Echo

'What the heck is this?!'

Ethan shrugged upon reading what was written on the screen. Actually, being Ethan Nox, a system was alien to him. But in Jason's point of view, this is the legendary mysterious stuff that helps MCs grow in several novels.

Somehow, Ethan's life was a mixture of his and Jason's, so after some realization, he knew what the system stuff meant, but what the hell is the Sidekick Assistant System?

Ethan tried to calm down.

Below the words of announcement for the system was a pair of phrases written: [Commence Progression].

Ethan quickly muttered "Commence" with a very low tone, not wanting anyone to notice anything weird. Somehow, he noticed that he was the only one who could see the screen, and at least, that was a relief. The only thing that could get odder is if he was noticed doing some strange communication with an invisible entity. Then, everyone would think the Profession Detector had a glitch by revealing that he was an Arcanist instead of a Spiritualist.

At least, it was known that only Spiritualists could have a connection with the spirits and other invisible entities.

Just as Ethan made the system commence progression, a range of words appeared on the screen.

-----

[System Activated!]

[Saga of Albany's side character has successfully been merged with Echo].

[Host stats:

Name: Ethan Nox.

Bloodline: Human.

Class: Arcanist.

Level: Adept-level.

Honor: ????

Mana Point (MP): 0].

[System Duty: The system would help you obtain times two (×2) the rewards of what the MC of the novel gets.

Good or Bad].

-----

'Jesus Christ!'

Ethan panicked inwardly, trying his best not to shout out loud in the hall.

'Times two the reward the MC gets, Good or Bad?! That's insane!'

For quite a while, Ethan felt like crying his eyes out, but he had to hold on to himself. If anyone notices a sudden weird action from him, he is definitely going to be questioned, and perhaps, getting a punishment from Principal Bernard for disturbing his speech.

Ethan felt his heart beating hard in his chest... He couldn't believe a hint of what the system just displayed.

Martin suffered as though he was in hell... Not even the slightest of his miseries was bearable. This was why he declined to play the role of the main character in this novel world, but now...

He was going to suffer it all, at a double rate.

What the actual fuck!

'Should I just walk out of the hall?'

Ethan, feeling cold shivers all over, thought as he couldn't hold on to the grief that lurked deep in his heart.

But he knew he was also going to be punished if he left. The Aetherum Arcanum Academy has strict rules against students, especially the 1st Years.

One had no right to take significant actions without being privileged to. It was a prestigious academy which has the best of Arcane masters as teachers. Teachers here were mostly Magus-level Arcanists, so the height of discipline was pretty high.

Having no choice but to stay, Ethan tried the best he could to calm down. Although Jeff who was sitting next to him already noticed his discomfort and had asked.

"Ethan, are you okay?"

Ethan only pretended to force a slight smile. "Yeah, I'm good."

Although his pretense wasn't quite on the mark, Jeff could feel that something was wrong. But since Ethan seemed to be quiet, and they were in the academy's general hall, Jeff decided not to ask anymore, not wanting to be noticed talking and punished.

Back on the stage, Principal Bernard was still giving his speech, but this time, his orientation had gone to another level.

"Well, that's for that. This isn't what an orientation is meant for. I should be exposing everything you need to know as a future Arcanist," Principal Bernard said boldly.

He then had to clear his throat.

"Some of you might have had a slight knowledge about the power levels of the Professions, right?" He asked.

And yeah, only a few students nodded positively while others cast expressionless gazes.

"Okay. In Albany. We have got three Professions, you can also call it Classes. It's either one becomes an Arcanist, an Elementalist, or a Spiritualist. One who is not among any of these professions is called an Ordinary. Although we didn't consider this as a Profession, it's a misfortune."

Hearing this, everyone murmured again, but the principal's continuation obstructed it.

"They aren't able to awaken their Mana Core at the required age, and I know some of you would have friends who had been engaged to this misfortune," Bernard spoke.

This time, almost all students nodded in agreement.

"Well... That's just their fate. You are the chosen ones, just consider yourselves lucky people," Bernard smiled.

After a long session of orientation, the students were massively filled with lots of information. It was now that Ethan knew the levels of all Professions, and even learned a little bit more about The Changed and how they came into existence.

The Arcanists are ranked Adept-level, Mystic-level, Enchanter-level, Magus-level, Archmagus-level, Transcendent-level and Divine-level. The Adept-level Arcanists are simply known as the 1st Year and 2nd Year students. Only after becoming a Mystic-level Arcanist is one allowed to graduate from Triple A, and this was just when their journey as an Arcanist began.

Although Ethan didn't put much interest in the Spiritualist and Elementalist side despite that his grandmother was once a Spiritualist before her demise. His parent were both Elementalists, however, he only paid attention to information about The Changed.

Many things amazed him, but only one made him quite astounded, and this was how The Changed came into existence.

Dozens of decades back, an apocalypse raided the universe. It was a result of the transformation of the Galaxy. The universe underwent evolution, and this made everything change.

The atmosphere was transformed, and the once simple universe never regained its balance anymore...

Everything changed.

A few years after the great cataclysm, some strange tiny creatures emerged from nowhere, biting humans and causing them to mutate. These creatures just exactly had the physique of worms, but their skin was far thicker, and they also possessed a pointed mug, what looked like the beak of an infant bird.

Once pierced by this sharp pointed mug, a normal human can transform into a humanoid beast-looking figure, almost like a vampire, and even a demon.

Their memories are hijacked, replaced by the cruel feeling of terror. Only chaos shall sing in their minds, the destruction of everything that oppose them was their main unrelenting goal.

And since over forty percent of the human population was mutated, Albany had been a divided world, gradually sinking in commotion.

However, it was a few years after the mutation descent that some humans discovered some incredible powers in them. It was the power of magic.

These powers were incredible, and surprisingly, it was a perfect match for The Changed. With these powers, humans who didn't suffer the mutation were able to protect themselves, however, the Ordinary continued to live in fear.

After the orientation was done, all students went back to their dorm rooms to have a slight rest before beginning training and learning.

Jeff and Enzo left the hall and made their way to their dormitory. On their way, while they both walked silently, Ethan noticed someone familiar from the near distance.

Observing for a long, he noticed it was Martin, the MC of this novel.

'Ah, that sorry ass!' He almost shouted out.

Ethan now remembered that Martin was also one of the Arcane students in Triple A. He was also an Arcanist, and yeah, it was in the academy that he, the side character appeared.

After a few seconds more, Ethan's face suddenly turned blank.

'The bullies, they kept kicking his ass every single day.'

Ethan saw Martin being surrounded by some group of 1st Year boys, and this also left a fragment of recollection. The next moment...

He saw one of these boys launch a slap on Martin's face, causing a red hue on his right chick.

Ethan almost laughed out loud.

'Huhu! That's a bang!'

As Ethan walked, he continued watching, absent-minded on his way ahead. And suddenly he bumped into a 2nd Year student.

Ethan indeliberately stumped his foot on the 2nd Year's, and he almost tried to run when he realized it. But he knew if he did, he would be in serious trouble.

He stayed and tried to apologize.

"I... I.."

Pow!

Suddenly, before he could let out a word, a huge punch landed on his face... Ethan felt one teeth leaving his gum.

"Blind 1st Year bitch!"