Yuri ran inside the bathroom and locked himself inside the stall. He closed the toilet seat. The janitors worked really hard there, so it was very clean. So he sat down and tried to figure out what was going on with him.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was a System message right before his eyes, following his eyesight wherever he looked. It wasn't some mirror or external hologram. It was actually inside his mind.
[Welcome to the Magitek System! Congratulations, you are now registered as the system user. Would you like to proceed with the tutorial?]
Yuri's eyes fluttered. The system seemed similar to a game. It would introduce itself, and ask if you want to have a tutorial or not. Whatever the case, whether Yuri was crazy or actually seeing what he thinks he is seeing, there is no going back. "Guess, I gotta just roll with it. Like what if God showed up in front of you, would you think you're crazy or actually seeing the real deal. Fact is, there is no point denying it, and worst-case scenario, he has become insane and might already be wrapped in white cloth, inside a mental asylum," Yuri thought.
"Yes, proceed."
[Magitek System Tutorial Mode: On]
[Magitek System Menu Unlocked]
"Menu?" Yuri thought.
The System Menu appeared in front of him.
[Status]
[Abilities]
[Party]
[Quests]
[Forge]
[Inventory]
"Woah! This kinda reminds me of MMORPGs that I used to play. The user interface is so cool too. Let me try that one first... Status."
[Status]
[Magitek System User: "Yuri Hayashi"]
[Health Points: 10/10]
[Mana Points: 0]
[Level: 1]
[Dexterity: F]
[Brawn: F]
[Endurance: F]
[Finesse: F]
"Why are all my attributes F? Am I that much of a failure?"
[Attributes are measured are based on Classes ranging from F-class as the lowest with S-tier as the highest attribute]
"Mana Points? What are Mana Points?"
[Mana points are made from the magical element called Mana]
[The system's internal fusion reactor takes Raw Mana from the environment and processes it into Mana Points to be used as the Magitek System's Currency]
[Use MP for forging Magitek weaponry, items, upgrades, and abilities in the Magitek Forge]
"If I need Mana points to get stronger, how do I get more?"
[When you complete Quests, the system may reward you with Experience, Mana Points, and Upgrades]
"So the more Quests I accomplish, the more Mana points and Experience? And the more MP and EXP, the more overpowered I get? Sounds simple enough," Yuri said.
"Alright. Let me go back to the Main Menu to explore more."
"Forge"
[Forge Locked: Level 2 Access Only]
"Inventory"
[Inventory Locked: Level 2 Access Only]
"Party"
[Party Locked: Level 2 Access Only]
"What? I can't access the Forge yet?" Yuri started to get frustrated with the system.
"What are system Quests for then?"
[Magitek System Quests guide the user toward his ultimate objective]
"Ultimate objective? What is the ultimate objective?"
[Ultimate Objective: Total World Domination]
[Current Quest: Help Akira Prove the Whistleblower's Innocence]
"What the heck? You want me to take over the world? And how is helping Akira related to World Domination?"
Yuri didn't really care about what the system wanted him to do or what the fuck it was. As long as it had given him the power to avenge Gaia, that was all that mattered to him for now.
"Inventory... Forge… Party... Those three can't be opened till I level up. I need something I can use to find those bastards as soon as possible," Yuri said.
"Next is... Abilities Menu."
[Congratulations Yuri. You have progressed with your Tutorial to the Abilities Menu.]
[Please choose your Magitek Specialization]
[Note: Users can choose only one permanent Magitek Specialization]
"I guess I need to think about this well and hard."
[Choose from the following Magitek Specializations]
[NanoMage: Specializes in Nanotechnology]
[AquaMage: Specializes in Aquatic and Naval Domination Technology]
[AlcheMage: Specializes in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Technology]
[AI-Mage: Specializes in Artificial Intelligence Technology]
[BioMage: Specializes in Genetic Modification and Biological Transformation Technology]
[TerraMage: Specializes in Environmental and Terraforming Technology]
[EnerMage: Specializes in Energy Field and Production Technology]
[RiftMage: Specializes in Neuroscience And Dimensional Rifts Technology]
[AeroMage: Specializes in Aerospace and Cloaking Technology]
[SpatialMage: Specializes in Teleportation Technology]
Yuri read all the options. And thought, "Aerospace And Cloaking Technology, that's awesome, think about the applications. I could be like an assassin. Easy infiltration and easy escape."
"System choose Aerospace and Cloaking Tech."
[Magitek Specialization Unavailable]
"Huh? Okay. Then Teleportation Technology," Yuri thought he could use that to teleport and kill his enemies easily like some sort of Ninja.
