Super Versatile System v

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" the fatty said as he blocked Abel with his big body.

"What do you guys want? I don't think I've ever had a problem with you before," he said suspiciously.

The fat boy laughed, and the other boys sneered. There were about seven of them, including the fat one. They all had wicked smiles on their faces as they surrounded him.

"You're a swine lusting after a goose," a brawny guy among the group sneered.

Abel stared at them warily, ready to take action at any time.

"Enough talking, brothers, let's take action," the fat guy called out.

Before Abel could react, they pounced on him and started beating him up. Abel winced as he curled up, trying to defend against the blows.

The hits were relentless. It looked like they genuinely wanted to kill him. Abel was alarmed, if he died here, no one would care. He thought of his father, who had doted on him and used all their money to send him to school. Even though he was drunk most of the times and wasn't really serious about life. He was still a good father and he didn't want to leave him yet.

"Am I going to die like this?" he thought.

Soon, he started losing consciousness.

The boys finally stopped when they saw the pitiful state he was in, curled up, bruises all over. They grinned in satisfaction.

"Serves you right. Next time, don't try to get close to our school belle, Anna. You're not worthy of her. Next time, we might just toss you into the river," the fat guy warned.

Abel spurted out a huge amount of blood. So all this... was over a girl? What's happening to the world? Are boys these days really this stupid?

His consciousness began slipping away. Abel knew this might be the end for him, no matter how unwilling he felt.

Just then, a voice rang in his head.

"Ding!! Congratulations on receiving the Super Versatile System. From now on, you are bound to do great things!"

The voice was robotic, echoing directly in his mind.

Abel thought he was hallucinating. He had read about systems in novels and always found it a funny concept. He had fantasized about having one just like the male leads in those popular stories. A part of him was excited... but he figured he was probably just imagining things. How could there be a system in the real world?

"System, if you really exist... I don't think there's any need to bind with me. I might not survive this," he muttered.

He thought he was going crazy, talking to himself, until the system replied.

"The system has a gift for you: Rank One Revival Potion."

Ding! Host seems to be in critical condition. Does the host want to use the Rank One Revival Potion?

"Yes!" Abel blurted out without even thinking.

Immediately, he felt his body heating up. It was like hot liquid flowing through his veins, soothing, comforting. Wherever it passed, it eased the pain.

Soon, he was completely healed.

Abel stood up. Except for his scrawny clothes, there was no sign that he had just been beaten half to death.

He didn't stay to think too much. Instead, he left the alley where he'd been attacked and headed home.

Abel's house was a few streets away. After about ten minutes of walking, he arrived. There was an uncle nearby selling instant noodles and buns with soy milk. The man waved at him.

"Little Abel, you're back?"

"Yes, Uncle Farouk."

The man, Farouk, gave a strange smile. "Come on, have some soy milk and buns."

Abel ignored him and headed to a nearby house, a two story building with slightly faded paint. Outside, the landlady, a very beautiful woman in her late thirties stood smoking a cigarette. She took a puff and tilted her head, clearly enjoying it.

Her eyes caught sight of Abel, and she frowned. "Little Abel, have you paid your rent?"

Abel ignored her. She already knew the answer. He decided to frustrate her a bit.

"I'm not sure, landlady. I think I remember paying you, but I'm not sure if it was for last month," he replied.

Her mouth twitched.

"Do you really want to play this game?" she asked in a dangerous tone.

Abel knew her well enough. He knew it's time to quit the act.

"How can I dare anger my beautiful landlady? I was just joking, I'll pay up tomorrow," he said quickly.

The landlady smiled when he called her beautiful and nodded.

"Smelly brat. Make sure you pay up, do you hear? I know you can't pay tomorrow, so I'm giving you three more days. If you can't, then pack out of my house."

She turned and continued smoking.

Abel shook his head and hurried upstairs to the first floor. His apartment wasn't large, just a one-room space. He stepped in and immediately pulled his shirt off in front of the mirror.

His eyes widened. There were no bruises.

"So it's real?" he thought. "System Where are you?"

Suddenly, a white interface appeared in his mind, making him jump.

"Welcome, Host. You haven't signed into the system today. You have a free daily Silver Lottery spin."

"I want to sign in. How do I do that?" he asked, still in awe.

"Host has successfully signed in. Host has received twenty million credits as a sign-in reward."

