Man Of Systems

Chapter 3: Hospitalised

“What…what the heck is this?” Rael was flabbergasted as he flailed his arms, unable to touch his bed, failing to anchor himself to it.

Floating in the air, with no sense of support was horrifying, especially since he was looking at the coin that had mysteriously appeared before his face.

<Ding!>

[Genetic sequence detected. Familiarity to the genetic sequence of user Stella Rukh: 83%]

[Highest familiarity among humans. Based on the received command, bonding with the user: Rael Rukh]

Suddenly, a light shot into his forehead before the radiance around the coin died down, causing him to relax when his face paled, “No…no! No...argh!”

After the mysterious power vanished, he fell on the bed, grunting in response as the air in his lungs was exhaled forcefully. Gasping for breath, he groaned, slowly stabilising his breathing, getting up after that as he gazed at the coin that had fallen on the bed before him.

“What…is this?” He wondered, hesitating before curiosity got the best of him, gently poking the coin. Nothing happened, causing him to scratch his head, “Strange…just what had happened?”

He then recalled the words uttered by the coin, frowning, “Why did it state my mother’s name?”

He then picked up the coin, observing it, noticing that its appearance resembled copper, plain, lacking any noteworthy detail. As he observed it, an inscription formed on it slowly. It was an outline of his face, surprising him.

After all, he hadn’t ever heard about a material that could capture the face of someone and outline it real-time as an inscription.

“What…are you?” He muttered in confusion when a sound resounded in his ears.

<Ding!>

[I’m the System]

“Oh shit!” Surprised, Rael dropped the coin, watching it fall on the ground before rolling underneath a cupboard.

“System? What’s that?” He frowned, asking while looking around, nervous. But, there was no reply, causing him to wonder as he got on the floor, inserted a piece of wire through the gap below the cupboard, and fished out the coin.

Wiping off the dust on it, he muttered again, “System? What’s that?”

[The System is a military-grade technology developed by the Federation]

“How and why did you come here?” Rael asked, intending to first see what was up with this coin. If it seemed risky, he planned to anonymously mail it to a faraway military base and be done with it.

He had no reason to risk his life. Though, if not for hearing it utter his mother’s name before, he would have already done the same, knowing very well the risks that came with curiosity.

[Before I explain that, let me give you a brief recount]

The voice resounded in his ears, the sound no different from plugging a pair of earphones in his ears.

[As a Second-Tier Race, humanity’s survival in the universe isn’t guaranteed. And even among the Second-Tier Races, humans are the lowest, barely managing to kill a Type-98 Garrack recently. A century ago, we attained the status as a Second-Tier Race when the Federation President back then managed to kill a Type-99 Garrack. But, it was then that they came to a frightening conclusion.]

[This was humanity’s limit. The power of their Plasma couldn’t be upgraded beyond that. So, when the upper echelons of the Federation discussed the issue, one of them proposed to return to their roots for a solution.]

“And what was that?” Rael asked in surprise, deciding to hear the details further. This wasn’t in the textbooks after all.

[Role Playing Games, or RPGs for short. A game in which a player can level up by performing Quests or killing monsters. The Federation wished to make this a reality and break past their limits, hence starting Project System on 3^rd March 2391]

[Fast forwarding to the present, when the project was almost completed, the Garracks managed to get wind of this research and raided the Outpost planet R-43, codenamed Mosaic, destroying everything. In her final moments, your mother, Stella Rukh activated her authority as a senior researcher, using the Master Key to bond with me, commanding me to bond with the human that possesses the closest genetic sequence to her.]

“Wait! Wait! WAIT!” Rael waved his hands in a fluster, his face flushed red as he clenched the hand that held the coin, asking aloud, “What did you say happened to my mother?”

[Let me show them to you]

Saying so, a video was input in his mind. Rael looked around in a fluster, noticing that his body had turned immobile once again, only able to move his head. His surroundings morphed, turning into a research center, with countless humans wearing spacesuits walking around.

Their actions were a bit comical due to the low gravity of the place. But Rael didn’t think much about it, soon focusing on the figure of his mother—Stella Rukh. He also noticed her talking with his father—Ralph Rukh.

When he wished to open his mouth and call for them, he realised that he wasn’t able to do that, only able to watch his surroundings helplessly.

Suddenly, sirens blazed as the researchers ran around in a fluster, activating countless mechanisms as they planned to warp the coin away. Hearing their discussions, Rael understood that he was currently experiencing everything the System had witnessed.

His eyes slowly reddened as he watched the bodies of all the researchers explode, with his parents the only survivors due to their superior strength.

He then observed his father’s body reddening due to radiation poisoning while he rushed to activate the coin as his mother bonded it with her.

‘Noooo! Mom! Dad!’ His body trembled as he watched his mother’s legs give out due to the radiation as she held her jaw to speak, preventing it from falling off as the skin on her face peeled off.

His father used the entirety of his power to shield her from the radiation, dying first. The final scene was of a relieved expression of his mother when the coin warped away from that place.

“Hic…heuk…gaahhh!” The moment the imagery vanished, Rael rushed towards his computer and pulled up the news, confirming that the Outpost had indeed been destroyed, also seeing the names of the deceased, collapsing to the group upon seeing the names of his parents.

