Ethan Carter sat in the western-style restaurant, his simple outfit making him look completely out of place in the polished setting. But he wasn’t alone. Across from him sat a girl dressed fashionably, her light makeup adding a touch of maturity to her already pretty features.

Ethan kept his gaze on her, but his chest tightened as he took in the unfamiliar vibe she gave off now. He said nothing, just picked up his glass of wine and downed it in one gulp.

Sophia Collins felt a bit guilty, but the moment she thought of Ethan’s background and the man she met over the summer—the one with the BMW—that guilt vanished without a trace.

"Ethan, I asked you here today because I’ve got something to tell you," she said, cutting into her steak, her tone irritated.

Ethan took a slow breath, forcing a smile. “Go ahead. What is it?”

“We should break up.” The words left Sophia’s mouth suddenly, like a dam that finally burst. She’d been wanting to say it for a while. It felt like a weight had been lifted, and the relief in her chest pushed away the last bit of unease.

Ethan responded with a faint smile. “Got it. Guess that BMW guy’s been waiting outside long enough. Don’t keep him hanging.”

He didn’t know how he walked out of there. No idea where his legs were even taking him. He just wandered aimlessly, numb like a ghost.

Two months ago, right before summer break, Sophia had told Ethan she was heading to the city to work a part-time job. But once she got there, she started drifting away—barely answering texts, ignoring calls.

Ethan wasn’t stupid. Something felt off, and he knew it. So before today’s meet-up, he’d already guessed what was coming. Still, hearing the words “we should break up” from her lips hit him like a punch to the gut.

Without realizing it, Ethan ended up back at his rundown apartment complex. He climbed the stairs, unlocked the door, and dropped into his tiny room. The computer was still on. As he moved closer, he accidentally kicked over a kettle. Scalding water splashed onto the nearby power strip. A jolt ran through his body, and the next moment, everything went dark.

In that haze, he heard something.

“Scanning host’s body…”

“Scan complete. Human. Poor physical condition.”

“System initializing…”

“System linked successfully.”

“Activating system interface, beginner mode.”

“Congratulations. System has granted host a random reward.”

“Drawing reward…”

“You have acquired skill: Appraisal!”

…

The voice echoing in his head snapped Ethan awake. He realized he was still in his room, but it was already dark outside. Had he been out cold all day?

Shaking off the dizziness, he remembered the electric shock and felt a chill. The floor had dried by now, so he quickly started tidying up. But as he reached for the computer, he froze.

A voice popped up in his mind.

“Appraisal activated. Item identified: computer. Classified as low-level civilization product.”

Ethan jumped. “What the hell?!”

Anyone would freak out with a voice suddenly blasting through their brain.

“No need to panic. I mean no harm,” a calm, robotic voice assured him.

At the same time, a holographic screen lit up in front of Ethan—straight out of a sci-fi film.

It looked like a character menu from a game, divided into three sections: Character, Items, Exchange.

Ethan had read enough webnovels to get the idea right away—he’d somehow gotten himself a system.

“Host identified as an ordinary human. Beginner mode unlocked.”“Beginner mode? Seriously?” Ethan Carter had already come to terms with the whole having-a-system deal.

He tapped open the character tab. Aside from a 3D projection of himself, it was pretty much empty.

Name: Ethan Carter

Level: Normal Human

Skill: Appraisal

Martial Arts: None

“You gotta be kidding me. Just ‘Normal Human’? Are you messing with me, system? We’re bonded, right? You couldn’t hook me up with some buffs or, I don’t know, super strength? What kind of starter pack is this?” Ethan complained, throwing his hands up in frustration. This thing had to be a trap. Other protagonists get divine beasts, guardian angels… and here he was stuck with DIY mode.

“Exchange menu,” he muttered, figuring there was nothing to see in the inventory. Maybe the exchange option held some hope. If it worked the way he imagined, then maybe—just maybe—this loser could still turn the tables.

On cue, the interface shifted. His screen changed to reveal a new set of categories: Future Tech, Martial Arts & Spells, Pets & Mounts, and Legendary Gear—each with tons of items under them.

He clicked into Future Tech and was instantly dazzled. Spaceships. Mechas. Genetic serums. It was wild—and all insanely expensive.

The Martial Arts & Spells section was even crazier. Every secret technique he’d ever heard of was there—moves from novels, anime, even folklore. Dragon Subduing Palms? Check. Dugu Nine Swords? Yup. The War God Record? Of course. And the god-tier stuff—Eight-Nine Mystic Technique, the Immortal Body? Just reading the names made him feel cooler.

