Chapter 24: The damn system is still chasing me

Aiden dragged his exhausted body as he pushed open the door to his home, each step heavier than the last.

He casually tossed his coat onto the sofa and slumped into a chair, closing his eyes as he rubbed his throbbing temples.

[Master! Hurry up and draw cards! You finally finished the mission and got a Ten-pull; maybe you’ll get something good!]

Ruby buzzed anxiously around Aiden, her voice filled with impatience.

“No rush.”

But Aiden, uncharacteristically, shook his head slowly.

He deliberately stood up, started undoing his shirt buttons, and walked into the bathroom.

Soon, the sound of running water filled the room.

Half an hour later, he emerged wearing loose pajamas, his hair still dripping wet.

What puzzled Ruby even more was when Aiden pulled out a delicate Magical Incense Box from somewhere.

He carefully opened the lid and lit the dark red incense tablets inside.

Wisps of blue smoke curled upward, gradually filling the air with a faint, soothing fragrance.

[Master, what are you doing?]

Ruby circled the incense box, her face full of curiosity.

[In my original world, people usually bathe and burn incense before doing something important, as a sign of respect and prayer.]

Aiden sat cross-legged at the table, hands resting on his knees, his voice unusually calm.

His gaze followed the curling smoke as he took a deep breath.

[Burning incense helps calm the mind and focus, and it also creates a solemn atmosphere.]

Ruby blinked several times, as if still trying to process the meaning of those words.

“A real man always pulls a Golden Card.”

Aiden closed his eyes, inhaled deeply again.

When the fragrance filled his lungs, he opened his eyes, activated the card draw system, and selected the Skill Magic Card Pool.

He clasped his hands together, whispered a brief prayer, then pressed the draw button.

The animation started playing.

Aiden unconsciously held his breath.

As the meteor streaked across the sky and gradually glowed with golden light, his eyes grew wider and wider.

[Holy crap! Golden Card!]

He leapt up from the floor, pumping his fists excitedly.

Sure enough, the ritual of bathing and burning incense was the right move!

He forced down his excitement and flipped open the golden card, fingers trembling slightly.

His heart pounded faster and faster.

When the golden card slowly turned over, his breath nearly stopped.

But upon seeing the card face and its effect, Aiden froze on the spot.

Logically, a Golden Card drawn from the pool should be an incredibly powerful skill, right?

The strongest skill should be Time Stop.

Or maybe Foresight or Teleportation wouldn’t be bad either.

Mental Manipulation would also fit well in this story’s development.

Mirror Reflection cards of the same tier would be okay too.

But what was this “Holographic Sprite Ruby’s Stellar Soul”?

Aiden’s face was a perfect picture of confusion.

In stark contrast, Ruby’s expression instantly lit up with excitement the moment she saw the Golden Card.

The Holographic Sprite seemed drawn by some force, instinctively flying toward the card and carefully cupping the spherical image projected on its surface with her little holographic hands.

[Master, look! It’s Ruby’s Stellar Soul!]

Ruby’s voice trembled slightly with excitement.

Her holographic wings fluttered joyfully in the air, emitting brighter sparkles than usual.

[What’s that good for?]

Aiden gaped, and after a long pause, he painfully found his voice.

The twitch at the corner of his mouth was involuntary.

No way this was what he thought it was, right?

[Master, Ruby’s current form is incomplete~ You need to collect six Stellar Soul Cores in total to unlock all her functions. Now we can finally start the first stage!]

Ruby spun happily in the air, beginning to explain to Aiden.

Aiden slapped his own face.

It really was exactly what he feared.

Damn it, in this crazy alternate world, the Constellation System just won’t leave him alone.

That mischievous goddess!

What goddess?

She’s basically a goddess-person.

While Aiden wailed silently inside, Ruby had already absorbed the golden sphere completely.

Her holographic projection began to change—the light blue dress gradually deepened to a deep oceanic blue.

The transparent wings behind her blossomed with dazzling starlight, the halo’s radius visibly expanding.

The entire projection looked denser and more magnificent.

[So… do you have any new abilities now?]

Aiden was too drained to complain anymore, placing his last hope on Ruby.

Based on his past gaming experience, leveling up a Constellation usually unlocks new abilities or mechanics.

[Ruby’s singing and dancing skills have both upgraded!]

Ruby happily twirled in the air, stardust scattering from her skirt, pride shining in her voice.

[Want me to perform for you now, Master?]

