Chapter 166: The Weird Morning

The sky above Astralis Arcanum glowed a soft orange-red, the twin suns beginning to rise like molten pearls above the horizon.

Their light slipped through the curtains of the student residence, painting stripes of warmth across the wooden floor.

Inside one of the rooms…

Ron jolted awake.

“Hah… hah…!”

His breath came sharp, chest rising and falling as if he had just escaped a nightmare.

He ran a hand through his cream-white hair, eyes darting around the room.

The bed.

The desk.

The quiet morning air.

“Was… that a dream…?” he muttered.

But then—

A strange sensation pulsed inside him.

Three presences.

One close.

Two farther, but felt clearly, like faint lights in the back of his mind.

Ron froze.

“I—I couldn’t sense this far before…”

A voice answered casually:

“You finally woke up.”

Ron’s body stiffened.

He shot upright—alert, defensive—searching for the source.

And there, sitting calmly atop his desk…

A chibi-sized gentleman stood with perfect posture.

Light-yellow hair neatly combed back.

Bright lime-green eyes behind a shining silver monocle.

A tiny black coat with silver buttons, a polished white vest and cravat, a silver ring shimmering on one finger.

A miniature top hat tilted slightly to the side.

And in his hand—a silver-tipped cane almost as tall as he was.

Ron blinked.

“…You’re—”

The small gentleman lifted his chin proudly.

“I am William.

Don’t tell me you forgot already?”

Ron let out a long sigh and collapsed back onto his pillow.

“So… it wasn’t a dream after all…”

“No,” William replied flatly.

“It wasn’t.”

Ron rubbed his temples.

“Then the presence I’m sensing… does that mean… those are the other three?”

William tapped his cane on the desk—tok tok.

“Yes.

It’s Lia, Jax, and Selene.

Obviously.

Why are you so slow at understanding things?”

Ron’s eyebrow twitched.

“Well, I’m sorry these kinds of things don’t happen to me every day,” he muttered.

William crossed his arms, expression saying ’excuses, excuses’, but he didn’t comment further.

Ron exhaled slowly, trying to steady his mind.

But memories rushed in—sharp, vivid, undeniable.

After defeating Maera’s team…

The battlefield had dissolved into white.

The world shimmered, folded, and pulled them back into that vast blank space where everything felt both real and unreal.

Then—

A glowing light bloomed at the center.

Ron remembered shielding his eyes as the radiance intensified, swirling like liquid starlight. From the swirling core emerged four long hexagonal crystals, each with a faint yellow-green tint, each holding a red pearl engraved at its center, glowing like a heartbeat.

The four crystals revolved around each other…

then separated.

One floated toward him, another toward Lia, the next to Selene, the last to Jax.

He remembered feeling a pulse—

a warm thrum against his chest—

as the crystal sank into him like light entering water.

And then…

A tiny figure stepped out from that same glow.

Top hat.

Monocle.

Silver cane.

Refined gentleman aura in a chibi body.

“I am William, the Manager.

Spirit of the Synchronis System.”

Ron rubbed his forehead, pulling himself back to the present.

“So everything I saw really happened…” he muttered.

William leaned on his cane with a smug tilt of his head.

“I told you already. None of that was a dream.”

Ron sat up slowly.

“Fine… fine… anyway—tell me about that status thingy? That window thing? Whatever it was supposed to be.”

William’s lips curled into a sly grin, monocle gleaming.

“Oh?

I thought you were never going to ask.”

He tapped his cane twice on the desk—tok tok—as if preparing a grand lecture.

“Very well,” he said proudly, eyes sparkling.

“Let me show you how the Synchronis System truly works.”

Ron tensed slightly.

This was the beginning of something big—he could feel it.

William raised one tiny hand toward Ron.

“Ready?

Say the word: Status.”

Ron gulped.

“…Status.”

A soft ding echoed in the room.

A blue translucent screen materialized in front of Ron—letters glowing crisp white across its surface.

Ron flinched back.

“W–what the—?”

He cautiously reached out and poked it.

His hand passed straight through the floating window.

A shiver ran down his spine.

“It feels so weird…”

William sighed loudly, tapping his little cane.

“Stop poking it like a caveman. Read it. That’s your status.”

Ron cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Right… sorry.”

He finally focused on the glowing window.

The text sharpened.

And his eyes widened.

—

[ STATUS WINDOW ]

Name: Ron Volkov

Race: Human

Title: None

Rank: D–

Attributes

• Strength: 109

• Agility: 91

• Endurance: 100

• Intelligence: 71

• Willpower: 88

• Perception: 59

• Luck: 15/100

Mana Rank: D–

Mana Capacity: 1660

Body Rank: D+

Elements:

• Fire (Extreme)

• ???

Techniques:

• Inferno Spear — Spear Technique (Exotic Grade) — Mastery 45%

• Flaming Steps — Movement Technique (Rare Grade) — Mastery 60%

• Iron Pulse — Special Technique (???) — Mastery 2%

Skills:

• Daily Life Skills

• Survival Skills (Low)

• Mana Sense (Low)

• Overheat Mode (Mastery 10%)

• Basic Mana Control (Mastery 50%)

Blessing: Blessing of Extreme Fire

—

Ron swallowed.

