, time passed... Lian jolted awake from his bed, roused by the smell of food. He leapt out of bed and rushed to the table. At the same moment, Torren opened the door and stepped inside. "Meatballs?!" two voices shouted at the same time before locking eyes with each other. But just as Torren was about to say something funny, his gaze sharpened as he looked at Lian. "Lian, you’ve awakened?!" he said, pointing at his son’s body. The energy the boy was giving off was very different from before, different even from an Iron 2 Knight. So it couldn’t be a simple increase in power—it was something greater. "Heh, as expected. You figured it out right away, old man!" Elyse’s eyes began to water as she thought about what this meant. A bright future for her son, certainly, but also one filled with dangers and challenges. Mira stared at her brother with wide eyes. "Big brother, I can’t believe it!" she said, rushing toward Lian with all her strength. "Now you can go boom and blow everything up?!?" "Mira, I told you already. I can’t just say boom and blow everything up—" As Lian was about to finish his sentence, a strange idea took shape in his head. Then, a thought struck him. "Wait... in theory, I can do that now! All I need to do is imagine a circle, say boom, and shoot a fireball?" Amidst it all, Torren looked at Lian with pride. "Well, we finally have a mage in our family!" he said with a hearty laugh. And so, the three bombarded Lian with questions as they ate lunch together. One thing was certain. From that moment on, Lian would soar, leaving his family behind to reach heights unattainable by ordinary mortals like them.