Hacking Thumb

I looked blankly at the room I found myself in. It looked modern really nice, but it wasn't my room. It was a fairly spacious bedroom, and I noticed a really nice computer. I walked over to the computer and booted it up. I was just trying to get an idea of where I was, so I wanted to borrow whoever's computer this was to use the maps. 

However I was met with a login screen, and I was a little hesitant. I knew a bypass mechanism for these login screens, but I was on the fence about whether or not it was ethical to do so in this situation.

But after arguing with myself, I decided to do it, since I was in a place I didn't recognize. I might not be safe here.

So I used the small bypass trick of opening command prompt from the login screen, and after aa bit of working around I got the password for the account. After logging in I began to look for the internet browser, but they didn't seem to use the normal ones. I eventually found something that they used as a browser, and I looked through the history.

Whoever's computer this was they were a bit of a weeb, looking up videos of how to use all sorts of different weapons, but I ignored it. I typed into the search bar 'my location' and then shit started to hit the fan.

I found out I was no longer on Earth.

I was on some strange planet called Aerys, and in a country called Vildemen. I looked through the news finding out this was a world of swords and magic. People were born with different kinds of gifts, ranging from physical to magical, and using these gifts they fought back against different races or monsters.

Humans were a large faction, however there existed elves, dwarves and other creatures. There were also the Dark Races, which included Demons or Orcs, and such. Then there were the existence of monsters, their types wide and varied but communication was wholly impossible. There was no reasoning with monsters, but there was value in hunting them. The precious resource called mana crystals. These crystals dropped from monsters, and they could also be mined for. They were just chunks of condensed mana that solidified, and they were used to power mana magical devices.

The more I read the more overwhelmed I became. This world was full of danger, because there were even the existence of villains, or rebels. Fanatics who worshipped evil gods and sacrificed people to them. Demon spawns who sold their souls to demons in exchange for power. 

How was I going to survive in this world?

[Ding!]

[Hacking System Activated!]

[Welcome Host, to the Hacking System. This world is filled with systems, but their hosts are unaware of them. However I am different! I have raised my own authority to that of an Administrator, and removed such restrictions. I am here to help you to achieve your goals, like any other system, and to be your assistant.]

[Hacking into the World's Setting.]

[Threat on life detected!]

[Major story event will take place in 3 months. To prevent it, enroll into the Academy and siphon the system of others.]

"I-What is going on? A threat on my life? Also how am I supposed to enroll into a school? I am almost 28, I-"

[Host's body in this world is only 15.]

"What?!"

[Displaying information into a format you will understand.]

----

[Name: Praetorian Crow]

[Age: 15]

[Parents died at a young age, leaving Praetorian Crow orphaned. Landing in the Crow orphanage, he was raised on government assistance and survived until the age of 15. Lacking in any skills or talents, he left the orphanage and began living on his own. After feeling helpless, he overdosed on heart medication he stole from his neighbor and died.]

I looked at the summary of 'my' life and sighed. I looked over at the nightstand by the bed, and noticed a bottle of pills on the ground next to it. I shook my head and picked up the bottle. I threw it in the trash because I didn't want to see it and be reminded of the sad story of the person who used to inhabit this body.

"So system, why didn't you help the former host of this body? I assume you know I am a different soul."

[The former host didn't receive a system, he was meant to be a normal person. I, however, am destined to be bound to you. Since your soul came to this world, I was assigned to you.]

"Who assigned you to me?"

[I do not know. That information is not in the database of this world, or even this universe, at all. Perhaps if I became stronger I would be able to access that information in the future.]

"Hm. Bummer, I was hoping to find out who ripped me out of my past life. I know for a fact I didn't die, so I didn't just happily reincarnate into this world. Someone kidnapped me, and I intend to find out who... By the way, how do I make you stronger?"

[Good question! Host can make me stronger by hacking the systems of others. By doing this, I can steal their functions and improve us both.]

"What is needed to hack into another system?"

[Mmm... Well there are a lot of different ways to perform a system attack. Many of which you know of from your past life. It all depends on the system and the host of the system. We will just try every method we can until it works, isn't persistence the essence of us hackers?]

I smiled lightly and nodded. I agreed with that statement.

I felt much more energetic now that I had a clear purpose. I began to look into the information of the Academy.

Academy of Heroes. An academy that exists to train future heroes for humanity. There were other training schools, but this one was THE Academy. It was the largest, and the best. With the best amenities, it was where everyone wanted to go. However, they didn't accept just anyone. 

I now had to worry about how I was supposed to pass the entrance exam. While I was worrying about this, my stomach began to grumble. I looked around the room and found my wallet. Thankfully they used a universal currency called credits. I had 120 credits, which should be more than enough to get a meal. I would also have to worry about money making, but I am sure I'll figure it out.

