Trash system

"Ugh..."

I slowly regained my vision. Putting my right hand on my head, I tried to look around.

[You are currently expelled from the lobby, '0011'.]

'Ah.'

I was still not totally aware of my situation. I flinched as one more notification window popped up.

[Tower of 'fate' is inquiring provisions for the expelled user.]

I read the notification without opening my mouth. What would happen if I actually got expelled from the tower? Would I return to earth?

'That's a futile question, I assume.'

If what I had read earlier was true, then the earth was no more. I pinched my cheek as hard as I could.

"It isn't a dream, huh..."

I could feel the pain. That was more than enough to verify my doubts.

[Provisions found.]

[Enter tutorial phase.]

[Yes/No]

I observed the detail it showed under the panel. There was more to it than I had thought.

[Objective: Clear tutorial phase]

[Reward: Entry to the lobby '0011'.]

Did that mean I was still somewhere inside the tower? And what exactly was the purpose of this all? Lobby and tower seemed to be different things at this moment.

[Yes/No]

I stared at the options for a while. Bitting my lips, I chose an option. It was obvious what the best choice was here.

[Beginning tutorial phase]

I decided to go along with the flow. It wasn't like I had any option other than entering the tutorial phase. Declining it seemed risky, on top of that.

[Granting skills... granting talents...]

"Huh?"

These notification panels were unexpected. I could feel my palms getting sweaty.

[Skills granted.]

[Talents granted.]

[Stat 'Luck' doesn't exist.]

Now I was certain of one thing. This stat called 'luck' was more than just important in this place. There was no telling what the future held for a person without this stat.

[Skills: 2]

[Talents: 1]

*Sigh*

I let out a sigh of relief. At least I got something. But what would happen next? I never dropped my guard.

[Transporting to 'tutorial area-01']

*Tsk*

I clicked my tongue. The notifications made a weird sound every time they popped up. It was annoying.

*Swish*

The blue light glowed for a moment. I was in some other place before I even knew it. A closed room with a training dummy in the middle.

[Objective: Hit the target perfectly 1000 times.]

That sounded tough, no matter how you looked at it. I took a look around. There was a weapons stand. Only swords were in it. I stood up and walked to the stand.

'1000 times, you say...?'

I pulled out a sword from the stand. It looked shabby. But it would've been more than enough for some practice dummies.

[Novice swordsmanship (F-rank | Growth)]

The blue screen displayed. I flinched and looked at the sword that was visible through the translucent window.

[Time limit: None]

Was this a good thing? Or...

'I should give it a try at least.'

Slowly walking, I stood in front of the wooden target. My grip tightened around the sword's hilt. I was holding the sword with both hands. It was the first time I actually held a sword in my hands.

"Hyap-"

The sword moved swiftly. It was a bit heavy. I continued swinging it.

[0/1000]

Around 20 minutes passed by. The hit count remained unchanged. The restlessness grew stronger within my heart.

*Thwack thwack*

I kept on swinging the sword. How much time has passed by like this? I didn't know.

*Thud*

[Stat 'stamina' has hit 0]

My body touched the ground. I could no longer feel my hands. As tears blurred my vision, I stared at the ceiling.

'Just what am I doing wrong...?'

[0/1000]

[You lack understanding of the skill, 'novice swordsmanship'.]

As someone with no knowledge of martial arts and swords, there was no way that I could know what hitting perfectly meant. I was just simply swinging the sword in every way I could think of.

I tried getting up from the floor just to realise how futile it was. What if this system was the absolute law of this place? The tears flowed down my eyes as I lost consciousness.

-"[Rest is up to you. Reach to the top.]"

The voice I heard before entering the tower echoed through my mind. Or this might've just been my illusion. I couldn't tell. Embraced by the darkness, I continued hearing those words repetitively. Maybe the person behind that voice was the reason why I got into this mess.

'But they healed my body...'

That person had nothing to gain by healing the bodies of someone like me. More of all, the voice was so weird that I couldn't tell the person's gender. A boy? A girl?

'Gender doesn't matter...'

What really mattered was what they wanted from me. I might've blindly believed and trusted the owner of the voice if they had given me some extraordinary powers to get myself out of these circumstances.

