The first rays of morning sunlight slipped through my window, dragging me out of sleep. I stretched, cracked my joints, and finished my routine before sitting back on the bed with a grin.
Yesterday, I didn't really pay much attention to that electronic voice. But today… today, I want to confirm if it's real—and maybe get some answers from this so-called system.
After hesitating for a few minutes, I trusted my gut and called out in my head:
"System, are you there?"
> "Yes."
A cold, mechanical voice echoed in my ears. Instead of fear, I felt pure joy. Finally! A system! I muttered to myself, actually wiping away a tear.
Ever since I came to this dangerous, unpredictable world, I've lived with constant worry. You never know what's coming next. That kind of uncertainty breeds fear… and fear makes people do insane things. Just look at how humans treat mutants in the movies—killing or experimenting on them without hesitation.
I forced myself to calm down and cleared my throat.
"Ahem. What's the purpose of this system? How do I use it? Where did you come from? Are you telling the truth or bluffing?" I fired off questions like a machine gun.
> "Sorry, you don't have the authority to know my origin. As for whether my claims are true or false—you can check for yourself. You don't need to ask."
The cold voice seemed even icier than before. I scratched my head, feeling embarrassed for asking something dumb. Still, I wasn't about to apologize.
Before I could speak again, the system continued:
> "For using the system's one and only function—strengthening any non-living object—you must touch the item with your hand and give the command to strengthen it. You can choose the multiplier: ten times, fifty times, or up to one hundred times, which is your current limit. This limit can be raised by collecting universal origin energy."
I thought about it. Since there was no point system or restriction on how many things I could strengthen, why wait?
I got up, walked outside, and went to the small garden behind the house. I had planted herbs and vegetables there for daily use. That was my father's idea—he once insisted I plant vegetables and some ginseng roots. I hadn't asked too many questions, just bought seeds and a few Chinese ginseng online.
Here in Curitiba—one of Brazil's big cities—people don't usually farm in their backyards, but the old man always had his own ideas.
I put on gloves, grabbed a trowel, and dug up one of the older ginseng plants, about twenty years old. After washing off the dirt, I carried it upstairs to the second floor.
I placed it on the table and said, "System, strengthen this ginseng by a hundred times." Touching it with both hands, I waited, heart pounding.
It didn't take long.
The small, faint-red ginseng began to change. A strong scent of vitality filled the room. Just breathing it in made every cell in my body feel alive, greedily absorbing the energy.
As time passed, the ginseng's color deepened. Its vitality grew until it nearly overflowed. I wasn't worried—no one ever came here. My father preferred living by the seaside, renting a cheap place since housing prices were high. He only returned for dinner service at the shop.
Half an hour later, the ginseng had grown from fitting in my hand to being the size of my head. The wild vitality calmed down, but a faint aura still lingered, rich in every breath.
Then the system's voice returned:
> [Ding! Congratulations, host. You have strengthened a 23-year-old into Primordial Chaos Ginseng.'.]
Note: Primordial Chaos Ginseng
A mythical herb born at the dawn of creation, when Heaven and Earth first split from the void. Its body resembles a jade infant, shrouded in black and white mist that constantly shifts like Yin and Yang. Within it flows the essence of Chaos, capable of restoring flesh, anchoring the soul, and granting comprehension of the Dao. It is said that even a single strand can extend life for millennia, while consuming the whole root allows one to step beyond the limits of Heaven.
I froze.
What the hell? I just wanted to test the system, and it throws me a planet-busting power-up on day one?
Also… won't this destroy me …..I don't have the physique of those main characters in fantasy novels?
What should i do?