As Surya opened the door and went in, he saw a woman look up with teary eyes. This was his mother, Nalini. She seemed to be middle-aged although she was only 36 years old this year. Women in Aryavarta usually married much earlier than in other parts of the world.
At that time, theirs had been a flourishing family with his father, Rajesh, in an important post in the army. The military was very well looked after by the government, with monthly rations for food and a designated villa to live in. With all these conditions, the Anivron family did not hesitate to have a child.
His father had been born to a middling cloth merchant. He had joined the army at the young age of 16 and had worked his way up the ranks with grit and determination. This resulted in him becoming a squad leader at the relatively young age of 25 while also garnering the admiration of many higher-ups.
His father fell in love with his mother at first sight at a family gathering. Although she had only been 18 at the time, the families did not hesitate to make the marriage happen. Such an age difference was actually quite common here.
Then, disaster struck. Surya was around 3 years old when his father was thrown out of the army. Even their families were targeted and they were warned that they could either move to the slums or be thrown out of the city.
With no other option, the Anivron family had built this shack with the last of the savings that had not been confiscated and had lived here ever since. Thus, he only had vague memories of the rest of his family who maintained their distance except for a few close friends.
"Surya! Where were you?! You made me and your father so worried!", his mother gasped out amid sobs after running up to him and hugging him.
Noticing the injuries that were all around his body, she carefully started checking everywhere to make sure that there weren't any life-threatening ones.
Hearing the commotion, a man with a circular mark branded on his forehead looked up from the bed. A broad smile came upon his face on seeing that his son was back.
This family would be shattered if anything happened to their only son. He was their pride, their hope, and their heart.
His father was called Rajesh. The mark on his face was the brand given to all those disgraced and thrown from the army. Seeing the mark, no one in their fair mind would even donate a few coins, let alone give a job.
"I'm fine, Ma. I got attacked by some goondas who thought I had money on me. They left after ganging up on me and seeing that I had nothing but these clothes. I just washed my face in a fountain before hurrying back.", he lied.
There was no way he could tell anyone about the system yet.
As he lay in bed, Surya decided to ask the system some questions.
"How did you get into my head?", he asked, deciding to start with the most pressing questions.
[Information locked. Please advance to the requisite level to unlock this information.]
"Who made you?"
[Information locked. Please advance to the requisite level to unlock this information.]
"Did the scientists on earth somehow put you in me?"
[Information locked. Please advance to the requisite level to unlock this information.]
... Surya was starting to get angry. He first calmed himself down and started to ask questions which might be answerable.
"What is Ether? How did it heal my body?"
[Ether is a wondrous material generated by this world. It is one of the materials that contains the quintessential Energy which enables those in this world to advance on the path to power. In a concentrated form, it also has incredible healing properties which the system can harness. The system has the ability to detect such materials. At the present level of the system, only Ether can be detected. Please upgrade the system to unlock more functions. Unlock cost: 10,000 Exp Points.]
This was a start. Even Surya had heard of Ether but he had just wanted to make sure.
"What else can you do?"
[The system can currently perform the following tasks:
Ether Detection
Host Status Analysis
Deployment of Auxiliary Tools
Mission Control
Please upgrade the system to unlock more options. Unlock cost: 10,000 Exp Points.]
The damn system constantly kept asking him to upgrade it. To Surya, It sounded like the irritating friend who constantly coaxed you to buy him something.
Opting to ignore it, he asked, "How do you earn Exp Points? And what is the level progression?"
[Exp points are earned when certain hidden goals are achieved or when missions are accomplished. Level progression is the progression of the host towards the next level of power.]
Surya had guessed as much.
"What are the power levels?"
[System is not aware of the power levels in this world.]
New Mission: Provide information regarding the world
Mission Progress: 0%
Mission Description: The system has already analyzed all the information currently known to the host. New information is needed in order to build the database. Host is required to find and interact with any and all materials that will aid in this task.
Mission Rewards: 10 Exp Points. A new function will be unlocked.
Mission Failure Penalty: None
Does host choose to accept the mission?
A simple question had resulted in a mission being given. It seemed that even idly ruminating and asking questions could trigger events like these from the system.
Surya thought for a moment before accepting the mission. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
"I accept the mission," he said finally.
[Mission accepted. Host will receive mission updates and rewards upon completion.]
Surya smiled to himself, feeling a sense of determination. He was ready to take on this new world and uncover its secrets.
He closed his eyes, feeling the system's presence in his mind. He knew that he had a long journey ahead of him, but he was ready.
The system's voice echoed in his mind once more.
[Host is advised to rest and recover. The journey ahead will be challenging.]
Surya nodded to himself, feeling a sense of resolve. He was ready to face whatever challenges came his way.
And with that, he drifted off to sleep, ready to face the dawn of a new day.