「June 24, 2006.」
「Late at night.」
Moonlight shone through the old-fashioned window, faintly illuminating the main hall inside.
A chubby figure knelt dejectedly on a cattail cushion. In front of the cushion was an old, long table, and above it hung a tattered centerpiece painting of the God of Longevity.
On either side of the painting was a couplet. The first line read, "Fortune fills the world as a lucky star appears." The second line read, "Peace and prosperity cleanse the home." The horizontal scroll above proclaimed, "May a lucky star shine upon you."
The chubby figure remained kneeling on the cushion. Just as her eyelids were about to droop shut, a sudden thought seemed to jolt her awake. Unfortunately, her focus lasted less than two minutes before she slumped back into her previous state of exhaustion.
The voices from the west room had fallen silent, and only the snores of her grandparents could be heard from the east room. Only then did Tan You finally relax. She slid off the cushion and sat ungracefully to the side, alternately rubbing her bruised knees.
"This is definitely going to hurt for a few days," she muttered, blowing on her knees. But she was severely nearsighted and couldn't tell if they looked any different than usual.
Just as Tan You's mind went blank, a milky-white, nearly transparent ball of light suddenly appeared before her. It asked a question in a tiny whisper. Seemingly aware of her poor eyesight, it was practically touching her face.
"Are you willing to bind with the System?" Tan You could still see clearly within a ten-meter range. She felt no fear, only leaning back slightly. "Too close."
The ball of light obediently retreated. Tan You stared at it for a moment, her eyes full of curiosity. She whispered back, "Bind?"
She had only asked a question, but her voice was so monotonous that it sounded like agreement. A smaller, milky-white orb immediately flew out from the ball of light. It gradually transformed in mid-air, finally becoming a halo-like object that floated in front of Tan You.
Tan You's eyes nearly went crossed as she stared intently at the ring-like circlet. The little ball of light reminded her, "Host, please check your basic stats and begin the first mission as soon as possible."
Tan You followed its instructions to the letter. "Check basic stats."
The moment she spoke, a screen appeared before her. On the left was an image of Tan You herself, and on the right was a series of stats.
The System's voice remained unchanged. "Host, your initial stats are very low."
Tan You retorted instinctively, "Low initial stats just mean I have a lot of room for improvement. That's what teachers always say to encourage students."
She said no more and turned her attention to the series of basic scores on the right.
Appearance: 50
Spiritual Power: 50
Intelligence: 60
Constitution: 40
Charm: 20
All stats above are scored out of 100. The System reserves the right of final interpretation.
After quickly reading through the stats, Tan You felt a little dejected. "My stats really are low."
The System remained calm. "With the System's help, the Host will grow and become outstanding."
Tan You ignored the Appearance category and stared at her Intelligence. "System, is my intelligence really this low? Only 60?"
The System replied, "It's a passing score. This is about the average for an ordinary person. Besides, it's not impossible to raise your intelligence..."
Before it could finish, Tan You's eyes lit up like lightbulbs. She was genuinely excited. "You can really raise my intelligence? How?"
For the first time, the System stuttered. "The System... The System can't do that right now."
Tan You's shoulders slumped. She asked in a tiny whisper, "Alright, then how can I raise my Intelligence Value?"
"Host, you don't have to speak out loud," the System reminded her. "After signing the contract, the System can hear whatever you're thinking."
'Really?' Tan You tentatively thought. 'System, can you really hear me?'
"Mhm, I can hear you." The System bobbed up and down, as if nodding.
Tan You completely relaxed. 'That's good. Now I can talk to you all the time. This is great.'
'System, let's talk about intelligence. How can I get more?'
The System perked up. "The System has a wish pool. The wish pool contains missions. When the Host completes a mission, you will receive energy. However, the amount of energy depends on the mission's completion rate. The higher the completion rate, the more energy the System receives."
"The System has a lottery wheel. The lottery consumes Energy Points, and you can randomly draw boosts for your various basic stats."
Tan You was immediately enticed by the grand picture the System painted. 'Complete missions to get Energy Points, then play the lottery... if I raise my intelligence, maybe science classes won't be such a struggle anymore?'
'How do I do the missions?' Tan You wondered after a moment of silence. 'How am I supposed to complete them? I can't leave the house. Everyone is home.'
"Time in the Host's world will be frozen while a mission is in progress. It will resume its normal flow upon the Host's return." The System's voice sounded cold, but for some reason, Tan You felt that this self-proclaimed System was like a child.
At that moment, however, Tan You didn't understand any of this. She was still listening to the System explain how to complete missions.
When Tan You inquired about this, the System got subconsciously excited. But it only wavered for an instant, so naturally, Tan You didn't notice.
The moment Tan You asked the question, she heard a DING! "Host has triggered a mission. Mission Requirement: Host must complete the first mission within three days. Mission Reward: One spin on the beginner lottery wheel. Mission Failure: The System will unbind from the Host. The Host will be annihilated."
Tan You was puzzled. "Annihilated... what does that mean?"
"It means to disappear, to cease to exist. To die," the System said with cold indifference. Tan You froze for a second but said nothing more.
After Tan You finished reading the mission interface, it changed. A small pool appeared in the center. Scattered at the bottom of the pool were small, ethereal-looking spheres of various colors.
Next to the pool was a round button. Tan You pressed it casually, and the small balls of light in the wish pool suddenly began to spin at high speed. They spun faster and faster until Tan You's vision started to blur.
'System, are there really this many missions in the wish pool? If I complete all of them, does that mean I can get a ton of Energy Points? And spin the lottery many times?'
Right now, she was desperate to increase her intelligence. As for her appearance value, she automatically ignored it.
"These are all beginner missions," the System said patiently to Tan You. "After the System levels up, one intermediate mission will be worth ten beginner missions. Of course, the rewards will also be much greater."
'But my stats are too low,' Tan You thought. 'I should just focus on what I can do for now. System, are the beginner missions hard?'
"The mission is out," the System said. A small sphere was ejected from an opening in front of the button. "Please check the mission content. Reminder: The Host must complete the first mission within three days."