SSS: I awakened a ghost system

The old man in the alley

Becoming a pro Reaper has always been a dream of Maxs's ever since he was a child. In fact, becoming a reaper was almost everyone's dream.

They were the protectors of mankind against the evil ghosts, and for that, it was a very renowned profession.

Aside from fame, Anyone who was a reaper, was automatically rich. Seeing as how they constantly risk their lives to protect society, the government payed them extremely well, along with other benefits

And that was one Maxs true reason for wanting to become a reaper

Max knew his family's situation. He knew how much they were struggling, how hard his mom worked just to put food on the table for her kids, but he didn't want that to be the case forever

All he wanted to become was a professional Reaper, so that someday he would be able to help his struggling family

Because of that desire, growing up, Max couldn't wait to manifest his curse factor. Every day, he would always experiment to see whether he had awakened it yet. Whether jumping off a table to see if he could fly, or thrusting his arm forward as he yelled "fire" to see if anything would happen, Max was determined to manifest a curse factor

There was even one time where he sprinted straight into a wall, thinking that his curse factor could be the ability to phase through walls or something like that, but nothing happened, he only ended up with a nose bleed and a huge bump on his head

He tried again, and again, and again for all these years but nothing ever happened. Eventually he gave up.

But if Max wanted to be a pro Reaper because of the money, why not get a well paying job or something?

Well, with the way society was transforming, people only got well paying jobs depending on how strong or valuable their curse factor was to the market.

For example, someone with an earth manipulation ability would excel in the construction or engineering field. Similarly, someone with the ability to manipulate electricity would thrive in electrical companies

However, for those without abilities, they only ended up with menial jobs with wages barle enough to put food on the table.

To put it bluntly, those with curse factors were destined for success, whereas to those without, poverty was inevitable

Everyone else in Max's school had unlocked curse factors, and being the only one who didn't, that was a lot to take in. They mocked him, bullied him, and called him all sorts of names, making him feel more and more inferior

And to top it all off, his grades were awful. When he was much younger, Max scored much higher in class tests and exams, but then slowly his grades started drastically declining. It even got so bad that the school authorities wanted him expelled but after his mother came to plead, he was pardoned

All his hopes of helping his mom after becoming a reaper someday, all disappeared

Until

A few months ago, Max had come across this old man while on his way home from school. The man met Max in a cold, dark alley and told him that he had been monitoring him for some time now , saying that he realized Max was the only one in his school who didn't have a curse factor.

At first, Max didn't want to listen to anything the strange old man had to say. His mom had always warned him that the world was a dangerous place, and that he shouldn't go around talking to strangers.

However, Max's mind changed the moment the man said he could help him.

He had no clue who this man was, or if he was telling the truth, but when Max pondered over his situation, what else did he have to lose

****

The moon hung low in the sky, and the atmosphere was cold and quiet.

Walking behind the old man, Max had a mix of fear and excitement swirling inside him as they walked deeper and deeper into the woods.

Fortunately for them, the old man had brought a lantern, illuminating a the area as the marched forward

"Uh, old man, how long before we get there?" Max asked, his voice shaky.

The old man stayed silent for a few seconds, which made Max start to question. Was it really the right choice to trust this stranger?

They'd been walking for well over half an hour, and Max didn't want to stray too far from home. After all, It was his first time sneaking out in the middle of the night

Finally, having had enough, Max spoke again.

"Hey! Old man, how long—"

"We're here," the man said suddenly.

Max stopped, scanning the area around to make sense of where they were.

The old man turned to look at him with a serious expression, and Max's heart started pounding uncontrollably.

"Um… what now?" he gulped.

The old man placed his bag on the floor and pulled out a jar containing some kind of white powder. He handed Max a few candles and told him to arrange them all in a circle — one big enough for one person to stand in.

The air around the man had suddenly changed, growing heavy and tense with each passing second. Max could feel the pressure in his chest.

'C'mon Max, focus… it'll all be over soon,' he tried to convince himself.

"Hey, old man, how exactly is this going to grant me a curse factor?" Max asked as he began lighting the candles one by one.

Curse factors were something that people were born with, and there were no cases where people could actually give another person a curse factor. This made Max really curious as to how this old man was going to help him

'Um…I hope this isn't some sell-your-soul ritual or anything like that…right?" Max asked, his voice shaky

The old man didn't respond. He was already drawing strange patterns around the candles with the white powder.

"Just trust me. We don't have much time left," he muttered.

Max obeyed, and within the next two minutes, they had finished setting up whatever strange ritual they were doing.

"Okay, please tell me how this is supposed to give me a curse factor again?" Max asked.

A vein popped at the side of the old man's face, showing clear annoyance at Max's persistence. It made Max worry that he might accidentally give the man a heart attack if he kept talking.

"Get in the circle," the man whispered.

"Wait, what?"

"Just get in the circle!" the man snapped.

The old man started huffing and panting heavily, sweat pouring down his wrinkled face as he collapsed in one knee

Max grew worried and moved to check on him, but before he could, the man shouted,

"GET IN THE CIRCLE NOW!"

He shoved Max hard, sending him stumbling backward. The moment Max's feet entered the circle, the candle flames erupted, forcing him to cover his face with his arms.

The strange markings began to move, shifting and twisting as if they had a mind of their own.

Fear crept into Max's chest. He instantly regretted ever following this man.

He turned his head, looking for the man that had brought him in the first place, but what he saw made his stomach drop.

The old man's body started bending, twisting in ways no human body ever should. His spine arched backward until his head touched the ground, and his waist twisted sideways at an impossible angle, causing parts of bis bone to pierce his skin

Max froze, as it was a true PY frightening sight to behold

He knew old people had back problems, but this was something else entirely.

"Ugh… are you alright, old man?" Max stammered, his body was trembling.

He took a hesitant step forward, only to feel his hand press against something hard and invisible, and the air instantly rippled like water

"Huh? What the— What the hell is this?"

Panic flooded through him. He started slamming his fists against the invisible wall, trying to break free, but nothing worked.

The old man's body dropped to the ground like a rag doll, but from his mouth, something began to emerge.

Max's eyes widened as a pitch-black creature slithered out. Its cold neon-green eyes pierced through the darkness. It had no mouth, only jagged scars where one should've been.

Max stumbled backward in terror, desperately trying to escape.

He didn't know what the creature was, but he wasn't going to stick around to find out.

Smack!

His back hit the invisible wall again, sending ripples through the air. He collapsed onto the ground, dizzy and gasping.

His vision blurred as the creature's head slowly came into view.

Just on the brink of losing consciousness losing consciousness, a faint blue light flickered before his eyes.

[Congratulations. You have been granted the Ghost system.]