Chapitre 4: Foundation
Nothing. What the fuck? I shouted all the words used normally by those people in the stories but nothing. "Do I even have a Status Window?" Because bitc—
"Yes. We just have to think about it and it will appear."
And I did.
Then a bright light suddenly assaulted my very poor eyes, making me look away by reflex. My eyes remained close for a few seconds before opening them slowly, the light started to fade as I did. My dark room is now softly illuminated by an illusory floating completely opaque "window". 'I hope that was a onetime thing.'
Huh. It looks somewhat different from what I imagined. I've read a lot of 'The Gamer' or 'The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor' like novels before and they always depicted the menu like how it is in RPG games. Oh, it still has my level, status and some other things but still, this window looks like it was formed from mist that would disperse when you blow it and I did.
Nothing. Pity.
It did not shift or writhe, it just has a misty feeling to it. I tried running it through with my hands, the places I hit turned to wisps of grey smoke that curled around my hands but reforming as I passed. I laughed as I played with it, so amazing- only to stop moments later realizing that I got distracted with something so trivial. *cough*
With eyes gleaming in excitement, I looked at my Status Window. I didn't actually notice due to excitement but there was more than what I initially thought. It had no clear dividing lines, just small edge-borders indicating where it starts and ends. Looks a bit futuristic, really. I looked at my level –
Level – 7
Odd. "Is the starting Level directly proportional to my experiences for the last 30 years of my life?" Deducing from looking at the experience gauge, 4 percent.
"Also, is it the same with my Skill?" I added while tapping on Skills. I felt something solid - it's like touching jelly actually, the word disappearing as my finger passed through it. The whole menu changed. Now it just shows the current skills arranged in categories.
It reminds me of my CV actually but with levels and a hell lot cleaner.
"Not quite. The current level is the accumulation of a percentage of our experiences only, the same with your skills. Since we did not have the endowed power of The System then, the inability of humans to retain knowledge, skills and the natural deterioration due to age have inversely affected our Level, Status and Skills. And also it only amount to so much because we have led an indolent life."
"HEY!"
"As such, since we are The System now, these human limitations can no longer affect us. The System does not only have limited omniscience, as mentioned previously, but also limited omnipotence. The System cannot do what we can and will do without being so. To reiterate, the Host and this fragment of intelligence forms The System. So the Host is the same as The System, powers included."
I think this parasite is insulting my comprehension.
Still, it's understandable why it was negatively affected. But it's so interesting that I'm now omnipotent and omniscient, limited as it is. Wait.
"WHAT! I AM?" I excitedly screamed.
This is perfect. All the things that I can do now, I'm going to be rich! I felt so giddy that I started giggling like a demented child. I need to calm down. It is as he said, I can now remember everything. With perfect clarity. I cannot emphasize that enough. From what I was scrolling through the last week, the time I ate dinner six years ago; May 26 2013 – 5:32 PM, the people I passed by when I was 8 years old skating through the mall, the sounds, the smell – everything. Whew! Well not everything though.
"Why can't I perfectly recall everything that I studied besides those that are related Psychology?" It was what I majored back in university. Maybe my brain is out of capacity?
"We are The System. Upon fusing, our physical, mental and overall constitution has been improved to what we consider, as of now, the extreme. Limitations have been placed beyond our control, a mechanism embedded in us, the fragment, the same mechanism that limited our omniscience and omnipotence. Hence, the full educational portion of our memories remains unavailable."
I understand now. "The heavens are fair."
Going to muddle through this step by step then. Discovering things on my own is a lot more exciting, after all. I pinched myself just to check I'm dreaming, again. Still here. I sat down on my bed, digesting everything that has happened and thinking of the possibilities, the future. There is a lot to think about. Sigh.
I closed my eyes and breathed. It is a lot to take in, regardless of my maximized brain. Calm down, bitch.
"So back to my original question, what simulation are you talking about?" I asked as I was going through my Status Window, still unbelievable that I have it. Calm down. Because of all exciting things that has happened, my mind go distracted and forgot about it briefly.
