Another window appeared before him, accompanied by the same irritating bell-like sound echoing in his ears.

Archael’s eyes widened as he stared at the new window. 

Rainbow-Tier Skill Card?! That’s the SSR Skill!!! 

His breath caught in his throat. This wasn’t supposed to happen. These rewards weren’t meant for him. As a Guide, he had knowledge of the system’s achievements and the players. He knew who the real first player on Earth was.

Joenie Atreides.

Joenie was the true first player and the number one ranker. Archael’s mind raced as he tried to comprehend what was happening. His hands clenched into fists, the faint tremble still lingering in his fingers. His eyes darted over the window, the words blurring together as his thoughts ran wild.

These are his rewards! How could they have been given to me?!

His gaze remained fixed on the window, his expression torn between disbelief and concern. 

What would happen to Joenie then?

He tried to shoo away the window, swatting his right hand to the left with a quick, irritated motion. The system window flickered out of existence for a brief second, only to reappear again with the same text and button. Annoyed, Archael swatted at it again, swinging his hand left and right as if trying to clear away a persistent fly. Each time the window vanished for a moment, it would immediately reappear, hovering stubbornly in front of him. No matter how much he willed it to stay gone, it kept coming back.

Archael was stumped. There was no other option but to accept what was in front of him. Just like before, there was only one button on the window: Confirm.

With a reluctant sigh, he reached up and clicked it, his movements slow and hesitant. Deep down, he clung to the faint hope that this was all just an error in the system, that maybe Joenie would still get his rightful rewards. After all, Archael wasn’t really a ‘Player’; he was more of an anomaly—a glitch in the Norns system.

The window disappeared, only to be replaced by another, even more shocking than the last.

The Norns.

The system that Archael was born from. But now, it wasn’t even recognizing him as the Guide anymore. He stared at the text for a long while, trying to process the reality of what was happening. Slowly, he began to accept his fate. The error had occurred, and he didn’t know why. All he knew was that now, he was truly a ‘Player.’

As he accepted his new role, the window changed once more. This time, the text seemed distorted, as if struggling to form the words correctly. For a split second, it looked like the system was glitching, trying to overwrite itself before snapping back to normal.

Archael was stunned again, feeling like his heart was about to give out from all the shocks. He didn't know how many more surprises he could take today. Each system window felt like it was giving him a heart attack. He was clearly a bug in the system now, and it seemed like the quests were glitching along with him.

The first quest the system had ever given was right after a dungeon break occurred, directing all awakened players to eliminate the boss that had emerged from the Gate. It was a global command given to everyone who had just awakened, but most of them were confused, unaware of their new abilities or what they were supposed to do. It usually took some time before they realized that the endless streams of monsters wouldn’t stop unless the dungeon boss was defeated.

So why was his quest different? Why was he tasked with saving the heroes?

And which heroes? Where were they? He knew Joenie, the first awakened and one of the seven heroes, and the doctor from the clinic across the road. But as for the others? He had no idea where they might be, or if they were even in the city.

Let’s think about that later. For now…

There were no other buttons, and Archael wasn’t foolish enough to try rejecting the quest. The penalties were far too severe. With a reluctant touch, he accepted the quest. The annoyingly familiar bell sound rang again, followed by another window appearing:

“You have accepted the quest! You can check all your Quests by accessing the Quests Window!”

There was something else that had been bothering him. His powers as a guide were gone, and everything felt off. It was as if he knew how to activate them, but the mana felt different—heavy, sluggish.

Ah… that’s right… The mana that players use is different.

As a guide, Archael had wielded the raw mana of the universe, being part of the system itself. But now, as a player, he was restricted. Players couldn’t control the pure mana of the universe; they could only use the mana processed by The Norns, a lighter and easier form of energy specifically designed for them.

Status window! I need to check it!

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the status window popped up, displaying his details:

Archael glanced through his stats and skills, noting with some dismay that while his intelligence was relatively high, his other stats were frustratingly low. He knew enough about how player stats worked, and his own numbers were barely scraping the bottom of the average range. His eyes lingered on his Strength stat—pathetically low.

If even Joenie, who had a strength stat of 100 when he first awakened, couldn’t kill the dungeon boss, then how could I, with stats barely good enough to survive a goblin, help anyone?

Archael clicked on the skills menu, his finger hovering for a moment before pressing down. He needed to see what he was working with—especially the hidden skills that were nagging at the back of his mind.

Two skills were already listed under his learned abilities. He examined them closely:

Stealth (Passive) [Tier: C, Level: 1], it reduces visibility to enemies, making it harder to be detected.

Lotus Steps (Active) [Tier: B, Level: 1], it increases movement speed and agility for 10 seconds; cooldown 30 seconds.

He read the descriptions, then scrolled down, noticing two more skills below the ones he had just learned. These skills were simply labeled as hidden, their names obscured. He clicked on the first hidden skill, and a mini window popped up above the skill window.

“This skill can’t be accessed or activated at the moment. Raise your level to access more information.”

He frowned slightly, closing the window and clicking on the second hidden skill. The same message appeared, adding to his frustration. He stared at the message for a moment, his mind racing. 

Archael suspected these hidden skills were the ones he used when he was still a guide.

The first hidden skill was likely Veil of Oblivion, an active ability that allowed him to completely erase his presence, concealing himself within the system and the mana of the universe. It would have been incredibly useful for slipping through unnoticed, a perfect tool for guiding players without interference.

The second hidden skill, Oracle’s Insight was the one he used to observe the stats and potential of players giving him the ability to guide them effectively. This skill allowed him to assess each player's strengths and weaknesses, helping him assign the right trials and direct their growth.

Now, these skills were locked away, inaccessible to him in his current state. But at the very least, the system error hadn’t completely erased his skills or his memories. He couldn’t imagine how much worse it would be if that had happened—he’d be in even deeper trouble than he already was.

Also, the fact that it mentioned raising his level first hinted that there might be a way to unlock these skills later on. He closed the skill window with a swipe, then navigated to his inventory. He remembered the Rainbow-Tier Skill Card he had received earlier, even though he was still deeply troubled by the thought that it should have been Joenie’s. But in his current situation, he needed all the help he could get.

The card floated in his inventory, its colors shimmering with a rainbow-like sheen that shifted as he moved his gaze. It had a vibrant, holographic surface that seemed to ripple like liquid light, reflecting hues of blue, purple, gold, and green. The edges were bordered with an ornate, golden frame, engraved with intricate patterns that glowed faintly, almost like the card was alive. In the center, bold lettering spelled out “Random Skill,” standing out against the swirling colors beneath it.

He clicked on the card, and another window appeared:

Archael’s hand hovered over the 'Yes' button, his fingers trembling slightly as he knew the lives of all the heroes might hinge on this one action.