Nightmares Paradise [LITRPG System Integration]

There was no response from the System Introduction. Not another paragraph of unscrambled characters, nor a sudden change in his location. More than thirty seconds passed, and Jon just continued to stare towards a random direction of pure white space.

Jon unconsciously straightened his back, feeling as though he had made a mistake with his choice of Mana Core.

'Shit. Did I make some sort of mistake? I mean, I kind of just went with the flow here. Have I agreed to some sort of contract or sold my soul to some sort of infernal-.'

You have chosen "Knowledge" as your first Mana Core.

Please brace for sudden influx on Mana.

Jon barely had any time to process the words in front of him he suddenly keeled over in pain, his knees crashing into the floor.

He extended a single hand to prevent himself from completely falling over, his other one gripping at his chest, fingers digging tightly into the flesh above his heart.

His pupils dilated, the microscopic blood vessels in his eyes bursting, filling his vision with a slightly pink tint. His fingers clenched tightly on the white space beneath him, teeth gritted as he unconsciously avoided him biting down on his tongue. Screams of agony escaped his lips, filling this pure white void with the harrowing cries of an agonized soul.

The pain was sudden and without remorse, filling his being with an excruciating discomfort that Jon could not quite put into words.

It started from within his chest but swiftly worked itself outwards, spreading as a toxic gas released into a closed environment. Flashes of pain started blooming all across his torso and limbs, forcing Jon to scream further in response.

Jon maintained some shred of focus within his mind, thinking back to something that Trevor or Summer had once told him.

"I think I read something once that the human body can only process so much information at any given point in time", said his only female friend, swinging her legs over the bleaches in an overexaggerated motion.

It was why people could not remember what they had for breakfast three weeks ago yet remember the meal that they had on their anniversary seven years ago. Individuals attached emotions of varying importance to certain memories and experiences. Stronger emotions provoked a stronger link to a memory.

Jon thought he remembered a theory that argued pain could be measured in a similar way.

A stronger pain would be prioritized over a weaker pain.

Someone would not be able to feel the jab of a needle while their femur was sticking out of their leg. Someone would not feel the pull of addition while endorphins were flooding their systems due to a broken bone.

Jon took a breath of air, but found his throat clamped up, his alveoli suddenly unable to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide.

This pain… made Jon wish he had never read such a stupid thing in the first place.

It felt as though someone had burned the inside of him without ever so much as touching his flesh.

He could not breathe.

Everything felt so tight.

His nervous system burned as if he dipped his nerve endings in battery acid.

Jon slammed his free fist into the ground, trying to distract himself from the searing sensation within his chest. The pain had been gradually spreading, affecting his lungs and other internal organs, preventing him from moving, consciously or unconsciously.

There existed a system within the body known as the automatic nervous system. This system controlled the automatic movements and responses of the human body.

The pumping of blood through veins and arteries.

The firing of neurons within our brains.

The release of hormones and chemicals in response to external stimuli.

The production of gastric acids and the gradual process of transforming food into waste.

These are supposed to be automatic processes within the body. While there is some degree of control we possess over them, through the regulation of our actions and movements, there exists a far greater number of processes which we ourselves hold no control over.

For a single moment, Jon felt his entire physical form frozen. Unable to move. Unable to blink. Unable to breath and unable to think.

The sheer amount of pain that his system was forced to endure caused his heart to stop beating, and the neurons which fired within his mind to pause, as if someone had hit the off button on their computer.

For a fraction of a second, Jon honestly thought that he had died, his vision dyed a brightly coloured crimson from all the burst blood vessels within his eyes.

It was agonizing.

Perhaps the worst thing that he had ever experienced in his short eighteen-years of life.

But then.

Jon saw a wisp of silverish-grey light float past his eyes, vanishing into nothingness after he found the strength to blink once more.

The moment he gained control over his eyes, Jon felt his other physical faculties swiftly return.

His fingers and toes curling up in discomfort. The growling of his stomach in hunger. The inhalation and exhalation of air through his mouth and nostrils. The rawness in his throat from screaming with such vigour.

The moment Jon felt his lungs fill with air; his pupils dilated to the point where there existed more pupil than iris. That minute wisp of silverish-grey light seemed to colour the very centre of his pupil, the tiniest emanation of strength bursting forth within his chest.

