Chapter 2 - Contract: How Did I Become A System?
A boy was just sitting, as usual, in the middle of a mountain of books. Aaron Gonzales, a 20-year-old young adult, is his name. He is a self-sustaining man who earns money by reviewing, proofreading, modifying, and editing. As a result of his status as the God of Literacy, he can read free books from his clients.
It was nothing in particular for him. Just another cliché recognition which he's used to. From elementary to high school, he was popular for being a bookworm, or, in the best description, the smartest person.
He has excelled throughout his life. He may have been bad at physical activities, but it was covered by his knowledge. You can ask him anything; he's a literal dictionary, a living library, and you can ask him about anything.
He can read 50 books per day on average. On leisure days, he can read 100. But people may be curious about where he can get the money to buy books.
As already mentioned, he's self-sustaining. He bought his book by himself because ever since he was recognized, he had been receiving money for doing a favor for the writers.
Since his graduation, he has read approximately 20,000 books. Many have speculated that his book count has already reached 100,000 or even a million, but no one knows.
Normal people, on the other hand, can only wonder how he can store such information in his brain. And to that question, Aaron already had an answer. He already knew the answer because he had read so many books. His answer: he had already unlocked the full capabilities of the human brain. He can store information and never forget it, because of the full potential of his brain.
The human brain can't be easily comprehended. As humans have also uncovered mysteries inside the body, Aaron already knew them. He was able to patch up every theory, law, and logic thanks to the information he had. But unfortunately, his life ended at 20.
He just likes to read, just another daily routine, immersing himself in reading. However, when he stood up to change books, he tripped, making him stumble into the mountain of books.
That was unfortunate for him. The mountain of books, which were taller than him, drowned him. In the ocean of books, he was overwhelmed and drained, fighting to get up.
After only a few seconds of being buried, he felt surrender as he realized his life was still incomplete. He stated that if he could just learn new things, he would do anything.
"My goodness, if you can give me another chance to learn, I'll do anything."
"Really?"
A certain male voice reached his ear as he regained consciousness. He saw himself in a room, wide and transparent, like floating in the space. He noticed some glittering stars, floating asteroids, and huge celestial objects like planets. He was mesmerized for a split second before deciding to pay attention to the person standing in front of him.
"Are you the one who called me?"
"Yes."
With that answer, he processed everything that appeared in his field of view. He patched every information he could get by just observing it. Although he couldn't see the face of the man, he just safely assumed that it was a higher-grade race than humans.
It was not just a fantasy imagination, it was a theory. He also thought that humans had been created or existed by evolution. Other species that have high intelligence may exist too. History shows that humans didn't just sprout like a seed, they evolved and more species became extinct and others have continued.
The age of the Earth is billions of years, which can not be counted with fingers or calculators. It was all based on assumptions and implied laws.
He also assumed that other species and races live in another biome, a biome that hasn't been discovered by current technology. For example, the deepest sea creatures exist there as well, but humans have no idea what they are. Theories and discoveries are still going on, so it can be assumed that high-intelligence beings who only survive under pressure live there.
Different respiratory systems may be applied to them, just as Homo sapiens also survive through respiration. Or they have another system that helps them survive.
"Ah!"
Aaron regained his sense of self-awareness. He let out a small snicker at what he had just done. He was still lost in his thoughts.
"Didn't you say you'd do anything for new knowledge?"
"Hmm." Aaron nodded as his eyes started to glitter.
"You'll just have to do me a favor."
"What favor?"
Aaron couldn't stand it any longer, and he immediately followed the man's every word.
"I want you to use your knowledge of your world, and in exchange, I'll give you an experience of another world that applies different logic and laws from your world."
That caught Aaron's attention. He just assumed it would be another boring and repetitive job, but he was relieved that it was different.
'This man is interesting. I'd like to study his body, but I don't think I have the time.' He thought about it as he observed the surroundings once again.
"I'm listening," Aaron remarked.
"You are dead, so I want your soul to be reincarnated as an invisible system in my world."
Aaron nodded and concluded. 'So souls are real, huh?'.
"And what exactly is my job supposed to be?"
"Don't worry, I'll insert it into you as I reform your soul into a system. And this time... ah! You need to hurry, your host is already being born."
"What host? Do I need to become a parasitic creature?"
"No, of course! Stay calm."
The man was moving his hands and some weird feelings reached Aaron. He felt something that wanted him to suck on something. And others are new feelings that he can't comprehend.
The surroundings flashed after a few seconds. A sudden white blinded his vision as his surroundings became new. He felt a little dizziness, but somehow, he wondered, 'I don't have a head. So why would I be dizzy?'
"Uwaaaahhh!!!"
The sound of a baby crying spread throughout the area. He tilted his vision to the bottom of his field of view and saw 3 people crowding around a crying baby.
"Tsk! What is this hair? Why is it black?"
A man who only peeked at the newborn child cursed. The midwife was startled by the exclamation and tried to express herself slowly.
"She... she... is a cursed child."
And Aaron just cursed at the midwife's remark.
'Who's cursed?! Don't just spout nonsense, you old hag; she was chosen by the gods of this world.' He continued as information streamed into his mind.
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A/N:
I'm also working on another novel of mine. It's entitled "Sage's Cultivation: Mage in Cultivation World".
It's a story of an immortal mage who got tired of living and decided to find a way to die. Thus, after finding some clues and stumbling upon a possible way to die using a legendary sword, he stabbed himself. But he was transported to another world instead.
Check it out.. And also, a must, read this chapter's comment section.
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