"Aarav… my son… run away… run from here…"
A broken, trembling voice echoed inside the room.
On the bed lay a woman whose face had turned pale, blood slowly dripping from her lips. There was no fear in her eyes—only a mother's helplessness.
With shaking hands, she looked at the five-year-old child standing in front of her.
"Run… Aarav…"
"No, Mom!"
Aarav cried as he rushed to her side.
"I won't go anywhere. You're not well. I won't leave you alone."
He held his mother's cold hand tightly in his small palm.
But then—
Her breathing… stopped.
An eerie silence filled the room.
"Mom…?"
Aarav called softly.
No response.
"Mom, wake up…"
His voice began to tremble.
"Mom, wake up!"
Now he was shouting.
He shook her, cried, screamed—
but that body… was never going to move again.
---
"MOM!!!"
Aarav jolted awake.
His breathing was rapid, his chest rising and falling heavily. His entire body was drenched in sweat. He looked at his hands—these were no longer the hands of a child.
"That dream again…"
he muttered softly.
"Eleven years have passed…"
He closed his eyes while staring at the ceiling.
"But this dream… still won't let me go."
He had just taken a deep breath when—
[DING—!]
Aarav froze.
"This… this sound?"
[System installing…]
[0%… 5%… 10%… 30%…]
"What kind of joke is this?"
Aarav rubbed his eyes.
"I'm awake, right? Or am I still dreaming?"
[80%… 99%… 100%]
[Cloning System activated… System installation complete]
Aarav's mouth fell open. In front of his eyes appeared a transparent screen glowing with blue light. This was no ordinary screen. Ancient-looking symbols, digital data, and faint swirling energy shimmered across it.
The screen floated in the air, as if held by an invisible force. At the top, bold letters read—
[SYSTEM INTERFACE]
"After… after sixteen years?"
A faint light appeared in his eyes.
"So… I finally got a system too."
Sitting upright, he said—
"So, System, tell me about yourself."
"What all can I do with your help?"
His imagination began to run wild—
"Are you a Harem System?"
"Or a Dragon System?"
"An Immortal System?"
"Or at least… make me rich?"
"I mean… can I live for thousands of years now?"
Suddenly—
A cold voice echoed.
[Please wait, Host.]
Aarav stopped.
[The systems you are referring to— I am none of them.]
[And yes— it seems you have read far too many web novels.]
Aarav's expression darkened.
"So… what does that mean?"
[I will not give you a harem.]
[Nor a dragon egg.]
[And I do not guarantee wealth.]
Aarav thought to himself—
Then why did you even come?
The system continued—
[I have only one main ability—
Creating clones.]
"Clones?"
Aarav's eyebrows shot up.
[Yes. You can create clones identical to yourself.]
A moment of silence.
Then—
"So… that means…"
Aarav's eyes widened.
"I'll have countless bodies?"
"And I'll be their master?"
A dangerous smile crept onto his face.
But then—
[HOST!]
The system almost shouted.
[Please listen to everything first.]
Aarav coughed awkwardly.
"Alright… alright… go on."
"But if you crush my expectations, you'll be responsible."
An odd silence spread through the room.
And from this moment—
Aarav's fate began to change.
The system's voice rang out again—
System:
[Host, I can create clones… but I also have limitations. The amount of cultivation power you possess determines how many clones you can create.]
Aarav's face fell instantly.
"Cultivation…?"
He laughed bitterly.
"System… sixteen years ago, when I was born into this cultivation world, I thought I'd become a great cultivator."
"I dreamed of flying through the skies, splitting mountains with a sword, and making people tremble just by hearing my name."
He fell silent.
"But reality?"
"I haven't even managed proper cultivation till today."
His fists clenched tightly.
"Only Body Refinement Level Three."
"No talent, no background… and on top of that, this useless body."
Aarav took a deep breath.
"System… show me my status."
