...
"!!!"
A young man sat up from a narrow bed, his breath quick and his eyes wide with fright. His gaze darted around the unfamiliar room, a mixture of confusion and anxiety in his expression.
"Where am I? Why am I here? Didn't I die?" he murmured, uncertainty tinging his voice.
As his heart began to calm down, memories started filtering through the fog in his mind. He pieced together the events that led to this moment, recalling details from his previous life. Zastan Miles, a loner and a manager at a coal mining company, had somehow traveled to another world.
Zastan felt like a certain part of his memory was unlocked. He vividly remembered the day he visited one of the company's mines. A crane, carrying a massive load of coal, suddenly malfunctioned, sending its deadly cargo plummeting towards him. The last thing he saw before everything went black was the dark shadow of the coal.
Suddenly, overwhelmed by curiosity and shock, he stumbled towards a nearby bathroom. He leaned over the sink and washed his face.
At that moment, a sudden ding resonated in his ears.
[Ding!]
Startled, he stepped back from the mirror, only to see a bluish translucent hologram materializing before him. He reached out to touch it, but his fingers passed through the image as if it were made of air.
Then, a loading bar appeared, moving excruciatingly slowly. With nothing else to do, he waited, his curiosity growing with each passing second. When the loading bar finally filled, the screen suddenly vanished, leaving him momentarily disoriented. He rubbed his eyes and questioned his sanity.
"Am I hallucinating right now? Am I in a dream?" he said, washing his face with cold water.
When he dried his face, the world around him began to fade. Colors bled into darkness until he found himself floating in an endless void. Panic enveloped him, but before he could react, a calm, mechanical voice echoed around him.
[System Activated!]
"What the..."
An orb of light appeared in the void, pulsating gently. Zastan watched in awe as the void around him slowly transformed, pixel by pixel, into a digital landscape. It felt like he was inside a computer game, surrounded by an artificial yet captivating world.
"Welcome, Zastan," the orb spoke, its voice soothing. "This is the Resource System, a system that will help you gather and utilize various resources—from common materials like dirt and stone to rare and valuable elements. The system will also provide the help you need to reach the top of this world."
"Is... is this real?" he asked, uncertainty lacing his voice.
"Yes, host. This is very much real."
"Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to appear? It's been 18 years! Why didn't you appear from the very beginning?" he bombarded the system with questions.
"Haha... a malfunction happened, but don't worry, I will surely compensate you for this loss."
"..."
"Wha-" But before he could respond, the system cut him off.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"First of all, let us start with the main function of the system. The system has a list of 'Mines' you can buy and upgrade."
Zastan: "..."
A large screen then appeared in front of him, filled with many types of 'Mines.'
"They will generate resources automatically, each one with specific costs and production rates. But keep in mind, all of this will require money to unlock."
Hearing this, Zastan sighed. "Fine, I'll forgive you for now." His mind raced with the possibilities, already imagining the scene where he'd reach the top of this world.
Before he could imagine further, the orb's light grew brighter. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was back in his room, and the digital landscape dissolved around him.
Eager to explore the system, Zastan mentally gave instructions. The translucent screen expanded, revealing a list of options, each with its own price tag:
Dirt Mine - $1,000
Stone Mine - $2,500
Copper Mine - $5,000
Iron Mine - $250,000
Gold Mine - $100,000,000
[LOCKED]
[LOCKED]
...
Seeing the prices climbing higher, he shook his head in disbelief and moved on. He opened the menu labeled 'Market,' only to find it locked with a message underneath:
[Level 2 required.]
Frustrated, he clicked through a few more options until he reached the 'Inventory.' Rows of blank squares appeared, resembling a video game inventory system.
He ignored most of it, drawn instead to a box with a present icon:
[Starter Pack]
Curious, he clicked the open button. The virtual gift box exploded with digital confetti, revealing a message:
[Congratulations on obtaining the 'Gold Mine']
His eyes widened in surprise. He quickly checked the gold mine's description in the Miners menu, which read that it produced $5 worth of gold every second.
Unable to contain his excitement, Zastan whooped with joy, dancing around his room and jumping on the bed.
As he calmed down, he navigated to the 'Character' menu. The screen displayed a detailed profile:
Name: Zastan Miles
Level: 1 (75/1,000,000)
Age: 18
Balance: $379
Stats:
Strength: 7
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 6 (5 is the average for humans)
Inventory: NONE
"Seriously? Only 6 in intelligence? That's a mistake!" he complained loudly, feeling insulted. "I was a manager in my previous life at a young age! My intelligence is definitely more than just above average!"
[The stats are based on a systematic evaluation of the host's current capabilities.]
Zastan: "..."
He huffed, feeling insulted by the system's matter-of-fact tone. Moving on, he returned to the Miners menu and clicked the gold mine, revealing two options: 'Upgrade' and 'Stats.'
Selecting 'Upgrade,' a list of upgrade costs appeared:
+1kg/sec (468.7B$)
+100g/sec (46.8B$)
+10g/sec (4.6B$)
+1g/sec (468M$)
Feeling overwhelmed by the costs, he pressed return and checked the stats, which showed the current production rate of the mine:
[Producing: 0.22g/s]
After ten minutes of exploring the system, Zastan felt more comfortable with the interface. He noticed that the gold mine had already generated a few thousand dollars’ worth of gold.
"Withdraw," he commanded, his voice filled with anticipation.
However, when he clicked the button, a lump of dirt with shimmering flecks of gold appeared, far from the pure gold he expected.
"What is this?" he asked, staring at the dirt in disbelief.
[The host can turn it into pure gold, but it will cost 20% of the value.]
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" he replied, frustration rising.
[The host did not ask.]
He sighed, growing more frustrated. Nonetheless, he clicked the 'convert' button, expecting the dirt in his hand to transform. Instead, only the gold still in the mine was converted into a small piece of shimmering gold, leaving the lump of dirt untouched.
"Are you kidding me?" he muttered, more frustrated than ever.
"Why is it a lump of dirt instead of a gold bar or coin or something?" he asked.
[The host can only convert those in the Mines.]
"F*ck you!" he cursed, venting his frustration.
After a few deep breaths, he calmed down and hid the gold under his bed, ensuring it was hidden from view.
"This time, I'll forgive you, but you better help me realize my dream of reaching the top of this world," he muttered.
[...]
With the gold safely stored, Zastan tried to sleep. Hours passed as he tossed and turned, his excitement and adrenaline refusing to let him rest.
"This is going to be a long night," he muttered, staring at the ceiling. "How am I supposed to sleep with all this happening?"
Sighing deeply, he began to formulate a plan. He needed to think strategically about how to utilize the system’s resources without arousing suspicion.
"Okay, let's think this through," he whispered. "I can't just start selling gold and expect no one to ask questions. Just a simple background check and I'm screwed."
...