The system.

Never in Jacq's entire life has he ever fantasized about having an actual voice in his head, talking to him without question.

Worse still, he is seeing things... A blur screen popping before his eyes. And anytime that happened, he just shuts his mind, trying desperately not to yield to this strange change in his body.

He kept running down the hall in humorous craziness.

His whole body still tinged due to the overt sensitivity he had suffered after he woke up from the blast.

Jacq rounded a corner, gasping for breath. He had run too much and his body is reacting poorly to it. Because of this, he had to take a rest.

He sat on the cold floor by a corner, and breathed hard. Buckets of sweat dripped down his bare upper body and his consciousness was fading again.

The voice came again... Like it had been waiting, patiently.

[Jacq..?]

Jacq got startled at first, but this time he decided to calm down and let the whole scenario sink in first. Maybe he could try and see how this strange voice can be casted out of his system.

[Jacq...] The feminine voice sounded again in his head.

"YES?" Jacq replied angrily.

The reply from Jacq was like a permission granted, to do as the system wishes.

Suddenly, his eyes became a blur of movements.

A blue holographic screen appeared right in front of him. Then, different notifications and messages and so many words and figures appeared and disappeared. This flurry of movements made Jacq nauseous, and his eyes went dizzy.

Jacq was knocked out cold and he fell asleep on the cold floor...

He dreamt.

In the dream was a bright little star far away in a world of nothingness. The little light shined brighter as it approached Jacq. At a close distance, the light then turned into a creepy old man with a crooked white face under a crazy and scattered pale hair, and just four teeth remaining in his mouth.

The old man laughed hysterically, as he approached...

"Jacq boy. Hehehe... I know ya... You will die... Come with me, if you don't want to... Hehehe. Come, boy. Come meet your mama... Hahaha. She waits..."

The pale figure of the old man kept advancing. He stretched his bony hands towards Jacq's head, and pulled his hair, dragging him back where he came from.

Jacq kicked and fought but it was having no effect. He screamed hard but he doesn't seem to be making any sound. He grew tired of screaming and surrendered to the crazy old man.

Then, a question dunk deep inside his head... "But why?"

Why does he have to surrender? He had seen enough troubles in the past few days to surrender to a frail looking crazy little old man.

He willed hard against his surrender instincts, and reached down deep into his being. Out of him came an essence to live. To continue fighting.

He grew bolder but still weak.

Powerlessly, he raised his hand and grabbed the old man's withered hand. "Stop," he ordered. "STOP," he ordered again, loudly this time.

The crazy man continued dragging while he looked down on him and asked Jacq will do if he didn't let him go.

Jacq his anger into strength before reaching down again into the depth of his being. There it was...

A warm feeling started slowly in his stomach, and as time went by, it started growing and spreading the warmness throughout his body.

It spread slowly up his neck and in no time, his head was practically on fire. He felt his arm heating up too, slowly, painfully but strangely soothing.

The warmth spread to his fingertips and instantly, an eruption ensued.

The dark and gloomy world turned a bright colour at once. It started off as a bright yellow colour of a powerful fire. But when the eruption died down, the once gloomy nothingness turned bright blue... A new dimension born out of a sorrowful and depressing one.

The old crazy man dropped Jacq at once and looked deep in his eyes, and said, "took you long enough, boy."

The frail figure of the man started transforming, first from his large eyes. It tuned blue and spread all over his entire body. A bright blue hue masked his whole body and he vanished behind the light.

Jacq rose weakly on his feet, waiting for to see if anything unusual will occur.

An immaculate figure emerged behind the bright blue light that the old man disappeared. A human so perfect to look upon.

He stepped into full view with a liquid blue splash following his every steps. A smooth movement of blue energy surrounded his body, swirling around his being in an irregular pattern.

His face was slim and just slightly chiselled to young masculinity. His oval eyes showed no white as it was all covered blue, glinting wildly like an overcharged bulb.

Jacq realized that this figure is an upgraded replica of him. Quite interesting...

The blue Jacq spoke...

"Jacq, I'm Jacq." Blue steam emitted from his mouth as he spoke.

The ordinary Jacq stared longingly at this perfect figure of him, and stretched his hand to touch it's face.

His fingers grazed the cool and smooth texture of his face.

Immediately, the blue Jacq started fading and dissolving... Into the ordinary Jacq.

A whole load of coolness filled his body as his system reacted cooperatively to the strange feelings and transformation taking place in his body.

All was completed...

Then, Jacq woke up still lying bare chested on the cold metal floor of Professor Jerkins' lair.

The holographic blue screen popped before his vision again.

[Initializing Complete]

[System Update Complete]

[Original Data Download Complete]

[Additional Data Download Complete]

[System Powering Up]

[Loading...]

