Stone Man

Nicolas felt a little taken aback when he woke up. This sensation he felt was extremely unique to him, never in his life had he felt so refreshed and energetic, it was as if there was an energy dancing madly inside his body.

There were some whose bad luck was enormous even among the other races. Even among them there were still those called useless or disabled people who, due to illness or some other reason, ended up awakening a deficient skill in their core of fusion making the whole life perspective of this individual be totally destroyed. This did not apply to humans, but among the other races the one who could not grow strong was worse than rubbish.

However, the simple fact of having awakened its fusion nucleus was already an advantage compared to ordinary people, after all, the energy in the fusion nucleus could refine the flesh, muscles and organs of any creature. It was as if Nicolas had been reborn, his body had obtained immense strength and some flaws in his skin due to adolescence had completely disappeared giving way to smooth and clear skin.

Despite the giddy feeling, Nicolas didn't notice her appearance. Wandering through the memories of the night before, he quickly began to inspect his body and found himself pleasantly surprised that he had grown a few inches and that his once weak muscles had become firm and sculpted giving Nicolas an entirely different image.

[The system was activated for the first time! ]

[The host received a welcome gift. Accept? ]

Nicolas was taken aback by the huge text box in front of him. They looked a lot like some video games her grandfather had secretly hidden in his basement. To be honest even Nicolas's mother didn't know about this secret that was shared with only a few people. After all she would have gotten rid of those games if she knew of their existence, no one wanted to risk offending beings of other races and end up dying for her stupidity.

"Is my skill a RPG system?"

This hypothesis was quite plausible. However Nicolas decided to calm down and ponder a little more about his current situation. Despite his calmness, what Nicolas was doing at that moment was one of the worst federal crimes imaginable, if some of the soldiers of the other races discovered Nicolas, his head would be cut off immediately.

Looking at the text box that was still floating in front of his eyes Nicolas took a deep breath and said:

"Accepted! "

[The host obtained the "Boost" skill]

[Impulse: An ability that gives the user a temporary boost to all of their physical attributes. At the moment the skill can boost about 15% of the host's attributes, however that number can increase as the host and the skill itself evolve]

Nicolas got good information from these new lines of text. First he realized that his ability could probably give him other abilities, a trait that wasn't very surprising when it came to an RPG but something that could be devastating in real life. The second thing he realized was that these abilities could evolve, Nicolas didn't know if this applied to all abilities, but even he realized the danger hidden in an ability with evolutionary traits, after all even the simplest thing can become something devastating if fueled with sufficient time and resources

Noticing a certain degree of awareness in those text boxes Nicolas decided to try to communicate with his own skill, he doesn't know if he would succeed but he didn't lose anything by trying.

"Err ... uh ... sys .. system?"

[Hello host]

Despite waiting for an answer Nicolas was still startled by the notification appearing before his eyes so suddenly. He felt exasperated to think that his ability could scare him to death even before soldiers of the other races showed up.

[The system recommends that for security purposes the host only communicates with the system through thoughts]

'Oh, this is even better.'

Nicolas didn't know what to make of his ability. He could still fight to keep his cool and think through everything rationally so as not to die for any stupid act, however, he was still a teenager and still felt pressured by the idea of possibly being the only human with a fusion core and possibly the greatest threat to other races.

'Okay ... what do I do next? '

[Would the host like to try the tutorial?]

"Of course," Nicolas replied without hesitation.

Nicolas's physical body did not move an inch from its original position. However, Nicolas' gaze traveled for many, many light years away with such speed that it made everything around him look like a blur. Nicolas's vision suddenly stopped advancing as several notifications rang in his mind.

[The system is a skill generated randomly by the host's fusion core, it is nothing more than a tool to help the host to strengthen and walk its path against its enemies. ]

[His first role is "Status". This is the place where all the information about the host is shown, as well as identity, points, levels, mastery with skills and physical attributes. This function is also responsible for changing some of the attributes according to the host's choice and number of points. ]

[Some of the most important information in Status are: The points, which the user can get by completing quests or defeating enemies, experience points that allow the host to level up and can be obtained in the same way as the previous item, in addition to the attributes that it can be added when the host evolves in level or added manually through accumulated points.]

[Its next function is the "Inventory". The inventory is the place where the host can store his belongings without worrying about space or slot limits. However the more objects stored the more mental load the host will suffer depends on each object. ]

[The next function is the "Map". This is the function responsible for registering the places that the host visits, thus making your locomotion safer and more efficient. ]

[All system functions can be controlled by the host's mind as well as unlocking abilities. ]

When Nicolas realized he was back in his room. Before he could digest the information he had obtained through the tutorial he quickly descended the stairs and ran down a long corridor before finding his destination at the door at the end of it. Crouching in the vase Nicolas threw up his entire dinner from the night before while grumbling.