All of it—his strength, his weaknesses, even his techniques—were laid bare in perfect numbers.

“These… these are my attributes? In numeric form…?” he whispered.

William gave a smug little grin.

“Pretty cool, right?”

Ron’s face darkened immediately.

“It’s terrifying. If someone sees this, they’ll know my entire combat style! My weaknesses! My techniques!”

William waved one chibi hand dismissively.

“No one but you can see it.

Well… you and the other three members of your team. That’s how Synchronis works.”

Ron eased slightly.

“…Alright. Good.”

But then his eyes narrowed at something specific.

“…Oi. What is that?”

He pointed at the screen.

At the “???” next to his Elements, and the “???” beside Iron Pulse.

“Why does those have question marks? What does it mean?”

William’s monocle gleamed.

A tiny smirk tugged at his lips.

“Oh.

Those?”

William floated lazily into the air, tapping his cane against his shoulder.

“Alright, first—let’s talk about the ??? in your element section.”

Ron leaned forward, tense.

William pointed the cane.

“That symbol simply means you have a hidden element.

One that hasn’t awakened… or one you currently can’t use.”

Ron’s eyes widened instantly.

“I—I have a hidden element…?”

William glared.

“Yes. Stop acting shocked every two minutes. It’s exhausting.”

Ron coughed and looked away.

“…Sorry.”

William continued, clearing his throat.

“Now, the second set of ???—the one beside Iron Pulse—that one is a bit different.”

Ron listened carefully this time.

“As you know, techniques are divided into grades—”

“Six grades,” Ron interrupted, counting on his fingers.

“Common, Uncommon, Fine, Rare, Exotic, and Legendary—”

William slowly placed his palm over his face.

“Don’t.

Cut.

Me.

Off.”

Ron flinched upright.

“S-sorry!”

William huffed.

“You people know nothing about the world. Your knowledge is basic.

The actual system has eight grades.”

Ron blinked.

“Eight…?”

William raised two fingers.

“After Legendary, there are—

Mythic Grade

and

Divine Grade.”

Ron’s heart nearly stopped.

“Mythic… and Divine…? That’s—”

“Mythic techniques are extremely rare,” William said calmly.

“Most kingdoms don’t even own one.

And Divine Grade…

That’s the domain of higher beings. Gods. Spirits. Outsiders.”

Ron swallowed hard.

“What about Iron Pulse then? Is it Mythic grade?”

William’s monocle glinted sharply.

“If the system shows ???, then it means the technique is—”

He paused.

Ron held his breath.

“—above Divine Grade.”

Ron felt his world freeze.

“Above… Divine…?”

His voice cracked.

He stared down at his trembling hands.

Iron Pulse.

A technique professor Zane taught them casually in class…

was above Divine…?

“What… what did Professor Zane teach us…?”

His chest tightened.

“And even bigger question…

who exactly is Professor Zane…

to be able to teach something like that…?”

William’s eyes softened just a fraction.

“That’s something you’ll have to learn in time.

But one thing is certain—”

He pointed his cane at Ron.

“Your teacher is not someone normal.”

William tapped his cane lightly.

“Now then—let me tell you about one of the true specialties of this system—”

“Wait.”

Ron raised a hand. “What about this Blessing of Extreme Fire? And… this Overheat Mode? I don’t remember having anything like that.”

William froze.

Then slowly turned his tiny head toward Ron.

“You ask so many questions.”

Ron shrank a little.

William sighed and continued.

“Fine. Listen carefully. The Blessing is something granted to a weaker being—like you—by a stronger being.”

Ron frowned. “…Weaker being…?”

“Yes. You.”

William didn’t blink.

“Your blessing is connected to fire. That’s why your flames are so intense. And as for Overheat Mode…”

He pointed his cane at Ron’s chest.

“That blue flame you use? The one that burns hotter the more desperate you get?

That’s Overheat Mode. The system simply assigned a name for easy reference.”

Ron blinked.

“Oh. So that’s what it was.”

“Are you happy now?” William asked flatly.

Ron looked away, scratching his cheek.

“…Yeah. Kind of.”

William rolled his eyes and lifted his cane again.

“Good. Now—back to the System’s specialties. First, the Sync M—”

Knock. Knock.

Both of them froze.

William let out a long, suffering sigh.

“Of course.

Right when I start explaining something actually important…”

Ron didn’t even need to guess.

He could feel it through that strange connection pulsing inside him.

“That’s Jax,” he muttered. “I can sense him… almost like he’s standing right next to me.”

William nodded with the exhaustion of someone dealing with children.

“Obviously. You four are connected by the Synchronis System.

Expect… interruptions.”

Ron stood from the bed, rubbing his neck as he walked toward the door.

“Yeah, yeah… I’m coming.”

He opened it—

And there stood Jax Harl, messy hair, half-awake, one eye barely open, holding a piece of toast in his mouth.

He lifted the toast like it was a greeting flag.

“Bro…you know I just find out that I am half demon .”

Ron stared blankly.

William facepalmed.

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