System panel

"Uhh.. where the hell am I.." Lock said in confusion. 

He tried to sit down and was startled by the moist and rough texture of the ground. His nose was also assaulted by the smell of blood.

"Huh." Lock thought. 

He immediately looked at his hand and was surprised by the dirt. Not only that, but there were dried blood stains on his wrist and clothes.

Lock was tensed up by this sight and cursed under his breath. "What the fuck?" 

Then memories started flooding him. 

"The monster!" Lock thought. As panic consumed him.

Lock stood up and scanned the forest. There he saw a dead, 2-meter-tall monster planted on a tree a few meters away from him. 

"Did I do that..?" Lock thought in disbelief. 

His memories are still hazy and incomplete. The last thing he remembered was the monster lunging its way toward him. He thought for sure he was dead. 

Lock tried to remember what happened next, but his mind was still in shambles, so he decided to leave the place for now. 

He made his way home quickly and decided to first run by the river. He needed to wash his clothes thoroughly and get the scent of blood off of him. 

Blood attracted monsters, and he already had enough for today. After he finished washing off the blood, he made sure to erase his tracks to avoid being followed by anything. 

Once he got home, Lock couldn't help but sit down and stare into the distance. It has been one hell of a day for him. 

Once he was in the safety of his abode, the pent-up exhaustion started taking a toll on him. It didn't take long before Lock fell into the embrace of deep sleep.

***

When Lock woke up, it was already noon. His stomach was rumbling loudly, and he felt refreshed. Fortunately, he didn't suffer any injuries from yesterday's confrontation. 

He checked his stash and found out he was out of food and money. He was left with no choice but to hunt. But after yesterday's event, he couldn't help but feel a shiver down his spine. 

Grumble.. 

'Ahh.. this damn stomach ain't helping!' Lock thought. 

Lock stood up and went to his backyard. If he were to hunt for his food, he needed to be armed. He also planned to explore his power before entering the forest. 

When he got there, he immediately took the rusty axe near the well. He managed to stumble over this axe when it was thrown by a lumberjack. 

Sadly, the axe was already on the verge of breaking. The severe rust slowly ate through it, and Lock had no knowledge of axe maintenance. 

He stood in the middle of the yard and closed his eyes. He tried to remember the same feeling he felt before he activated his power. 

At first, he felt nothing, but he wasn't about to surrender just like that. Lock tried again and again until he felt something different. 

He barely noticed it, but it was there. a small warmth in his chest. He tried to focus even more, and slowly it started to get hotter. 

Lock formed a deep frown as the warm feeling started to ignite even more. He tried to stop it, but it was now activating on its own. 

It got so bad that he had to clutch his chest and gasp for air. The warmth he felt earlier was now replaced with a fierce blaze in his chest. 

He squirmed on the floor as the process went on. He thought he was going to die when the feeling started to cease. 

After a while, it was fully gone and replaced with a cool sensation. There was also something bizarre in front of Lock that took his attention away. 

<You have successfully unlocked the function [System].>

'..huh?' Lock thought as he looked at the floating screen in front of his eye. 

He was confused, as he didn't have any UGA bracelets with him. While Temeria was a small and poor village, the same cannot be said for others. 

Lock wasn't fully illiterate. His mother was a bookworm and had a variety of different books. With it, Lock knew how to do basic things like read and count.

He also had some basic knowledge about the universal game alliance. The UGA would often hold games on different scales. It may be on a planetary scale or even a galactic scale.

They would hand out these bracelets that can connect the players to the virtual world where they'll play the matches. 

The matches are cut into different categories. It may be a fighting category or a survival one. Either way, the only way to win was to be strong. 

The virtual world, or as the people call it, "Tera," wasn't kind. If you were unlucky enough to land in the fighting category, you should pray to your god. 

Tera not only holds the games but makes sure that when you die in the game, you also die in real life. It was the only way to maintain the thrill. 

Of course, with such a hardcore game, there would surely be bountiful rewards. The price would depend on your rank and performance. It could be a weapon forged by a great blacksmith or even a potion that grants you a second life. Tera would offer these absurd rewards and lure the people in. 

Lock was sure he didn't have any bracelets on him, as he ran away the moment he saw the unconscious examiner. Besides, he probably wouldn't be given one to begin with.

The bracelets were only given to awakeners with huge talents and potential. They wouldn't waste such treasures on some random person. 

'If I don't have a bracelet, then what the hell is this?' Lock asked himself. 

He searched his memories once more and came back to the information given to him by the mysterious voice. The information given to him covered only the basics. 

The contents were about the power that reformed his body and the purpose of his pendant. It didn't say anything about this weird panel. 

Lock's curiosity got the best of him and he decided to touch the screen. To his surprise, his hand only went through it like it wasn't even there. 

'I can't touch it? then what's the purpose of this thing?' Lock thought. 

After contemplating a bit more, he came up with another idea. If he can't touch it, perhaps he can move it with his thoughts. 

He focused on the screen, and sure enough, it started to show more messages. 

<Welcome host.> 

<Status> 

Name: Lock 

Age: Sixteen and a month old

Affinity: Void

Talent: N/A 

Condition: healthy, hungry 

Stats: 

STRENGTH: 12

SPD/AGI: 11

DEXTERITY: 8

CONSTITUTION: 10 

CHARM: 5.5 

SPIRIT: 6

MAGIC: 5

Lock's eyes widened in shock as his mind started connecting the dots. 

Did the "system" appear because of the body modification? Lock speculated. 

He pushed those thoughts away for now and decided to focus on what's at hand. As long as it doesn't hurt him, he will take it. 

Lock fiddled with the system a few more times. It seemed that the system not only offered a status panel but also allowed Lock to gain levels. 

<Affinity>

Affinity: Void 

Level: 0 

Mastery: 0/100

Effects: 

Stat boost: +1

'A level system? Perhaps if I level up I can gain more stat boosts.' Lock concluded.

He also had access to his soul core, and inside he saw nothing but darkness. This didn't freak him out, as it might have been due to his special element. 

Soul cores are special places inside the spirit of an awakener. The only way to access it was to connect with your guardian spirit, or, in simpler terms, take the test. It was literally your soul.

"But how do I level up?" Lock thought in confusion. 

Grumbles..

"..That's a question for later. It's time to hunt for some food." Lock dismissed the thoughts and went back to the forest.

.