'Thanks for the tips ..., but did you really need to take me to the other side of the galaxy just to explain it? '

Nicolas doesn't know if he really made that trip or if it was just an illusion. He would bet his chips on the second option since if Nicolas had traveled to the other side of the galaxy there should be nothing left of his body at that moment. At that moment his thoughts were interrupted when the watch on his wrist beeped.

Nicolas was a particularly heavy sleeper so in addition to his usual alarm clock and his smartphone alarm clock he also kept this clock which unlike the two previous ones didn't have a very comfortable way of waking him up. If Nicolas failed to wake up after three strokes of the watch on his wrist it would trigger an electric shock at Nicolas forcing him to wake up.

Nicolas had spent a lot of money on that watch and it was not because of possible masochistic tendencies. Since the appearance of the other races everything in the world has changed. One of the most influenced things was undoubtedly the school system that was responsible for the formation of 99% of the children on the planet, the other races had made this system more rigorous and bureaucratic. Taking into account that schools could only teach content related to the deeds and some characteristics of the governors of the territories, the fact that a student misses the class could be seen as a great offense and may result in severe punishments.

Knowing that there was still some time for the bus to arrive, Nicolas calmly got up, washed and put on a new change of clothes, after 20 minutes he left the shower feeling refreshed. His bus would arrive in 15 minutes, by which time he decided to explore some of the system's functions. As he said 'Status' in his mind, a huge rectangular text box popped into his field of vision showing various information through lines of text.

[Name: Nicolas Espinosa]

[Age: 17 years old]

[Human race]

[Hidden lineage: Golden King (blocked)]

[Level 1: 0/50]

----------------------

[Points: 0]

[Strength: 17]

[Speed: 20]

[Agility: 25]

[Intelligence: 50]

[Resistance: 15]

-----------------------

[Skills]

[Lv1 boost: 0/30]

With that, some questions filled Nicolas's mind.

What the hell was that hidden lineage?

Why were your points so high in your attributes?

He was always weak even compared to humans and even he was not aware that the simple fact of having a fusion nucleus has already brought enormous benefits to his body, one of which is a huge increase in his physical attributes. Ignoring these matters Nicolas this time opened the map with a single thought causing a detailed map of the entire city to appear in his eyes with a red dot blinking in the background, Nicolas deduced that that dot was probably his own location.

After analyzing the map, Nicolas decided to examine his inventory. It was a gray space that he could access through his mind where he deduced he could have any object he wanted, but what surprised him was to see a long white sword floating alone in the middle of that infinite space. Nicolas didn't understand why, but instantly he was attracted to her, he felt he could have her in his hands with a single thought, then the idea of bringing the sword out of inventory was abruptly interrupted by Nicolas's clock that whistled, signaling the time to go to the bus stop.

On the way to the bus stop Nicolas analyzed his surroundings very well. Several men and women walked the streets living their lives peacefully, however the pressure of always being at the mercy of other more powerful beings could clearly be seen in their slightly pale faces.

Nicolas lived in the territory of "Stone Men" this was a race whose characteristics were very similar to humans, however most of them would have rough skin with cracks and a texture similar to a rock, this characteristic gave them enormous physical advantages compared to humans, it is worth emphasizing their resistance and vigor.

Although that place was considered the human area, some Stoneskin could be seen walking everywhere while displaying weapons and armor to the humans they saw as pigs. In addition to the guards, those who went to the human area without purpose were probably those "Stone Men" who could not match their peers. That said, they went to the human area to intimidate them and get at least a spark of self-confidence.

Nicolas was already used to scenes of intimidation and contempt in the middle of the street. Even Nicolas didn't escape becoming a target of some drunken "Stone Men" once. Nicolas would never forget that day when he had several bruises and serious injuries that nearly took his life. Luckily humanity still had utility for these races, so even in a precarious way the public health systems still functioned and Nicolas could be treated.

The ability of a being is given by its core of fusion, however the energy needed to execute and nourish that ability was found in the atmosphere and this energy was globally called mana. Mana was like air, invisible, but priceless for those who aimed to become stronger, after all, only with the absorption of mana over the years could an individual become stronger.

Humans had no fusion core, but their bodies were like sponges absorbing mana from the air and storing it in their bodies. That said, there were several shrines in the city where humans were required to deposit their mana in a few crystals each month to nourish beings of other races, anyone who didn't follow this rule would be killed without exception.

Nicolas stopped at the bus stop and waited patiently. Honestly he and the rest of humanity despised what the school had become, it was not viewed with good eyes even by parents, however if the child did not study the required content, the whole family would incur the wrath of the "Stone Men". Only through the stories of his grandfather Nicolas was able to know a little about his real situation.

The Stonemen were tyrants. There was no doubt about that. Although she always bowed her head and accepted everything without questioning, Nicolas's cold gaze didn't lie. Nicolas totally despised beings of other races.