'What do you mean by system? Like a video game? How is this even possible?' 

Everything about Hadeons words seemed completely insane. A system? Those were things of fiction, little screens created for video games and moreover they just wouldn't work in real life. 

Humans don't have 'stats', we have genuine physical and mental capabilities. Lifting a heavy weight doesn't give you +1 strength, it rips your muscle fibres, so that they grow and reattach stronger than before. 

'Will you, just once, let me explain without completely losing your shit? The system you're seeing doesn't work exactly how you think it does in video games. Almost every capability and power granted by the system is something you can do or will be able to do. 

How it works is once you reach a certain level as you'd say or a certain amount of stat points, you'll be able to perform the ability. As for levels and stat points, those are a measure of your power. If we were to put it into perspective, you are completely weak and have little to no control over your ability, so you're level 1. Now as for me, I'd say I'm a humble level 60.'

 He responded, his voice becoming more prideful as he spoke. 

Yeah, real humble.

'You're really not that great at explaining, are you? But, I guess it does kinda make sense. So how does it work, do I just talk to you whenever I want to access it?' 

While looking at the blue system screen in front of me, I could see that it really did look just like any ordinary screen you'd see in your average MMORPG games, but the only difference would be that the one situated in front of me was a lot more real. 

'You could be right. Just try it out for yourself then, start by saying stats.' Hadeon responded, for once sounding genuine. 

It does seem kind of fun if I'm being honest. 

"Stats." 

Hearing the word come out of my mouth made me want to die of embarrassment, but after remembering what dying really felt like, I quickly threw away that thought.

Upon hearing the word, the screen in front of me quickly changed to display a list of information. 

< Damon Ewell > 

< Race:? >

<HP: 15/15>

< Strength: 5 >

< Agility: 5 >

< Stamina: 5 >

< Intelligence: 5>

< Endurance: 5 >

< Current abilities: None > 

< Main Quest - Side Quests - Daily Quest > 

Immediately to my disappointment, the question mark next to the race box proved that what I currently am, is completely unknown. For a minute, it did feel as though this was just Hadeon trying to keep up his fake mysterious vibe, telling me that I'll know what I need to know when I'm ready.

 But at the same time, it did truly seem as though he had no clue either. 

My stats showed to be an even bigger disappointment. Physically, my body was definitely subpar, so that wasn't a big deal to me. However, what did cause me a little bit of sadness, was the fact that the intelligence stat displayed a nice little 4 right next to it. 

I don't try academically very often, but I know I'm not stupid 

'So are you going to explain the stats to me, or is this just a guessing game?' I asked, still staring at the screen. 

Usually, the stats you'd have in a video game were fairly straightforward. You increase your strength, you hit harder, you increase your agility, you run faster. And while I could assume that it was the same for my system, I wasn't going to take any chances.

'Why? You can just ask the system directly.' Hadeon responded, annoyed as if my questions were somehow unreasonable or just plain stupid. 

'Is this like some roleplay fantasy for you? You created the system, so doesn't that technically make you the system?' 

For some reason, Hadeon didn't immediately respond. His silence ignited a feeling of worry inside me. So far my knowledge about Hadeon wasn't very profound, actually, it would be more than fair to say I knew nothing about him, but what I did know was that when he took his time to answer me, he was hiding something. 

'I guess I should have been a bit more honest with you. In full truth, it's not technically correct to say I 'made' the system you see in front of you. Wait, calm down, before you start whining again let me explain myself.' He finished, accurately assuming that I was fully ready to yell at him for lying. 

Which wasn't something I understood. There was no real reason to be mad at him, it had only been what? 5 minutes since he told me? Nothing bad happened to me, nor would it have happened had he never told me, and there was nothing wrong with him taking credit for it. But for some reason, I was so quick to anger, and fully driven by my emotions. 

'First, there's something I need you to understand before I explain the system, and that is as I said before Damon, there are a lot of things you don't know about me, and even about you, but the problem is that I can't tell you anything until you're ready. And I don't say this as an excuse, or to build a relationship based on lies, but you truly are not ready. But do know, that as soon as you are, I will tell you everything. Do you understand?' 

The room remained silent, and no words were spoken. From his tone and the way he didn't try to slip in any stupid joke, it was a fair assumption to say that Hadeon truly wasn't lying. I was never the nosy type, not only because there was no real reason for me to care about other people's lives, but also because there was nothing about other people that interested me enough to make an effort to find out more about them. 

But at the moment, there was nothing I wanted to do more than yell and flail around and then start throwing a tantrum like a baby until Hadeon finally unzipped his mouth and told me everything he hadn't already. Of course, that wasn't a feasible option whatsoever. 

For a multitude of reasons, the most prominent being the sole fact that no matter how he did it, Hadeon had saved my life, I had to trust him. 

And though I wasn't exactly grateful or happy with the way my life was currently, at the end of the day I wasn't quite ready to pass on and leave behind only my regrets.

So no answer was given back to Hadeon, but we both knew the silence meant I was finally fully ready to listen and follow Hadeon blindly until I was 'ready', but the feeling of being kept in the dark still weighed on my mind heavily. 

'Alright then. Let me start from the beginning, and this time I'll try to be a bit more honest with you. The system is not something I came up with as a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. Nor was my choosing of you as my … vessel you could say.

 My background and all the other specifics aren't important as of now, but just know that you're more special than you think.' 

