I Think This Is So Cool.
4: Chapter 4: Don’t You Think This Is Cool?
I Think This Is So Cool.
[Note: After you select “Claim,” the system will tap into the potential deep within your soul to awaken a talent unique to you.] Leon stared intently at that line of text.
His black eyes showed no wild joy, no surprise, and his breathing didn’t even falter.
But there was still a change.
At the boundary of light and shadow, the habitually tight and cold line of Leon’s mouth slowly curved upward, eventually forming a distinct, somewhat uninhibited smile.
It was like a long-awaited package finally knocking at the door.
It was like the second shoe, thrown down, finally making a sound as it hit the ground.
It was like a game pre-ordered for a long, long time finally being officially released.
At this moment, Leon calmly yet joyfully accepted this “inevitability.” The smile vanished in an instant.
He pulled out that old, brick-like cell phone with worn-off paint on its buttons, found Shayla’s name in the contacts, and dialed.
“Hello?
What’s up?” Shayla’s pleasantly surprised voice came from the other end of the phone, with the sound of a car in the background, seemingly still on the road.
“This is the first time you’ve ever taken the initiative to call me.
Could it be that you’ve had a change of heart and want to accept the mission to become my ‘boyfriend’?” “But you can’t do that!
Time-limited missions won’t wait.
Unless you beg…” Leon interrupted her, his tone decisive and leaving no room for doubt: “I might be very busy these next few days.
I’ll also be taking a leave of absence from school, so I won’t have time to play your ‘hero saves the beauty’ game.” The other end of the line went silent for a moment, then Shayla’s voice exploded, her pitch rising an entire octave: “Huh?
You’re just refusing?
It’s your honor to be chosen by this young lady!
This is a privilege others would beg for…” Leon had no intention of soothing her.
He simply continued in a flat tone, “So you should be careful and not wander off.” After about two seconds, the arrogant fire in the earpiece deflated like a popped balloon.
A clearly worried voice came through, sounding awkward and strained: “Sigh…
You’re skipping school?
Is something really wrong?
Do you need my help?” “Just don’t bother me.” “Then I’ll wait until you’re done…
and we’ll talk then.” “Whatever.” Leon hung up the phone and tossed it aside.
With the trivial matters cleared, the world was finally quiet.
He looked back at the blue panel floating in the void, adjusted his breathing until his heart was once again as still as water, and then silently recited in his mind.
“Claim.” Boom!
The next moment, his consciousness was pulled into a massive vortex.
Leon watched as countless bizarre images flashed before his eyes: Standing beneath the setting sun, a silver and red giant wrestled with two roaring monsters.
A masked armored knight leaped high amidst the fiery explosions, executing a finishing kick as a nuclear blast of light erupted from the mark beneath his foot.
A colossal iron god jetting blue particles stood in the starry sky, facing enemies as numerous as the stars, radiating an infinite brilliance.
A young girl in a magnificent gown faced countless grotesquely abstract monsters, a miraculous, idealistic power blossoming in her hand.
An immortal whose face was obscured as he traversed the void to battle, his magical power seemingly possessed a will of its own; a single wisp could reincarnate into a living being, becoming an immortal beast.
A figure with blood aura as vast as the sea and black hair cascading like a waterfall fought until the river of stars shattered, and even the Great Dao seemed to perish, as each gesture he made seemed to mark the dawn of heaven and earth, surging with chaotic power.
Yet this was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Countless incredible images streaked through his mind, all of which were scenes he had once seen or imagined.
It seemed that the so-called awakened talent was, as expected, related to his past memories and experiences.
Leon slowly opened his eyes, those black pupils still showing little emotion, only a sense of “as expected” confidence.
