The Black Tiger 23 The Game Has Begun

Gabriel lied quietly in his hospital bed when a small column appeared in front of him. "Uh… What?" He grumbled in pain. His casted body restricted his movement as his injuries aced painfully.

[Due to certain circ.u.mstances you have been invited to join the system as a player. Do you want to accept?]

Yes No

Gabriel couldn't understand where the columns came frown and responded quietly. "Yes". Suddenly a ray of light appeared.

[Status]

Name: Gabriel Warren Level: 1

Species: h.o.m.o Sapiens

t.i.tle: None

Hp: 100

Mp: 10

Strength: 2 Vitality: 5

Agility: 5 Sense: 2

Endurance: 7 Intelligence: 21

-Is this for real? –

[Message]

Open unread mail

Yes No

Gabriel mentally tried to understand this situation, but each thought ended with the same conclusion. He was mad, crazy or mentally ill. "What the…"

-To be honest, this do look like columns which appears in video games. What should I do, I already accepted the game. I should open that message, it will most likely not cause any harm…-

"open" he commanded.

[Welcome, player]

Quest: keep your cool

Goal: Stay calm to prevent any unwanted attention.

[Warning!]

Failing this quest will lead to psychological evaluation

-What the h***? I'm not throwing a fit-

[Alarm]

The quest 'Keep your cool' has been completed.

[Message]

Your rewards have arrived, would you like to accept?

Accept Refuse

This made Gabriel stun. "Accept"

[Quest rewards]

Choose one of the following rewards below

Reward #1: Stat points +2

Reward #2: The ability 'Detect'

-I don't know if this are real or not so I should accept the ability 'Detect' since it doesn't require any physical movement. It will also make me able to test if this is real or not. –

"#2" He stuttered.

[Message]

Congratulations! You have learned the ability 'Detect'. The ability 'Detect' is currently at level 1.

-Interesting, I should try out this ability at once. –

"Detect"

When his lips had finished forming the word, all his senses got sharpened. His eyes could observe all the movements within the coal black room, while he could smell the chlorine which had been used to clean the nearby area and his ears could hear the heartbeats of nearby patients.

-Wow! I didn't think it would work. –

Gabriel was completely trapped in his mind for a bit of time, which had caused him to not notice the elderly man who had approached him. The man had a short stature because of his slightly crooked back. The man's face was almost entirely covered in wrinkles while his small dusty eyes stared at Gabriel intensely.

"Young people nowadays. First they invented computers where they sat tasting on those small keyboards, but now they don't even need to lift a finger. They only need to speak to that d.a.m.n screen and wake up all the other people in the room. Young people are only becoming ruder for each generation who pa.s.ses.

"I'm sorry mister. I didn't mean to wake you up". Gabriel whispered. The man looked at him before he returned to his bed across the room.

After a week had pa.s.sed Gabriel got signed out of the hospital and transported to the Warren property. Since he couldn't move by himself, he was dependent on the servants moving him in a wheelchair. After one more week he had almost been in his room since he returned "Home", and it made him tired. He couldn't believe he had become a trapped bird in a cage. His oppressed feelings turned into anger as he continued to think about the life he had accomplished shortly before the accident.

"Well, you seem to be in a bad mood". A raspy masculine voice said softly. This made Gabriel spell out the words: "Detect". This only made the voice laugh in amus.e.m.e.nt. "I hate to ruin your moment, but I'm not a living being so you can't detect me at your current level." Gabriel's conflicted thoughts was emitted by his facial expressions, until he screamed: "You're the person who shouted out for me when I crossed the road, weren't you?"

"Indeed. You see, I knew that the incident would awaken the system which can make you stronger." The voice said swiftly. "What do you get out of ruining my life when I finally had managed to escape my old life!" The tears flowed down Gabriel's bruised face making his chins feel like they where set on fire. "I will gain everything I want by you experiencing the system, and once you have become strong enough, I will disappear"

Gabriel couldn't believe what he heard, what kind of motive could this voice have by giving Gabriel the system. "Don't worry, I don't have any special motives. However, when the time comes, I will tell you my reason" This information managed to calm Gabriel a bit before tried to form a sentence, only to be interrupted by one of the servants.

"You are reacquired to attend today's social gathering, so don't cause any disturbances". The butler said strictly before pushing the wheelchair up the stairs and out into the marbled hallways. Gabriel had wondered why he had been dressed in a nice football jacket while his legs had been tucked in in a top-quality fur blanket. His family did never give him any nice things, so it was quite a shook.

The light and elegant steps of aristocratic families filled the mansion while laughter filled the air. Gabriel felt quite nervous since he had never been to a social event before, the reason is that his family refused to be acquainted to what they saw as a plague.

He now understood why he shouldn't have come, the dark shadows with wide smiles surrounded him…