His heart started beating with the faintest echoes of something… other.

Other than blood. Other than oxygen. Other than… mortal.

And then… Jon woke up.

The brown-haired young man sat up, his hand instinctively reaching towards his heart. The organ which until a few moments ago, felt as though someone had injected hydrochloric acid into his veins, was now beating steadily and without any semblance of pain.

Jon glanced at his wristwatch. While it was not a smart watch, it could measure things other than time, such as heart rate and number of steps he had taken in the last few hours.

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His eyes widened, seeing the distinct lack of any abnormality in his heat rate. Its rhythm was fine, barely higher than his average resting heart rate.

"Holy… was that… just a dream? It couldn't have been right? I mean…", Jon let the hand over his heart drop into his lap, taking a few short shallow breaths. Any semblance of pain had just vanished as if it had all just… been a dream.

Taking a few deeper breaths, Jon stood up, pausing a moment as he felt something different about himself. He was in fairly good shape for someone of his age; not necessarily the same level as a professional athlete, but good enough that he didn't need to feel insecure about his physique or appearance.

He was… genetically above average, according to the System at least.

Jon stretched his upper body, raising an eyebrow at the flexibility of his arms and shoulders.

There was a trick that Summer used to do, one where she could clasp her hands behind her back and then raise them over her head and around to her front. It was a feat of flexibility and elasticity that caused his and Trevor's mouths to drop, and their shoulders to ache whenever they tried mimicking her movements.

But trying it now, Jon felt that there was absolutely no resistance in his shoulders, chest, arms or underarms when he tried replicating the movement.

Normally the muscles beneath the armpit, his latissimus dorsi and his serratus anterior would quiver and become taut, threatening to snap or break if he pushed his arms further and further upwards.

But now… there was nothing holding him back.

Jon entered a deep squat with both feet together at the heel. There was no feeling of tightness on his knees or hamstrings. Even when placing one of his feet on his opposing knee, and attempting a one-legged squat, he felt nothing but his balance somewhat tested.

Sticking out his arms, Jon immediately felt himself able to adjust his posture and centre of gravity, feeling little to no tremble or strain in his lower body.

'Huh. So, I dreamt about receiving an influx of mana, and then suddenly I'm extremely flexible? The pain wasn't a dream then… I probably just passed out after accepting my first Mana Core. Wait… first?'

Jon tilted his head to the side before another batch of text appeared in front of him.

Individual has received his first influx of neutral Mana. The experience may differ from individual to individual; however pre-existing logs suggest that those who require a longer recovery period are those who are least compatible with their chosen Mana Core.

"Wait! How much time passed between the time I accepted the Mana Core and right now!?", Jon blurted out.

The System didn't even so much as blink, before another line of text appeared beneath the original.

As the individual has recovered, the System shall now impart several tasks you must complete. There are a total of thirteen mandatory tasks, with an additional sixty-two optional tasks, all with varying types of rewards or boons for the individual to obtain.

Jon suppressed a grimace as the System Introduction completely ignored his question.

'Shit! How much time was I passed out for? It didn't mention anything about the degree of pain an individual would experience, only that the recovery time would be longer if there was a smaller compatibility between us and our chosen Mana Core. Was mine longer than others? What about the pain, does everyone else experience such a harsh time during their first influx of mana?'

An individual may check the completion rate and number of completed and uncompleted tasks at any given point in time. Information regarding individuals and the changes that have come from obtaining their first Mana Core will be available momentarily. It is advised that individuals participating in the System Introduction will be returned to their home worlds upon the completion of the System Introduction, or upon their death.

There will be no further assistance given to individuals for the remaining time of this System Introduction.

Please note, that refusal to take part in the System Introduction will result in death.

That voluntary abdication from the System Introduction will result in death.

There was a small glitch in the text at the very bottom of the page. Words appeared, completely unscrambled visible for barely a tenth of a second. It was only for a moment, but Jon glimpsed at what message the System had scrubbed from its introduction.

Greatness stands before you. What shall become of you?

1 hour 4 minutes 36 seconds.

Jon barely had any time to register the glitch before the world around him flickered, and his figure vanished from his Pure Room. The room remained silent; a void filled with nothing but a blank white nothingness. For a brief moment, an infinitesimal fraction of a second, characters flickered in the space where Jon once stood.

