It was quiet. It's rare to hear this in the forest because there's always a bird singing or a bug chirping. But now, apart from the sound of my steps and the creaking of the trees, there was silence.

Slow and cautious. Everywhere in front of me were broken branches, fallen trees, and all sorts of debris. One wrong step, and I could twist my ankle or break my leg. A strong gust of wind or an unfortunate move on my part, and a half-fallen tree could collapse.

Right foot forward, slow probing. I bear the weight, move, and secure myself. Now, left foot forward... and so on. I tried to avoid the proximity of trees that were only half-fallen because they posed the greatest danger to me.

I hear a groan in front of me. I stop for a moment, listen. I hear the sound again, and its position hasn't changed. Slowly, I move toward it, but I see that the source of the sound is in the shadow of a half-fallen tree. I try to find a higher vantage point to see what's there, so I slowly sidestep to the right, reaching a larger fallen tree trunk. I carefully climb on it and try to peek at the source of the sound, but the angle isn't right. I lean forward a bit, and I catch a glimpse of a boar's tusky face, whining with a foamy mouth.

Upon impact, one of the trees could have fallen and buried me underneath. With the slowly fading groans, the boar won't last much longer. Poor creature, and it had to be a boar... my favorite animal...

At this moment, my left foot suddenly slipped on the tree trunk, and losing my balance, I fell to the left straight onto a protruding thick branch, which snapped in half with a loud crack.

Because of the rough landing, everything hurt. My hands were scraped bloody, I had three cuts on my face from the protruding branches, and the left thigh had torn the pants where the thick branch broke. For a while, I just lay there, then slowly moved myself, gently testing my limbs. It felt like I had no fractures. Painfully, I tried to stand up, but because of the dense debris, I had to search for a stable point to stand on without falling again.

I wiped the blood from my face with my shirt, and I examined my left thigh more closely. The branch had torn it, but the wound didn't seem deep, so I wiped it with the torn part of my pants.

When I looked around, I suddenly felt a bit lost. Which way did I come from? Where am I going?

Then, I heard the boar's sound again, to my left.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Concentrate, Marcus, I told myself.

I looked around again, and now I could see more details. The tree I stood on, then fell off. The large half-fallen tree trunk towering over the boar, as well as the direction in which the trees were falling. If I read the signs correctly, I have to bypass the boar from the right, and maybe from there, I'll have a view of the crash site.

Slowly, cautiously, I move again. I drag my painful limbs through trees and branches, here and there, I see the corpses of birds in the thick debris layer. Now I only think about how grateful I can be that no fire broke out from the crash.

There! While thinking about this, I finally spotted a small crater on one of the fallen tree trunks. About 10 meters from me, the trees are no longer toward me, but falling opposite. In a minute or two, I'll be there.

Continuing to move slowly and cautiously, I approach, while the pain pulses through my body again and again. I see a really large oak tree, which is about 25 meters not completely fallen and dangerously hanging over the crater. I'm almost standing on the edge of the crater, which is only a few meters in diameter, but I can't see what's in it because of the multitude of leaves.

I stopped and considered. Do I want this? Is it worth it for me to have a tree fall on me and break my neck? Maybe it's just a simple piece of rock with no value. Who will watch over my children when my wife has to work double shifts to have money for their upkeep? But actually, we're back to money again. If I find something valuable, maybe I won't have to go to bed every night with stomach cramps. Maybe we can finally move to our own house!

Yes! Whatever is hidden there must be valuable, and it's the key to a calmer, more stable life.

With determined steps, I headed towards the center of the crater. With one eye constantly on the tree creaking dangerously above me, while the other focused on my feet. The injury on my left thigh, though not particularly serious, still forced me to stop now and then as it twisted under greater strain.

A few more steps, and I reached the center of the crater, where I slowly began to move aside the leaves and smaller branches. My fingers touched something hard, and with my other hand, I began to explore it. Whatever it was, it had a smooth surface. I cleared the leaves and debris from it and discovered a black, cube-like object measuring half a meter by half a meter. I ran my fingers across its surface, and indeed, it was completely smooth, with no scratches or indentations from the impact. I tried to lift it, but it felt too heavy. I squatted beside it and tried again.

