"Eh..."
For a moment, his brain shut down from surprise while his face maintained a stupid smile, until he reacted.
"Shit!" Throwing the folder aside, he slightly dragged himself backward with his hands as he analyzed everything.
[System fully loaded. All windows have been unlocked.]
[Opening Status Window]
"..." A tomb-like silence that had formed was soon broken when Kaito's smile returned, even wider than before.
"Took you long enough. I thought I'd been stranded here with nothing," he said before crawling slightly closer to the floating screen in front of him.
He was ecstatic—before him was something he had only ever considered part of fantasy worlds: his very own system!
"But... what is this status window?" His eyes remained fixed as he read the content, doubts forming inside him.
—
[Stats:]
[Kaito Lee]
[Age: 17 Years]
[Home Country: Japan]
[Progress]
[Level: 0]
[Evolution: 00.00%]
[Skills]
—
"That's... it?" He kept staring at the screen for a few seconds, trying to swipe it—maybe his stats were further down?
"Come on, it can't just be this. I don't even have any skills? Where's Strength and Speed?" Still confused, he kept trying to swipe the screen as if it were a phone, but his hand just uselessly passed through it.
[Currently, the System is in its initial stages. More functions will be unlocked as the User improves.]
A new window emerged, obscuring the previous one, giving a brief explanation in a robotic voice. After the announcement, the screen disappeared, leaving only the status floating.
[Would the User like an introduction to the System's basic functions?]
Another screen popped up out of nowhere in front of him, with a question and two buttons below the text: a 'Yes' and a 'No,' nothing else. With no real alternative, he chose 'Yes'—he needed to know how this thing worked before using it, after all.
[The System is composed of five essential sections:
Stats – Displays the User's progress in numerical form for easier comprehension.
Quests – Shows ongoing quests or those assigned here to be completed at any time.
Market – Points earned through quests can be exchanged here. Items can also be sold for points.
Group – Displays the User's allies and their stats. Allows management and skill distribution.
Mail – Received messages or gifts will be archived here.
Gacha – Anything within the User's imagination can be obtained here. Rolls can be earned through quests.
All these windows are in their initial stages. The host will notice changes as they progress.]
"Hmm... I see..." Contrary to what one might think, it was pretty simple and generic. But since it was a system, he didn't mind much. Just having access to endless rewards from the gacha already gave him unmatched potential.
"Though, thinking about it, if this is tied to the supernatural, could demons, fallen angels, and stuff like that exist?" He couldn't afford to be careless. If he kept assuming this was just an ordinary world, he might end up dead sooner than fate intended.
"Of course, it can't be a normal world if I was given something like a System..."
"But I won't worry too much about that now. No point in overthinking—time for the important part..."
A grin stretched from ear to ear, looking almost grotesque.
"System~ Tell me, you wouldn't happen to have a little welcome gift for a newbie like me, would you~?" he asked while staring intently at the Stats screen with the same unsettling smile.
Silence lingered for a moment before a response came.
[Proposal analyzed. The User will receive ten free gacha rolls.]
"Ho ho! As expected of my System, you're amazing!" He spread his arms, trying to hug the screen in front of him—only to fail spectacularly, face-planting on the apartment floor as his arms passed right through the floating display.
"Ugh, I forgot. Anyway, open the Gacha window!" Unable to contain himself, he turned back to the hovering screen, watching as it vanished and reappeared before him with a new interface.
The screen now projected an image of dark space with shimmering dots, resembling the void of the cosmos. Below it were three buttons: Single Roll, Multi Roll, and Purchase. Before doing anything, he checked the purchase tab, seeing a simple interface.
[Points → Gacha Rolls]
A straightforward conversion. Below it read: 100 Points, meaning he needed 100 points for one roll. He had no idea if that was a lot or not since he currently had zero.
If quests gave plenty of points, he wouldn't have gacha problems, right?
Exiting the purchase screen, he noticed a small rectangular box in the bottom-right corner with a glowing sphere inside and a 10 beside it.
"So that's my total rolls... Well, a little gambling never hurt anyone, right?"
His finger hovered over the Multi Roll option, marked with an x10.
In the dark space dotted with distant glowing spheres, ten lit up in sequence before slowly moving closer, forming a circle. One by one, they flashed different colors:
White, White, White, White, White, White, White, White, Green, Gold, Multicolor.
They shot toward the screen, engulfing it in a blinding radiance before everything settled.
"Damn, my eyes..." Head lowered, he rubbed his eyelids—this was like getting flashbanged in an FPS. For a moment, he thought he'd gone blind.
"If this happens every gacha roll, I'll need glasses." He stopped rubbing one eye to brace himself on the floor—but instead of wood, his hand touched something metallic. Confused, he blinked until his vision cleared, revealing objects that hadn't been there before.
[Ting]
He looked at the screen, where ten slots displayed different items. Seven were gray, while the remaining three had distinct colors.
"So this is...?" Picking up the metallic object he'd felt earlier, he realized it was long.
A katana—full tang, sheath and all. Kaito's eyes lit up instantly. What he held was real, not some dull replica.
