Jack shifted his eyes back and forth between the pitch-black M-Card in his hand and the flickering status window floating before him...
And his mind was spiraling with questions he couldn't begin to answer.
"...How...?"
This ebony card… this thing—it had his name printed on it, and it had accessed the M-System—that showed his status.
The M-System.
An almost 'Game'-like miracle that allowed the user to gain power beyond human limitation and imagination.
It was a system that was supposed to be exclusive—Registered Card-Holders only—and these fancy, bona fide bank cards were ONLY officially issued by the 'Holy Monastery.'
And yet…
Here it was, in his hand... an M-Card.
And here it was showing... his very own Status Windows.
Jack could only stare back at the glowing, floating windows, still trying to comprehend their existence—still trying to figure out whether what he was seeing was actually real.
However, no matter how much he tried, it still dawned on him that it was indeed... his name displayed clearly on it—the same case with the black M-Card.
He'd seen this kind of window before. It wasn't some top-secret thing hidden from poor people like him.
There were already tons of photos and videos online of Card-Holders showcasing their M-Cards—displaying their stat windows, using skills and magics that had once been just a fantasy, and even unleashing superhuman capabilities that surpassed the limitations of the human body.
There were even forums, threads, videos—hell, even whole damn websites dedicated to breaking down every inch of the M-System.
Tutorials on how to use your card, what to expect on your first activation, and even common user mistakes to avoid.
It was practically a whole culture... One he would have never ever actually experienced...
Yet, that didn't stop him from looking into it.
Out of curiosity—or maybe envy—he had read those forums before.
He'd scrolled through comments, watched late-night videos, even lurked in threads where the rich casually tossed around upgrade tips like it was nothing, flaunting them like it was the most natural thing to do.
Their strength. Their stats. Their wealth.
Many of them openly flaunted their god-like numbers and bought-up power for practically everyone to see.
And with that, there was no secret to how these things worked for him—he knew the basic gist of how to use an M-Card.
And here it was, in his own hand, an actual M-Card, showing his 'STATUS WINDOW.'
------------------------
Name: Jack Conrad
Tier: 1
Job: None
Title: None
C-Point: 0
------------------------
His name was displayed on the top row.
Just below that: 'Tier: 1.'
—The lowest 'level' possible. The starting line of any M-Card Holder.
Then—
'Job: None.'
'Title: None.'
No 'job' nor 'title.'
You had to buy your first job class—be it Warrior, Mage, Rogue, Sniper, Priest—they were all up for grabs if you had the cash.
Some job classes were rare or had weird unlock conditions. Sometimes they didn't even show up unless you met some hidden requirement.
And if someone discovered a new job class? That was headline news.
As for titles... those weren't for sale.
They had to be earned.
Slay a specific monster. Survive something no one should've survived. Pull off some insane stunt.
Feats rewarded you with titles—and some were so rare that only one person in the world could ever earn them.
And they weren't just bragging rights either.
Titles gave boosts. Perks. Sometimes even one-of-a-kind abilities.
Naturally... everyone wanted them.
Though with that being said, neither class nor title... Jack had none of that.
Not yet, at least.
His eyes then dropped down further.
C-Points: 0.
"...Go figure."
This M-Card in his hand was most likely brand new—out of the printer—so it wouldn't have any C-Points.
Still...
While he was skeptical, he was too curious for his own good.
So, he pulled out his battered wallet again. The poor thing barely held itself together as he dug through it and retrieved the crumpled one-dollar bill.
"..."
He hesitated for a second... but then, slowly, he brought the dollar bill closer to the status window, pressing it against the glowing screen—
The paper bill began to shimmer—!
"...Whoah...!"
It began to disintegrate—digitize—right before his eyes, breaking down into glowing particles that were absorbed straight into the screen!
He whipped his eyes back to the C-Point counter—
[1 C-Point Deposited.]
His breath caught in his throat just as a robotic-like announcement rang in his head—
And he saw the counter had updated.
C-Points: 1.
"It... works...!"
It was real.
This was real.
And in that moment—just briefly—he felt something rise in his chest. A tight, giddy spark of possibility. He tried to keep it down. Tried not to let himself hope too much...
But it was there.
He stared at the black M-Card again—still no answers on how it ended up with him—but for now... he was too excited on the mere fact that he had one to begin with!
With shaking hands, Jack quickly looked back at the floating window and scrolled down a little more.
