DAY 1, TUESDAY

Hello and Good Day to Myself,

Starting today, I will keep a personal journal to record everything that happens in my life and document how much I change over time.

My name is Sanjaya—Prabu Sanjaya, to be exact. I am a thirty-year-old office worker who still enjoys watching animated movies, cartoons, and anime, as well as reading fantasy novels and playing video games.

When it comes to my office life, it’s pretty ordinary at best. Fortunately, I’ve managed to climb the corporate ladder, rising from the bottom ranks to become a supervisor of a small team. But life isn’t meant to be easy, is it? Despite my title, I still handle the technical workload of a regular employee. Most of my day is spent glued to my computer, except when I have to move around the office to coordinate with other supervisors.

As for my anime obsession—well, let’s just say that while I’m a fan, I’m not that kind of hobbyist. My soul can still be saved, if you know what I mean.

Something strange happened this evening around six p.m. I was on my way to the parking lot after work when, out of nowhere, an unknown object hit my head. It didn’t hurt or anything—it just hit me. Confused, I looked around the ground to find whatever had struck me, but there was nothing.

Probably some random kids playing a prank, I thought. But when I scanned my surroundings, I realized the parking lot was completely empty. No kids. No adults. No one.

Everything seemed normal—too normal, in fact, which only left me more confused. But I didn’t dwell on it for long. I had anime waiting for me at home, and I couldn’t waste any more time.

When I got home, I quickly changed out of my work clothes and had dinner with my family. Our household consists of my father, my mother, my younger brother—who’s on track to becoming a manager at a major company—and my younger sister, who just started working at one of the most prestigious banks in the country.

My parents love bringing up the future—specifically, my future and why I should start thinking about settling down. But honestly? I couldn’t care less right now.

My brother, on the other hand, enjoys talking about his job—the excitement, the challenges, how it’s shaping him into a great leader. My father listens intently, clearly proud of him and his accomplishments.

My sister, meanwhile, is the chatterbox of the family. She talks about anything and everything, always cracking jokes and filling the house with laughter. Without her, our home would feel dull and empty.

And me? Well, I’m just a hobbyist. Again, I’m not an anime freak or anything like that. I simply enjoy watching anime and cartoons because they’re fun, entertaining, and full of great stories—nothing more, nothing less.

As for relationships, I keep my eyes open, but no one has really caught my attention recently—or in the past two years, for that matter. Am I turning gay? I don’t think so. So, I just keep living my life as usual.

After an hour of what felt like a depressing dinner—filled with unsolicited advice and unwelcome comments about my life choices—I quickly retreated to my room and powered up my laptop. My fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard, and within minutes, the episode I had been waiting for was ready to play.

Time to binge-watch.

DAY 2, WEDNESDAY

I Swear, This Was the Weirdest Morning of My Life.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a scroll of paper floating right in front of my face. It hovered at eye level, adjusting its position no matter where I moved, as if it were locked onto me.

What made it even stranger was that I couldn’t touch it. Every time I reached for it, my hand would suddenly lose strength, or something would distract me just enough to make me abandon the attempt.

After a few frustrating minutes, the scroll suddenly unfurled itself, revealing elegant lines of text. The words were written in an intricate, calligraphic style—one that looked like something out of a medieval manuscript. But to my surprise, it was in English.

You have been chosen as a new wielder of the System of Power.

Please, choose your first skill!

* Sword Mastery

* Ranged Weapon Mastery

* Fire Manipulation

I had no words to describe how I felt reading that scroll.

Confusion? Obviously.

Curiosity? Of course.

Fear? Definitely.

Excitement? Hell yeah!

But despite my emotions running wild, I knew exactly what was happening. I just never thought something like this could actually become real. I mean, novels and anime have been hyping up systems like this for years. Stories about them are so common that you can find one in almost every new anime.

