Good morning, Carter Elm! Welcome to the System!

The message appearing in my vision wakes me up, and I just stare at it for a few moments, trying to figure out what's going on. Then my brain wakes up and I stare at the message in my vision. Then I close my eyes. I open them again. It didn't disappear.

As soon as I think that, the message disappears. Is there a way to bring it back? There it is, back in my vision. For a few minutes, I just play around with dismissing and recalling the message because it's easier than figuring out what's going on, why my alarm clock isn't on, why the lights on the tower to my computer aren't on, and just why the heck it says I'm in the System.

Or even what the System is.

Distractions don't last forever, though, and I eventually dismiss the notification without the intent to recall it. It's something like in a game, I presume, so I try thinking of various things to see if anything else reacts to my thoughts. How about Status?

Name: Carter Elm Sex: Male Age: 19 Species: Human Level: 0 Experience: 0% Mana: 20/20 Mana Regeneration: 0.000/second Aura: 8/8 Aura Regeneration: 0.000/second Strength: 9 Constitution: 8 Agility: 9 Vitality: 10 Magic: 0 Mind: 0 Inspection: 0 Charm: 0

Oi, System, you're doing this wrong. It's not supposed to be the first thing I think of. Deciding to not continue reprimanding the System, I instead play around with opening and closing my Status. It seems I have to actually think the word with the intent on opening it in order to pull it up. This means that if I think 'what's the status of my morning', it won't-

Cloudy with a chance of showers in approximately 27 minutes. Current temperature of 89F.

Okay, I walked into that one considering I actually did want to know that. What time is it?

6:14 AM; July 19th, 0 Earth-System Era

Well, that's good to know. So it's decided to change our calendar era to match the arrival of itself? That's… never mind, it's already attacked us. Let's figure out other stuff, like the things in my Status.

Focusing on the various aspects, I get to learn what each of the Attributes actually do and affect. Strength is as it sounds – it's my overall physical strength, which I'm assuming means that it's not a direct correlation to how hard I can punch. Some people are stronger in the legs than the arms, after all.

Constitution is how resilient to harm my body is, which is useful to know, though I'm not sure I like that 8 Constitution is probably around normal human. I'd think we were squishier than that. It also affects how much Aura we have, and judging by how much I have, it's a one-to-one ratio.

Agility is based on our swiftness of mind and our reflexes, not our speed. That kind of makes sense, since part of our speed is based on our muscular strength in certain areas. So our speed is probably a mix of Agility and Strength.

Vitality is a weird one, but it affects how quickly we heal, and according to the System, it "is part of what affects one's maximum lifespan". It also affects how quickly we age, so I'm assuming that 10 Vitality means we age one year for every year that passes, 20 Vitality means we age one year for every two years that pass, and so on.

Magic is simply how powerful of a spell we can cast. I'm assuming that means it's also a limiting factor to what spells we can use, but that could be wrong. It could be that we could cast a spell casting thousands of Mana, but it's weak as heck because we only have 3 Magic and that's the strongest we can make it.

Mind affects the strength of psychic powers and psychic resistance. Though there's no mention of a psychic energy we use akin to Mana or Aura, something tells me there is one. So either I have to unlock it, or the System hid it because I don't have any. Or something else.

Inspection is a curious one, and only further pushes that this is a game-like System, even more than the fact that I have an actual freaking Status. It allows me to learn information about items I encounter, with a higher Inspection granting me more information about those items. The System is also very clear that this doesn't work on animals of any form.

Then there's Charm. Looking at the Attribute, I had assumed it's how charismatic we are, but the System proves me wrong. It seems that Charm's sole purpose is to affect discounts we receive from System Shops and how much we get out of selling to the System Shops. Nothing else.

Sitting up, I throw off my covers and grab my phone from my nightstand, Inspecting it. Nothing happens at first, probably because I don't have any Inspection. However, if it can be trained, just as I'm assuming things like Strength, Constitution, and Vitality can be, then I should be able to-there we go!

Attribute Acquired: +1 Inspection Carter Elm's Obsolete Cellphone

Something tells me the "Obsolete" was added in specifically to make sure I know it's not going to work. I still try anyway, just to confirm, and my phone refuses to turn on. I get out of bed, and without putting anything on, walk over to my door and flip the light switch a few times. No lights come on. It seems technology might be out with the arrival of the System. Well, that's going to suck considering we're in summer right now, so it's going to get pretty hot.

Ah. We're also not going to have working toilets shortly. I hurry out of my room and across the hall, not bothering to put on even underwear. I live alone, anyway, so it's not like someone would see me. In the bathroom, I quickly relieve my bladder, then wash my hands using the – quite cold – water.

Once I've dried off my hands, I try to see what else I can pull up, finding a separate spellbook and skillbook, as well as a Quest Menu. There are… more than I expected, but I'm able to filter them out to the ones which interest me.

Quests: 0/1 Active Cast Spells I Secure Supplies I Wizard Apprentice

It does say I can only take on one Quest at a time, but that's fine by me – I can do [Secure Supplies] pretty easily, considering I keep multiple emergency bags ready and that means I'm already most of the way there.

Secure Supplies I Available Rank: 1 Requirements: Create and equip an emergency supply bag. Reward: 5 low-quality mana potions Details: Create an emergency supply bag consisting of: at least 30oz of water, 3 food rations, 1 first aid kit, 1 set of fire-starting equipment, 1 set of clothes, 1 water filtration set, 1 change of clothes, 1 knife, 1 hand towel, and 1 set of soap; equip it after.

