"So, like you said, there should only be four systems, right? But for some reason, I ended up with something that doesn't match anything you or Mozi ever described."
I drew in a shaky breath, the tension in the air almost humming. "The notification spelled it out, clear as day: System of Imaginary."
Hozi froze, his eyes going wide before locking onto mine. "All these years as an Archiveliner, I've never even heard of an archiveline like that," he muttered, his low voice nearly swallowed by disbelief.
"It's got to be connected to your blood mixing into the potion. The potion adapted to you first, not the other way around," Hozi explained, echoing Erin's words so closely it was as if they were reading from the same script.
"Don't you want to check it for yourself?"
I just raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to go on.
"Channel your mana to your fingertip. Once you feel it gather, swipe your index finger down—just a little, nice and slow. A box should appear; we call it the menu," Hozi said, demonstrating the motion with a practiced grace.
I stared at him, baffled. He said a panel would appear, but to my eyes, there was nothing. Noticing my confusion, Hozi quickly added, "Ordinary people can't see this menu. But we, Archiveliners, can. There's a button up top labeled 'visible,' and voilà."
As soon as he spoke, a panel—just as he'd described—materialized before Hozi. I could make out the writing, though from my angle, everything appeared mirrored, as if I were reading it in a reflection.
Without hesitation, I mimicked Hozi's gesture. This time, as I channeled mana through my body, the sensation was different—a warm current bursting at a few points, like sparks of electricity dancing beneath my skin. Slowly, I guided the flow to my fingertip until it felt dense, solid.
With a single, careful motion, I drew my finger down through the air. Instantly, strange buttons blossomed into view, as if the air itself had become a hidden screen.
I pressed the icon shaped like a little portrait and a floating box drifted forward, coming to a halt before my face, its letters pulsing softly, as if challenging me to decipher them.
"Have you seen it yet?" Hozi asked, his voice dropping to a hush, as if afraid to disturb the strange presence that had just appeared. "I'm guessing what you're looking at is your status."
I traced my eyes along the lines of text hovering above the status box, each entry carved out like demanding my full attention.
---------------------------------
STATUS
Name: Fionn mac Cumhaill
Age: 17
Race: Human?
System: Imaginary
Archiveline 9 Novice
Arete
Revelatio Coronam: Ten Crowns of Revelations (SS)
Parameters
Strength: C
Endurance: C
Intelligence: C+
Dexterity: B
Luck: C
Magical Energy: B+
Arete: SS
Archiveline Progress
0%
---------------------------------
My gaze snagged on the word "Human?"—that question mark at the end felt like a whispered secret. They… know? Or at least, they suspect I'm not entirely human? A strange shiver crawled down my spine, part ticklish, part wary.
My eyes drifted to the word "Archiveline." There was a nine next to it, and the tag "Novice."
"Hozi, can you see your own Archiveline?" I asked, my voice quiet but edged with curiosity.
"It says 'Novice' here. Do you know what that means?" I turned to him, waiting, hoping for a glimmer of clarity.
"Nope. Since your system's outside anything we've ever seen, I'm completely in the dark about this 'Novice' business," Hozi replied, shrugging, his expression half resigned.
I fell silent, then turned my question inward, to Erin in my head. "Do you know anything about this?"
"Sorry, not a clue," Erin answered, his tone light—almost as if he was laughing at my own confusion. "I only learned about Archiveline after you met Hozi. This is uncharted territory."
Great, I thought. I finally become an Archiveliner, but I don't even know what my own archiveline is. It's like winning the lottery and forgetting to sign your ticket.
"Erin, can you see my status panel?" I asked silently, hoping for a little miracle.
"Nope, can't see a thing," Erin replied instantly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
Weird. We share a body—shouldn't he be able to see what I see? Apparently not.
"Maybe each status panel belongs to whoever's in control. If I took over, I bet the panel would look different. Want to try?" Erin teased, his voice playful.
"Not now, maybe later? Hozi's still here," I brushed him off, trying to keep my focus on the situation at hand.
My gaze swept over the status panel once more—Fionn's true age stood out, plain as day, but what really caught my eye was the section labeled Arete.
"Revelatio Coronam," I murmured, sounding out each syllable. "Is this your Arete, Erin?"
"Nope. Honestly, I never even named my Arete, so I don't know much about it either," Erin replied.
I was completely absorbed in the status panel. Time seemed to slow, each second dripping into the void like water in an empty room. Out in the real world, maybe a minute or two had slipped by, but inside this moment, it felt endless.
Hozi's voice snapped me out of my trance. "I remember the first time I read my own status. The parameters section nearly scrambled my brain."
My gaze slid down to the parameters—Strength, Dexterity, Arete—and I found myself staring at the letters tacked onto the end of each one, uncertain what they were supposed to mean.
"What do these letters at the end of the parameters mean?" I asked, pointing at the invisible screen only I could see.
"Those are your rankings for each parameter," Hozi explained, sounding every bit the patient teacher. "What did you get for Strength?"
"C," I replied, that single letter suddenly feeling heavy on my tongue.
"Oh, that's on the low side. So, which one's the highest?"
"My Arete. SS," I answered, my voice barely above a whisper, as if saying it out loud might call down lightning from the ceiling.
Hozi looked genuinely stunned, his eyes going wide as if I'd just told him I could fly. "Wait, you have an Arete? The Arete section's usually hidden until you hit Archiveline 7."
"Huh?" I turned the question over in my mind, remembering what Erin had said earlier. If Erin claimed it wasn't his Arete, and you're only supposed to get Arete after Archiveline seven, then… had I always had it? Why hadn't I noticed?
"So you've had an Arete from the start? Why didn't you say anything?" Hozi pressed, his tone a mix of curiosity and disbelief.
"Uh… I didn't even know I had one," I admitted, sulking a little. If I'd known, maybe I wouldn't have bothered becoming an Archiveliner in the first place.
"That's pretty unusual. Your Arete should've shown itself at least once," Hozi mused, his gaze growing distant. "But yeah, sometimes weird cases like yours pop up."
I considered telling Hozi about the black sphere that Erin have, but decided against it. I still couldn't fully access it, and for now, it was safer to keep it to myself. At least I could channel mana smoothly now—tonight I'd have to practice again in my room.
"By the way, where are Castenyan and Cella?" I asked, trying to sound casual, though I'd only met them once.
"They're undercover in Tytoal-ba. Should be back in a few days," Hozi replied, his tone easy.
"They're investigating Lingard Onison?"
"No. We're chasing down other leads. After tailing Lingard Onison these past few days, we've figured out his cult is rooted here, but he's not the boss—just one of the higher-ups."
I wanted to ask who was really pulling the strings, but for some reason, a bad feeling kept my question locked behind my teeth. My deal with Hozi only went as far as Lingard Onison. Once that business was finished and I got my book back, I'd have no reason to stick around.
"I thought you'd ask who's behind it all," Hozi teased, as if he could read my mind.
"Changed my mind. Things get messier the more I know," I replied, half-joking, half-serious.
"Oh, about your mission…"
"It's in three days, right?" I double-checked, trying to recall the schedule we'd discussed.
"I'm heading over tomorrow. My brother's coming back then too, so I want to check things out—just in case something weird's going on."
"Suit yourself, but when you go, make sure you check the eastern sector in their HQ."
Hozi's words hung in the air, sticking to the ceiling like a warning that refused to fade, echoing quietly in the corners of my mind.