“Urrk!” He hadn’t eaten much but still vomited out everything in his stomach, including bile. The sense of loss from the deaths of his parents wasn’t something he could handle, not now, never in the future.

“Dammit! Damn it all!” He gritted his teeth, biting his lips until they bled, unsure as to what he had to do now, suffering from the loss, wrapping the bedsheet around him as he sat in one corner.

His body shivered, feeling as if it had gotten alarmingly cold all of a sudden. Before he realised, he fell unconscious. As for the coin in his hands, it rolled out after some time and slid under the bed.

…

In the morning of the next day, Molla Rukh gazed at the time in habit, frowning as she knocked on Rael’s door, “Rael, it’s getting late for school. Are you planning to skip classes today too?”

After some time passed in such a fashion, she frowned at the lack of reply, “Strange, he’s a light sleeper, even when sick.”

She opened her room, screaming in shock, “Rael! Oh my God! Rael!”

Slumped in the corner of the room was Rael, his body cold, mildly shivering from time to time. Molla quickly inspected him, sighing a little when he was still alive before calling the ambulance, rushing him towards the nearest hospital.

A day later, Rael woke up, feeling weak, looking around to see a dishevelled expression of his aunt that teared up when he woke up.

“You idiot! You scared me!” She hugged him, relieved at the fact that his body was no longer cold, scolding him immediately after, “Why the heck were you sleeping on the floor? Huh?”

At her question, realisation hit him as Rael teared up once again, sobbing as he muttered incoherently, “Mom and dad…in the news…”

‘So, he found out in the end.’ Molla closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath before patting him on the back, consoling him, “You’ll be alright. I’m still here for you.”

“Hic…” Rael cried until he fell asleep.

Molla gently placed him on the bed and sighed in worry, “Sheesh, those careless parents of his. Why the heck did they have to die?”

She scratched her head in irritation, gazing at Rael’s distraught expression as her heart pained. She brushed his hair to the side and sat beside him, holding his hands, noticing them hold tighter instinctively.

Her eyes moistened as she sighed, “This lonely child.”

‘I should treat him better.’

She then noticed the doctor entering the ward, getting up as she asked, “Doctor, how’s his condition?”

“He’s suffering from anaemia. I’ve given him medicine. He should be fine after a couple of days of rest, you can discharge him in the afternoon. Just ensure he doesn’t do any strenuous activities in the meantime.” Saying his piece, the doctor handed Molla a report of Rael’s health. “You can pay his bills now.”

“Yes,” Molla smiled wryly and followed the doctor, heading towards the reception to pay the bills.

A minute after she left, a boy walked in, motioning for the nurse to shut up when she tried to prevent his entry, “If you don’t wish to lose your job, just shut up and act as if nothing happened.”

The nurse looked in fluster, unable to tell anything because the other party was part of the group that owned their hospital. Even the hospital dean dared not go against their wishes, not to mention a nurse like her.

Arriving beside the bed, the boy gazed at Rael’s sleeping face, snorting, “You should have died if you’re this sick. Why are you wasting breathing space?”

“I already feel like shit. I don’t need to stare at another shit now, Carrak.” Rael’s eyes shot open as he spoke in anger, not having the mood for petty squabbles.

“Hoh, seems you’ve returned from the afterlife.” The boy snorted, irritated by Rael’s retort. He then leaned forward, saying with a smile full of ridicule, “Why don’t I do you a favour and send you to accompany your parents? I was pretty shocked when I saw the news.”

He then sported an expression of worry, “I mean, how could they abandon their child and go first? A responsible parent would also take their child with them to the afterlife, right?”

‘This fucking bastard!’ Rael fumed at his words, not having the usual demeanour to hold himself back as he pulled out the saline solution inserted into his hand and plunged the needle into Carrack’s hand, violently, pricking a vein, causing the other party to scream and collapse to the ground.

“Rael! What happened?” Molla rushed in upon hearing the sound, gazing at the figure of Carrack on the ground as she screamed, “Doctor! Someone’s planning to harm my son!”

“What?” Her shout was loud, causing the nearby doctors and nurses to rush in, gazing at the figure of Carrack on the floor.

Most of them didn’t recognise him, “He’s unrelated to the patient. Who the hell allowed unsolicited visitors to enter the patient ward? Security!”

Two security personnel entered and dragged Carrak out. Having never expected Rael to attack him like that, he was still in shock, hence failing to react. The security carried him, dusted him along the way, and gently seated him on a lounge on the ground floor, escaping from the scene immediately after.

Of course, they knew about his identity, not daring enough to detain him.

“You aren’t harmed, right?” Molla asked in worry, inspecting him to see that he was uninjured.

“I’m fine, aunt.” Rael nodded, sighing as he got up, whispering, “Let’s get discharged. That guy’s father is the owner of this hospital. So, it’s safer to leave now.”

‘Besides, I must report at the military base by noon. I can’t miss this chance.’ He thought, firming his decision, ‘I have to get to the bottom of this issue. As for those Garracks…’

He oozed bloodlust, ‘They’ll pay dearly.’