John stared, mesmerised, at the translucent golden lines cascading in front of his eyes. Even as a top-tier hacker, he was taken aback by the sheer complexity of the interface, as he was oblivious to many items mentioned there.
He leaned back against the wall of the great hall, inwardly sighing as he admitted that whoever designed this "game" or "future" was truly remarkable. The level of detail was staggering.
[Ding! You can select any item in your profile and check its description if you wish.]
"Interesting," John muttered, a small, amused smirk playing on his lips. His sudden, out-of-context comment drew several wary glances from the students nearby. They looked at him as if he were losing his mind, whispering to one another about the "weirdo", but John didn't care.
'Let's try everything, one at a time then...' he thought, focusing his intent on the first header.
[The Hacker System: V.0.1: This is the current version of your operating system. You will need to upgrade it by completing quests and gaining experience to unlock more advanced features.]
'It's just like any program I or other developers ever coded,' John thought, feeling a strange sense of comfort in the familiarity. It made this alien world feel manageable. He shifted his mental focus to the next item: the ID unit. 'What about this?'
[Ding! Your system synchronisation and current level are insufficient to answer this question!]
"What the heck?!!" he exclaimed aloud, his voice echoing slightly. The sudden outburst caused several students to physically walk away from him, putting a wide berth between themselves and the boy they now clearly considered a lunatic.
[Ding! There are several elements you cannot view or gain access to due to low system level and poor synchronization!]
[Ding! You will need to work hard to evolve these two metrics before your queries can be answered!]
John was momentarily speechless. He glared at the golden screen, his eyes narrowing as he noticed the sheer number of entries obscured by that frustrating red text. 'Is that why there are so many "REDACTED" items in there?'
[Ding! Bingo!]
'Fine,' John thought, pausing to steady his breathing. He moved his focus down the list. 'What does it mean to be half-machine, half-human? Is that just a fancy reference for being a cyborg?'
[Ding! Your system synchronisation and level are insufficient to answer this question!]
'I'll take that as a "yes,"' he grumbled. He recalled Mark's cryptic explanations and how the initial erase program had labelled him a "vessel." He decided not to dwell on his own biology for now and moved to the next point of interest.
'Status: Unauthorised. That must refer to the missing contract,' he reasoned. 'The part where I was supposed to be erased if I hadn't hacked the source code. As for this "Spoofing" thing... I believe there is an ability listed further down with the same name.'
He mentally "mentioned" the ability, and a massive block of text unfurled.
[Spoofing Ability: Basic – Masks John's system presence from any malfunction or bug detectors. Consumes: 1 Mental Point per day. Failure Condition: If there are no points to use = Failure = Instant detection and bug marking.
Failure Consequence: Marked as a Bug. Anyone sees the user in a red light and the user is attacked by overwhelming enemy forces until death/deletion/replenish of points.
Note: To remove Bug Status, the user must pay 10 times the normal cost. Cost increases during certain security checkpoints – check Security Deadlines.]
'That was quite detailed,' John thought, feeling a cold sweat prickle his neck. The stakes were higher than he imagined. One slip-up, one day without "Mental Points," and he'd be lit up like a neon sign for everyone in the world to shoot at. 'So abilities are like game skills, and this is a persistent, active skill. Not bad!'
He moved his eyes over a term he didn't quite understand. 'What about this Mental Point part? Is that my Mana?'
[Mental Point: The currency used to activate abilities and unlock advanced features. Current Cap: 10. (Cap can increase through quests).
Regeneration: 1 point per hour during sleep; 1 point per 3 hours during non-combat; 0 points during combat; different point regeneration rules in special situations.
Warning: Hitting 0 will trigger "Mental Burnout State," an abnormal status requiring urgent, prolonged rest to lift.]
'Hmm, so it's like my food in this world,' he translated. It made sense; he had a limited battery life for his extraordinary powers. 'That explains the one point deducted daily for Spoofing. I can live forever in safety if I do nothing. What about the others?'
He looked at the remaining icons.
[Hacker Mind: Unique to John Mirage – Maximum Level. Allows John to perceive and interact with the world as if it was purely digital in nature.]
[Shell Ability: Basic – Opens a coding window for John. Consumes: 1 Mental Point per use. Duration: 10 minutes (Increases with level). Basic Requirement: Intelligence = 10.]
[Frame Recognition Ability: Basic – Allows the user to see the world in grid frames and visualise trajectories. Consumes: 1 Mental Point per activation. Duration: 10 minutes (Increases with level). Basic Requirement: Intelligence = 10.]
'Nice, I've got some serious toys to play with,' John thought, rubbing his palms together. The prospect of opening a coding window in the middle of a physical world was enough to make his hacker heart skip a beat out of excitement.
