Those were the words she heard before she woke up from her dream. She couldn't remember everything that happened when she was asleep, but she recalled some details, like how she have a mysterious energy that she could use to manipulate the very fabric of reality itself.
Hijimi Maki decided to create Systems, something that were very popular on the webnovels that she occasionally reads.
This is the story of her giving powers to other people, and the effects of it on the world.
To those who don't know, this is a rewrite of a story I wrote a long time ago in QQ. My interest on the idea of this story came back again, but I don't like how the original goes. So I decided to rewrite the story itself.
The basic premise is that the protagonist, Hijimi Maki, got pulled by a higher entity on her dream, and gave her a mission to improve her multiverse with the energy that can change the fabric of reality itself. This energy can grow along with the improvements she made on the multiverse. When the protagonist wakes up and learn that her dreams, while half-remembered, is real, she decided to make Systems which is inspired to her many favorite webnovels.
This is not just what her energy can do because it literally can create or change anything in reality. She will mostly be making Systems, hence the title of the story.
If you'd like to read the old version, here it is.
Hope you like this story.
It's not going away. That persistent tugging from that mysterious energy deep within me. It's still constantly making its presence known within my mind. Trying to urge me to use it for something.
It has been bothering me since this morning. I am already done with cleaning myself, wearing my officesuit, and then preparing a simple breakfast to myself. It's not going away.
Which means I have to face the truth.
That dream is real. Some sort of being decided to give me this energy to "Improve" this world. I don't know what they meant by that, but the only thing they told me is that I have to improve my entire reality before the threat comes.
As I eat my toast with bacon and egg, I try to understand what I can do.
Actually, I don't even have to do so.
When I think of trying to use the energy, I suddenly have this instinctive feeling that I can do everything. My instinctive knowledge about this unknown energy tells me that I can mess with the fabric of reality. The laws of the world doesn't matter because I can just make my own.
Currently, the energy I have is too small. It can't do anything at all other than make something very insignificant to the entire world. If I try to push it, my instinctive knowledge tells me that I can make a new strain of bacteria. It's that small, and I can only make one of them.
If that is the case, then I might as well do something.
I mold the energy within my mind and then turn it into something that only I can see.
I quickly succeeded, and it barely took an effort.
What I did is simply make a counter system that will quantify the amount of this mysterious energy within me in hard numericals. Based on my instinctive knowledge, this mysterious energy will grow alongside me whenever it is used. It will also grow if everything I made with this energy keeps evolving, improving, or simply being used.
That small amount of energy I got will now be considered a single unit. By molding that energy, it becomes a metaphysical panel that only I can see. It's very purpose is to simply quantify the amount of energy I have, with the baseline being the energy I initially had since I woke up this morning.
If I compare it to a software program, it's literally a simple counting program that displays a value based on the amount of unit it has. In this case, the unit is the mysterious energy inside my body.
With this simple experiment, I know which direction I will use this mysterious energy.
That mysterious entity wants me to grow this energy, and improve this entire reality. In the novels I read, out of everyone else, there is one type of protagonist who grows exponentially with an outside factor.
Those are the System users!
People can grow this faster than just using it to create a new bacteria or a new particle. Those will take billions of years to grow. People evolves things faster if they have control over it.
I will give them the tools, and they will help me increase the capacity of my mysterious energy. With more energy, I can slowly improve this reality.
That's it. I will create these Systems and give them to the people to help me! I-Core Corporation, one of the large sized companies in Japan. It is also a black company that works it's lower ranked employees to the bone. I am one such example of a company slave.
"What are you doing! The signs here are all wrong!" Once again, I can hear our team lead yelling at one of my co-workers.
"I'm sorry, leader..." Of course, Tanaka can only bow his head in apology.
That's Tanegawa Ichika. One of my co-workers and my fellow corporate slave. Along with us are three other people. One is a gentle-natured pot-bellied middle-aged man named Hirobachi Naoki. Another is the thin, glasses wearing anime otaku named Hiroyuki Miyagi. Then there is my fellow female co-worker, Uesaka Shoko.
