Athanasia: My Hacker System

The world began to tremble, a fierce and violent shudder that signaled the end of one era and the beginning of another.

As soon as John issued the command, the badge tore itself free from his grip. It ascended several meters into the air, suspended by an unseen force before erupting in a brilliant, crimson radiance.

The tremors intensified in tandem with the light, reaching a blinding crescendo that forced everyone within the pocket trial to shield their eyes.

From its central position, the red light expanded with high speed, surging outward until it enveloped all twelve territories in a seamless, glowing dome. Time seemed to lose its meaning as the phenomenon persisted; seconds stretched into an indeterminate void of pure colour and vibration.

Then, as abruptly as it had begun, the light receded. The crimson glow vanished, and the badge returned to its inert state, tumbling through the air until it landed firmly back in John’s palm.

"This... Is this the new world?!"

Luke was the first to find his voice. His eyes darted around frantically, mirroring the curiosity of everyone else as they took in their new surroundings. The familiar fortifications and defences they had spent a long time building were gone. In their place stood a vast, grand opening, a flat, primordial expanse that stretched toward the horizon until the land met the sky.

Above them, the sky was crystal clear, dominated by a massive, glowing orange star. This wasn’t the sun they once knew; its big size and intensity made one thing undeniable: they had successfully ascended.

When John had activated the badge, his core group had been standing alone. Now, they were surrounded by the masses. The Bulltors, the Krogers, and over three thousand human survivors stood in a sprawling, disorganised assembly.

A heavy silence hung over the crowd as shock and doubt played across their faces, slowly giving way to the same realisation Luke had just voiced.

"We finally crushed the trial! We’ve ascended!" Luke roared. His excitement acted like a spark in a tinderbox, spreading through the survivors like wildfire. Cheers began to erupt, breaking the stunned silence of the plains.

John watched the burgeoning celebration with a wide, satisfied smile, but his focus remained elsewhere. His vision was currently being flooded by a torrential downpour of system notifications. The final quest was over; his evolution quest was complete. It was time to reap the rewards of the gruelling months he had spent fighting for survival.

-

[Ding! Congratulations! You completed the final quest in your evolution trial!]

[Ding! Congratulations! You gained +4% Cyborg Synchronisation level - + 500 Mental Points cap - +100 to all stats – 6 Months protection period to your zone – A portal leading to Athanasia – The privilege to call humans to come and compete in different new pocket trials under your banner – Overclocking Ability – Break the Window Ability – Remote Access Trojan Ability!]

[Ding! Congratulation! You gained a new title: The Human Saviour: + 50% to all stats!]

[Ding! Cyborg synchronisation level hits 10% - System synchronisation level hits 10%: You now have the combined stats as your overall stats in the Source Code World!]

[Ding! You’ll gain access to your cyborg body after returning to Athanasia!]

-

John stared at the scrolling text in genuine amazement. He quickly pulled up his profile to inspect the changes. His current stats were no longer split; they were the cumulative total of his Athanasia stats and his pocket trial stats, further amplified by the boost from his new title. The sheer numerical leap was staggering.

’I never saw this coming,’ he thought, scrolling through the data with intense interest. A sense of profound reassurance washed over him. While he remained wary of the unknown power levels of other races inhabiting this new world, he was now certain of one thing: no other human could possibly hope to stand against him.

Next, he turned his attention to the descriptions of his newly acquired abilities. The most enigmatic among them was Overclocking. At first glance, its primary function seemed to be a localised temporal freeze on enemies. However, it wasn’t an AOE ability, which felt like a significant limitation in the chaotic, large-scale skirmishes he often faced.

’Perhaps after I evolve it using cores, I’ll find the real value in it,’ he mused, shifting his gaze to the next ability.

The Break the Window ability, on the other hand, was an immediate and lethal upgrade to his combat roster. It functioned as a booster that could be layered onto any other offensive skill. It acted as a guide, highlighting the weakest and most vulnerable points of any target to ensure maximum lethality.

Furthermore, it provided a flat bonus of three hundred damage to any ability it was paired with, a significant nice-to-have that would make his standard attacks much more domineering.

The final ability, Remote Access Trojan, represented a terrifying new leap in his utility belt. On the surface, it functioned as a high-level confusion spell, scrambling a target’s cognitive functions and leaving them vulnerable.

However, the truly scary aspect of the ability was the second effect: John could forcibly seize control of a target’s physical body for a full sixty seconds.

The system provided a specific caveat; this hijacking effect was guaranteed if John’s Strength and Defence stats significantly outweighed those of his target. In a world where he had just combined his attributes from two different worlds, that condition was practically a given against almost any standard foe.

He felt an itch in his palms, an urge to test the limits of this puppet-mastery in a real skirmish. He could already envision the strategic chaos he could sow, forcing a commander to execute his own soldiers or shielded enemies behind strong defences to receive the order to open the gates and venture out to fight in the open.

However, he reigned in the impulse. With a six-month protection period now shielding his zone, he was staring at a rare, prolonged era of peace. Testing would have to wait.

Turning his attention back to the interface, John noticed a new tab pulsing with a soft, ethereal light: The Calling.