"Nice to meet you! My name is Aurelia Mutiara. I came here to shop for a few drinks. Oh, by the way, I'm currently interning at a guild, so it's a pleasure to meet you!" Aurelia said.
"You can call me Aurelia or Lia." She added with a smile.
"Oh... nice to meet you too..." I responded awkwardly.
"Um, excuse me, if there's nothing else you need to ask, I'll be on my way." I said after buying some groceries for home. It wasn't much—mostly drinks, snacks, and instant noodles to last me a few days.
"Ah, okay! See you later!" Aurelia said, waving as I started to walk away.
"Oh, and good luck! I hope you adjust well to your awakening today!" she encouraged me.
"Ah... umm, thanks..." I replied weakly.
Honestly, I don't have much experience with women. I'm not good at talking or starting conversations, and I'm definitely not good at socializing. I rarely even greet the girls in my class, so that's probably why I couldn't respond properly to Aurelia, even when she cheered me on.
"Hah, whatever, no need to overthink it... It's already over anyway," I muttered to myself.
After walking for a while, I finally arrived home. I started preparing some of the food I bought. Although I'm not the best cook, I'm confident enough that what I make is at least edible, haha.
"Alright, let's put aside today's unexpected meeting for now... I should explore some of the features of my new system," I said as I ate the food I had cooked.
"Status."
I called out to summon my system.
A status screen appeared before me, glitching like something from a video game. Honestly, it was pretty cool because I felt like a character in an RPG, just like the ones I used to play when I was a kid.
"Okay, besides showing my status and skills, I can also view the descriptions of the skills I have."
This seems pretty similar to the typical system display I've heard about. What else can I see besides this? Hmm, wait... what's this? Why is there an arrow symbol in the bottom right corner?" I said.
After noticing the symbol, I decided to click it with my index finger. The moment I pressed it, a completely different display appeared from the initial system screen.
"Huh... a new display?" I wasn't surprised anymore, considering how overpowered my new skills and system were.
"Let me take a look... hmm, the layout looks familiar, like something I've seen in fantasy comics and RPG games I used to play as a kid," Lathan said, recalling features from the games he used to play.
I think I'll refer to this different part of my status as the "Page."
On this "Page," there are a lot of new displays. It's styled like most RPG games. Here, I can see my avatar and the equipment I'm currently wearing or plan to equip later. If I list them from top to bottom, the equipment slots for my body are as follows:
- Head
- Upper body (probably more like armor)
- Weapon
- Lower body
- Shoes
- Accessories
This layout looks so much like typical RPG games, with a visual of my body as a hologram on the right side, highlighting the parts where armor or weapons can be equipped. The layout is set within a hexagonal pattern.
On the left side is the placement of "Equipment" that I can use. It's shaped like six rectangular columns. In the far left corner of each box, there's an icon representing the body part or equipment slot, and in the middle, it says "Empty," indicating that I'm not currently wearing any gear.
"I think I've mentioned this a few times already, but this display is pretty much like RPG games... or maybe more like MMORPGs?" Lathan pondered.
"Ah, it looks like I missed one detail here," Lathan mumbled as he noticed something at the very bottom center of the display.
"What's this? It says 'Help,' but what kind of help?"
"Wait, this isn't what I think it is, is it?" Lathan wondered, recalling a feature usually found in RPG games.
Driven by curiosity, I immediately pressed the "Help" button on this second page. As soon as I did, a "Notification" appeared.
"Notification?" Lathan mumbled.
|• Notification •|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| Access is restricted because your level does not meet the minimum requirement. Raise your level to 5 to unlock this feature. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"... Access is restricted because your level does not meet the minimum requirement. Raise your level to 5 to unlock this feature?..." Lathan read aloud from the screen.
"Hmm, interesting. I'm really looking forward to seeing what this help feature is," Lathan said.
I think there's nothing else to explore on this second page. Oh yeah, I almost forgot... the skills I've obtained are stored on the first page, under the Overlimit skill.
I cleaned up the dishes from my meal while glancing at my status screen. After that, I tidied up the plates and utensils I had used.
"Alright, after all that, I guess my next step is to register with the Player Bureau as a newly awakened Hunter," Lathan said.
Honestly, after all the suffering I've endured so far... I don't want to bow down to the government running this Player Bureau. Especially since I was late to awaken, I've been treated poorly, although there were also people who cared about me.
I want to be like the main characters in those comics—whether it's a Hunter-themed comic or something similar—who, after gaining immense power, dominate their world.
I want that too, but... reality isn't as simple or as fun as it is in those stories, is it? Those characters have privileges like intelligence, good looks, and connections with powerful people. I don't have any of that. I'm not smart enough to instantly change my personality after gaining overpowering abilities... though that might happen eventually, haha... I don't have a handsome face either; in fact, I look more like a background character in a story. I don't have any extraordinary privileges either. At most, I know a Rank C Hunter who's already too old to keep working as a Hunter... and I have a close friend, but I don't want to bother him too much unless it's an emergency.
I'm not a perfect character who can solve every problem with optimism. In the future, I plan to become much stronger for myself. For now, I don't plan on using my power for others; I'll use it for myself and my family. Once I'm stronger, I'll help those I want to help and who need it, I'll strike those I want to hit, and I'll kill those I want to kill. Basically, when I become much stronger, I won't let anyone control me—not even the world itself.
But for now, I just have to follow the rules to survive. The world isn't as beautiful as it is in comics or novels. If I act recklessly early on and offend someone, I'll be done for. That's why, in the beginning, I'll stick to society's rules... even if I'm bullied, I'll stay quiet.
But I'm not kind-hearted enough to forget all the insults I've endured. I'll repay every bad treatment I've received with something far worse. Just wait.
...
...
...
...
"Ah, damn it," I said.
"I've been thinking too much and lost track of time. Ugh, this is such a bad habit," Lathan muttered.
Lathan had a bad habit of overthinking negative scenarios. Before gaining power, he could suppress these thoughts by telling himself, "I can't do anything about it." But now that he had such immense power, the desire for revenge against the insults he had suffered in the past began to intensify whenever he thought about them.
"I need to think rationally. For now, I need to plant this mindset," Lathan mumbled again.
"I won't be a hero who saves people voluntarily, nor will I become a villain who acts so ruthlessly that I endanger innocent lives. I'll be myself and live the life I want, in my own way," Lathan declared.
"Alright, instead of talking to myself like a crazy person, I'd better get going to the Player Association office to register my awakening," Lathan said.
After cleaning up and changing clothes, Lathan headed to the center of Bandung, where the city's Player Association branch was located.
Lathan left his house and walked to the bus stop to go to the city center. After a 30-minute journey, he arrived at his destination.
Seeing how grand the Bandung branch of the Player Association was, I couldn't help but be amazed. With all the changes happening in the world, many things that once seemed impossible are now possible.
"If I had enough money, could I build a building like this? Maybe even start a guild?" Lathan wondered with a slight grin.
Lathan snapped out of his daydream and prepared to walk toward the entrance of the association building. He couldn't deny that there were a lot of people here, either registering as "Players" or "Hunters," reassessing their ranks, or guild members scouting for potential recruits.
A few steps later, I heard someone calling my name.
"THAN!!! HEY!"
Hm? Is someone calling me? I turned to the side and saw someone waving at me as they walked towards me.
Who is that?... Ah, that must be Faiz, my childhood friend.
He approached me with a smile and patted me on the shoulder.
"Hey Than, how've you been? You doing alright? It's been a while since we've talked after I moved," Faiz said.
"Wait, you didn't forget about me, did you?
~~Continued~~