Henry's world went dark, his vision blurring as the pain overwhelmed him. But instead of the expected nothingness, he felt a warm sensation, and the soft beep of machinery.
Henry's eyes fluttered open, revealing a sleek, metallic ceiling. He lay on a narrow bed, surrounded by various medical devices and screens displaying vital signs.
He sat up wondering where he was and more importantly
"I'm not dead.Haha, I'm really not dead, but where am i?" henry said with a wide smile while looking around his surroundings.
The room was small, with metal walls, having a slight resemblance to an hospital ward, it was a sterile sanctuary of gleaming equipment and holographic displays. The air was crisp, filtered to perfection, and the scent of antiseptic wafted through the space.
He was wearing a long white robe which covered his upper body and his trousers which parts of it had burnt off, revealing some of his thigh skin
He stared at the machinery and devices in the room, trying to guess their functions, when the system screen popped up.
[That's right you brat of a host. Rejoice! for the system has prevented your demise once again]
"Oh mighty system from the gods, this lowly host glorifies thee!" henry played along replying with a smug smile.
"But how, I'm pretty sure i was down to the last bar?" he said trying to recall the events that occurred.
[Lucky for host, you had seemingly gained a skill from your level up, one that was helpful in the situation]
"Huh..what level up...oh wait, that's right!" he face brightened up as his memories flooded back: the beast, the battle, the fireball, the system message he had read just before he was hit.
Henry wasted no time and immediately opened the system interface, where all the messages and notifications appeared, starting with the first he received before the beast even showed up.
Daily quest complete; Run a mile]
*Quest reward: 5 exp
[Congratulations you have received 5 exp]
[Congratulations you have levelled up]
[Host is now in level 2]
*+5 points to all stats*
*Hp: [20/20]
*System trade feature is now available*
*New skill received: Health regeneration*
*Energy points is now available*
*Shop has been unlocked*
[Random quest complete; level up once]
*Quest reward: one giftbox*
[Congratulations you have received one giftbox, it has been added to the inventory]
"Oh yeah i did level up, looks like my health increases by 10 each time i level up, but I'm guessing it was the health regeneration that healed me?" he asked the system
[Indeed, host can get more information by checking your status]
Henry nodded as he thought about the status tab, and it opened.
*Name: Henry
*Race: Human
*Level 2
Exp: [0/15]
*Hp: 20/20
*Ep: 5
**Strength: 15
*Agility: 20
*Stamina: 15
*Defense: 15
*Perception: 15
*Stat point: 5
[Speed Rate: 120 km/hr]
none
*Advanced time perception [passive]
*Health regeneration [passive]:
[This skill heals host every time host gets hurt physically and loses hp, it consumes Ep per Hp point restored]
*Trade[Equivalent Exchange]:
[This feature grants host the ability to have a fair exchange with the system, host can simply get anything from the system if the right exchange price is met].
"Wow, this is really good especially the health regeneration. I don't have to worry about getting hurt anymore; I'll just heal right back up. But why does the hp regeneration consume energy points, the time perception doesn't?" henry asked, but he got no reply
"Great, i guess I'll just have to deal with it, but doesn't the energy point seem a bit low?" he asked again, then the screen popped up with more information
*Ep [Energy points]:
[Energy points are required to activate and maintain some skills[active or passive], 100 energy points would be added with each level up, Ep restores itself one point per minute]
"Woah, one hundred, that's really cool, i won't even need to improve it with stat points....wait a minute, if my current Ep is five, and my Hp is full then that means....damn it, you restored my health with 5 ep per hp, that's just a rip off!" Henry exclaimed
[Host should better just be grateful for even receiving any energy points at all, did host really think the system would just grant you a huge amount of energy and not have a high taxing rate] the system replied
"That's just cruelty!" henry retorted
[Perhaps host doesn't even deserve the energy given, i can always take it back]
"What, you can't do that...can you?" henry asked more calmy with sweat forming on his head, but the system didn't reply.
"Well once again, i guess I'll just deal with it.But why didn't my speed rate increases even with my agility improving?"
[Host should be aware that speed rate can affect agility, but agility can't affect speed rate]
"Oh ok guess that leaves shop, i can always explore that later, for now i want to reveal the giftbox." henry said with excitement
But before he could open it, the sliding doors of the entrance to the room made a soft hiss and a familiar male figure walked in, and it was no other than the man known as xavier.
"Good, you're awake." he said, his voice stern, as he walked closer to the bed where henry was sitting, and folded his arms.
He nodded as he quickly put on a softer, gentle and meek demeanor, he had completely forgotten about the duo as he was to focus on the system.
"You took quite a hit kid, but you recovered pretty fast, when my partner and I killed the hell hound and found you, we honestly thought you'd be dead.But your burns had completely healed, you didn't have a scratch on your body,"
"What, they were able to defeat that beast, how strong are this people?" henry thought
"Although you were passed out, so we brought you here and gave you more medications to make sure you were ok." he continued
Henry remained silent not moving a muscle, he just kept sitting there looking like a lost puppy as he fully analyzed xavier, he was a tall man looking to be in his late 30s. He was quite muscular and huge, his muscles clearly visible due to the black tight-fitted jumpsuit he was now wearing, he looked pretty intimidating.
"So, I'm just gonna ask a few questions and I need you to answer me, do you understand?" he asked sternly in a commanding tone
Henry just nodded, keeping up his pitiful act, he was a little nervous not knowing what the big strong guy would ask, but he knew one thing
"One wrong move, and a punch from him would definitely kill me." henry thought
"Alright, good, I'll start with the basics.Who are you? and what were you doing in the forest?" he asked calmly
"I...don't know and i don't know" henry replied not knowing what else to say
"Good atleast you talk...wait, what do you mean, you don't know!" Xavier retorted with his voice slightly raised
But henry didn't reply, although terrified at what xavier might do to him, he still kept his composure.
"Look kid, i don't have time for this. You either answer me now, or we can do this the hard way." he replied rather calmly
Henry shivered at the thought of what 'the hard way' might be, he just kept looking at xavier who looked like he could pounce on him at any moment.
"Ok fine, if you won't talk then can you explain how your body was able to heal that fast and how you arrived at the forest in the first place?" xavier asked again already getting impatient
"I...I don't remember." henry replied slowly, keeping up his charade
He certainly could not tell him that he had reincarnated from another world, and he most certainly could not tell him about the system. He didn't even know them, if they were good or bad guys.
"Ok, so the hard way it is!" he replied, dropping his arms, moving closer to henry, but before he could do anything, the door suddenly made a hiss and slowly opened, and the woman who was xavier's partner from the beast fight, walked in
"Don't scare the poor kid, xavier. That's not very nice," she said as she walked towards them
She seemed to have taken off her armour, now also wearing a sleek black jumpsuit that stuck well to her body, showing off all her curves, making her look even more attractive, it had the same logo that was on the armour, a golden bird that was ascending with it's wings out, at the left side of her chest, she had honey coloured eyes and seemed to be in her early 30s.
"Sorry about him, he's a little cranky since the fight with that beast," she said with a smile and sat opposite henry on the bed
Henry was rather calm he couldn't seem to get his eyes of her, he looked at her with admiration and gratitude, not knowing what xavier would have done to him if she hadn't walked in.
"Perhaps i should ask the questions." she said as she looked in xavier's eye, not ready to take no for an answer
"Fine, just get him to talk." xavier answered still looking at henry in an unfriendly way
"Great," she said, facing henry
"My name's jane, what's yours?" she asked while smiling.