There was nothing there to observe them, but the phenomenon happened even without someone observing it.

It flickered, as if someone was rapidly switching a light on and off. Children often performed such things trying to entertain themselves. Sometimes due to boredom, while others seem entranced with the power of illumination at their fingertips.

Somewhere, someone smiled, blowing out a candle, and with it, the timer within Jon's Pure Room.

Quite the compatibility… I wonder how long it has been, since someone has picked so close to their Source? Oh well, it's only the first Mana Core, there is still plenty of time to see whether they are worthy of His attention.

Break

Jon felt his world shift, an indescribable churning sensation spiralling from the centre of his stomach. His figure deposited onto a field of luscious green grass, and a wave of nausea and head spins wracked his brain.

Falling to his knees, Jon allowed himself to fall face first into the grass, feeling their cool blades brush up against his face. His hands gripped several tufts of grass tightly, allowing himself to ride the uncomfortable sensation towards its end, the severity of his headache gradually easing.

Sitting up, Jon suppressed a wince and rubbed the sides of his temples. His stomach still churned at the sudden movement, but all the contents within remained where they belonged. Jon adjusted his glasses, allowing himself to examine his current location.

His eyes widened, as he gazed towards a vast world before him.

"When the System mentioned a "small realm", I thought they would have meant some sort of city sized artificial landscape. But this… forget a small city, the sheer scale of this place; it might as well be its own world." Jon dumbfounded said. His mouth dropped, and all sense of fear or worry suddenly turned to wonder and curiosity.

Jon's head gradually moved upwards, as the distant landscape crawled upwards, rather than curving downwards beyond the horizon. This "small realm" as the System referred to it, was a self-contained world of incomprehensible scale.

Distant mountain ranges and vast forests existed where there should have been clouds and azure skies. Enormous lakes and winding valleys carved through the heavens where there should have been starlight and moonlight. Boiling volcanoes and patches of dry yellow deserts hung like suns above Jon's head, reflecting light from an unknown source, almost causing Jon to forget to breathe.

It was as if someone had built a world within a planet. Landscapes and ecosystems which could be visible from one side of the realm to the other, as if the heavens and the earth were one and the same.

There was no sensation of fear coming from Jon at this moment.

Only a feeling of awe and astonishment.

'How is something like this even possible? I mean, magic and mana are suddenly real but this… how was such a thing constructed? It certainly wasn't formed naturally'.

A minute scratch itched at the back of Jon's mind.

'Would it be possible… for me to create something like this?'

Jon felt as though his sense of childlike wonder suppressed for some unknown reason, as a wave of rationality washed over him. He could remain level-headed during situations involving high amounts of stress or pressure but suddenly felt himself unable to think straight when things appealed to his more childish sensibilities.

Jon's priorities suddenly came to the forefront of his mind, and the young man stood back up, ignoring the gurgling sensation coming from his stomach. His eyes drawn from the distant rivers and forests, and back towards his immediate surroundings.

'I initially suspected that there would be an above average chance of finding someone within the first few hours of arriving within the small realm. But, given the size and enormity of it, I doubt I will meet anyone at all, at least for a day or two'.

'I'm in some sort of clearing. There is an abundance of trees and plants around me, most likely some unknown flora given the purplish colour of the bark and the odd shape of the leaves. Testing whether these are edible is not necessary for the time being. I've got a sandwich and a handful of assorted nuts alongside my water bottle. Finding a clean source of water would be my most immediate concern'.

Jon glanced around, trying to find a direction with the most downward slope. It was somewhat disorienting, considering that all directions led upwards in this small realm, but judging from his surroundings, Jon picked a direction that seemed the most viable.

In actuality, it was mostly an educated guess, but Jon still picked the direction with the most downward slope. His eyes remained vigilant, examining the surrounding flora for any broken twigs and branches, and forest floor for any semblance of animal droppings or traces of faecal matter on trees or roots.

It had only been a few minutes, but Jon passed a number of plants with appearances similar to that of plants from Earth. He didn't know a thing about botany or toxicology, beyond the names of certain fruits and poisonous plants, so Jon remained wary of even touching them without some sort of protection.

"It would be nice if there was some sort of information available about these-. Oh?" Jon paused his stride, a clutter of alien letters and unfamiliar characters appeared in front of him, swiftly translating themselves into a more recognizable form of language.