A bunch of other books with different titles piled up next to him. Sitting comfortably, he started to read meticulously. He ingrained every word and diagram to the last detail. Bryan's hypothesis was whether he could learn languages by himself, then splurging all his crypts for the knowledge.

He was dirt poor. He couldn't afford anything else other than the VPN stick and JAVA BASIC. The young man with cold gray eyes focused deeply on the books in front of him. He felt something intangible grow inside each book he finished. After three hours. He finally finished the last book. Just then, a notification appeared in front of him.

JAVA INTERMEDIATE LEARNED. 50 EXP ADDED

He rejoiced as he saw his experience shoot up instantly. The thing Bryan dreaded the most was painstakingly increasing his level. Luckily he found an easier method to level up and improve his coding at the same time! He quickly got up from his seat and walked back to the shelves to pick more advanced books. The library was closing, so he checked the books out and brought them home. He walked straight to his room and shut the door. He sat at his desk and began to read the books thoroughly.

After an unknown amount of time, Bryan closed the last book, sighing heavily. He stared out of his window, the stars twinkled like gems in the black night.

I read all these books multiple times, but I hardly felt anything. This might take months, not to mention applying these skills as well. Well it fits with my work out schedule anyway. If I level up before I go to Great Colows, it would make things much easier.

He thought this as he went downstairs and ate dinner with Lily and Emily. He lied on his bed pondering his previous life, the many questions about the system, and what his future may hold before dozing off.

Six months passed by in a flash. Bryan's monotonous lifestyle kept him busy this whole time. Working out, reading, going to school, and talking to Lily and Emily. During these past six months, the three unknowingly grew closer together. He started to grow fond of Emily and Lily. Although, he thought Lily as his guardian, not a motherly figure, Lily didn't mind. It was better than six months ago, being treated as a total stranger.

“Bryan, wait up! “

Of course, Bryan's life was full of surprises.

A handsome teenager caught the blushes of girls he passed was running towards another person at the school gate. He had brown curly hair, his azure eyes mesmerized anyone who stared long enough. His facial features were soft, as if he was a boy. His body was lean, toned, and slim. A film of sweat covered his forehead when he arrived before the other. He looked at the person before him with a grin.

Contrary to his warm azure eyes, the person before him had silvery gray eyes. Although he wasn't particularly handsome, he exuded a charm which drew people in yet wanting to get away. The young man's somewhat average stature felt like a mountain to others. His body was lean, muscles perfectly placed in every area. His black hair fluttered in the wind as he stared at the handsome man, before speaking to him in a weary tone.

“What do you want, Noah?”

The handsome man pointed his azure eyes at Bryan before breaking out into a wide smile.

“Come on, won't you wait for a friend?” he said as he slung his arm around Bryan's neck

“Since when? I'm waiting for Emily, not you.”

“Haha” Noah laughed awkwardly before moving away, standing next to Bryan as they waited.

Bryan was about to reprimand him once more before spotting Emily along with another girl. Emily hadn't changed much in the past six months other than being slightly more feminine. As she was walking towards the gate, she was happily chatting to a girl next to her.

She had long black hair ending at her waist. Her angular yet rounded face brought a contrast pleasing to the eye. Her pink framed glasses were a window to her bottomless black eyes. The slightly tanned figure brought a unique charm. She was unusually developed for her age.

They soon arrived to where Bryan and Noah were, greeting them casually.

“Hey Bryan, can Elina walk with us? You're bringing Noah anyway, so let's go.” Emily replied before dragging the sweetly smiling Elina outside the school gate.

Noah ran to catch up with them, leaving a young man with cold eyes staring in disbelief.

“I didn't bring him…” He muttered softly.

He shook his head before catching up to the trio and walked back leisurely. After their conversations with each other, they arrived at their usual parting place. Noah and Elina waved goodbye, heading their separate ways. Bryan and Emily walked the opposite direction as them, talking about how their days went and what they talked about with the other two.

Their static conversation was nothing unusual, until they arrived home. Lily had an apron, her face relaxed, as she welcomed them home with a flowery smile. After Bryan somewhat agreed to look after Emily, Lily was a lot less stressed, lifting the weight on her shoulder for years. Bryan also started to act a little warmer towards her, which made her even more happy. Yet the relationship between Bryan and Emily was still estranged, and would be for quite a while. They ate dinner and talked about their days before heading in for the night. Bryan's mind unconsciously started thinking about Noah and Elina as he entered his room.

After the fight with Wayne, everyone stopped bullying him, which made his life convenient. Emily talked to him at school, which encouraged others as well. Slowly but surely, Bryan started to become part of the class. Out of all the people, Noah was the most persistent of the bunch.