[Magitek Specialization Unavailable]
"Unavailable? Why are they unavailable?"
[System Information Unauthorized]
Every time he chose a Magitek Specialization that he thought would be overpowered, the system would spam the message.
[Magitek Specialization Unavailable]
[...Specialization Unavailable]
[...Unavailable]
He punched the wall out of anger. "If nothing is available, then what's the point of this fucking system!" Yuri said.
He collected himself and looked at the list again.
"I've tried everything and they are all unavailable except for... Let me try that one," Yuri thought.
"System, pick AI-Mage."
[Artificial Intelligence Specialization Chosen]
[Congratulations Yuri! You are now the AI-Mage. Abilities Menu is now unlocked]
"Awesome!!!" Yuri shouted.
Someone knocked on the stall door.
"Are you alright in there?" A random bystander asked.
"Yes... Ummm... Constipation... And just dumped a huge load... You wanna see?"
The bystander, disgusted, walked away, regretting ever asking.
"Alright! Fuck it! Yes! I'm a fucking AI-Mage! Time to check my Abilities," Yuri said.
"Abilities Menu."
[Welcome to the Magitek Abilities Menu. Complete System Quests to receive Magitek Ability Upgrades. Upgrades cannot be bought with Mana Points and can only be attained through system quests]
After choosing Artificial Intelligence, the screen displayed all the possible upgrades in the Magitek Abilities Menu and Yuri saw them.
Seeing the potential power he could have from the system, he felt relieved.
"Wait. Where are the death robots? Where is the terminator army ability? How am I going to rule the world with this shit?"
[Artificial Intelligence Object Generation]
[Offensive Cyber Capabilities Upgrade Locked]
[Autonomous Driving Upgrade Locked]
[Cyberocracy Capabilities Upgrade Locked]
[Advanced Surveillance Capabilities Upgrade Locked]
[Locked]
[Locked]
He felt disappointed but looked closer at the upgrade descriptions.
"Offensive Cyber Capabilities upgrade…use AI to hack any computer software with untraceable processes… and…"
He didn't need to finish reading to realize that used in the right way, anyone with this system would be unstoppable.
"Alright. Time to get to work."
There was an endless list of upgrades that the AI-Mage had. Continuing to learn about the system, his attention went back to the first available ability for him.
He gestured his hand to press the button on the screen in front of him.
[…Object Generation]
Upon pressing, light mana particles appear out of thin and start to enter the fusion reactor.
The mana particles solidified and took the shape of a ball.
It materialized into a metal object with intricate gears and parts visible from its surface.
He held the AI Orb in his hand.
The orb started to become smaller and a bluish glass surface started oozing out of the orb and hardening into a glossy crystal.
It looked like a toy marble the size of a baseball.
[AI Object Generation Complete]
He rubbed it like some sort of Genie's lamp and said, "So, aren't you going to do something?"
A caricature of a face appeared in the orb. It had two doodle eyes and a mouth that seemed to vibrate in the waveform.
Observing it closely, he heard a robotic voice coming from the orb.
"Greetings Master. How can I help you today?" The AI orb was talking to him.
"Well…hello…robot servant… Yes… You can help me by torturing and killing every one of those bastards that hurt Gaia."
Immediately after saying those words, he tossed the talking orb into the air thinking it would float and go on a murderous rampage.
It didn't.
It dropped to the floor and rolled toward the next stall and onto the wall of the bathroom near the door.
The AI orb stopped. Yuri ran outside the stall and picked it up. Luckily, he was alone in the bathroom and no one seemed to notice.
"Sorry about that little guy or girl. I'm new to this," Yuri said.
He wiped some of the dirt off of the orb. He thought that wasn't enough so he took a handful of sanitizer and brushed it all over the AI orb. Once it was clean enough, he held the ball closer to him.
"So... my shiny crystal orb thing, do you have a tutorial mode or something?"
"Yes. Tutorial Mode starting now. Master, please choose a digital device?"
"Alright." Yuri had his digital watch on then he said, "A watch?"
"Taking the form of 'A watch' in 3…2…1…"
The orb collapsed into smaller particles and turned into a digital watch with the AI's face on the screen.
"Oh cool! So you can copy or transform exactly any digital device you can come close to. Nice! That would be easy to hide and sneak you in."
The AI watch then went back into its crystal orb form and said, "Step 2…"
The door opened and someone came in.
He rushed to hide the orb by putting it behind him. "A watch!" he shouted.
The AI orb transformed into a watch that wrapped in his hand.
It was the security guard. He looked at Yuri suspiciously.
Yuri smiled and slowly walked out of the bathroom.