Chapter 2: System
[Status: Unbound]
[Leo Astralis - Level 1]
[XP 0/100]
[Gold 0]
[Class: None]
[HP 100/100]
[Strength: 1]
[Agility: 1]
[Stamina: 1]
A real system window appeared, displaying all of his attributes.
He didn't believe it, the thing he had only dreamed of until now was happening.
This level of strength was to be expected, after all, every Unbound starts like that.
'But how is it any different from a normal shard of the system?'
Leo wondered while walking, ignoring all the traffic signs.
It came to him rather quickly that cars would stop if he didn't, allowing him to traverse through the concrete jungle easily.
His reckless endeavor didn't last long though, as a police car parked in front.
"Hey, You!"
One of the cops called out, to no avail as Leo was too invested in opening all the windows he could.
[Passives]
[None]
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[Abilities]
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[Inventory]
[1x Weapon Voucher level 1]
Those were the three windows he was most interested in.
Because the book was not going too in-depth about the system, he had to learn it himself.
"Sir, I'm talking to you!"
The cop put his hand on Leo's shoulder and pulled him inside the police car.
"Where are you taking me?"
Leo was lost. The laws and culture of the modern world of Japan were unknown to him.
But to the policemen, he looked like a drunkard disturbing peace.
Due to that, they brought him to the police station and put him in a dark holding cell.
"You will think again next time you want to disturb others."
Younger, more passionate of the two cops exclaimed while shutting the door behind him.
Silence ensued as Leo tried to grasp the situation.
"What are you in for?"
A bored voice came from the corner of the cell, startling the man.
Its source turned out to be another guy, although a bit older than Leo.
He played with a revolver bullet between his fingers while looking at the setting sun outside.
"In for? I don't even know where I am right now."
Leo scratched the back of his head.
"Are you from the countryside?"
His voice turned from a nonchalant tone to a more concerned one.
With a sudden turn, he stared right at the younger man in front of him, in his tattered clothes.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he walked towards Leo, his poor state almost making him cry.
"It must be a huge culture shock for you, right? You can't break laws and eat rice all day..."
The sheer absurdity of the countryside resident's image in his head helped to explain the situation.
Leo nodded to his comment, going along with the story he made up in his head.
"Since we are both here for the night, how about I explain the basic laws of this metropolis metropolis called Tokyo?"
Even though it could be taken as derogatory, he genuinely meant to help him.
"Yes... Yes please do!"
He answered, ready to learn to prevent this situation from happening again.
***
The entire night was spent with Leo cramming the basics of the law.
There was even some leftover time that he spent learning etiquette and manners.
"I can't thank you enough. Please tell me how I can repay you."
Leo bowed down as they finished talking.
Because he was very nice to the guards, they even gave him a change of clothes.
Now he had a baggy black shirt with long sleeves and a fresh pair of jeans.
"I think if you introduce yourself it will be enough."
Leo shook the man's hand.
"I'm Leo Astralis, an Unbound."
A satisfied grin spread across his teacher's face, but he did something unpredictable.
With a single jump, he pushed the cell window open and ran away into the city.
The rising sun highlighted his short beard and baggy eyes as the man disappeared into the city.
"I have a feeling like we will meet each other sooner or later."
He added before fully disappearing.
One of the guards ran toward the iron bars, stressed and furious.
"Chief!!!"
"Did he do it again? God damn it!"
The chief of this police station approached, swearing under his breath.
"Every single time he just escapes! I don't care that 'The Tower is calling him'."
"And what should we do with the other one?"
"Just let them out, I bet the alcohol already left their body by now"
He threw his hand into the air, not paying too much attention to Leo.
And just like that, he was almost out. The only thing he had to do was sign some paperwork.
But it wasn't that hard, and he was well on his way.
"Wait a minute, you put the wrong date in the paperwork. Today is the 29th of December 2024. Not 2732."
The cop who said that could barely hold back his laughter, but his coworkers weren't as nice, chuckling under their noses.
'29th?? 2024? That means that I have two days before they clear the 10th floor!'
He wasn't in a laughing mood, going back to quickly fix it.
"Y-yes sorry for my mistake, I didn't sleep enough is all."
Right after making sure he filled it correctly this time, he sprinted toward the forest nearby.
There was only one person he knew of who would need to hear this.
If he failed to convince her he came from the future, the lives of many would be uncertain following the clearance of the 10th floor.
But due to the stress, he couldn't recall the exact place where she usually stood.
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[New ability: Mind Archive]
[Gives the user access to the Tower's encyclopedia. Also allows them to read attribute windows of other unbound.]
[Mind Archive]
Leo used the ability right away, creating a projection of the book that had regressed with him.
Its pages turned on their own, turning to the part that had the information he required.
Sylvaine - one of the original 10 S-rank climbers, could be found spending time on a hill overlooking the sky whenever she was stressed.
And how could she not be stressed right now?
After all the still-existing Explorer's Guild was about to subjugate an orc dungeon in two days to beat the 10th floor.
A feat that they failed every time since the last floor was cleared 4 years ago.
This was the longest break between successful clearance of the challenges which made the interest in Tower drop.
Even the government, which was interested in exploring it at first, cut its funding a few years back.
If Leo didn't give her any information, it would turn into the bloodiest battle the Tower had seen just yet.
Why would Leo know all of that? Because he studied the book his entire life.
He ran up the hill mentioned in the book, hoping to find the legendary Fencer.
The trees spread farther apart the closer he got to the top.
A person stood there, staring at the sky, her long white hair moved gracefully in the warm breeze.
The sun reflected its beams off her light armor and her green eyes.
"Who are you? And how did you find me?"
Leo didn't have time to react as she was already right in front of him.
Pointing her rapier against his throat and carefully examining his every movement.
[Mind Archive]
[Sylvaine Aelcrest age 19]
[Level 45]
[2 142/100 237 XP]
[Can't get more information due to the difference in level]