I had known for a very long time that I was no one special, that I was normal and was destined to live an otherwise normal life, just like my parents. Maybe, if I was lucky, I'd hit it rich with crypto and get to live lavishly for the rest of my life, but I doubted it. But, I figured that was fine. It was more than fine, in fact. My life now was pretty good. Sure, my parents weren't multi-millionaires or anything like that, but we weren't buried in debt, we had our own house, a car, I had my own room, we ate three times a day, and we even had a cat. I was a bit lonely, being an only child, but that was fine. My dad worked as a head-nurse and mom ran a beauty salon of some kind; both of them being migrants from India. Over all, life was good. Life was more than good, actually.

But it was just... normal, I guess. Nothing wondrous – nothing fantastic, nothingmagical. And so, on most days, considering I didn't join any clubs in school or had a lot of friends, I spent a lot of my time playing fantasy RPGs, re-watching the Lord of the Rings, or reading fantasy novels. It wasn't that I was anti-social or anything like that. Sure, I didn't have a lot of friends at school and I was pretty much known as the biggest nerd in the university, but I wasn't an outcast, either. People invited me to parties and gatherings, even trips. I didn't drink or smoke, but no one gave me shit for it. I've even hooked up with a few classmates once or twice.

Like I said, life was good. Sure, it was mundane, but a lot of good things happened to me. I had loving and supportive parents, and a relatively bright future ahead of me. I even took up a degree in Microbiology, because my dad wanted me to be a doctor and, all things considered, becoming a Medical Professional wasn't the worst thing in the world. I had pretty good grades as well, which I owed to the fact that I spent most of my free time either reading and enjoying fantasy stuff or just outright studying. I, quite literally, didn't have a thing to complain about.

So, at eighteen years of age, I could say that things were honestly pretty good. Sure, I was normal and mundane, but there were probably billions of people who'd kill to take my place. I was lucky. Nothing magical or wondrous in my life, but I was already resigned to that. Being a perfectly normal teenager with my whole life ahead of me, living in a house in Portland, Maine, in the United States of America, was honestly a pretty sweet deal.

I was normal. And I definitely wasn't the guy who'd expect to see anything supernatural or out of the ordinary in his life, not even once. In fact, after I turned fifteen and tried for the last time to meditate and summon some kind of inner power from myself, I'd given up on the idea of magic entirely. So... why the fuck was I floating in an endless void and looking up at a gargantuan... something that made absolutely no sense to me.

Greetings, Amir Azad, I am Perry Anatinus, youngest member of the Guild. And, through a completely arbitrary method of picking, I have chosen you to be the bearer of my prototype system, which I modeled after my first Universe. Rejoice, your mundane existence is finally at an end; though, to be honest, your world is already quite colorful. And worry not, Amir Azad, you might've been chosen at random, but I am not nearly as uncaring as my seniors as to include no criteria; it won't take you too long to understand and wield the power I've deigned to grant you.

What? What the fuck's going on here?

War-Summoner System Booting in 3...2...1

System Activated!

Name: Amir Azad
Title: War-Summoner
War Points: 500
STR – 5
DEX – 4
VIT – 5

Active Skills:

Passive Skills:

[Gamer's Body] – Allows you to train your physical stats to reach heights far beyond what should be physically possible.

Damn, if those were my physical stats, then I was weak as shit. Not surprising, however, since I barely ever went to the gym and neither did I have any sort of interest in sports, like my parents. I ate healthy, though, stayed away from simple sugars and made sure to consume a balanced combination of fruits, vegetables, and white meat. So, I guess my Vitality stat could be lower.

Hello, this is your System speaking. I'd like to introduce to you the basics of the War-Summoner System, designed by Junior Guild Member, Perry Anatinus. The War-Summoner System, in essence, allows you to summon artifacts, characters, armies, and a whole host of other things from different Universes beyond this one, by purchasing them with War Points, which you can earn by accomplishing hidden feats and quests; additionally, most summons will be locked at the start, requiring you to perform hidden quests to unlock. You can also spend War Points to upgrade your physical stats, though this isn't recommended at low levels. The maker of this system has already inputted a starting universe for you to pick and choose from, his home universe of Warhammer 40k!

I honestly have no idea what Warhammer 40k is, but I pretty much understood how the System worked immediately. I still wasn't entirely sure how I felt about all of this and, truth be told, I still wasn't entirely convinced that this wasn't just a weird dream and that I'd wake up and not remember any of this. But, something at the back of my head whispered and told me that this was not, in fact, just a dream. Still doubtful. However, if this was all real, then... then this was exactly what I'd been waiting for my whole life, something out of the ordinary, something wondrous and magical. And I've read enough Gamer Fics to understand just how monumentally big this was. With this kind of power, I could become the world's first superhero or, as a lot of edgy gamer fics typically did, a conqueror.

