Chapter 159 Protagonist Template: Wastrel Young Master
The fellow's body shuddered greatly, and activity seemed to return to him slowly. Dante then injected the Quantum Aetherium Conduit into his body and put it immediately under the control of the subordinate AI chip which was under him.
Soon, Jameson began to come to, and his blurry eyes scanned around him to understand what was happening. However, he made contact with a pair of glowing amber eyes that shone like torches, and he felt his entire world change.
He was no longer Jameson but Mark Thompson, an ordinary man leading an unremarkable life. Mark awoke in the small, cozy apartment he had known for years, sunlight streaming through the curtains to gently warm his face.
A sense of familiarity washed over him as he sat up in bed, his tousled brown hair falling into his eyes.
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted from the kitchen, and Mark followed it, a contented smile gracing his lips.
In this illusion, he had a loving family. His wife, Sarah, greeted him with a morning kiss, and his two children, Lily and Jake, giggled as they wolfed down their cereal.
The illusion went on, weaving a tapestry of a life Jameson had never lived. He worked at a mundane office job, where he was well-liked by his colleagues.
Weekends were spent in the backyard, teaching his kids how to ride bicycles, and evenings were cozy family affairs filled with laughter and love.
Years passed by, with Mark and his family growing together. His children graduated from school, and Mark, despite the monotony of his job, found a quiet satisfaction in providing for his family.
However, every story has its twists.
On one fateful day, Mark stepped out of his house, briefcase in hand, and the illusion showed him a glimpse of an approaching truck, its blaring horn piercing the quiet suburban morning.
Time seemed to slow as the massive vehicle bore down on him, and Mark had only a moment to realize the situation.
His life, the family, the love, all of it was about to leave him forever. He would never see his beautiful Sarah again, nor his buoyant Jake and his cute Lily.
In that final heartbeat of the illusion, Mark understood the cruelty of the world, its callousness and lack of care for the weak. His body shattered as the truck collided with him, ending the dream he had never wanted to wake from.
"URGHH!"
With a loud gasp, Jameson sat up and felt like vomiting. His last memory was the truck about to hit him and take his life, as well as the regrets and feelings he had at that moment.
He was currently sweating all over, and his pale and scrawny body was filled with pain. Before he could assess things, a flood of memories entered his head, telling him that he was Jameson Arthur, the young master of the Arthur clan, who was the only son of the 6th Rank magus clan head, Julius Arthur.
That was fine, but when Jameson saw what he did all his life, he was filled with horror and disgust. He had assaulted and ruined so many women that his reputation was in the gutter, and his body was even suffering deficiency from it.
Jameson could not stand those memories and locked them away, hyperventilating as his pupils dilated and expanded rapidly. Eventually, he managed to calm himself down and take stock of his situation.
"That mermaid princess… there must have been a type of biological toxin in her body that infected me. That's why the previous person in this body died, and I transmigrated here," Jameson muttered to himself.
"Am I Jameson or Mark? Well, I'm definitely Mark, in the body of Jameson," Jameson muttered to himself.
He was a mature man with a family, so he had good control of his mind and emotions. He quickly understood and accepted the situation he was in but wondered why he had been brought here?
[Ding!]
[The God of Magic System has activated!]
[Welcome, host Mark. This is the God of Magic system, a tool chosen to accompany you in this life in order to allow you to rise to the top of the Magus World!]
[Ding! Your talent has been awakened: EX-Grade Rank Astral Absorption!]
[Talent Name: Astral Absorption || Talent Rank: EX || Talent Description: Allows the user to absorb astral energy freely without the need for crystals.]
[Ding! Your body's stats have been tabulated! Please check it!]
[Host Name: Mark Thompson/Jameson Arthur
Tower: None.
Meditation Technique: None.
Knight Breathing: None.
Strength: 2.3
Agility: 1.6
Dexterity: 1.8
Intelligence: 9
Constitution: 0.7
Vitality: 0.5
Spells: None.
Skills: None.]
Jameson was stunned by what he was seeing. It took him a few moments to process the sight before him before he shook his head with a strange expression.
This thing… was a system? He had heard of this thing; it was part of a rising genre of fiction called web novels meant for losers who liked power fantasies. It was nothing like the refined and mature e-books that Jameson personally preferred.
He even only knew about this because Sarah had wasted a lot of their money buying coins on some Web novel app to pay for romance novels about trial marriages and werewolves. Some of those books had these systems, and Jameson had tried it out.
Disgusted, he curiously tried the male side of the spectrum, and while it was more palatable, it also had problems. Too many boring and edgy main characters, too many female side characters who were created to be objects, and too many young masters who were…
Suddenly, Jameson stopped his train of thought with a weird expression. No wonder he felt that his body's situation was familiar; wasn't he one of those crackpot young masters who never believed in consent?
Jameson palmed his face and knew that digging this idiot's reputation out from the mud would be harder than a normal person entering the 1% without being killed.
First things first, he had to understand this system and what it entailed. Only then could he decide his next step.
"What are those stats? What do you mean by talent? What does it specifically do? How do I strengthen my stats further?" Jameson asked mentally, knowing that these systems usually communicated through thoughts.
[Ding! The stats on those sheets refer to your current level of effectiveness in each category. The stats are based on the average of your species in this world, meaning that 1 point is the average human's value in this world.]
[Your talent is a unique ability you have awoken as a result of your transmigration! Your soul is special as it possesses the memories of two people, but cannot manifest itself due to the world's laws, so it has been condensed into this talent!]
[Your talent allows you to directly absorb astral energy regardless of your location as long as it is present. Astral energy is a precious resource that mages use to increase the speed of their growth and is indispensable at the higher levels.]
[To strengthen your stats, you can practice the Knight Breathing method for physical enhancements or the Meditation techniques for spiritual and mental enhancements. You can also access the system
shop to purchase resources and techniques of various types using System Points.]
Jameson rubbed his eyebrows as he followed up to this point. He had more questions and worries, especially about his talent, which seemed extremely overpowered and valuable, but he stifled them and asked what was more important.
"How do I access the System Shop? What can I buy from there? And how do I earn System Points?"
[You can only access the System Shop after you complete your first task. The things you can buy in the shop range from techniques of all kinds, to information, and special resources that are rare like the Quantum Vitality Serum, which will enhance your knight power by at least a major realm.]
[You can earn System points by completing System Tasks assigned to you randomly. Tasks and their difficulties depend on your relative strength, your location, and the breadth of your knowledge. Endeavor to expand all three!]
Jameson digested this knowledge for a short while before beginning to contemplate his next set of actions. Before he could think too much, a hurried knocking sounded on his door.
"Young Master Jameson?! Are you alright!? We just discovered that your product has escaped from the surveillance!" A hurried female voice asked.
Jameson was startled, and a hint of disgust appeared in his eyes. As Mark, he could not tolerate the idea that Jameson treated everyone other than himself and his family as lesser beings and forced his servants to even refer to them as such lest they suffer pain.
Jameson finally knew what he was going to do. He would right all the wrongs that his previous body's host had committed and restore his reputation before seeking the path of power and strength, so that he could prevent others like his previous self from existing!
Sighing with relief, he spoke in a hoarse voice. "I am fine, but I need to take a bath."
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