'Oh my god, this is such a complicated mess,' thought Evan, feeling cold sweat drench his back after the system integration came to a completion.
He had inherited fragments of memories from his past life along with a subtle hint of this world.
In his past life, he died quite young at the age of 16 during a war when his school was attacked by the opposing nation's army camp. He died trying to save a group of children, covering them from the gunfire to help them escape.
But that was the only thing he could remember.
'Now, I think I'm starting to fear a villain popping out with a system from nowhere and starting messing with me,' he thought.
He had read a lot of novels, but now that he had his own system, he was worried.
[Host, you don't need to worry about that. You will be the only one with the system.]
"Huh!" Evan was confused until he heard the system's voice again.
[Each world can only have one system so that balance is maintained. Secondly, you are the 89th host…]
"What does that mean?" Evan asked.
[All the previous hosts are dead due to falling tests. They weren't able to overcome their greed. You are the only one who managed to keep your sanity.]
Beads of sweat formed on Evan's forehead upon hearing this.
It sounds a bit terrific, doesn't it?
"System, show my stats."
Host: Evan ????
[Stats]
Strength: 4[Recovering]
Dexereity: 16
Vitality: 2[Recovering]
Willpower: 29
Intelligence: 13
Charm: 18
Charisma:4
Luck: 3
[Skills]
Extreme comprehension [Max]
Insight
Beginner Programmer (39/100)
Beginner Cook (94/100)
Beginner Pianist (Too low to display, the system is even ashamed to show this in the tab.)
Note: The normal or average attribute value is 10.
"This system is quite abusive," Evan cursed.
Evan had to change jobs frequently due to his cheap fake parents making trouble by appearing at his jobs to demand money. These days he was working at a restaurant as a waiter and thus used to observe the cooking, trying to learn by watching the cooks make delicacies.
The restaurant also had a piano and fascinated by it, Evan would try to play it randomly while working overtime to clean the place.
"After working so hard, my programming is still at the elementary stage," he lamented.
Being late to their studies, Evan had always worked hard to catch up, however, despite all his efforts, his grade had always remained poor due to his weak foundation.
When others were already learning about RAM and ROM in computers, he was just starting to learn the alphabet.
"My vitality is quite low due to being injured and about strength, I got that, but my charm is high, so..."
Evan knew he was handsome, but since no girl ever looked at him twice, he thought that he might be delusional.
[Host, it's because, in the end, you are a good-for-nothing fellow. Neither are you good at studies nor good at earning money. Your personality is also quite depressing, making you look like a haunted ghost, so who in your right mind would approach you?]
"Did you have to say that on my face?" Evan sighed.
As he was about to speak, he heard footsteps and immediately closed his eyes, pretending to be unconscious.
A man with an unkempt beard and a woman with haggard hair entered the room and as they stared at Evan, their eyes turned cold.
"Damn it, he is not waking up. What should we do now? If he doesn't wake up, how can I fight the female celebrity and pay the reimbursements?" the man said.
"Migol, what should we do?" the woman asked with a trace of panic.
"Henna, stop looking at me with those accusing eyes. It's you who asked me to provoke the celebrity and ask for money when I called you to inform you about this matter and then you fought her physically, dragging us into the mess," Migol screamed at Henna.
"What! Are you blaming me now? Don't tell me you weren't greedy. Why didn't you reject my suggestion at that time instead of accepting it? And obviously, I was thinking about our future," Henna roared, her eyes tearing up as she wiped them.
"Okay, don't cry. I was wrong," Migol said, trying to appease her, clearly afraid of what his wife might do in anger.
"But what will we do? That girl Suri has so many fans and is quite rich. She hired a powerful lawyer. Even if we apologize now, the show won't let us off," Migol spoke with distress.
Meanwhile, Evan, who had been pretending to be unconscious, frowned deeply as he realized that he was soon going to be fanned in the flames of their schemes sooner or later.
Both of them were crooked, but this time, they kicked an iron plate.
While the two were distressed, Henna's eyes fell on Evan and as if she thought of something, they sparkled.
"I...I have an idea."
"What is it?" Migol asked, excited.
"Come here," Henna pulled Migol into a corner and looked around cautiously before she started whispering.
"Why...why don't we kill Evan?"
"What?" Migol exclaimed in shock.
"Are you out of your mind?"
"Shut up?"
Henna hissed, covering Migol's lips, who was shocked out of his wits hearing her wild thoughts.
"Listen, Henna, you are crossing the limit. Did you forget who he is and what will happen if they come looking for me?"
"Migol, listen to me first," Henna tried to coax Migol.
"First thing, it's been years and none of his family members have come looking for him. This means, they either didn't know the truth or might be unable to find him."
"Stop this bullshit. And why do you want to kill him? It's not like we have deep enmity with him. He is our life-saving card in case of disaster," Migol replied hurriedly.
Henna took a deep breath and wiped her sweat.
"Killing him can not only avert the disaster but also help us make a fortune," she said with a smile and began explaining her plan to the confused Migol.
"As per two doctors, Evan was going to commit suicide, right? And why do you think he was going to do that? Isn't it because of the humiliation of getting beaten by the mob? If he dies, we can pin the blame on that shrew Suri and the mob for traumatizing our Evan and demand them to compensate for his death."
"Just think about this. We can ask for more than 10 million, maybe even 100 million, for loss of life and she won't have a way to refute."
"This...this is too immoral," Migol said, slightly hesitating.
"What's immoral about it? We didn't kill him; he died by jumping off the floor. Killing him is too easy in this state. We don't even need poison, just deprive him of the oxygen and he will be gone. And in case his family looks for him, we can pin the blame on that celebrity," Henna said with a sinister smile which sent chills down Migol's spine.
Migol's heart was really in a mess. Though he wasn't their biological son, at least he had stayed with them for more than a decade, so naturally he had some hesitation about this in his heart.
However, the thought of riches ahead excited him.
"But when are we going to do this?" Migol asked, looking persuaded.
"Let's wait for the court notice. If we do it during the trial period, the case will be hyped by the media and might turn in our favor," Henna smiled, then walked over and caressed Evan's face with a mischievous grin.
"My child, you are only alive because of our mercy, so shouldn't you repay us for keeping you alive?"
...…
[Strength: A measure of physical power and ability to exert force. It influences one's capacity for doing tasks which require physical force or endurance.
Dexterity: The ability to move quickly and gracefully. It encompasses balance, coordination and reflexes, affecting one's speed and dexterity in various activities.
Vitality: The state of being strong and active; physical or mental energy. It reflects one's overall health, stamina, and resilience to illness or injury.
Willpower: The strength of determination and self-control. It determines one's ability to resist temptation, overcome obstacles, and persevere in the face of challenges.
Charm: The ability to attract. It also refers to a person's physical attractiveness, including facial features, physique, and overall appearance. It's subjective and influenced by cultural norms and personal preferences. Characteristics like symmetry, facial structure, grooming, and demeanor play a role.
Charisma: It influences one's social interactions, persuasiveness and likability.
Intelligence: The capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding and applying knowledge. It affects problem-solving abilities, critical thinking skills and overall mental acuity.