System x Explanation x Worries

"What the fuck?!" was all I could say once I saw the game-like screen in front of me. It looked like most of the UIs on games, with the transparency being around thirty percent. I could see through it if I focused, but once I didn't I could see the message screen again. Then a voice pulled me back to the situation I was in.

"Oh you are alright, thank goodness." The Doctor said as he looked at me with relief. The poor man must've thought I had some sort of brain damage since I was just staring without reacting. "You must still be in shock, waking up after a month."

"Eh, ah, um I..." I was genuinely confused. When I heard my voice clearly I noticed it was coarse, so I did the most logical thing. "Could I drink water, please?"

The Doctor looked at me rather surprised and then went outside the room, probably to search for a glass, which I noticed there were none in here. Now that the Doctor was gone, I could focus on the screen again. 'What the heck is this?'

[This is the Popularity Based System, given to the Host as a gift from Truck-sama after accidentally running into you]

I had heard the name "Truck-sama" plenty of times. I had read quite a few fan fictions in my younger years and I was familiar to the term. It was the truck that always ran into protagonists to send them to their new worlds, usually in the context of saving a little girl. 'Then again, I am no protagonist'

[Truck-sama noticed the problems that were aggravating you, so it decided to give you this System as a gift. With this System, you will grow to be a protagonist, instead of Villager A.]

For a second there I thought I had read wrongly, but after re-reading the message over three times, I realized that my eyes worked perfectly fine. I had a System, like protagonists. And I had been hit by Truck-sama, like protagonists.

While my mind wrapped itself around this new information, the Doctor came back inside and found me sitting on the bed with a complicated look on my face. He must've thought that I was thinking about the fact I've been asleep for over a month, so he gave me all of the news about what had been going on throughout this time. And boy was I surprised by the information he gave me.

Apparently, my family had been coming three times a week, my mother being the exception, as she came every day at least for an hour. My little brother whom I deeply cared for had stopped smiling and my big sister kept blaming all the family, herself included, for what happened.

According to the argument the Doctor overheard, my sister was the one who cared the most for me, and once she learned of what happened she snapped. If the Doctor is to be trusted, she had been having arguments with my parents for the way I had been treated for quite a while now, but my parents said that she was overreacting, as I had never complained. And I never did, in fact. I thought it would've been pointless, as they had made it clear that my presence was an annoyance more than anything else.

"Ugh... that makes me feel like such an idiot..." I had always treated my sister coldly, as I never received a word of support from her. Apparently, she had been fighting for me with both my parents while I whined. And what made me feel even more like an idiot was... the fact that I allowed it all to happen. Had I complained once, had I lost my cool, things would've been different.

Don't get me wrong, I was still angry at my parents. As much as I didn't complain, the fault would lie in them. Who told them to treat the other two with more care and attention than me? Just because I never complained means it never mattered? They were making excuses, and my sister must know that as well as I do, which should the main reason why she is so angry at them.

"Well, I heard from your sister what the situation at your home was like... and I agree with her, they were awful parents towards you" was what the Doctor said to answer me. It felt more like a pat in the back though, being honest. Still I wanted to make things clear with my family, and I wanted to see my brother and sister above all else. They were the only ones to treat me like I was someone.

For some reason, I suddenly felt the need to ask the Doctor if anyone besides my family had come to visit me. To my surprise, someone did. My "best friend", whom I thought I would hate, didn't allow me to even be angry at her. The Doctor told me she had been coming to visit twice every week for the past month, and would always cry and say she was sorry. He also heard her say that if she could get me back she would confess herself instead of doing something so stupid "for my sake".

Based on what the Doc said and my understanding of her, I realized her answer to my confession was just a façade to make me try and improve. If the System was real, I WAS going to improve, just not thanks to her 'Though... I am happy to know that she felt the same way.'

"Doc, could you please get me more water? Sorry to bother you so much" I wasn't lying there, I really felt sorry for bothering the man. But I wanted him out of the room so I could check the System a bit more, and thankfully, my plan worked out.

"Don't worry Alan. I'll take the chance and receive your family, which should've already arrived" was all I got as an answer. He should take more time to receive my family than just searching for water, so I could take a few minutes to check this gift I got.

'Tell me, exactly what can you do, System?'

[As the Popularity Based System, I can help you become popular through any means necessary. Be it improving your looks, physical prowess or overall talent, it is possible to do so through the System.]

I thought, just based on that explanation, that the System would be my biggest ally. Even if it could do only that, it would still be extremely useful for someone like me. Still, I couldn't help but feel greedy. That couldn't be all there was to it, right? It was a System given to me by Truck-sama, after all.

'Is there anything else you can do, System?'

[Initiating System Explanation Program...

The System is composed of three different sub-systems. These three being Status, Talents and Aid.

Does the Host wish for an explanation on the three of them?]

Well, even if I had read many other stories with this same pattern and development, not all Systems were the same, and mine wouldn't be either. So I simply decided to ask for the explanation.

[Status, as its name implies, is an overall status of how the Host fares when compared to other beings. The Status is divided in six categories, which are Strength, Agility, Wisdom, Luck, Charm and Focus. These categories are measured with letters, from F to S, with S being the highest. A normal human being's stats are all around F while a known genius like Einstein would have a C in Wisdom and Focus, or Usain Bolt who would have a D in Agility.]

'Pretty much what any other System would have for Status' was what I thought at first. Though I did wonder what Focus was, the other five were the regular things seen in games. The comparison with Einstein and Usain Bolt helped a lot too, as it would be easier to recognize where I was when compared to other people. Next was Talents.

[Talents are literally that. They are a list where the Host can see what Talents he has. Talents can be natural to the Host and also acquired through the usage of Popularity Coins, which can be earned by becoming more popular. There is an endless number of Talents in this list, ranging from Studying to Engineering, while going through Shamanism and Magic]

'Useful again, this is what I need, to earn myself more talents so I can excel at a certain area' this was the one most needed thing from the System. It would help me become a better me. I would only have to do one thing, put in the effort to be worthy of this System. The last sub-system was Aid, the one I was the most curious about.

[Aid is the part of the System dedicated to helping the Host earn Popularity Points. The System is constantly analyzing the situations the Host finds himself in and, if the situation is found to be suitable to become more popular, the Aid will give the Host a recommendation on how to act to earn the most Popularity Points. As this is nothing but a recommendation, the Host may modify or ignore it.]

My conclusion after hearing the explanation on how the System worked was one. Perfect. But there was one thing that the System said that caught my attention. It didn't say humans when explaining stats. It said "beings". The thought of what that implied caused a chill run down through my back, and so I decided to simply ask. That way, he would be ready for whatever was to come.

'System, are there supernatural beings in this world?'

[The Host was sent to a parallel version of his universe where many supernatural beings from your original world's fiction converged. This had to be done as someone hit by Truck-sama is forced to traverse into a different world. The only things that remain unchanged are Host's family and best friend.]

Well, that confirmed my worries and also gave me time to prepare. I should've known that the "Shamanism" and the "Magic" the System referred to weren't those that I knew of. They were the supernatural version of them. There was something though that I couldn't help. I was feeling excited, and extremely so. I was already acting like one of those protagonists whose story I had read.

As if orchestrated by the hand of Fate, I heard a knock on my room's door. It was perfectly on time with my self-thoughts coming to an end, which actually felt a little creepy. Still, I had to talk to them. I needed to make sure that the Doctor hadn't lied. That it wasn't all a dream and I wasn't crazy. So I took that first step towards being a better me.

"Come in."