Together, we are the juniors being bullied to work the job of our seniors. It is so bad that they are even forcing the paperwork from the other departments to us.
We are supposed to be only in charge of financial accounts. Why the heck are they pushing this to us!?
Whatever. It's already normal for us. It's not like corporate drones like us can complain. It will be more trouble than it's worth.
"If you get it, then do it properly!"
After being yelled at, our team lead lect us. Ichika walks to our side with a depressed mood on his face.
"Damn... you got grilled there. You okay there, pal?" Naoki is the first to speak.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
With Ichika's dismissal, Naoki shrugs and then the silence returns. Only the sounds of our keyboard can be heard as we resume our work.
I glance at Ichika, and then glance at the panel that only he can see.
The Working System. A system I made for one of my co-workers.
Out of the four of them, Ichika is the one who has a lot of potential. The four of them are my primary candidates for bestowing a System, and because I still have a low amount of Energy Points (EP), I can only make a very basic System for him.
I made it based on his preference. I recall when we were in one of our team building meetups, Ichika told me that he prefers working low profile. It's not because he likes it, but rather it is the only thing he can do as a talentless person. He believed that this was the only thing he could do, and anything else would be too ambitious to him.
If he likes working for people so much, then I might as well give him a power that will help him with work. Hence, the Working System.
It only has the basic functions like an EXP indicator, levels, and basic status. I can't really add anything because of the pitiful amount of my Energy Points (EP). After making that system, another point has been added on my max EP capacity.
I made that Systme an hour ago. My EP has already recovered so I can make some upgrades on it. I can improve anything with my energy. That includes anything that I made with it.
Anyway, as to how the Working System works. It simply accumulates EXP everytime he finishes a single work. Work includes any actions that can be considered helpful for the company he is working with. Like for example, filling out paperworks.
With this System, he will be obligated to work not just for himself, but for everyone. It's fitting for him because he wants to live like this. I think it will be easier for him to grind EXP and grow his strength with it.
As he is growing the System, I will continuously improve it until every features I can think of is finally added within it.
Currently he is level 2. It seems like he is focusing all his attribute points onto his Physique. I can understand. Physique increases his base physical status. A single point of Physique is equivalent to how strong he is physically. Each point adds this kind of strength to him.
When he has a single point awhile ago, I think he is two times stronger than his initial strength. Adding another point makes him three times stronger. Every point is just an additive increase to his physique.
That's how I designed it anyway. It's the only design I can do so because of the amount of energy I have. I can make the boost stronger if I have more energy.
Anyway, even when he had been scolded recently, Ichika looked focused as he gazed at the screen of his computer. I think I picked the right candidate for the first System user.
Now I have to upgrade it. My EP is full, and it is annoying me once more. Everytime it gets full, this mysterious energy always tugs me, demanding itself to be used. It might not be able to talk, but the feeling I am getting from it's constant pulsing makes it annoying.
So I use it once more and upgrade Ichika's system.
It will be confusing if he suddenly acquired an update out of nowhere. I should lock the new features and program it so it will only be available to him when he hits level 5. It's very simple. Almost everything is already done with the speed of my thought. The energy will fill in the blanks so whatever I am trying to do will work, and then it is done.
It's comparable to making a program with a script already on another window and I only need to copy and paste it, or the more apt comparison is making a software but having an AI who can make up a lot of suggestions that I simply have to choose to make that software work.
That's how my energy works. I simply have to guide it with my desire, and this mysterious energy will fill in the blanks. Currently, I use my 3 EP and create a simple skill section on his system that will be unlocked after he hits level 5. A single EP was used for the skill section and it's function to be created, another 1 EP has been used for the entire collection of skills and talents humanity can possibly do has been added on the skill section, and then finally the last EP is used to create the currency he will need to learn all these skills.
Working System Ver. 1.1.0 is finally done.
He will soon learn about it when he hits level 5.
