The System

"Peter, pay close attention..." A familiar voice reached Peter's ears. At the age of eight, he watched the extremely tired-looking man carefully. Although the man spoke cautiously, there was a wide, beaming smile on his face, like that of a child about to get up to some mischief.

"This will be our secret, all right? I'm tired of the bullshit they try to push on humans. This is real entertainment here."

This happened a long time ago, and Peter didn't even know why he was remembering this at such a critical moment. After the great defeat, cultural and artistic elements of the human race were gradually lost over time. Books, music, television programs, and video games were replaced by materials that suited the narrative of the dominant races. Nowadays, possessing any kind of media that referred to human superiority was considered a serious crime.

The few memories Peter had of his grandfather were extremely vague, but that particular day was still vivid in his mind. That day, Peter was introduced to an ancient device, an emulator that ran games from the period before the great defeat. The immersion and history he experienced with a single game immediately made all the media he had consumed throughout his life somewhat insignificant.

Peter was awakened by a violent coughing fit. For over 10 minutes, he watched his blood being dangerously expelled from his mouth, along with a strange, black, slimy substance.

"Shit..."

That was an unprecedented situation. Like never before, the young man's mind was flooded with a strong sense of urgency and fear.

Upon waking up, he was faced with one of the most absurd situations he had ever experienced. A giant panel was floating before his eyes. It didn't take long for Peter to associate this situation with the strange game his grandfather had shown him several years ago. It was exactly the same panel that appeared every time Peter allocated more points to some attribute of his character.

Still feeling tired, it was difficult to gather the strength in his body to get up from the cold ceramic floor.

[Mission "Start the System" Complete!]

[+100 XP, +100 Coins]

DING

[Congratulations, the Host has evolved to level 2]

[+10 AP, +100 Coins, Skill "Explosive Force"]

Peter felt somewhat stunned by the amount of information present in that single situation. Why on earth had that game suddenly appeared? And why had it almost killed him? The only plausible explanation was as absurd as the possible current human superiority. Humans didn't know much about Cultivators; in fact, information about these individuals was deliberately withheld from all of humanity.

However, he knew that these individuals could cultivate energy in their bodies and awaken supernatural abilities as a result. Besides the abilities that could be replicated by anyone, there were the "Natural Abilities". These abilities were extremely unique to each individual and reflected directly on their genetic characteristics. If this was the case, Peter had a very dangerous bomb on his hands.

In the entire world, there were no other humans with a similar ability. As the only member of the human race capable of cultivating himself, Peter would definitely be blacklisted from all the intelligent races on the planet. He didn't believe that members of other races would be stupid enough to leave such a power in the hands of a race they had oppressed and killed for centuries.

Peter spent the next few hours familiarizing himself with his ability. In fact, it worked exactly like a role-playing game system. Except for a few elements that could not be reproduced in the real world, the system remained very true to its premise. Slowly, the sun rose over the horizon, rising imposingly between the houses. At the same time, the system reacted to it, issuing a new notification instantly.

DING

[Daily Mission!]

[Perform 100 push-ups: 0/100]

[Perform 100 squats: 0/100]

[Run 10 km: 0/10]

Peter looked at the new panel with curiosity. The fact that there were daily missions was not surprising, considering its basis in the old video game. However, the missions that normally involved dealing damage, collecting items, and defeating enemies were converted into simple physical exercises.

Peter had a healthy body. Although these tasks were challenging, they were not really a problem for him. In just two hours, he managed to make immense progress.

[Do 100 Push-ups: 100/100]

[Do 100 Squats: 100/100]

[Run 10 KM: 0/10]

It was a perfect day for running, after all, Peter had a legitimate reason to get out of the house. On the 30th of every month, humans were forced to give up some of their energy to the other races. The process took place in a building located in the center of the town square, built with the advanced technology of the other races.

Normally Peter didn't have high expectations for this day, but at this moment he was really excited to get out.

Walking excitedly down the stairs, Peter found his mother in the kitchen. She was a beautiful woman, but she had a tired countenance. The dark circles under her eyes were a clear sign that she too had been up all night.

Although they were both in overloaded minds, they exchanged a smile when they met. The people in that house usually did not talk about what was happening. Although they feared and were distressed, it was better for everyone not to talk or show displeasure about anything.

"You're up early today, Peter," said his mother.

"Actually, I didn't sleep. I spent the night playing," he replied.

"I thought you hated those games," she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah...I do."

From that point on, an awkward silence settled over the room. Both of their minds were on the events of the previous night, and neither of them would be able to forget that carnage for quite some time.