While slowly lifting it, I heard a massive creaking sound above me. The half-fallen oak tree decided to find its final rest on the ground, and unfortunately, I was right where it was about to fall.

Dropping the black cube, I tried to leap backward, but my left foot thought it had had enough of the recent lifting and gave way. I fell beside the cube as the tree came crashing down towards me.

I closed my eyes and raised my hands in front of me. I felt the ground tremble around me from the force of the impact. Thin branches broke into pieces on my face and hands, cutting a bloody path.

When the noise subsided, and I was still breathing, I realized how much of a fool I was. For the second time today, I had a near-death experience. Why do I tempt fate? If I couldn't help it in the first case, this incident was entirely the result of my greed. We'll figure out our future. As long as we live, there's a chance to find a solution.

This latest brush with death, a sobering slap in the face, finally had its effect, and I just wanted to get back to the others. Krisztina must be worrying herself to death for my lateness and the loud noise of today's falling, fearing the worst...

Carefully, I brushed off the broken branches and leaves from myself and looked around to assess my situation. The tree trunk lay diagonally just above me, while the black cube, in my lying position, almost towered over me. The tree trunk hit the cube directly, which stopped its fall onto me, so only smaller pieces of wood fell on me.

Not tempting my luck further, I tried to cautiously get on all fours with my aching body so that I could crawl out. However, every movement hurt. My head, hands, and legs were bleeding. Krisztina will have a heart attack when she sees me like this...

With my bloody hand, I reached up towards the black cube to grab the edge and pull myself on all fours to crawl out from under the tree. Gripping the smooth, cold surface, nausea and dizziness overcame me. My mind began to fog, and I saw everything blurred. From the corner of my eye, I still saw the black cube suddenly flash, then everything went dark.

----------------------------------------

"Marcus! Marcus, are you okay?" - Krisztina asked, pouring water on my face to bring me back. My head felt like it was about to split, hurting so much, and every muscle in my body ached. I looked around and saw that somehow she managed to pull me out of the crater.

"Marcus! You've finally awakened! What happened? Is anything hurting? How are you?" - questions rained down on me. Her face was wet with tears. Her clothes and hair were full of leaves and torn in several places. Six months pregnant, she crawled over every obstacle to get to me and even pulled me out from under the fallen tree. Tears welled up in my eyes at the thought. That's when I felt something lying on my chest. Astrid had embraced me with her whole body, and I heard her crying softly.

"Everything is fine, my dears! Daddy is okay! The black cube saved my life," I mumbled, cautiously getting up and glancing at the cube. I blinked hard because the black cube had disappeared along with the tree above it. Krisztina's voice pulled me out of my bewilderment.

"We were so worried about you. You've been gone for a long time, and then we heard the loud crash. We shouted for you first, but you didn't respond. I tried calling for rescue and firefighters, but there's no signal. Finally, with Astrid, we climbed over the trees to find you," Krisztina said in a choked but relieved voice.

"Thank you, both! You were so brave, and you saved Dad! I'm very proud of you!" I said, hugging my wife and daughter tightly. I have a fantastic family, I thought to myself.

"I hope you're okay too. It couldn't have been easy to climb over the fallen trees," I glanced at my wife's large belly.

I didn't hear the answer because two helicopters flew over us, followed shortly by a loud explosion. After that, I didn't think much about the black cube in the next few minutes.

"Dad, I'm scared!" Astrid said, hugging me even tighter.

"Nothing's wrong, sweetheart, everything is fine! Dad's stomach just growled!" Krisztina quickly replied, picking up Astrid in her arms.

"Can you walk, or do you need help?" she asked me, already looking for the safest route.

"I'll manage, sweetheart. I'll be okay. I'm coming with Astrid so you have two free hands," I said, taking our daughter from her.

We slowly started back towards the lookout, and at the first significant tree, I put Astrid down to make it safer to cross. As we moved, we heard another explosion in the distance. We were all tense, and there was still no signal. When I looked at Krisztina with a worried gaze, a strange thought suddenly appeared in my mind.