The real question now was: What should I do with this choice? And what would happen if I picked one of these skills? Not that I was scared of the consequences—though I had no clue what they might be—but because I genuinely liked all three options.

Sword Mastery would almost certainly let me wield a sword, something you’d never get to do in modern life.

Ranged Weapon Mastery seemed versatile—maybe it allowed me to use any weapon, or perhaps even turn everyday objects into projectiles.

Fire Manipulation was a bit basic but undeniably cool. If the name was anything to go by, I’d be able to control fire at will. But would I need an existing source of fire? If so, that might be a problem—fire isn’t exactly easy to come by, and let’s be real, nobody likes someone playing with fire.

I was just about to make my choice when I glanced at my alarm clock. Crap! I was almost late for work.

The world might be ending, but the office doesn’t care. Your attendance is all that matters.

Apparently, I Wasn’t the Only One Who Had a Weird Morning.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Turns out, everyone got the same floating scrolls!

The office was buzzing with conversation as people shared their experiences. They had all woken up to find a scroll in front of them, just like I did. And just like me, they were given three choices.

Most of my male coworkers had combat-related options like Sword Mastery or Weapon Mastery, while the women’s options were more varied, ranging from offensive abilities to support and utility skills.

Since I had a decent amount of experience with games and novels, I started categorizing the abilities into two main types. My coworkers quickly adopted my classification since it made things easier to understand:

Battle-Type Skills – Abilities focused on combat, such as sword fighting, long-range weaponry, and elemental manipulation. While they could be used for non-violent purposes, their primary function was to cause harm.

Support-Type Skills – Abilities designed to assist others, such as healing, buffs, or skills like Soothing Voice. While they could be used creatively in battle, their core function was to aid rather than attack.

Some coworkers had already made their choices. They claimed that after selecting a skill, a second scroll appeared, displaying a set of parameters—essentially a Status Page. I called it that, but most people preferred the term Number Page.

One other strange thing became clear: no one could see anyone else’s scroll. To make things even weirder, someone discovered that the scrolls could become translucent, allowing people to see through them. That explained why everyone at the office was casually talking about their new abilities instead of freaking out at home.

That Evening, I Finally Made My Choice. I picked Fire Manipulation.

As soon as I made my selection, the scroll's text vanished in a beautiful, flashy transition before new words appeared:

Congratulations on acquiring your new power!

Name: Prabu Sanjaya

Age: 33

Health: 100

Mana: 100

Strength: 5

Dexterity: 4

Endurance: 4

Intelligence: 7

Wisdom: 9

Mentality: 5

Skill:

Fire Manipulation Lv. 1 – Allows the user to manipulate fire slightly.

As expected, Fire Manipulation didn’t let me create fire—only control it. That was a problem since I didn’t smoke and had nothing on me that could produce flames.

Luckily, there was a small convenience store near the parking lot. I went inside and bought five cheap gas lighters before heading home.

After another thrilling dinner filled with my parents reminding me that my job hadn’t improved much over the years, I retreated to my room, eager to test my new ability.

I flicked on one of the gas lighters, watching as a tiny flame danced at the tip. It was ordinary—small, controlled, harmless. The fire didn’t feel special at all.

But as I stared at it, a strange sensation washed over me. It was as if the flame and I were somehow... connected. The feeling was subtle, almost like how you instinctively know how to move your fingers without thinking about it.

I focused, trying to make the flame move.

At first, I felt resistance—like trying to move a limb that had fallen asleep. The fire was there, but it refused to obey.

I kept trying.

With each attempt, the resistance weakened. The flame began responding, shifting slightly in the direction I willed it to move.

Then, suddenly, the scroll reappeared in front of me.

Skill Level Up!

Fire Manipulation Lv. 2!

As the words flashed across the scroll, I could feel it—my control over the fire had improved, even if only slightly. The flame flickered more naturally in response to my thoughts.

I grinned.

This power was amazing.

