The first sound Mahi heard was a sweet, childish voice.
"Hello, Master!"
Mahi froze.
He had spent the last several hours—or perhaps longer; he had already lost track of time—watching the mysterious black crystal transform inside his inner space. The twelve coloured crystals had merged into it, and the resulting energy had entered his body. Then the strange source had analyzed his memories, transformed itself, and completed its installation.
Now, it was talking.
A system!
Mahi could hardly contain his excitement.
As someone who had spent countless hours playing games and reading web novels, he knew exactly what a system meant. Status panels, attributes, skills, inventories, shops, quests, rewards, daily check-ins, and countless possibilities flashed through his mind.
He had finally obtained something that resembled the systems he had read about.
"Hey! Can you hear me?" Mahi asked mentally.
"Yes, Master! I can hear you!"
The cheerful response arrived immediately.
Mahi grinned.
"Great! First, show me my status!"
There was a brief silence.
"Master, I cannot do that."
His grin disappeared.
"...What?"
"I cannot display your status, Master."
Mahi stared into the darkness of his inner space as though the voice might somehow appear in front of him.
"Why not? Aren't you a system?"
"Yes, Master!"
"Then where is my status panel?"
"I do not have an attribute panel, Master."
Mahi was silent for several seconds.
He had expected a system, not a voice assistant that couldn't perform the most basic function of a system.
"Wait. You don't have an attribute panel?"
"No, Master!"
"What about an inventory?"
"I do not have one, Master!"
"A shop?"
"No, Master!"
"Daily quests?"
"No, Master!"
"Daily login rewards? Check-in rewards? Skills? Missions? Anything?"
"No, Master!"
Mahi's expression became increasingly complicated.
"Then what exactly can you do?"
"I am serving you, Master!"
"..."
For the first time since the installation had completed, Mahi wondered whether he should have thought things through before agreeing to the mysterious crystal's proposal.
He had trusted it because it had accompanied him since birth. He had never imagined that, after absorbing the energy of twelve strange crystals and transforming into a system, it would begin with practically nothing.
Mahi took a deep mental breath.
"Okay. Calm down, Mahi. Don't jump to conclusions."
He began thinking carefully.
The source had analyzed his memories. It had used his preferences to transform itself into a system. That meant the system's design had been influenced by the games and novels he knew.
But that did not necessarily mean every function existed automatically.
"Hey, System. Listen carefully. Do you mean that you cannot perform those functions, or that those functions haven't been created yet?"
"The functions have not been created yet, Master!"
Mahi's eyes seemed to brighten.
"Not created yet?"
"Yes, Master!"
"Can they be created?"
"Affirmative, Master!"
Mahi sat motionless for a moment.
Then a slow smile spread across his face.
"Now we're talking!"
He had initially thought he had received a defective system. But perhaps he had misunderstood the situation entirely.
If the functions could be created, he didn't need to depend on whatever features the system happened to provide at the beginning.
He could build what he wanted.
A status panel. An inventory. A shop. A check-in function. Perhaps even functions that did not exist in any game or novel he had ever encountered.
The possibilities made his imagination run wild.
"System, how do I create a function?"
"Master only needs to decide which function he wishes to create. I will begin condensing that function according to your requirements."
"Condensing? So you don't simply activate it?"
"Correct, Master! A function must be condensed before it can be used."
Mahi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"How long does it take?"
"The required time depends on the function being created."
"Can you tell me the time before I start?"
"Yes, Master!"
"Can I create anything I imagine?"
There was a brief pause.
"The system's potential for function development is unlimited, Master. However, each function must be created before it can be used."
Mahi's heart began beating faster.
Unlimited potential.
Those two words were enough to excite anyone who had read as many system novels as he had.
Still, he wasn't going to waste time daydreaming. If he wanted to understand his present situation, the first thing he needed was information.
"System, I want to create an attribute panel."
"Understood, Master. The attribute panel function will take one hour to condense. Do you wish to proceed?"
"One hour?"
Mahi considered it briefly.
An hour was nothing compared with the time he had already spent dealing with the mysterious crystal.
"Proceed!"
"Attribute panel condensation initiated. Estimated completion time: one hour."
A faint notification sounded inside his mind.
Mahi waited expectantly.
Nothing happened.
He waited a little longer.
Still nothing.
"System?"
"Yes, Master?"
"Is the function being created right now?"
"Yes, Master!"
"Can I see its progress?"
"Progress display is unavailable because the corresponding function has not been created, Master."
Mahi pressed his lips together.
Of course.
He had just asked the system to create an attribute panel, but he hadn't created a progress display function. Expecting the system to provide one would defeat the very principle he was beginning to understand.
"Fine. I'll wait."
With no other task available, Mahi began examining his circumstances.
He tried to move.
That was when he noticed something strange.
He couldn't feel his arms.
He couldn't feel his legs.
In fact, he couldn't properly feel any part of his body.
His awareness was clear, and he could think, speak to the system mentally, and perceive the mysterious space he had occupied earlier. Yet the physical sensations he expected were absent.
"What happened to my body?"
He attempted to open his eyes.
Nothing.
He tried moving his fingers.
Nothing.
He attempted to shift his head.
Nothing.
A faint sense of uneasiness crept into his mind.
"System, can you explain my current condition?"
"I cannot provide a complete assessment of your physical condition without an appropriate analysis function, Master."
Mahi sighed.
He was beginning to understand just how empty the Empty System really was.
"Then I'll have to wait for the attribute panel."
He had no other option.
While waiting, he tried to recall what had happened before he lost consciousness.
He remembered being with Sumi. He remembered the sudden white light. Then everything had changed. He had found himself trapped in a strange condition, unable to move, while the mysterious crystal and the coloured lights had undergone their incomprehensible transformation.
After that came the merging process, the absorption of the source energy, and the system installation.
But what had happened to his original body?
Was he still alive?
Had he been transported somewhere?
Or had something else happened entirely?
He couldn't find a satisfactory answer.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he needed to stop making assumptions and start collecting information.
For now, he would wait for his first function.
Time passed slowly.
Without a clock or any reliable way to measure the passage of time, Mahi couldn't tell precisely how long he had been waiting. He kept himself occupied by asking the system questions about its basic operation.
He learned that the system could communicate with him and create functions, but it did not automatically possess all the features he associated with systems from fiction.
Each new capability would need to be created according to its own requirements.
The idea fascinated him.
He began mentally listing the functions he wanted to develop in the future.
An inventory would be useful.
A shop could provide access to items.
A check-in function might offer rewards, although he would need to learn how it worked.
Perhaps he could eventually create functions to analyze objects, learn skills, or track his cultivation.
He deliberately avoided getting carried away. He had no idea what was possible beyond the system's promise of unlimited potential, and he had no intention of treating his imagination as proof.
First, he needed to see his status.
Then he could plan the next step.
At last, a notification rang inside his mind.
"Ding! Attribute panel condensation completed, Master!"
Mahi immediately straightened—or tried to.
"Finally! Open it!"
"Attribute panel activated."
A translucent screen appeared before his awareness.
Mahi focused on it eagerly.
For a moment, he forgot every question that had troubled him.
Then he began reading.
ATTRIBUTE PANEL
Name : Mahi
Race : Mixed Race (Human / Elf / Spirit)
State : Fetus State
Additional attributes are not displayed in this initial panel.
Mahi stared at the screen.
Once.
Twice.
Then a third time.
"...Fetus?"