What the hell good is that?!

Aiden felt dizzy and faint before he even had time to check the rest of the draws.

His vision darkened and he collapsed straight backward.

[Master really is impulsive~]

Ruby hovered above the unconscious Aiden, pouting with her hands on her hips, her face full of displeasure.

[Why didn’t you ask what new effects my dance and song got?]

Finally, Ruby gently settled on Aiden’s chest and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Aiden woke up.

He didn’t even remember how he fell asleep last night; the last thing he recalled was complete darkness.

Ruby lay curled up beside him, breathing softly.

Her holographic projection was even more refined than before; the deep blue dress rose and fell subtly with each breath, the starry glow on her wings dimmed significantly, clearly still resting.

Oh, right.

Aiden rubbed his forehead and remembered—she had leveled up.

And what about him?

Aiden sighed.

The excitement from last night had long since faded, replaced by a lingering sense of disappointment.

He could only pull himself together and check the rest of the card draws for some consolation.

His fingers swiped across the virtual interface, revealing card after card:

Basic Swordsmanship Mastery, Lightning Conduction, Steel-Slicing Flash, Jade Mist Cut…

Wait a minute, why were these skill names becoming more and more familiar?

He seriously suspected the goddess had been lazy and just referenced other games when designing the skills.

That was way too careless.

After a careful study, Aiden found that most of these skills were swordsmanship-related.

While they could indeed enhance his combat abilities, they felt out of place in this predominantly magic-driven world.

Couldn’t he get some magic skills for once?

The last purple skill card quietly lay in the corner of the interface.

Aiden hesitated, then reached out and tapped it.

The card slowly flipped over, bursting into purple light.

When Aiden read the effect description, his tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed, and a smile involuntarily curled the corners of his mouth.

This was going to get interesting.

The last skill card completely lifted the dark clouds over Aiden’s mood.

If he could use it well, it might even surpass the Golden Card in power.

Challenges made things exciting.

Aiden got up, dressed, and called for Ruby.

Her wings fluttered slightly, emitting a soft glow, as she reluctantly floated up to follow him.

Passing through several streets, Aiden happened to meet Celeste at the academy gate.

“Good morning, Celeste.”

“Good morning, Aiden.”

Celeste turned around, a trace of concern in her eyes as she looked at Aiden’s shoulder.

“How’s your injury?”

“Completely fine.”

Aiden stretched his arm with a big motion, clearly well recovered.

The two of them naturally walked side by side through the academy gates.

A senior student from the Discipline Committee noticed them entering together and discreetly spoke into his communicator, his gaze quickly scanning between Aiden and Celeste before casually looking away.

As Aiden and Celeste entered the classroom, the previously noisy room suddenly fell silent.

All eyes turned sharply toward them, but the looks were strange.

Several students who had been blocking the aisle were startled as if frightened by something and hurriedly stepped aside, some even bumping into desks and chairs.

A weird silence filled the classroom.

The students’ gazes toward Aiden had completely changed—from disdain and mockery to naked fear.

Some didn’t dare to look directly, sneaking glances from the corner of their eyes; once their eyes met his, they quickly lowered their heads.

Aiden vaguely sensed something was off but said nothing, quietly taking note of it.

When the two returned to their seats, the students around them scattered as if avoiding the plague.

Several classmates who had sat nearby hastily packed their books, scrambling to move to the other side of the classroom as if approaching Aiden would bring disaster.

At first, Aiden thought it was because of him.

He thought hard and couldn’t recall doing anything that would make his classmates so terrified.

Could it be that the incident in the bathroom yesterday or when he dealt with those senior students after school had spread?

To test his suspicion, Aiden suddenly stood up from his seat.

The sudden movement made the nearby students shiver in shock.

He strode toward the most timid boy in the class, who was pale with nervousness but, unlike the others, did not try to flee in panic.

Apparently, the others were just startled by Aiden standing up suddenly.

So who were they afraid of?

Aiden’s brows furrowed even tighter as he turned toward Celeste.

“Celeste, could you come over here for a moment?”

Though puzzled, Celeste obediently stood and walked over.

The moment she approached, the timid boy suddenly acted like he had seen a ghost, stumbling backward while mumbling trembling words:

“Witch… don’t come near…”

Aiden was stunned.

Celeste froze in place as well.

For a moment, the classroom was so silent that even the sound of a needle dropping could be heard.

Witch?

What the hell was that?