Well everyone this is my orginal novel.
I have looked into all the various types of troopes here in webnovel and found many repetition, so I wanted to just try something new , had to brainstorm and search to net to see if there are any unique concepts.
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Most people think being a "System" is a glamorous job.You know the stories and float in a void, omnipotent and cool, handing out overpowered skills to some lucky teenager.
You say things like "Host, you have leveled up" and watch them conquer the world while you eat digital popcorn, It's supposed to be a power fantasy.
I'm here to tell you that's a complete lie, It's not a fantasy, It's pure accounting and I am currently bankrupt.
[Current System Budget: 42 Karma Points]
[Host Status:Level 1 Pathetic]
[Current Threat: Moss-Back Bear Level 5]
I stared at the blue holographic screen which was floating in the darkness of my own consciousness, 42 points, that was it.
That's my entire fucking operating capital.
In the Universal System Marketplace, 42 points could buy you a loaf of bread or maybe a very sharp stick but It definitely could not buy what my Host needed right now, which was an absolute miracle.
"Fear not, foul beast!"
The voice boomed through the damp cave, echoing off the stalactites.
I sighed Or, I would have sighed if I had lungs since I was currently a disembodied consciousness stuffed inside the brain of a twenty year old human male, I just projected a vibration of pure annoyance into his brain.
My Host, Leon, struck a pose.
It was a magnificent pose. He stood with his legs wide, his chest puffed out, his golden hair catching the dim light of the moss. He looked like the cover of a romance novel or simply looked like a hero but at this moment he was also unarmed, wearing a linen tunic, and facing a bear the size of a minivan.
"Leon," I whispered into his mind. "Run"
"I can hear the spirits testing me!" Leon shouted, ignoring me completely. He reached out a hand toward the bear. "You wish to see if I am worthy? Come then you mongrel! Strike me down if you can!"
The bear, which did not speak Common or care about Leon's worthiness, roared which most definitely sounded like a chainsaw grinding through wet gravel.
[Warning: Host Adrenaline Spiking ]
[Warning: Host Intelligence dropping due to 'Heroic Delusion']
"I am not testing you!" I screamed silently.
"I am the interface in your head! That is a Level 5 bear you idiot , you have 10 Hit Points. If it sneezes on you, we die and I die. Do you understand? I cease to exist."
Leon smirked. "I feel a power rising within me."
I checked the dashboard,No he didn't.
That was indigestion from the berries he ate an hour ago, I had tried to warn him about those too- [Alert: Mild Poison] -but he had dismissed the notification window with a wave of his hand, muttering about "nature's bounty."
The bear charged, the time slowed down slowly, not because I used a skill, but because my processing speed kicked into overdrive.
This was it, the moment of truth.
I opened the [Marketplace]
A grid of icons flashed before my mind's eye. I frantically filtered by "Offensive Spells."
* Fireball (Rank F): 150 Karma
* Ice Shard (Rank F): 120 Karma
* Lightning Bolt (Rank E): 300 Karma
"Too expensive....too expensive. Are you kidding me? Inflation is out of control in this sector," I muttered.
I checked my balance again, a mere 42 Karma.The bear was ten feet away and Leon was still holding his hand out, expecting magic to just happen because he wanted it really badly.
"Come on, come on..." I scrolled down to the bargain bin. The "Clearance" section of the System Store, Usually this section was full of useless trash like 'Summon Butterfly 'or 'Change Hair Color.'
My metaphorical finger hovered over an item.
* Skill: Flash Step (Glitchy)
* Cost: 40 Karma
* Description: Teleports the user 2 meters in a random direction, Warning: Direction is truly random and does not account for solid objects.
It was a true gamble, If I teleported him inside the cave wall, he'd fuse with the rock and we'd die and If I teleported him forward, he'd be inside the bear.
The bear was five feet away and I could smell its breath through Leon's nose, It smelled like rotten fish of weeks.
"System!" Leon yelled mentally.
"Awaken my potential!"
"Oh, shut up, you fucker" I grumbled.
I bought the skill.
[Transaction Complete,Remaining Balance: 2 Karma]
I force activated the skill.
The world jerked sideways and Leon vanished from the path of the charging bear.
The bear slammed into the cave wall where Leon had been standing a microsecond ago. The impact shook the ground, dislodging a stalactite that crashed down and shattered right next to the beast's head.
