Seated on a thick log that's bark was cut away and cut into to make a seat, Leon munched on the meat of his recent kill. It tasted the same as normal, bland and a bit gamey.
He had gotten used to the taste after living for so long in the wilderness where such luxuries like salt, other spices and good cooking equipment didn't exist. On top of that, his old age dulled his sense of taste, as well as other senses.
However ever since those annoying floating text messages started appearing for him, he had begun to feel healthier, stronger, more energetic. He didn't take it for granted, treating himself the same as always since such phenomenon could just be the trick of his mind and he was truly going insane.
"How old am I again? 55? 60?" He commented to himself in his normal inaudible mumble before chowing down.
*ding!* [You have eaten 'Grey Wolf' meat. You have gained +1 speed!]
Another message went off which was quickly swatted away without care. Leon then proceeded to continue eating without care until another message popped up.
*ding!* [Please stop swatting me awa-*swish* Leon once again got rid of it like a fly was after his food.
*ding!* [I'm serious please sto-*swish* "So annoying..." Leon grumbled as he picked out meat bits in his bushy beard.
*ding!* [How dare a human give the cold shoulder to the Universal L-*swish*
*ding!* [Stop it! I mean i-*swish*
*ding!* [You piece of shi-*swish*
*ding!* [I swear to-*swish*
*ding!* [STO-*swish*
*ding!* [Fine then-*swish*
*ding!* [Face-*swish*
*ding!* [The-*swish*
*ding!* [Wrath-*swish*
*ding!* [Of-*swish*
*ding!* [The-*swish*
*ding!* [Univer-*swish*
Leon was shaking his hand violently at how many messages were coming at him, constantly bothering him with the accompanying bell sounds. His brow was furrowed in frustration at how persistent this hallucination of his was until it suddenly stopped.
He finally could heave a sigh of relief as the messages stopped coming in.
*crack!* "GAHHH!!!* Leon screamed in pain as a small, yet powerful shock rocked his mind. He was on the verge of passing out while all of a sudden, visions and knowledge that was not his own flooded his mind to the breaking point.
Not all of it he could understand, but he saw visions of planets exploding, worlds similar, yet different to earth being overrun by strange creatures and innocent people being eaten alive.
Tears streamed down his face in real life as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he went into a seizure. In his partial conscious state, he saw more of those annoying floating text messages pop up all around him full of paragraphs of information that was forcing its way into his mind.
What seemed like decades of time passing, only lasted 5 minutes at most but by the end of it, Leon was completely exhausted and blacked out.
- - -
Several hours later, Leon woke up in the dead of the night. His entire body was riddled with pain, almost impossible to even move a muscle.
"What the hell.." He mumbled again as he struggled to bring his arm up to rub his temples. It felt like his skull had been shattered, his brain mixed in a blender and it all sloppily put back together in an attempt to fix his mind.
*ding!*
Leon flinched at the sound of the bell ringing. He wasn't sure why but maybe it was due to what had happened earlier but he couldn't remember everything that went on in those visions of his.
When he opened his eyes however, he once again saw the same blue text messages floating in front of him. But this time, he knew it was more than just an annoyance.
[The Universal Law System is insulted by how you treat it]
[The Universal Law System is fed up with your unwillingness to participate as a 'Player']
[The Universal Law System has bestowed upon you the title: Grumpy Old Man (X)]
{Grumpy Old Man (X) - You are a grumpy old man and all who meets you will instinctively know how frustrating you are to deal with. It will be harder for you to make meaningful relationships with others. This title cannot be removed under any circumstances.}
[The Universal Law System has personally intervened with the Player: Leon Hudson and bestowed said player with the skill: 'Don't ignore me!' (X)]
{Don't ignore me! (X): The Universal Law System will not allowed itself to be ignored by the likes of you, a human. You have been 'punished' with valuable data on the ULS inner workings that even God-like beings may not know about, to prove how ignorant you are. This skill cannot be removed and higher beings may see you as an enemy of the ULS. Certain features are locked until a specific level is reached.}
[Universal Law System Personal Message: I hate you!]
[- Be grateful for this valuable knowledge I've given you, you bastard. Hmph! If you don't wish to be obliterated, don't ignore me and survive!]
[Due to the System's intervention, you have been given a reward to better your survival against other higher beings as a new 'Player']
[You have been given the Cloak of Concealment (C) {Upgradable}]
Leon took his time reading these messages and his attitude had taken a completely new direction.
"Ugh." He swatted the messages away again.
…or not...
*ding!* [Hey! Grandpa! Stop swatting me away!]
Another message popped up but he only rolled his eyes and swatted it away.
"Shut it brat. I don't care if your an ant or a God. I'm going to live my life how I want it. If you don't like that, then kill me. I don't care. I have nothing to lose." Leon seemed like he was talking to himself but he knew this 'Universal Law System' was listening to everything.
It was one of the few bits of knowledge he currently had access to, no thanks to the system breaking his mind.
*ding!* [I'm not a brat! I'm as old as time itself! Show me some respect you bastard!]
"You are a brat," Leon swatted away the message, "You're throwing a tantrum because some 'insignificant bug' like myself is ignoring you. Respect is earned, not given. And if you're that old, why do you even care about me? I'm probably just an infant in your eyes. If you even have eyes."
[Erk!]
The system had no comeback despite being a being of unimaginable power, it was not able to stop Leon from swatting it away again.
"I'm going to live my life how I want. If you want to watch, go for it. But don't backseat. Its annoying." Leon commented using some new lingo he was learning.
A lot of the information that was poured into his head was of the system's structure and how it was related to Earth gaming terms. The reason it was structured like a game was due to video game popularity across the world. It was a structure that the system felt would be the easiest to understand for humans and help push them forward toward a new era.
It wasn't the same for every world however, as Leon learned that depending on the species, their intellectual level, and several other factors, were all used together to determine how the Universal Law would show itself.
It may be a system, similar to earth, it may be in the form of a manifested deity, it could be dungeons or towers full of monsters, or it may even be alien invaders that help move new worlds towards new heights. If a world fails to evolve, then it dies and is absorbed by the Universe to become nutrients for new worlds to grow.
This kind of knowledge were only things that beings at the highest Order would know of, meaning he was highly abnormal. As well as potentially dangerous. He could spread this knowledge to others and rally the human race much earlier than it should happen normally or he could spread misinformation to cause the downfall of earth.
However this grumpy old man seemed to have no care in the Universe for the bigger things at play.
"Just give me my reward already." He grumbled as he opened his system for the first time. Willingly.
As he opened his system and looked at everything, a normal looking trench coat was thrown at him from above. Glaring above him at nothing while rubbing his head, Leon grumbled more insults before focusing on his system, using his new knowledge to the fullest.
In front of him showed a typical screen you might find in an rpg game that displayed his 'Player' data including his name, stats, skills, titles, and his inventory. His level was 2, which made sense after killing the wolf earlier and he could see that his stats were represented by a letter grade rather than a numerical number.
His mana on the other hand was a number, sitting at a measly 10.
All his skills he received after his normal activities and the items he received were all there, as well as the annoying title and skill the system gave him. What he realized however was that the knowledge he was 'given' was much more important than he first realized.