Drawing the blade, he saw it was slightly worn, the edge clearly past its prime—but it was a real katana, like in anime!
"But... I don't know how to use this." Disappointed, he sheathed it, careful not to cut himself.
He stared at it for a few seconds until a small window appeared beside the weapon.
[Worn Katana – 1-Star Item]
Huh, new feature. The System hadn't explained this. There might be more hidden functions, so he couldn't let his guard down.
Now, what else...?
[Minutes later]
Recap:
- A worn katana
- A plain rock
- Slime secretions
- A Tangzhuang?
- A sack of rice
- A Poké Ball
- 1 won
Most were useless junk—except maybe the Poké Ball and rice sack. But what was he supposed to do with a Poké Ball? Catch a girl?
The more interesting items were a Senzu Bean and a Body Purification Pill.
The Senzu Bean shocked him the most. Did this mean he could get the Dragon Balls and summon Shenron?
As for the pill... Well, he wasn't entirely sure what it did. Beyond the name and item quality, there were no details.
But what intrigued him most right now...
His eyes locked onto a multicolored card glowing before him.
[Random Character Template – 5-Star Item]
Even the item's name in the side window shimmered in rainbow hues. So this was the highest rarity?
"A template... I think I've read about these. Does it mean I get all the character's abilities?"
He wasn't too familiar with these items. If he got, say, a universe-destroying character, would he gain their power? Like those cosmic entities from Marvel?
Honestly, having Franklin Richards' abilities would be insane. I mean, who wouldn't want to create universes on a whim?
With that thought, nervous excitement took over. Without hesitation, he commanded:
"System, use the Character Template now!"
[User is certain about using the 5-Star Item, Random Character Template?]
"Yes! Come on, don't make me wait!" After saying that, he felt like all the water in his body turned to sweat, dripping frantically down his face, back, arms—his entire body tensed from anticipation.
The card began glowing as the empty frame at its center rapidly cycled through shadowy character silhouettes.
He recognized some—Goku, characters from Fate, Naruto, Shuumatsu no Valkyrie, Hunter x Hunter—probably every series, anime, or manhwa imaginable flashed by.
After thirty agonizing seconds of breath-holding, the silhouettes slowed dramatically, crawling to a near-halt by the one-minute mark.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity—and the protagonist having lost 30 kg just from sweat—the card revealed itself in a radiant burst.
[Template: Garou, the Hero Hunter]
"Uh."
"Garou...?" Staring at the card, the image of a young man around 17-18 appeared—white hair tinged gray, a wild grin, and sharp eyes.
"(Who's this?)" No matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't place him. He'd never heard of this character.
Below the template name, text expanded:
—
[Template: Garou, the Hero Hunter
Universe: One Punch Man
The self-proclaimed Hero Hunter, Garou, is a prodigy in every sense. Wild by nature, he carves through foes with his master Bang's technique: Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist. Has an odd fascination with monsters since childhood.]
—
Before he could react, the template card flared once more, dissolving into multicolored particles that surged into Kaito's body—followed by excruciating pain.
His face contorted as he collapsed, growling through clenched teeth. The agony lasted thirty seconds before finally subsiding.
Gasping, he felt like his head had nearly exploded. Warm liquid trickled from his nose. Trembling, he touched it.
"Blood?! Is this System trying to kill me?" Panting, he lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling. His skull still throbbed.
[Attention, Host!]
[Detected Character Template: Garou.
Current body shows extreme incompatibility (Current body fat: 53.7%).
System initiating forced adaptation protocol to prioritize host survival. An incompatible template may lead to premature death.
- Forced adipose tissue removal (0%)
- Muscular reconfiguration (0%)
- Metabolic optimization (x20)
WARNING! This process is extremely painful. Host is advised to use the Mortal Body Purification Pill to mitigate collateral damage (organ failure, metabolic shock death, etc.).
Estimated time: 13 hours
Confirm? (Y/N)]
—
"Uh, the headache wasn't enough for you?!" Stress-induced pain flared again—not from the System, but from this insane situation.
He'd have to feel his muscles restructuring in real time? This was madness! Where was the fun in that? Shouldn't the System handle it painlessly, like a walk in the park?
This wasn't in the contract. He felt scammed.
[ERROR! Host has taken too long to respond. System will auto-initiate in 1 minute.]
[00:59]
!!!
No time to complain—literally! Panicking, he scrambled toward the item pile, more sweat drenching him. He needed that pill, or he'd die!
[00:31]
"Damn it, where did I put it?!" He'd definitely left it with the other gacha items. It couldn't have vanished—it had to be nearby!
Sweat dripped as he frantically shoved aside magazines.
[00:24]
The timer plummeted as desperation spiked. He'd just arrived in this world—he couldn't die from some stupid template! There was so much he wanted to try!
[00:09]
A glint of white behind the plain rock caught his eye. He lunged—there it was, hidden behind that damn stone.
[00:05]
Without hesitation, he swallowed the pill dry, grimacing as it scraped down his throat. But that discomfort was nothing compared to what came next...
[00:01]
[00:00]
[Initiating automated process.]