The moment he said it in his mind—
a transparent blue screen appeared before his eyes.
The floating screen shimmered with faint energy, as if driven by some ancient power. At the top, bold letters read—
STATUS WINDOW
Slowly, information began to appear one by one.
---
**[
• STATUS WINDOW •
Name: Aarav Raheja
Age: Sixteen
Cultivation Stage: Body Refinement – Level 3
Root Bone: ? (Damaged – cannot be identified currently)
Bloodline: ? (Extremely faint – almost none)
Points: 0
Skills: 🔒
Inventory: 🔒
]**
---
Aarav stared at the screen for a long moment.
"So I really am… this weak."
A faint sadness appeared on his face.
Then his eyes fell on the glowing icons below.
"Hey, System," he waved his finger in the air,
"what do these Points, Skills, and Inventory icons mean?"
The system replied immediately—
[System Points.
They are an extremely important feature for you.]
Aarav: …
The system continued—
[For ordinary cultivators, increasing strength takes years. With points, you can achieve the same in minutes.]
[Using points, you can:
Increase your cultivation level
Learn new techniques]
Aarav: And how do I collect points?
[Simple. When you cultivate, defeat someone, or kill someone, you gain points.]
[Note— for now, I can only tell you three methods. You must discover the rest yourself.]
Aarav: …
[Skills and Inventory?]
[They are currently locked.]
[You need 1000 points each to unlock them.]
Aarav: …?
.
.
.
Aarav asked his next question—
"System… why does my Root Bone show a '?'"
"And what does 'damaged' mean?"
This time, the system's voice became serious.
[Host, it appears that your Root Bone has been damaged.]
[Due to this damage, its true nature cannot be identified.]
Silence filled the room.
Something stabbed into Aarav's heart.
Aarav thought to himself—
In this world, almost every human has a special "bone" inside their body called a Root Bone. It cannot be seen, but it determines how fast and how far a person can cultivate. Simply put—
the Root Bone is talent itself.
Those with ordinary bones cannot cultivate at all and live normal lives.
The Root Bone determines three main things:
Qi absorption capacity — A good Root Bone allows one to gather more Qi, while a poor one gathers less.
(Note — Qi is the life energy of this world. Everything— mountains, rivers, trees, animals, and humans— contains Qi. But only cultivators can sense, gather, and control it.)
Cultivation speed — Some advance in months, others take years.
Future limit — A weak Root Bone cannot reach higher realms.
Types of Root Bones in this world:
🔹 Ordinary Root Bone — Average talent. Most cultivators have this.
(Note: Ordinary people have no Root Bone at all.)
🔹 Elemental Root Bone — Linked to fire, water, wind, lightning, and other elements.
🔹 High-Grade Root Bone — Extremely rare. Such people become great cultivators.
🔹 Divine Root Bone — Legendary. Known only through myths.
Damaged Root Bone — If someone's Root Bone is deliberately broken or damaged by an accident, their cultivation potential is almost destroyed.
Such a person:
• Cannot absorb Qi properly
• Struggles to level up
• May remain weak for life
This was exactly the condition of my Root Bone.
That's why only "?" appears in front of Root Bone in the system.
"Forget it."
He said to himself.
"Thinking about it will only waste time and mess with my head."
Straightening his back, he said to the system—
"System, we'll deal with all that later."
"Right now, just tell me one thing."
A strange light flickered in his eyes.
"Right now… at this moment…"
"How many clones can I create?"
A brief silence.
Then—
System:
[You are currently at Body Refinement Level 3.]
[Therefore— you can create a maximum of three clones.]
Aarav's eyes widened.
"Three…?"
Then a slow smile spread across his lips.
"So… I won't be alone anymore."
"If hard work is needed…"
"Then three of us will do it together."
He clenched his fist.
"Alright, System…"
"Let's see how far I can go with the help of clones."
A faint energy spread through the room.
And the real game of Aarav's life—
was about to begin.
———