SYSTEM: Will of the World

C4: Underworld Online

C4: Underworld Online
Date Written: January 12,2019

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There's probably nothing that could compare to what I've experienced two days ago in my seventeen years of existence. Even now, I still can't quite believe that there were really monsters and magi in this world. Maybe I should've already expected them when I became a player of the mysterious entity called the SYSTEM.

"I feel bloated" I uttered those words and released a deep sigh.

I lied on my bed as I stared at the ceiling of my room. It was pitch black her it didn't felt lonely. Rather, I was excited, still excited about the events the other day. My heart was pounding whenever I remember what happened. The black slime, the fight, the skill, and my struggle to live. I was supposed to feel fear yet why am I so excited?

There's really something wrong with my head, doesn't it?

I willed my upper body to move as I tried to sit down and lean on the wall next to the bed. I then waved my left hand and the familiar screen appeared once again.

<<<<<>>>>>
Name: Sigil Leonero
Age: 17
Race: Human
Authority: 1.5

Stats:

Strength- 2
Vitality- 2
Intelligence- 6
Agility- 3
Dexterity- 15

Stat Points Available: 0

Quest:

Daily: None

<<<<<>>>>>

The numbers were definitely satisfying especially my dexterity stats which gave me better control of my movements. Right after the events that happened, I rejected all the other daily quests and side quests that appeared. However, I was still wary about a Main Quest appearing once again.

That's right. I'm still afraid of the main quest despite how exciting it tuned out to be at that time. If based on RPG games, Main quest doesn't end on such a simple task. It'll likely progress into more difficult ones inside the future. That's also the reason why I added the ten stat points I received from the previous side quest to my dexterity stats so I can endure my safety.

I waved my hand once again and the screen changed and was replaced with another one which had different contents. It was a skill menu similar to the ones found in games. It only had one skill though, the <<<Strengthen>>> skill. It's indicated in the screen that it was only one percent complete. I still don't understand what it meant though.

I didn't stop for too long on the skill menu but rather wVed my hand once again. This time, it was replaced with five squares with different icons inside of them. Any gamer would be able to identify this as an inventory.

Yes, I had it as a reward from the main quest. It was only five slotted though so I couldn't store many items inside. Currently, there were only a knife, a phone, a credit card, and the steel pipe inside though.

After I was done checking our the items, I closed the screen and fell back into my bed. I realized once again  that my life was really too simple. It just got a bit interesting after I became a player.

Suddenly, the door bell outside rang. I frowned and stood up immediately. It's already ten in the evening so why would people come to visit? Was it a prank? Nevertheless, I had to check it out since it may be something important.

My house was merely a two floor residence. It had a small garden and an oak tree near the gate. Ever since my parents died, I had been staying here and refused all proposals from my relatives to sell it.

After only a minute, I arrived at the gate and cautiously took a peak outside as I slowly opened the gate. My hand was already posed to open the inventory and take out my steel pipe. However, there was nobody outside.

"A prank?" I grumbled and was about to leave when my eyes fell into the object laid down on the cemented floor.

It was a small brown envelope. I furrowed my eyebrows. I wonder who left it in here? I picked it up and closed the gate before I rushed I to my bedroom.

The lights were turned on before I got into my study table and took out the contents of that envelope. Insife was merely a paper that had the words, Underworld Online. Below it was the URL of some website and the password for accessing it below.

Is this an advertisement? I raised my eyebrows. Suddenly, the paper and the enveloped glowed a bright light before theg exploded into multicolored lights. I was left with my mouth hanging for a few seconds before I managed to recover from my stupor and stand up.

"W-what was that?!"  I said exasperatedly as I backed away from the table.

Suddenly, the screen of the computer on the table flickered before it turned on by itself. My breath was caught within my chest.This scene totally looks like a scene from a paranormal movie leaving me breathless and scared at the moment.

The screen flicker a few more times before it revealed a website. It was called <<<Underworld Online>>> with the subtitles Buy and Sell below it. Below the name of the website were a line of categories of items.

T-this is...an online shop?!

Due to the absurdity of the situation, my nervousness was wiped away and curiosity got the better of me. My legs moved and before I knew it, I was already operating the computer.

There was no doubt about it. This Underworld Online is definitely an online shopping market. However, it wasn't a normal one definitely. After all, it had items like swords, potions and other kinds of stuff. Suddenly, my eyes landed on the skill shop.

Could this be a player shop? I made a guess even though the answer's already quite obvious right now. I opened the category and a series of crystals appeared on the screen through a list.

The crystals had different colors unlike what I received from Lyle yesterday. Most of them ranged from 10,000 Sapphire to hundreds of thousands of them. After looking through the items on the shop, I confirmed that sapphire was the currency used in this shop.

"So many skills. Fire Granting, Shield Absorption, and a Charm Circle? Oh this one..." my eyes paused into a certain transparent crystal.

It was the <<<Strengthen>>> skill I got from Lyle yesterday. It was priced at about ten thousand sapphires, one of the cheapest skills available. I groaned after I saw this. It seems that the skill wasn't that special after all.

The whole hour was spent browsing through the items available at the shop. I currently had zero sapphires according to the website so I couldn't buy anything.

However, I indeed learned a few more things about this shop. First, I could sell any items of any value to a player and exchange it for sapphires and then second, items from quests or monster drops can be sold for quite a sum.

After the fight with the black slime, it dropped a black orb on the spot where it died before it disappeared into light fragments. Lyle who had been watching the whole fight took it away without any word before she left.

I learned that it was actually called a Monster Core, specifically a Black Slime Core.  It only worthed for about a thousand sapphires. It seemed that Lyle actually did me a huge favor.

I sighed and leaned my head on the headrest of the chair. It seems I have to give my thanks to Lyle tomorrow after all. Besides, I still need to ask her a couple more questions about the SYSTEM because the longer the time I spent as a player, the more uneasy I get as if I was a falling more and more into a deep abyss.

Well, it's quite impossible though for that to actually happen but I still felt myself quite scared which caused goosebumps to appear on my shoulders. I dismissed those thoughts immediately and turned off the computer before I headed to the bed. I should worry about these things if they really do happen.

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Sleepy...