"What?!"

He thought it was a joke until his phone buzzed.

You have received 20,000,000 credits from Merchant Bank.

"So it's true..."

He browsed the system. It was divided into three main parts: Store, Abilities, and a huge Lottery Wheel. There was also a mission tab by the side but it was currently empty.

"System, can I use the Silver Lottery?"

The wheel started spinning immediately. It had all kinds of strange items he didn't recognize. When it stopped, the system displayed the result:

"Charm Potion – increases Host's charm."

"System, use it!" he shouted.

He felt a weird sensation all over. Walking to the mirror, he couldn't tell exactly what changed but somehow, he looked more pleasing to the eye.

Excited, he quickly navigated to the abilities interface. Surprisingly, there were several categories:

Martial Abilities, Supernatural Abilities, Academics, Talents, and Skills.

He browsed through them, blown away. There were so many skills and abilities, but he couldn't access most of them yet. They needed points to unlock.

"How do I gain points system?"

(Points are earned by stirring emotions, be it through action, speech, or unseen influence. Also, by fighting powerful people and completing system missions.)

"So I have to be famous? But I don't want to be a celebrity... Oh, right. I can fight. But what does the system mean by 'powerful people'? Hmm... that could work."

The next day, Abel woke up in high spirits. He got ready for school and went to Uncle Farouk's stall for breakfast. It was his daily routine.

Usually, it was steamed buns with soy milk or instant noodles.

When Uncle Farouk saw him, he grinned. "Little Abel, you're early today. Let me guess, steamed buns and soy milk?"

Abel frowned. Now that he was rich, did he still need to eat like before?

"Meat fusion noodles," he answered.

Mr. Farouk looked at him like he was seeing a ghost. Abel muttered, "Was I that poor before?" Sure he was, he used to only eat instant noodles without any meat.

Soon, Mr. Farouk brought out the noodles stir-fried with vegetables and meat. Abel happily devoured it. He didn't often get to eat meat like this.

After the meal, he paid and even gave Mr. Farouk a tip, shocking the man.

Soon after, he arrived at Westlake City High School. The place was large, with massive buildings. Abel looked around and sighed. For some reason, it felt like it was his first time here. He couldn't explain the feeling.

He crossed the big gate boldly labeled: WELCOME TO WESTLAKE CITY HIGH

A group of boys was huddled a short distance away. When they spotted Abel, a hush fell over them.

"Isn't that Abel? I thought we dealt with him yesterday... why does he look fine?" one of them said.

The others looked confused and stunned.

Abel walked past them without even sparing a glance.

[Ding!!! Host has received ten system points.]

Abel smiled. So this is how it works... I think I need to do something big today to earn more points.

He looked at one of the skills in the ability tab:

Basic Combat Ability: Can easily fight off five grown men. (Note: If Host unlocks Basic Physique, Host can easily fight off ten grown men.)

Abel's face lit up as he looked at the skills.

'But how am I going to earn enough points now?' he thought seriously. Right now, what he needed most was the basic physique and basic combat ability so he could defend himself against the fatty Lonart and his gang.

Lonart was from a wealthy family. If he reported him to the authorities, they might not be able to do anything. After all, he was just a nameless nobody. Besides, now that all his bruises were gone, they might not even believe him.

"I think those two abilities are a must now if I don't want to die a second time," he thought seriously.

There was a disturbance up ahead as a little crowd gathered. In the middle of the crowd, three girls were walking together. The crowd parted for them. The three were very beautiful, but the most eye-catching was the dark-haired girl in the middle.

She stood about 5.2 ft tall, had hazel-colored eyes, and a very stunning body. Her chest area was very generous, Abel's eyes were glued to her huge chest. He swallowed.

The girl's name was Anna, the school belle. The reason why Abel almost died.

That day, Abel and his friend had a wager. His friend Mathew dared him to ask the school belle out on a date. He would receive twenty thousand credits if he succeeded.

Abel was really tempted. His rent of ten thousand credits was already due, and he also had to pay his school fees. He had been doing menial work to cover his rent, his father was mostly drunk most of the time and hardly helps, he will only urge him to work harder as a man.

To him, twenty thousand credits was a huge amount. But to a third-generation nouveau riche like Mathew, it was nothing.

That day, Abel had foolishly waited for her at the gate and asked her out on a date. He was expecting her to lash out at him or even give him a slap. He didn't mind, so long as he was able to win the wager.