He was the son of the police bureau chief of their district. Maybe due to his father's influence, he had a strong sense of justice. When Bryan was fighting Wayne, he wanted to intervene, but Bryan beat them up before he could step in. Bryan knew these types of people very well. Noah commended his bravery and started bugging him all the time. Although quite righteous and handsome, which had girls fawning over him, he was very naïve. Bryan doubted whether Noah stepped out into the real world once in his life.

Elina, however, was quite normal. Too normal. She was the daughter of a rich, influential family in the area, spanning over a century. She was like Mother Mary. Kind to everyone and a holy aura radiated from her constantly. She was beautiful and smart, making her the ideal girl. Emily started to talk to her, now becoming close friends. However, Bryan's intuition pierced through their facade in an instant; something was off. Not necessarily with her character, but with her background. He searched the Salvador family in his spare time. They only owned a couple of smaller companies in the alcohol business and were quite successful. Bryan knew there was something up with her family, but couldn't pinpoint what it was. He could only watch her and prepare for any kind of trouble.

Bryan sat on his bed looking at his status screen.

BRYAN HAYES

LVL 2

50/200 EXP

CODEX:

Over the past half a year, Bryan managed to get mastery of JAVA, which was fantastic for him. However, looking back, he gnashed his teeth in irritation recalling what happened.

***

4 Months Ago...

DING!

A notification sounded as he read the last of the mountain of books stacked in front of him.

JAVA MSTR LEARNED +75 EXP

YOU HAVE LEVELED UP

STATUS UPDATED

The library was silent until the notification sounded. Bryan sighed in relief when he heard the familar ring. He had read and practicing his coding for months on end. He was about to lose his mind when a notification finally sounded. Bryan was not like those insane main characters who practiced diligently non stop with absolute focus.

He had a life.

After heard the long-awaited sound, he packed up everything, returning it to the front counter. He quickly ran back home and sat at his desk in a flurry. He opened his status window once again.

BRYAN HAYES

LVL 2

50/200 EXP

CODEX:

His expression turned strange as he read the new category on the bottom.

What's a codex? Also where's Java? I don't see it.

Just as he started to worry, a new screen popped up in front of him

Congratulations for leveling up! You know the bare minimum knowledge required to unlock the CODEX. The CODEX has various technological skills and languages which are otherworldly. No other languages and skills can be learned elsewhere other than the CODEX. Go to the CODEX tab to see a list of skills and languages available.

"..."

Bryan was speechless. Anger suddenly started to fill his entire being knowing the past three months was just a prerequisite for something more. Suppressing the outburst, he clicked the CODEX tab.

CODEX:

ACCESS DENIED

ACCESS DENIED

ACCESS DENIED

...

..

The whole page was blotted out, only a glitched text in red appeared in its place. His mouth gaped as he saw everything was unavailable. He scrolled through to the very bottom until he found something different from the rest.

VIRXS: ALLOWS HACKER TO CREATE UNIQUE VIRUSES. THEY CAN COMPROMISE MACHINES OR DESTROY THEM. AS THE MASTERY INCREASES, THE FASTER COMPLEX MACHINES CAN BE INFILTRATED. - LVL 2 AND 200 CRYPTS

Bryan's eyebrow twitched when he saw the only available item. He rage started to bubble once again seeing what was in front of him.

Not only does this bullshit system tell me my past four months were just to meet the standard, it restricted ninety-nine percent of the things in the codex. The only thing in the codex I can see costs an arm and a leg!

Bryan couldn't take it and started to destroy almost everything in his room. After the continuous racket he made, Emily and Lily woke up. He tried to convince Emily and Lily for a long time he was practicing some martial arts. Seeing his bloodshot eyes and his completely destroyed room, his excuses didn't convince them at all. Lily scolded Bryan for thirty minutes about the mess he made and to control his anger. Emily hid behind the door giggling at him which infuriated Bryan even more.

***

Present Day.

Bryan cursed the system a million times in his head before scrolling to the last panel in the codex. He clicked VIRXS and bought it. After a couple of beats, nothing happened. He was about to curse the system's ancestors next when he heard a loud noise.

THUD!

He turned towards the source, only to find a thick book on his desk. Stunned, he got up and walked towards it, picking it up. The thick book was very heavy. The rough leather cover showed signs of decay, the yellow pages smelled rich of dust. Judging from the material, it was quite old. The symbol on the front of the cover depicted a nine headed dragon each showing a different expression. The nine heads showed love, joy, sadness, anger, courage, fear, disgust, wonder, and peace as they all stared into different directions. Bryan remembered what they called such a creäture.

Hydra. Why is this symbol on this book though? Maybe it's the sybol of the system?

Numerous questions started to pop up in Bryan's head as he gazed at the symbol in a trance. After an hour, Bryan decided to not think about it as he didn't have an answer the plethora of questions plaguing his mind constantly about the book, his situation, and the system. He shook his head getting rid of his unnecessary thoughts as he started to read the ancient looking book in his hand.