Accepting the Quest, I return to my bedroom and kneel in front of the bag kept beside my door, then open it up. While I could just pull it on, I'm going to remove some stuff first. Just in case, I check the flashlight, quartet of walkie-talkies, and the radio inside. None of them work, so I dump them in the small trash can by the door, along with the batteries.

Next, I go through the remaining supplies in it.

I made sure the first-aid kit was current, without anything expired, a week ago. There are also two hard-sided 32oz plastic water bottles, a manual water filter that twists onto them to draw up water out of a water source and filter as it goes through, four replacement filters, and water purification tablets.

On the tools and cleaning front, it's also stocked. Two multi-tools, two pocket knives, two sets of fire-starter flint-and-magnesium blocks, two packs of waterproof matches, two steel whistles, and four throwing knives. As for cleaning items, there's a bar of biodegradable soap, a three-ounce bottle of biodegradable dish soap, and a three-ounce bottle of biodegradable three-in-one body wash, shampoo, and conditioner.

For light sources, I have two six-inch candles, six tapered candles, six votive candles, and two dozen tealights. For the fabric items, there are three hand towels, a change of pants, shorts, underwear, socks, a sleeveless shirt, a short-sleeved shirt, and a long-sleeved shirt.

Finally, the food. Ten granola bars, two packages of beef jerky, a roll of summer sausage, two packages of crackers, trail mix, and several packages of dehydrated fruit.

Well, there's one more thing: a plastic bag filled with cash. Ones, fives, tens, twenties, fifties, and hundreds, ten grand in total. Emergency funds for the emergency bags.

After checking all of this, I pack it all back into the bag. Despite how much that is, it all fits within the heavy-duty, waterproof backpack I got specifically for this. There was even room for the mana potions before I removed items, though that's assuming the potions aren't massive. This whole thing is new, so I don't know yet.

All of my checks finished, I stand. The only thing left for this Quest is to equip the bag. Assuming that just means putting it on, I do so, not bothering to put on clothes. Why would I, when I'm by myself and doing this for a Quest? It's not like I need to be acceptable per society's standards right now.

The moment I finish pulling my backpack on, a message appears in my vision, and at the same time, five small, glass bottles filled with a translucent liquid with a pale blue tint to it appear on the ground.

Quest Completed: Secure Supplies I Reward Granted: 5 low-quality mana potions; +1% Experience

It seems that Quests grant Experience, too, even if it's not listed. It could just be some Quests.

Dismissing the notice, I pull off the backpack, then set it back down as I check my available Quests. There's no [Secure Supplies II], but that probably means I need to do something else before unlocking it. This Quest caught my attention because it was not only something that I have interest in doing, but something I'd basically already done before now.

Judging by the actual Quest itself, along with its reward, I'd say that the System might be trying to help us out in the start. People probably can't make mana potions at the moment, so it's giving some as supplies for those of us who will need it.

Picking one of the bottles up, I inspect it. It's a cylindrical glass bottle that holds about three ounces of liquid, a metal snap-on lid on top. I Inspect it.

Mana potion

Very helpful there.

Picking up the other bottles, I move them onto my desk before looking between the other two Quests. Since it's clear there's magic, I'm interested in learning it. That means I'd be doing both, anyway. Magic's always seemed a pretty awesome thing, even if I'd – apparently mistakenly – believed it wasn't real until now.

Fortunately, the Quests are pretty helpful in knowing what to do, and the [Wizard Apprentice] Quest isn't to become an apprentice to someone who's already a wizard.

Wizard Apprentice Available Rank: 1 Requirements: Earn the [Wizard Apprentice] Trait Reward: 5 low-quality mana potions; 1 Tier I spell scroll Details: The first step of becoming a powerful magician is to first become an apprentice wizard. To do so, you must prove your magical talent and interest by acquiring a total 10 Skill Levels in spells, with only spell Skills reaching Level 2+ counting towards this. Note: You have an affinity for this Quest.

That last line makes the whole thing even more interesting – we can apparently have affinities for certain Quests. I'm assuming that just means we'll have an easier time completing it. I won't accept it just yet, though, since [Cast a Spell I] is something I'll do on the way there.

Traits seem to be pretty useful, too – they give me Attributes every time I gain a Level. Or at least, the only one I have does. It's [Human], and grants me +1 Strength, Constitution, and Agility every Level.

I take a look at the Quest I'm about to do.

Cast a Spell I Available Rank: 1 Requirements: Cast a spell Reward: 5 low-quality mana potions Details: Casting magic is done by exerting your will through your mana, reach for the power within you and manifest your will into power, casting your first spell. Note: You have an affinity for this Quest.

Helpfully, the Quest tells me what I need to do. Since I have 20 Mana – it must be boosted by a hidden Attribute, if it's increased by an Attributed just like Aura is – I have enough for what should be a basic spell.

It's time to work on becoming a wizard. Why do I want to do this right now, instead of spending time on sorting out what's going on beyond just 'there's a fucking game System in place and magic's apparently real'? For two reasons.

First, something tells me that humans aren't the only ones able to use the System – and that there will be monsters coming, too. If it happens now or a week from now, I want to be prepared, and that means knowing ways to defend myself with beyond throwing knives and mild martial arts.

Second, and most importantly, because humans are unpredictable creatures in an entirely predictable way. Some humans will freak out and panic, some will band together, and others? Well, enforcement just became a bit more difficult as people adjust to things.

Some of the more unsavory types of people might go on the prowl, and I want to ensure I can handle myself against them.

Therefore, learning magic to protect myself is a must.