Chapter 2: System? (Rewritten)

Chapter 2: System?

"System?"

{Yes, Host?}

"What the fuck..."

"Watch your mouth," a voice sounded behind Carlos, startling him.

"You scared me, Mom."

Eliane looked at Carlos for a moment but decided to ignore it and grabbed her toothbrush.

"Go get your backpack ready."

"Yes, ma'am." Carlos left the bathroom and went to his room to get the books for the day. Checking the schedule, he picked the corresponding books before sitting on the bed while his mother finished getting ready.

'System.'

{Yes, Host?}

'So, it wasn't a hallucination…'

{I assure you I am very real, Host.}

'What are you?'

{The system is a system.}

Carlos frowned for a moment, staring at the empty screen.

'What is your purpose?'

{I was created to assist the host in his new journey.}

'How?'

{Would the host like to see the available functions?}

"Carlos, let's go."

Hearing his mother shout, Carlos looked away from the screen, smiling.

"I'm coming."

'We'll talk later,' he said to the system.

{Understood, Host.}

Watching the screen disappear and the system go silent, Carlos left the room and went outside. His mother was already on the motorcycle, and he climbed on as they headed to São Bernardo School, a private school in his city.

After five minutes, Carlos arrived at school. Outside, a large fleet of cars and motorcycles were dropping off their children. There were those who came by bicycle, yet there were many cars in such a small town.

Well, Cachoeirinha might be small, but it was a town with land and history. Founded almost two hundred years ago, it was rich in fertile land and great for raising animals, with agriculture being the pillar sustaining the town over generations. Another factor that contributed to its development was the Itapecuru River and its proximity to Caxias, the little princess of the hinterland.

(N.A.: In the Tupi language, Ita means stone, pe means path, and curu means influence, hence the name Itapecuru means "Water that walks between the stones" or "the path of stones.")

This allowed a large flow of slaves and expensive goods at more affordable prices to pass through the town during its years of development, making it a town frequently visited by merchants from other regions. Not as much as its neighbor, but still, there were many people. Of course, this proximity also made Cachoeirinha a target during the Balaiada War (1838 to 1841), making it one of the battlefields during the conflict.

Later, when the Itapecuru River became unnavigable, merchants began using the Parnaíba Delta, leading to the rise of a new city in the neighboring state, impacting the market of Caxias and the surrounding towns.

Both towns suffered from this, but it didn't take long for them to get back on track, Cachoeirinha with grain exports and Caxias with its textile factories and large cotton plantations.

Arriving in the classroom, Carlos sat in his favorite spot, not at the back near the window like an anime protagonist but in the third seat of the second row. It was close enough to hear the teacher and see the board while being near enough to his friends at the back, allowing him to concentrate and chat with them at the same time.

Looking around and seeing the faces of his old classmates, Carlos lowered his head a bit and pretended to nap.

'System, show your functions.'

{Yes, Host.}

[Status]

[Trading Hall]

[Omniversal Shop]

[Arena]

[Omniversal HR]

'Looks like a game menu… show me my status.'

[Status]

Host: Carlos Dias de Andrade Correia Neto

Age: 13 years

Skills: None

Powers: None

Titles: None

Reading his status, Carlos finally understood what the system was. Although he had lived past fifty in his previous life, the term isekai was quite common for many works between 2010 and 2020, and most protagonists had something similar.

Although not an anime fan, Carlos had watched some in his youth, like Naruto, One Piece, Saint Seiya, Yu-Gi-Oh! and many others. He tried watching them again when he got older, but the trends didn't appeal to him as much as they did in his youth.

'Show me the other functions.'

{Yes.}

[Trading Hall] – Locked – 50,000 cruzeiros

[Omniversal Shop] – Locked – 500,000 cruzeiros

[Arena] – Locked – 1.000.000 cruzeiros

[Omniversal HR] – Locked – 10,000,000 cruzeiros

'What the hell is this?'

{Unfortunately, the other functions are locked.}

'I can read. I want to know why?'

{...}

'Hey, answer me, system. Why the hell do I have to pay to access these functions? And why the hell is it so expensive?'

{...}

'Damn it.' Seeing the system silent, Carlos could do nothing but curse in his mind. 'I thought this was one of those systems that made you invincible, but it seems like one of those mercenary systems.'

{I am not a mercenary system.}

'Then explain these absurd prices.'

{This is a fair price, considering that after this, you will have access to—}

"Good morning, everyone to your seats." Before the system could continue with its explanation, the teacher entered the room, making Carlos ignore the explanations.

'It doesn't matter much. Now that I have another chance, I'll just use my knowledge of the future and get rich.'

{Yes. Money is indeed important for—}

'Quiet, mercenary system.'

