Norlan had been in the hospital for hours without a wink of sleep.
Not that sleep was even an option after men in tuxedos flashed a light into his eyes while casually offering to put him out of his misery.
So he endured.
Lying stiff on the bed, unable to move properly, Norlan stared at the translucent interface hovering above him, trying to squeeze answers out of the few lines it was willing to show. Questions piled up in his mind, yet the system returned almost nothing.
SYSTEM STATUS:
Name : Territory Expansion with my Harem System.
Rank: Sovereign [ Error ] [ Functionality too low]
Functionality:[ 1.2% ]
Features :[ error ] [ functionality too low]
HOST STATUS.
Name - Norlan Aurelius Grimblade
Age - 19
Race - Human
Cultivation - Mortal
Class - N/A
Subclass - N/A
Expression - N/A
STATS
Strength - 4
Constitution - 4
Vitality - 1
Dexterity - 4
Speed - 4
Intelligence - 8
Will -8
Free points - 0
System points - 0
Main Quest [ Error]
Ding! [ System functionality is too low]
Side Quest [ Start your Harem! System will inform you of Suitable Candidates]
Reward [ Opening of the skill tree ]
Emergency Quest ! [ Absorb a system to increase functionality]
Reward [ Increase in functionality, absorb a system feature of absorbed System]
Norlan went through the system and host status, analyzing every bit of information he could see. He was drawing various conclusions with every parting seconds as he rearranged them for testing when he could fucking move!
Territory Expansion with my Harem System!
Well, that about said it all.
One of the conclusions he came up with was concerning the Error layed out in the main quest. From the name territory Expansion, he guessed that the main quest would most likely to actually own land. Or maybe inherit land? Or maybe it was just another lewd quest that would give him a plot of land to expand.
His money was on the first guess. Mostly due to the side Quest.
Side Quest [ Start your Harem! System will inform you of Suitable Candidates]
Reward [ Opening of the skill tree ]
His final conclusions was that this system of his was divided into the territory Expansion part and the harem part.
A fair deduction for someone with eight points in intelligence, if he said so himself.
His mood soured when his eyes drifted back to his stats.
I mean he could understand why his vitality was so low, given his current situation but, what's up with his speed, dexterity, constitution and strength? 4 points? ' 4 poins-out of what?' he asked the system.
Ding!
[ Stats are assigned with the measure of an average adult human. The scale is out of ten.]
'4/10? Jeez system! Way to make me feel better '
'Doesnt that mean am below average?'
Ding!
[Current stats reflect your health. If your vitality increases, your other stats will get back to normal]
'Doesn't that mean a healthy man has a vitality of 10'
[ That is correct ]
'What about my class and Sub-class? How do I get one of those?'
[Does host wish to unlock a class?]
'just tell me how to unlock them! Do I look like am in a position to do anything to you?'
Ding!
[ I don't like your tone!]
Ding!
[ Do you have to ask every little bit?]
Ding!
[Your rewards are up to me. Remember that!]
Norlan was dumbfounded. Was..was his system showing an attitude? Was this displeasure he sensed?
Norlan froze.
"…Did my system just threaten me?"
Cold dread seeped in.
"Oh shit. My rewards! "
Norlan took a deep breath, calming himself and reorganizing his thoughts. He asked, his normal haughty disposition gone from his face. Replaced by a fawning apologetic expression.
'My dear system, my darling system could you at least complile all things I need to know into a folder I can browse on the interface?'
Silence.
Norlan waited, then a folder appeared on the translucent interface.
The system seemed pleased by his change of tone, he deliberated, clearly evident by the lack of the Ding!
[At least you're barely pleasing to the ear. A folder will be displayed after synchronizing all foundational data. Time remaining - 59 seconds]
Norlan waited patiently. Then he couldn't help but gasp. The folder was too damn much, about 5000 pages just explaing random stuff.
The bastard system definitely held grudges.
It literally explained all the stats. For example, it stated that constitution was a composite stat, housing endurance, stamina and defense. It also explained how dexterity pertained to agility, reaction speed and precision.
The thing was just too damn long! And even though it contained detailed unnecessary explainations of every single thing, Norlan read it all. Who could blame him? He was just a 19 year old who was almost put out of his misery of the whims of strangers. He couldn't sleep and the system was definitely a lifeline he would clutch and milk everything it had to offer
Half way through the folder though, he finally found something he was genuinely curious about, something that made his heart pound.
A comprehensive report on the cultivation realms, how to break though each realm, hidden dangers etc.
He looked out at the stated realms:
Mortal
Awakened Mortals
Awakened master
Awakened grandmaster
Awakened supreme
Sovereign
Saint
Sacred realm
Divine/ God realm
Norlan gulped..his throat went dry.
"…Sovereign," he whispered.
That was the rank his system claimed to be,while barely functioning.
And above it?
Saints. Sacred beings. Gods!
For the first time since waking up in this hospital bed, Norlan felt something deeper than fear or confusion.
He felt ambition ignite. His hands clenched, moving for the first time ever since he was admitted to this ward.
"If that's the peak…" he murmured, his eyes gleaming faintly, "…then this system didn't pick the wrong host."
Fire danced in his ambitious eyes for the briefest of moments, before being put out by reason and questions.
"System, since your rank is Sovereign, does that mean you'll only take me to the Sovereign rank?"
[ The Sovereign rank is the maximum rank allowed by the Tower of providence celestial. Also if you could just have read the damn folder, you would clearly understand that a sovereign can do almost anything that a system can do!]
Norlan contemplated on what the system conveyed, holding his inner urge to ask what the Tower of providence celestial was? but then decided to continue reading the folder.
Lest this damn system gets annoyed.