'I was planning to hide it... but if I can get out of here with him, then I'm fine with that. If he made it all the way here fighting those monsters, he must have some kind of combat skill. If I help him, I'm sure he'll return the favor.'
Chris thought to himself, hoping the offer would catch Raven's interest.
Revealing your skill in a situation like this was a gamble. Depending on what kind of skill you had, people might try to use you, or worse.
At least that's what Chris had learned from all the apocalyptic novels and games he consumed over the years.
"You know how to repair weapons?" Raven asked, genuinely confused.
"No, not before this. But after I got this system, I received a skill that lets me fix weapons and even make some too," Chris explained, hopeful that it would earn him a place by Raven's side.
But something felt... off.
Raven's expression didn't match someone who understood what he'd just heard. His reaction wasn't surprise it was confusion.
The reason was simple: Raven had no idea what a "system" even was.
He hadn't grown up reading novels, playing games, or watching anime. Most of his life had been buried in work or locked away in juvenile prison. Things like systems, stats, and awakening… they weren't just foreign concepts to him. They didn't exist in his world at all.
Chris blinked in disbelief.
'Wait… there's no way he doesn't know what a skill is… right? Every teenager does. Don't they?'
Curiosity eventually won over his disbelief. He had to ask.
"You… you do know what a skill is, right?"
Raven didn't answer right away.
It wasn't that he'd never heard the term before. Of course he had. He knew what skills were in a literal sense. But what Chris was talking about... screens, panels, stats, it sounded like nonsense.
Or worse, it reminded him of that strange transparent display that had appeared before him during the fight.
He'd assumed it was something like a surveillance feed, a trick by the one who brought them here.
"How the hell did you even survive outside, man? Are you a beast or something? You seriously don't know what the system is? You've never played any games? Manhwas? Solo Leveling? Jin-Woo?"
Chris gawked at him like he was staring at a cave-dwelling gremlin.
'This nigha is… weird.'
He slapped his palm against his forehead in frustration.
For a moment, Chris thought maybe Raven was lying. But the look on his face, the quiet confusion was too genuine.
'Does he really not? Maybe he has, he might have been using a skill this whole time without even knowing it. Can I check it? Yeah, I'll just ask.'
He raised a finger. "Alright, just answer me this. Don't just stand there like a statue. Do you know anything about the system?"
Raven looked at him for a moment before finally answering.
"...No."
Just that one word made Chris's entire thought process collapse.
Everything he assumed? Useless. This guy really was clueless.
"Thought so. I don't know what kind of person you are… but you're definitely not normal."
Chris sighed.
Still, the least he could do was teach him the basics. Maybe then Raven would actually accept him.
"Alright, listen up. I'll teach you how to use the system. Just pay attention."
Raven narrowed his eyes. He looked like he was about to ask something, but chose to stay silent. Too many thoughts were already running through his mind.
"So, start with the basics. Just say 'STATUS' out loud or in your head. It'll open your system panel. You'll see your info there."
Raven followed his instruction and said it mentally... 'STATUS'.
Immediately, a blue screen appeared in front of him.
It was the same interface he saw earlier… so Chris had been telling the truth after all.
Still, what truly caught him off guard was what was written at the top.
***
[Name: Raven Morrin (Awakener)]
***
'Raven… Morrin…?'
He didn't even care about the rest of it for now.
For the first time in years, he had learned his full name.
And somehow, that made something inside him flicker something long buried. The cold, numbing silence that usually filled his chest cracked ever so slightly.
For just a moment… he felt alive.
'Is this even real?'
He had gone most of his life not even knowing his real surname. And now it just… appeared? Out of nowhere?
Could this all be just a twisted joke? Another layer to the nightmare?
Chris didn't notice Raven's reaction. He leaned forward eagerly.
"So? What skills do you have?"
Raven's eyes remained fixed on the screen.
"Is this system… really accurate?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah? Look around, man. You still think this is fake after all this? I don't know how it works, but it's real. Everything it says, it's all true."
"So it knows even what's already happened? Even someone's real name?"
"Dude. You were reading your name just now. Of course it does. Don't ask me how, it just does."
'So my name is… real?'
Chris waved impatiently. "Alright, alright. Enough dramatic staring. Tell me your skill already."
Raven scrolled down the screen, reached the section labeled "Skills," and read the line slowly.
***
[Name: Raven Morrin (Awakener)]
Age: 17
Height: 5ft 8in
Sponsor: (None)
Title: (None)
Skills: (None)
Stigma: (None)
Weapon: (None)
Physical Stats:
Strength: Lv. 2
Agility: Lv. 2
Stamina: Lv. 3
Mana: Lv. 0
Star Fragments: 24
Stars: (None)
***
"I… have none."
***
Thanks for reading.