*Ting!* Learned "A Calm Mind".
I smirked. So, it's like that. Learning skills based on what I do successfully. So much like a game. I clicked on it while listening to the parasite.
/A Calm Mind (Passive) - Host will eternally maintain a calm state of being. Partially immune to sudden surge of emotion./
No level indication. It must be maximum already. Perhaps passive skills do not need to level up. Maybe it will change to something better in the future? Time will tell.
"What Host remembered as a dream was actually a simulation that manifested due to our fusion. Since it is debilitating to experience pain in real life while our body has not yet been improved, we redirected it to something more acceptable. It was Host's own memory and fear that created the simulation, we merely fuelled it. We will still feel phantom pains but to a much lesser degree that will eventually go away."
Having perfect recall will make that certain simulation a constant nightmare, was left unsaid. Getting this new skill now was timely.
*knock knock knock*
Hearing a series of knocks, I looked towards the now opened door. As I said before, my mom is beautiful. Hair lustrous as onyx stone, softening her face in a cascading bob. Glasses perched on her nose; framing her brilliant brown eyes, because she's blind without it. My mom is not tall, only reaching 163 cm. But she still carries a soft but commanding aura. And now she's looking at me like I'm crazy.
"Oh, you're awake! Stop staring at me like an idiot and eat dinner! Already heated it up for you!" Seeing me nod, she left abruptly as she came. Just like a passing storm.
"Thanks, Mom! I love you!" I shouted, already walking out. I waved my hand as to dismiss the floating window, it faded like mist. Interesting.
"You're crazy! Come down quickly!" hehehe!
Pausing on the door way. I realized she didn't see the Status Window at all! I smiled, that's really convenient.
*GROWL*
Suddenly a monstrous shadow attacked me!
Just my stomach!
I'm so amusing.
Chapitre 5: Resolve
"Found it! It's what, the fourth one?" Talking to myself, heaving as I clumsily set down a dusty plastic box full of electronic junk on the equally dusty floorboards of the attic, creating a dust storm of epic proportions. I opened up the windows to clear the air while coughing like crazy, waiting for the dust to settle.
I need a bath.
Crisis over, I gingerly opened the box because, ew it's dirty, I found: an old Palm PDA, some old mobile phones from 2000s, a very old console, and some other junk I can't name and an Apple translucent monitor that have always reminded me of jelly beans. 'No wonder it was so heavy'.
Taking the PDA and muttering "Check", a wispy information window appeared in front of me:
__________
palm Tungsten E2
Release Date: 2005
Value: $250.00
__________
"Wow, perfect condition then." I placed it back and touched the box. "Scan and Check total value."
*Ting!* Scanned 15 electronic objects. Total value of $870.00
More than I thought, awesome! "Convert."
A week had passed since the fateful fusion with the leech. And now I'm looking for useless and forgotten things to convert to The System. Yes, to real fucking money. Basically, the objects I have will be converted by The System with its original price! Well not exactly, it's like equivalent exchange. So it would just devaluate equal to the broken or missing parts.
I was sitting comfortably on the couch, familiarizing myself with The System after eating dinner, pizza with pineapples, when I found my money tree. My old self would've dropped everything and started making cha-chings right away, the greedy bitch. But I didn't.
I leisurely went back to my room and took out my old gaming laptop, a brown 17-inch Asus. I bought it for upwards a thousand dollars eight years ago, so I was quite excited. It was converted to $980. Whew, that's huge. I sat down on my comfy chair; palm under my chin, fingers tapping my cheek and mind running miles a minute. An unconscious habit.
'Can't use this carelessly', I thought. I would just have to make do of old things for now. So for the past week, I was converting useless and old things around the house. They won't be missed. An alert shook me out of my thoughts.
*Ting!* Successfully converted 15 electronic objects. $870.00 received.
I opened my Status Window and looked at changes. Gained 3 levels, 15 status points and $20,750.00, the total amount I've converted so far. That's a little over a million pesos already. Not bad.
