"Master Builder… System? What's going on here?" Finn whispered shakily, still trying to calm his racing heart.
The golden letters before him shifted.
[Welcome, Finn. Are you ready to build your destiny?]
Finn stared at the words, unsure whether to feel awestruck or terrified. He took a step closer to the glowing text, his voice quiet but steady.
"What… what is the Master Builder System? What do you mean by 'build my destiny'?"
There was a short pause. The letters shimmered, then faded, only to be replaced by a new line.
[The Master Builder System is a legacy of creation. You witnessed it in your vision. The creation of cities, kingdoms, empires, and even entire worlds.]
Finn's eyes widened. The memory of fortresses rising from the earth, rivers reshaped by will, and towers scraping the sky returned with full force.
"You mean… I can build those things?" he asked, barely daring to believe it. "All of them?"
The system replied instantly.
[Yes. With time, effort, and skill, you can shape lands, create civilizations, raise armies, and bring prosperity to your chosen places.]
Finn blinked, stunned. The idea was overwhelming. He, a boy from a forgotten village, someone who didn't even have a real bed to sleep on, could become the founder of an empire?
He swallowed hard and looked down at his hands. They were scratched, dirty, and trembling slightly from everything that had just happened.
"I could… really build an empire of my own?" he asked softly.
Another message appeared.
[You can build more than an empire. You can build a future.]
Those words settled deep inside him, and with them came a new thought, not of glory, or power, or becoming a great hero.
But of Riverwood.
The tired faces of the villagers. The weak fences. The worn tools. The empty food stores. The guards at the gates who had no armor, only wooden spears and brave hearts.
"This could help them," Finn whispered. "I can repay all the favors I have received over the years."
His voice quivered, not from fear but from hope. "I can fix everything and protect the people. Maybe… maybe no one will have to go hungry again."
His chest tightened with emotion as Old Thom's face flashed in his mind, followed by the warm smiles of Thom's wife and daughter and the rest of the villagers. They had taken him in, raised him like family, never asking for anything in return.
"This… this is how I repay them," Finn said, eyes burning. "This is how I give back."
The system asked again.
[Now, are you ready to build your destiny?]
"Yes," he said aloud, voice stronger and steadier now. "I'm ready."
The golden text shimmered again, as if acknowledging his resolve.
[Your journey begins now, Master Builder. Your first missions are ready.]
Finn took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his brow, and stepped closer to the archway once more.
"Alright," he said, more certain than he had ever been in his life. "Show me what I need to do."
The golden text faded once more. Then, like shimmering lights rearranging themselves, a new panel appeared before Finn's eyes.
It was neat, glowing, and structured clearly as it floated in the air.
[Tutorial Initiated]
[Basic System Panels Unlocked]
Four options materialized before him, each encased in a soft golden frame.
=====
[1. Status]
[2. Mission]
[3. Builder]
[4. Shop]
=====
[Choose which one you wish to learn first.]
Finn's eyes darted between the options, his breath caught in his throat. Everything felt surreal yet strangely intuitive, as if the system were patiently waiting for him to choose.
"How do I choose?" he asked while his finger tried to tap one of the options.
[Choose with your thought.]
"Oh. So I just need to think of it," he muttered.
His eyes darted again between the options. He wanted to learn all of them, so he believed he should follow the sequence.
'Status Panel,' he thought, his mind gently touching the first option.
Instantly, the others faded, and a new glowing window appeared.
=====
[STATUS PANEL]
Name: Finn
Race: Human
Level: 1
Experience: 0 / 1000
Physical Attributes:
• Strength: 2
• Speed: 4
• Stamina: 4
Mental Attributes:
• Wisdom: 10
• Focus: 10
• Leadership: 10
Free Attribute Points: 0
Builder Points: 0
Hero Points: 0
Skill: None
=====
"This is... amazing." Finn stared at the glowing panel, eyes wide with awe. "It's like a mirror... No, a window into who I really am."
He scanned the lines again, more slowly this time, as if memorizing every number.
"Strength's low. Yeah… not a surprise," he muttered. "But Speed and Stamina are better than my Strength. Maybe because I love to venture into the woods."
His gaze drifted lower, landing on the mental attributes.
"Wisdom, Focus, Leadership… My Mental Attributes." He raised an eyebrow. "Why are these so high?"
He paused on Leadership, reading it twice.
"Does the Master Builder System expect me to lead the village?" He chuckled quietly. "To replace Old Hann? Yeah, right."
The image of him standing at the village center giving orders made him snort.
"I'd probably be laughed at or kicked out of Riverwood just for thinking that."
Still, the thought lingered. He believed with the Master Builder System, that day would come, sooner or later.
Then his eyes landed on something new at the bottom of the panel.
=====
Hero Points: 0
Build Points: 0
=====
"Hero Points?" he whispered, his voice slightly catching. "Is that what I think it is?"
He leaned in closer, heart thudding.
A strange feeling bloomed in his chest, like a quiet fire sparking to life. No explanations, no tutorials… yet something inside him just knew.
'Is this for me? To become a hero myself?'
Curious about what else the system held, Finn shifted his focus again.
'Missions... let's see what you've got for me.'
The panel responded instantly to his thought. The glowing window shimmered, transforming into a clean new panel.
[MISSION PANEL]
Two separate sections unfolded before him, framed in polished gold.
=====
[Daily Mission]
Objective:
• 100 Push-ups
• 100 Sit-ups
• 100 Squats
• 10 km Run
Time Remaining: 15 Hours 03 Minutes
Rewards:
• 50 EXP
• 1 Hero Point
• 10 Builder Points
• 5 Free Attribute Points
=====
Finn stared, blinking slowly.
"Wait... what?" His eyebrows shot up. "That's just… physical training?"
He reread the tasks again to be sure. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and a ten-kilometer run, all within a day.
"It's brutal," he muttered, "but it's doable."
The realization settled in quickly. 'This system doesn't just want me to build things… it wants to build me, too.'
A small grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
'Fair enough. If I'm going to lead anything one day, I should be the strongest first.'
=====
[Main Mission]
Objective:
Complete the Tutorial
Progress:
2/4 Panels Explored
Rewards:
• 100 EXP
• 10 Hero Points
• 10 Builder Points
• 10 Free Attribute Points
=====
'I see...' Finn's expression turned thoughtful. 'So that means... I have to explore all four panels.'
He looked at the progress bar and nodded.
"Two down, two to go."