Matt focused on visualizing just a basic pencil. He had seen so many that it wasn't hard to imagine. In an instant, a pencil formed in his hand.
'Yes, it worked! So, I can make anything appear here?!'
He imagined a piece of paper as well, and it showed up, just as the pencil had. He wrote on it, and it worked just as it should.
'I can write stuff here, and no one can see it. It could be useful for keeping track of discoveries I make about the system.'
He had another idea and decided to try it. He stood up and looked at the empty grass field in front of him, and just imagined a basic room, with wood walls, and a simple roof. He added a door on the front to enter it.
Now in front of him stood a humble-looking shack. It looked cozy.
'Ok, this will be good for organizing.'
He stepped into the little house and looked around. The whole house was about the size of an average bedroom.
'I just want to keep it simple for now. If I end up needing more space to store stuff, I'll add onto it.'
He made a basic desk and chair appear in one corner of the room with a lamp. He also added a bed, just in case he wanted to chill in this fake reality.
When he went to turn on the light, nothing happened.
'Oh come on, do I need power for this thing?'
He realized he knew what a lamp looked like, but lamps he knew, needed power. If he could invent a lamp that didn't need power, he could summon it, but that didn't exist.
'I guess I can't just make stuff up.'
He thought of something that could work. He imagined a wood-fueled generator with outlets and some chopped logs. He put the wood in the generator and let it go. After plugging the light in, it worked!
'So, something weird is, I don't know how to build a wood-fueled generator. So why does it work? I've probably seen a picture of one before, is that really all that's needed?'
He was a bit confused by this power. But decided to fully figure it out later. If it worked, it worked.
He imaged a bookshelf on one side of the room and put his two quantum physics books there. He imagined a paper label, and wrote "Incomplete" on it, and stuck it to the side of the book he hadn't fully read.
'Ok, so what now? Honestly, I should sleep. I've been in here for a while so it's probably super late.'
He thought about deactivating the skill, and he was suddenly in his normal apartment again. He stretched and headed to his bedroom, but he saw something that was weird.
'Is my alarm clock set wrong?'
[11:23 PM]
It had barely changed since he had gotten home. If he remembered correctly he had gotten home around 11. But there was no way he was only in there for 20 minutes.
He quickly checked his phone and it also displayed 11:23.
'I was at least in there for an hour.'
He realized something and decided to test it. When the clock changed to 11:24, he activated his mind palace.
Now that he was inside the skill, he imagined a stopwatch and quickly pressed the start button. It ticked away as normal.
'Ok, if what I'm thinking is really the case, this power would be stupidly OP.'
He waited in the grass until the stopwatch passed 10 minutes.
'Ok, that should be good.'
He deactivated the ability and was sent back to his apartment. He looked at his alarm clock and was shocked and excited. It displayed:
[11:24 PM]
"No way!"
He shouted aloud. He had been curious as to what happened to his body when he used the skill. If he just passed out in real life or what, but now he knew the answer, and it was busted.
'So no time passes at all when I'm in there? Ok, that's stupid. How strong are these skills?'
He started to realize what this power could fully do. He could retreat whenever he wanted to think a problem through. He could store information and retrieve it whenever he wanted. This was practically like photographic memory but better in every way.
But then he also became slightly afraid.
'If powers like this exist, I can't even imagine having to fight someone else with a system.'
Just the thought made him shudder. While he had learned a lot and improved his life with the system, he was awful at fighting. He only defeated Ned because he got lucky with the skills he received, and then ended it with a low blow. But he was not a fighter.
'Maybe I should change that.'
He decided it was best to just head to bed and think about his situation in the morning.
…
….
…
A burly man with a grim look on his face limped through a series of dark red-carpeted hallways. The walls were adorned with paintings and gold inlays. Overall, it was a very fancy-looking place.
He made his way to a set of large double doors, where a man in a suit was standing. The burly man nodded at him and pushed the doors open.
Beyond them was an even fancier room, with a large dining table in the center that looked like it could fit dozens of people. The table had no food on it, besides a meal for one on the far end of the table.
A man sat there, eating the food, although the food seemed high class and delicate, the man was very barbaric in his eating habits. He tore through the food as if he were a wild animal.
The burly man who had entered looked toward the end of the table, but from this distance, he couldn't see him clearly. He raised his voice, and it echoed throughout the dining hall.
"Boss, there's this rotten guy we need to kill. He is scum, and he will do anything to win! He disrespected us!"
The man at the end of the table stopped eating and he slowly looked at the burly man who had entered.
"Oh, I know all about it, Ned. I never miss anything."
Ned became a bit nervous, as he thought he was breaking the news to his boss first. The man stood from the table and smiled, though he was still so far away, it was hard to make out.
"I'm disappointed Ned."
As the man said this, Ned started sweating bullets. He was starting to shake as well.
"B-boss, please give me another chance!"
Ned had wanted to rally more members to hunt the guy who beat him, but now his goal had changed. He now needed to leave this room alive.
"Boss! I promise I'll kill that guy! Just let me borrow 5 members! No, at least 3! Wait, even 1 is fine!"
Ned continued to lower the amount he requested as the man just stared at him, giving no response. After what felt like an eternity for Ned, the man finally spoke up.
"I don't care how many you bring with you. Just make sure to not tarnish my name. Do not enter my vision until you succeed."
The man sat back down and continued eating as if nothing had happened. Without any hesitation Ned speed walked out of the room, glad that he was still alive.