[Invalid query. Try again.]

The System answers your question with its most favorite phrase.

You swore that the System must have its tutorial mode turn off. Otherwise, why couldn’t you get a straight answer out of the damn thing?

“Inventory,” you call out.

[Invalid Query. Please Try Again.]

“Of course,” you curse. It was never that easy. You take a moment to calm yourself and rephrase your query.

“Can you please show me my Inventory?”

You have half expected a game window to appear in front of your eyes, but you were wrong.

A grid of 3x3 appears in your mind instead, follows by a migraine – which follows by cursing, by you.

“Fuck! Goddamn it!”

You try your best to ignore the pain and have a quick look at the grid – your inventory. The longer the Inventory remains in your head, the painful the migraine becomes.

You notice that there was a single item in the grid, sitting on top left corner. It was a golden treasure chest. Inside must be the reward for creating your first script. Now, only if you know how to get it out of your head.

The System really makes it hard for you, but after trying all sorts of phrases, moves and gestures, you finally got the damn chest out of your head. You had to stop every now and then as the pain became too difficult to bear.

The golden chest vanishes from your inventory and materializes in your hand. You feel its weight and the cool metal upon your fingers despite the hot weather. It is obviously gold – real gold!

Grinning like a madman, you place the chest made of solid gold on top of the desk in front of you. It is now sitting next to the typewriter and a pile of paper that is your screenplay.

“I wonder what I got,” you ask yourself and slowly examine the chest. If it is a shitty item, at least you could sell the chest to get some money.

Once you finish ogling the chest like a sexy lover, you open it, and within its confines, there is an apple – an ordinary looking apple from the look of it. There was nothing special about it. Maybe it is shinier than most apples you found in the supermarket.

Stolen story; please report.

Your raise a brow and pick up the apple. The moment you did, the golden chest fades away.

“No! My precious! My precious!”

You frantically try looking into your mind, at your Inventory but the chest is nowhere to found. It just disappears, vanishing away like it was never there.

You grip the apple tightly in your hand and nearly cry a river. All that work, and you got an apple. Of course, you know it likely isn’t an ordinary apple. It probably gives you something if you eat it.

“Maybe it’s a devil fruit?”

Your eyes immediately sparkled. Devil fruits are fruits that grant a person supernatural power from the world of One Piece, an anime.

However, it didn’t look like a devil fruit. It just looks like an ordinary apple.

You are sure that it is not a devil fruit after the first bite. The taste isn’t horrible or disgusting. In fact, it just like a very ordinary apple. You swallow the first bite and ponder if anything had changed. Other than a cool sensation sliding down your throat thanked to the nicely chilled apple, you didn’t see or feel anything different.

You examine yourself in the mirror, checking every inches of your body. Nothing really changed. You shrug and took another bite – and another and another. You keep on taking bite until there is only the core of the apple left.

“Now what? Don’t tell me I have to eat the core too?”

You didn’t believe it is just an ordinary apple. Maybe it already gives you something, just without any notification – or maybe not. Nevertheless, it didn’t hurt if you just swallow the core as well.

You swallow the core without another thought.

[Congratulation. You have gained an Ability: Skill Boost!]

You have never been more excited. You have gained an ability! You immediately ask the system to tell you more about the Skill Boost ability.

[This ability can temporary boost any skill, forcing it to rise in ranks immediately. The strength of the boost and the duration is completely depended on the User’s sacrifice. The User cannot use the ability on yourself.]

It was a simple explanation. The sacrifice part sends chill down your spine.

“What sacrifice?”

[Invalid Query. Please Try Again.]

“@*&$(&#%*(&,” you curse in multiple languages. Figuring how to get information out of the System will always going to be a challenge. It requires correct phrasing or close to correct phrasing.

Eventually, you did learn a few crucial things about your new ability. You can technically boost any skill a person has, to any ranks you desire. However, the higher the ranks you boost to from their base, the more you must sacrifice. This is the same as duration. Longer the effect of the boost, the more you must sacrifice.

What did you need to sacrifice?

Apparently your lifeforce. If you use this ability, you are effectively giving up years of your life to just improve someone’s else. How is that good!?

It isn’t a bad ability per se, since there are many ways to use it to your advantage, but you would prefer something better – like flying power for example. On another note, you are curious about how long you are going to live.

“How long do I have left to live?”

[1964182331 seconds.]

“What is that in years?”

[Invalid Query. Please Try Again.]

“#(*&$#*(&@^%!!!!!”