---
The first light of dawn crept through the thin curtains of the Villamor apartment.
The rain had stopped hours ago, leaving the city wrapped in that clean, fragile calm that only comes after a long storm.
Kyler woke up before his alarm — his eyes opening exactly at 6:00 A.M.
No grogginess. No fuzziness.
Every sound, every smell, every single detail of the room felt sharper — like life itself was in high definition.
He sat up quietly, watching Ashley sleep beside him, her breathing soft and steady. For a moment, he simply smiled.
Last night hadn't been a dream. He could still remember every word, every flicker of light from his computer screen.
The System.
The voice.
The Perfect Memory.
He whispered under his breath,
> "System, are you still there?"
> [Online.]
Skill creation available in: 20 hours, 13 minutes.]
A small chill went down his spine.
It was real.
He got out of bed, careful not to wake Ashley, and moved to the living room. The early sun made the floor glow faintly golden. On the table, his old laptop blinked — still open on last night's work logs.
He sat, opened a new tab, and began to type.
Every keystroke was flawless.
No mistakes, no hesitations.
He could recall every process from work — every policy, script, and escalation he'd ever memorized from the BPO. Even the tone of customer voices from three years ago.
"Damn…" he muttered softly. "If only training was this easy."
He checked the time again, then sighed.
Hazel and Nicko's laughter echoed faintly from the bedroom — they were waking up.
Ashley's voice followed, warm and sleepy.
"Kyler, breakfast or work first?"
He smiled, leaning back. "Breakfast. I can be late a bit."
Minutes later, the family gathered at the small kitchen table — Hazel in her pink pajamas, Nicko with his hair a mess. Ashley had made fried rice and eggs, the kind of breakfast that always made the house feel alive.
Hazel spoke through a mouthful of rice,
"Papa, you look… awake today."
Kyler chuckled. "You noticed?"
Ashley gave him a playful squint. "That's rare. You didn't even complain about your shift."
He shrugged casually. "Guess I slept better than usual."
He didn't tell them about the System. Not yet. Maybe never.
---
By noon, he was at work — another day of headset and small talk, but this time, something was different.
He handled every call perfectly. No stutters, no pauses, not even the usual fatigue.
Supervisors noticed. Teammates joked.
"Bro, what happened to you?" one asked.
Kyler just smiled. "Coffee," he lied.
By the end of the day, he finished all pending cases — something that normally took two shifts. His manager praised him for his "improvement," but Kyler knew it wasn't effort. It was power — quiet, unexplainable power.
That night, when he finally came home, the kids were asleep, Ashley scrolling through her phone beside the bed.
Kyler sat by the window again, watching the lights of the city.
The System pulsed faintly in his head.
> [Skill creation ready.]
He hesitated, fingers drumming softly on the windowsill.
One new skill every 24 hours.
He could do anything — literally anything.
But he thought about his family — about their laughter, their safety, and how fragile peace could be.
He smiled faintly.
--
Kyler leaned back, eyes half-closed, city lights reflecting in them like quiet fire.
He didn't know where this path would lead, but one thing was certain: he wasn't in a rush.
For now, he just wanted to live.
Peacefully.
Silently.
Lowkey.