William opened his eyes to see a thatched ceiling just a few meters above his head. He appeared to be lying in a bed made of unknown material, with a thin white blanket draped over his body. There was no pillow, and the back pain made him consider hiring a chiropractor.
W-Where am I? Will tried to think hard about how he landed in this unfamiliar room. If this is a hospital, it seriously needs to be torn down. William grumbled.
He looked down at his body and found himself shirtless, wearing a pair of tattered brown pants. Will wasn't wearing socks, and his wrists seemed slightly slimmer than usual.
Have I lost weight? he thought to himself.
There was an open door in the corner of the near-empty room, "Nurse? Is there anyone here?" Will called out. Moments later, he heard some movement from a few rooms down. A gentle woman with medium-length black hair who appeared to be in her late-thirties walked in with hurried steps. After entering the room, she walked to his bedside and checked William's condition.
"Is something wrong William? I heard you yell something out a minute ago, what's a nurse? Are you hungry?" the woman bombarded William with a slew of questions.
"Where am I? W-Who are you? How do you know my name?" William responded with questions of his own.
"What kind of question is that? Have you forgotten your own mother in your recent episode? Maybe I should have the healer take a look at you after all." she appeared somewhat worried about William's condition. "Are you hungry? You didn't have a chance to eat after what happened last night." she repeated herself, thinking William was confused.
Although a bit skeptical of the woman's identity, he did feel quite hungry. His stomach was coiled up in protest as if he hadn't eaten properly in years. "I am a bit hungry, but I don't know if I want potatoes..."
"Hmph, you don't have a choice. You know that we are too poor to afford anything else. If you want better food, you better make good use of your magic talent." she replied with a snort.
"Magic talent? What are you talking about? I'm pretty sure you're the one that needs-" William was about to continue when he noticed the woman staring daggers in his direction. "Ahem, what I meant to say is, I feel fine. It's just hard to remember what happened last night...mom."
The woman's brown eyes softened as she heard the end of Will's sentence.
-Successfully evaded disaster: +1 Potential Point
Will looked down at the flashing prompt in the corner of his view. Potential Point? Wait...does this mean that my dream was real? he began to panic as he remembered the events leading up to his sudden blackout.
"Fria! Fria are you here?!?" he shouted, causing dust to fall from the thatch roof. He listened intently for a few seconds hoping for a response from his sister, but to no avail.
"Who's Fria? That's it, I'm calling the healer over here right now. Don't get up from your bed, or it's the last thing you will do." The woman claiming to be William's mother turned around and walked out the doorway.
William was still looking around the room for any signs of his older sister as the woman's footsteps echoed into the distance. He felt too weak to stand up even if he wanted to, so searching for Fria was impossible.
Being a young man with a vivid imagination, William quickly grew accustomed to his current situation. His memories told him that Fria was probably fine, but the real confusion was why she wasn't there when he woke up.
He returned his attention to the mysterious text, and noticed a tiny scrollbar that indicated more text above. How am I supposed to scroll up without a mouse wheel? William pondered. An idea came to mind as he stretched his arm out and attempted to move the chat physically.
The air whistled as he quickly became frustrated, and his hand waving increased. The text reacted like a laser toy, while William's hand was the cat trying to catch it with no luck.
He had another idea. William said out loud a few phrases in an effort to make the scrollbar move. "Scroll."
No response.
"Up"
Nothing.
"Scroll up."
Nope.
"Rise!"
...
Visibly frustrated, William started intently at the bar, willing it to move internally, until he successfully managed to shift the most recent chat downward. So I just have to think about it real hard. It's a good thing no one was around to hear that just now. William scrolled through the chat log to right before he blacked out during the bus ride.
--TRANSPORTING HOST NOW--
...
...
...
--TRANSPORT COMPLETE--
...
--DETECTING SYSTEM UPGRADE--
...
--UPGRADING. PLEASE WAIT--
...
...
—UPGRADE COMPLETE: System is now at version 1.1, and has improved its visuals. You can also speak simple commands with your mind. Try using the "Menu" command.
—
William scrolled through the chat slowly until he reached the last message. He was stunned for a moment, before following the suggestion of the System in his head.
Menu
———
INFO: ( - )
—Name: William
—Race: Human
—Age: 20
—Lifespan: 45 Years (Below Average physical health)
STATUS: ( - )
—Health: 70/100 (Weak)
—Mana: 40/150
—Cultivation: None (No suitable techniques)
TALENTS: ( - )
—Magic: ( - )
-Fire: E (Cost 5PP to next rank)
POTENTIAL POINTS: 1
SYSTEM RANK: F- (25PP to next rank)
*One-time note: Host was previously detected as not worthy of the System's power. Due to the Host's intense desire to live, the System has decided to provide the Host with an opportunity to prove itself. Host is expected to use the lowest capability of the system to gain Potential Points (PP) in order to upgrade talents.
———
Upon reading the menu, William's emotions rose and fell like a rollercoaster ride. 45 years? Isn't that kinda low? he wondered what kind of shape his body was in to only have 25 years to live. That woman from earlier said I had a talent for Magic. I thought she was joking, but here it is right in front of me.
He thought for a moment about his situation, realizing it was much like those books he read about.
PP? Man, whoever created this System really thinks he's funny, huh? Yeah nice try, but I'm changing that the first chance I get. William mocked.
Since he was lying in bed waiting for the woman to return with a healer, William decided to read a help guide, which the System was so nice to show him the command for. The help guide listed all the commands he could use right now. Will found that he could filter through his System Menu by collapsing sections so it wouldn't fill up his vision later.
Menu
———
INFO: ( - )
—Name: William
—Race: Human
—Age: 20
—Lifespan: 45 Years (Medium physical health)
STATUS: ( + )
TALENTS: ( + )
POTENTIAL POINTS: 1
SYSTEM RANK: F- (25PP to next rank)
———
Much better, now I don't have to waste so much time scrolling. William thought to himself. System, how do I gain Potential Points?
———
Question function not available. Upgrade System to unlock more features.
———
"Well that's dumb, how am I supposed to survive if I don't know anything about you?" Will muttered under his breath.
———
Question function not available. Upgrade System to unlock more features.
———
...
Ok fine, I won't ask. William cursed at the tsundere System for its lack of response.
If this is anything like the books I've read, then I have a lot of face-slapping ahead of me. The System said I was transported, so I can only imagine that I'm in another World. I guess I need to think about how to gain more Potential Points on my own.
William's eyes wandered the ceiling as he thought about his future plans. He knew it would be naive to think this System was just as good as the others he had heard about, so it would be best to start small.
I want to live past 45, so I will have to Cultivate to increase my lifespan. William hated the idea of meditating on a shoddy mat for hours a day, but if that's what it took to make it a few more years, that's what he would do.
"No one is going to stop me from enjoying this New World, so you better be ready, System. You're in for the ride of your life."