"Ahhh! This always happens." A feminine voice barked.
Seated at a computer desk, hunched over the keyboard was a woman.
She had dark brown hair, that fell passed her shoulders, and a plump frame.
With her brow keenly furrowed, and a clenched fist held up, it was clear: she was annoyed.
Her fingers bounced across the keyboard furiously.
Quickly, however, she found herself even more aggravated.
Her head falling back in frustration, as she leaned into her chair.
"This is not my day." she muttered, her voice softer.
She looked around her room.
A bed with no frame surrounded by numerous plastic bottles, cans, and spilled out bags of trash, among other things brushed passed her vision.
Her jaw slightly tensed before she looked back at her computer screen.
Before her gaze carried itself above the monitor, which sat a window.
The night sky and its numerous lights were reflected through it.
Her gaze became softer, as her thoughts wandered.
'It would be great if something good happened.'
A sparkle of light in the depths of the sky beamed for the shortest of moments.
Her listless gaze slightly became taciturn as she started to focus her attention to the monitor again.
Displayed was a social media site.
Her profile picture was a humanoid creature smiling a bit too wide.
Her handle displayed: Shadow-Abyss-Darkness.
Shadow-Abyss-Darkness represented three layers.
The lack of light, the presence of dark impulses or understanding that are rarely encroached, and ignorance or defiance of darker, more nefarious mechanisms.
She pressed a finger against her lips as she pondered.
Before slowly typing, writing out several lines.
Then, far faster than they appeared, they were erased.
This occurred twice, before a far smaller message appeared, reading:
"Hoping for a better year, life is a mess."
Submitting the post, she stood up, and let out a sigh.
She did not like how she lived, in many ways.
She did want to change.
But, some things she felt could not...
In the middle of her thoughts, a light flare consumed her entire vision, and soon too her consciousness.
When she awoke, she felt a ache on her back, looking around, she saw that she fell off her chair.
She recalled the light, as she rubbed her back.
'What was that...'
Interrupting her thoughts, a screen appeared before her with unknown symbols.
She swiped through it, only for her hand to pass through.
Her breath quickening, she blinked rapidly, as the previously unreadable characters on the screen converted to english.
[Panel successfully bound!]
She licked her lips.
'Was this...'
Her thoughts flowing ceaselessly.
Did she have a system?
Thinking 'Panel', she saw a screen that solidified this belief.
Yes, it seems, she had gotten a golden finger.
Her heart began to beat faster.
A smile soon broke out on her face as she read its contents.
---
Lilith Stride
Species: Human
Lvl: 1 (0/10 xp)
Appearance: 0.2
Ranking: #8,290,872,662
Skills: None
---
What was the ranking thing? Was that her standing?
She was relieved there was a leveling function.
She always liked leveling in games.
However, she was a bit worried about the ranking.
Was she actually that low? Though her appearance is nothing to speak of, and she did not have any real abilities... on second thought...
Yeah, that would track.
She had thoughts such as where she got the panel, she was concerned...
Was she the only one? Would this panel stay hers? Could other people see it?
Rubbing her hands together, she glanced back at the ranking.
Seems she had a long way to go and questions to get answers to.
Unfortunately, the answers she hoped to get, never arrived.
Looking around her gaze locked on the bags of trash, a screen appeared out of the blue.
Her brows raised, slightly relaxed.
`So there were more features...` She thought, as she read:
[Task #1: Clean your room]
She looked more closely around her room.
With slightly bouncy steps, she shifted herself to a more open spot in the room. So as to have more maneuverability, grabbing the nearest bag of trash.
She got to work.
It took several trips and more than a handful of breaks, but she did it.
Five hours later, as the light of the sun beamed through the window, she got it done.
Wiping away her forehead sweat, she smirked, as she took a serious look around her room again.
There were no more trash bags, the wooden flooring shined, the clothes were folded, the place was dusted, even and the cords for her "amazing" set up were organized and cabled properly.
[Task completed! Reward Selection Initiating...]
Staring at the screen, her jaw slightly dropped, as she read the message.
---
Reward Selection (x1)
---
[1. 10k USD ]
[2. Eidetic Memory ]
[3. +0.1 Appearance ]
---
Any of these rewards were insane, for just cleaning her room she had some excellent choices for her to pick from, well not sure about that appearance, but compared to numerous things, it sounded decent.
Her attention was split between the money and the eidetic memory.
Chuckling, she chose the first reward, it had to be the money.
It would give her time and funds to start on some larger projects, as too many things cost money.
The moments she did, she got an alert on her phone.
She was deposited 10k into her bank.
A quick check about the senders details revealed the sender was unknown, but the feeling of seeing the money was amazing.
It was from the system, and ever more important was her immediate financial troubles were dealt with.
A near-euphoric sense of accomplishment arose, amidst exhaustion.
Throwing herself onto her bed, a content smile perched on her face.
Actually, she may not have too bad a year.
She got a system, well, a panel.
She would be able to change her life.
No longer would she have to be an 'eyesore'.
No longer would her finances weigh her down.
Several questions, doubts, anxieties seemed to fade as she fell asleep.
With great plans, requires even greater energy.