Then there were the mounts and pets, all with intimidating names and monstrous price tags. One mecha alone was listed at freaking 5,000,000 energy points. The legendary palms? 100,000 points.

His jaw dropped. The man was speechless. He barely stopped himself from cursing out loud. Though there were some “budget” options—like Wing Chun for 5,000 points, or Tai Chi and Xingyi Fist for less than 20,000.

But Ethan?

Energy: 0.

“Yeah, I was dreaming big for nothing,” he sighed, a bit deflated. What the heck even counted as energy? How was he supposed to get any?

“Host can use the Appraisal skill to examine objects on Earth that contain energy,” the robotic voice chimed in as if responding to his thoughts.

“Appraisal…” Ethan recalled that strange voice in his head the moment he touched his computer. So that was it?

Without wasting time, Ethan strode into the living room. Energy… His mind quickly pulled up all kinds of ideas—life force, spiritual power, aura, belief energy… You name it. These sci-fi cultivator novels really did train your imagination.

He grabbed a potted pine—something his mom had left behind that he took care of now—and decided to test it.

Closing his eyes, he focused. “Appraisal.”

“Pine tree. Earth species. Energy: 1.”

A robotic tone echoed in his head.

So life did contain energy, huh? But, man, one point? That's stingy. He glanced at the little pine and decided not to scan it dry. One point wasn’t even worth it.After tinkering with the system for a while, Ethan Carter went to cook dinner. His parents were out of town, tied up with starting a new business, and didn’t have time to look after him. So he ate alone, planning to dive back into studying the system afterward. But from what he had figured out so far, without energy, the system was basically useless. Sure, you could trade for things, but it demanded a huge amount of energy to do anything.

It was getting late, and some ideas had to wait until tomorrow. With school starting in three days, he still had time to mess around a bit. That night, his mind kept circling back to the system. The sudden appearance of it had completely distracted him from the pain of the breakup—he barely even felt it anymore.

Ethan lived in a small town, but went to high school in the city, usually heading home on weekends. With the semester about to start, he figured he might as well go back a bit early. He packed up first thing in the morning and headed to the station. The bus came pretty quickly, and he loaded his luggage on board.

As soon as he turned around, a girl suddenly charged straight at him, face twisted like she'd just seen a ghost.

“Whoa!” Ethan was knocked right back into the side of the bus with a dull thud. The girl didn’t get hurt—he’d basically cushioned her fall. But the problem was, their bodies ended up tangled in a way that looked way too suggestive. Ethan could barely move, her entire weight pressing down on him, even his arms were pinned.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, the girl shot up like a startled cat. Before he could react, she glared and shouted, “Pervert!”

Then she grabbed her stuff and marched onto the bus, leaving Ethan behind with her sharp words echoing in the air and a graceful back view fading into the aisle.

“Was she talking to me?” Ethan muttered, still dazed. He shook it off and boarded the bus.

Finding his seat, he froze again—she was his seatmate.

“Wow, what a coincidence,” he said with an awkward laugh, scratching his head as he sat down.

She shot him a death glare, eyes locked onto him like he was a criminal. If looks could kill, he’d already be toast.

Given how things had gone, Ethan didn’t dare speak again. The ride was smooth, weaving past fields stretching along both sides of the narrow road back to the city. With those intense eyes boring into him, Ethan felt like he was sitting on nails. Eventually, he just closed his eyes, figuring two hours of silent suffering wasn’t the worst thing.

But life had other plans.

Not long after hitting the road, four men suddenly jumped up—stockings over their heads, knives in hand—and started yelling.

“Don’t move! Stay in your seats!” barked the one in red, clearly the leader. The bus froze, everyone wide-eyed and terrified.

Another one, wearing grey stockings, pointed his knife at the first passenger he saw. “Hand over your cash, or I’ll gut you!”

The poor guy fumbled out his wallet, shaking like a leaf. Seeing that, the rest quickly followed suit. Ethan, knowing it was serious, handed over the few hundred bucks he had.

“Damn it, what a joke,” he thought bitterly. “I’ve got a system, and I’m still helpless here? I need to start grinding energy fast. Power’s the only way out of this crap.”

He resigned himself to the situation. Better to live than play the hero right now. But what the girl beside him did next left him stunned.

She had somehow squeezed herself under their shared seat when no one was looking.

Luckily, the bus was brand new, roomier than usual. She lay flat beneath the seat, out of sight and well-hidden—with Ethan and the surrounding chairs blocking the line of view, the robbers wouldn’t spot her at all.