[Nightmare System Activated]
[Host Name: Millo Tibery]
[Nightmare Level: 0]
[Horror Influence: 0]
[Horror Coins: 0]
[Strength: 5]
[Agility: 1]
[Defense: 1]
[Stamina: 5]
[Perception: 5]
[Requirement for Level Up: 100 Exp & 4 Agility Points & 4 Defense Points]
Oh no! He was not only hearing imaginary voices; he was even seeing imaginary images!
The system interface that suddenly appeared in front of Millo's eyes resembled one that could be seen in a game. Millo had had the chance to play one of these games when his parents were still alive. His father had been a high ranked player who had won up to the top.
He blinked once again, fearing that this was just another sequel to the punch, but saw that the screen didn't disappear. It was still there, showing no sign of vanishing, still shining like ghost fire, no matter if he opened his eyes or closed them!
He then quickly rolled his eyeballs around nervously to see if anyone else was paying any attention to him. Fortunately, he found no one looking his way. Feeling half relieved half upset, he closed his eyes again, pretending that he was still unconscious, and looked up and down the screen, examining it bit by bit.
So, somehow, only the host could see the system. Great!
But what on earth was Nightmare Level? And neither did he have any idea what Horror influence and Horror Coins were?
Did it mean that he could frighten his enemies? Perhaps by cos-playing a ghost? Sounds ridiculous, though. Would he be able to buy horrifying toys using the horror coins? LOL! What absolute nonsense! Millo sighed.
Well, never mind. He's got zero influence and zero coins so far.
Wait a minute! Why were his Agility and Defence so low? Looking downwards, Millo found he only got 1 Agility and 1 Defense. No wonder he had never succeeded in dodging. He shouldn't have been surprised, should he? After all, every time he got in a fight, he came out injured, without exception.
But luckily enough, he got higher Stamina. Maybe that was why he was durable enough to have stayed alive until now. And a higher Perception indicated that he could perceive a change or a danger coming beforehand, sounds useful but what good was it when his Agility and Defence were both below average? Millo couldn't help but think.
As for the reason why he got a 5 in Strength, that might lay in the fact that he was heavy. Millo laughed bitterly.
While examining, Millo wondered how this standard of his system could match the marks of his school report.
Ever since he started school, he had remained a Grade G student. He had done well in subjects like Materials and Weapon Designing. He was quite good at History, too. But what good was it anyway? Nobody cared! Instead, because he had never got an E+ in Basic Physical Training, his school report had never been something he could boast about.
Compared with intelligence, people nowadays prefer power much more! Everyone admired and showed great respect to those who performed higher combat effectiveness. That meant they could kill more invaders and monsters. Millo fully understood that. No need to blame anyone for that. Even he himself had always wanted to grow into a man as powerful as his father, who had been one of the greatest Captains who served the Solar Union's Army until his last moments.
However, Lady Luck was never on his side. Rather than being a tall handsome guy, he had somehow put on so much weight that he turned into a fatty who was worth 300 pounds of flesh and blood. More embarrassing was that he was even shorter than Sicilia. This had always been a pain deep in his heart. How very sorrowful! How very ashamed he was!
Shaking his head slightly, Millo's went on to skim the upper part of the interface, where he saw a few other tabs.
The one right next to Status wrote Ability.
As he read the word silently, the screen in front of him rippled like the surface of a pond when the wind blew across it.
New words quickly took form.
[Basic Ability 1: Scanning]
[No detection of other abilities yet.]
'Wow! So, I'm a scanner. LOL!' Millo's curiosity was gradually growing inch by inch now.
No introduction! No explanation! And to make things harder to bear, he had no one to complain to, due to lack of customer service.
Inhaling deeply, Millo skipped to the other tabs, only to find the tabs that came after Ability were all covered and blocked by ghost-shaped icons.
Just then, a sharp voice spoke. Subtitles followed.
[Hello, Master Millo!]
[This is your loyal humble servant speaking directly to you from ******!]
[You have just finished going through the basic information. Now let me introduce your quests.]
[Quest No.1: Continue an unfinished dream. Get to the exit before the beast lay you down or kill it.]
[Reward: 5 Exp & 1 Disposable Point & Other rewards on a random basis]
[Quest No. 2: Target a living being and get into his or her or its dream. Find out one of his or her or its weak points. Drag him or her or it into a nightmare. Scare him or her or it to death or drive him or her or it insane.]
