Dark Universe System

Chapter 5

Lucian looked at the screen in front of him and ignored Justin and Adam for a while. They smiled and waited for him to turn back to them. He made a small frown as he looked at his numbers and then looked at the two of them with a questioning look.

"Quick question… Do I have it right that the average stat for a normal person is, like, ten?"

Justin looked shocked, while Adam smiled in agreement. "You're right! How did you find out?

“Oh… I just guessed...". All of the average human's stats were 10, but he had four that were 1-2 points below that. He had three stats that were "above average" out of the seven he had. He was pretty happy with how smart he was, though. But since it was one of the few things that seemed to be the same as in his old life, well... It was the only thing he had a real chance to work on.

He didn't know what to do, use the luck stat, however. Was it luck that he had to spend time in his life in bed? But still... He was here with a new body, wasn’t he? Perhaps his luck had gotten better.

He didn't know what to think about the skills he didn't have. Maybe everyone who went on a trip started with nothing? he was hopeful. It would be embarrassing to start out so low, especially since his stats already made him feel like he was behind the rest of the world.

The only thing left was his special skill. He thought about it for a long time and wondered, "What the heck does absorb mean?" he obviously knew what the word meant. He just didn't know why it was on his list of special skills.

It didn't make sense in the context, As soon as he thought about it, a new idea came to him.

Absorb: You can permanently take 1 percent of one attribute and skill experience of your target by touching them directly. Their attribute and skill experience will be restored.

After a certain amount of time, those areas will get an extra 0.5 percent.

What's going on? he could take someone else's skills and traits? he felt a little better knowing that they would get something out of it too, but it just seemed...weird. He also felt like the system wasn't giving him all the information he needed, but he figured that was part of the process of trying things out and seeing what works.

When he finally came out of his thought, he saw that he had been staring into space for at least two minutes. Adam and Justin were having a whispered conversation that he wished he could hear, but it didn't seem to be one of his strengths; he might be able to get it.

"That's too bad. Can you explain how experience with skills works?" he stopped them from whispering in a quiet way.

Adam and Justin both smiled, and this time it was Justin who spoke up. "Yes of course, You can improve your skills by ....Hmmmmm well, doing just about anything. Your skills will get better as you practice, and you'll get better at it as you do it. It's pretty easy to understand."

That makes sense, Lucian guess. I mean, in my last life I could adapt and practice.

He thought to himself as he nodded, trying to get his thoughts in order. The most important thing for him to know was what was going on in the world.

After seeing all the weapons, he didn't think this was a very peaceful place. he also had to figure out what he would do to survive and maybe see if there was a library or something where he could just look up the information himself. Adam tried to calm him down by telling him in simple terms what was going on.

"Now that you've seen your profile, you should know a few things. You are in Rombus .The king and queen are in charge of the kingdom. More In particular, this is The Green Dragon, one of the dorms where soldiers live.

At this point, they looked a little guilty, and he could guess why. He wasn't supposed to be here, so they would have to tell the person in charge. Still, he was determined to find out as much as he could about them before that.

"These soldiers are the future of the kingdom, you are going to be a guardian army . the king pays for your training and places to stay."

he took a quick look at Justin and sighed at how hopeful he seemed. It was clear that Adam was the more realistic one, while Justin was making up all kinds of stories in his head.

Justin was daydreaming, but Lucian paid attention to what was important. "So, what you're saying is that if I get into the guardian army through this process, I could stay here?"

This seemed to wake Justin up, and he laughed out loud. “Yeah, but you’ll never make it…” he put his hand over his mouth and looked scared as Lucian laughed to himself. he really couldn't blame him...

I mean, look at me. Normal people, even Justin, who is probably considered thin, are much bigger than I am. Why would he think I'd be able to join what is basically the noble faction?

Lucian just smiled at him on the outside. he wasn't going to tell him off for making a decision that made sense. He wanted to know if they recruit people for reasons other than their strength. He thought that, depending on how his special ability grew, he might be able to work on that eventually, but he needed to think for now.

Adam helped Justin and Lucian out of trouble. "You might have a chance, though. Most travelers can get in if they have something special to offer. Do you?"

Lucian nodded gratefully. "Yeah, I do. So where do I go to find this thing that lets me choose?"

Justin turned helpful right away, as if to make up for his earlier mistake.

"It's not that far away. You just need to go to the upper city hall and sign up for their tests and the interview. It will continue for another two days.

He smiled at Justin to show that he didn't have anything against him without bringing it up. “Thanks. I know you're busy, so thank you for helping me. Where can I find a library?"