Numbers and values, different skills, swirled around me. I suddenly felt dizzy and fell on my back near one of the fallen trees. Krisztina and Astrid were already by my side, and I could see their mouths moving. I knew they were asking what was wrong, but somehow, I couldn't hear the sound due to the ringing in my ears and the sudden pain piercing my head. Tears almost came to my eyes, and I had to clench my teeth. I felt like I was on the verge of losing consciousness. Astrid leaned over me and planted kisses on my forehead, while Krisztina lay me down on my back, holding my hand. I'm sure without them, I would have lost consciousness.

After a few minutes, the pain began to subside, and the world around me started to clear. For a moment, I closed my eyes, and I was completely stunned when the following text appeared in my mind:

SYSTEM ONLINE...

PARAMETERS SET TO PLANET #34EQ21IO6PXX24 (IN LOCAL DIALECT: EARTH)...

Name:

Marcus Lucius Augustus

Sex:

Male

Age:

32

Skills:

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

EXPANDABLE

Available Potential Points:

1

Shop:

EXPANDABLE

"Wow..." - a deep sigh escaped me. Even before the child, I used to read a lot of light novels where the main characters gained various abilities. Most of the time, the authors introduced this with the inclusion of a system, allowing the protagonist to effortlessly overcome any obstacle and reach the pinnacle of the world. While these used to be just fantasies for me, facing it firsthand was overwhelming.

However, I didn't have time to sit and contemplate alone. My family is here with me, and I need to get them home.

"I'm better now, my dears," I said, flashing them my most winning smile.

"Astrid, I think we've had enough of the forest. What do you say we start heading home?" I asked my little girl.

"I want to go home. I'm scared, Daddy," she said softly, and I could see tears in her eyes.

It took half an hour to get back to the lookout, and we could see how lucky we had been once again. The structure creaked ominously, so we decided to head towards the car and stay away from the unstable construction.

At the halfway point on the way back, we stopped in a wooded area to rest and have a bite. The not-so-distant fright still lingered in their eyes, but finally, they were able to laugh. Astrid tore bits from her sandwich and tossed them to the birds.

"Mom, look! Mom, look!" Astrid shouted, hitting a bird square on the head.

"Mom sees it! You're very clever, my dear," Krisztina said, who was busy rinsing my wounds with water. Since you don't go far with a child without wet wipes, she could also use it to comfort her.

I hadn't had time to deal with the system yet, but I felt incredibly guilty for putting the others in this situation.

"Sweetheart..." I began quietly. "I'm really sorry I was an idiot. But where the meteorite was supposed to be... Ouch," I would have continued, but Krisztina's powerful care filled me with pain. I think she was angry with me.

"We'll have a talk at home, but first, get well. Let's get to the car and then take you to the hospital," she said decisively, expressing her displeasure through another round of strong care.

Yes, she's mad at me.

While cleaning my wounds, as I squirmed under her vengeful hands, another strange thing happened. When I thought about the system while looking at my wife, her data appeared as well.

Name:

Krisztina Rózsás

Sex:

Female

Age:

30

Opinion about you:

89/100

(Love)

Skills (Top 3)

Information technology 8th level

Parenting 8th level

Culinary skills 7th level

Potential (Top 3)

Singing 13th level

Culinary skills 11th level

Parenting 10th level

Hohohoho, I thought to myself. 89/100... Surprisingly high compared to the last hour. Looking closely at the skills section, I saw that the highest values were listed first. The highest value for me was historical and political knowledge, followed by automotive repair skills. While for my wife, the highest values were in information technology, parenting, and culinary skills. However, the highest value was only a 8 out of 30, which, when presented in this way, felt rather disheartening. The potential section next to it was relatively low, only 4-5 points higher than the current value.

"You're going to make it," my wife said after finishing cleaning the wounds a few minutes later.

"You were lucky that none of your wounds were deep. The one on your leg seems to be the ugliest, but honestly, it should only need bandaging and rest. But it's best if a doctor sees it," she finished, then began packing up the bloody papers.

"Dad is okay now? Can we go home?" Astrid asked, who had finished tormenting the birds by now.

"Dad is fine! However, before we go home, we'll visit the doctor uncles because they always give us candy. Okay, sweetheart?"

"Yessss! Mom! We'll visit the doctor uncles because Dad said so!" And Astrid was already running around us. Honestly, I smiled at the whole situation. Whatever life throws at you, children are quick to overcome it.