Well then, now that I am done using up my energy, it's time to continue focusing on my job. In the duration of my job, my EP keeps regenerating quickly. It is why I have to keep using it and upgrade Ichika's System.
When it is time to clock out, Ichika has leveled up enough to see the skill section of his ability. Along with that is the Work Points, or the currency he needs to learn those skills in the skill section.
I also added a lot of stuff in his System, all of which will be unlocked if he got enough levels for it. It's mentally tiring having to multi-task with my actual work, and using this mysteriois energy that always pesters me.
Anyway, I notice that at the last hour of our work, Ichika is becoming faster at doing his work. It seems like after adding at least four points on his Physique, he decided to add a single point on his Finesse when he reaches level 5. Finesse is all about his reflexes and body coordination, so it is understandable that he will become faster if he adds at least one point on it.
As for me, I think I grow my energy for at least a bit. With the constant usage of his System, and my constant upgrade of it whenever it fills up, my maximum EP reaches up to 12. 1 EP recovers every ten minutes. I think it will become faster as my EP count rises. I mean it did become too fast. Just this morning, my EP recovery is one point every thirty minutes. Now it becomes ten minutes after reaching this amount of EP.
I quickly wrap up all of my work, clock out and quickly leave before our team lead decide to throw work on us. Ichika will be the scapegoat. He is even intentionally staying longer on his desk. It seems like he really wants to get more work to grind more levels.
Good luck, Ichika. Do a lot of work so I will have lesser things to do on my shift tomorrow! "Ugh..."
"Hey, you okay there Hijimi-san? You look like you didn't get enough sleep?" Shoko inquired about my dead-like state.
This persistent energy decided to interrupt my sleep after it fills up. It's constant nudging and feeling of anticipation on its pulses forces me awake from my rest, and it keeps happening whenever I take a deep sleep after I am done using it for the System upgrade.
Can't you at least let me sleep, you mysterious energy?
... Ugh, it's only a metaphysical feeling. Of course it wouldn't understand my own plight. It's literally just an energy that I can mold.
Ugh... my head hurts... no, it doesn't actually.
I don't feel lethargic at all even when I lack proper sleep. My body feels so light actually since yesterday.
Still, that doesn't mean I like my sleep being interrupted. I don't know why my body becomes incredibly comfortable since getting this mysterious energy, but it's not a reason for me to forgo sleep. I don't care what this mysterious energy is doing to my body. At least let me sleep!
Ugh... right. I can't use the mysterious energy to myself. It seems like I am an exception to its effect. I can make new rules, powers, and other stuff in this world, but it simply won't affect me.
I can't remember the full details. Even the instinctive knowledge within me doesn't cover it fully. I simply know that I became an exception to the rules, whatever that means.
"I am fine, Uesaka-san. Please don't mind me..." I waved my hand, politely dismissing her concern as I take a seat on my table. I open the computer to start my work. I have already clocked in on this department's entrance, so I can start working right now.
Before I can do so, I heard a commotion suddenly occuring when someone opens the door. I glance at the door, and suddebly see an incredibly handsome and fit man in a business suit entering our department with a smile on his face.
"Woah!? Who is that guy?" I think I just heard Shoko's amazement in her tone as she gazed intently on the handsome guy.
I stare at the guy for moment, before quickly realizing who he is after seeing the floating panel in front of his face.
".... Eh?"
Wait, this is Tanegawa Ichika? The thirty's something guy who looks thin and have eye bugs on his eyes?
That's an incredible change for a single day!?
Is this because of the improvements he got from the Working System I gave him.
... Wow, I am slowly realizing that my mysterious energy is a lot more awesome than I thought it would be.
Just as you can see at this chapter, comparing it to the older version, it is already obvious that I changed some details. I decided to explain more about the abilities, and try to pace the story for a bit. I will still try to skim this office arc, but there will be more changes than the original version.
Not like there is much to change at all. The original version of this story only has four chapters published on QQ. This one, I am just going on an entirely different path than what I have written there.
I hope you enjoy it, and sorry for the infodumps I have been doing on this chapter...