[System Booting Complete]

[Welcome, Jacq]

Jacq just sat there, now grasping the situation of things. A system has installed itself into his body, and there is no possible way to remove it.

His world of fantasy came crashing down at once. He had fantasized about being a superhero with a cape flying above people's roof as he wished. He had dreamed of creating a world where only gamers reside. He had imagined being a personality mimicking both Ironman and Batman, where he could create advanced weapons and technologies to help him in combating villains...

But never had he imagined being a superhero that is controlled by a system installed in his head, instructing him what to do.

[I am not controlling you, Jacq.] The system blurted out at once, with its feminine voice.

Jacq became worried again...

She can listen to my thoughts?

[Yes! I'm literally you. I know everything about you now, see? And please, I'm not a "She."]

Jacq voiced out for the first time, "so, you're a man? Why the voice?"

[I am not a man either. Tch.]

I have no time for this... Jacq thought to himself.

Of course, she can hear me again.

[I'm no "She," I warned earlier]

"Okay. Okay. Please show me how you work... Wait, where's Cassie and her guys?"

[I blocked the hall so, be assured nobody will disturb you. You're safe.]

"Safe? They won't hurt me. You're the threat here. Now, show me how you work."

[Introduction]

The screen displayed again... It contained a whole lot of writing. It went down the screen and it became too bulky for Jacq to read at a go.

"Read then out to me, please. My eyes will fall out trying to read this."

[Introduction]

Then, the system's voice narrated what the writings entail.

[I know you're informed about the origin of the blue orb, the way it was corrupted and the consequences of the corruption... Now, when Professor Jerkins got hold of the orb, he established a new corporation in an unknown dimension, taking full advantage of the orb's powers to make the most advanced technologies...]

Jacq spat in disgust.

The system continued...

[... Professor Lambert, the creator of the orb whom everyone thought was dead during the Green war of the corrupt 100, however wasn't dead. In fact, Professor Lambert escaped before Jerkins. He left the orb behind regretting his actions and blaming himself for creating the orb in the first place. He travelled far out of America with a fake identity and started a new life in another country.

The traitor, Professor Jerkins stole the orb and started further research on it. In his research, he found out that the orb was not a complete model. A tiny, almost invisible slit was marked on the orb which obviously marks the absence of something to perfect it. Professor Lambert had removed the key earlier for the appropriate time it will be needed. He then started the search for the key which will unlock the full potentials of the orb. He had since searched for the key his entire life, up till the moment you appeared with the key...]

Jacq was lost in thought. He had so many questions.

"Hoe then did the key end up in my basement? How did it get there?"

[I can't answer that, Jacq... Now to continue the story, the orb serves as a universal source of power or energy and as you have found out, it can also be used to boost humans abilities, mutating them to a superhuman strengths and powers. However, the key is a tool that makes the orb more of an advanced superhuman maker. The one who unlocks the orb's full potential has the power to rule the world. That is, with proper training and a little bit of time, you can become indestructible and no human or weapon alive will have a destructive impact on you. You become a god, the ultimate ruler of the world... Jacq, you have no idea what you have become.]

Oh... Right. I have no idea. Hehehe, I'm fucked.

[Yes, you are. Do not panic yet though. Worry only when the real challenges appear. For now, enjoy...]

Jacq sunk into another round of depressing thoughts. His once perfect life is about to come to an end. To what gain? To be the ultimate superhuman. Might be worth it though, he thought to himself trying to instill a bit of hope to his mindset.

Enjoy now... Suffer later.

Jacq's unconsciously stopped his breathing at the thought of looming dark and perilous times ahead. With great powers come great responsibilities, and he knew he is now directly or indirectly involved in the war affairs of the world now.

Jacq, a boy of sixteen, shooting down enemies on the screen in the comfort of his room must now carry out those activities in the real world.

[Think less, Jacq. You're over thinking. You still have a lot to know about this system and I'm here to help you with how you can activate your powers and your strength level and other important stuffs. But first, what will you like to name this system?]

He reeled away from his other bad thoughts and tried to reason a name for the system.

This strange system... What should I name you?

[System Name Updated.]

[MY STRANGE SYSTEM]

"But I've not named you. You kidding me?"

[Jacq, brace up for your first task], The system said, without bothering about the naming issue again...

Jacq got up and looked down the hall. He tried to make the screen pop out with his mind. It worked.

The screen showed a bold writing, in a straight and orderly font...

[MY STRANGE SYSTEM]

Jacq sighed, relenting, and said...

"Let's go do my first task."

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Author's note: Please support my agenda. I need your encouragement to complete this novel.

Vote with your power stones, and pass comments in the review section. Thanks a lot.