- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Shock of Reality
Carl stood frozen in his dorm room. His brain? Absolute static. His heart? Beating like a drum solo in a rock concert. One second, he was in a cave, bloodstained and exhausted after fighting a panther with three damn eyes. The next? Barefoot on the cold tile floor of his dorm, blinking like an idiot at the familiar mess of notes and empty instant noodle cups on his desk.
"What the hell…" he whispered. His voice sounded… off. Like it was adjusting to being back in a world where death wasn't waiting behind every bush.
Then—
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
"Carl? You in there?"
His stomach dropped.
That was Jerome. His roommate.
Carl scrambled, brain shifting gears at lightning speed. He looked down at himself. His clothes were shredded, smeared with dried blood. His shirt had freaking claw marks. And—wait. Why did the doorknob look… lower than before?
"Bro, I swear, if you're dead in there—"
"WAIT—GIVE ME A SECOND!" Carl yelped, running a hand through his hair, trying and failing to look normal. Crap, crap, crap—
He grabbed his jacket from the chair and threw it over himself. Good enough.
Swinging the door open, he forced what he hoped was a casual smile.
Jerome's eyes widened.
"Bro… what the hell happened to you?!"
Carl blinked. "Uh."
His brain completely short-circuited.
Jerome gave him a once-over, eyebrows nearly hitting his hairline. "You look like you got into a fight with a tiger, man. And did you just—" He squinted. "Wait. Are you taller?"
Carl panicked. "Uh. Growth spurt?"
Jerome frowned. "In 3 days? Who are you kidding."
"Yeah, uh, I drank a lot of milk aha… haha…?"
Jerome crossed his arms. "Bullshit. Spill the tea man."
Carl let out an awkward laugh, backing up slightly. "Look, I just had a really rough night."
"No kidding." Jerome glanced at the claw marks on his shirt. "You sure you're good? You missed class today. Prof asked me to check on you."
Carl froze. "Wait… I missed class?!"
"It's Monday, the last day of March, bro. And if you're about to ask the time, it's 8 p.m." Jerome sighed, rubbing his temples. "You sure you're okay, man? You're acting weird."
Carl hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. Just… tired." And also questioning my entire existence, but sure, let's go with 'tired'.
Jerome gave him one last suspicious look, then shrugged. "Alright, man. Just don't drop out or anything. Oh, also, Prof wants that anatomy essay tomorrow." He grinned. "You're screwed."
Carl groaned. "Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the reminder."
"See ya tomorrow, man."
Jerome left, leaving Carl standing there, mind spinning at a hundred miles an hour.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Carl shut the door, leaned against it, and exhaled hard.
"What. The. Hell."
Then—a soft chime.
[SYSTEM ACTIVATED IN REAL WORLD.]
Carl's stomach flipped. He turned his head slowly. A floating blue screen had appeared in his vision, just like before.
"Oh, shit."
He hadn't even thought about the system. But now that he did—
Another chime.
[Mission Complete: The Hunter's First Kill]
[Rewards Earned:]
• [New Ability Unlocked: Appraisal!]
• [Bonus XP Earned!]
Carl barely had time to process this before a sudden rush of energy surged through him. It was like someone had dumped a bucket of electricity into his veins. His muscles tightened, his head buzzed, and then—
[Ding! Congratulations , Level 3 achieved! Look at you, growing up so fast! Maybe one day you'll even reach Level 4. Dare to dream!]
Carl groaned. "Great. The system's a comedian."
[Oh, I do my best. Now, back to your rewards before you rudely interrupted—]
• [??? Unlocked!]
Carl squinted at the notification. "What the hell is '???' supposed to mean?"
[Wouldn't you like to know? Spoiler alert: It's something good. Probably. Maybe. Who knows? Not you!]
Carl groaned. "Yeah, thanks for the encouragement tsk."
[Wow, aren't you a curious one? Ever heard of suspense? Fine, fine. Since you've been 'so good'—behold! You now have access to… drumroll… the SYSTEM MARKET!]
Before Carl could say anything, another message appeared.
[System Market Unlocked! Browse an exclusive selection of items using System Credits™—assuming you ever get some. Which, let's be honest, is doubtful.]
Carl sighed. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"
[Oh, immensely.]
Still, despite the system's snark, this was huge. He now had access to a market. That could mean weapons, skills, items—
[Boring! Enough internal monologuing, nerd. Check your status already.]
