'Status Page!' Oliver thought.

  In front of Oliver, a small s slid out and stretched. pletely translut, the boy could see what was behind it while still being able to read it. As he moved his head, the floating s began to follow him.

  With a childlike grin, the boy felt challeo push the limits of the Status Page even further. Using his hands, he tried ping the edges of the s, perf a zoom-in and zoom-out motion.

  “Wele back, Oliver!" The voice he had already heard echoed once more.

  “What!?" The boy was startled, assuming it was some kind of AI embedded in the Ranger Armor.

  ‘Hello?’ he thought, expeg a response, but none came. A few moments ter, some words started to appear on the s.

  | Status Page

  | User: Oliver [Nameless]

  | Level: 1 [Pawn]

  | Experience: [20/100]

  |

  | Stats

  | Strength: 6 [Pawn]

  | Agility: 12 [Knight]

  | stitution: 5 [Pawn]

  | Energy: 14 [Knight]

  Some of the information was new. For the first time, Oliver saw his level and experience. Although e had mentioraining to increase stats and boons, Oliver hadn't realized that the system could dispy his information in such detail.

  Additionally, he had already earned 20 experience points in such a short time, aarted w how these points were earned.

  ‘Do I only get them through training, or do bats also work?’ The boy pondered.

  | Boons

  | Insight [Pawn] [Growth]

  | [Use 200 Experience Points to Upgrade]

  |

  | Glitches

  | [Too Muformation]

  | [As long as I see]

  |

  | Skills

  | Ranger on Handling [Pawn]

  |

  | Ranger on

  | Energy Pistol

  The first part of the Status Page was easy for Oliver to uand. But as he read more about his boons, glitches, and skills, his brow furrowed. The boy couldn't make sense of what was being shown.

  ‘Pawn. Is that the level of the Boon? But what does it mean Growth?’ After a few moments of p the meanings, he actally touched the word "Insight."

  The s expanded as he touched the word, and a sed se appeared.

  | Insight

  | You are capable of uanding systems and meics by them.

  | The more Energy is used, the easier or more pletely the meic is uood.

  | The Boon's level is [Pawn], allowing you to uand only simple systems.

  | This Boon is capable of [Growth] and may e experieo be upgraded.

  'Hmmm, seems straightforward,' Oliver thought. He remembered quickly learning how to use his Ranger on but didn't recall applying Energy. However, during the fight with the Ork, he was too focused on survival to remember much about what he had done.

  The boy decided to apply energy while looking at the room's hologram projector.

  Simir to when he summoned his Energy Pistol, he felt as if a flow of energy coursed through his body, moving from the ter of his chest to his eyes and head.

  | Click

  Activating the ability was as simple as thinking about pressing a button. However, the result was the exact opposite of what he expected. The moment Oliver activated the ability, a deep and agonizing pain struck his head.

  Oliver fell to his knees, feeling his entire body go cold. His only rea was to close his eyes and grab his head. His throat wao scream from the pain, but he ched his teeth with all his strength.

  An overwhelming amount of information seemed to rush through his braiails he had never noticed or known about the holographic system. Everything from its mainteo the fact that one side of the room was seeing the hologram with slightly off colors.

  When Oliver finally opened his eyes and lifted his head, he felt something drip onto his lips. Wiping his face, he noticed some blood had dripped from his nose. He was astohe Boon was more intricate than he had imagined.

  The boy could imagine a few different ways to use his Boon.

  'But I could have died...' he thought, feeling the grave danger he had just faced.

  Without any warning, he had risked his health simply to uand the holography system. If he had tested it on something even more plex, he might have passed out or, worse, died.

  Using his military jacket sleeve to wipe his face, he decided to look back at the Status Page. This time, he clicked on [Too Muformation].

  | Too Muformation

  | The amount of information offered by [Insight] exceed what your body handle.

  | Information overload may result in Headache, Heme, Bckout, Insanity, ah.

  | Increase the Boon level to handle more information.

  'I should've definitely read this first,' Oliver cursed himself.

  Until that moment, Oliver didn't fully uand the cept of Glitches or how dangerous they could be, which is why he hadn't feared using his Boon. However, now it was clear that these powers came with a heavy cost.

  Finally, there were only two more optioo click.

  | As long as I see

  | The Boon [Insight] only be applied to systems within your line of sight.

  |

  | Ranger on Handling

  | The user has developed the ability to hahe Ranger on through use in dangerous situations.

  | Performah the on is enhanced.

  | Skill Level: [Pawn]

  | Skill Experience: [10/100]

  The st clickable option was [Exge 200 Experience Points to Unlock]. Oliver didn't hesitate; he wao uand as much as he could about how the system worked. But then he heard the same system’s voice.

  'You don't have enough Experience Points to add another Boon.'

  He expected it wouldn't work but o try anyway.

  Finally, Oliver stood up from the bleachers and began walking out of the room.

  ‘Am I strong or weak? Clearly, I’m not bat-focused.’ The boy didn't know what to think. His Boon didn't seem helpful in bat or have a clear purpose, but it appeared powerful enough to cost him his life.

  An, too, was lost in his thoughts. After the css ended, he walked on autopilot, still thinking about which specialization to choose. He had reached a clusion but still had doubts. There was no other option for him but Energy bat; it fit his abilities too well, as Energy was his highest stat.

  As he he sed training area, he finally realized Oliver wasn't with him. Looking around, he couldn't find the boy, so he decided to wait by the entrance.

  Not far away, Oliver was running, trying to avoid beier losing track of time while expl the Status Page. He arrived in front of a rge training field, already out of breath. Around him, there was a vast forest, but at the ter, it looked like a standard Track & Field training ground.

  He spotted An leaning against one of the walls he entrance of the Trainier.

  "Where were you?" An asked, curious about Oliver's dey.

  "I was expl the Status Page; I finally discovered my Boon and Glitch," Oliver said, l his voi the sed part.

  "About time. Will it help you decide on your specialization?" Aioned.

  "I’m not sure, but I don’t think so." Oliver was sidering how much he should reveal about his Boon. An had helped him many times, but his own advice was not to expose too much about his abilities or weaknesses.

  "My Boon isn't bat-focused, so I don't have many options," Oliver expined.

  “I see,” An spoke.

  Both boys stood at the entrance, watg as only a few recruits had mao find the area so far.

  Oliver finally recovered his breath and had time to look around. The path hadn’t been easy to find; he had to check several times between various buildings before log the way to the N2 training area.

  The road to the building’s entrance was broad, with marked spaces for recruits to run and exercise. However, the most surprising aspect was the surrounding trees.

  The vegetation seemed equatorial until he crossed the forest, and the climate was mildly pleasant. Yet, the farther they ventured north on the isnd, the trees gradually ged into t pines, and the temperature dropped sharply.

  ‘How oh did they find this isnd?’ Oliver thought. ‘Was it discovered? It ’t be artificial, right?’ Feeling a bit like a spiracy theorist, he tried to ground himself ba reality.

  “And you, have you thought about what yoing to specialize in?” Oliver asked, turning to his friend.

  "I don't have many optioher," An replied as he g the entrance of the training area.

  "You saw my fight, and my Boon is closely tied to my bat style. Plus, my best stat is Energy. It's pretty obvious I o focus on Energy bat," An added.

  However, Ahis decision would cause issues within his family. But he po face those problems wheime came.

  Both stood for a few more minutes, their surroundings, until finally, rger groups of boys and girls began to approach. In the distance, an officer was apanying one of the groups.

  The raining session was finally about to begin.

  Oliver cpped his hands a few times, dusting them off, before speaking, "I think my best option would be..."

  GCLopes