-"[Goodluck.]"

Their wish for luck came out as a bit odd to me. What if they were actually trying to help me in their own way? What if I was just a pawn in their plan?

'I can't simply come to a conclusion. Guess there's no other choice...'

At this moment, I could feel a strange warmth within my heart. Because I made up my mind?

"Ah..."

I groaned as I lifted my body while supporting myself by pushing my hands on the ground.

[Stat 'stamina' has been fully restored.]

The warmth that I felt was because my body had healed enough for me to get up. It didn't hurt anymore.

'There's still something left...'

I thought while placing my heart on my chest. This something was the last ray of hope I could see.

"If novice swordsmanship is my first skill..."

The thought came across my mind as I spoke at the same time.

"Then what is my second skill and talent...?"

From the depths of my heart, I prayed for them to be helpful.

-----------------

"Is this trash system for real right now?"

I said it out loud while looking at the white writing on the blue box. My status window was displayed in front of me.

[Name: Asher Devilin]

[Level: 01(Novice)]

[Skills: 2]

[Talents: 1]

[Stats: 6]

It only showed the things I was already aware of. How would I know exactly what skills I had?

'This indeed is troublesome...'

With no option other than staring at the blue board helplessly, I moved my hand towards it.

'No. I can't have any expectations from this trash system...'

I gave up on hoping for anything. My luck was bad enough on earth, and now it has even stopped existing.

"F*ck this!"

I yelled as I threw my fists at the blue box. It was a pure coincidence that it moved at that particular angle.

*Ding*

A sound fell on my ears. I looked closely at it. Something unexpected happened.

[Skills: 2]

[Novice swordsmanship (F-rank | Growth)]

[Die Roll (F-rank | Growth)]

My fist accidentally touched the skills option. The window had extended. It was no longer a square.

"Huh? What is this? Die roll?"

I knew what I had to do now. My hand moved towards the window. My finger touched the skill name that was displayed on it.

*Ding*

[Die roll: A die will be rolled. Rewards will be given based on your 'luck' stat.]

Now there was good news and bad news. The good news was that I knew how to use the status window to some extent. The bad news was that I had no 'luck' stat.

'So basically...'

They gave me a trash system along with trash skills. Again, I realised that I had forgotten something.

'My luck is really the worst...'

But I still hadn't completely lost hope yet. There was one final thing left. I swallowed my own saliva while moving my hand.

*Ding*

[Talents: 1]

I possessed skills and one talent. Skills were both useless.

"At least talent might be something that is good enough."

I said this as the detailed status window filled my vision. My jaw dropped. For a moment, I stayed quiet.

*Hah*

I exhaled calmly. I could feel the weight leaving my body.

*Huuu*

I held my breath as soon as I inhaled. I could feel something in my throat. Just what was that sensation? That didn't matter.

"F*ck you damned system!!!!"

I shouted while exhaling the long breath I had held in. Tears flowed down my eyes. Just why was I this unlucky?

[Talents: 1]

[??? ??? ???]

How in the world was I supposed to know without reading it? Why was it all question marks? I bit my lips. 

*Slap*

Slapping my cheeks, I stood up. That was enough whining over it. I took a long breath and looked at my status window. It had reverted back to its basic form.

"I should try it out at least once."

I thought as I grabbed my hand on the sword again. This time, my intention wasn't to swing it.

"Die roll."

[Attempting to roll die.]

My face brightened up at the sight of this notification. Something good was happening after a while. But it didn't last long.

[You don't have stat 'luck'.]

I could feel the urge to cuss again. But I held it back.

"Calm down, me."

*Sigh*

I was already exhausted. Ignoring the notifications, I lied down on the ground.

'By the way...'

Just how much time has passed since I entered this place?

I wasn't feeling hungry at all. It seemed like I had spent quite a number of days here. I had no assumptions this time.

"I will sleep for now, I think."

I said while closing my eyes. The exhaustion had hit my body and mind. It was more mentally draining.

'I'm lucky enough to be used to being alone all the time...'

I slowly fell asleep. This was the first and last time I slept peacefully.

'This system... is more trashy than my luck...'