Leon reappeared two meters to the left, face down in a puddle of muddy water.
He scrambled up, spitting out mud and looked at his hands, then at the dazed bear, then at the empty air.
"Incredible..." Leon whispered, his eyes wide. "I moved faster than the eye could see. I didn't even feel my legs move, It was like... instantaneous transmission."
I didn't answer as I was too busy staring at the red warning light blinking in my HUD.
[System Energy Critical]
[Karma low, Please recharge immediately to prevent shutdown]
We had survived but I had spent my entire life savings on a two meter teleport that dumped my host in a puddle.
The bear shook its head, growling low in its throat and turned its massive body, fixing its beady eyes on Leon again. It wasn't dead, hell It wasn't even injured instead It was just merely annoyed.
"I see," Leon said, nodding solemnly.
He wiped the mud from his chin, smearing it across his cheek. "The spirits granted me a burst of speed, but my body was too weak to handle it so I must have fainted for a split second."
"You tripped into a different coordinate," I corrected, though he couldn't hear my specific thoughts, only the general sense of 'System Notifications.'
Leon raised his fists. "But now I completely understand the rhythm of battle.
Come, beast! Round two!!"
I looked at my balance which showed a mere 2 Karma and then I opened the Marketplace again.
* Pebble (Common): 1 Karma
* Annoying Noise Audio File (Donald John Trump): 1 Karma
* Banana Peel (Fresh): 5 Karma
I couldn't even afford a banana peel, and if I used Trump's voice , the bear may even get a power up.We were going to die,I was going to die in a damp cave with a guy who actually thought mud was war paint.
Wait.....
I looked at Leon's character sheet.
[Name: Leon]
[Class: None]
[Strength: 5]
[Agility: 4]
[Intelligence: 3]
[Luck: 10]
His Intelligence was abysmal, that explained a lot but his Luck... his Luck was weirdly high. It was his only stat above average.
I checked the [Pawn Shop] feature of the System.
* Rule 4: The System may liquidate Host Assets in times of emergency.
I had never used this as It felt unethical and predatory, exactly like something a very desperate manager would do to save the company.
"I'm sorry, Leon," I muttered. "But you don't use your brain anyway."
I dragged his Intelligence stat into the sell box.
[Sell 1 Point of INT? Current Market Value: 15 Karma]
It wasn't much, Who wants to buy a used brain cell? But it brought me up to 17 Karma and I confirmed the sale.
Leon blinked, for a second, his expression went slack. "Duh?" he said.
"Focus idiot!" I projected the intent.
With 17 Karma, I could afford something specific, I scrolled to the [Environmental Hazards] tab.
* Skill: Grease Patch (Small)
* Cost: 15 Karma.
* Description: Makes a 1x1 meter area into a largely slippery path
The bear charged again and this time, it was faster.
Leon didn't dodge, he just stood there with his mouth slightly open, looking confused about why he was in a cave as Intelligence drop was kicking in fast.
"For the love of gold," I cursed.
I deployed the Grease Patch exactly three feet in front of the bear's front right paw.
The bear stepped on it and Its paw slid forward with zero friction.The massive beast lost its center of gravity and Its legs splayed out like a cartoon character on ice. Its snout slammed into the ground with the force of a falling piano, and its momentum carried it forward, tumbling end-over-end until it smashed skull-first into a granite pillar.
The cave went silent as the bear lay still.
[Enemy Defeated: Moss-Back Bear]
[Experience Gained: 50 ]
[Loot: Bear Gallbladder (Uncollected)]
[System Reward: +5 Karma for Host Victory]
I stared at the notification, I spent 40 Karma on the teleport and 15 Karma on the grease.
Total Spend: 55 Karma
Reward: 5 Karma
Net Loss: -50 Karma
We won, and I was deeper in the hole than when we started.
Leon walked over to the dead bear and he poked it with his foot. Then, he looked up at the ceiling, tears streaming down his face😭
"I did it," he whispered. "I defeated it with the sheer pressure of my killing intent.The giant beast tripped over its own fear!"
I looked at the [Intelligence: 2] stat on his profile.
"Yep," I thought, closing the window.
"Let's go with that."
I was exhausted and was seriously broke. Then I realized, with a sinking feeling, that this was only the tutorial.
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Authors Note:-
Well reader's how did you like the first chapter.
I need real feedback for growth.
So support me with power stones, collections and your love🫰.