The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion

Elfie felt like she was submerged in a warm ocean.

She tried to move, but she found out she couldn't feel her arms, nor could she speak.

Yet, she wasn't hurt, nor did she feel any pain; if anything, she felt oddly peaceful.

She tried to think about where she could be, but her memories were blurry.

She tried to recall what she had been doing, and that memory was still fresh in her mind.

She remembered receiving a summons from the High Elves of her world, Yelvera, who came to them with an offer of receiving power directly from the gods.

They were recruiting individuals with talent and great potential.

She believed them because she didn't want to stay weak, especially after seeing Damian, a human who became strong enough to fight against gods.

His growth scared even the gods.

If she was going to stay by his side, she needed to become stronger.

But reality wasn't as simple as she expected.

The elves were being manipulated by higher-ranked Norse gods.

The gods were using talented elves like her for their own gain.

When she discovered the truth, she tried to flee, like many others.

But against gods, what could they do?

In the end, they were put under godly restriction, used as food for the strange artifact known as the [Law Forger].

After that, she felt herself grow weaker, and not long after, everything became blurry.

Suddenly, she felt herself being pulled out of the ocean by an invisible force, dragged toward the surface from the deepest abyss.

The force grew stronger with each passing moment, and in the next instant, she was flung into the surface.

Her eyes snapped open to reality.

Elfie's vision cleared instantly, and the first thing she saw was the face of the most beautiful man she had ever met or would ever meet.

The face of her king.

The face of her progenitor.

The face of the man she belonged to.

"My king…" She called out instinctively, driven by her racial instincts.

"Hehe, you're alright…" Damian muttered with a smile as he gently grabbed her shoulder.

"Sister, you're fine!" Arlen said, hugging her.

"Arlen?... Why do you feel so different?" Elfie asked in confusion.

She felt like she was hugging paper, as if Arlen had no weight.

"I'm not the one who's changed. It's you… ow!" Arlen yelped as Maria pushed him aside and abruptly hugged Elfie.

"I missed you so much," Maria said, tightly embracing her best friend.

"Maria… what happened? I don't remember anything," Elfie asked, looking at Maria and then at their king.

"It's not really a long story," Shiru added, before explaining everything about where she had been and what she had been doing.

"So… now what?" Elfie asked as she stood up.

Her eyes widened as she realized she felt taller than before, and much stronger too.

"You've become a [Superior Holy Angel]… the most talented Holy Angel to ever exist or ever will exist," Damian said as he placed his hand over her head, analyzing her for any anomalies, especially within her spirituality.

"Your soul still needs a few more months to rest, but that shouldn't be a problem if you train and grow stronger," Damian added.

"Speaking of which, she doesn't look like other angels. She has horns, and her wings don't look normal. I know it's because of the influence of other racial essences, but aren't they manifesting a little too fast?" Lillian asked.

"Yeah, it took my vampire wings several days to grow out," Yuki added, a hint of jealousy in her tone.

"That's because you had already transformed into a High Human. When the racial essence of other races was introduced to your system, the essence slowly integrated, steadily helping you evolve, hence why it took time for your vampire wings to manifest. After I introduced the essence of demons, your wings also developed demonic features," Damian explained, looking at Yuki.

"But in Elfie's case, the essences were already inside her system during her transformation. She didn't just become a Holy Angel, but also carried the racial essence of all the races I am the Progenitor of. That's why, unlike you, the influences of other racial essences manifested so quickly."

Damian looked at Yuki with a small smile as he rubbed her head. "It's nothing to be jealous of. I imagine as time passes, you will also manifest the influence of other races more and more quickly."

"Why do you say that, darling?" Amaya asked.

"Well, because you're High Humans," Damian replied, turning his gaze toward Yuki, Shiru, Ana, and Maria.

"High Humans' greatest strength is their adaptability. Right now, your systems are still in the adapting phase, getting used to the influence of the other racial essences inside you. As time goes on, your adaptability will grow stronger. Once that happens, their influences will manifest much faster."