However, he wasn't about to dive in blindly. He was a man of logic and preparation; he needed the full picture before he started burning through his limited Mental Points.
'Fill me in about these security deadlines and that security status,' he commanded. 'I need to know exactly how thin the ice is under my feet.'
[Ding! As you are an anomaly that shouldn't exist, you are at constant risk of being detected by various system-level detectors. The Spoofing ability is effective against passive scans and basic bug detectors.
However, at certain "Security Deadlines," you'll be exposed to far more advanced detection programs and scans. During these windows, far more advanced measures will be required to ensure your safety and keep you hidden.]
'So... Because I'm unstable, I'm essentially a walking target at these deadline times?'
[Ding! Correction: Consider yourself in mortal danger at all times. You are a localised error that the universe's current OS is trying to patch 24/7.]
'Well, that's just lovely and reassuring,' John sighed, though he didn't let the fear take root. " But one question still gnawed at the back of his mind, a question so fundamental it made his hands shake. 'Tell me the truth... am I actually alive? Is this a digital afterlife, a coma dream, or... is this real?'
He waited, his breath held. Everything around him—the scent of the other students' sweat, the cool air, the weight of his own boots—was too perfect to be a dream. It was too tactile to be a hallucination.
[Ding! You should carve this into your mind, heart, bones, and entire existence, John Mirage: You are alive. You are here, in this world, in this time, and in this body. This is not a simulation of life; it IS your life. If you die here, your consciousness will cease to exist permanently. Treat every action with the weight of absolute reality.]
John fell into a heavy, profound silence. The shock of the confirmation was actually less intense than he had anticipated. Deep down, his gut had already known.
The transition from the past to this future wasn't a movie transition; it had been a physical, agonising wrenching of his soul. He had a million more questions—about the year, about the "Big Mind," about what happened to the Earth he knew—but he was cut off as the examiner returned to the hall.
"Results have been sent to your system's mail," the examiner announced, his voice booming over the chatter. "Check them now to see where you stand in the hierarchy."
He paused, his eyes scanning the crowd until they landed on John. He gave the boy a brief, silent glance—a look of troubled empathy that clearly sent lots of warning signs to John.
'System mail? You have a mailbox?' John asked internally.
[Ding! The system he is referring to is the "Student Training & Guidance System" provided by the Azure Academy to all its recruits. It is an external, sanctioned, simple, and primitive interface.
Warning: This is one of the many security risks spoken of earlier. Your Hacker System will act as a filter for this "official" mail.]
'Ah, I see. A shell within a shell,' John reasoned. He didn't even need to open the mail to know what it said. He remembered the empty room, the ignored training doll, and the zero-point performance. 'I scored a zero, for sure. I'm the lowest student in the lot. No doubt about it.'
He took a deep, steadying breath, squaring his shoulders. 'Fine. This is just the baseline. I'm starting at the very bottom of the pit. Nowhere to go but up.'
He prepared to follow the examiner out of the hall, assuming they would proceed to the dorms or a lecture hall, but the peace was shattered by a raucous, aggressive shout that echoed off the high ceilings.
"Who the fuck is this loser named John Mirage? Show yourself!"
A student stood up from nearby, kicking a bench aside as he rose. He was roughly John's age, but that was where the similarities ended. He was a mountain of a teenager, nearly a head taller than John and twice as broad, his muscles stretching the fabric of his academy-issued gear.
He looked like he had been bred for the front lines—strong, arrogant, and radiating a toxic level of confidence. He clearly scored a high ranking and was offended by the mere presence of a "zero" on the roster.
Before John could even think of a retort or step forward, the scarred examiner moved with surprising speed, interposing himself between the two youths. He stood like a wall in front of John, his arms crossed over his massive chest.
"This is the starting point for everyone," the examiner said, his tone low and warning. "You shouldn't linger on these initial scores. They are a snapshot of where you were, not where you're going. What matters is the effort you put in from this moment forward. Now, move out! Follow me!"
The examiner was clearly trying to extricate John before a fight broke out—a protective gesture that made John feel a sudden, genuine sense of debt.
"Humph! There's no use waiting for anything from a corpse like him!" the large student spat, totally ignoring the examiner's warning glare. He stepped around the teacher just enough to point a thick, mocking finger directly at John's face.
"Scoring a zero means you're worth nothing. You're trash! You'll be the laughingstock of the entire Azure Academy before the week is over!"
John stared at the boy, his expression unreadable. He had been bullied by many back in the "real" world; this brute's words were nothing but empty noise. He began to turn away, ready to let it go, but then a golden flash blinded him for a split second.
[Ding! New Quest: Prove Him Wrong!]
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