"Can you read?" Adam just looked at him with wide eyes.

Lucian felt pain as he had hoped that the line between the rich and the poor would be less clear than it was. He gave a helpless shrug. "Before, I could. I'm not so sure about this. I guess I won't know until I try."

Justin thought for a moment before answering, "I guess that makes sense. There is a library, but it is hard to get in. It's close to one of the other dorms, The Curia Wyrm, which is about five blocks north of here.

“Thanks. I think I'll try to start there and maybe take a few minutes to look around before the test. You guys have been so helpful, so I guess I should probably come with you to meet your boss? You know, to see if I can stay here for a few days until I can get on my feet and join the Guardian army?"

They both had doubts about how sure he sounded that he would get into the guardian army, but he was a traveler, so they didn't call him out on it. What if he really got into the guardian army? They'd much rather get along with him.

Adam finally nodded, which seemed to end their silent argument. "Yes, I agree that that would be best. But uhm… Do you have any other clothes? For example, shoes?"

Lucian just looked at them blankly and then said, "I don't know. Let me check." I really hope that whatever god sent me here gave me some normal clothes at least... He walked to the dresser in a clumsy way, quietly enjoying the fact that he could walk. Even though he was awkward, it was amazing that he could do it on his own. So, he didn't care that Adam and Justin were giving him worried looks as he opened the drawers and looked through them.

He was glad to find several pairs of shorts and tops in the different drawers. Even though he didn't know what they were made of, they looked comfortable enough. In the past,

he had mostly worn jeans, scrubs, and hospital gowns. He didn't see any shirts, though, so he thought of the other door in the room.

He stumbled his way over and opened the door while Adam and Justin looked like they were holding themselves back from jumping up to try to catch him.

Jackpot! Several shirts or tunic-like things were hanging in the closet, along with a freaking awesome cape, a simple dress, and something else he didn't know the name of but looked similar to what Justin and Adam were putting on.

Also on the floor were some boots that looked pretty badass. He proudly turned around and told them, "I do have other things!"

Adam said, "Maybe you'd like to change then, why not dress just like us to avoid suspicion" with a nice smile. Lucian nodded, and then he asked, "Do you...need help?" with a little more hesitation Kevin enquired.

Lucian's smile left his face. He felt better almost right away, but Adam and Justin could tell they had hit a sore spot because he smiled like he was made of wood. "I'll be fine. Thanks, though. It will only take a minute."

Adam nodded, but he didn't want to upset him any more, so he led Justin out of the room and said, "We'll just wait outside," over his shoulder.

Lucian gave a stiff nod and quickly chose a shirt, the cape, some boots, and a belt. He stumbled back to the dresser to get the other things he needed. He threw himself carelessly on the bed to get things on and off as quickly as he could, even though he moved in jerky ways.

It only took him about a minute to get dressed and pull on his cute new boots. He stood up, much more sure of his self than before. He hadn't realized how much being in uniform in front of the two perfect soldiers had made him feel...incompetent? Or maybe it was just the fact that he no longer had to wear the clothes of a sick person that gave him courage. In any case, it was time to leave. Like Kevin and Adam he was dressed in a Guardian army uniform.

He took a moment to look through the desk and found a key in the top drawer. He thought it was to his room, and he didn't want to lose the cool stuff he'd just realized he had, so he grabbed it and opened the door, giving the two soldiers a much brighter smile. "I'm all set!"

They were both happy to see that he was okay and smiling again. Justin saw that he was holding the key and gave him a thumbs-up as he closed the door behind him and shut the door.

Since they knew "his stuff" was in there, it was best to keep it locked until they figured out what to do.

"Thank you for everything you've told me," Lucian said in a quiet voice as he smiled and touched their arms briefly.

It helped a lot." Even if they hadn't done much more than scratch the surface. Adam gave a sweet smile. "It's no problem. So, let's go meet Raphael, and then you can start your adventure!"

Didn't the box say the same thing? That this would be an exciting thing to do?

Grinning back at him, Lucian nodded. "Wow, that sounds great!" As they turned, he widened his smile and mentally clicked on the two glowing notification dots that had appeared on the side of his vision after he touched the soldiers.

As he wobbled after them, he eagerly read the notifications.

You touched Adam Dwayne, which turned on the absorb. Using numbers and past experience... Choose a stat to absorb: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charm, or Luck. You can absorb one of the following skills: Appraisal, minor dragon transformation, Herbology, or thunder manipulation.

You touched Justin Kevin, which turned on the absorb. Using numbers and past experience... Choose a stat to absorb: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charm, or Luck. Diplomacy, Dodging, Perception, speed.