Chapter 4 The System
As he opened the door and went in, he saw a woman look up with teary eyes.
This was his mother. She seemed to be middle-aged although she was only 36 years old this year. Women in Lanthanor usually married much earlier than back on earth. At that time, theirs had been a flourishing family with his father in an important post. The military was very well looked after by the government, with monthly rations for food and a designated villa to live in.
With all these conditions, the Anivron family did not hesitate to have a child.
His father had been born to a middling cloth merchant. He had joined the army at the young age of 16 and had worked his way up the ranks with grit and determination. This resulted in him becoming a squad leader at the relatively young age of 25 while also garnering the admiration of many higher-ups.
His father fell in love with his mother at first sight at a family gathering. Although she had only been 18 at the time, the families did not hesitate to make the marriage happen. Such an age difference was actually quite common here.
Then, disaster struck. Daneel was around 3 years old when his father was thrown out of the army. Even their families were targeted and they were warned that they could either move to the slums or be thrown out of the city.
With no other option, the Anivron family had built this shack with the last of the savings that had not been confiscated and had lived here ever since. Thus, he only had vague memories of the rest of his family who maintained their distance except for a few close friends.
"Daneel! Where were you?! You made me and your father so worried!", his mother gasped out amid sobs after running up to him and hugging him. Noticing the injuries that were all around his body, she carefully started checking everywhere to make sure that there weren't any life-threatening ones.
Maria was her name. Hearing the commotion, a man with a circular mark branded on his forehead looked up from the bed.
A broad smile came upon his face on seeing that his son was back. This family would be shattered if anything happened to their only son. He was their pride, their hope, and their heart.
His father was called Robert. The mark on his face was the brand given to all those disgraced and thrown from the army. Seeing the mark, no one in their fair mind would even donate a few coins, let alone give a job.
"I'm fine, mom. I got attacked by some brats who thought I had money on me. They left after ganging up on me and seeing that I had nothing but these clothes. I just washed my face in a fountain before hurrying back.", he lied. There was no way he could tell anyone about the system yet.
Thankfully, this wasn't the first time this had happened. Thus, his mother simply sighed and walked to a cupboard to get the cheap recovery solution that healed scrapes like these in a few days.
Seeing the state his parents were in, Daneel felt indignant. An honest soldier's family was reduced to this state due to the ego of someone with authority. His mother who was only 36 looked at least 50. The manual labor day after day had taken a toll on her, making her once glowing skin now look dull and rough. Even her face which had once been filled with vitality now held many marks and lines of age which appeared well before their time.
Unlike the previous Daneel who felt resigned to their fate, he wanted to take revenge. He wanted to set right all the wrongs that had been done to his family.
But first, he needed to understand what the system was. Drinking regular water had somehow healed his body and pulled him back from death. The HUD which he had hastened to deactivate after reaching the fountain was even more magical in its own right.
The system would be his weapon with which he would fight back. Hence, not a single soul except him needed to know about it. He knew how zealous the technology wing was under the new king and did not want to be experimented on like a guinea pig.
Although his father gave him a disapproving look not believing the story, Daneel could only climb into his bed after shooting him an apologetic smile. He had told his mother that he was tired and that he had already eaten some bread donated by a passerby. Thus, she let him go to sleep after applying the ointment all over his injuries.
There were no rooms in the house, with only curtains visible which partitioned the small 70 sq. m room into a living cum cooking/dining area and 2 bedrooms with one smaller than the other. The smaller one was Daneel's.
It was finally time to see what this system really was.
As Daneel closed his eyes, he prepared a list of questions to ask. The pesky system did not even give him this chance.
[Host status observed to be suitable. Introduction commencing.
Welcome to the World Domination System! Beggar or prince, merchant or soldier-regardless of your starting point, with the system's help, your hard work can make you an unparalleled King under the heavens! Your path to Domination begins!
Introduction completed. Host may now ask any queries he has.]
Daneel was dumbstruck for a moment and couldn't speak. Hearing that the introduction was beginning, he expected a full explanation which would clear all of his doubts. Instead, all he got was another empty explanation which told him nothing new.
"How did you get into my head?", he asked, deciding to start with the most pressing questions.
[Information locked. Please advance to the requisite level to unlock this information.]
"Who made you?"
[Information locked. Please advance to the requisite level to unlock this information.]
"Did the scientists on earth somehow put you in me?"
[Information locked. Please advance to the requisite level to unlock this information.]
...
Daneel was starting to get angry. He first calmed himself down and started to ask questions which might be answerable.
"What is Ether? How did it heal my body?"
[Ether is a wondrous material generated by this world. It is one of the materials that contains the quintessential Energy which enables those in this world to advance on the path to power. In a concentrated form, it also has incredible healing properties which the system can harness. The system has the ability to detect such materials. At the present level of the system, only Ether can be detected. Please upgrade the system to unlock more functions. Unlock cost: 10,000 Exp Points.]
This was a start. Even Daneel had heard of Ether but he had just wanted to make sure.
"What else can you do?"
[The system can currently perform the following tasks:
Ether Detection
Host Status Analysis
Deployment of Auxiliary Tools
Mission Control
Please upgrade the system to unlock more options. Unlock cost: 10,000 Exp Points.]
The damn system constantly kept asking him to upgrade it. To Daneel, It sounded like the irritating friend who constantly coaxed you to buy him something.
Opting to ignore it, he asked, "How do you earn Exp Points? And what is the level progression?"
[Exp points are earned when certain hidden goals are achieved or when missions are accomplished. Level progression is the progression of the host towards the next level of power.]
Daneel had guessed as much.
"What are the power levels?"
[System is not aware of the power levels in this world.
New Mission: Provide information regarding the world
Mission Progress: 0%
Mission Description: The system has already analyzed all the information currently known to the host. New information is needed in order to build the database. Host is required to find and interact with any and all materials that will aid in this task.
Mission Rewards: 10 Exp Points. A new function will be unlocked.
Mission Failure Penalty: None
Does host choose to accept the mission?]
A simple question had resulted in a mission being given. It seemed that even idly ruminating and asking questions could trigger events like these from the system.