There they were.
The Main Stats.
------------------------
MAIN STATS
STR: 4 <- 5 (-10%)
DEX: 4 <- 5 (-10%)
VIT: 5
INT: 5
PER: 5
[PURCHASE STATS]
------------------------
Jack knew what these stats meant—
Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, Intelligence, Perception.
They were the RPG-like stats that directly represented the physical and mental foundation of an M-Card Holder. Each of them was pretty self-explanatory—simple even, where the higher they were, the more powerful you became.
Though he didn't really understand what any of these numbers truly meant, especially those weird percentages on some of them, he at least knew that these were, at least, the 'normal' human parameters.
But just beneath that list—something else caught his eye.
A glowing button.
[PURCHASE STATS]
Jack hesitated... then slowly reached forward and tapped it.
The window shimmered—expanded—and now—
------------------------
STR: 5 [+]
DEX: 5 [+]
VIT: 5 [+]
INT: 5 [+]
PER: 5 [+]
------------------------
—each stat had a faint plus sign next to it. Along with a note beneath the display:
------------------------
Tier 1 | Cost of Upgrade per stat: 10 C-Points
------------------------
Jack stared at the note for a moment longer.
'Ten dollars per upgrade...'
He let out a low breath.
This was that system, after all—the infamous pay-to-win system.
The great divide between those who had money... and those who didn't.
He only had 1 C-Point. Nowhere near enough to buy anything.
A small pang of disappointment hit him.
But... he didn't let it linger.
He quietly dismissed the upgrade screen, letting it collapse back to its default form.
Even if he couldn't upgrade any of his stats now... he would be in future.
So, he put his hopes up and scrolled further down—
Next... came the 'performance stats.'
------------------------
PERFORMANCE STATS
HP: 45/86 <- 108 (-20%)
MP: 100/100
ATK: 12 ATK: 12,5
DEF: 14
CRIT RATE: 5%
------------------------
These were the actual numbers that showed what a person could do. Not just raw potential—but also practical output.
HP, MP, Physical Attack, Magical Attack, Defense, Critical Rate.
Jack narrowed his eyes.
The numbers looked decent enough for someone just starting out... but what caught his attention wasn't just the values themselves—it was the small minus sign beside a few of them.
HP was lowered. It was the same case with the STR and DEX stats that he'd seen just now.
He frowned, wondering why these stats had a minus on them, but then he noticed the section just beneath the performance stats—
There it was.
------------------------
STATUS EFFECT
- Recovering From Wounded: -20% Max HP, -10% STR & DEX, -5% Natural HP Regen. (3 Days)
------------------------
"Sigh... Of course."
That was the system's way of telling him his body still hadn't fully bounced back. After that beating he took—after everything—it made sense he'd still be limping on the inside.
It was honestly a miracle he could stand and move like this now, thanks to the good old doc patching him up before his escape...
Still, seeing it laid out like this—with time remaining and all—it felt surreal.
On one hand, he was relieved.
Three days wasn't forever. He'd be back to normal soon.
But on the other...
Three days could mean everything.
Especially with what he had planned next.
"Ugh…"
He scrolled further from the Status Effect tab and moved on.
Next came the Skills & Abilities section, and below that, the Inventory—
------------------------
ABILITIES
- None
------------------------
Inventory
- None
------------------------
They were... empty.
Save for just one word within the both of them:
'None'
Jack stared at it.
"…Go figure again, I guess."
He wasn't surprised. Almost every skill had to be earned first, with many of them could be purchased from the M-System's shop. That was common knowledge—just like buying job classes.
Items could also be purchased from the M-System, but many of the rare and effective ones could only be earned by delving into dungeons and slaying monsters.
And then finally... the very pinnacle of the M-System.
At the very bottom of the window—
[SHOP]
The most important button of them all.
He stared at it for a second. His fingers hovered, twitching slightly with a mix of hesitation and anticipation.
Then...
He tapped it.
The Status Window shimmered—and another panel slid in from the side, overlapping on top like a second screen.
And there it was—his first glimpse into the M-Shop...!
The new windows that appeared before him shone bright like the morning sun, temporarily blinding him for a moment, but his excitement had forced him to look straight into the glimmering light...!
And as the light slowly died down for him to finally witness what the 'Shop' had to offer for him...
"...what?"
It only showed one option for him.
[SHOP]
o [JOB] BUSINESS JOKER — [1 C-Point]