Alex Morgan looked at that line of text earnestly.
In his black eyes, there was no ecstasy, no surprise, and even his breathing frequency didn’t skip a beat.
But change did exist.
At the boundary of light and shadow, the corners of Alex Morgan’s mouth, usually tight and cold, curled upward extremely slowly, eventually forming a quite obvious, somewhat wanton arc.
It was like a package he had waited years for finally knocking on the door.
It was like the second boot that had been dropped finally making its sound upon hitting the floor.
It was like a game he had pre-ordered a long, long time ago finally being officially released.
At this moment, Alex Morgan calmly yet joyfully accepted this “inevitability.”
The smile vanished in a flash.
He took out his old brick-style phone, whose buttons had long since worn away their paint, from his pocket, found Hailey Morgan’s name in the contacts, and dialed.
“Hello? What’s up?”
Hailey Morgan’s pleasantly surprised voice came from the other end of the line, with the background noise of a vehicle driving; she seemed to still be in a car.
“This is the first time you’ve voluntarily called me. Could it be that you’ve had a change of heart and want to accept the mission to become my ‘boyfriend’?”
“But no way. Limited-time missions expire, unless you beg…”
Alex Morgan interrupted her, resolute and allowing no room for doubt: “I might be very busy these next few days. I’ll be asking for leave from school, so I don’t have time to play your hero-saves-the-beauty game.”
The other side of the phone was clearly stunned, then instantly bristled, her voice rising an octave:
“Huh? You’re just not going to accompany me because you said so? It’s your honor that this Young Miss wants to play with you! This is an honor others beg for but can’t get…”
Alex Morgan had no intention of indulging her or smoothing her feathers; he just continued calmly: “So, you need to pay attention to your own safety and don’t run around.”
After about two seconds, the originally arrogant air on the other end of the line deflated rapidly like a pricked balloon, and a voice that was clearly a bit worried came across awkwardly:
“Sigh… You’re not even going to school, is it really something serious? Do you need my help?”
“Just don’t bother me.”
“Then I’ll wait for you to finish… and we’ll talk then.”
“As you wish.”
Alex Morgan hung up the phone and tossed it aside.
After finishing the miscellaneous tasks, the world was finally quiet.
He looked back at the blue panel in the Void Realm, adjusted his breathing until his heart was as still as water again, and then silently chanted in his heart.
“Claim.”
Boom—!
The next moment, his consciousness felt as if it were being sucked into a giant vortex.
Alex Morgan watched as countless bizarre and grotesque images flashed before his eyes:
Standing under the sunset, a silver-red giant wrestled with two roaring monsters.
An armored knight wearing a mask leapt high into the air amidst the flames of an explosion, executing a finishing flying kick, and a radiance like a nuclear blast lit up in the mark beneath his feet.
A steel giant jetting blue particles stood in the starry sky, facing enemies as numerous as the stars, blooming with boundless radiance.
A young girl in a gorgeous skirt faced countless abstract monsters of bizarre shapes, and miraculous idealistic power bloomed in her hands.
An Immortal whose face could not be seen fought across the vast domains of the Void Realm; his magic power seemed to possess a will of its own, and a single wisp could reincarnate into a living creature, becoming an Immortal beast.
A figure with blood-Qi like the sea and black hair like a waterfall fought until the galaxy shattered, the Dao itself seemed about to collapse, and every movement felt like the beginning of the world, with Chaos power surging.
However, this was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Countless incredible images flashed through his mind, all of which were scenes he had seen or imagined before.
It seems that the so-called Awakening of a Talent is indeed related to one’s past memories and experiences.
Alex Morgan slowly opened his eyes; there was still not much fluctuation in those black eyes, only a sort of composed wisdom that said “as expected.”
“According to novel tropes, the work one was watching or playing just before Transmigration will have a decisive influence on the abilities after Transmigration, or even serve as the Golden Finger itself.”
“This matter has been recorded in countless works.”
