Master of the System

Howard received his reward from the headmaster, bowing his head as he accepted the box of pills and golden medallion. As the first person to pass the entrance exam, this was his right—even if he did have a little mishap with the door. He was given a universe pill and a great scholar medallion along with the standard thirty spirit-gathering pills that were distributed to everyone in the top ten. The headmaster placed his aged hand on Howard’s shoulder. “Work hard.”

Howard nodded an bowed his head even lower. This was the first step to his rise to greatness. When the headmaster’s body stopped blocking the light, Howard glanced at the other two people standing on the stage with him. The second-place student was a girl, the one who had ridden the ostrich. The testing formation outside didn’t only gauge one’s endurance. As long as their willpower was high enough, they would instantly pass the test. If it weren’t for that, Howard would’ve had to make do with second place. As for the third-place contestant…, Howard wasn’t quite sure what to think about … him? Her? It? Simply put, the third-place student was a spiritually enlightened cactus. It was a tall cactus with a long torso, stubby green cactus legs, and stubby green cactus arms. In the middle of its body, where a human’s stomach would be, there was a face made of knots and gouges.

Howard noticed the headmaster had touched every student’s shoulder except for the cactus’. For a brief moment, Howard felt sorry for the cactus, but then he realized the cactus probably didn’t care. Spiritually enlightened plants didn’t care much for companionship, love, attention, or feelings; they didn’t have pride or greed. All they wanted was spiritual energy, sunlight, and water. However, Howard thought he saw something in the cactus’ expression, but he couldn’t be sure. The plant’s face wasn’t very expressive. Howard turned his attention away from the cactus. He wasn’t concerned about it. His greatest rival should be the girl who was in second place. She was staring off into space, and it made Howard wonder if she also saw floating lines of text in her vision. Speaking of which, the floating text was telling him to do something strange.

[New Mission: Building Connections!]

[What is a great student? A student who spends all his time alone in the library? A student who aces every exam? No! A great student is one who builds lots of connections whilst in school! There are only so many things a single person can achieve by themselves, and they’ll find it impossible to do certain things without the help of others. As a student attending the greatest academy in the world, your current peers are bound to be future leaders of the world, moving mountains and splitting seas with one command. Having these people as your allies will help you accomplish difficult tasks with twice the result and half the effort. Before the week is over, become someone’s sworn brother!]

[Reward: Eidetic Memory]

Howard’s brow furrowed. Could something like eidetic memory even be given as a reward? Who wouldn’t want the ability to remember everything they saw simply by glancing at it once? What exactly was this system that he had encountered?

[You can doubt your own eyes and ears, but you shouldn’t doubt the system! Giving you eidetic memory is simply the first step, a minor reward.]

Really? Howard raised his eyebrows. What other rewards did the system have?

[User level too low! Please become a better student to unlock more information about the system.]

Howard’s expression darkened. When he was about to question the system some more, the girl beside him shuffled away. He turned his head to look at her, but she was staring at him as if he were mentally troubled. What was going on?

[Your expression changed three times in the span of five seconds. It’d be weird if someone didn’t think you had a problem. If you’re thinking of making that girl your sworn sister, I suggest you look elsewhere to accomplish your mission. The first impression you gave her is simply too strong. From now on, she’ll only see you as the weirdo until you do something major to change her perception.]

Howard turned his head away. It wasn’t like he was planning on becoming sworn brother and sister with his greatest rival. He would use her as a whetstone, a motivational tool to keep training. If he ever slacked, then she’d surpass him, and he wouldn’t allow that to happen. He had to be the best!

[Being the best doesn’t mean anything! Hurry up and search for someone worthy of being your sworn brother!]

“Dismissed!”

Howard raised his head. It was the end of the entrance ceremony. He had been distracted for most of it thanks to the system messages in his eyes, but they were unimportant anyway. What was important was going to the library to choose a new cultivation method. As new students, they were given a chance to enter the first floor of the academy’s library for one hour. It was said that the library contained every book in the world and was humanity’s greatest source of knowledge. If one could memorize every book inside, then all of human knowledge would be at their fingertips. The first floor might’ve only held some unimportant cultivation methods, but to Howard, those unimportant cultivation methods were things that could change the course of his life. Without bothering to get to know his fellow students, Howard rushed towards the library. There was a map of the academy near the entrance, and he had memorized it long ago.

[Student! Please don’t ignore the system’s advice. Connections are more important than cultivation methods. The system can provide you with many ways to become stronger, but it can’t give you any friends!]

Peh! On the path of cultivation, who needed friends? When he became an immortal, who knew how many of his friends would’ve long turned to dust? Clearly, it was much better to become stronger first and make friends later. Howard went into the library, determined to pick the strongest cultivation technique that would change his life!

[Student, if you obtain a sworn sibling, you’ll be given an eidetic memory. Won’t you be able to memorize all the cultivation techniques in the library that you want that way?]

***

Pravos stared at her computer screen with a blank expression. The cord at the back of the computer was connected to the microwave. She glanced to the side, and Azalea raised her head, meeting Pravos’ gaze. “What is it?” Azalea asked.

Pravos bit her lower lip. “Do you want to trade users?”

“No, I’m good, thanks,” Azalea said, turning her attention back onto her computer. “Why don’t you just uninstall the system from Howard and replace him? Clearly, his brain is made of muscles.”

“But his potential is the highest out of everyone there….”

“It doesn’t matter how good someone’s potential is if they’re a moron,” Azalea said. She gestured towards herself. “Look at me. I was supposed to reach the nascent-soul stage and slowly pass away, but I’m a god now thanks to my ability of being able to read the room.”

Pravos furrowed her brow and leaned over, peeking at Azalea’s screen. “Is that why you chose the cactus to be your user? I didn’t think it was that smart.”

“No,” Azalea said, her expression darkening. “This cactus is a moron. I don’t think it even knows how to read.”

Pravos let out a sad chuckle. “I guess we’re both pretty bad at picking users, huh?”

Azalea glanced at Pravos from the corner of her eyes. Azalea was just testing out the system, using the cactus as a practice user. However, she didn’t think it’d be right to refute Pravos now. The god of justice looked so down; Azalea couldn’t help but feel a little bad for her. “Yeah…, well…, yeah. I guess.”