Unexpectedly, none of the things he thought would happen actually did. Anna only blushed and told him, "Next time." Abel was confused. He couldn't fathom what the beauty was thinking.

Of course, even if the beauty let him off, there seemed to be others who wouldn't.

Seeing her again, Abel thought she looked even more beautiful than yesterday.

As if she was aware of his gaze, she waved at him to come over.

Abel stood rooted to the ground, not knowing what to do. 'What's the worst that could happen?' he thought. With the system, Abel was now more confident than ever.

He walked toward her. The students who saw this were all shocked. Ding! Ding! The system notifications kept sounding in his head. He ignored them for now and walked to the school belle with a small smile on his face.

Anna scrutinized him. "You look kinda different today," she commented. The other girls were also looking at him curiously.

No matter how thick-skinned he was, Abel couldn't help but blush slightly. He couldn't believe how bold she was.

"Anyway, I've been paying attention to you, Abel, and your results haven't been all that good recently. If you continue like this..."

Abel was surprised. She actually called him over to tell him this? It showed how good of a person she was, considering they barely knew each other. They weren't even in the same class. Although they were both final-year students, she was in Class A while he was in Class B.

"This... okay, I'll pay attention and study harder," he said. Perhaps, with the system, he didn't really need to work that hard, right?

Anna was satisfied with his answer and nodded. After she left with her friends, Abel was left standing alone, and now everybody's eyes were on him. Some were filled with envy and jealousy; others were just awed.

He didn't mind all the looks he was getting, because his points kept increasing, bringing a satisfied smile to his lips as he strolled to class.

All the boys in the class looked excited. He smiled wryly, fully aware of the reason.

Soon, the teacher came in for the morning class. It was one of his compulsory subjects, Computer Science. The teacher looked very young, around twenty years old. Considering that everyone in the class was over seventeen, she could easily be mistaken for a student.

Abel's eyes trailed her body. She was very beautiful and shapely. His eyes especially sparkled as he looked at her ample chest area. She was well-endowed.

All the boys in the class were unusually attentive and well-behaved, causing the girls to be speechless. They looked at the teacher with gazes filled with jealousy. Some even stole a glance at her ample breasts, then looked at their barely developed ones and just gave up.

Abel was oblivious to all this as he kept staring at the teacher with a funny grin.

"What's with that creepy smile of yours, Abel?" she glared at him, making her appear even more cute.

"You're especially more beautiful today, Miss Alicia."

Alicia was left speechless, seeing the way he flirted so boldly. She simply glared at him and continued her teaching. She didn't think too much of it. It wasn't the first time he had teased her like this.

'Someone that even dared to hit on the school belle... He sure has a death wish. If only he knew her status and the status of her suitors,' Alicia reminisced, not taking any offense.

The other boys snickered but didn't say a word. Some wished they had as much courage as he did. The girls looked at him in disdain, the goose lusting after the swan.

They all felt he was doing too much, especially considering his little scandal with the school belle, Anna...

Morning class was over

During the break period, Abel sat in the cafeteria while perusing his system skills.

'There are lots of good skills and knowledge here, but they're all costly,' he thought, looking at his system points.

"300 system points," Abel laughed, looking at the three skills he had decided to buy: basic combat ability, basic physique, and Mind's Eye. As a first-time gift, the system had tripled the reaction points he earned today, which gave him such a large amount.

Name: Mind's Eye

Type: Passive

Effect: Grants the user perfect eidetic memory, allowing them to recall anything they've ever seen, read, or heard with flawless accuracy. In addition, their brain automatically processes and understands new information at an accelerated rate. Complex languages, magical formulas, battle patterns, and ancient scripts can be deciphered and learned in moments.

Advanced Effects:

Insight Surge: Temporarily boosts comprehension to superhuman levels, allowing instant mastery of anything after a brief exposure.

Archive Manifestation: Allows the user to project a mental image of contents he had seen before into the real world (like a visual hologram).

Reverse Decode: Can see something once (like a broken magical formation, hard mathematics, etc.) and instantly reverse-engineer how it works.

He was satisfied with the description of Mind's Eye. It was an ability he truly needed right now if he was going to pass the national exam. He didn't want to just pass-he wanted to pass with flying colors and shock even his old pa in the village.

