Everything was dark.
No sound. No pain. Just… silence.
It felt like floating in water, but without the cold. Like he was stuck between dreaming and waking up. Then slowly, very slowly, something changed.
A voice—not from outside, but inside his head.
[System Activated.]
He flinched, or at least it felt like he flinched. He couldn't move, but the words echoed in his mind.
[Scanning host...]
[Scan complete.]
[Welcome, User.]
Then, just like that, his eyes opened.
He was lying on a hospital bed. A white ceiling above him. The smell of antiseptic in the air. Machines beeped softly nearby. For a moment, he didn't know where he was.
Then it all came back.
The boy. The car. The pain.
He reached up and touched his head. Bandages. His head hurt, but not as badly as he thought it would.
"You're awake!" said a woman's voice.
A nurse rushed in, followed by a doctor. They asked him questions, checked his eyes, and scribbled notes. He just nodded through it all, confused and still half-dazed.
Eventually, they left him alone.
And that's when it appeared.
A glowing screen, floating in front of his eyes.
He blinked.
Rubbed his eyes.
Still there.
He sat up slowly, heart beating faster. It looked like something straight out of a video game.
---
Name: Anirban Roy
Level: 1
Title: None
HP: 60 / 100
XP: 0 / 100
Status: Injured
Stats:
Strength: 3
Agility: 2
Intelligence: 4
Endurance: 3
Luck: 5
Skills: None
Inventory: Empty
---
"What… is this?" he whispered.
The window didn't respond, but it stayed there, floating in front of him like it was real.
He waved his hand through it. It didn't move.
He stared at the numbers. Strength? Intelligence? Skills? This was the kind of thing he'd seen in games… and anime.
And then it hit him.
"This is… a system?"
A huge grin spread across his face. He wasn't scared. He wasn't panicking.
He was excited.
"I knew it," he whispered, staring at the stats. "I was right. They exist. The hidden ones. The ones who live among us with powers."
He wasn't one of them before.
But now… maybe he could be.
He looked at his hands. They didn't feel any different. He didn't feel strong or smart or fast.
But the window was still there.
"Alright," he said, eyes shining. "If this is real… I'm going to use it. But quietly."
No one could know.
Just like the people he always believed in. The ones who stayed hidden until the moment they were needed.
He wasn't going to show off. He wasn't going to brag.
He was going to train. Level up. Get stronger.
All while staying beneath the ordinary life.
---