DAY 3, THURSDAY

I spent almost the entire night training my new skill and ended up making more progress than I expected.

For one, I finally succeeded in making the fire move exactly the way I wanted. I also discovered that I could slightly increase or decrease the size of the flame—though at the cost of burning through more gas.

When I checked my Status Page by actively thinking about it, I saw the results of my efforts:

Name: Prabu Sanjaya

Age: 33

Health: 100

Mana: 100

Strength: 5

Dexterity: 4

Endurance: 4

Intelligence: 7

Wisdom: 9

Mentality: 5

Skill:

Fire Manipulation Lv. 4 – Allows the user to manipulate fire with slightly more control.

With this small victory, I went to work in a great mood, a big smile on my face.

Unfortunately, that smile didn’t last long.

By midday, the government made a nationwide announcement banning citizens from choosing or using the skills granted by the scrolls. According to the new law, anyone caught using their abilities would be detained indefinitely until the government could assess the potential risks.

Strangely, most of my coworkers didn’t seem too upset about it. In fact, some even looked relieved. They admitted their abilities felt too dangerous—like weapons that could easily spiral out of control and lead to disaster.

For me, and a few others who had already made our choices, it was nothing short of disappointing. Just when things were starting to get exciting, the government stepped in and shut it all down.

Still, I kept my thoughts to myself. I’ve learned the hard way that my opinions tend to be... less than mainstream. And in a world where people get offended at the slightest provocation, it's often best to just smile and nod.

Later that night, back in my room, I decided to test my powers again.

This time, I aimed for something more ambitious. Instead of simply making the fire wiggle or grow, I wanted to shape it—to mold it into something entirely new.

As expected, the resistance from the fire was much stronger than before. It felt like trying to squish your own cheek into a ball—uncomfortable, unnatural, and stubbornly resistant. The flame pushed back against my control as if it had a will of its own.

But I didn’t give up.

For three hours, I kept pushing, focusing, and experimenting. And slowly, that resistance began to fade. The fire started responding more easily, bending to my will with less struggle.

Then, just before I called it a night, the scroll appeared in front of me once again.

Skill Level Up!

Fire Manipulation Lv. 5!

Skill Level Up!

Fire Manipulation Lv. 6!

I smirked.

If the government wanted to ban skills, they’d have to catch me first.

DAY 4, FRIDAY 

Everything seemed to be back to normal.

No one talked about the scrolls anymore.

At work, my coworkers were once again caught up in endless discussions about deadlines, reports, and client demands. The past two days had been far less productive than they should have been, so today was a frantic scramble to make up for lost time. I encouraged my team to put in extra hours to catch up.

Fortunately for me, I managed to slip out of the office in the evening.

I knew my coworkers would be pissed at me come Monday, but today was Friday, and there was no way I was spending my weekend kickoff trapped in the office. Absolutely not.

Later that night, back in my room, I decided to push my skill as far as I could.

Lately, playing with fire had become far more interesting than watching anime.

And it was definitely getting harder.

I could feel the growing resistance—my control wasn’t as effortless as before. But instead of discouraging me, it made me even more excited. If something pushes back, it means you’re making real progress, right?

I kept working at it, trying to mold the fire from its usual teardrop shape into something more controlled—like a perfect sphere. I made significant progress. The flames were no longer just flickering randomly; they were starting to hold their form.

But the moment I lost focus, the fire snapped back to its original shape.

Of course, that made sense. Fire, like all natural forces, doesn’t like being controlled. It resists, always trying to return to its natural state.

At least, that’s what I believed.

Still, it was frustrating as hell.

But apparently, that frustration paid off.

Skill Level Up! Fire Manipulation Lv. 7!

Skill Level Up! Fire Manipulation Lv. 8!

Skill Level Up! Fire Manipulation Lv. 9!

Skill Level Up! Fire Manipulation Lv. 10!

I smirked.

Looks like I was getting somewhere.