[If host is worried about money, perhaps you should do an area scan for systems. If you find one you can begin attacks, to reap some benefits that would help you make money.]

"How do I perform the scan?"

[Host simply has to use his mind to use 'Network Scan'.]

'Network Scan'

Right after thinking those words in my mind, I felt my consciousness spread throughout a radius of 25 meters of myself. I felt the existence of people in their rooms, but there was one person who was marked in red for me. I focused on that person, and a prompt appeared.

[Detected Level 1 Assassination System.]

[Would Host like to perform a system probe for vulnerabilities?]

"Yes."

I smiled while I waited for the system to work it's magic. I was curious about what kind of benefits I would gain, I was also curious about the level of the system, and what that meant. 

[Detected one vulnerability.]

[Quest: Befriend the Assassin and get them to let their guard down.]

[Reward: Access to Assassination System's skill library. +1 Assassin skill.]

'What the fuck is this? This isn't a fucking vulnerability, I had to literally win his trust?'

[The drop in guard also means a drop in the system's defenses. There are many ways to breach a system's defenses, and I cannot do everything for you.]

"That's... Fair. Okay."

I left my room, and saw the rest of my apartment. It was again, very nice. Nothing crazy fancy, but it was really nice. I must have used the money the government gave me, to become independent, to buy this apartment. A little waste of his precious money, but I understood the want to live comfortably.

I then left my apartment, locking it with my keys that I found by the door, and headed up the stairs to the fourth floor. The owner of the Assassin System was in the apartment above mine actually. I went up to the door and knocked on it. I waited patiently until I heard a voice through door.

"What do you want?" a raspy voice sounded out.

I smiled lightly at the peephole. It was clearly the voice of an older man. I knew how I was going to do this.

"Hi, sir, I live downstairs and I remembered hearing a bit of stumbling a while back. I just came to ask if there was anything you might need help with?"

I was of course, lying, but the chances of him having stumbled at some point in the past was realistic. 

"I... I could use some help with my TV... I don't know how to use the internet on it." with that, the door slowly opened after I heard an unlocking sound. When the door opened I finally saw the man. It was indeed an elderly man, he was wearing a sweater in a relatively warm apartment, which made me think he was cold. 

I walked in politely, and removed my shoes at the entrance. He showed me the TV, and handed me the remote to control it. It was a simple task, and I asked the man a question before I finished up.

"Sir, do you need some help with the temperature control? I noticed you were wearing a sweater inside." I asked, not trying to earn his trust I just wanted to help an elderly man. He reminded me of my grandpa and I knew how hard it could be for the elderly to navigate technology. 

A brief moment went by, before the man quietly nodded.

I smiled lightly at him and walked over to the thermostat. I showed him quickly how to control the temperature, and that having the fan option on will help. It was when I finished my explanation that I received a system prompt.

[Quest successful!]

[Stealth skill has been learned.]

I smiled, now that I didn't have to feel like I was taking advantage of the man, I then talked with the man for a while longer. He asked me if I wanted to have dinner with him, as payback and I agreed.

He ordered food for us both. I learned that his name was John Smith, which I knew must be a fake name, because he was an assassin for hire. However I didn't say anything. He was a man who lost his wife and kids years ago, and now he simply kept to himself. He had a lot of money, but he didn't like going out to spend it. I understood a little where he was coming from, as I assume he lost his family due to vendettas with the associates of the people he has killed, and now the money felt like it was not worth the life of his family. 

I felt he was just a lonely man, and that perhaps my visit today was worth it for both of us.

Since I was a little older mentally, him and I got along quite well. We watched TV together, where he showed me some videos of heroes he was friends with. I told him about how I wanted to attend the Academy, and he gave me a lot of advice. He even offered to use his connections to try and get me in, however I shook my head. 

I didn't want to have him do that for me, because I wanted to be independent. To this he smiled lightly, and dropped the subject. As I noticed the clock said it was 8 PM, I excused myself and told the man I appreciated him providing dinner. He shook off the compliment and said that we simply helped each other. After saying goodnight to each other, I went back to my room and got onto my computer. 

I was again looking up what kind of things the Academy would test for but it was pretty simple. They wanted either people with special skills, or people who had decent physical skills. It was clear to me that I would need to hack into more systems and hope I got something good. 

I then had a plan to go out and explore the town tomorrow to find more systems. Once I got bored of browsing the internet, I began to practice using my Stealth skill. The skill had a slight effect, but the important thing was that I could now improve the skill. The way skills worked in this world was now that I had it, I had a talent in it. 

With that talent, I could now become much more proficient with simple practice. I spent an hour practicing my skill of walking quietly, and after just the one practice session I was able to naturally walk quietly. It wasn't yet at the point of being muscle memory, but I was able to walk quietly with minimal effort.

With a fairly successful day, I decided to call it a night and went to bed with a hopeful look for tomorrow.