PLAYER SYSTEM C2 PLAYER

Jack slumped onto his bed, the weight of the day pressing heavily on his shoulders. His eyes wandered across the room—a spacious sanctuary adorned with video game posters, collectible figures, and shelves packed with his favorite comics. Despite the luxury, it felt empty.

With a sigh, he glanced toward his desk where a sleek, black VR headset sat, its surface gleaming under the room’s soft lighting. The logo etched on it read: BEYOND.

“Well… at least I’ve got something to distract me from this miserable day,” he muttered.

He reached for the newly bought game box and unsealed it. Inside was a bulky USB stick—surprisingly old-fashioned for such a cutting-edge title.

“Seriously? A USB?” he scoffed, but plugged it into the headset regardless.

The data transfer began immediately. Once complete, Jack slipped the headset over his eyes and lay back.

A kaleidoscope of colors flashed before his vision—bright, swirling patterns. Blinding, but familiar. In moments, he was transported into the BEYOND VR System Lobby—a vast, white virtual space resembling an endless minimalist lounge.

Floating UI panels appeared around him, displaying a list of games in his system. A new title had just been added:

› The War of Eve ‹ – Downloading...

Within minutes, the download finished.

[A New Game Has Been Added to the Matrix System.]

A mechanical voice echoed in the air as strange codes flickered briefly in front of his eyes before vanishing.

“Alright,” Jack muttered to himself. “Let’s get this started. Should be my third MMORPG after Sword & Magic: Legends of Heroes.”

His default avatar—blank and featureless—reached out to tap the newly added game. He hit the START button.

And then… nothing happened.

The button didn’t respond. It remained frozen on the screen.

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Huh? What’s going on?”

He tapped it again. And again. Still no response.

Confused, he began rapidly pressing the start button, but it was as if the system ignored every input.

“Okay, what the hell is this?” he said, stroking his chin with growing unease.

Suddenly, the pristine white lobby around him began to flicker.

And then—glitch. A crack formed in the space. The walls warped. The entire menu began glitching as if reality itself was breaking down.

“No, no, no—don’t tell me this thing’s broken!” Jack’s voice rose with panic. “This is the newest BEYOND headset! Top-of-the-line! I used up all my damn savings to buy this!”

The mechanical voice stuttered again, but this time, it sounded corrupted.

[E-error! System #9990384&?!/$)!]

Jack’s heart started pounding.

“No, no—come on! Not now!”

He scrambled to find the log out option, but even that had frozen. The menu interface flickered violently. His palms began to sweat. In real life, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

“Damn it! This is worse than sleep paralysis!” he shouted, banging on the virtual walls. “Let me out!”

Nothing worked. The system was completely unresponsive.

He slumped against a crumbling wall, breathing heavily. His thoughts spiraled.

“Maybe my parents were right… maybe I really am wasting my life on video games.”

He let out a bitter laugh, voice heavy with defeat. “I should’ve listened…"

But then—everything paused.

A new voice echoed from the void, calm and powerful.

[You have awakened your ability.]

Jack froze. His breath caught in his throat.

“…What?”

A massive interface appeared in front of him, glowing with golden light.

[You Have Awakened Your Ability.]

His eyes widened. His heartbeat surged with excitement. “Did I… did I just awaken a power?”

His voice trembled. “Is this real? I—finally?”

His legs moved on instinct as he stood up, staring in disbelief. “Finally…! I actually awakened an ability!”

A surge of emotion overtook him—relief, disbelief, joy.

“I must’ve awakened super strength—or teleportation—or something badass!” he said eagerly. “Alright, what is it?!”

The interface shifted again, and new words formed:

[Ability: PLAYER]

“…Player?” Jack echoed, confused.

A new description materialized beneath it:

> A Player is one who turns life into a game—fighting monsters, challenging bosses, and growing stronger with each victory. This ability allows the user to assign stat points, select skills, and evolve into any class—Warrior, Mage, Assassin, or others. As the avatar grows stronger in the virtual world, the gained stats and powers can be transferred into reality.

Jack’s eyes grew wider with each line he read. His breathing quickened.

“This… this is insane,” he said, almost whispering. “This isn’t just a game ability—it’s a literal cheat code for life.”

He clenched his fists, feeling something stir within him—like dormant energy finally awakening after years of silence.

“For eighteen years… I waited for something like this.”

A smirk spread across his face, eyes gleaming.

“I finally awakened an ability…” Jack muttered, a grin spreading across his face as he stared at the glowing interface. “I can finally prove to my parents that I’m not just… trash—”

He stopped mid-sentence, his smile fading slightly as a thought struck him.

His eyes drifted back to the interface.

“Wait… I can’t just go out and tell them about this,” he murmured. “The Player ability… it’s not something ordinary. It’s way more complex than it looks.”

He narrowed his eyes, thinking deeper. “I awakened it inside the BEYOND System Lobby… and it came with a system-like interface. That’s not normal. As far as I know, no ability ever had a ‘system-like interface’ like this."

"I’ve never heard of an ability with something like this—not in any news report, not even in urban legends.”

Jack glanced around the virtual lobby as it began returning to its stable state. With a deep breath, he tapped Logout.

'Let’s see if this ‘system interface’ follows me into real life,' he thought. 'If it does… then this ability is on a whole different level.'

His eyes opened.

He was back in his room.

Jack removed his headset and quickly scanned his surroundings, anticipation tightening in his chest.

“Alright… if this is anything like the stories I’ve read in my past life—novels, mangas, those reincarnator tropes—then the interface should appear if I just say… ‘Status.’”

Nothing happened.

He raised an eyebrow. “No response? Okay… how about… ‘System’?”

Still nothing.

He scratched his chin, slightly frustrated. “Player?”

Silence.

Jack leaned back, sighing. “Was I imagining everything? Did I really awaken a power, or was it just a bug in the system?”

Doubt crept in.

“Maybe I’ll figure it out later,” he muttered. “For now, I should just play the damn game.”

He reached for his headset again and slipped it over his head.

But this time—before the system lobby could even load—something new flashed directly in front of his eyes.

A glowing interface appeared, clear and unmistakable:

[PLAYER]

> ‹Jack Lite›
Age: 18

Status:
Level: 1
Strength: 4
Agility: 5
Intelligence: 7
Stamina: 4
Charm: 14
Luck: 5

Skills: None
Inventory: None

Jack’s eyes widened in awe as the status interface floated in front of him. Curious, he quickly removed the headset—and the interface vanished instantly.

“Don’t tell me…” he muttered, eyebrows furrowing. “Does my ability’s interface only appear when I’m wearing a VR headset or something that simulates a visual display?”

He tested it again.

Slipping the headset back on, the virtual space remained empty—until he spoke a single word.

“Status.”

Just like before, the interface appeared instantly before his eyes.

Jack couldn’t help but grin. “So it really does require the headset’s display tech to activate… or maybe it’s just using the headset’s holographic field as a medium.”

But a thought crossed his mind—if the interface was visible through the headset’s display… could others see it too? That would be dangerous.

He needed to be sure.

Jack grabbed his phone and started recording. With the headset on, he summoned the interface again. It hovered clearly before him, just as before.

A few seconds later, he stopped the recording and checked the footage.

His smile grew sharper.

The video showed nothing—no hologram, no glowing interface, nothing at all.

“It doesn’t show up on camera…” he said softly, a sense of relief washing over him. “So I’m the only one who can see it.”

It was official—his ability wasn’t just unique… it was private. Invisible to the world, but real to him.

And that made it even more powerful.