Rise from Zero

How the System Works

Gatot leaned back against the hard headboard, letting the lingering sweetness of the apple soothe his throat, which had only moments ago felt painfully dry.

His eyes remained fixed on the holographic screen floating in front of him.

Slowly but surely, he began to understand how this mysterious System worked.

The pattern was simple, yet absolute.

If he deliberately or accidentally failed to complete the daily quest it assigned, the System would automatically throw him into a deadly Penalty Zone.

But hidden beneath that cruelty was a fair rule of compensation.

Whether he completed the daily quest or survived the Penalty Zone, as long as he made it out alive, he would always receive a reward.

At the moment, every muscle in Gatot's body felt as though it had been crushed beneath a freight truck.

Each time he shifted his weight, his joints cracked with an uncomfortable series of pops.

Yet with the final bite of the apple, the pain suddenly eased.

A strange warmth spread from the center of his chest, flowing through every vein in his body.

The screen before him flickered, updating the information displayed across it.

The System had just increased his physical attributes.

The numerical values, which had previously rested at the absolute minimum for a human being, slowly ticked upward.

The physical attributes that had all been zero had now officially become one.

A faint smile appeared on Gatot's face, still stained with dried sweat.

One, huh? Not bad, he thought, trying to encourage himself.

For an E-Rank Hunter who had gone years without gaining even the slightest increase in strength, a single stat point was an achievement of tremendous value.

A question suddenly crossed his mind.

With this insane System, could he actually become stronger?

Could he become far more than nothing but a glorified baggage carrier?

The System, of course, gave no answer.

The holographic screen remained silent.

It possessed no artificial intelligence capable of holding a conversation.

Even so, Gatot could clearly read the constantly updating status window.

Every one of his attributes, from Strength and Agility to Endurance, now displayed a value of one.

However, his overall level as a Player was still technically zero.

A strange feeling suddenly bloomed inside his chest.

The fear that had consumed him until now gradually faded, replaced by an overwhelming curiosity.

The warmth spreading throughout his body made him realize something.

He couldn't wait to see what challenge the System would throw at him next.

He wanted to know just how far this mysterious power could take him.

Yet amid that growing excitement, a hazy memory from two days earlier knocked once again on the door of his consciousness.

That was right.

For those two days, Gatot had completely lost awareness of himself.

He couldn't remember when he had left the hospital.

He couldn't remember resigning from the firm.

He couldn't even remember moving the massive teak cabinet in the living room that Yasmin had mentioned.

Every one of those actions had happened as though his body had been moving on its own, controlled by something that wasn't him.

A chill ran down Gatot's spine.

Could the System have taken control of my body while my soul was recovering from the trauma of dying? he wondered.

The theory felt both disturbingly logical and deeply terrifying.

If the System could control his body while he was unconscious, then he didn't truly have complete control over himself whenever he was in critical condition.

Gatot quickly shook his head, forcing the unsettling thoughts away before they gave him another headache.

"Forget it," he muttered quietly as he lowered his feet onto the floor.

For now, he chose to let the unanswered questions remain unanswered.

Knowing the truth wouldn't change the fact that he was still alive.

Gatot slowly stood up, noticing that his legs already felt noticeably steadier than they had only minutes earlier.

He walked toward the small bathroom at the back of the house.

There, he stripped off his filthy, sweat-soaked clothes, still carrying the stale odor left behind by the Penalty Zone.

He washed away every trace of dirt, dried tears, and mucus from his face.

The cold water felt incredibly refreshing.

After cleaning himself up, Gatot returned to his room with a towel wrapped around his waist.

He opened the wardrobe and pulled out a plain black T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

As he ran his fingers through his damp hair, he looked at his own reflection in the mirror.

All right, Gatot. Time to find another job, he told himself.

His thoughts immediately turned toward his family's finances.

Working as a freelance Hunter was dangerous, but no matter how small the payment was, the money always came quickly.

The thought only reignited his frustration with the System.

"Damned System," Gatot muttered under his breath as he fastened his cheap wristwatch. "Why did you have to make me quit the guild? If I hadn't left, I'd at least have somewhere to earn a living today."

He cursed the System in irritation, even though, in reality, he was cursing the decision made by himself, or perhaps by whatever had controlled his body two days earlier.

Leaving that small firm meant starting over from absolutely nothing.

He would have to search for another agency or firm willing to accept an E-Rank Hunter with no reputation.

Gatot let out a long sigh, trying to calm the frustration lingering inside him.

He walked toward the front door, intending to wander around the nearby market and shopping district in hopes of finding any kind of manual labor that would help him survive.

The moment he unlocked the door and pulled it open, however, he stopped in his tracks.

A woman wearing a loose denim jacket, her hair tied back in a ponytail, stood on the other side with one hand raised, poised to knock.

She froze in surprise as the door suddenly opened before she had the chance.

Her face looked slightly pale.

Faint dark circles beneath her eyes suggested she hadn't slept well for several days.

"Juhe?" Gatot blinked, using the nickname he always called her outside of work. "What are you doing at my house this early in the morning?"

Julaiha stood rooted to the spot.

She stared at Gatot from head to toe with complete disbelief, as though she had just seen a ghost walking in broad daylight.

Her lips trembled slightly as she struggled to find the words caught in her throat.

The deep fear Gatot had seen on the survivors' faces in the news was now unmistakably reflected in hers.

The atmosphere on the small front porch suddenly became painfully tense and awkward.