As if stating an axiom, Alex Morgan slowly raised his right hand, index finger curled and pointing to the sky, his gaze following it: “Although I’m just a half-baked Tokusatsu fan, since I was re-watching ‘Masked Rider Kabuto’ before Transmigration, it means that in the world I transmigrated to, Masked Rider must exist.”
Just then, a cold mechanical voice rang in his mind.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations on Awakening A-rank Talent—Precision Control Engine.]
[Precision Control Engine: Allows you to act as a core engine, linking and perfectly controlling all ‘humanoid constructs.’ During operation, you can use rationality to discard all fear and hesitation, overclocking to unleash its various abilities.]
Alex Morgan nodded slightly, clearly quite satisfied with this.
Precision operation, controlling armor.
Don’t you think this is cool?
As a gaming expert, he thought this was too cool; it fit his imagination of his own talent perfectly—technological and challenging.
However, the System’s prompt sound did not end.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations on Awakening A-rank Talent—Soul Link.]
A dual Talent?
Alex Morgan raised an eyebrow slightly; this was slightly beyond his expectations—though it fit the setting of having lived two lives.
It looked like a benign mutation, completely within the acceptable range of variables.
Speaking of which, what level is a double A exactly?
In some power-creep works, SSS is just the beginning.
In some battle-of-wits works, having A in both power and speed already spells invincibility on your face.
In some classic works, A-rank side plot exchange…
let’s forget that; a world view where a fifth-tier Saint only has millisecond-level reactions and an absorption rate so low it leaks is still too Heaven-Defying.
But in any case, he didn’t want to be an “A-cup” like Hailey Morgan.
Alex Morgan’s thinking was unprecedentedly active, as if possessed by countless predecessors of Transmigration.
Until the next line of text appeared.
[Soul Link: Allows your Soul to cross material boundaries, linking and activating those miraculous powers born from strong emotions and wishes (e.g., Magical Girl).]
The air suddenly turned silent.
“?”
Alex Morgan looked at the four characters “Magical Girl” and fell into a silence lasting three seconds.
Although he certainly hadn’t failed to watch or play various related works, this was whether…
Wait.
So that’s why he saw Magical Girl when Awakening his Talent just now?
And, “based on strong emotions and wishes”?
Doesn’t this conflict completely with the “Precision Operation” Talent from just now?
One relies on rationality, the other relies on emotions; won’t they fight?
Is there a bug somewhere in this System?
The most he had was incurable Chuunibyou; he didn’t have symptoms of schizophrenia.
Before Alex Morgan’s mind could process this huge contradiction, the System prompt sounded again.
[Ding!]
[Detected host talent combination (Precision Control Engine + Soul Link), matching exclusive class for you…]
[Congratulations, class change successful!]
[Your class is—Sacred Remains Pilot.]
Sacred Remains Pilot?
Alex Morgan frowned deeply.
This name gave him a bad association.
Before Alex Morgan could think it through, a pop-up window emitting scarlet light jumped out directly.
[Please select the difficulty of the novice trial mission (This is a novice benefit, can only be selected once).]
[F (Simple) ~ S (Purgatory)]
[Note: Failure or abandonment of the novice trial mission will not have any impact on the host.]
He didn’t use his brain to think at all.
The moment that option popped up, as a hardcore player who had cleared countless games and never compromised on such options, Alex Morgan’s right index finger had already clicked it ahead of his consciousness, relying on terrifying muscle memory.
A true expert chooses the highest difficulty.
Are you a pro player?
I think I am!
“S-rank.”
[Difficulty confirmed: S-rank (Purgatory).]
[Novice mission loading… matching suitable dungeon for you…]
[Match successful.]
[Consciousness linking and body deployment in progress…]
For some reason, Alex Morgan’s ominous premonition about “Sacred Remains Pilot” and “Magical Girl” reached its peak at this moment.
[Dungeon loading complete.]
[Your character identity is: Magical Girl Momoka.]
Before being sucked into the vortex, Alex Morgan widened his eyes, his voice carrying a tremor and collapse for the first time:
“Don’t…”