Adam got up from his bed, blinking against the dim light. For the first time in a long time, he woke up before the alarm
"Wow," He yawned, rubbing his eyes
that was the best sleep I've had in ages"
Just ten, a notification flickered into view
Adam flinched "Gah, what the hell does this thing mean anyway?"
The message hovered in front of him like a hologram. He still didn't know what corruption refered to, or would happen once it got to a 100, but he had a feeling it wasnt good
All he knew was that he had to level up fast before it reached it's max
Saturdays were Adam's little slice of heaven. After a long week of working, he usually dedicated the entire day to just sleeping, recharging, or simply doing nothing at all
Today, however, was a different case
Adam went over to his drawer and pulled out what looked to be a rusty old container.
Opening it, part of him wished maybe the money he'd saved inside would be enough to pay off his rent, but his heart dropped as he poured the contents onto the table
Just a few crumbled bills and loose change
"Damn it!" He rasped,slamming his fist on the table
" Still not enough. Even after all those months of saving, this is no where near enough to pay"
Frustration was getting the better of him. He needed a new idea, a plan to get money. Fast
"Come on system, you've gotta have something for me" he pleaded, part of him hoping for a miracle.
Speaking of the system,he still needed to test a few things out, and almost as if reading his thoughts, a pop up menu appeared
*Permission: Allows users to temporarily phase through objects.
Duration: 0.8 seconds
Warning: Excessive use will deplete stamina
*???
*???
Reading the message carefully,he was now more intrigued than ever and wanted to test out a few things
Walking up to the edge of the room, Adam pressed his hand against the wall, closed his eyes and focused on the skill
[Permission Activated]
Suddenly, Adam started to feel a tingly sensation throughout his body. A chill went up his spine and his arm started to glow slightly
Seconds later, his entire arm started sinking into the wall. His eyes snapped open
"No way..."
He couldn't believe what he was witnessing. A moment ago his had was on the wall and the next second,his hand was went through the wall effortlessly.
In less than a second, something happened
All of a sudden his arm stopped going through the wall about half way around his wrist. He tried pulling his arm free but it was useless. It was stuck
Closing his eyes, he tried activating the skill again. Focusing on his arm just like before, his body started feeling tingly and once again,his arm completely became intangible and He quickly pulled out his arm from the wall
All of a sudden, he started to feel very weak. Adam was huffing and panting, like a fish out of water. He hunching over nearly vomiting from disorientation,
"What...is this?" He rasped
The ability clearly stated that excessive use of the skill would delete Adam's stamina,but he didn't think he'd be exhausted this much.
Looking at his stats, his stamina wasn't very high so it made sense he felt weak after using he skill only twice. It was quite the drawback though, but he knew in the future he could probably use it more consecutively once his stamina was higher
Feeling tired, Adam decided to head out for a little walk and get some fresh air. He strolled down the street for a few minutes until finally decided to sit down on a nearby bench
He watched on as pedestrians walked by, minding their own businesses while he was lost in his own thoughts.
That was when a glowing ad on one of the buildings caught his attention. He had completely forgotten about it, mainly due to the fact that he wasn't qualified to contest
After all, the minimum requirement was that the participant must possess a curse factor—a unique ability that allows the user to perform supernatural things, something he clearly hadn't awakened
But then something clicked in his head as he thought back to when he slipped his arm through the wall in his apartment
'Wait...will that...count as a curse factor' he thought
Adam had never awakened an ability, even though he was in an era where abilities ruled. He didn't know what he ended up so unlucky, was it his genes? Something he ate?
Still,he wasn't the only person in the world that didn't have a curse factor but it was just extremely rare for people not to awaken one
Curse factors were the lifeline of things, making lives easier for people. Some chose to channel their abilities in areas of engineering, business and so on.
However, the most popular showcase of abilities were Reapers.
It was a much respected career compared to the rest simply fron the fact they they risked their lives everyday to protect the innocent from malevolent ghosts that haunt the world of the living
Growing up,it had been a life long dream of Adam to become a reaper, vanquishing ghosts, saving lives and making tons of money, but when he realized he didn't have a curse factor all his dreams collapsed
Still,does having the system give him a chance? He had never heard of anyone with any similar curse factor nor did he ever think it was possible.
Adam's eyes lit up with excitement from the thought of being the first ever human to have a system but then he realized something. The system clearly stated that he was now a ghost,and the fact that he was able to phase through the wall further cemented that thought of what he'd become
Fear started to set in as he started to think about what would happen to him if the Reapers ever found out about the truth of what he'd become. Will they kill him like they did with every other ghost? Imprison and run experiments on him?
"I can't let them find out" Adam muttered
" At least not until I'm strong enough to protect myself"