“According to novel tropes, the work one is reading or playing the moment before transmigrating will have a decisive influence on their abilities after, or even serve as the cheat itself.” “This is documented in countless works.” As if stating a universal truth, Leon slowly raised his right hand, index finger pointed toward the sky, his gaze following it: “Although I’m just a half-baked tokusatsu fan, since I was rewatching Masked Rider Kabuto before transmigrating, it means that in the world I’ve transmigrated into, Masked Riders must exist.” Just then, a cold mechanical voice rang out in his mind.
[Ding!] [Congratulations on awakening the A-Rank Talent: Precision Operation Engine.] [Precision Operation Engine: Allows you to serve as the core engine, linking to and perfectly controlling all “humanoid constructs.” During operation, you can use reason to discard all fear and hesitation, overclocking and unleashing their various abilities.] Leon nodded slightly, clearly very satisfied with this.
Precision operation, controlling armor.
Don’t you think this is very cool?
As a gaming expert, he felt this was too cool, perfectly fitting his imagination of his own talent, technological yet challenging.
However, the system’s notification sound had not ended.
[Ding!] [Congratulations on awakening the A-Rank Talent: Soul Link.] A double talent?
Leon raised an eyebrow slightly.
This was a bit beyond his expectations, but it also perfectly fit the setting of living through two lifetimes.
It seemed to be a beneficial mutation, completely within the acceptable range of variables.
By the way, what level is Double A exactly?
In some power-inflation works, even SSS was just the beginning.
In some battle-of-wits works, double A in strength and speed already screamed invincibility.
In some original works, A-rank side story points…
Never mind that one.
A world where a Fifth-Order Saint only has millisecond-level reactions and an absorption rate so low it’s like a leaky tire is just too outrageous.
But in any case, he hoped he wasn’t like Shayla’s kind of “A”.
Leon’s mind was more active than ever before, as if he were possessed by the spirits of countless transmigrator predecessors.
Until the next line of text emerged.
[Soul Link: Allows your soul to transcend material boundaries, linking to and activating miraculous powers born from strong emotions and desires (for example: Magical Girl).] The air suddenly went silent.
“?” Leon stared at the words “Magical Girl” and fell into a silence that lasted a full three seconds.
Although he had indeed read and played various works related to this, could it be…
Wait.
So that’s why he saw a magical girl in the vision when he awakened his talent?
And “born from strong emotions and desires”?
Isn’t this completely contradictory to the “Precision Operation Engine” talent he just got?
One relies on rationality, while the other relies on emotion.
Won’t they clash?
Is there a bug in the system?
At most, he just had an incurable case of Chuunibyou; he didn’t even have symptoms of schizophrenia.
Before Leon’s mind could process this massive contradiction, the system notification sounded again.
[Ding!] [Detected Host’s talent combination (Precision Operation Engine + Soul Link).
Matching exclusive class for you…] [Congratulations, class change successful!] [Your class is: Holy Corpse Pilot.] Holy Corpse Pilot?
Leon’s brow furrowed.
The name triggered a bad association of a certain horse race in his mind.
Before Leon could think further, a pop-up window glowing with crimson light directly appeared.
[Please choose the difficulty of the novice trial mission (This is a novice benefit, selectable only once).] [F(Easy) ~ S(Purgatory)] [Note: Failure or abandonment of the novice trial mission will have no impact on the host.] Without even a single thought passing through his mind.
The moment the option popped up, as a hardcore gamer who had cleared countless games and never compromised on such choices, Leon’s right index finger had already tapped down before his consciousness, relying on terrifying muscle memory.
A true expert must choose the highest difficulty.
Are you a professional player?
I think I am!
“S-Rank.” [Difficulty Confirmed: S-Rank (Purgatory).] [Novice mission loading…
Matching a suitable instance for you…] [Matching successful.] [Initiating consciousness link and unit deployment…] For some reason, Leon’s ominous premonition about “Holy Corpse Pilot” and “Magical Girl” reached its peak at this moment.
[Instance loading complete.] [Your character’s identity is: Magical Girl Momo.] Before being sucked into the vortex, Leon’s eyes widened, and his voice trembled and broke for the first time: “Don’t…”