"Adaptability is a very powerful trait. If humans didn't have it, they would have gone extinct a very long time ago," Kathyrne added.

"The same goes for all of you," Damian continued.

"You also carry the essence of High Humans. I'm sure adaptability will manifest for you as well. Of course, it won't be as effective as in true High Humans, but even then, the ability to adapt will itself improve over time. Naturally, it won't be as fast as theirs."

"By the way, I still haven't given you the racial essence of Angels, have I?" Damian said, raising his hand.

In the next moment, drops of his blood, shining with a strange golden hue, appeared from his palm.

Each drop shot toward Lenora, Amelia, Maria, Shiru, Ana, Yuki, Lillian, Amaya, Kathyrne, Tiana, Akira, Avenya, Lea, Leona, Sia, Selia, Veyla, Lilith, and finally Arlen, whose face twisted with fear and bewilderment, and landed on their foreheads before entering their bodies.

In the next second, everyone's bodies released a faint grey light as the essence of the angel race settled into their systems.

For Arlen, however, his glow resembled Elfie's transformation into a Holy Angel.

Just like his sister, Arlen became one of the highest-ranked Holy Angels.

The only difference between them was in their eyes and hair; Elfie's hair had turned light brown and her eyes neon green, while Arlen's hair had turned jet black and his eyes deep black.

Elfie's horns were silvery white, while his were reddish brown.

"Hm?" Damian narrowed his eyes as he noticed something strange happening with Maria.

The faint glow on everyone else faded, but Maria suddenly stumbled to the ground, as if in extreme pain.

"What's wrong with her?" Elfie asked, rushing to support her best friend.

"Maria, what's happening?" Shiru also went to her side.

Unlike the others, Damian didn't look the least bit concerned.

He already knew what was happening.

"I feel weird… like something is crawling on my back," Maria muttered as sweat began to pour down her face.

"Ugh…" Maria groaned, tightly shutting her eyes.

Suddenly, from her back, something erupted, tearing through her hoodie.

Three pairs of massive, pure white wings sprouted, sharply feathered like a vampire's and edged with talon-like, demonic shapes.

They spread wide as Maria struggled for breath, before slowly calming down.

"What… what's happening?" Maria asked as Shiru and Elfie helped her stand.

"You grew wings," Shiru said with a smile.

"W-wings?" Maria whispered, turning her head to see the three pairs unfurled behind her.

"Damn, I'm no longer the only one with wings among the four of us…" Yuki chuckled.

"I'm jealous, I don't have any," Ana added.

"I wonder when we'll develop wings…" Leona mused.

"Yeah, it would be great to fly without relying on techniques or external help," Selia agreed.

"Well, you guys can transform into giant wolves, which is much cooler than having wings," Tiana said.

"Now that I think about it… since we carry the racial essence of werewolves, does that mean we'll also gain the ability to transform into wolves ourselves?" Akira asked.

"Yes, it's very possible. Well, not exactly," Damian explained.

"For werewolves, the wolf form is their true form, not the humanoid form you currently have. Since your true form is already fixed, you won't transform into a wolf exactly. Instead, you may develop a transformation that gives you wolf-like traits, a battle form that greatly amplifies your power. It would be similar to the [Ancestral Transformations] of noble vampires."

Damian turned to the five vampire countesses as he continued. "Unlike Lilith and the four High Humans, you already possess [Ancestral Transformation]. So, instead of gaining a separate wolf form, your [Ancestral Transformation] itself will evolve, becoming more wolf-like, or even more monstrous, due to the influence of demonic essence and other racial essences I'll add to your systems in the future."

Suddenly, Lenora's eyes widened in realization. "Darling, are you going to give us the racial essence of Qilins?"

"Most probably, but for that, I would have to become the progenitor of Qilins. I don't know if I ever will," Damian admitted.

"Why not, Darling?" Lillian asked with curiosity.

"Qilins aren't races like vampires or werewolves. They're part of what we call the celestial races," Damian explained.

"I've read about them…" Amaya said excitedly.

"The celestial races are supposed to have been born from the creation of the universe itself... Is that for real?"