He paused once again, expecting a response from me, but I kept silent. It finally hit me that there was no point in trying to question Hadeon further, as every time he would just respond with the same thing. So I decided that hearing him out fully and then trying to figure everything out in my head was the better idea. 

'The system was not created by me, but I did take part in it. Therefore I can explain a few things, mainly stuff pertaining to the powers you'll receive from me, but as for the rest of its functions and capabilities, it's best you ask it yourself. Go on try it, simply ask it to explain your stats.' 

'Wait hold on, so everything you told me about the system before, was it all untrue? Do my stats not rise naturally?' I asked, a tad bit confused. 

'Yeah I was just kind of making stuff up, I have no idea how it actually works. However, they do rise naturally, but there are other ways. Now just do what I said.' He responded, his tone becoming a bit more relaxed.

I took note of how Hadeon worded his previous sentences, and how he said 'the powers you'll receive from me' indicating that, that wouldn't be the end of what I'd be receiving, I pushed the thoughts into a little vault in my head for later, before trying out what he had told me to do. 

"Explain my stats", the embarrassment from speaking to a nontangible game screen was wiped away as my words were met with a robotic voice sounding out inside my ears. 

[As you wish. Your HP, or hit points, is an indicator of how many times you can be hit before either passing out or dying. Strength displays how much physical force you can output. Agility and stamina are intertwined, your agility is how fast you can move as a whole, both running and walking, and stamina is how long you can maintain both forms of movement before having to take a break to recharge. Stamina is also linked to all other stats in the same way, as soon as your stamina hits 0, you won't be able to even move. 

Intelligence is something that shows up as a factor in many things. Your intelligence, of course, means just how smart you are, but also your ability to learn new things, your ability to adapt to new situations, and your efficiency in using your abilities. Finally, your endurance acts as a shield. The more endurance you have, the more hits you can take before your HP begins to go down. All stats are scaled to be relative to the stats of the strongest members of your race.']

The system spoke with the mannerisms of a human, but the robotic voice shut down any further suspicions. It all made sense, and it was pretty similar to a game system which was reassuring in the fact that I wouldn't have all that much difficulty when using it. What did pique my interest, however, was the last sentence spoken by the system. 

'Hadeon, is there a limit to how many questions I can ask?' 

He did tell me that he didn't know much about the system, but if he was telling the truth when he said he helped in the making of it, then he should at least know about the basics. 

'To my knowledge, it's the same as me. It'll tell you as much as it can, but it won't reveal anything that it shouldn't. Also, you are aware you don't have to speak it out loud right? It's inside you as well.' He responded as if I was the stupid one for just assuming that it would only work if I spoke to it out loud. 

Expecting disappointment, I followed up with my next question, trying to find a loophole in my wording. 

'Whose stats do mine scale off of?'

 Should the system respond with a name, I probably wouldn't know it, but if it could tell me something like that then it would have no problem in telling me what I really wanted to know. 

[The strongest members of your race.] 

The response was vague, but seeing as it didn't completely shoot down the question, I changed the wording and asked again. 

'Who are the strongest members of my race' 

[The ones that are stronger than others.] 

Growing a little bit irritated, I decided to change my approach entirely. 

'What race am I a part of now?'

[Damon Ewell, race is displayed as ?] 

Though it didn't finish the sentence, I could tell full well that no matter how I asked the question, I would receive the same answer. My disappointment grew and was quickly replacing my previous rush of energy.

 Finally, I decided to ask more about the system itself. 

'Explain all the functions of the system' I spoke up, defeated. 

[The functions currently available to you are Stats, Storage, Inspect, Daily, Side, and Main quests. Stats have been explained, would you like them re-explained?] 

'No.' 

[Storage, the system storage is a dimensional pocket in which the user may place any nonliving matter, the current capacity is 25 objects. The inspect functions when used will cause a smaller pop-up screen to appear, in which a description and other information of whatever is being inspected will be shown. Inspect level is currently 1. Daily quests are quests given daily by the system, the quests are recommended for the user, as at your current level, as they have no penalty for failure and offer an adequate amount of exp. 

Main quests are crucial quests that must be completed when given, otherwise the user will suffer a penalty. These quests are vital in the growth of the user. Finally, side quests are not recommended, and should only be accepted if the user feels themselves to be more than capable. The penalty for both the main quests and side quests are equally severe. Do you want me to re-explain?] 

'No that's enough, thank you.' 

[Your praise is unwarranted.] 

For some reason, the system seemed to have two distinct voices. When it was explaining something major, its voice resembled that of a normal person. But when it gave shorter responses, it seemed to be much more robotic. Its voice never actually changed, but it was as if I had two different systems. 

I plopped back down onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. In my first moment of full silence since waking up, I finally took a second to take in everything I'd heard thus far. 

Raising my hand up, and switching between a fist and an open palm, I observed my arm closely. Everything about me still looked human, but I knew that wasn't the case. I would never be the same person I once was, and Hadeon as well as the system would be a constant reminder of that. 

My previous dreams of living a quiet life as a retail worker were crushed, and now my entire life was thrown down a spiral. It was fair to say that my life had done a full 180 from how it was before, and now my future was out of my hands. 

Whatever challenges or obstacles I would face from this point on would be out of my control, and I would have no option to not face them head-on. 

The only thing I could control was how prepared I was to take on whatever was thrown at me. 

< Main Quest Added> 

< Reach Level 10> 

< Requirements: Level 10>

< Rewards: ??? >

<Penalty: ??? > 

"Let's get started then."