"!!!"
A young man sat up from a narrow bed, his breath was quick and his eyes were wide with fright.
His gaze darted around the unfamiliar room with a mixture of confusion and anxiety.
"Where am I? Why am I here? Didn't I died?" he murmured, tinged with uncertainty.
As his heart began to calm down, a bunch of memories starter to filter through the fog in his mind. He began to piece together the events that lead to this moment, recalling the details of his previous life. Zastan Miles, a loner, and a manager from a coal mining company, had somehow traveled to another world.
Zastan Miles felt like a certain part of his memory was unlocked. He remembered vividly the day he visited one of the company's mines. A crane was carrying a massive load of coal suddenly malfunctioned, sending its deadly cargo plummeting down towards him. The list thing he saw before everything went black was the dark shadow of the coal.
Suddenly, because of his curiosity and shock, he stumbled towards a nearby bathroom. He leaned over the sink then washed his face.
At that moment, a sudden ding resonated in his ears.
[Ding!]
Startled, he stepped back from the mirror, only to see a bluish translucent hologram materializing before him. He reached out to touch it, but his fingers passed through the image as if it were made air.
Then, a loading bar appeared, which moved excruciatingly slow.
With nothing else to do, he waited, his curiosity increasing with each passing second. When the loading bar finally filled, the screen suddenly vanished, leaving him momentarily disoriented.
He rubbed his eyes then questioned his sanity.
"Am I hallucinating right now? Am I in a dream?" he said as he washed his face with cold water.
When he dried his face, the world around him started to fade. Colors bled into darkness until he found himself floating in an endless void. Panic enveloped him, but before he could react, a calm, mechanical voice echoed around him.
[System Activated!]
"What the..."
An orb of light appeared in the void, which pulsated gently. Zastan Miles watched in awe as the void around him slowly transformed, pixel by pixel, then into a digital landscape. It felt like he was inside a computer game, surrounded by an artificial yet, captivating world.
"Welcome, Zastan." The orb spoked, it voice it carried was rather soothing. "This is the Resource System. A system that will help you gather and utilize various resources. From common materials like dirt and stone to rare and valuable elements and games. The system will also provide you the help you will need to reach the top of this world..."
"Is.... Is this real?" he asked with uncertainty.
"Yes, host. This is very much real."
"Do you know how long I've been waiting all these years for you to appear? It's been 18 years and now you're just appearing in my life? Why didn't you appear in the very beginning?" he bombarded the system with questions.
"Haha... A malfunctioned happened, but don't worry, I will surely compensate you for this los.t"
"..."
"Wha-" but before he made a response, he was cutted off by the system.
"First of all, let us start with the main function of the System. The system has a list of 'Mines' you can buy and upgrade."
Zastan: "..."
A large screen then appeared in front of him, it was filled with many kinds of 'Mines'
"They will then generate resources automatically, each one with specific costs and production rates. But keep in mind, all of this will require money to unlock."
Hearing this, Zastan said. "Fine, I'll forgive you for now." his mind now raced with the possibilities of the system, he had already imagine the scene where he'll reach the top of this world.
Before he started to imagine something further than that, the orb's light grew brighter and brighter.
Then in a blink of an eye, he was back in his room, and the digital landscape quickly dissolved around him.
Out of eagerness, he began to explore the system. He mentally gave instructions to the system.
The translucent screen then expanded, which revealed a list of options, each with its own price tag.
Dirt Mine - $1000
Stone Mine - $2500
Copper Mine - $5000
Iron Mine - $250000
Gold Mine - $100000000
[LOCKED]
[LOCKED]
...
Seeing the prices going higher and higher, he shook his head in disbelief and moved on. He opened the menu labeled 'Market,' only to find that it was locked. A message underneath appeared.
Level 2 required.
Out of frustration, he clicked through a few more options until he reached the 'Inventory'. Rows of blank square appeared, which looked like those of a video game inventory system.
He ignored most of it, and his attention was drawn to a box with a present icon.
[Starter Pack]
As his curiosity piqued, he clicked the open button.
Then the virtual gift box exploded with digital confetti which then revealed a message:
[Congratulations on obtaining the 'Gold Mine']
His eyes widened in surprise. He quickly checked the gold mine's description in the Miners menu, it then read that it produces 5$ worth of gold every second.
Unable to contain his excitement, Zastan whooped with joy. He danced around his room, and even jumped on the bed.
As he slowly calmed down, he navigated to the 'Character' menu. The screen displayed a detailed profile:
Name: Zastan Miles
Level: 1 (75/1,000,000)
Age: 18
Balance: $379
Stats:
Strength: 7
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 6(5 is the average for humans)
Inventory: NONE
"Seriously? Only 6 in intelligence? That's obviously a mistake," he complained loudly, he felt insulted by the low number. "I was a manager in my previous life at a young age! My intelligence is definitely more than just above average!"
[The stats are based on a systematic evaluation of the host's current capabilities.]
Zastan: "..."
He huffed, feeling insulted by the system's 'Matter-of-fact' explanation to him. He then moved on then went back to the Miners menu.