The remaining path to the car was slow and long. Everything hurt, I limped, and I was tired. But I kept my mouth shut about it. My wife, six months pregnant, went without a word while guiding Astrid. Man up, man. Grinding my teeth, I continued. I owe my current situation to myself, although I probably made the right decision. That's how life goes on.

Fortunately, the car was unharmed and where we left it. For understandable reasons, Krisztina took the wheel, while Astrid got into the child seat.

"The GPS isn't working," my wife said while trying to create a route on her phone to the nearest hospital.

"It seems we have to go into the city because I can't find a signal."

I acknowledged this with a nod, and my eyes were slowly starting to close. Since we didn't know the area outside the hiking trail, we relied on the GPS for everything. There wasn't even a map in the car since we never needed one in the last 15 years.

"Marcus!" Krisztina sharply called me, and my eyes suddenly popped open.

"Whatever happens... don't go towards the light!" she said with a forced grin. I also smiled at this.

"I love you, you idiot! Everything will be fine," she whispered to me and gave a kiss on my cheek.

What can I say... I'm a lucky man!

----------------------------------------

The journey to the hospital passed in the blink of an eye. Considering I was asleep and woke up there.

Cars were parked everywhere, and people were running around. My wife tried to catch anyone she could talk to, but within 15 minutes, she had no success with anyone. Finally, it was an EMT who summarized the situation for her in a few sentences.

According to his account, they were working non-stop. A larger piece of a meteorite hit a busy plaza, causing numerous injuries. Fortunately, there was no information about fatalities yet. After my wife's pleading, the man took a glance at my injuries and suggested that we better go home. Currently, they are dealing with the severely injured, and he believes no one will attend to me until tomorrow. I'd be better off going home, disinfecting myself, and letting the wounds rest. And with that, our man hurried away.

"Where's the candy, Mom?" - Astrid asked the most crucial question.

"Dad ate it!" - Mom replied sharply, but quickly realized. "But the doctor said he hid some chocolates for you at home. Shall we find them together later?"

Of course, this caught Astrid's enthusiasm, and she could hardly wait to get home and find her chocolate.

"On our way home, let's quickly stop by the pharmacy because we need to get medicine for Dad," Krisztina said.

----------------------------------------

Following this, I woke up when we arrived and had to get out of the car. Everything still hurt, but the rest definitely did me good. Of course, I helped carry in the few things we took with us, but Krisztina insisted on doing most of the carrying... even while pregnant...

Once we entered the door, I headed straight for the bed, but it didn't last long. I was nicely ushered into the bathroom to wash up and inspect my wounds, while my wife undressed Astrid and checked for any injuries.

I could only slowly take off my torn clothes in various places. My pants were in the worst condition, with dried blood on them. After undressing and examining myself more closely, I could already see how lucky I had been. None of my wounds were deep. On my leg, there was only a huge bruise and a long bloody streak that just grazed the surface.

The blessed touch of warm water washed away the fatigue and pain of the day.

While I was showering slowly, I opened the system interface and saw that my potential points were already at 79. I furrowed my eyebrows at this. What could have increased this? Does it grow with the passage of time?

Then, for the first time, I opened the system shop. An intense pain shot through my head, and I got dizzy for a moment. I cut my foot, which made me cry out.

"Are you okay, Dad?" - I heard Krisztina's voice and her hurried steps. She opened the door and cast a concerned glance at me.

"Phew, of course, honey. I slipped for a moment and banged my foot." - I said with an artificially calm tone, while wanting to bite my lower lip from the throbbing pain.

"Mommmm! I want a cartooooooon!" - Astrid's shout came from the background.

Krisztina gave me another glance, then went back to our dear child.

Now, alone again and over the first unpleasant experience with the system, I stabilized myself in the shower and opened the shop again. The feeling was not as rough as the first time, but I still staggered a bit. Slowly regaining control over my body, I went through what was there.

Shop:

Increase skill potential to level 1 (Utter Beginner) - 1000 points

Increase skill potential to level 2 (Beginner) - 3000 points

Increase skill potential to level 3 (Basic Familiarity) - 6000 points

….......................

