"Have thought about what you will do after school?" asked Sam.
"Not really. No."
"Heh. I wish I was as carefree as you. Me, I know exactly what I want to be. I know what Teqx I want. I know what route I'll take to the top. But, I don't know if I'll ever get there."
Patty really pitied Sam. This was why he didn't think about such useless things like the future. It would only bring down pain in the present, and it will only add further burden to anyone who bothered to think about it.
And even if Patty wanted to think about the future, his brain would immediately turn on his 'lazy' switch and end up forgetting about the thought. It was a fail safe that he made for himself to make sure that he would be happy and ignorant all the time. It was good to be lazy.
"I really want this A-class Fame Teqx that Atlas Inc. gives to their employees. It has a 90 percent chance of giving a Law related skill."
"Wow."
"Yeah. That's a sure fire ticket to becoming a lawyer, or even a judge. I may be dreaming here, but I could also use that and go down the politician route. That's the key to my dream."
Patty really admired the fierce determination on Sam's face. Although he was the complete opposite of him, Patty was still cognizant of the fact that that drive in Sam's eyes was a characteristic that was needed in this hard working world.
In order to achieve your crazy impossible dream, you had to be crazy yourself.
Patty was built differently than a lot of people. He also had these crazy dreams of his, but he had absolutely no drive in achieving them. He also wanted to reach the top of the world, but he wasn't going to work until his bones turned to dust like other people.
He would be perfectly content if he achieved his dreams or not. He was just happy to exist like a dust on a road or a fly on the wall.
"Have you thought about what Teqx you want? Do you know if you want to have either Money, Power, or Fame?"
Patty answered without a blink. "All of it."
Sam just laughed at the absurdity of his friend. If other people heard his answer, they would think that he was insane, naive, or arrogant. But he knew that his childhood friend was none of those things. If they looked at his completely nonchalant face, they would see the impossible superposition of him knowing and not knowing that his dream was impossible.
But even so, his face never changed. Patty still stuck to his guns and dreamed what he wanted to dream. It was a trait that Sam admired and wanted to emulate.
"Of course you would say that. But in truth, you can only pick one. If you acquire a Teqx, you are stuck with it for the rest of your life. You cannot change it. So you better think twice about getting a low quality Teqx."
Patty looked at the system screen in front of him. He was stuck with this system even if he wanted to or not. He didn't even have a choice to pick it! It forced itself upon him by crash landing through his roof.
And now, this system was making him go to school and not be lazy. How horrible!
"You don't have to tell me twice…" Patty said loudly, as if he really wanted the system to hear him.
Sam finally picked up all of the loose paper on the ground.
"Anyway. I have to go."
"Yeah bro. Good luck."
But before Sam left, he took something out of his pocket and gave it to Patty.
"Here, take this. Without electricity in your house, you'll need this more than I do."
Patty accepted the gift and saw a rectangular black crystal that was the size of a pinky. It was as light as a feather, but he could feel the intense energy hidden within its crystallized borders.
"This is a 20% pure Kore!"
In his hands was a physical manifestation of pure energy. This wasn't just like energy that was produced by electricity, fire, or any other power that humans can produce. This was a magical product of the universe itself.
Everything in the present world was powered by Kores. It's what makes the light bulbs in the street glow in the darkest of nights. It's what turns on the power-hungry teleportation portals used by everyone to travel through the world in a split second.
Martial artists use Kores to harden their bodies like that of steel. Blacksmiths install tiny modified Kores to turn their normal smithing products into magical artifacts. Female girl groups use powered Kores to cleanse their faces and beautify themselves into goddesses.
There was no explanation for the exact science to explain why Kores gave the effects that they gave. No one knew how to efficiently use all the energy inside one, no one knew how to recreate them in a lab, and no one even knew how they spawned in our world.
The only thing known about them was that they can be found in mountains or deep underground.
"This costs an entire month of my electricity bill!"
Kore were an integral product in this society. Because of that, the prices of each Kore was astronomically high. Usually, normal people only deal with Kores with a purity of 1-9% because those were easily afforded with a decent salary. Only the rich play around with the 10 to 20% pure Kores. As for those above that, well only the real rich use those.
The purity of the Kores can be easily ascertained by looking at how black the crystal looked. The more deeply colored black it looked and the more opaque it looked, the more pure it was.
The one in Patty's hands were a bit translucent and he could see a darkened image of his hand displayed on the Kore. This corresponded to a 20% pure Kore.