{...}

Carlos spent the day thinking about the best ways to get rich while the system remained silent for the rest of the day.

At noon, Carlos and the other students were released from school, and he went to his grandmother's house for lunch, as his mother would still be teaching the afternoon students.

After walking for 20 minutes, Carlos arrived in front of a simple house. The facade was modest, the simple old wooden door was protected by an iron gate.

Carlos knocked on the door a few times and waited a bit. After a few moments, an elderly lady in her 70s opened the door, and upon seeing Carlos, she smiled a little.

"Blessing, Grandma," Carlos said, extending his hand to his grandmother before she could say anything.

"God bless you," she replied, giving her hand for Carlos to kiss.

Carlos's grandmother was named Luzia. She was a lady in her 80s with black hair, clearly dyed, with white roots. Her face was wrinkled and tired, but her green eyes were extremely bright and full of life.

Luzia had eight children and lived a long time in the rural area of a neighboring municipality before moving to Cachoeirinha. She once owned a lot of land but lost most of it after her husband died at 35 from a heart attack. To this day, she doesn't know where his body was buried, as he died while visiting another town and ended up being buried as an indigent. Her brothers-in-law, as soon as they learned of his death, came after a piece for themselves, like vultures. Today, she still had some land managed by her eldest son, but it was just a small fraction of what she once owned.

Sitting at the table, Carlos waited a bit while his grandmother served him a plate. The lunch was a typical regional dish, Baião de dois, and a stewed free-range chicken.

(A.N.: Baião de Dois: Typical Northeastern Dish)

"How was school?" she asked while sitting with him and starting to eat.

"Normal," Carlos replied. "Just math and Portuguese classes."

"Hm. Do you have anything to do this afternoon?"

"Just an assignment," Carlos said before asking, "Why?"

"I want help around the house this afternoon."

"All right."

Carlos finished eating quickly and then went to rest a bit before taking care of his Portuguese assignment. In the living room, Carlos lay down on the couch and started to nap a little when suddenly the system sounded again in his mind.

{Host, would you like me to finish explaining my functions?}

'No need.'

{Pardon?}

'Look, I really don't care what you can or cannot do. I died, but instead of moving on, accompanied by a beautiful reaper I'm back in my childhood, in a weak body, and with a mercenary system—'

{I am not a mercenary.}

'The country is on the verge of one of its biggest crises thanks to a damn inept president who will drag us into the pit on his first day in office.'

{...}

'So, excuse me if I really don't care much about your functions at the moment. Maybe when I start working and have money, we can revisit this conversation. But until then, I really don't think I'll need you.'

{...If that is your wish, I will remain in standby mode. If you need me, just call.}

'Right, right. See you later.'

Carlos remained silent for a moment before sighing tiredly. His attitude towards the system seemed stupid and illogical, but he really wasn't in the mood to delve into it. It wasn't that he didn't want answers about why he had to relive his life at this moment; it was just that he was worried about something else: his daughter.

Was his daughter, okay? How did she react after learning about his death? And his mother? Would his daughter help take care of her now that he was gone? In this new life, would his daughter be born again? And if she was, would she be the same little girl he loved and cared for over 20 years?

These questions wandered through his mind throughout the day, making him not care much about himself.

"Thinking too much about this won't help. I think I'll go help Grandma. Damn, I still must figure out a way to save her and Mom's savings before Collor takes over the presidency... so much to do."

Leaving the couch, Carlos went to help his grandmother with the laundry on the terrace and then helped organize some heavy items in the pantry. Around 4 p.m., he went to a nearby soccer field.

After walking for about 10 minutes, Carlos arrived at the neighborhood soccer field. It was a vacant dirt lot with two wooden goalposts at each end. The space was small, but a group of children was already playing, each team with five players, one goalkeeper and four outfielders.

Carlos looked around before spotting a friend.

"Hey Junior, where are the guys?" Carlos greeted his friend while looking around for some other acquaintances.

"Hey Carlos. They should be coming. I already called Junin and João."

"Hm." Carlos nodded slightly while watching one of the boys score a goal and celebrate with his friends.

Carlos was never a soccer fan, which seemed like an affront to many Brazilians, but he really didn't see the point in wasting more than an hour watching people chase after a ball. It wasn't interesting, so he didn't like watching games unless it was the national team. Still, he enjoyed getting together with friends and playing with them; it was fun. Although he was a mediocre/poor player, he still enjoyed it with them.

Around 5:30 p.m., Carlos left as it was starting to get dark and the field had no nearby lighting. Some boys stayed behind, but most left with him.

Arriving at his grandmother's house, Carlos took a bath and, after resting a bit, worked on his Portuguese assignment. Around 7 p.m., his mother arrived, and the two had dinner with his grandmother before heading home.