Johan roused himself from his bed before dawn had even broken the night's darkness. His body ached from the rigorous training and sparring sessions with his ghoul, but his spirit was unbroken.
'Only seven silvers left in the bank,' he thought, eyeing the modest lump under his mattress that held his meager savings. 'Need to take up more jobs, save more money. The assessment... everything needs resources.'
As he donned his uniform, each stitch a testament to his hard-earned journey, he mentally prepared himself for the long day ahead.
The first job was at the local bank. Johan was part of a team of guards, their duties were to maintain the order and ensure the bank's safety. The bank buzzed with activity, a constant stream of customers walking in and out. 'So many transactions, so many people,' he thought, eyeing the bank's vault with a newfound sense of respect. 'Just need to do my job and not get distracted.'
Next, he had a shift at the bustling mall. The place was a labyrinth of shops and stalls, brimming with noisy crowds and colorful goods. 'Easy to get lost here,' he mused, standing erect at his post, his eyes darting around. 'Got to be vigilant. Can't let any trouble start.'
His last job was guarding vaults. These were not as vibrant as the bank or mall, but the silence was deafening. It was a solitary job, requiring focus and tenacity. 'This... this isn't bad,' he reflected as he sat alone in the dimly lit vault, the silence echoing around him. 'It's peaceful... gives me time to think.'
By the time his final shift ended, the day was well into the night. Johan trudged back to his room, his body heavy with exhaustion, but his pockets heavier with the day's earnings. 'One step closer,' he thought to himself, his eyes growing heavy. 'One step closer to the goal.'
...
There was a harsh, scraping edge to life that Johan was becoming intimately acquainted with. Each day was a grueling marathon of work and survival, the unending cycle of waking up before dawn, working, and collapsing into bed after midnight.
'Long hours, and for what?' he thought to himself as he nursed a throbbing foot after a particularly long shift. 'Just a handful of coins at the end of the day.'
But it wasn't the physical pain that gnawed at Johan's mind; it was the constant, gnawing fear. The fear of falling short, the fear of not making enough to support his brother and himself.
Yet, every morning when he looked at the thin, but happy face of his brother, a surge of determination flooded him. His little brother, Miles, was his purpose, his guiding star in this unforgiving world. No matter how tough the days got, he'd do whatever it took to shield Miles from their harsh reality.
When he walked in one evening, the smell of a simple stew filled their tiny apartment. His stomach growled, reminding him that he had skipped lunch to save a little more. But his eyes went to Miles first.
"You should eat first, Johan," Miles offered, holding out a bowl of stew.
"Nah, you go ahead. I grabbed something on the way," he lied, tousling Miles's hair. His little brother didn't need to know about his skipped meals. 'Just a little more to save... for us,' he told himself, settling on his makeshift bed.
As he sat there, listening to the sound of Miles slurping his stew, a simple, undeniable truth settled into his heart. Despite the hardships, despite the constant battles, he wouldn't trade these moments for anything.
...
His muscles screamed in protest, and his eyelids felt heavy, but Johan refused to stop. Nestled in the corner of his shared, dingy room, he squinted under the flickering bulb, devouring the words of the worn-out card manual.
'One more page... I need to understand this part,' he silently urged himself, rubbing his tired eyes.
His work shifts allowed for little free time. But he was determined to make every minute count, snatching moments of respite during his breaks to read or think about his strategies for the assessment. He practiced his stances and movements in the narrow alley behind the bank he was guarding. It wasn't the best, but it was something.
He would flex his fingers, imagining the weight of the cards, the feeling of activating a card, and the sensation of the resultant power. It was all about getting his body used to the movements, making them second nature.
'When the time comes, I can't afford hesitation. Every second matters.'
One night, after finishing a chapter about the activation sequence, he let the book slide out of his hands and leaned back against the wall. His body was sore, and his mind buzzed with new information.
Yet, in the midst of exhaustion, a spark of satisfaction ignited within him. He could feel himself getting stronger, mentally and physically, and it fueled his determination. His dreams no longer seemed as unattainable as they once did.
As he drifted off to sleep, one thought looped in his mind, a soft whisper against the hard backdrop of their reality. 'I will make it. We will make it.'
...
Name: Johan Watson
Age: 17 years old
Realm: Unranked
Available Card Fragments: 41 [Common]
Cards: (1)
Tier 9 Extraordinary Ghoul [Rare]
Skills:
Kagune Manifestation [Rare] (Active)
System Evaluation: [Weak as fuck!]
'Weak as fuck? Damn system!,' Johan cursed to himself, navigating through the System interface. His eyes widened as he spotted forty common-card fragments in his inventory. 'So, the ghoul and I earned these when we killed the humanoid bats. Interesting...' His mind began to whirl with the potential uses of these fragments.
His curiosity piqued, he moved on to test the other functions of his system. The map function unfolded a clear layout of his surroundings. 'This could come in handy during the assessment,' he thought, mentally noting landmarks and paths.
Next, he attempted the storage function. 'Storage!' he commanded, the wood near him vanished. Next, focusing on his ghoul. The ghoul, which was flexing its limbs in the corner of the room, shimmered and vanished, transforming into a card that flew into his hand. 'So, I can store summons within a 10-meter radius. That's convenient.'
Upon returning the ghoul to its form, he moved on to the appraisal function, inspecting his ghoul. While he didn't notice any major changes, he now knew his ghoul's strength, agility, and other attributes. 'Knowledge is power,' he grinned.
His heart pounded with anticipation as he moved onto the last option - customization. His eyes flickered over the description, a hopeful gleam dousing his tired face. He could manipulate the physical body of the summons and customize them using gold coins. But alas, a glance at his near-empty bank account made his heart sink. 'Looks like we won't be trying this feature anytime soon.'
Despite the small setback, the discovery of these features was enough to boost his spirits. His future seemed a little brighter, and his goal a bit more within reach. As he laid on his makeshift bed, he couldn't help but imagine the possibilities.
'If only I had some more gold coins... Well, there's no use crying over it. We'll just have to work harder.' And with that thought in mind, he closed his eyes, looking forward to a future he was slowly but surely inching towards.
'System... How much common card fragments do I need to create monsters?"
"100 common card is needed to use the lottery system to draw cards. And the probablit of drawing common quality creation card is only 15%!" The system responded in the blink of an eye.
'That low?' Johan sighed. 'What's the matter with common quality? Is it because I used common fragments? If used rare quality card fragments, will I obtain rare creation card?'
Unfortunately, the system didn't answer. But Johan was certain with his guess. After all, it's not that hard to understand when you think about it.