Without a second thought, he pointed his thoughts to the space given.
'What are the ways to get points?' he thought.
Then his thoughts were shown in the space. It was simply a miracle!
Ten days ago. He wanted to know how the system read his mind.
In his previous life, the technology was not advanced as this. The only way to search through the internet was to type manually or by speaking.
Yes, the system was a technology way advanced from the technology he know in his previous life.
A kind of mechanism that was different from what he know.
'It kind of seems like an AI or something... but also not as it gives me an item out of nowhere like magic!...' he fantasized as he thought of the first time the system gave him an item out of nowhere.
He still vividly remembered that time. It was deeply engraved in his brain.
Although he had watched some magic tricks like vanishing and appearing from magicians when he was in his previous life. But what was different is that no magician is doing a trick this time, just magic made by an invisible entity in his brain.
By then, he thought that the system was the result of some kind of magic. It was more plausible than what he first thought but he also believed that it was technology.
Without tangling his mind, he concluded that it was a combination of technology and magic.
'I did not know how the system was made as it did not say anything about its origin except for 'The host authority is not enough blah blah...' he thought sarcastically.
So for now, he will believe in his theory until the system gave him an answer.
Back to the topic, Arledge did not know how the system record his thoughts. But then he was enlightened.
'I can use my system in my head then obviously it can read my thoughts...' he thought without hesitation.
But then a moment after thinking that, he digest what he said earlier and then froze.
He could not help but freeze at how terrifying it was if what he thought was true. It was like a leech stuck on his body sucking up to his blood but instead, it was an entity, he does not know what was made of.
Leech itself was terrifying enough but any being can just kill it immediately or just shake it off.
He was not concerned by it in the first place as most of system novels he read have system that helps their host grow. But what if his system was not?
'It was okay if that was easy but what was attached to me was not a physical being but an actual A.I. only visible to myself!' he complained.
It was not simple as killing and shaking to get rid of the leech attach to him. He will feel glad if that was the case but seems like the world slapped him front and back and put him up to this situation.
'My enemy was in my mind and is invisible so what can I do!...' he limped as he lose hope.
'No, don't think that the system is an enemy...' he thought calmly.
His anxiousness lasted for a while before the system sounded in his mind which shock him. But still, his anxiousness was still present and he did not even glance at the system.
'Let the future take its course...' tried thinking positively but the thought was still there.
'Hopefully, the system will be good..' he thought.
Then he remembered the insults that he used to insult the system; stupid, useless, idiot, etc. He was once again nervous about his future. It was already worse than his first thought and they get a lot worst by thinking about what he did. It was simply asking for a beating!
'Is this my end?' he thought and then stared at the ceiling in front of his eyes for a while quietly.
'...'
After a moment of silence, he sighed.
'It was not bad to die again. Although being reincarnated was a happy opportunity itself but afterlife's quietness was quite to my liking as an introvert.' he thought.
Arledge did not know if the afterlife was quiet as he thought. He doesn't have consciousness at that time so he could say that it was quiet as he did not hear any noise from his surroundings, he did not even know what he was doing at that time, much less hear.
He crossed his fingers and tightly close his eyes, he muttered to himself.
'The system is good, the system is powerful, the system is all-knowing...' He thought of all of the compliments he can think of.
Those compliments were for the system to consolidate his insults from the past. Although it was a compliment, the secret message in it was him wishing that the system will not be too bad for him.
I mean who does not want to live. Although he like quietness and he can get that eternally in the afterlife but his dream prevented him from going that way. His dream can only be achieved when he is alive.
To be the hidden boss!
He did not know what the system did to know his thoughts.
'So what if the system can read my thoughts? it can't prevent me from achieving my dream!' he bravely confronted his negative thoughts with his will to achieve his dream.
Obstacles were inevitable on his way to his dream. If his own thought defeated him then he will probably be swallowed up by harder challenges. Then his dream will just rot in his mind and be unachievable.
He adjusted himself. He heaved a sigh as he did.
'Focus on the present' he thought repeatedly in his mind.
After a series of long breaths, he, now, knew what must he do first. He opened the system panel bravely with his chest protruding.
Although his trust in the system plummeted, as he currently does not have a way to remove it, he can only take advantage of the system's use while it was dormant.
[ The host can get points by completing a quest ]
The answer was short and concise but the information he needed was all there.
'In other words, there are only one ways to get points?' he asked in host service.
[ No ]
'Then why did you answer only two?' he asked.
[ The host authority was not enough ]
'Calm yourself down... or else the system will punish you... calm... calm...' he thought as he exhaled all his frustration.
'What I must do now was to get a device for tap tap system but I can only wait...' he said as he look at his body.
*Sigh*
'I should probably save my points to get the basic mana control in another month or more...' he thought.
'But I also need the strengthening potion so, I guess I will start saving up after completing the strengthening potion limit use'
After making a decision, he looked back to the questions he formulated a while back.
''Why is the system shop updated just now...' he contemplated.
'A bug?... possible' he nodded as he agree.
'Or just late? Hmm... possible considering the circumstances of the system...' he thought while hands-on chin.
Although he can ask the system about it, which is wise he must say, discovering it himself was a different experience from just easily getting the answer, it reassures him as his own train of thoughts completed the answer.
The earlier inquiry was on a different level of information and he can't answer that himself. And only the system can answer.
And also, he does not know if the system will even answer his question. Truthfully, the system answered his questions but just not the answer he wanted.
Without thinking much, he racks his brain to answer his question. He delve deep into his mind and used his experience to get an answer.
'I had been in this world for over a month. I know because my intuition thought so. What I actually don't know is how many days it is past exactly from a month...'
Before this even happens, he already doubted the system shop.
The system shop was constantly updated once a month, that's what it says. At first, he thought it was just late but after a day of waiting, the system shop was still not updated.
That's when he knew that the system shop is broken and was the system's fault.
Going back to the day when he felt that a month has passed.
'Don't know exactly when that happen but I think it was 10 days ago...' he thought silently.
When he said his last few words, suddenly, a memory that he almost forgot, resurface within his mind.
And within that memory was the answer he wanted to get.
The memory showed him the events that happened that day.
The stalking, the child abuse, the grounding.
He was then enlightened.
'40 days!?' he exclaimed in his mind. Maybe, if he wasn't used to talking in his mind, the whole orphanage will hear his shout.
'That was 10 days longer than Earth!...' he thought.
Without a second thought, he asked the system's host service to make sure his guess.
[ It was the system's error. The system shop was supposed to be updated once a month (on Earth days.) ]
'So you're saying that I could've gotten the strengthening potion ten days earlier, am I right?' he asked.
[ Yes ]
'So, is there any compensation for your mistake?' he asked.
[ No. The host can only receive compensation after repairing the system's function. ]
His eyes went wide as he didn't expect that the system will really give him compensation!
'Woohoo!...'