Lucien slapped his alarm clock twice and turned it off, but the strange beeping continued. It wasn’t until he sat up in bed that he realized the sounds weren’t coming from his alarm clock, but rather from inside his head.
Lucien rubbed his eyes, thinking he was still dreaming and seeing things... On his screen, silver letters glowed with a strange name.
Jyera Apocalypse System
Grade: Incomplete Elementary
-Stone Throwing Level 2
-Computer Skills Level 3
-Ancient Languages Level 2
-Communication Level 1
ZY Virus and System Skills:
[System calibrating and synchronizing...]
[Calculating limitations due to host age...]
[Preparing missions...]
Lucien stared at the "system" screen for almost 15 minutes. The system had his name on it, and it was very reminiscent of a game’s home screen. The system knew his age, his current profession, and many other details about his life, but before he could fully understand everything, he realized he was late for school...
He quickly dressed and went to the kitchen for breakfast. There he found a lady who was their housekeeper. She only came three or four times a week to organize the cleaning, which was outsourced, and she also cooked on those days so that both father and son wouldn’t eat too much junk food in their mother’s absence. This was specific instructions from his mother, who, even though she wasn’t in town, still controlled everything in the house in his absence...
"Good morning, young Lucien!"
"Good morning, Mrs. Yolanda!"
"Are you okay? I thought you were sick like your father..."
"Yes, he got up early, had breakfast, but said he was dizzy and very tired, and that he wouldn’t be working today..."
"Will he need to see a doctor?" Lucien asked worriedly.
"He said he worked late yesterday, so it must just be exhaustion... Here! Eat your coffee quickly or you’ll be even later..."
A traditional breakfast of eggs, bacon, and some waffles was placed in front of him, along with a nutritional shake his mother insisted he drink every day... Lucien didn’t particularly like the drink, but he still drank it even in her absence to please her.
As he finished eating, Lucien blushed a little and asked Miss Yolanda a question...
"Uh... Um... How’s Laura? I haven’t seen her in a while..."
"Oh, do you miss your nanny?" Mrs. Yolanda said with a smile, realizing how Lucien had tried to sound natural when asking about her daughter...
"It’s not that... I haven’t seen her in a while, and I wanted to know if she’s okay. That’s all..."
"I invited her to breakfast here today, but she had something important at school and had to leave early... I’ll tell her you sent my regards..."
"I finished my breakfast, I’m going! See you Friday, Mrs. Yolanda!"
Lucien hurriedly stuffed the rest of his food into his mouth and left before his face turned even redder... After all, he hadn’t sent her any regards, what if Laura thought something strange? They just had a simple relationship... She was four years older than him, and had often babysat for him when he was younger...
As he ran absentmindedly, Lucien remembered his babysitter’s beautiful face, all the freckles on her cheeks and nose, her long red hair, and her pretty green eyes. Laura was his first love, but the older girl only saw him as a child... That’s why he felt so embarrassed about sending her a hug...
Still distracted, Lucien didn’t realize he’d already arrived near the school...
"Lucien, you’re late! Give me the money!"
Lucien saw an angry Kurt walking toward him with the other three boys right behind him... But he remembered that because of the strange system, he hadn’t replenished his lunch money in his backpack...
"Kurt, I was late today, and I forgot the money... Couldn’t we talk first? I can bring you double tomorrow..."
But Kurt completely ignored Lucien’s pleas and logic, and began to inch closer and closer to Lucien, his face furious...
Desperate and remembering Kurt’s pent-up anger from yesterday, Lucien did something he had never attempted before.
Just as Kurt’s hands were about to reach his shoulders, he took a step back, then veered to the left and ran as fast as he could, trying to reach the school gates...
"Lucien, you dare? You better stop right there!"
"Don’t think you’ll escape!"
"It’ll be worse if you run!"
Kurt’s other henchmen tried to block his path, but Lucien was too slender and fast. He soon left all four behind and entered the school gates, where the four didn’t dare do anything due to the many cameras.
As the second bell rang, announcing the closing of the gates and the start of classes, Lucien ran into the classroom and sat next to William, his deskmate.
"You’re late, Lucien. Is everything okay?" William asked.
"Yes, and you? Are you feeling better?"
"I’m fine, a little sore, some bruises, but better..."
"I just had to escape from the boys from yesterday, and they’ll be pretty angry today when it’s time to leave... I recommend you stay inside the school for a while while I lure them away..."
William just swallowed hard as he thought about the trouble he’d now gotten himself into and began thinking about how he could get out of this situation...
Sitting further away, Nina also watched Lucien worriedly, but didn’t get up to talk to him because the teacher had already come in and started class...
The morning passed quickly, and they had two different classes before lunch, but Lucien didn’t pay attention to either of them... His body felt different, faster, stronger, and more resilient... And he was now sure that this strange system had something to do with it...
The system was called the Jyera Apocalypse... Was it something made by aliens? Did the government create it? Or was there really such a thing as an apocalypse? And why had he received this? Were they distributing it for testing? Was it a mistake that he’d received it? His eyes returned to the system in an attempt to better understand it...
Everything was quantified in levels, and surprisingly, his skill levels were all correct when compared. He had imagined level 5 as the maximum level. As the son and heir of wealthy and important businessmen, his parents taught him the basics from an early age, including leadership, basic finance, and communication. Or even the more exaggerated and unnecessary ones he considered, like music, languages, and etiquette.
He smiled when he saw his only combat skill... He’d never been interested in any martial art, even when his father insisted he learn at least one. So it was a surprise, and he never imagined that his only combat skill would be something he’d gained from a hobby he and William had...
So Lucien ignored all these common skills and focused on the strange skills called ZY. After all, as someone who played video games, he was very interested to know if he had some kind of special power... As he focused his vision on each of them for a while, additional explanations emerged:
- A human who has fused and adapted with the ZY airborne virus, reaching the next level of human evolution. Improved immune capacity, increased agility, strength, and endurance. Slightly enhanced senses and slightly improved IQ.
- The system’s main skill. Allows the creation of items using biological materials from creatures infected with the ZY pathogen. Each item requires a specific recipe. Recipes are obtained through quests or the system store.
- Dismantles corpses and stores them directly in the Materials Inventory. The larger the creature, the longer the skill takes to use.
- Allows you to quickly extract crystals from the corpses of zombies, monsters, and evolved mutant humanoids.
- A large, nearly infinite space within the system, used to store collected biological materials for use by the Crafting skill.
- A garage-sized space within the system. Allowing the storage of any object except living beings, the space is fully protected against the initial anti-technology pulse of the apocalypse. Time within it is stagnant, preventing food, fuel, and water from spoiling. Its size increases periodically on its own.
-No skill information!
As Lucien walked distractedly to the cafeteria with William and Nina, he was shocked by the information he’d learned and barely paid attention to what his friends were saying...
"I think I’ll just have a sandwich today..."
"Are you still sore from yesterday’s ’fall,’ Will?"
Nina asked, looking suspiciously at the two of them...
But before Lucien could even digest the information about his strange abilities, the system sent out more announcements, making him stumble in fright...
[The Jyera Apocalypse begins in 7 days!]
[New Missions Issued!]