Immortal Hermit System

Antoine stared, dumbfounded, at the blue screen in front of him. It had been a year since he had made his home in a remote mountain in the Himalayas, and he thought that time had taken its toll on his psyche.

This morning, as he got up to tend to the animals, a strange panel suddenly appeared before him. A loading screen displayed the progress of a download.

As it reached 100%, a strange voice, sounding ancient and drowsy, echoed.

"Congratulations, inhabitant of planet Earth. Earth has evolved into a higher-level planet. You now have the chance to be linked to the system and gain immense power. Use your powers wisely to prevent the invasion and destruction of Earth."

The voice faded away as suddenly as it had arrived, leaving Antoine bewildered at the entrance of the cave that served as his residence.

"I must be going completely insane. I'll increase my meditation time to avoid going completely mad!" he told himself, convinced that what had just happened was merely a delusion from his brain inspired by the books he used to read in his youth.

"I need to hurry up and feed the livestock and the chickens, then isolate myself for the rest of the day."

Quickening his pace, he headed toward another cave where he stored his harvest. A large quantity of barley and buckwheat lay there, allowing him to survive the approaching winter without worrying about famine.

He quickly gathered a mixture of grains and straw in a bag made from yak leather, which he had crafted after one of his animals was killed by a pack of Tibetan wolves.

Once the bag was full, he descended a steep little path to a plateau about a hundred meters below. There lay his farm, which he had built up over the course of his hermitage. It was home to yaks, blue sheep, poultry, and tahrs, a species of mountain goat.

Upon arriving at the bottom, a massive Tibetan mastiff, standing 75 cm tall, came towards him. Although it was not very affectionate, Antoine considered it his most precious friend.

Named Custos, it was a dog he had rescued as a puppy three years ago. It was the only remnant of his past life and his sole companion in this cruel world. Since the beginning of his isolation, it had saved his life several times.

After feeding all his animals, he played a bit with Custos before quickly retracing his steps. However, he did not stop at his cave, continuing to climb higher. Thirty minutes later, he paused for a moment beside a massive waterfall to admire the view before heading toward an invisible cavity tucked behind the cascade.

Crossing through it, he entered a large dark cave, camouflaged by the water crashing down from 200 meters above.

"Today, I will meditate without eating until the sun sets. I need to chase away my inner demons and those bizarre illusions I've had throughout the day."

Sitting in a lotus position to meditate, Antoine entered an intense state of meditation, completely detaching himself from the rest of the world. As the hours passed and his meditation deepened, the same voice he had heard that morning resonated again.

"After analyzing the host, it meets the requirements for the unique hidden class: the immortal hermit. The system will be replaced by a new system adapted to the hidden class."

Caught off guard during his meditation, Antoine, in a state of extreme concentration, screamed and jolted, utterly surprised. He could almost feel his heart stop due to the sudden interruption.

Antoine quickly regained control of his breathing before noticing the same strange blue screen he had seen that morning.

Again, the screen displayed a loading percentage that was increasing quite slowly.

"This can't be happening, have I really gone insane? The life of a hermit must not be meant for me. Yet, I've never had any symptoms before this."

He felt desperate, wondering if he had made a mistake by isolating himself from the rest of humanity.

Resigned to the fact that he had lost his mind, Antoine stood up and cautiously interacted with the strange blue screen. It moved with him, always remaining at the center of his vision about 50 cm from his face. Reaching out toward the screen, his hand passed through it without Antoine feeling anything.

He then tried to get rid of it for the next 20 minutes, but his attempts were unfortunately unsuccessful.

Dejected, Antoine sat against one of the cave walls, wondering if he should return to civilization and consult a psychologist.

Lost in his dark thoughts for another 10 minutes, the loading screen percentage, which had never stopped increasing, finally reached 100%. After reaching 100%, the screen disappeared without a sound.

Resigned to his madness, Antoine recalled the books he had read in his youth that featured a system. Deciding to experiment, he thought about displaying his status.

As if responding to his thoughts, the blue screen illuminated his face once more. Its content, different from before, displayed a page filled with information reminiscent of video games.

"Oh, I've sunk so deep into madness that I can create hallucinations on command. Well, let's explore how realistic my madness really is."