"Manager, I'd like to resign!" Eisen handed his resignation letter to the middle-aged man with thinning hair and gold-rimmed glasses. Though his expression showed a hint of embarrassment, his tone was firm.
"Eisen Turner, are you serious?" John asked, rubbing his short brown hair as he glanced between Eisen and the letter.
"Yes, manager. I've suddenly decided on a new direction for my life," Eisen replied, shrugging slightly, his tone calm and composed, revealing no inner turmoil.
"If I recall correctly, you just started working this morning?" John's face took on an expression of disbelief, as if he thought Eisen was joking.
"Yes, I know. I'm sorry, but I have to make this choice," Eisen said, while secretly thinking, *I don't want this either, but what can I do now that I've got the system after 18 years?*
John's expression froze. He wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. In the end, he nodded and accepted Eisen's resignation, offering a somewhat awkward, "I wish you the best of luck in your future."
"Thank you." After a polite response, Eisen turned and headed back to his office to pack. The conversation had been bizarre, but to understand it, you need to go back to the beginning.
In his previous life, Eisen Turner had been an ordinary man, living a life as flat as water, without much excitement or change.
The details of that life are hazy now, and he rarely thinks about them. All he remembers is collapsing after pulling an all-nighter to debug a cash-grabbing game his company had made.
Before he knew it, he found himself in Manchester, England, as a baby born in 1972.
His family was nothing special. His father, Jeff Turner, worked as a technician in a car factory, and his mother, Ivy Merlin, was the editor-in-chief at a publishing company.
While Eisen wasn't born into wealth, his family had enough to live comfortably, and from an early age, he carefully planned out his new life once he realized he'd been reborn decades in the past.
Throughout his schooling, Eisen breezed through academics, becoming the proverbial "model student" with excellent grades. His knowledge from his previous life also helped him amass over two million pounds by reproducing books and songs he remembered.
With a solid financial foundation, his parents supported whatever plans he had for his future.
So, he joined a film and television company in London, intending to work for a few years, then branch out and start his own production studio. This way, he could bring some of the "classic movies" from his memories to life and collaborate with his mother's publishing company to develop intellectual property.
On July 4th, 1990, today, Eisen started his new job at Feise Forest Film and Television Company as a production assistant. Everything was going according to plan—until 10:00 a.m., when an unexpected event occurred, upending his life plan entirely.
After packing some papers into his briefcase and gathering his things, Eisen left the office, walked downstairs, and entered a nearby café.
Ordering a cup of coffee, he sat quietly by the window, trying to calm himself. To onlookers, he appeared to be enjoying a peaceful moment, but only he knew the truth—an illusory screen had appeared before his eyes.
This was the reason Eisen abruptly changed his life course: the legendary System had awakened on his first day at work. On the screen was his character panel:
[
Character: Eisen Turner
Extraordinary Talent: Magic (Activated)
Magic Value: 10 (Increases by 10 points daily)
Extraordinary Characteristics: None
Miracle Feature: 1 copy (Automatically granted 1 copy per year)
]
Seeing this, Eisen suddenly felt the world was a beautiful place. His magic had just activated, and with the ability to gain 10 points of magic every day, his journey into the extraordinary had begun. But what could this magic actually do? Could he cast spells?
A smile crept across Eisen's face as he wondered. But the terms "extraordinary" and "miracle" puzzled him; they didn't provide any clues about their functions.
No matter how much he concentrated, he couldn't sense any change from these characteristics. It seemed his Gold Finger's abilities were quite limited. There were no stats for strength, endurance, or defense like he had imagined, and even basic skills were missing.
The only thing he knew for sure was that his magic increased daily, but its purpose remained unclear.
Time passed, and suddenly, Eisen had an idea. Smiling to himself, he stood up, left the café, and headed into a nearby bookstore.
A few minutes later, he returned to his seat by the window, carrying five notebooks, a pen, and a bottle of ink.
After filling the pen, he wrote "Magical Meditation" in bold characters on the cover of one notebook and then began jotting down what he could recall from magical meditation techniques he had read about in novels. The method would allow him to sense and manipulate surrounding magic.
Though Eisen didn't possess such grand skills, he invented a plausible-sounding practice. After an hour, he had completed his "Magical Meditation" manual.
However, no matter how much he mentally commanded the system to "learn" the skill, nothing appeared on his character panel.
Ignoring the curious glances from others in the café, he slapped the notebook out of frustration, but still, nothing changed.
Was he going about this the wrong way? Eisen considered this as he looked at the magical talent on his character panel. He decided to try again.
Taking up another notebook, he titled it "Magic Body Training" and began writing about a technique where magic circulates through the body to enhance physical fitness and increase affinity with magic.
When finished, Eisen memorized every detail, feeling a strong desire to learn it, but again, the character panel remained unchanged. He had hoped that creating skills on his own would trigger the system, but it was a failure.
Next, Eisen tested some of the skills he already knew—driving, programming, and writing—but none of them appeared on the panel either.
By now, Eisen had accepted that his Gold Finger didn't work the way he had hoped. It wouldn't grant him skills just by writing them down. Disappointed, he realized he'd have to find another way to unlock its full potential.
Despite the setback, his 10 points of magic each day was still promising. But then he remembered something crucial: his safety. He had lived in this world for 18 years without worry, but now that he had awakened magical abilities, could there be hidden dangers? Could this be more than just ordinary 1970s England? Perhaps he was in a parallel world where extraordinary powers existed?
Suddenly, the idea of keeping a low profile and hiding his abilities seemed wise.
Looking at his packed briefcase, Eisen felt a pang of regret. Maybe quitting his job so suddenly wasn't the best idea. If he wanted to remain inconspicuous, continuing to work like a normal person might've been smarter. But it was too late to undo his impulsive decision.
Feeling mentally drained, Eisen sighed and dismissed the character panel, wondering what to do next.
As time slipped away, noon came and went, and Eisen still hadn't settled on a plan. He ordered pasta from the café and ate in silence, his mind buzzing with possibilities.