Leon sat alone in his bedroom on the second floor, the dim candlelight casting long shadows across the wooden walls.
The room was plain, modest, just like the man who had lived here before. But that man was gone.
Through the thin walls, Leon could hear muffled voices from the room next door. Liam and Lisa. Their soft laughter drifted through the darkness like a taunt.
The W.I.L.D System's mission echoed in his mind like a countdown ticking against his spine. Seven days. Seven days to unravel Liam from the inside out, until the smug bastard wept for mercy that would never come.
But something else gnawed at the back of his mind: the system itself. It wasn't always responsive. Sometimes it answered his questions immediately, other times it went silent.
"System," he said quietly, his voice carrying a coldness that hadn't been there before.
"Why exactly do I die if I don't complete the quest? Are you threatening me? Is this how it'll always be?"
A brief silence. Then the reply came,and mechanical in his head:
[System exists to support the host, not to punish. The reason for the death penalty lies in the host's current trajectory.]
[If the assigned task is not completed, circumstances may unfold that will lead to the host's demise.]
[ For example: Liam may be here to claim your home, your savings, and your corpse. He has already shown what he's capable of betrayal, theft, and murder. He is the most likely candidate for your death again.]
Leon's eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening as the implications sank in. He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, lips pressed into a thin line.
The warmth he had once felt toward his son or rather, the warmth the previous Leon Kross had felt was disappear the moment he had died. In its place, something colder, more dangerous was taking root.
"That bastard really thinks he can kill me twice," he muttered, but there was no heat in his voice. Only calculation. Only the quiet fury of a man who had been underestimated once too often.
But this time, the game had changed. This time, Leon wasn't some desperate, aging fool clinging to life. He was reborn young, sharp, powerful. And he had a system.
In this world, every individual possessed the ability to access their status screen and allocate their attribute points as they saw fit.
"And these death penalties?" he asked, voice low and bitter.
"Will every mission threaten me with a knife to the throat?"
[No. Future quests will not carry death penalties by default. However, the host's failure may still lead to fatal consequences due to enemies or unfolding events. The system will not kill the host. But your enemies? They won't hesitate. In this mission, the primary threat is Liam. There is a 99% probability that if the host fails, Liam will attempt to kill again.]
Leon didn't flinch. That just confirmed what he already suspected.
"Then I'll make sure he never gets the chance."
There was a pause. Then he asked the real question, the one that had been eating at him since his awakening.
"Why me? Why was I given a second chance? Why was I chosen for this?"
The system was quiet for a moment longer than usual. Then came the response.
[This system was designed specifically for you, Host.]
Leon's jaw tightened. Something about that phrase sent a chill down his spine, but not one of fear. It was anticipation. Recognition. As if some part of him had been waiting for this moment his entire life.
"Designed? By who?"
[That information is locked. Releasing such details at your current level would put you in immediate life-threatening danger.]
He laughed under his breath, but there was no humor in it. Only sharpness.
"Of course. Convenient."
But inside, something stirred. A system made just for him. A sensual power fueled by chaos, indulgence, and domination.
One that gave him the tools to punish his enemies, take what he wanted, and burn the old world to ash.
Because Leon Kross was no longer some dying man in a bed. He was reborn. And now…
"System," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper that somehow carried more menace than a shout.
"Claim the Newbie Gift Package."
[Newbie Gift Package successfully Claimed]
[You have acquired an A-Rank Skill: Sixth Sense]
[You have acquired an A-Rank skill: Arcane Seed]
Leon raised an eyebrow. "Just A-Rank?" he muttered. "Not S? Or even SS or SSS? All I get is A?"
The system responded smoothly:
[Host has received an A-Rank reward an extremely rare occurrence. Most individuals begin with F-Rank skills. Even the 'blessed' ones only start with B-Rank, and only a small handful ever receive A-Rank at the beginning. Ranks above A are almost unheard of.]
[Additionally, skills can evolve. The more you use them, refine them, and increase your proficiency, the more powerful they become. With mastery, your A-Rank skill could ascend to A+, S, or beyond.]
Leon absorbed the information, his expression thoughtful and calculating.
"Since everyone here has status screens, show me what mine looks like. The normal one that others would see."
The familiar blue panel materialized before his eyes.
[Displaying Status Window]
Name: Leon Kross
Level: 7
Exp: (6580/8000)
Class: Wildcard
Health: 350/350
Mana: 350/350
Strength: 39
Agility: 34
Perception: 68 (+34 from Sixth Sense)
Stat Points: 0
Skills: Swordsmanship(lvl.3),Survival(lvl.3), Herbalism(D),Sixth sense(A), Arcane seed (A)
------- [CLOSE]------
At Level 1, everyone started with 50 HP and 50 MP, though these values could vary slightly depending on the body's natural physique. Each level added 50 more to both health and mana, which meant that at Level 7, Leon had 350 HP and 350 MP.
As for attributes, Level 1 began with a base of 10 points in Strength, Agility, and Perception. Every time a person leveled up, they gained +2 to each attribute automatically, along with 5 additional stat points they could freely distribute.
By Level 7, Leon had passively gained +12 to all base attributes (from six level-ups) and had received 35 free stat points. Of those, he had allocated 15 to Strength, 10 to Agility, and 10 to Perception.
Leon glanced over his status screen. When his eyes moved to the skills section, he noticed something curious. Some of his skills had levels, like "level 3", while others were marked only with letters, such as Aor D.
He frowned.
"System," he said, "why are some of these skills shown with levels, while others have letter ranks? What's the difference?"
The system responded:
[There are two types of skills, Host. Initial Skills and Advanced Skills.]
[Initial Skills are the ones every individual receives when their Status Screen is first awakened, usually around the age of 14 to 16. These are granted based on talent, lineage, or fate, and are ranked using letters F, E, D, C, B, A..... Sometimes even S for the chosen one.]
[Advanced Skills, on the other hand, are acquired through personal effort, training, or learning over time. These are measured by level, starting from Level 1 and progressing upward. They reflect how proficient the user has become through practice.]
Leon clicked his tongue and asked, "Am I not a Chosen One?"
[Negative. The Chosen Ones receive their Initial Skills through the divine blessing of the Great Land. Host was not chosen by the Great Land.]
[Unlike the Chosen, bound by honor and duty, you walk a path of will, indulgence, Lust, and Domination. The W.I.L.D system was crafted only for you.]
Leon's eyes narrowed.
He couldn't help but wonder… the one who created this system, this twisted, sensual, dangerously tailored power, could that person be human?
"System," he muttered. "Who made you? Was it a human? A god? Or something else?"
[Classified.]
.
.
.
"So, Sixth Sense and Arcane Seed are Initial Skills I received after transmigrating, which is why they're ranked."
"Swordsmanship and Survival were trained by the previous owner of this body, so they're considered Advanced Skills and tracked by level. Herbalism is also an Initial Skill that belonged to him, which I inherited along with the body, and that's why it shows a level instead of a rank."
[Correct. The more you use Advanced Skills, the higher their level will grow. And with enough mastery, even Initial Skills can evolve beyond their original rank.]
Leon smirked, pleased with the information.
"Good. That means everything can be pushed further. Nothing is fixed."