The room was small and bare, its walls stained with damp and paint peeling off in patches. A weak bulb hung from the ceiling, giving off a dull light over the cracked floor. Against the wall sat an old desk, its surface scratched and uneven.
A young man with messy dark brown hair and tired blue eyes sat at the desk, leaning over a worn notebook. The chair wobbled under him as he wrote, the sound of the pen scrabbling against the paper keeping him company. The air was cold, slipping through the dirty window beside him, but he kept on studying quietly in the dim light.
On one side of the room, there was a small bed, and beside it, there was a small bookshelf that contained a few textbooks.
Despite how tired he was, he was not willing to give up. He understood, in order for him to be able to gain something, he had to sacrifice something in return. Right now, the only thing that he could sacrifice was time.
As long as he sacrificed the time that he could use for resting, he should be able to gain something later. As long as he had a foundation in accounting, he believed that with his skills, he would be able to get a job at a legitimate company.
It did not have to be a big company, but as long as they valued his skills, he believed that they would hire him, regardless of him not being a graduate.
As time moved on, Michael finally rubbed his eyes, which were sore not only from straining to see, but from being tired and sleepiness as well.
Yawning, he stretched his arms, before lowering his head once again, to continue studying. He was only a few pages away from completing this book that he had recently purchased using all the savings that he had.
Each and every time that he understood something, he made sure to record it on the small notebook. This way, it would be easy for him to be able to refer later on, making it easier for him to be able to advance his skills.
Shff! Shff!
Finally, as the pages of the book rustled, Michael eventually got to the last page of the over 200 pages book that he was reading. And as he read the final sentence in the book, he felt relieved.
It was not that easy to be able to read such an advanced book, though it was just… Introduction to Accounting. After all, he had only stopped at middle school. When he lost his parents, he was just about to enter high school.
According to his performance in middle school, he was supposed to join one of the most prestigious high schools in the city. But in the end, with the passing of his parents, everything was lost.
And when he joined that orphanage, he was never taken to school. Other than working for them, in order to get some money, he could only receive two meals a day, not to mention school.
Simply put, the orphanage was being run by some gangsters. And, those gangsters used the orphanage as a method of getting money, which came through charities and donations, and finally, through some of the children begging, or working part-time at some places around the city.
In any case, due to the fact that he had stopped in middle school, his education was not advanced. So, suddenly starting to study books that are meant for university and college students with only middle school qualifications, it was obviously difficult, nearly impossible.
It was simply because of his diligence that he had managed to gain some skills over the past 2 years. It was just that, despite studying hard for 2 years, he had not yet managed to feel that his skills had reached a level that he could be hired. Still, he felt that he was getting close.
Just as Michael wanted to get on his feet, in order to go and sleep, suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of him. And before he could react, the light dimmed slightly, before transforming into a pale blue screen that floated in front of him.
Michael was shocked by the sudden appearance of the light, which turned into the screen. He took a step back instinctively, while cautiously looking at the screen that was floating in front of him.
And as he took that step back, he realized that the screen seemed to follow him. Just to be sure, he took yet another step, and it did the same, it maintained the distance between them, just about 100cm from his face.
Still in disbelief, Michael took yet another step back, but had no other choice but to stop. He had already gotten to his bed, implying that unless he got on top of his bed, he could not retreat anymore.
While cautious, not understanding what was going on, Michael suddenly realized that there was information that was being displayed on the screen.
Despite how tense he was, Michael still instinctively read the information.
[System binding... Binding completed.]
[System activating... Activation completed.]
[Welcome to the Information to Mastery: Points Store System, Michael Santos.]
Just after the last piece of information was read, Michael suddenly clutched his head, as he collapsed on his knees, overwhelmed by the sudden headache.
He nearly screamed from the pain, but he still held on, gritting his teeth. He felt slightly dizzy, nearly losing his consciousness, but he held on, not passing out.
A few seconds later, the headache diminished, before finally, Michael suddenly realized that there was a huge amount of information that had appeared in his mind out of nowhere.
This information seemed to be related to the screen that had appeared in front of him. The Information to Mastery: Points Store System.
This was a system that enabled him to be able to gain mastery over any type of skill or field, as long as he acquired the information related to what he wanted to master.
He was only required to read the information, and after that, the system would enable him to master the information, making sure that he could use it practically.
This was quite astonishing, considering that even some skills that required diligent practice, all that he required was the information.
Apart from that, nothing else was required, and he would be able to gain the skills.
Additionally, there was the store. The function of the store was simple, it contained different types of items that could be purchased.
Every item that was contained within the store could be found within the world, or was not out of place if it appeared in the world.
In order to purchase items from the store, one required store points. And, the minimum amount of points that could be used in order to make a purchase within the store was 0.01 points.
The points could be gained through acquiring skills. Each skill acquired, at the beginner level, he would be able to acquire 1 store point. At the intermediate level, he could acquire 10 store points.
As for what level came after intermediate level, according to the information, the information on that particular level would only be displayed if he gained a skill that was in the intermediate level.
Regardless, this was something that was so fantastical, which seemed to be impossible no matter how much Michael thought about it.
Regardless, the information in his mind made it clear, this was true. It was just that, Michael needed to test it out in order to find out if this was actually the case.
But if it really worked, then it would be amazing. After all, according to the information, everything that was purchased from the store was legal.
In case he bought a house, he would receive the house, together with the documentation that proved that he was the rightful owner of the house.
The same applied for pieces of land and so on. It was just that, it was way convenient to purchase items through the store, considering that all the necessary paperwork was completed immediately after the purchase was made.
He would receive the paperwork directly from the system, but for something like a house, he would have to go to the location of the house that he had bought. On the other hand, if it was a car, it would be delivered to his location, if he wanted.
It took Michael quite a long while for him to be able to process all the information that he had received. But, there was an emotion of excitement that was tinged with doubt within his heart.
Was this real? If it was, did that not imply that he would be able to change his life completely? He could leave the gang that he was currently working for, and do what he loved!
It was only about 3 minutes later that finally, Michael came back to his senses. He looked at the screen that was still floating in front of him, and unknowingly, a new piece of information had appeared on it.
And when he read the information, he became thrilled, as his eyes were filled with anticipation.
[Experience full. You have acquired Beginner level accounting skills. +1 SP.]
At the same time as he finished reading the information, in his mind, he began feeling clarity on the information that was previously incomprehensible to him.
The information on accounting, he began getting a better understanding on them. He felt, his skills and knowledge on accounting had gotten better!
With his heart racing, Michael thought about the store, and immediately, the screen in front of him displayed the store icon, which was an icon for a market.
Then, as he thought about accessing the store, 9 categories were displayed in front of him.
1. Clothing and Fashion
2. Electronics and Appliances...