Lorien, in his impeccably tailored navy suit, his designer shoes, and his glasses gleaming in the nonexistent light, looked around him with a deep and persistent confusion.
In front of him stretched an infinite void of pure, blinding white, so vast that he couldn't distinguish a horizon or a landmark. There was no sound, no smell, not the slightest trace of wind. It was a perfect nothingness.
"I remember perfectly well that I died in the accident," he thought, a surreal feeling invading every part of his being. His thoughts were so clear, so sharp, that the fact of his death felt like an undeniable truth.
"Where is this? Could it be the afterlife?"
Just at that instant, a translucent, glowing text floated before his eyes. The message was concise and direct:
[The system is being implemented in the host's soul]
A small smile spread across Lorien's face. "System... like in the novels?" he wondered, a spark of emotion he hadn't felt in a long time igniting in his chest.
[Does the host wish to receive the supplementary information?]
The system's robotic voice echoed in his mind, clear and emotionless. Lorien, realizing that the system could hear his thoughts, mentally replied, "Yes, give me the information you speak of."
Immediately, a burst of data and information injected itself into his brain. A momentary dizziness hit him, followed by a sharp, stabbing pain that deepened his skull. He clutched himself, waiting for the pain to pass, and in just 10 seconds, the pain and dizziness were completely gone.
"So it is," Lorien murmured softly, absorbing the new information with a sense of absolute clarity.
"Status," Lorien said serenely.
A new screen, larger and almost holographic, floated into view.
............
[Millionaire Property System]]
Host: [Lorien]
Level: [x]
Mana: [x]
Power: [x]
[Life Energy]: [x]
[Rank]: [x]
[Reputation]: [x]
[Domain Energy]: [x]
[Skills]: [xxxxxxx (EX)]-[xxxxxx (SSS)]-[xxxxx (SSS)]-[xxxxx (SSS)]
[Inventory]
.............
Seeing the screen with almost all information blank, Lorien couldn't help but feel a pang of frustration.
"Hey, system, is this an error?" she asked mentally, slight irritation in her voice.
[The system is locked in this space. System functions will be unlocked after crossing dimensions to the new world.]
[Does the host wish to begin the journey?]
Lorien looked into the endless void once more, sighing. 'Well, being here is boring,' she thought. With renewed determination, she raised her voice.
"Let's go."
Before she could think of anything else, everything around her dissolved into thick darkness, and then, nothing.
.................................................................
.................................................................
When Lorien's consciousness returned, the endless whiteness had been replaced by the dim light of a small wooden cabin.
The smell of pine and damp earth filled the air, and the sound of a crackling fireplace gave him a comforting warmth. But that feeling didn't last even two seconds before overwhelming terror gripped him.
A great tremor shook the cabin, and panicked screams could be heard from outside, followed by the sound of explosions echoing in the distance.
An unimaginable pressure loomed over Lorien, so heavy that his bones creaked.
'What the hell is going on!' Lorien's thoughts raced.
Falling to his knees, his trembling hands clutching the floor, Lorien could feel a sharp pain piercing his ears, and blood began to drip from them.
'Am I going to die after I get there?'
The floor was stained with blood. The feeling of impending doom gripped him, more intense than during his accident, as if the world itself were trying to crush him.
Just as his vision began to darken, the familiar robotic voice of the system echoed in his mind, interrupting the terror.
[The system has been unlocked. Please check the status.]
Lorien wasted no time and whispered the keyword under his breath.
"Status."
Immediately, the holographic screen appeared again, but this time, every field was filled with information.
.........…
[[Millionaire Property System]]. Δ
Host: [Lorien]
Level: [1-(0/1000)]
Mana: [1.00/1.00]
Power: [0.10]
[Life Energy]: [1]
[Rank]: [+I]
[Reputation]: [0]
[Domain Energy]: [0]
[Skills]: [Neutralizing Blow (EX)] - [Domain Sensitivity (SSS)] - [Domain Reversal (SSS)] - [Boss Vision (SSS)]
[Inventory]
.........
The information overwhelmed Lorien, but before she could think further, the voice in her head sounded again.
[The system recommends the host make this their domain]
[Does the host wish to make this their domain?]
Lorien, gritting his teeth, didn't have much time to think, so he immediately accepted.
"I accept," said Lorien, using his willpower to the fullest without falling unconscious yet.
Instantly, Lorien felt no pressure at all. His mind processed a vast amount of information extremely quickly, and every part of the wooden house was "seen."
Not just the house; Lorien could see beyond everything: the earth hundreds of meters below, the sky, even a few meters beyond the house—everything was "seen" by Lorien.
But Lorien didn't dwell on the magical sensation. Just beyond the house, where screams and curses could be heard, Lorien saw something that left him slightly paralyzed.
A woman's head. The image was so graphic that Lorien had to swallow his urge to vomit.
Then Lorien returned to reality and, with an analytical mind, decided to open his status and study it as soon as possible.
"Status"
.........…
[[Millionaire Property System]]. Δ
Host: [Lorien]
Level: [1-(0/1000)]
Mana: [1.00/1.00]
Power: [0.10]
[Life Energy]: [1]
[Rank]: [+I]
[Reputation]: [0]
[Domain Energy]: [0]
[Skills]: [Neutralizing Blow (EX)]-[Domain Sensitivity (SSS)]-[Domain Reversal (SSS)]-[Boss Vision (SSS)]
[Inventory]
.........
