Morin didn't actually want to leave so soon.
He had only been in this world for a few days and hadn't done much. Still, he had already made more money than he could reasonably count. He ranked first on every major video platform across the globe, boosted further by the "alien event" modifier. Money flowed in faster than a printing press.
No one dared delay his payments.
After all, hadn't everyone already seen how helpless the U.S. government was in the face of those videos?
There was another reason he chose to leave.
His influence on Earth's civilization had already grown too large.
Morin didn't have a particularly favorable impression of the United States, but he wasn't interested in destroying a country for no reason. Maybe if it were a certain island nation... but this wasn't his original world anyway, so it didn't matter that much.
Before leaving, he made arrangements.
He left Aatrox-now known as the Celestial Warrior-behind to guard his home country, along with a batch of advanced technological knowledge.
At Morin's current level, the Aatrox Mecha no longer had much value to him. Leaving it here to deal with the Cybertronians made more sense.
Upgraded by the AllSpark, Aatrox possessed self-repair, countless transformation forms, and nearly infinite energy.
In practical terms, he was a god of machines.
Since Morin had already made an impact, he might as well make it larger.
Leaving Aatrox behind also served another purpose-to prevent things from spiraling out of control. It wouldn't be ideal if Earth were simply wiped out.
Now, Morin found himself thinking about something else.
If his strength had already reached this level, did he still need to strictly follow profession-based tasks to satisfy the system?
Unless he planned to rely on the system forever, he would eventually need to walk his own path.
"At this stage, I still need it to increase my power..." Morin thought.
He still didn't fully understand how the system worked, and many skills remained only half-comprehended. To be honest, if he hadn't used that temporary Hades card, he probably wouldn't have understood any of it at all.
"One step at a time..."
Morin stood once more within the sea of stars and activated his world-travel opportunity.
The stars shifted, as if turned by an invisible hand.
He had seen this scene many times by now, yet it still filled him with awe.
Finally, one star separated from the rest and drifted toward him, its brilliant light swallowing his vision.
[World Selected: Lucy]
[Note: This world is extremely unique. No profession selection available. Space-time coordinates cannot be chosen. Transfer beginning.]
Morin froze.
It wasn't that he hadn't encountered worlds where time and location couldn't be selected-DC was a classic example with its endless reboots-but a world explicitly labeled "extremely unique," with no profession system at all?
This was a first.
So just as he was considering breaking free from professional limitations, the system sent him to a world with no profession to begin with.
How considerate.
"Lucy... Lucy..."
Morin frowned, recalling the plot.
If he remembered correctly, the protagonist would eventually become an omnipresent existence, capable of controlling time itself in an instant.
All because of a thug's kick.
And a leak of a synthetic substance.
One hundred percent brain development.
Hard to imagine.
But every world followed its own laws.
"I'll judge after I see her," Morin thought.
A space-time tunnel opened.
Morin passed through it-and reappeared inside a dim basement corridor.
"Experiencing the power of that card accelerated my perception and learning of energy," Morin noted internally.
His awareness of the travel process was becoming clearer. He still didn't understand the mechanics, but it was a massive improvement over before, when he had no idea what had happened at all.
Perhaps one day, once he fully grasped the principles, he might even meet the being that created the system.
He set the thought aside and focused.
His telepathy picked up nearby activity.
...
"Thump!"
Lucy clamped the man's arm with her legs, raised a hand, and snapped his neck.
He let out only a brief cry before collapsing, unconscious from severed blood vessels and oxygen deprivation.
The human neck was fragile, but breaking it like that was far beyond what an ordinary person could do.
Lucy had never received training.
She shouldn't have had that kind of strength.
Nor should she have used such lethal methods.
Nor remained so expressionless after killing someone.
Five minutes ago, she had been terrified after being dragged into a drug mule operation by accident.
Now, she moved like a seasoned assassin.
Lucy pulled the belt from the dying man, stood, walked forward, flicked the belt to hook a distant table, dragged it over, retrieved the pistol and keys, unlocked her cuffs, and walked out.
She already understood why she had changed.
Next, she would take revenge.
Then remove the leaking synthetic substance from her body.
As she opened the door, she ran straight into Morin.
Without hesitation, Lucy raised the gun and pulled the trigger.
It didn't fire.
