"Happy birthday!" A high-pitched squeal and the following thud forced him to his senses.Did that bright flash and the apocalypse even happen? Or did his cousin wake him up?That dream was way too crazy to be the vision of the future, but his gut feeling told him it was real.It will happen, somehow, sometime soon. But when? If already today, he's screwed.He wasn't at school yet but couldn't skip it either. They had these stupid monthly gatherings in the hall early in the morning. The student council President would even give a speech.Right. The President, who was a Shieldmage of sorts shooting icicles all over.Okay, first things first. He was still in bed, and the pressure on his torso reminded him that he wasn't alone.Yet he couldn't see anything. A huge blue rectangle blocked his vision. It was too close and obtrusive for comfort like someone pushed a tablet into his face."Is this still a dream?" Jake mumbled, seeing double as a strange text followed wherever he looked.A girl's sweet voice and weight proved otherwise. "It could be. You're eighteen now. How crazy is that?" She sounded excited but still out of his sight.Blinking and rubbing his eyes finally made that thing disappear, but not completely. A red exclamation mark remained in the corner of his vision, and other weird things appeared too.[Katie Smith, (Human. Age: 13) Your cousin.]A text floated above her head, which was new, but only stated what he already knew."You look like shit. Anime marathon?" A new voice chimed in, and turning over he noticed the same subtitles.[Tim Smith, (Human. Age: 15) Your cousin.]"What the hell?" He sat up on his bed confused. He was awake and in his usual room, but it felt like he was watching things through a game's interface."Don't let him piss you off, Tim's always like that." Katie bumped his brother's shoulder, and a blink later, the texts disappeared. Something wasn't right."Ah, I know, just... I had my head spin around. It must be a headache coming." Jake decided to keep this weirdness to himself until he found out more. Right, he turned eighteen today."It might be what being an adult is like." Tim teased him, the young blonde approaching with a wide grin. "Now you can start calculating how long until retirement."His hair mimicked a forest of spikes, still wet from all the gel he used. His sister wore hers in a loose side braid, resting on her narrow shoulder. The scene was the usual, and no doubt real."Don't remind me. I must escape school first and get a job." Jake groaned, rubbing his forehead. He was slow on the uptake, with everything going on but he didn't want to show it.Interface elements kept popping in and out of existence and he had no idea why. He tried his best to ignore them for now, hearing a knock on the doorframe."You'll be going to college first." His uncle protested, holding a shoebox in his arms.[Robert Smith, (Human. Age: 40) Your uncle.]There it was again. Both the text and this stupid argument. "I can't afford it, and I'm already imposing on you guys." Jake couldn't count how many times he said this already."Nonsense. I owe your father this much." The man walked in, dropping the cardboard box onto his lap. "Which reminds me, he wanted you to have this. Happy birthday.""Thanks." He flipped it open, finding a large hunting knife inside. "Ugh, Dad."His father still annoyed him, even beyond the grave. Or wherever the old man disappeared. He refused to believe he'd go down that easy, even if he hadn't seen him in years."What am I supposed to do with this?" He asked, pinching the weapon between two fingers."It's a cool knife, but don't you dare take it to school," Robert laughed, then paused. "Of course, you'll get a gift from us too, once you come down for breakfast.""You don't have to." He tried to protest but knew them better than pushing it. The knife had quite the heft to it, and taking a better look summoned another description.[Enchanted Knife, (+5 Attack, +1 Damage) In perfect condition.]The surprises kept coming, and he only had time to think once everyone cleared his room to let him get dressed. After an ominous dream, now system messages, and a magic knife."What the fuck's going on?" He scratched his head, then had an idea. He kept a pocket mirror on his desk and wanted to look at himself. The interface wouldn't cooperate.[Pocket Mirror, used.]"Of course." He sighed, but a blue rectangle popped up, smaller and less intrusive than the first one. It was further away too, so the text was easy to read.[Tip: If you want information about yourself, open your character sheet instead.]"My what?!" He stumbled back, bumping against his bed. He didn't have to ask how to do it, thinking about it was enough, and the small blue window gave way to a much larger one.[Name: Jake Jones, (Human HIDDEN CLASS, Level 1, Age: 18)Strength: 10 (+0)Agility: 13 (+1)Dexterity: 16 (+3)Endurance: 10 (+0)Health: 10 (+0)Charisma: 8 (-1)Intelligence: 18 (+4)Willpower: 14 (+2)Astral: 11 (+0)Perception: 12 (+1)HP: 20/20 FP: 44/44 MP: 12/12You have 28 unspent skill points.]"What's a hidden class?" He raised an eyebrow. The rest of the stat block was straight from a tabletop roleplaying game. But it had ten abilities instead of the six he knew.And of course, he had a charisma of eight. It didn't even surprise him, considering how awkward he could get. The high intelligence was at least somewhat comforting."So that means I'm smart, right?" He pondered, trying to make sense of the numbers. Were these high or low? And what about the ones in the brackets? A new message interrupted him.[Tip: You have an unread Main Objective, make sure you don't ignore it.]"Right, that must be that flashing red exclamation mark." He mumbled and blinked while thinking about it. The text he saw earlier reappeared, but now he could read it.[Main Objective: Prevent the Apocalypse.As you have seen in a prophetic vision, the world will end in seven days. Using your knowledge and abilities you must do your best to prevent it. Reward on completion: You won't die a horrible death. Duh.]"A little more explanation would have been nice," Jake complained. But at least he knew that the future he saw wouldn't happen today. He discarded every window to plop on his bed.So the dream was real. This system was, too, and he had a mission."Sure, stop the apocalypse. I never even talked to those girls before. What do you expect from me with a charisma of eight?" His eyes landed on that enchanted knife his father had left him.Did he know it was magical? What would he do in this situation? The best he could think of was to hurry up and head downstairs. But he didn't feel like celebrating his birthday anymore.