Useless System

Mathew and Lisa were not that easy to handle. They demanded more answers, so Leon had no choice.

He told them everything in detail, of course omitting the important parts. His half-truth, half-bullshit story was very convincing. As for the egg part, he simply stuck with, "I don't know what happened. A light exploded on the horizon and I don't remember anything after that."That was partially true.

At that time, he didn't. But now he knew what had happened.

There was evidence in front of him:

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Assignment 1.1: Meditate for one hourStatus: Incomplete

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It was early in the morning. Leon had woken up automatically, although he had barely slept for 2 to 3 hours. He didn't feel tired or sleepy at all. On the contrary, he felt as if he'd had the best sleep of his life.

Sitting cross-legged in the corner, Leon whispered,"System."

A half-transparent screen hovered before his eyes. Same as yesterday, there was only one thing on the screen:

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Assignment 1.1: Meditate for one hourStatus: Incomplete

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Leon tried to access more functions of the system.

"Menu."

Nothing happened.

"Store."

Again, nothing.

"Home."

Still nothing.

Leon whispered more commands hoping for a response, but nothing changed.

SighWith a sigh, Leon closed his eyes. He didn't really know how to properly meditate. He only knew that you were supposed to sit cross-legged on a mat—but as a beggar, he didn't have that luxury. He just sat on the cold floor.

He started by controlling his breathing, making it slow and deliberate—but as he expected, nothing out of the ordinary happened.

"Assignment 1.1: Open," Leon whispered.

This time, the system window changed, and a new set of text appeared:

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Assignment 1.1: Meditate for one hourStep 1: Sit in a comfortable position and close your eyesStep 2: Imagine yourself as an empty vessel or containerStep 3: ...Step 4: ......Step 10: ....

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Or, to let the system guide you through the process, use the command 'Help'

Leon decided to use the last option. Following through ten steps felt cumbersome and difficult. Of course, if there were no other choice, he would have followed through. But if he could obtain additional help from the system, there was no reason to say no.

"Help."

'Sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes,'a voice—similar to his own—sounded in Leon's head.

Leon felt disappointed. He had thought that by asking for help, he'd get to skip the whole meditation part, but as it stood, "help" simply meant the instructions would be given as a voice in his mind.

It was like switching from a traditional book to an audiobook.

Leon was already comfortable in his cross-legged position, so he closed his eyes.

'Imagine yourself as an empty vessel or container...'

Leon imagined himself as an empty container.

'Feel your surroundings through touch, sound, and smell. Try to extend your senses beyond their limits...'

Leon didn't even know when the one hour had passed. He broke out of his deep state when the system notification popped up.

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Ding*Congratulations! Assignment 1.1 is completePhase 1: Apprentice (1% complete)

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Leon stared at the screen.

"What's Phase 1?" he whispered to himself. To his shock, the system replied:

'Phase 1: Apprentice is a program designed with the intention of making the host an Apprentice Mage.'

"What's an Apprentice Mage?" Leon asked.

'Apprentice Mage is equivalent to Tier 0 Swordsman. At this stage, the host will be able to utilize mana in its basic form.'

"Which spells can be performed by an Apprentice Mage?"

'None. Apprentice Mages can only utilize raw mana. Spells are a result of changes in the nature of raw mana.'

So I won't be able to use spells immediately? What a useless system...

"What stages come after Apprentice?"

'Access denied. Information about the next stage can only be accessed when Phase 1 is complete.'

"Tsk. This useless system. Anyway, Phase 1 is only 1% complete... does that mean I have to meditate for a hundred hours to complete it? Or is there another criteria? The second assignment hasn't appeared yet either..."

Leon was busy talking to himself when Mathew appeared behind him.

"Wow, what a surprise—you're early today."

"I don't know why, but I've been feeling energetic lately."

Mathew replied with a smile,"That's good news, then. Let's get some breakfast for everyone."

Mathew led Leon to the front of the building. Before, it was Mathew and Bear who would get in line for breakfast, but now that Leon was up early, Mathew dragged him along.

This was Leon's first time. The long line stretched from one end to another—at least 40 to 50 children were in the line. Leon and company were somewhere in the middle.

The line moved forward quickly. Mathew had told Leon to get two bowls each for himself, Leon, and Bear—totaling six.

When it was finally Leon's turn, he saw a big bucket of porridge placed on the ground. Holding two bowls in his hands, he placed them on the table in front. A blurry-looking man with a dirty mustache stood there, wearing a dirty apron and red shirt. He scooped up porridge from the bucket with a big spoon and splashed it into the bowls. Some of it spilled onto Leon and his clothes, but most of it remained in the bowls.

Wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt, Leon picked up the two bowls and waited on the side for Mathew and Bear, who were next in line.

The trio then made their way back to their room. On the way, they spotted a group of men in white uniforms confronting Dan and his followers.

Leon slowed his steps. Although Dan and the men in white uniforms stood some distance away, Leon could hear their voices clearly.

"Where were you last night?" one of the white-uniformed men said. His voice was sharp and authoritative—he even sounded a bit annoyed.

"We were sleeping inside," Dan said. His usual smug tone was gone, replaced by a quiet and docile voice.

"Did you see where that light came from last night?"

Dan replied, his head lowered."I'm not sure. It was too bright to tell its exact location. I think it came from 28th Street... or nearby. I'm not sure."

"Hmph. Useless trash."The white-uniformed man turned away and left. They were heading toward 28th Street.

Was that light really bright enough to warrant attention from the city guards??

Leon didn't know how much commotion that incident had caused. He followed after Mathew and Bear, who had by now walked far ahead of him.

As they reached the room, everyone was up and ready, eating their fill. The group left as usual.

Today they had to cover a large area, so they were split up. Only Roan and Lisa stayed together.

Leon wandered through the streets alone. He would sometimes go to wealthy-looking gentlemen and madams, but mostly he chose to target couples, as that had proven more effective.

While walking through 27th Street, Leon came across a small church.

He was still feeling hungry, which was unusual—before, one bowl had always been enough.

He decided to enter the church.

Back on Earth, places of worship often provided food for the poor. Thinking it might be the same here, Leon passed through the church gate. As he entered, his dirty attire attracted the attention of a clergyman who was sweeping the floor near a boy.

"Beggars are not welcome here. Shoo, go away."The clergyman spoke with a rough tone.

Leon halted his steps and was about to turn back when a calm voice came from somewhere inside the church:

"Children are the proxies of God on this earth, John. It's written in the Holy Book."

John, the clergyman, bowed his head."I apologize, Priest Parry. I had just cleaned the floor. I was worried this child's dirty clothes might dirty it again."