Are you worthy?
Prove to me that you are.
These words echoed through his mind. As though he could feel his body amorphously drifting in the darkness.
Slowly, he could feel his consciousness being pulled back into reality. His eyes flicker open and as soon as he sat up.
"Blurghhhh!"
He threw up.
Finally relieving himself, he sat down on the grassy bed as he heaved deep breaths. His eyes glanced upon the sky, vividly bluer than the ones he saw back home.
"I'm...alive?" He spoke dubiously.
He appeared to be wearing a white shirt and black jeans. He was barefoot, however.
He pulled his shirt up to see what should have been ripped asunder, but to his surprise, there was no injury nor wound.
However, a feeling of sadness lingered within him. A feeling that can drown him in his thoughts. He couldn't help but feel so weak.
"I haven't even had the chance to prove my worth. And now, I won't be able to..." He said as he raised his head and closed his eyes.
BEEP!
"hu-what?! What the?! What was that? An alarm clock?" Startled, he reacted.
He began probing around him to find the source of the sound but all he found was himself amid the wide valleys and before magnificent green mountains.
He turned his head around and found only a vast forest that reached end to end of his vision. He was about a hundred meters away from the forest.
"I guess it was just my imagination. Sigh."
Alen stood up and patted the dirt flaking on his garments.
Beep!
The second beep didn't startle him. But what come the latter that will.
"System Initializing Complete."
Alen turned ways, trying to find the voice that just spoke to him. But he found nothing other than the wide graphical panel appearing before his eyes.
"What the?!" His eyes widen as he took two steps backward. The panel followed suit for every step he made.
[Welcome User! Please input your name.]
"User? Wait what?"
[Please input your name.]
"Name? I'm...wait who am I?!"
His heart throbbed wildly as he grabbed the hair on his head. His eyes widen and he began mulling over to what he had seemingly forgotten.
His name.
"Ahhhh! What was my name again!"
He exasperated.
"Forget it! I'll go with Zeid!"
[Accepted. Welcome, Zeid!]
As soon as his name was registered, a painful sting shot through his chest as though he was being marked. The pain was excruciating and Zeid blacked out.
Once again, he found himself drifting in the darkness. What's worse is that his memories came crashing back.
"Weak!"
"Why are you so weak!"
"Weakling! We won't play with you again!"
"Look at him! Hahahaha!"
All the painful words echoed through the void. Zeid heard all of it, and the one he pains the most was that he heard the laughs of derision.
"No more... Please..."
His body shook heavily, his hands furled into fists. Although he was in an amorphous state, he could feel his actions.
"Please! No more!"
"I hear you." A familiar voice spoke and all the noise disappeared.
Zeid was oblivious to the voice. He was ignoring everything as loneliness rippled through his chest.
A hand reached for him and held his cheek. Slowly, he could feel a soft embrace around his neck.
He opened his eyes and there was darkness no more. Before him was a woman, naked yet beautiful like the stars he'd been gazing through the nights of loneliness. Her curves were bewitching but what caught his eyes the most was her gleaming red eyes.
Her silver hair billowed, her lips pushed towards his own.
Now that he has a body in this realm of light, he embraced her as their lips locked to each other.
The woman pulled back and smiled at him.
"I've seen your pain. I've seen how you've been struggling on your own. I've talked to the spirits of your parents and asked them if I could borrow you.
I'm sorry I pulled you out from the spirit realm but I'm in desperate need of salvation." Her voice was angelic, sadly her tone felt bittersweet.
"Why me? Of all the souls you could've chosen, why me?" He asked.
"You were chosen by my spell. Yes, you. I didn't care who my spell will choose and I doubt that my spell had failed it's choosing. There was a reason you were chosen, dear savior."
"But I'm weak!" he protested.
"We both are... but I'm here. With the extent of my powers, I've revived you. Now it's up to you to prove your worth or you'll keep lingering in your past. It's never too late to change, not even at the tip of death."
Zeid rested his head on her shoulder as they drifted through space. She held his head, never breaking her embrace.
"I know you're afraid. But I need a hero to save me. Will you be that hero?"
Zeid gritted his teeth and met her eyes with his. The witch seemed surprised, as though she was looking at a different person.
"Yes. That is it. The eyes that seek to prove worth. The eyes that yearn for strength.
I cannot give you heavenly powers but I can grant you the gift to grow stronger. Make use of it. And once you had saved me, I'll give you my body." She spoke high and lofty.
"I'll be stronger when we meet again."
Zeid opened his eyes and found himself again at the same spot. Although the time seemed a bit different.
"I was out for one day, huh?"
Zeid propped himself up and stretched his body. He checked his extremities for any changes while he was out but he was still the same.
He found a river near him and sauntered towards it to take a fresh bath. When his eyes met the surface of the water, he found his appearance quite deceiving.
"I'm three years younger, hmm." He spoke to himself.
Back then he was 21 years old, working in a nearby cafe. He had no particular skills for him to be able to have a decent job with decent pay. But he survived on his own.
Back then, he was alone and the games kept him accompany. His parents died in an accident when he was 12 years old. Yet he clung to life, still hoping the world would change for him.
"If the world won't change for me, then I'll change to surprise the world," he spoke with his eyes gleaming towards the sky.
After a nice bath on the clear river water, he felt so refreshed. As soon as he dressed, another beep came.
Beep!
[Gift of the Witch Lilie]
A panel appeared before him and caught his eyes with attention.
[Welcome, Zeid!]
A panel familiar to him appeared. This panel is so common in games that he was able to distinguish it.
"A...a player panel?"
There was a question mark on the edge of the panel which seemed to be its system guide. He went on to prod it with his finger in hope for a click but he found his finger passing through.
For the past hours, he began uncovering things about his system and was finally able to understand some features of it. He discovered that to interact with his system, all he need was to do it naturally through his commands. It was just like moving an arm or trying to walk. By thinking he wanted to open the system, the system would appear.
He realized there were three features of his system. There was the stat menu, main quest, and harem quest.
Zeid was so deep in thought that he was startled when a voice spoke to him.
"Hello, master. I am your system, how would you like to name me?"
Words appeared below the peripheral of his vision as though it was a subtitle.
"My own system, huh? So this is what Lilie said about a gift. I'm guessing this system is about leveling up, otherwise, gift for growth won't make sense."
"Oh yeah. As for your system, I'll name you like a star."
"My name is a star, is that correct?"
"No, stupid. I'm giving you the name of a star. Altair would be your name."
"My apologies. My name is Altair is that correct?" Her articulate effeminate voice was surprising but what caught him off guard was awareness. It felt like the system was human.
"Hmm. That is correct."
"Complete. Hello, my name is Altair. I will be here for assistance. As Lilie commanded, I will serve as your system. The first quest will be given. Do you accept it? Declining is not an option."
"You sound demanding. Accept." He said as he clenched his fist.
Suddenly, his eyes widened and his body loosened up but then he gained his composure and his eyes gleamed.
[Main Quest!]
Proving your worth!
-Apply as an adventurer in a nearby town or city.
Reward: 3 Stat Points.
-Failure to do so in seven days will result in system removal or otherwise as death.
[End]
"Too much for you needing salvation, Lilie." He claimed indignantly.