His face darkened when he saw the reaction points needed to unlock it: 250 system points for the basic feature alone, without the advanced effects.

'I think I should buy the basic combat ability and basic physique first,' he thought. He still needed to be wary of that fatty and his cronies. He decided to buy it later when he got back to his apartment.

The two abilities would cost 100 points each, leaving him with only 100 points.

This caused him to frown deeply. "How do I earn reaction points now?" he thought seriously. "Yes! Why haven't I thought of this before?" He jumped in excitement.

There was an underground fighting arena in the southern area of Westlake. The southern area was like a different world compared to the main parts of Westlake that people knew. There were lots of illegal activities like gambling, dog fighting, and stealing. 'After I purchase the two abilities, I'll be able to fight there to get reaction points. But I must not reveal my identity.'

He decided.

A few hours later, school was over. He quickly went home. The landlady was outside smoking. She was wearing bumshorts and a crop top.

Abel could see she wasn't wearing anything else under the crop top. He swallowed while stealing glances, especially at her large chest area. He couldn't help but also look at her sexy, long legs. The landlady was so beautiful and hot.

She noticed how he was looking at her and smirked.

"Smelly brat, what are you doing staring at a woman like that? Haven't you seen a beautiful woman like me before?"

Abel immediately retracted his eyes. His face burned hot with shame. He didn't notice he was being rude just now. He had just been amazed by the landlady's hot figure and didn't mean to stare.

He hurried inside. He could hear the landlady's laughter behind him. That woman must be satisfied that she managed to tease him.

He quickly rushed inside his house. He didn't rush to freshen up like he normally did. Instead, he opened his system tab in excitement.

Basic Combat Ability: When learned, host will be able to fight 5–7 average people easily. When paired with the basic physique, users will be able to fight 10–12 average people.

Basic Physique: Increases host's physique to the limit of a normal human.

Without hesitation, he bought the two abilities. His body felt hot at first. Soon, pain spread all over him. It lingered for some minutes before it gradually faded. he tried to sense his body and felt great strength coursing through it.

He was really satisfied with the ability. He felt like he could easily fight off ten ordinary men now. If he met that fatty and his gang again, they'd be the ones getting beaten up.

He freshened up before leaving. He arrived at a mall nearby to buy a mask. The mall was quite popular, a good number of people were going in and out and he simply mixed in with them. He arrived at the section where masks were sold.

The receptionist there was quite pretty. She was wearing a light blue dress and looked pretty lazy. Her eyes were drooping, and there wasn't much life in them as she looked at him.

Abel was a bit surprised. He thought maybe the girl owned the booth. The mall had lots of independent booths anyway.

"Hello, Miss. I want a mask."

She only glanced at him before waving impatiently. "Go ahead, take any one you like and bring it to the counter."

Abel didn't waste time and quickly searched for a mask. All the masks in the shop had kinda unique designs. This is more like a cosplay shop, he thought, before picking a simple black-colored mask. Nothing stood out aside from a sword logo drawn at the center. He was very satisfied with it and nodded.

"Miss, I'll take this."

The lady, who had just been about to doze off, looked up in annoyance. Her eyes were all red. He wondered if she even got any sleep at night.

"50 credits," she replied flatly.

50 credits? Was she trying to rip him off?

Abel knew the lady hyped the price, but he wasn't bothered. Anyway, he was now very rich, right?

He paid with his credit card and left immediately. The lady's eyes almost popped out seeing his action. She felt like she'd missed out. This guy looks so easy to scam. Her expression turned ugly, like someone who had just lost a thousand credits.

If Abel knew what she was thinking, he would've staggered.

He decided to walk to the southern part of Westlake. It was part of his exercise, and now that he had a strong physical body, he didn't feel a thing.

After a few minutes' walk, he arrived at an alley. It was a shortcut he normally took. Better than going through the main road, which required a long detour.

He looked at the narrow alley and frowned. He hadn't realized when it happened, but ever since he got beaten, he seemed to had developed a fear of alleys.

(Ding! New mission: Save the girl from the Bloodkin. Mission reward: 100 points. Punishment: Host will be tortured with 100 volts of electricity for ten minutes.)

A map of the alleyway appeared in his mind, with an arrow pointing at the target location. Abel was speechless. This was the first time the system gave him a mission, and it even included such a vicious punishment if he failed.