Increase skill potential to level 20 (Planetary System-Known Master) - 265000 points

…........................

Increase skill potential to level 30 (Pinnacle Of The Skill) - 265000 points

Skill learning enhancement token (10% bonus up to level 10) (Attachable to a room. Requires at least a level 10 instructor for lectures) - 150,000 points

Skill learning enhancement token (20% bonus up to level 10) (Attachable to a room. Requires at least a level 10 instructor for lectures) - 250,000 points

…………………….

Skill learning enhancement token (500% bonus up to level 30) (Attachable to a room. Requires at least a level 30 instructor for lectures) - 100,000,000,000,000,000 points

Okay, this is a bit disappointing. Honestly, I expected more from a system. Where is the elixir of eternal life? Or maybe the Shadow Clone jutsu? Perhaps some sci-fi device? …

The warm water slowly turned cold as I drained all the water from the boiler. And I began to seriously consider whether I might have a concussion. Because all of this is so tangible. How do I know if all of this is reality and not just a joke driven by a head injury?

I slowly got out of the tub and looked into the mirror again. My brown eyes seemed a bit duller than usual. Cuts of various sizes on my face from the branches. But I didn't see any visible head injuries. I ran my hand over the scalp under my brown hair, but I didn't feel any serious wounds there.

"Dad, look, I brought you some chocolate! The doctor hid it in the study!" - Astrid opened the door to the bathroom with a big smile on her face and a tiny, barely visible piece of chocolate in her hand, which was evidently a much larger piece before. Judging by the chocolate stains around her mouth, I must be lucky to have gotten this much.

"Thank you, sweetheart." - I said and quickly bit into the chocolate before she changed her mind. It took a few seconds before she looked down at her hand, where there was nothing now. She furrowed her eyebrows. Obviously, she was in deep thought.

"Mommmm! Dad ate my chocolate! I want more!" - she shouted and rushed back to Krisztina.

I didn't even like the chocolate she gave me! I grinned to myself.

----------------------------------------

By evening, much to our great relief, I felt much better. I wasn't in a state where any movement could be my last. The good news was that the internet was working again, and there was also network coverage.

For the next hour, I occupied the computer in the living room and browsed through what was happening in the world. The meteor fragments hit all of Europe and parts of northern Africa. The one that hit our plaza was the most severe case, claiming the lives of 11 people according to the current situation. Here, I silently muttered a quick thank you that it wasn't us.

"I swear on my father's grave that this wasn't a rock, but a satellite! Something the smart guys messed up, and that's why it crashed, but I'm telling you, it wasn't a meteor. I saw its cables and everything..." - said one of the interviews.

But there were many similar stories online where people reported what they saw before the military cordoned off the crash site. Some thought it was a satellite, some thought it was an airplane, and some thought it was pieces of a spacecraft.

Krisztina pulled me out of reading wild speculations. She asked me to help her make dinner.

----------------------------------------

"Something happened at the crater." - I began, searching for the right words.

Astrid was already asleep in her bed, so Krisztina and I could finally have a conversation.

"When I got there, there was a black box in the middle of the crater. A cube. It was a perfectly black cube. And absolutely untouched. The tree fell on me when I tried to lift it. The tree fell directly onto the box..." - I said, but I saw concern in Krisztina's eyes, so I stopped.

"Marcus! ... Péter!" - she began uncertainly. "When we got there, there was no box or tree in the crater. Only you were lying at the bottom."

"I don't understand! I don't understand! When I got there, it was still there! It saved my life when that tree fell on me!" - I continued confusedly. I felt I was starting to speak incoherently.

"And the system! There's some potential-enhancing system in my head. I see your name, your age, and I see what you're good at and what your opinion of me is. I see all of this!" - I rambled on, but instead of an understanding nod, what I got was more concern.

Krisztina put her hand on my forehead.

"Your forehead is a bit warmer. Why don’t you lie down for a bit, dear? Everything will be fine tomorrow after you've rested. You've exhausted yourself; just lie down for a bit." - she said, pulling me towards the bed.

"I'm here for you, my dear!" - she whispered in my ear after I embraced her in bed. "Everything will be fine" - I heard before sleep overwhelmed me.