He clicked the gold mine which revealed two options: 'Upgrade' and 'Stats'.
He first selected upgrade then a list of upgrade costs appeared:
Upgrade cost:
+1kg/sec (468.7B$)
+100g/sec (46.8B$)
+10g/sec (4.6B$)
+1g/sec (468M$)
He quickly pressed return, feeling overwhelmed by the cost of each upgrade. Then he checked the stats which showed the current production rate of the said mine.
[Producing: 0.22g/s]
...
After ten minutes of exploring the system. Zastan felt more comfortable with the user interface and its functions. He noticed that the gold mine had already generated a few thousand dollars worth of gold.
"Withdraw" he gave the system a command with his voice filled with anticipation
Upon clicking the button, he was taken aback when a lump of dirt with shimmering flecks of gold appeared, far from what he had expected which is pure gold.
"What is this?" he asked, starting at the dirt in disbelief
[The host can turn it into pure gold, but it will cost 20% of the value.]
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" he replied, feeling a wave of frustration washing over him.
[The host did not ask.]
He sighed as his frustration growing.
Nonetheless, he clicked the 'convert' button, expecting the lump of dirt in his hand to transform.
Instead, only the gold that was still in the mine was converted which is a small piece of shimmering gold, leaving him with the same limp of dirt on his other hand.
"Are you kidding me?" he muttered, more frustrated than ever.
"Why is it a lump of dirt instead of a gold bar or coin or something??" he asked.
[The host can only convert those in the Mines]
"F*ck you!" He cursed loudly, venting his frustration.
After a few deep breaths, he calmed down and secured the gold under his bed, making sure it was hidden from view.
"This time Il forgive you, but you better really make me realize that dream of reaching the top of this world." He said.
[...]
With the gold safely stored, Zastan tried to sleep. Hours passed as he tossed and turned, the excitement and adrenaline refusing to let him rest.
"This is going to be a long night," he muttered to himself, staring at the ceiling. "How am I supposed to sleep with all this happening?"
He sighed, feeling a mix of exhaustion and exhilaration, knowing that this was just the beginning of his adventure in this new world.
He sighed deeply, as he lay there, his thoughts began to formulate a plan. He needed to think strategically about how to utilize the sources the system provided without arousing any suspicion.
"Okay... Let's think this through," he whispered to himself. "I can't just start selling gold here and expect no one will come to ask questions. Just a simple background check and I'm screwed."
He sighed deeply, feeling a mix of exhaustion and exhilaration. As he lay there, his thoughts began to coalesce into a plan. He needed to think strategically about how to utilize the resources the system provided without arousing suspicion.
"Alright, let's think this through," he whispered to himself, his eyes narrowing in concentration. "I can't just start selling gold here and expect no one to ask questions. I need a cover story, a legitimate reason to leave home and operate without drawing attention."
Zastan knew he needed to move to a place where he could blend in, where no one would notice his sudden influx of wealth...
Luminae, a bustling city with a population of 25 million, seemed like the perfect choice. It was a thousand kilometers away from his current location, far enough that no one from his small hometown would casually stumble upon him.
"Luminae it is," he decided. "Good thing I have some money saved up after all these years in High School."
He began to formulate a reason. "Well, since it's my vacation after graduating from secondary school, there's still 2 months left before college starts. I should make use of this to formulate a good plan."
"I'll tell them that I have found a temporary side job that has a good pay in Luminae," he mused. "Something that pays well enough to cover at least a large portion of my tuition and living expenses. That should be enough to give me a legitimate reason to move there.
His plan started to take shape. He would first explain to his family that he got a job opportunity in Luminae. Given the economic situation of his family, they would surely be supportive at his decision, and they'd for sure be happy seeing that he was taking the initiative to secure his future.
"Perfect." he thought with a smile on his face. "This way, they wouldn't reject my offer which will hinder my future plans."
"In a city as large as Luminae, I can sell the resources without drawing too much attention." he thought.
Of course, he also couldn't deny the allure of the city's vibrant lifestyle. A city of that size would surely have luxurious services, stores, an extravagant nightlife and exclusive VIP experiences. He would be able to indulge in the city life, frequent visits to bars, enjoying fine dining, and experiencing a luxurious lifestyle he had always dreamed of even in his previous life.
"It's honestly a win-win," he chuckled softly. "I can build my wealth and also enjoy life at the same time."
"But first, of course I need to get there," he thought, bringing back his focus into the immediate task he must accomplish.
"I should leave in the tomorrow morning and catch the first train."
"This is for the best after all," he reassured himself. "It's also for the best. I can't risk anyone finding out about the system's existence. At least not yet at the very least."
He spent the next few hours fine-tuning his 'story', preparing answers for any questions his family might have. He also made a list of essentials he needed to pack for the journey.
Originally, he planned to bring just a small back with all his important belongings inside, but at second thought, he shook it off, he didn't want to ruin his plan just because of a simple bag. "After all, they'll surely be suspicious of me if ever I left with just a simple bag"
...