Also... what the fuck is a Bloodkin?

Abel's face clearly showed confusion. It sounded like some vampire clan from a fantasy novel or something. He shrugged anyway and followed the map.

He frowned as he walked through the dirty alley. It was obvious some people dumped trash here. He wondered if there are much people that uses this Alley for a short cut.

He followed the map until he reached the destination and saw his target.

There were two people there: a young, handsome man and a beautiful woman. The man had pale skin and was very well dressed. His hair was blonde, and he had a trendy haircut. The lady wore a tight, revealing dress and heavy makeup.

Abel couldn't tell if she was as beautiful as she looked now without all the makeup. He stood there, watching the two, trying to understand the situation.

The man was saying something to the girl, and she looked terrified. Abel was about to come closer and eavesdrop when, all of a sudden, the guy grabbed the girl's neck. Fangs grew from his teeth.

Abel felt his blood run cold. He froze, unable to react in time. But the woman moved faster. Even in her fright, she managed to kick the Bloodkin right in the family jewels.

Abel now confirmed this vampire-like being was the Bloodkin the system had mentioned. He immediately acted. Even though he had grown stronger, he made a mental note to run if things went south. After all, he couldn't tell how strong this vampire really was, and he wasn't going to risk his life for a stranger.

He wasn't some kind of hero, was he?

He closed in on the vampire before he could recover from the kick. Even though the vampire was in pain, he had heightened senses and could feel the air shift beside him. From the corner of his eye, he saw a blow slicing through the air, deadly and fast.

He reacted immediately.

Abel was shocked when his fist met empty air. His gaze became solemn. His opponent was strong. The vampire moved so fast he could barely keep up. But Abel wasn't fazed. He had already accepted the mission and couldn't outrun this creature. His only option was to fight it out.

He sidestepped and dodged a dangerous kick.

"Go on, brother! I know you can do it! Beat up that monster, I'll go call for help!" The girl, now free from the vampire, shouted and quickly disappeared down the narrow alley.

Abel was exasperated. The girl didn't even blink before fleeing. Clearly, she didn't believe he could win, so she escaped before the vampire finished him off.

He felt like shedding tears. She didn't even bat an eyelid and just abandoned her savior without a second thought.

(Ding, mission save the girl from the bloodkin completed, host has received hundred system points.)

'Do you have to remind me now? I'm in the middle of a fight.' Abel felt like crying.

He quickly refocused on the fight. He had exchanged a few blows with the vampire and had roughly gauged his strength.

The vampire seemed to have the strength of four grown men, yet he was completely overpowering Abel even though he has more strength than the vampire. His real advantage was his speed. He was extremely fast, and Abel barely dodged most attacks, some even landed on him.

Abel decided to go on the defensive and wait for an opening instead of making himself an easy target. The vampire's attacks grew more aggressive. Then Abel saw an opening and threw a quick punch. The vampire dodged it easily.

Abel smiled.

He had prepared for that. His kick followed the missed punch, catching the vampire off guard. Abel could tell the vampire wasn't a skilled fighter, he relied too much on speed. That punch had just been bait to create an opening for the kick.

His leg connected squarely with the vampire's jaw, and he heard something crack. The vampire flew from the impact and landed a meter away.

There was terror in his eyes when he looked at Abel again. His face grew even paler. He spat blood.

"You... who are you? No, you're an Awaken. You must be. But... I didn't feel any energy from you," he muttered, more to himself.

Abel blinked. Maybe I beat him so hard he lost his mind, he mused. He even became more happy when the system awarded him hundred points for defeating the bloodkin.

He walked closer.

The Bloodkin, who had seemed dazed, quickly raised his hands. "Don't come closer. You already won. Don't think you're anything special just because you beat a Bloodkin. I'll tell you for free, I'm only a level one Bloodkin. I just transformed a week ago. My brother is a level three... he can easily waste you."

Abel paused mid-step. He grew increasingly confused.

Suddenly, he had an ominous feeling and froze. Every cell in his body screamed danger. He instinctively dodged to the side and miraculously survived.

"Lucky bastard."

Abel's blood ran cold as he looked at the new arrival. He was a young man, slightly older than the first Bloodkin, and wore a business suit that outlined his muscular figure. His eyes were fixed on Abel. His face looked pale.

Wait! a lightbulb lit up in Abel's head.

"Another Bloodkin!"