[Reward: 5 Exp & 1 Disposable Point & 1 Piece of Horror Influence]
[Quest No. 1: Yes / No]
[Quest No. 2: Yes / No]
Millo's eyes shone like candle lights. What?! He had a servant?
'Hello, my servant. What is this system? What are you? Can you explain in detail? What is horror influence? And horror coins? Scanning? I have lots of …'
Millo rumbled on in his mind while lying motionlessly, not daring to make a sound in reality.
[&^%^*_%@#^%^& Shut your ^^^#@* smelly mouth &%@# up! *&%#@#]
Millo stopped dead at these words. His eyebrows raised and curved into a sharp pattern.
Millo didn't give up so easily. He tried a few more questions. But all he got were sort of error codes and bad language. In the end, he came to the conclusion that he was not allowed to ask questions or so. At least, for the time being. Even if he asked, he wouldn't get any useful information.
Holy Shit! What a LOYAL HUMBLE SERVANT he had! Millo's lips curved into a mocking shape.
[ERROR # 404]
Seeing this line appearing in front of him, Millo signed hopelessly.
Since there were no clues or tips, Millo had to think about which quest to choose. He did not know if choosing Quest No. 1 would lead to the disappearance or invalidity of Quest No. 2. If it did, then it undoubtedly meant he would get different rewards. And since he had no idea what random rewards there were to offer or what use was a piece of horror influence, his choice inevitably lacked guidance.
Just as Millo was swinging between the two quests, hesitating over which one to choose, a long bus, looking more like a train, that had more than five carriages attached to the head engine one after another came into sight. It moved smoothly and made no sound at all. Given that, while boys and girls looked with delight along with caution as the bus approached within seconds, stopping right in front of them, Millo's eyes were still closed.
When the door of a carriage slid into the wall, revealing the inside of the carriage, a tall woman with short green hair, sharp green eyes and a crooked nose appeared from thin air and got off the bus. She was wearing a black cloak that covered her whole body, allowing only her head and neck to be seen by others.
There were already rows and rows of students sitting in the first carriage, filling it up, leaving no extra seats for the students waiting outside.
"Hello, everyone! I'm your guide for the time being. Any questions on the way, call me. My name is Elion. Is everyone ready? Time to get on board now. Hurry up." Elion the green-headed woman announced and pointed a black stick that resembled a wand at the back of the long bus.
After seeing most of the students get on the carriages, Elion started to walk back to the first carriage and was about to get on it. But then 'a pile of meat' caught her eye.
She frowned disapprovingly, but still went up and gave the motionless boy a pat. People with high-level power and skills like her could easily discover whether someone was asleep or awake in a short distance, and now that she was so close to him, she noticed immediately.
"Hey boy, do you want to take the test or not? Don't waste your time! Get up and on the bus, now!"
"I'm so sorry!" Opening his eyes and apologizing, Millo jumped to his feet with great difficulty and rushed to the last carriage which was still open, his mind still lingering on the quests.
As the but moved on silently, Millo took a seat by the window. There weren't many students in this carriage as most of them had filled in the ones ahead, so there were plenty of empty seats.
Since he didn't belong to any one of the circles, he chose to seat alone and kept his distance.
The bus took several turns and finally drove out of the Conservation Area. They were now crossing the Grand Wasteland, which had once belonged to humans.
Looking out of the window, Millo could see how bleak and desolate the wasteland was. Large areas of exotic trees and other plants all grew in an abnormal way, covering the once flourishing city or town from pre-war time, stretching as far as the eye could see. As the bus passed by rapidly, Millo even caught a glimpse of some rotten animals or bones hanging from branches or sticks.
Once in a while, a monster or strange-looking beast would peer from behind a shelter, roaring, but due to high-tech, the bus was soundproof, so Millo couldn't hear them.
[Master Millo, time's up!]
[Three seconds left for you to decide.]
[3, 2, 1]
[Quest randomly chosen.]
[Get prepared for Quest No, 1!]
[Your loyal humble servant wishes you Good Luck!]
Millo couldn't believe his ears and eyes! Before he could think twice and decide for himself, everything was settled and decided. So, there was a time limit for choosing a quest. Why didn't his dear so-called LOYAL HUMBLE SERVANT remind him before?! F**k!