The city was quieter than usual.
Morning light poured through the thin cracks of Nox's apartment window, gilding the dust that drifted like slow-moving snow. His stomach growled, the ache dull but constant, a reminder of the P500 he'd gambled into the void days ago. Yet, when his phone chimed, the hunger didn't matter anymore.
₱3,000.00 received.
The message glowed on his cheap phone screen — digital gold.
It took him a second to process it. The name Agunza Enterprises sat beside the transaction, as if some unseen god of finance had decided to give him mercy. His body reacted first — a tremor of disbelief, a shaky laugh. Then came the rush of adrenaline.
He did it.
He'd survived.
And then, like clockwork, the System stirred inside his consciousness.
---
— Ding!
[Quest: Fund the Future] — Completed!
Reward Granted: +0.1 Intelligence | Skill Upgrade Point Acquired.
---
The words echoed inside his skull like divine bells, resonating through his veins until his vision trembled with light. His breathing steadied, his pulse calmed. It wasn't just the money — it was proof. Proof that the path he'd chosen wasn't a delusion. His Mind Realm, his Eye of Truth, the Copy Record — they weren't fantasies. They were his salvation.
He sat cross-legged on his creaky floor, closed his eyes, and whispered,
"Enter Mind Realm."
---
Inside the Mind Realm
The world folded inward.
Sound bled away, replaced by the soft hum of infinity. The realm materialized like a glass ocean under a night sky — constellations swirling across the horizon, reflecting off the mirror floor beneath him. Every star pulsed faintly, connected by invisible lines of data and thought.
Here, Nox was not the frail boy in worn-out shoes. Here, he was something else.
He could feel the air bending to his will. His comprehension surged — sharper, faster, divine. The 1,000x amplification of thought hummed through him like an invisible current.
A glowing icon hovered above his head — a crystalline diamond marked with a faint rune.
---
*— [Skill Upgrade Point Available]
Select Target Skill:
> Eye of Truth
Copy Record
(Hold to Analyze)*
---
He raised a hand, and the world rippled around him. The Eye of Truth emblem — a golden iris surrounded by black fire — appeared before him, floating like a living entity. Its gaze stared back, cold yet curious.
"Upgrade," he commanded.
The realm shifted.
Symbols spiraled across the sky — ancient, geometric, incomprehensible. The iris expanded and broke apart into shards of light, each fragment embedding itself into Nox's chest. He felt a subtle, piercing pain — not physical, but mental — like someone carving insight directly into his soul.
---
— [Eye of Truth has been upgraded.]
New Capability: Can now analyze entities up to +3 INT higher than the user.
Sub-function unlocked: "Emotive Read."
---
He gasped. The sensation of new power flooded his mind. He felt the world differently — layers of perception he'd never noticed before shimmered faintly around him. Every thought carried a weight, every emotion a color.
He looked at his reflection in the glass-like floor — and for the first time, he saw faint threads of light pulsing within his own image, each strand representing his mental processes. The Eye of Truth pulsed once, then quieted, embedding itself deeper within him.
The Mind Realm's voice echoed again — faint, ethereal, like the whisper of a distant god.
— Progress Detected. Evolution Path: Stabilizing.
Then silence.
Nox stood there, breathing slowly. The power was intoxicating, but the hunger returned — not for food this time, but for progress. For control.
"Exit."
---
Back to Reality
His eyelids fluttered open.
The world of concrete, rust, and traffic horns snapped back into view. But it looked... smaller. His senses were sharper. He could feel the faint electrical hum of the lightbulb above, smell the iron tang of the old faucet. The upgrade wasn't just a skill — it was a new way of seeing.
He pocketed his phone and stepped outside. The heat of Cebu hit him immediately, sticky and heavy. He walked past the street vendors, the jeepneys packed with workers, and the smell of frying oil and dust mixed into the morning air.
He used a small part of the money to buy food — actual food. Rice, eggs, and a small portion of meat. The warmth spread through his body, filling the empty ache that had gnawed at him for days. His Stamina: 3.5 flickered upward, gradually stabilizing. For once, he didn't feel like collapsing.
As he walked down the road, chewing his last bite of breakfast, a sudden shout broke through the hum of the street.
"Hoy! Stop him!"
He turned.
A blur of movement.
A man sprinting — ragged clothes, wild eyes — clutching a woman's purse. Behind him, two pedestrians hesitated, unsure whether to chase or stay out of it. The thief darted past, and for a second, Nox's instincts screamed at him to move.
He stepped forward, just once — and froze.
