Mark woke up on a rough bed, in the middle of the night. He glanced around, trying to get a feel for the place he was in. The walls looked plain, despite the darkness keeping them hidden. He glanced in the room, only to find himself all alone, sitting on a creaky bed. He was in a hospital.

"Well, who said that living in a post-communist country is nice? Damn it."

He laid back, trying to fall asleep. He twisted and turned, rocking his body left and right, yet he couldn’t sleep. He got up and sat on the side of the bed, checking his body for wounds.

Huh, how convenient. My body is fully healed, even my past wounds don’t hurt.

His past wounds were no more than a back pain from the shitty way he slept.

"So you’re finally awake. I’m glad you’re alive."

Mark stared around, confused, before coming face-to-face with a blue pop-up floating in front of him.

"Oh, the mysterious voice behind the system. You know, I might be late on this, but how should I call you?"

"Disclosing my name is not an option, so I guess you could call me however you feel like."

"Sys, it is. Now, Sys, tell me, how long till he can come out?"

"At least a week, that’s the minimum, yet don’t rush. Here’s a bit of advice: you’d better go past level 100 before using him. If the difference in power is too great, then you’ll lose control."

Mark nodded, trying to filter his thoughts.

"That’s it on that subject. Tell me, what level am I at?"

"A whooping level 74, quite a lot more than expected."

Mark sat there, on the edge of the bed, his elbows placed on his legs. He liked to sit like that when thinking.

"Level 74. I guess you spent the points, right?"

"Yes, I did."

"How about you tell me more about how this whole system works. I need some more information related to this whole situation, since there are too many unknowns."

Sys had no choice but to go on about the whole situation, despite it being a long talk—far longer than expected.

"Well, to begin with it all. First, the system was set up so you, the humans of this world, could fight to protect yourself. This world is under attack from an external force, which put us in the position of releasing mana into the world. As you know, mana is something used for magic, yet it has other properties as well. The main point of such an act is to help you get stronger."

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Mark kept listening to all that babbling, keeping a stern expression on.

"I already told you about levels not being a true sign of power, yet levels are an approximate measure of how much power your body can hold. Stats themselves are simple, their names explain their roles: strength is, well, strength, agility is related to how fast you can move, be it running or hand movements, stamina determines how long you can keep doing those actions, intelligence acts as an indicator for how intricate the magic you can use is, and wisdom determines your magic’s efficiency. Your level of intelligence was high enough, but there’s something else about how well you can use and understand magic, that is not related to wisdom."

Mark showed a slight smile, knowing damn well that reading all that manga was worth it.

"Once again, even stats have limits to what they can grasp. The system is not perfect, both because we were not ready to use it here, and because measuring such things can’t give a precise result. There are always some things that end up meddling with the stats, but still, it’s a good way to get an estimate of one’s power."

"Well, that sums it up, now let’s talk skills and buffs. Why was music a buff for me? Just how?"

"You see, there are certain things that influence an individual. Music, in your case, gave you a great boost even before mana amplified that feeling. I’m sure you felt goosebumps before while listening to music."

"Well, yes, I did, I sort of get it. Mana amplifies even such little things."

"Bingo! That’s it. Buffs amplify certain feelings, giving you power. Anger can do that, a state of complete calm can do that, yet there are also different types of buffs that boost your abilities at the cost of mana."

"So you’re saying that I can use a lot of buffs at once, got it. By the way, how do I know how much mana I have? I surely want to know that."

"You need to test that. You’ll feel it when your mana fully drains. I’m sorry, but we have no other way to test that. However, let me tell you something. You could absorb mana from the air, yet that’s a technique you might need more time to master."

"Oh, you did all that, yet there’s no way to measure my mana. Dang it."

"Look, I’m sorry, but it’s not like I made it, and it’s not like the other features are not enough."

Mark thought about it for a second, before laying down, covering himself with the blanket.

"Perhpas I have one more question. Does this happen everywhere?"

"Monsters swarming in? It only happened in a few countries around the world. However, the scale at which it happened differed. Larger countries had to face way more monsters, while small, disorganized countries like yours had to face one small unit."

"Hm, they act like an army, I get it. Well, I’m going to sleep for now, I’m always tired."

Without a care in the world, Mark slept, knowing damn well that going forward, things would only get worse.

I have to get stronger, that’s a given. Why I fight? Because I care about things, about people.

The moment he turned on his side, he fell asleep. The blue window was still open, floating in the air, watching over him.

"He sure is something, facing them all alone. Fighting because he cares about others... It's better not to tell him I can read his mind, since he'd never listen to me again. Anyway, I’ll show him the ropes, but I’m sure I’ll have nothing to teach him after a few days at most."

And so, the night passed, and Mark woke up to a full hospital room. He talked to his family, who were glad that he was unscathed, and also proud of what he did. He went back to his hometown, since school had closed for the time being.

Mark could enjoy a good period of training, and he knew just who to train with.