Carl scowled but obeyed, pulling up his stats.
[Name: Carl Reyes]
Title: The Lost One
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 72 kg
[Level: 3]
[HP: 120/120]
[MP: 90/90]
[Strength: 12]
[Agility: 11]
[Intelligence: 15]
[Endurance: 10]
[Luck: 2]
[Abilities: Appraisal - F (NEW), Sprinting - F, Basic Adaptability - E]
[System Credits: 0]
[Wow, those stats sure are… average! Except Luck. Yikes. You must've broken a mirror in a past life.]
Carl ignored that. He was too busy marveling at the numbers. His strength and agility had jumped, and—wait. Luck 2?
"Hey, what's up with my luck?"
[Oh, you know. Fate hates you. The universe is cruel. You were probably born under an unlucky star. Take your pick!]
Carl pinched the bridge of his nose. "Whatever. At least I leveled up."
Then, like a slap to the face, realization hit him.
"Oh, crap! My essay!"
[Ohhhhh, riiight. That thing. Due tomorrow, wasn't it? How's that coming along?]
Carl scrambled to check the time. Almost Midnight. He had less than 12 hours to write a 1,500-word essay on what he understood about the Physiology of Human anatomy.
[Procrastination Level: MAX.]
"Not helping!" he snapped, rushing to grab his laptop. But before he could even open it, curiosity gnawed at him. He hesitated. His stats… the System Market…
[Oh? Giving in to temptation already? Go on, take a look. What's the worst that could happen?]
Carl groaned. "Five minutes. Just five minutes."
[That's what they all say.]
And with that, he opened the System Market.
Carl took a deep breath and braced himself as the System Market interface flickered into existence before him. It was sleek, futuristic, and obnoxiously animated, with a neon-colored banner flashing across the top:
[WELCOME TO THE SYSTEM MARKET! WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE (IF YOU CAN AFFORD THEM)]
Carl rolled his eyes. "Subtle."
[Thank you! I try. Now, feel free to browse—assuming you can afford literally anything with your grand total of zero System Credits.]
The screen adjusted, revealing different categories:
• Weapons
• Abilities
• Consumables
• Miscellaneous
• ??? (locked)
Carl's curiosity flared at the last one, but he resisted. Instead, he tapped on Abilities first, half-expecting something useful.
A new list appeared:
• Fireball - 50 SC
• Enhanced Strength - 75 SC
• Shadow Step - 120 SC
• Beginner's Guide to Not Dying - 10 SC
Carl snorted. "Wow. Even a survival guide costs money."
[Hey, knowledge isn't free. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll figure things out! Or die trying!]
Carl ignored the jab and backed out, checking the Consumables tab next. More overpriced goods:
• Basic Healing Potion - 20 SC
• Stamina Boost - 30 SC
• Instant Noodle Pack (Chicken Flavor) - 5 SC
Carl blinked. "Wait. Instant noodles?"
[Only the finest, hand-picked, system-certified noodles! Guaranteed to taste exactly like the ones in your world. But with extra essence of disappointment.]
"You are such a troll," Carl muttered, backing out again.
He glanced at his clock. 12:07 AM.
"Shit. I really need to start that essay."
[You could… or you could check one last tab. What's five more minutes?]
Carl hesitated, then sighed. "Fine. Five more minutes."
[That's the spirit!]
He tapped on Miscellaneous. A new list popped up:
• Randomized Gacha Pull (Low-Tier) - 10 SC
• Language Comprehension - 200 SC
• Portable Storage Space - 150 SC
• Mystery Box - 50 SC
Carl raised a brow. "Mystery Box? That's just gambling."
[And yet, you're curious, aren't you?]
"Nope. I'm leaving. I have an essay to—"
[Oh, by the way, did I mention? System-assisted auto-writing is a feature you could unlock… if you had credits.]
Carl froze. "You're screwing with me."
[Am I? Maybe. Maybe not. But wouldn't it be nice to, I don't know… finish that essay instantly?]
Carl groaned. "You are actually evil."
[Thank you! Now, go enjoy your essay. I'll be here, watching your suffering.]
Muttering curses under his breath, Carl shut down the market interface and finally opened his laptop.
Time to write about anatomy.
With zero system assistance.
[Have fun!]
Carl sighed. It was going to be a long night.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To Be Continued…