"Hey, where do you think you're going?" the fatty said as he blocked Abel with his big body.
"What do you guys want? I don't think I've ever had a problem with you before," he said suspiciously.
The fat boy laughed, and the other boys sneered. There were about seven of them, including the fat one. They all had wicked smiles on their faces as they surrounded him.
"You're a swine lusting after a goose," a brawny guy among the group sneered.
Abel stared at them warily, ready to take action at any time.
"Enough talking, brothers, let's take action," the fat guy called out.
Before Abel could react, they pounced on him and started beating him up. Abel winced as he curled up, trying to defend against the blows.
The hits were relentless. It looked like they genuinely wanted to kill him. Abel was alarmed—if he died here, no one would care. He thought of his father, who had doted on him and used all their money to send him to school. Even though he was drunk most of the times and wasn't really serious about life. He was still a good father and he didn't want to leave him yet.
"Am I going to die like this?" he thought.
Soon, he started losing consciousness.
The boys finally stopped when they saw the pitiful state he was in—curled up, bruises all over. They grinned in satisfaction.
"Serves you right. Next time, don't try to get close to our school belle, Anna. You're not worthy of her. Next time, we might just toss you into the river," the fat guy warned.
Abel spurted out a huge amount of blood. So all this... was over a girl? What's happening to the world? Are boys these days really this stupid?
His consciousness began slipping away. Abel knew this might be the end for him, no matter how unwilling he felt.
Just then, a voice rang in his head.
"Ding!! Congratulations on receiving the Super Versatile System. From now on, you are bound to do great things!"
The voice was robotic, echoing directly in his mind.
Abel thought he was hallucinating. He had read about systems in novels and always found it a funny concept. He had fantasized about having one just like the male leads in those popular stories. A part of him was excited... but he figured he was probably just imagining things. How could there be a system in the real world?
"System, if you really exist... I don't think there's any need to bind with me. I might not survive this," he muttered.
He thought he was going crazy, talking to himself—until the system replied.
"The system has a gift for you: Rank One Revival Potion."
Ding! Host seems to be in critical condition. Does the host want to use the Rank One Revival Potion?
"Yes!" Abel blurted out without even thinking.
Immediately, he felt his body heating up. It was like hot liquid flowing through his veins—soothing, comforting. Wherever it passed, it eased the pain.
Soon, he was completely healed.
Abel stood up. Except for his scrawny clothes, there was no sign that he had just been beaten half to death.
He didn't stay to think too much. Instead, he left the alley where he'd been attacked and headed home. He still couldn't wrap his mind around what had happened, but one thing was sure—
Abel's house was a few streets away. After about ten minutes of walking, he arrived. There was an uncle nearby selling instant noodles and buns with soy milk. The man waved at him.
"Little Abel, you're back?"
"Yes, Uncle Farouk."
The man, Farouk, gave a strange smile. "Come on, have some soy milk and buns."
Abel ignored him and headed to a nearby house—a two-story building with slightly faded paint. Outside, the landlady—a very beautiful woman in her late thirties—stood smoking a cigarette. She took a puff and tilted her head, clearly enjoying it.
Her eyes caught sight of Abel, and she frowned. "Little Abel, have you paid your rent?"
Abel ignored her. She already knew the answer. He decided to frustrate her a bit.
"I'm not sure, landlady. I think I remember paying you, but I'm not sure if it was for last month," he replied.
Her mouth twitched.
"Do you really want to play this game?" she asked in a dangerous tone.
Abel knew her well enough. He knew it's time to quit the act.
"How can I dare anger my beautiful landlady? I was just joking—I'll pay up tomorrow," he said quickly.
The landlady smiled when he called her beautiful and nodded.
"Smelly brat. Make sure you pay up, do you hear? I know you can't pay tomorrow, so I'm giving you three more days. If you can't, then pack out of my house."
She turned and continued smoking.
Abel shook his head and hurried upstairs to the first floor. His apartment wasn't large—just a one-room space. He stepped in and immediately pulled his shirt off in front of the mirror.
His eyes widened. There were no bruises.
"So it's real?" he thought. "System Where are you?"
Suddenly, a white interface appeared in his mind, making him jump.
"Welcome, Host. You haven't signed into the system today. You have a free daily Silver Lottery spin."
"I want to sign in. How do I do that?" he asked, still in awe.
"Host has successfully signed in. Host has received twenty million credits as a sign-in reward."
"What?!"
He thought it was a joke—until his phone buzzed.
You have received 20,000,000 credits from Merchant Bank.
"So it's true..."
He browsed the system. It was divided into three main parts: Store, Abilities, and a huge Lottery Wheel. There was also a mission tab by the side but it was currently empty.
"System, can I use the Silver Lottery?"
The wheel started spinning immediately. It had all kinds of strange items he didn't recognize. When it stopped, the system displayed the result:
"Charm Potion – increases Host's charm."
"System, use it!" he shouted.
He felt a weird sensation all over. Walking to the mirror, he couldn't tell exactly what changed—but somehow, he looked more pleasing to the eye.
Excited, he quickly navigated to the abilities interface. Surprisingly, there were several categories:
Martial Abilities, Supernatural Abilities, Academics, Talents, and Skills.
He browsed through them, blown away. There were so many skills and abilities—but he couldn't access most of them yet. They needed points to unlock.
"How do I gain points system?"
(Points are earned by stirring emotions, be it through action, speech, or unseen influence. Also, by fighting powerful people and completing system missions.)
"So I have to be famous? But I don't want to be a celebrity... Oh, right. I can fight. But what does the system mean by 'powerful people'? Hmm... that could work."
The next day, Abel woke up in high spirits. He got ready for school and went to Uncle Farouk's stall for breakfast. It was his daily routine.
Usually, it was steamed buns with soy milk or instant noodles.
When Uncle Farouk saw him, he grinned. "Little Abel, you're early today. Let me guess—steamed buns and soy milk?"
Abel frowned. Now that he was rich, did he still need to eat like before?
"Meat fusion noodles," he answered.
Mr. Farouk looked at him like he was seeing a ghost. Abel muttered, "Was I that poor before?" Sure he was, he used to only eat instant noodles without any meat.
Soon, Mr. Farouk brought out the noodles—stir-fried with vegetables and meat. Abel happily devoured it. He didn't often get to eat meat like this.
After the meal, he paid—and even gave Mr. Farouk a tip, shocking the man.
Soon after, he arrived at Westlake City High School. The place was large, with massive buildings. Abel looked around and sighed. For some reason, it felt like it was his first time here. He couldn't explain the feeling.
He crossed the big gate boldly labeled: WELCOME TO WESTLAKE CITY HIGH
A group of boys was huddled a short distance away. When they spotted Abel, a hush fell over them.
"Isn't that Abel? I thought we dealt with him yesterday... why does he look fine?" one of them said.
The others looked confused and stunned.
Abel walked past them without even sparing a glance.
[Ding!!! Host has received ten system points.]
Abel smiled. So this is how it works... I think I need to do something big today to earn more points.
He looked at one of the skills in the ability tab:
Basic Combat Ability: Can easily fight off five grown men. (Note: If Host unlocks Basic Physique, Host can easily fight off ten grown men.)
Abel's face lit up as he looked at the skills.