Duke had expected himself to be distraught over the incident, but he was surprised by his own emotions, especially after his encounter with Dominique.
He wanted to believe perhaps it was because Dominique let him off easily. And his sight—A smile appeared on Duke's lips at the thought of his eyesight.
Usually, when Duke finished work, he would go back to his house immediately and sleep until he was needed again. But for the first time in a long while, he didn't want to go home just yet. He wanted to take in everything his previous poor sight couldn't.
Maybe Mother Nature decided to grant him this as his form of payment for the previous day's losses. Duke didn't know how long it was going to last, but he felt genuinely happy about it.
If he had gotten it earlier before those idiots attempted to attack him, he was certain they wouldn't have taken his money. And he wouldn't have had to make a sketchy deal with a stranger to go to some warehouse and steal a pill.
At the thought of the pill, something suddenly registered in the corner of Duke's vision. It was a Blue Gem that bore the shape of the pill. Looking at it, it reminded Duke of an app icon. He shifted his gaze trying to get rid of it, but whenever he turned, it followed.
Duke stopped riding his bike when he stopped at a red light. He closed his eyes, hoping it would go away when he opened them, maybe thinking about the pill was starting to make him hallucinate.
Duke almost collapsed from his bike when he realized the image didn't leave his vision. Whether his eyes were closed or open.
Was this a side effect of having his eyes working crystal clear? he wondered.
But side effects only start when you digest something. Like a drug or a pill—
"The PILL!" Duke yelled out.
Did he swallow it? Could that be the reason for his good vision? But he was certain he didn't swallow it, he was a hundred percent sure.
Duke started to touch his face to see if he was wearing anything, but there was nothing. The notification appeared to be glued to his vision.
He couldn't touch it physically, nor move it away, no matter how he tried. He decided to try doing so mentally. After all, every app icon or post notification needed a touch to open.
Duke's attempts worked, but not in the manner he wanted it to. He wanted it gone, but it opened and divided itself into multiple screens.
[Congratulations! You have been granted a superhuman system]
Duke looked around him to see if anyone else was seeing this too, but there weren't many people around to confirm this. Duke remembered this exact message first popped up when he was about to lose consciousness.
'Guess it's not a touch panel. But what's a superhuman system?' Duke meant to ask himself and didn't expect a response. But the screen dinged, and the definition sprouted out of nowhere.
*Superhuman system" refers to a system or technology that augments human abilities. For example; You can see behind the normal human vision- detect the smallest objects and see the furthest object.*
"Huh?"
Duke tried to test the theory. He looked ahead of him, trying to locate a building. His vision zoomed in like a camera shutter and showed him more than the building. It showed the people occupying it.
Duke was astonished. He went back to reading the words on the screen.
*The Superhuman system makes you manifest more agility and strength and increases passing muster…*
Passing muster? Does that mean he could fly?
Duke got down from his bike and prepared himself to test the theory. So far his vision worked fine, so he was certain, this might work too.
"Here we go… One two—" He counted, preparing to fly. "But wait a minute." He paused, recollecting himself. If he could indeed do these things, could that mean he is part of the Tierney system now?
Duke had hoped the system would answer his question just like it did earlier, but it didn't. Thus leaving him to test the theory of flying midair.
He leaped through the air with all hopes of flying, but he ended up on the ground flat from the attempt. He got a cut on his arm from the fall. He didn't hold back at all on his attempt, thus making the fall hurt more than it should. Duke stood up and dusted himself off, thanking the universe no one saw that. That would have been awfully embarrassing.
Duke went back to look at the screen, and he realized he hadn't finished reading out what he could do with his newfound system before he had jumped.
*… when you complete tasks.*
Task? Duke wondered. Like how he gets a new delivery from his company and gets paid in return?
That meant he had nothing to enable him do any of what the system offered.
Just then another screen popped with new information.
*SYSTEM STAT*
Duke Hamaton
Lv 1
HP : + 3
STAMINA : + 5
MP : 0
AGILITY : + 10
'Huh?' Duke wondered. He recognized it since he was a pro gamer. What he didn't understand was why he was seeing it in his line of sight.
Duke got back on his bike. "What a joke," he muttered. Maybe he was still overwhelmed by the previous day's activity, and his inabilty to to get the game he wanted, thus making him hallucinate it.
Even if this was real and he could do some inhumane things with whatever this was, it wouldn't give him what he wanted. Just what he needed. And if that was the case Duke would have joined the Tieriny system in search of fame. He didn't want fame… he wanted to be comfortable.
Duke couldn't move even though he was ready to. The notifications and screen thingy were still blocking his field of vision. The notifications looked like they could be deleted, and it looked like there were more options in its interface.
"If that's all, I'd like to be on my way now," he muttered, hoping that would work.
The screen dinged, and another write-up popped up.
[You do not have enough coins to purchase items from the mart, when you have sufficient coins, you can purchase anything.]
A very sexy 3d character popped out from the side of the screen to inform him. The manner her cleavage fought to gain freedom from her little shirt made Duke remember the lady he had fought with. But this 3d woman was way hotter, and he knew for certain she didn't plan to kill him.
"Anything?" he asked the lady on his screen with excitement.
"Anything!" her cleavage humps as she enunciates this in equal excitement as Duke.