Silence filled every corner, rubble lay scattered on the ground, the same ground where Williams lay unconscious, his trousers and shirt covered in dust and almost completely torn, but luckily without a single wound or even a spot of blood. It seemed like a miracle that he had survived the collapse without even a minor injury, or perhaps it was the work of something else.
The catastrophe had completely erased the city where Williams was born, leaving only destruction, rubble, death, and almost forgotten memories of what once was, now treasured in the mind of young Williams, who now lay inactive in a world of dreams, memories perhaps? In that desolate place, only Williams himself would know the answer to that question, which his mind sought to unravel.
Clarity came to Williams' mind as his eyes felt lighter and his arm burned from some glass shards embedded in it, but with no deep cuts. His eyes began to open wide, little by little, until they were fully open and he noticed the status window that had appeared with a cyan glow, whose presence was virtual and impossible to ignore or overlook, causing him to become excited by this event. He had never seen a mission window in his life before. How, when, and why? These were the questions that assailed his mind.
A mission appeared.
[Systema]
Acquire 50EXP
Reward: Stalker's Cloak, 7 Stat Points
The cyan image glowed in front of Williams, with a semi-transparent hologram-like shine. The young current user got up from the ground and sat down, looking at the mission, wondering how he would get 50XP without weapons or equipment, or how he would even acquire them. Everything was new to him, so unfamiliar. He knew nothing about the so-called users, but he did know that now that he was a user, anomalies would manifest themselves wherever he went.
His thoughts were interrupted by a new system notification: "Resurrection Event initiated, conditions: complete first mission." The young man opened his eyes wide, slightly startled by the suddenness of the voice. He was intrigued by the event, but his main concern at that critical moment was to complete the first mission in order to gain the experience and reward that came with completing a system mission.
In the distance, all that could be seen was the destruction of what was once a city and the chaotic mind of a young user. Williams debated various strategies in his mind to get the 50XP, or at least he tried unsuccessfully, completely forgetting about the recently started event. With no information and no idea what to do, he decides to try something.
Williams: Status!
He said aloud, trying to sound firm and confident, as he believed the users were, but the fear was palpable in his voice. The moment he spoke, the window
changed, displaying some statistics
Williams:
Level: 0
EXP: 0/50
Vitality: 100
Strength: 10
Endurance: 20
Speed: 40
Reflexes: 10
Arcane: 40
Stamina: 50
Perception: 10
He didn't know if his statistics were good or bad; everything was so new. The only thing that was clear to him was that those statistics were his, and he would have to make do with them as best he could. He decided to learn more about his new status as a user and find out more about the system's functions, even though he didn't know how to do that or where to start. He spoke aloud again, "Close window," and the projection disappeared instantly.
The young man was about to climb down from the rubble when... "You have acquired the Bearer's Dagger," a female voice with an electronic tone sounded inside his head. Despite the system notification, he did not see any weapon. Remembering the manhwas and mangas he had read when his city was still standing, He spoke again, "Equip Dagger of the Bearer." The dagger appeared in his hand as soon as he finished speaking, leaving him perplexed, a small thread of drool running from his mouth, which he then wiped away as quickly as it had appeared.
The weapon had a silvery tone, with a black handle and lines carved along its length, with runes glowing with a certain cyan sheen accompanying the handle. Its appearance was not much compared to Williams' expectations; it did not look like the weapons from the latest instalments of the most played RPGs, but even so, he did not give up. He knew that some anomaly could appear at any moment, as they were always attracted to users almost instinctively, as if the mere presence of the users summoned them.
His grip on the dagger tightened excessively, as did his fear, and he headed down the cracked road, whose mere image gave the impression of a catastrophe, as if countless wars had taken place there. He walked along the road full of destruction and desolation, searching for some weak anomaly, without any certainty of finding it, but that would not stop him from trying.