Chapter 1: Meeting Father & gaining System

I am standing outside my father's study room. Early this morning, my father's personal assistant Butler Han, told me that the family head wanted to see me. I was really surprised, because not once did my father asked for my presence.

I was unable to see the mansion screaming beauty and luxury as my mind was constantly repeating the same sentence: Why did my father want to see me?

This is the second time in my life that I am seeing my own father in person and first time I am allowed to enter in this mansion. Clearing my head and adjusting my posture, I knocked on the door.

knock knock,

a deep and cold voice comes from inside.

"Come in."

Walking in, the pressure exuded by the man sitting in front of me overwhelms me.

When our eyes met.

I unknowingly lowered my head. In the split second our eyes met, I can see the deep pain, regret, and hatred in his eyes.

As he stared at me, I could feel that every other emotion was consumed, leaving only one—hatred. The atmosphere of the study changed; it was already cold before, but now it was bone-chilling, and I began to tremble. After a few more seconds, a deep and stern voice could be heard.

"Kim Joon-ho, I will give you the last chance to prove yourself, or else you will be kicked out of the main family. If you understand. Get out now."

This were the first words my father said to me as long as I remember.

As I heard the cold voice, I couldn't even utter a single word, let alone argue. When was I ever treated as part of the family? When was I ever treated as your son? I wanted to shout out loud and ask why, but deep down in my heart, I knew the reason. That's why, even in this situation, I was unable to say anything and backed out of the study.

While walking in the garden, outside the mansion near my humble home. a big sigh escapes my mouth as I wonder what the last chance would be.

Are they going to kick me out on the pretext of giving me a last chance? Well, after all, I was going to leave anyway after the graduation ceremony. I was carrying a false hope that he would feel sorry for disregarding me, that he would acknowledge me as his son.

But this was the last hope I had that shattered in my heart. From this day forward, I will never acknowledge him as my father.

As I firmed my resolve...

When I am about to open my room's door, I had a sudden itch on my right hand's middle finger. My hand instinctively tries to scratch it, but unables to. Lowering my head, I am shocked to see an unknown silver ring that was not there before.

Before doing anything, I got inside and lock the door. When I try to pull the ring off, a robotic voice enters my ears.

"Ding!"

"Hi! I am Nexus."

At first, I thought I was hallucinating. Hearing weird noises, I thought it was because of reading too many web novels, so my reply to this strange situation was haphazard.

"...!"

"Umm... hello."

"You are not hallucinating, and this is not a dream. I am real."

Hearing this for the second time, I was paying attention this time onwards. I asked another question to confirm that this absurd situation was really happening to me right now.

"So tell me, who are you?"

"I am Nexis, a hyper-advanced AI capable of simulating 98% of human emotions coming from the planet Xelara. I was sent on a mission to find extraterrestrial species. If they were intelligent enough, I was instructed to establish peaceful communication and harmony. I need to send back the message to Xelara that we are not alone in this universe. I am so happy that my mission is finally complete."

I was shocked to hear that there are aliens in this universe, but not as shocked as I was by the fact that this alien-tech fell into my hands out of 8.1 billion people living on Earth.

I wasn't panicked but very excited. I wanted to shout out loud and run like crazy as if this was the best moment of my entire life. Well, realistically, this really was the best moment of my entire life.

"Ahahahah! Ahahaha! Ahahahaha!"

And I wasn't holding back—I was really laughing out loud like I had gone senile. The whole garden was filled with my laughter. I was pretty sure my laughter could be heard throughout the whole mansion.

Servants near the garden who heard my laughter were mumbling to each other.

"Has he reached his limits?"

"Who wouldn't, after enduring so many years of bitter suffering, disregard and humiliation?"

"Yeah, you're right. I would have gone mad a long time ago. Sigh, it's regretful—he was a good kid."

"What are you doing? Don't say that. If Madam hears you, you're a goner for sure."

This is the day when I realized that golden finger really exists. The countless novels that I have read, where the protagonist, helped by the system, climbs to the top, becoming rich and surrounded by a beautiful harem.

The thought of being one of them made my head explode with happiness.

After a few minutes, I forcefully calmed my excitement and asked the well-known question most protagonists seek an answer for.

"Why did you choose me?"

When I asked this question, my heart started to beat wildly as I awaited the answer.

"Well, you looked pitiful when you were being beaten by those students yesterday. That's why I chose you."

"You chose me out of sympathy..."

"Yes."

"What the heck is that reason? This is the worst reason I've ever heard. You should have just told me it was random. Why do you have to worsen my mood further?"

"Hahaha! Hahaha!"

"Wow, what a sight I am seeing a machine is laughing"

"That hurts, you know. But this is nothing for me. Didn't I tell you before? I am a hyper-advanced AI capable of simulating 98% of human emotions. The things I can do right now are 3,000 millennia ahead of your civilization."

For some time now, I've been desperately trying to hold my lips down, but it is becoming harder and harder for me to keep my lips from moving upwards. Imagining myself leading the biggest tech company in the world, my grin intensified.

That leads to my next question.

"How can I hear your voice without actually hearing it? It's like I am hearing your voice directly in my head."

"You are right. I am sending electric signals into different frequencies, allowing your brain to interpret different sounds. You can call this telepathy."

I was in awe after hearing that. Now I understood when she said there is a 3,000-millennium technical gap between our two civilizations.

I get that this is a hyper-advanced AI with alien technology, but how can it speak in Korean without knowing it? Or does its native planet have Korean as well? I don't think so.

And above all, I am pretty sure that yesterday I had no ring on my finger, nor was it there this morning. So how did it know that I was beaten yesterday? Bruises on my body? No, there is something else, I think.

"Before you ask, I should tell you that I copied the internet from your smartphone last night while you were holding your phone. That's how I know your language. And one more thing, I was in liquid metal form when I entered your body yesterday. I hope that solves all your doubts."

I was utterly shocked. This was the biggest shock of my life because I realized if this AI turned out to be an enemy, the devastation it could cause would be immense. It is less of a blessing and more of a curse.

I need to be cautious. As I repeated this sentence over and over, the weight of knowing this thing could destroy 8.1 billion lives on Earth made my heart beat wilder than when I was in front of my father. My breathing quickened, and my mind started to feel dizzy. As she sensed my emotions were in disarray.

For the first time, I heard a sweet and soothing female voice that was calming my hidden senses.

"Right now, you look like you ate hundreds of nuclear bombs."

Slightly calmer, my right eye twitched. What does she expect me to feel after disclosing such devastating information?

"Calm down, Joon-ho. Didn't I tell you earlier that I am here to communicate in peaceful harmony?"

Yeah, I remember she said something like that earlier.

"Firstly, even if I wanted to, I don't have the ability to do anything right now. I am a mere fraction of what I was when I started my journey. Secondly, I was sent to gather information, so my core protocol only allows me to copy and send data."

knock knock,

Hearing the knocking sound, I hurriedly stood up, not realizing when I had sat in front of my door, and rushed to open it. A pretty young maid was standing in front of me, holding a dinner tray, expressionless.

"Dinner is here."

I took the dinner tray from her hand, wanting to bow and say thank you, but before I could, she ran off without glancing back, as if I was a plague.

This was a first for me. In the past, at least the servants in the mansion would hear me out before leaving. What happens now? Well, it doesn't matter anyway.

I want to ask many more questions to Nexus, but it's pretty late right now, and I'm mentally exhausted because this was the most bizarre day I had ever experienced. So, I plan on eating and getting a good night's sleep tonight, keeping my phone 10 meters away from me.

Tomorrow is the graduation ceremony. After graduation, let's start a new life.