"Thanks, I owe you one." Patty put the black crystal on the back of his phone and a green charging sign appeared on the screen. "Whew. Almost a dead battery."
Sam just nodded to himself. "No problem." He quickly turned around with his papers haphazardly stacked and held by his hands and chest.
But before he completely disappeared Sam turned back to Patty to give him a warning. "Hey, don't piss off Professor Wraithborne for now."
Too late, Patty thought.
"I heard that he's going to expel someone. Do you know a Grammar? Grammy? Grammo?"
And as soon as he said that, the system screen popped up in front of him.
[Mission]
[Requirement]
• Prevent Grammo from being expelled
[Reward]
• 1x summon scroll
"Anyway, stay out of his radar for now. You don't want to be collateral damage."
But when he looked back at Patty, he was already gone. That must have been the fastest he ever saw Patty disappear from his sight. The only thing that he heard from him was a cheer from a deranged addict echoing through the halls saying;
"1x Summon Scroll!"
—————
Back in the village of Thalls, home of the yellow-skinned Neanderthals, Achram, the brave soul that wanted to conquer the insurmountable mountain of Icy Rock, was going through his preparation for his eventual summit.
Even though Achram was proud of his thick yellow skin, he knew that it would not be enough for the chilling icy winds in the mountain. He needed some warm protection at the very least. Not to mention the deadly beasts that inhabited the mountain, Achram needed any equipment he could carry.
Achram walked around the village and requested a barter exchange for any protective item that they had. He first visited a widowed Thall that spent her days turning animal skin into wearable clothing. If anyone wanted her goods, they had to exchange it with bear meat and fur.
He arrived at a hut that was covered with dried bear furs drying in the wind. She didn't look up at Achram when he arrived as she was busy stitching a new coat with a large needle made entirely out of bone.
"You know, I have inherited my skills from my mother. And my mother inherited hers from hers. I come from a long line of fur makers and each one was better than the last. I can make the best coat from an exquisite bear carcass, but even I know that it wouldn't be enough to fight the punishing cold of the Great Icy Rock."
Achram scratched his head. It looked like everyone knew about his expedition, and everyone knew that his chances of surviving were hopeless.
"I have to do it," he said with an unwavering voice. "Even if I can't. I have to. You understand, right?"
The fur maker was silent. Only the sounds of her children happily playing with fur dolls echoed behind her.
Then, she bent down and took out a coat with an exquisite black coat that was made out of an Vanta Ursa Bear, the largest apex predator that even the strongest of fighters try not to provoke.
"At least with that, they will recognize you as one of their own."
The biting cold was the least of Achram's problem. That was because on the journey to the top of Ocy Rock, he would have to venture into Vanta Ursa Bear territory.
"I'll take half of a bear carcass," she said.
Achram smiled and realized that with the quality of the fue and the seams, the coat would have fetched for at least a full carcass.
"My ancestors give their regards," Achram bowed.
The fur maker didn't react to his gratitude and continued to work on her next coat. Achram respected that and quickly went on to the next house to find more equipment.
He bartered for rope, shoes, and some arrows with the rest of the huts in the village. The only thing left for him to buy was a pick axe to help him navigate through the slippery ice.
He only had a quarter of a bear carcass left in his sack. That would be enough to purchase a decent enough equipment from the resident metal striker.
"What can I have with this?" asked Achram as he showed his inventory to the old man.
The metal striker rubbed his thick beard and looked through the sack. He picked out the rest of the carcass, a few animal bones, and some herbs. But he didn't get everything.
"I'll take these, but I won't take those rocks. Those are useless."
Achram quickly agreed and bartered with the metal striker with a new pick axe made out of bronze. It was sharper and sturdier than most stone tools that he had, which made him feel more hopeful about his ascent.
With his complete set up with new boots, fur coat, bow and arrow, and a long hemp rope, he felt ready to tackle the most crucial journey of his life.
But before he went on his way, Achram got rid of anything that would weigh him down that he didn't need. He didn't want to get encumbered.
He quickly threw out the black stones that the metal striker didn't want to barter. These rocks could be found just about anywhere so it wasn't really worth anything much.
The black crystal dropped on the ground as Achram took his first steps towards the Icy Rock.
If Patty could see what Achram threw away, he would be absolutely speechless. What the Thalls considered as waste and just 'rocks' that could be found anywhere was none other than the most sought after material in the world.
It was a Kore! And judging from the opacity of the crystal, it must have had at least 50% purity. And Achram threw away at least five crystals of this quality away like it was nothing.
One man's trash truly was another man's treasure.