The mugger's body twisted as he ran, and their eyes met for half a heartbeat. That was all it took.
---
— Activating Eye of Truth.
---
[Target Identified: Male, 28]
STR: 9 | AGI: 8 | INT: 4 | WIS: 2 | END: 7
Status: Desperate | Core Conflict: Feeding a Child, Avoiding Prison
---
The stats hit him like a cold wave.
The man was a monster compared to his own measly STR: 4, AGI: 3. Even if he tried, he'd be crushed instantly. Logic told him to back off. But emotion — the same reckless pulse that made him bet his food money on the roulette — flared.
He took another step forward. The thief saw him and snarled, jerking his hand toward his pocket.
Something metallic flashed. A knife.
Nox froze mid-step. His pulse roared in his ears. For a split second, he saw the alternate paths branching in his mind — one where he lunged and bled out on the pavement, another where he ran and lived. His brain, amplified and rational, screamed the obvious choice.
He stepped back.
The thief disappeared into the alleyway, vanishing like smoke.
Nox's hands trembled. The adrenaline crash hit hard — his knees weak, his stomach cold.
He clenched his fists. "Damn it…"
The words barely left his lips. The irony burned in him — the "genius" who could see truths and tear through books like air, yet still powerless against a street thug. His Eye of Truth showed everything — strength, weakness, fear — but couldn't give him muscles or reflexes. Intelligence couldn't stop a knife.
He hated it.
He hated that imbalance.
---
The world dimmed. His vision blurred slightly as text crawled across his retina like living flame.
---
— [System Notice: Physical Inferiority Detected]
Optional Quest Unlocked: [Physical Imperative]
Description: Your mental prowess is unmatched, but your body remains a fragile vessel. Balance is required for survival.
Objective: Train or acquire a basic combat skill for self-defense.
Reward: Random Basic Martial Arts Skill | +0.2 Strength | +0.2 Agility
Failure: Persistent Physical Limitation Debuff (–5% movement speed in critical states).
---
He stared at the prompt. His heartbeat slowed. The System wasn't mocking him — it was guiding him. The same way it gave him Eye of Truth and Copy Record, it was now pushing him toward the next evolution.
Physical power.
He tilted his head, whispering, "Balance, huh?"
The notification faded.
He walked home slowly, the sound of traffic blurring into background noise. His thoughts raced. He couldn't afford a gym or lessons — every cent counted. But maybe… there was another way.
He stopped in front of the college library, the same one he'd used for his Calculus stunt. The glass doors reflected his face — tired, thinner, but alive. Behind the glass, a small poster caught his eye: "Fundamentals of Self-Defense — Library Collection, Aisle 5B."
He almost laughed.
"Guess the universe has a sense of humor."
He walked inside.
---
In the Library
The familiar scent of old paper and air-conditioning wrapped around him. The hum of silence was almost sacred. Students and workers sat hunched at tables, their worlds shrinking into books and screens.
He found the aisle easily — rows of aged spines with titles like "Basic Combat for Beginners," "Karate: Foundational Forms," and "The Philosophy of Defense." His fingers brushed over the covers, the texture of worn paper grounding him in the moment.
He picked one. Then another.
And as soon as his hands touched the third, the Copy Record skill pulsed faintly in his mind, responding like a living thing.
---
— Copy Record Activated.
Target: Martial Arts Manual (Level: Low)
Estimated Copy Time: 4 Minutes.
---
He smiled faintly and leaned against the shelf, pretending to skim through the pages as the world dimmed around him.
Inside the Mind Realm, holographic projections of the manuals appeared in front of him, each page burning into floating data. Diagrams of stances, movement patterns, and breathing methods unfolded like living animations, surrounding him in ghostly motion.
He could feel it — the rhythm of balance, the flow of energy, the stillness between motion. It wasn't just about fighting. It was control.
He whispered, "Let's see what you'll teach me."
---
Fifteen minutes later, Nox stepped out of the library. The sun had begun to set — orange bleeding into deep violet across the sky. His stomach was full, his wallet lighter, but his eyes gleamed with new resolve.
He had brains.
He had knowledge.
Now, he would have strength.
He tightened his fist and whispered to himself,
"The mind sees. The body acts. Let's even the scales."
---
— [Quest: Physical Imperative — In Progress]
Progress: 1% (Comprehension Stage)
Hint: The greatest strength begins in rhythm, not violence.
---
The city lights flickered alive one by one, and Nox Ando walked into the night — not as a starving tutor or a desperate gambler, but as a mind preparing to forge its vessel into something unbreakable.
The next chapter of his evolution had begun.