Without dwelling too much on the panels he still didn't understand, Lorien quickly selected the skills. The pressure of listening to the agonized voices outside made him look gloomy.
[Skills]:
................................
[Neutralizing Blow (EX)]: (Deals a direct physical blow to reduce the target's health to 99.9%) Δ
Δ: This skill is only effective on targets 10 ranks higher than the host.
Δ: This skill has a 24-hour cooldown.
.................................…..
[Domain Sensitivity (SSS)]: (The host can sense and see everything within its domain)
.................................…..
[Domain Reversal (SS)]: (The host can invest domain energy into any object within its boundaries to generate special effects)
.................................…..
[Boss Vision (SSS)]: (The host can see the stats of any entity within its domain)
.................................…..
"The perception I possess must be related to [Domino Sensitivity]," Lorien thought.
"The only offensive skill I possess is [Neutralizing Blow]. I can see it's very powerful," Lorien thought a little more clearly.
Before Lorien could continue inspecting the skill panel, a loud crash interrupted him: the wall of the house had shattered from the impact of a person passing through it.
The person fell against a wall next to him. His body was bent at opposite angles, embedded in the wood.
Blood surrounded him, and a hole spilled out of his chest. The sight stunned Lorien.
Looking away from the corpse to calm himself, Lorien saw the human-shaped, horned monster beyond the hole in the house.
The dark-skinned man's body was surrounded by a bloody aura. He had a muscular physique and tattoos all over his body, with long crimson hair adorned with two horns protruding from the sides of his head.
Lorien stared at the man, unaware that his expression remained unchanged from beginning to end despite her emotions and the feeling of nausea rising in her throat.
The man's bloodshot gaze met Lorien's and he moved slowly in her direction.
The man didn't need to make a movement to pass through the gap left by the previous human, who now remained like a corpse.
His simple step split the wood, like a hot knife through butter.
"So what do we have here? A small insect that won't kneel to me," the man said, stopping two steps from Lorien.
Four seconds passed in silence.
A vein pulsed in the muscular man's forehead as if it wanted to tear everything around him apart with every passing second.
'Is this bastard insect ignoring me?' the muscular man thought, his face growing more and more angry.
Lorien stared at the information her system displayed about the man expressionlessly, but inside, she was actually cursing her luck.
'Bad luck, really,' Lorien thought, looking at the man's condition.
..............................….
[Mordu Bones]
Level: [78-(2%)]
Mana: [3,543,006.12/3,543,006.12]
Power: [3,543,006.12]
[Life Energy]: [1,000,000]
[Title]: [The Mighty One]-[Seventh Ruler]-[The Best Punching Bag]
[Talent]: [Forged Body (SS)]: Adapts the body to receive greater damage the more risky a battle is.
..............................….
'3 damn million, what kind of luck is this?' Lorien thought, wanting to run away from the being that can kill him with the flick of a finger.
"It seems my aura doesn't affect you, but not responding when I speak to you is a great lack of respect," Mordu said impatiently, raising his hand.
'Well, I can't run now,' Lorien thought, watching as the man prepared to attack.
"Well, how about we make a deal," Lorien said without much expression.
"A deal, haha, and what do you think someone like you can offer me my little bug?" Murden said, smiling disdainfully as he crossed his arms.
"Under his hand, I have a chance," Lorien thought.
"Something fun," Lorien said with a small smile on her face.
"Each of us will strike the other. The first one to fall loses. If you lose, you'll leave and never come back," Lorien said, maintaining her small smile.
"If I lose, I'll kill myself in front of you," Lorien said, looking Murden in the eyes.
Ten seconds passed, and the tension in the air seemed to slowly increase.
"That... Sounds interesting. I accept," Murden said, preparing to strike.
"Wait a minute… you're the intruder, you should at least give me the first blow," Lorien said calmly.
"Say yes, say yes, say yes." Lorien was truly panicking; his life depended on landing the first blow.
Murden looked at Lorien briefly before shrugging and agreeing.
"Okay, let's go. Strike here." Murden showed off his impressive chest and pointed at the center of his chest with a mocking smile.
Lorien nodded and walked forward, standing right in front of Murden.
"Let's go." Lorien got into a striking stance and struck forward, activating his [Neutralizing Strike] skill.
Murden saw the blow approaching him at what seemed like a slow speed. He didn't perceive any application of aura or mana in the blow, which made him think it was a waste of time.
"At least I'll see this ant commit suicide," Murden thought, amused, as he watched the blow slowly advance.
When the blow landed, it was as if all his survival instinct alarms went off, and only a millisecond later, his body was sent flying out of the village.
Murden felt every bone in his chest fracture. The internal damage was extreme and unbearable. His body pierced through houses, trees, and rocks, advancing like a cannonball without stopping until it reached a mountain 10 kilometers away from the village.
Murden's body stopped 300 meters after hitting the sloping surface of the mountain, creating a two-meter-deep trench.
In the rocky depths, Murden lay his entire body shattered and bleeding. He was bleeding from his ears, eyes, and nose, and several mouthfuls of blood spilled from his mouth as he stopped.
"What the hell was that?" was Murden's last thought before he plunged into darkness.
Lorien stared at his smoking fist in disbelief.
"Really powerful," Lorien thought, staring at the trench of destruction stretching into the distance, proof of the power of his skill.