Determination

<Opening System>

</|Mapping System|\>

|Introduction|

\Create Maps!/

'Figured as much' Thought Clay as he read on.

[Stats]

[Quests]

[Achievements]

[Shop]

[Abilities]

As Clay thought to navigate to the stats interface Josh was already in the middle of awakening his system.

A bright light followed shortly after Clay pressed the Stats button. Then he placed his attention on Josh who just finished awakening.

The secretary walked up to Josh and asked the same question, this time she was surprised and pleased with what she heard.

"I awakened a B Class Delayed Attack System" Josh scratched his head in a mix of nervousness and embarrassment.

The secretary who was normally cold and aloof had lost control of her emotions for a moment due to the gladness of seeing another talent after seeing dozens of subpar ones.

"Wonderful" replied the secretary who started jotting down notes about Josh.

Josh soon after walked towards Clay in the group of people who had awakened their talents while the mage continued to awaken the systems of other people. Josh later furrowed his eyebrows as he saw Clay talking to 3 other people.

"Didn't think you'd have the guts to come here after getting an F rating" A person called Brad sneered.

Clay opened his mouth and was about to retort when Josh cut him off.

"What's going on here Clay?" Josh frowned as he approached the group.

Seeing that another person arrived, the trio Brad, Tristan, and Aiden decisively chose to leave, not willing to offend someone with a B rating whose talent and potential surpasses theirs in the system category.

With a sigh, Josh turned to Clay who was clenching his fists thinking about the situation that had happened.

"Don't worry about them Clay, they're just people trying to kick down anyone they think are beneath them, just to satisfy their own superiority complex, such people won't get far in life"

"I know, It's just they are saying the truth" Clay said in a dejected manner

"Well, you'll show em', right Clay? No matter how long it takes I know you are gonna be better than them in the future, and at that point, them even begging and kissing your boots just to curry your favor won't be that much of a stretch would it?" Josh grinned.

'There it is again, that same optimism and smug grin that always appears whenever something not in his favor happens' Clay thought with a sigh

'Back to my system, I wonder what my stats are'

Seeing that Clay was staring blankly at the air in front of him Josh smiled and began doing the same thing.

'Woah I got some good stats' Clay thought.

|Stats|

\The basic overview of a lifeform's attributes/

|Race: Human|

|Level: 3|

|Health: 55/55|

|MP: 15/15|

|Strength: 11|

|Agility: 10|

|Intelligence: 10|

|Dexterity: 12|

|Vitality: 11|

|Mystic: 1|

|Mapping: 0|

|Remarks: Above average human specimen for their respective age|

'System, what do my stats mean?'

*Ding!*

<Strength is how much burden and power your body can endure and exert, Agility is the speed of your reactions, Intelligence is your capacity to store and recall information as well as your comprehension speed for certain knowledge, Dexterity is how accurately you could control and move your body parts, Strength, Agility, and Dexterity determines your overall speed. Vitality is your Health Points with a current conversion ratio of 1:5, Vitality is also partially your Soul's Strength, Mystic is how much Mental Power and Soul Strength you have and your understanding of mystical knowledge, and finally, Mapping is a special stat only available for people with this system. It both serves as your map-making level and your current understanding of maps. Health is your overall life force residing in your body which increases gradually as your stats increase, Mental Power is the stamina your mind currently has. Race is the hosts' current race, Level is the hosts' power level that increases when experience requirements and conditions are met>

Clay widened his eyes as words of text bombarded and filled up his entire vision, barely being able to see what was behind them, Clay began reading at a fast speed just to get the text out of his sight.

'So it looks like I need to work on my mapping stat, I wonder when I would get my quests'

*Ding!*

As if on cue, a system notification sound rang in his ears.

<Host has received a quest, open quest?>

'Open quest' Clay mentally ordered.

|Quest name: Beginnings|

\Gather materials for creating your first map/

{Gather 1 sheet of Papyrus paper, 1 quill, and 1 small jar of ink}

|Quest rewards: 10 SC, 20 EXP, and 2 Stat Points|

|Quest Failure Penalty: None|

|Quest Time Limit: None|

<Accept Quest?>

[Yes/No]

'System what is SC?' Clay asked.

*Ding!*

<SC stands for Shop Currency, you can use SC to purchase items from the shop, the host can get SC from quest rewards, completing achievements, and unlocking skills, there are other ways of getting SC but it is not recommended for the hosts' current abilities>

'Huh, alright, system accept the quest'

*Ding!*

<Accepted quest>

<Host can now view this quest in the [Quests] section>

'I now have a quest, my progress shouldn't be too bad compared to others right?' Clay looked around at the others with systems, as he closed his system, his gaze landed on Josh beside him who also was looking at his system judging by how he was staring blankly at the air in front of him.

"Hey, Josh" Clay called out.

Josh didn't respond still staring at the air in front of him. Clay called out once more, this time tapping Josh on his shoulders. Finally snapping out of his daze Josh looked at Clay.

"Yeah? What's up?" Josh asked, looking a little guilty for a while but hiding it away immediately afterward.

"I was wondering what your system was about" Clay responded.

"Oh, about my system? Well, uh, my system lets me store attacks and then release them at any time" Josh scratched his cheek before continuing on.

"It seems I can even alter the power of the attack once I get stronger, I can even edit some of the properties of my attack after storing it, but to do that I need to be even more stronger"

Clay was both amazed and disappointed, amazed because his friend got something wonderful, but disappointed because he couldn't compare himself to him.

Clay remembered what he and Josh talked about before getting their systems, saying that he would be better than his, his face flushed with red from embarrassment, hoping to find a hole he can hide his entire existence in. Then he also remembered what he had said to his younger sister before leaving home, he got even more embarrassed, he felt that he could not face the humiliation he would feel once his sister got to know about the matter of his F class rating.

'But what's done is done, I can't really change anything now, I can only try to get more stronger' Clay was determined, not even realizing his fists were clenched hard enough that blood wasn't flowing properly to his fingers, and hard enough that the whites of his knuckles can be seen.

Time passed by and the ceremony was almost concluded.

The last person placed his hand on the orb. A bright light ensued, and a warm feeling swept through his body. The secretary asked him what he had awakened. He responded, saying he had a C class system. The secretary then noted it, feeling relief as she had finally finished her job for today.

Then the mage, seeing that no one is going to awaken their systems anymore, proceeded to make an announcement regarding their systems.

"I'm sure most of you by now are familiar with how systems work, but if not let me explain it, systems are divided by classes, with S class being the highest recorded so far, and F class which is the lowest." The mage looked towards Clay while saying that, prompting others to look at Clay as well. Clay shrunk his head from the pressure of many people looking at him.

"Though the classes don't determine how strong your system is, it determines how fast it can grow, with an F class taking 2x longer to grow than an E class, and an E class taking 2x longer to grow than a D class and so on, Classes are further divided into their three respective categories, Lifestyle, which is not suitable for combat but is suitable for living a comfortable life. Combat, which is suitable for fighting but not suitable for living a nice life. And support which is a mix of the two allowing one to be versatile." the mage continued.

"With that said if you have any further questions, you can ask me or your system"

The secretary turned to leave once everything was done, as the ceremony was as good as over by now. The butler then placed the orb back on the table on its stand and began taking his leave.

The mage nodded at him and the butler nodded back.

"Seems like we can finally start living our lives to the fullest huh" Clay felt excited at the future that awaited him.

"Yeah, It seems so" Josh responded.