Not because it misfired.
The gun simply wasn't in her hand anymore.
She hadn't even seen how Morin took it.
"You're the first person to shoot at me the moment we meet," Morin said, casually waving the pistol.
Lucy didn't answer.
She kicked.
The strike cut through the air with a sharp whistle, aimed directly at Morin's vitals.
She hit nothing.
Morin had already moved back two meters, without any visible motion, as if he had simply glided away.
"Calm down," Morin said, tossing the gun back. "I'm not with them."
"Who are you?" Lucy caught the gun, withdrew her leg, and didn't fire again. Her voice was flat.
"My name is Morin. A... person of leisure," he said, almost mentioning a profession before remembering he didn't have one here.
"You don't look like it," Lucy frowned.
"And you don't look like someone who was just accidentally dragged into this," Morin replied. "That substance already leaked into your body, didn't it?"
"You know what it is?"
"CPH4," Morin said calmly. "Pregnant women secrete it during the sixth week. For a fetus, a few milligrams is equivalent to an atomic bomb's worth of energy. It drives total cellular development-especially the brain."
"As an adult, the amount you absorbed should've killed you instantly."
"Almost," Lucy said. "I can clearly perceive it..."
"Control over your cells. Perception of your surroundings. The universe. Earth's rotation. Vibrations. Gravity," Morin continued. "And your death."
"In about... twenty-four hours."
"How do you know?" Lucy tilted her head.
"I study things," Morin said. "I've dabbled in many fields."
"Anyone else would have died from that dose. Only you could fuse with it. You just happened to be here. Happened to be involved. Happened to be kicked."
"An accumulation of infinite coincidences."
"And yet, it happened."
"Since it happened," Lucy said, "it's inevitable."
"Yes," Morin nodded. "An established fact."
"Can you save me?" Lucy asked.
"No," Morin said, shaking his head. "Your case is unprecedented."
"Then stop wasting words."
Lucy walked toward the exit.
"Or you could cooperate and let me study you," Morin followed.
She didn't respond.
Lucy fired five shots, killing the men eating at the table. A bullet tore into her shoulder, but she didn't react.
She sat down and started eating their food.
"Brain modification and neural activation consume enormous energy," Morin said. "You can force-digest this food, but it's nowhere near enough."
"...So I can't remove it," Lucy said.
"Once evolution begins, it doesn't stop," Morin replied. "Your biological shackles are broken. Either you find sufficient energy-or your cells consume themselves."
"You're not just a person of leisure," Lucy said.
"I've had many professions," Morin shrugged. "Right now, I'm at leisure."
He raised a hand.
Light fell on Lucy's wound.
She frowned and pulled her clothes aside.
The mangled flesh had healed completely.
"Are you like me?" Lucy stepped closer, lifted her shirt, and tore away the bandage, revealing the ruptured stitches.
That kick had created something evolving toward godhood.
"No," Morin said, snapping his fingers.
The stitches unraveled and were pulled free. The transparent bag of blue CPH4 granules floated out without a drop of blood.
Once removed, the wound began healing.
Lucy poured water over her stomach.
Smooth skin. Faint abs.
No scar.
"How did you do that?" she asked.
"My power comes from training and control," Morin said. "Yours comes from uncontrolled cellular evolution."
"Help me," Lucy said.
"Why?"
"I can feel my emotions fading," she said. "Joy. Pain. Sadness. I'm becoming a machine of pure rationality."
She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her chest.
"I'll pay any price."
"Do I look easily seduced?" Morin asked.
"Your eyes keep drifting," Lucy replied.
"...True."
"And you haven't pulled away."
"Only an idiot refuses a free advantage," Morin said plainly.
"I can already control my body's structure," Lucy said calmly. "If you want, I can change into anyone. Any build. Any color. Any form. Even-"
"Stop. Stop right there," Morin cut in quickly. "Say any more and the gaze of a certain existence might fall on us."
Lucy paused.
"A mysterious existence?"
"A terrifying one," Morin said. "It doesn't belong to this world."
"There are other worlds?"
"Of course," Morin nodded. "You'll learn eventually."
With no profession system to bind him, Morin decided to do exactly as he pleased.
He wanted to see just how far Lucy could go.
How far an uncontrolled evolution could truly reach.