The hum of Ethan Gray's old laptop filled the silence of his room.
It was late—later than it should've been. The clock glowed 1:42 a.m. in pale green light, daring him to stop.
But Ethan didn't stop. He never did. Not when there were still chapters left.
His room was the picture of a teenager who lived half in reality, half in fiction: piles of manga stacked on his dresser, web novel tabs bookmarked in rows across his browser, notebooks scribbled with quotes or fight scenes he liked. A cracked soda can sat beside his keyboard, long gone flat.
Two years ago, none of this would've existed. Two years ago, Ethan had hated reading. Books were nothing but school assignments, heavy words on heavier paper.
Then came one recommendation. A manga a friend swore he had to try. Ethan read it—and something inside him changed.
The dominoes never stopped falling. Manga turned into manhwa. Manhwa into novels. Slice-of-life into dungeon crawlers, regressors, necromancers, and cultivation epics.
By now, he had devoured over 150 manga and manhwa. Finished 46 novels. And his appetite only grew.
That's why, on a random school night, with homework unfinished and sleep begging him to close his eyes, Ethan was still awake, rereading an old favorite: The Returner's Arcane Path.
The glow of the screen reflected in his tired eyes. He knew the story beat for beat, but it didn't matter. He loved how the weak became strong, how the hopeless found meaning. He loved living it, even if only as a spectator.
Until the page froze.
Ethan frowned, jiggling the mouse. The site wasn't loading. He tapped the keyboard, sighed—
Then his screen blinked.
A new window appeared, stark and strange. No banner. No ads. Just white text on black.
[Make a Wish.]
Ethan blinked. "…What?"
It wasn't a pop-up ad. There was no "X" to close it. Just those words.
The cursor pulsed in the empty text box below.
His first instinct was to scoff. Spam. A virus. A joke. But… something about it felt different. He couldn't look away.
"Make a wish…" Ethan muttered under his breath.
He chuckled, shaking his head. "This is dumb." But his fingers hovered over the keyboard anyway. Because maybe, deep down, he did have a wish.
Not something serious. Not fame, or money, or power. Just… something more than his routine. Something that could make life feel like the stories he loved.
Slowly, he typed.
"I want a system. Not something boring, but something that could help me get better. Do more. Make life interesting."
He hesitated, then pressed enter.
The screen went black.
For a second, Ethan thought the laptop had crashed. His stomach twisted—until new text began to scroll.
[Wish acknowledged.]
[Analyzing…]
[Cross-referencing user history.]
[Manga: 157]
[Novels: 46]
[Completion rate: 92%]
Ethan's breath hitched. His palms grew damp on the keyboard.
The last line pulsed.
[Job Assigned: Reader.]