System
"Is this how you're going to justify being late?"
Damon looked into his mother's eyes to make his words more impactful.
"No, Mom, I swear to God, I'm telling you the truth. My compatibility was really confirmed at 37%. I was walking around New Thebes to get more familiar with the environment, and I managed to make a few friends... And then, you know how it is, time just slipped away. I know staying out late in the Fringe, is dangerous, and I'm sorry, okay?"
++ "You're really good at lying... Hahaha."
+ "Not really, I just know how to lie to Mom... At least it's good she doesn't know that if my compatibility had really been confirmed, I'd still be lying in the symbiot hall, paralyzed on some random bed."
Damon's mother, still skeptical, took a few steps back and, while searching his eyes for any sign of deceit, said:
"Okay... If you're really telling the truth, and you have your symbiot now, prove it to me. Without touching your holo-watch, making a sound, or even looking at it, call your dad and tell him your home."
+ "F***... What the hell do we do now, Asharaa? This was your idea, remember? Now I'll have to go to bed hungry because I was late and lied... I don't know why she still treats me like a kid... Like I'm 10 years old."
++ "Don't judge so quickly... We can easily do what she said. I can connect to anything you touch, which means I have full access to your holo-watch."
+ "I don't care how, just do something quick..."
++ "Okay, okay..."
It was clear from his mother's expression that she wasn't expecting anything special. Still, she waited a little, because even a small part of her hoped that maybe her son really had a destiny greater than being a leftover of human society.
Not a second later, Damon felt a strange sensation, like a faint electric current, starting from the back of his neck and running down to his wrist, right under his holo-watch. Then, a holographic image of his father appeared above the holo-watch, slowly rotating, with a blue light pulsing around it.
More than his mother, who was staring at the holo-watch with wide eyes and an open mouth, it was Damon himself who couldn't believe what he was feeling. The electric-like force that had just flowed through his left hand had given him a new sensation and vision he didn't even know existed. Damon could feel his holo-watch—its components, how it worked, and how it was connected to his father's holo-watch. It was as if the holo-watch had become a part of his body...
++ "Cool, huh?... Hahaha."
+ "you're amazing Asharaa...wow"
The blue light turned green, and Damon could hear his father's voice in his head. A second later, the same voice came through the holo-watch.
"where the hell are you, boy? Do I have to come looking for you in the streets? Wherever you are, tell me so I can come get you. You shouldn't be coming home alone at this hour..."
Damon, frustrated by the trouble he'd caused himself, shook his head and said, "I'm fine, I'm back Hom—"
But his mother, who had been stunned into silence until now, suddenly exclaimed, "Come home quickly! Your son passed his compatibility test with 37%!"
Damon's father laughed and replied, "You believed his lies again? It's obvious he's lying to you, Skylar. Don't be so naive... But okay, I'm coming home..." and he ended the call.
As soon as the call ended, Skylar hugged Damon tightly and began to cry.
By the time his father and sister arrived, Damon helped his mother, whose eyes were red from crying, set the dinner table. The rest of the family arrived quickly, and after Skylar saved Damon from his father by explaining the situation and the reason for his lateness, they all sat down for dinner.
Damon's sister, Diana, who was two years older than him, asked curiously, "So, how does it feel to have something else in your head showing you things? What was it like when they implanted it? When I took the test, no one in my group passed, so I didn't get to see..."
Damon, who had seen how the implanter or "stitcher" worked, began to lie in detail, even describing how it felt when his skull was pierced and then sealed as if his compatibility had really been confirmed.
"...Honestly, I haven't had time to figure out how this symbiote stuff works yet, but we can talk to each other in my mind... Or even when it connected to the holo-watch to call Dad, I could feel the holo-watch completely, like it was a part of me... It's really interesting... But I don't know much more than that for now..." And then he shoved a big spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.
Diana's eyes were still wide with curiosity and excitement.
"It's a she? And you can talk to her? Wow, so while you're eating, you can message me, right?" Without looking away from Damon, she took a big bite of her bread.
Damon was about to refuse Diana's request and say that symbiotes weren't toys, just to make her beg a little more, but... That electric sensation flowed through his hand again. His holo-watch reconnected to his mind and body, and Diana's holo-watch started blinking.
Diana, as if she'd been waiting for it, quickly tapped the dim screen of her holo-watch, and the text [Say hi to Super Damon...] appeared above it.
