TO THE OTHER WORLD!

As Gus heads out from work, he heaved a sigh of satisfaction as he has just gone through a grueling 8-hour shift from the hot kitchen. Still sweating, the cold breeze was a treat from spending hours watching the chicken stock simmer and roast mounds of beef bones in the oven for tomorrows' fresh batch of beef stock. After a light body stretch to loosen up, he took out a key from his pocket, put his helmet on and rode off on his motorcycle.

Gus has a date tonight and he always offers to cook for his date.

He first stopped by Old Man Henry's Fruit and Vegetable store. Old man Henry is his father's friend since way back. When Gus' Father was still alive, they used to cook a lot at each other's' house. But because of his age, he has to retire from the kitchen because his doctor decided that it was best for him to be in a more relaxed and stress-free environment. So now, Old man Henry sells fruits and vegetables. If there is one thing outstanding about Uncle Henry, is that he makes the best French onion soup Gus have ever tasted. He can't even see himself measure up to his own recipe.

As old man Henry was stepping out to do an inventory of his stock, he smiled as he saw Gus picking up his vegetables.

"Little Gus! It's quite late to do groceries, so are you on a date again?" Old man Henry asked.

"Good Evening Uncle Henry! Yes, it's a date. So I need the best of the best! Anything good?" Gus asked as he digs through the onions.

"Well, these fresh batch of Basil just came down from Gettysburgh and we have a fresh batch of crushed jarred tomatoes you wanted from Mrs. Diaz," suggested Henry.

"Then I'll gladly buy those, along with this garlic, onions, celery, thyme, and oregano please!" Gus replied as he took out his wallet.

Suddenly…

Pure Darkness. As if he was standing in the middle of a pitch-black room. He could feel a deafening sound of silence.

"System Activating."

He heard a voice that sounds like something a computer-generated.

"Uncle Henry?" Gus asked.

"World Balance System is now active! Please Set 3 requirements each for HOST and SKILL parameters."

"Parameters?! Who are you?! What did you do with my Uncle?! Look, whoever you are, you can take all my money. Just let us go! Alright?"

"Request received! First Parameters approved!"

"Generating First UNIQUE SKILL: BARTER."

"I can't die! Not like this!" Gus' adrenaline is pumping to the highest level.

"First Body Parameter received. PAIN NULLIFICATION!"

"Second Body Parameters received. ARMOR FORTIFICATION!"

"Third Body Parameters received. PERPETUAL BODY!"

"Analyzing conditions… Suitable host successfully found! Generating Body."

Realizing that this was not a dream nor a robbery, regret suddenly rushed to his head.

He dreamed of making dishes, worthy to be awarded a Michelin Star. So many foods he still wanted to make. He had dreamed of his own bustling restaurant. Big or small, it doesn't matter. He cannot believe he might die before achieving his dreams of pursuing the apex of culinary arts here on earth.

"Parameters approved!"

"Generating Second Unique Skill, COOKING!"

"Parameters approved!

"Generating Third Unique Skill, TERRITORY!"

As Gus started to calm down, he started to listen to the voice as it is the only thing that might know what is going on.

"Hey! Who Are You? And where is my uncle?" Gus Asked,

"The System has accepted your set parameters and is now approved for World Balance Requirements. Hello User! I am a System. In this Tutorial mode, System has generated everything you need to survive in the harshest and brutal world. Do not fret, your companion is unharmed."

Gus was relieved to hear that his uncle is safe.

"What do you mean this world?!" Gus is surprised that there are other worlds that exist besides Earth.

"This sounds like those web novels my sister likes. Even now, I still can't believe those stories she likes are happening to me." thought Gus

"Circa is a world where magic and mythic creatures exist. As such, it needs to borrow abundant energy from your world called Earth. Since it is a place where magic is not used, there is a surplus of energy that overflows. In contrast to Circa, this world depletes its Mana from time to time. In order to survive, it absorbs the excess amount of Mana which overflows from the earth. To obtain the earth's Mana, it needs a suitable carrier to act as a medium. Congratulations User! You are the Medium!"

Gus is both impressed, and annoyed. This shameless system is actually telling all this to him as if Gus is the luckiest man on Earth.

"So I really got transported huh, can I at least be reborn into someone rich?" Gus shamelessly asked the system.

"Request denied, User. The system has already generated a suitable host that you stated from your requests."

Gus never remembered anything about stating his requests, but after thinking for a short while…

"Wait…. So that means, those things I said earlier..."

"For more information, the System generated a status function for your convenience. Please consult the manual located within your newly acquired, status function. This concludes the Tutorial Mode."

Gus was interrupted while saying something midway.

"How rude can this System be?!"

Gus' consciousness blanked out again.

As he slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw, is a row of flickering torches attached to the old stone walls.

"Is this a medieval castle?!" thought Gus.

Gus decided to move around.

"CLATTER! CLATTER!"

He heard clunky noises as he moved. He is wearing a bulky knights' armor, complete with both sword and shield, in his hands.

"Why am I in a suit of armor? Did I just reincarnate into someone else's body?"

Gus grabbed a torch from a nearby wall and started to roam about. He walked around the dark dilapidated castle, filled with dust and cobwebs. The further down the corridors he went, the more strange it felt. After a few more minutes, Gus saw a row of wooden doors. Gus didn't hesitate and investigated the rooms, one by one.

"Broken table here, some dusty bed there, Oh! An old mirror! Finally, I can see what I look like!" said Gus.

The mirror is foggy and moldy. he can barely see what he looked like. From top to bottom, he is wearing a bulky knights armor, complete with a big red feather on top of his head. As he was about to remove his helmet.

"CLANG! CRASH!"

A loud noise came from outside the room.