Chapter 4: System

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: System

The officer’s dry dismissal echoed off the polished marble floor, striking Eric with the weight of a physical blow.

*Rank E. Appraisal.*

A bottom-tier observation talent. In the brutal, unforgiving hierarchy of beast tamers, drawing an auxiliary utility skill was virtually a death sentence for anyone hoping to walk the path of combat. It offered no direct attribute amplification, no spiritual cultivation acceleration, and zero tactical advantage in a life-or-death brawl. To the high-ranking academies and military recruiters, an E-rank Appraisal was fit for little more than sorting beast pelts in an alchemical warehouse or logging municipal cargo at the docks for minimum wage.

A cold, suffocating knot tightened in Eric’s chest.

*Six hundred thousand credits in thirty days.*

With an E-rank talent, earning six hundred credits in a month was a challenge, six hundred thousand was an outright impossibility. If this was truly the extent of his awakening, Sunshine Home was finished. The debt collectors would return, the building would be leveled into gravel, and Emily and the children would be dragged away into the dark-market mines.

*No... damn it. There has to be something else.*

*BZZZZT.*

The air in front of his face fractured.

For a fraction of a millisecond, the physical world seemed to freeze. The ambient azure light radiating from the ritual dais warped into a jagged, static-laced tear. The murmuring crowd and the distant hum of the mana arrays vanished, replaced by a deep, resonant pulse that thrummed straight through his spiritual sea.

Before his eyes, reality dissolved into a sharp, crimson interface.

│ [INITIALIZING SYSTEM PROTOCOL...]

│ [Target Detected: Eric]

│ [Host Biological Potential: Barely Passable]

│ [Dimensional Anchor Established]

│ [Synchronizing Core with Spiritual Sea...]

│ [Synchronization: 100%]

│

│ ★ INFINITY BEAST SYSTEM ACTIVATED ★

Eric’s pupils dilated. The breath caught in his throat, and the lingering dread that had clawed at his ribs evaporated, instantly replaced by a surging tide of adrenaline.

*It’s real.*

The golden finger every transmigrator dreamed of had finally arrived.

"Hey! Kid in the hoodie! Stop daydreaming on the platform!"

The officer’s sharp bark tore through the silence. The man stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his brow furrowed with irritation as he gestured toward the stairs. "Your evaluation is finished. Take your tamer badge and clear the stage. We have transport schedules to maintain."

"Right. Understood, sir."

Eric reached out, his hand steady as he picked up the cheap, bronze-plated crest from the registration tray. Keeping his chin down to conceal the razor-sharp grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, he turned on his heel and jogged down the marble steps toward Section D.

The moment he dropped into his assigned seat, Eric leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and lowering his head. To anyone watching, he appeared like another dejected orphan mourning a ruined future over a bronze badge.

Inwardly, his entire focus was dialed into the crimson interface hovering just behind his retinas.

*System? Open status panel.*

*PING.*

The crimson text shifted, forming a sleek obsidian pane.

│ [NOTICE: Core Architecture — Non-Communication Type]

│ - Direct vocal interface disabled to preserve bandwidth

│ - Method: Neural Impartation via Host Consciousness

│

│ [Transmit System Operations & Mechanics? (YES / NO)]

*What? So it can’t talk or communicate?,* Eric noted. *Direct data transmission is better anyway.*

*Yes. Impart everything.*

*WHAM.*

A silent explosion of compressed data detonated across his mind.

There was no physical agony, but an icy, electrifying rush swept through his neural pathways. Vast indexes of mythical beasts, structural storage dimensions, and dynamic quest protocols flooded his memory in a seamless stream. Thousands of operational mechanics organized themselves neatly into his subconscious, clicking into place like precision-cut gears.

In less than three seconds, the data rush subsided, leaving behind pristine clarity.

Eric exhaled a slow, controlled breath, rubbing his temples to soothe the faint prickle behind his eyes.

As the newly integrated knowledge unfolded in his mind, he realized the system’s architecture was designed with ruthless efficiency:

│ CORE SYSTEM CAPABILITIES

│

│ 1. [System Inventory]

│ An isolated dimensional subspace bound to the soul.

│ Time is completely suspended within the storage space.

│

│ 2. [Myriad Beast Encyclopedia]

│ A Universal Database of all Beast’s evolution pathways.

│

│ 3. [Dynamic Quest Engine]

│ Generates milestone trials and real-time survival missions based on Host’s current crisis. Yields rare rewards upon completion.

Eric’s fingers tightened against his knees, his pulse thumping with quiet intensity.

In this world, spatial storage rings were luxury items reserved exclusively for high-tier nobles and wealthy mercenary captains, costing tens of thousands of credits for just a few cubic meters of unstable space. He now possessed an even better, soul-bound pocket dimension where time stood completely still.

More crucially, the Myriad Beast Encyclopedia is the ultimate cheat. While scholars and research guilds spent decades testing dangerous alchemical formulas and relying on outdated biological texts, Eric possessed the absolute, definitive evolution pathways for every beast in existence.

Paired with the Dynamic Quest Engine, he wasn’t merely surviving, he held a blueprint for unlimited, exponential growth.

Six hundred thousand credits in thirty days?

Eric looked up toward the stage, his dark eyes gleaming with calculation.

Vane... you have no idea what you’ve walked into.

CLAP. CLAP.

The sharp, amplified clap of the imperial officer’s hands reverberated across the amphitheater, cutting off the lingering murmurs among the candidates.

"Attention, all candidates!" the officer commanded, his powerful voice washing over the four tiers of seating. "Now that soul realms are unlocked and baseline talents are recorded, the real trial begins. Stand up and form four single-file columns by section."

Behind the central dais, the massive hydraulic blast doors groaned as they ground open, letting in a gust of fresh air along with the heavy rumble of idling engines. Outside in the courtyard, a convoy of heavily armored tactical transport vehicles stood waiting, their hull plating reinforced with beast-repelling runic wards.

"We are heading straight to Riverdale’s Level-1 Beast Sanctuary!" the officer announced, his sharp eyes sweeping across the rows of anxious teenagers. "There, under military supervision, each of you will select and contract your initial bonded companion."

He turned toward the exit, his long coat snapping in the wind.

"Move out!"