+ "Super Damon? we could've at least made her beg a little..."
++ "Don't be so mean... I like her... She's curious and kind..."
+ "Yeah, but only when she wants something..."
Throughout dinner, Diana bombarded Damon with questions, while their parents watched in silence. As dinner ended, Damon's mother said while clearing the table, "Arthur, it's time to start... Before you fall asleep."
Damon's father, Arthur, cleared his throat a few times and, after taking a deep breath, said, "Alright, son, what's your plan? With 37% compatibility, you could study engineering at a good college. Our foreman's been saying for a while that there's a shortage of engineers on Mars... Or you could go into robotics, or even become one of those guys who builds armor and weapons for the military. What do you think?"
Damon had known for a long time that his parents opposed his joining the military. Now, it seemed like it was finally time to confront the issue.
++ "Are you sure you really want to become a knight? As an engineer, we could have a good, wealthy future too. Of course, if we can find a way to access the system and register you as 37% compatible."
+ "I'm sure, Asharaa. I want to fight. I want to see the world. I want to get stronger so I don't feel so helpless in the face of destiny like I did today... I don't want anyone to make decisions for me... What about you?"
++ "Who doesn't love excitement, learning new things, and seeing the world?... If this is really your decision, then I guess we should activate the system... But for now, finish your conversation with your family..."
Damon looked at his father and his mother, who were aimlessly moving around their small kitchen, waiting for his answer, and took a deep breath.
"I've decided to enlist in the military... My goal is to become a knight... Just like I've always said, and I hope you, as my family, will support me..."
Hearing his answer, his mother started crying, causing Diana, who was washing dishes, to hug her to calm her down. His father stared at him with a serious expression for several seconds before saying,
"Is this really what you want? To have your life constantly at risk? As working-class residents of the Fringe, we don't have proper access to information or news from outside the Fringe, but even I know how intense the competition and conflict is between our empire and the other two empires... That's why, after the Argentum City War, the government decided to use android soldiers instead of human ones... Damon, I don't know if you know this, but even though I don't know what the military does, I do know that more than half of the entrants die during the entrance test... Do you understand what that means? It means your chances of surviving are less than half... This is your life, your future, and your dream, but at least don't throw it away for the thrill... You're my son, and no matter what, I'll stand by you... Please think more about what you want to do... That's all..."
Damon breathed a sigh of relief.
"I've made my decision. Now that I have the chance to chase my dreams, I don't want to spend the rest of my life regretting it. And don't worry, I'm not going to die. Today, no matter how the world gave me the chance I wanted, I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to get all of us out of this damn Fringe so we can live the way we deserve. I don't want to see you, Dad, wasting the rest of your life in that damn factory, spending more time with your coworkers than with your family or even for yourself... I don't want my sister to have to damage herself and her body every day at that chemical company instead of being able to study, have fun, and enjoy her life... Or even Mom, who has to work half the day in Dr. Salvatore's Garden and the other half at home for us... And I don't want to live under someone else's mercy ever again, envying someone else's life... Never..."
Damon's response made his mother cry even harder, and even his father was moved. After a little more conversation, his father, mother, and sister went to their rooms so they wouldn't be late for work the next day.
Damon, still sitting on their old, worn-out couch, more determined than ever, said to Asharaa:
+ "Asharaa, please do what you said about the system..."
++ "Okay, right now..."
[System booting up...]
[User Damon Grey... Congratulations, the system has been successfully activated.]
++ "Ouch...system didn't count me as a person..."
[------------------------
Name: Damon Grey
Race: Inferior Human
Age: 18 / 138
Realm: Common
Status: worker class
Titles: None
Level: 1
------------------
HP: 49 / 66
KP: 60 / 60
Ka: 7.9
Blood: Inferior
Charm: 6.3
EXP: 0 / 100
MC: None(locked)
GP: 10
SP: 1
------------------
Physical quality: 5.7
> Strength: 4.7
> Speed: 5.2
> Dexterity: 6.1
> Vitality: 4.8
> Stamina: 7
> Endurance: 8
> Senses: 4.4
>> Attraction: 5.6
------
Mental quality: 6
> mental strength: 7.8
> Neural endurance: 2.1
> IQ: 9
> EQ: 4
> Wisdom: 7
> Will: 8
> Instinct: 4.3
>> Charisma: 7.1
------------------------]