"Not bad" my ass, already my inner shopping demon screaming at me to go out and waste money. We're not rich, but over the years we have bought expensive things that went straight to the attic when deemed useless.
It hasn't actually been what avid readers of this kind of genre I find my life is in right now: diving head first to the exciting task of getting more skills or levelling and not caring much for anything.
Not for the lack of trying, believe me. And not that I hadn't gained anything this past week (Just a million pesos). I have my own pace of doing things. Some may call it lazy and I agree but hey, it's essentially who I am.
Regardless, I was actually, extensively (yeah right), planning how to achieve my goal. I'm the laziest bitch you'll ever meet but even then I don't want to "wing it" or be the reactive type, no. I want a clear path to my goal hereon.
"Are we going to live for a long time?" I asked the parasite days before. Why not forever? Because nothing is forever, "way forever" in our local dialect, so I didn't bother asking such useless thing.
The answer was rather exhausting but it summed up to that yes we will. Now isn't that a scary but exciting thought. Because my body has been otherwise improved and will continue to improve so it's obvious I wouldn't be shackled by mortal coils and that "it goes without saying", it added.
The condescending son of a bitch.
A politician. It was the first thing that came to my mind ever since discovering The System. Entering politics has always been at the back of my mind; whenever I travel around my country and seeing the poor and unfortunate people, the pockets of dilapidated squatter communities they live in scattered throughout, the rampant corruption and other things that makes my blood simmer in concealed hate.
They have always advertised my country as a haven for both nature and modern living: cities with sky-high towers, blue waters, white sand beach, lush green forests and kind people with never ending smiles.
Which is all true, for the most part.
But I know it's merely a façade of a rotten and vile creature slowly choking on its own excrement, whoring itself to whoever glances its way. So the resilience and hope of the people living in this country, still being able to smile, is worth the extreme admiration I have for them.
Which is why I've always thought it a pity. And born from those thoughts, I've imagined myself being a politician to lead and help my country thrive – whatever it takes. And because of that, I gained a trait and a title:
__________
For the People (I)
Trait
The more you help people, the more they see you in a positive light, look up to you and treat you accordingly.
+ 5 Leadership
+ 5 Charm
__________
__________
The Visionary
A person of great responsibility. The one who sees potential for how the world should exist.
And by taking steps to achieve it.
+ 20 Leadership
__________
YES! "That should make things smoother." Resolve goes a long way. But the title, really? Sounds so pretentious and arrogant. Sigh, I'll take what I can, beggars can't be choosers after all. I can't help but roll my eyes at my own thoughts.
And with having a goal in mind, the how follows.
Money.
And a lot of it. So that's why for the past week I have been converting junk to treasure. I have also been online: reading and learning more about the necessary knowledge I need for this to work. Having been enhanced really did wonders to how fast I can learn and comprehend.
Levelling up due to extensive reading is plus. I really hate working out or just sweating.
Looking at my modified Status Window again, mentally adding 5 points to Intelligence, Wisdom and Luck. I nodded in satisfaction.
•
"Hey Mom, what do you think of our country now?" I asked while lounging in the terrace, sipping hot lavender tea. Birds flying and chirping merrily around. What if they shit on us? The sun thankfully covered by fluffy white clouds. The best environment to have this conversation.
We have opposing views regarding the current administration but I need an opening.
"Why all of a sudden?" She muttered, her eyes still covered by big sunglasses. Lying face down on a beach recliner. Hate to disturb you rest though.
"Nothing. So, what do you think?"
"I think it's still a mess. Look at how…" And there she goes. She doesn't always have someone to talk to about these so it bottled up.
"… And don't get me started with that crazy president. God knows why he won." Sitting up now, waving her hands expressively, arm fats jiggling.
"I think he's doing a great job so far though." I interjected. I like him.
"And that's why you're crazy. Killing people…"
"I'll be entering politics."
Ha! Look at her face.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
N/A Classement
Power Stone 
0 Power
stone >15 000 mots\nnécessaires pour le\nclassement.
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