Before any of that, however, my first goal should be to become intimately familiar with my System.

A list then appeared before my eyes, a floating screen that had a bunch of names for things that I did not recognize. They were cataloged into Tiers, starting from F-Tier to S-Tier. The only one Tier I could purchase anything from, for now, was the F-Tier. And, even then, F-Tier had hundreds of things that I could choose from, ranging from things that looked like weapons and armor, to outright... people? And even vehicles. This shit was wild. I couldn't afford most of it, however, and filtering the list to the stuff that I can afford with 500 War Points yielded only three items.

[Frag Grenade, 250 War Points] – Standard-issue frag grenade for Astra Militarum infantry. Pull the pin and throw.

[Laspistol, 300 War Points] – A smaller, handheld variant of the Lasgun; still incredibly deadly in the right hands. Pull the trigger and watch as your fleshy enemies are reduced into a cloud of red.

[Lasgun, 450 War Points] – The standard-issue infantry weapon of the Astra Militarum; unleashes potent beams of energy that can vaporize a man's torso in a single hit.

Still amazing, no matter what. Though, everything else on the list was, unfortunately, too expensive for me. I'd eventually get them, I knew, because that was how these things worked. Progression was the name of the game.

As Junior Guild Member Perry Anatinus is ironically not fond of the Gatcha System, you will, instead, be given a choice as to your first free Gift – a welcoming bonus, if you will. You can only choose one of three; so, choose wisely. This gift will stay with you for the rest of your journey.

Lesser Mark of Isha – Grants minor healing abilities at the cost of stamina. Grants the active skill, [Isha's Mercy].

Lesser Mark of Khaine – Enhanced martial arts abilities and boosted physical stats. Grants the passive skill, [Khaine's Wrath].

Lesser Mark of Vaul – Minor boost to crafting and general creativity. Grants the passive skill, [Vaul's Blessing].

Huh, interesting. These were... very different from each other. However, being around my father, who was a medical professional, and being someone who was studying to be a doctor someday, I knew what I wanted immediately. So, I chose the Lesser Mark of Isha... whoever that was, because being able to heal people opened up so many avenues. Sure, the fact that was a minor healing ability meant that it probably wouldn't be curing cancer anytime soon, but if my hunch was right then the ability should develop the more I used it or if I chose to spent War Points on it.

You have chosen the Lesser Mark of Isha!
You have received a new skill!

[Isha's Mercy] Level 1 – Touch a wounded target to accelerate their body's natural regeneration. Current rate of enhanced regeneration is 500% faster than what is natural. (Use of for a total of 60 seconds to level up)

A flood of knowledge surged right into my brain and I knew immediately how to use the skill and for how long I could use it with my current VIT. Five seconds. I had 5 VIT, which meant I could enhance someone's healing for five seconds before I ran out of steam and had to rest. That also meant that, as of now, it was pretty much useless. However, it didn't say that I couldn't use myself as the target. So, in theory, I could prick myself with a sterilized needle over and over again, while also healing myself over and over again, to grind the skill.

Yep, definitely gonna test that.

Of course, I'd also need to increase my VIT, since it was pitifully low. That meant exercise, right? So, as much as I hated it, I gotta start jogging again. If nothing else, mom would appreciate a jogging companion early in the morning, I think. STR and DEX... well, I guess I could sign up for a gym membership and start lifting. I had the funds for that. DEX was a little trickier, but I suppose I could start polishing my climbing skills in the nearby woods. Not sure how to increase it, otherwise.

Hello, Perry Anatinus here; it looks like you're all set. Remember, your goal, as a Gamer, is to entertain yourself and to entertain the Guild. Don't worry, there will be no outside interference of any kind, after this. Once your game starts, you're on your own. Just remember, your world is... far more fantastical than you might think; there are gods, angels, demons, dragons, fallen angels, monsters, mythical beasts, and all sorts of fantastical things just keeping to themselves. My advice? Grow stronger. These beings will eventually take notice of you, no matter what you do; it is inevitable. So, it is in your best interest to start training or, as my fellow Gamers used to say, grinding, so that you will not find yourself flatfooted when they come knocking at your door. Good luck to you, Amir Azad, and Ave Imperator.

What? This world wasn't just mundane?

And then, the darkness receded and I found myself lying in bed, sweating all over, just staring at the ceiling. The fact that there was still a screen floating right above me essentially confirmed that the whole thing had not been a dream. I had powers now. I had the potential to become far greater than I could've been. And so I had the duty to nurture that potential, especially since... Perry Anatinus, the gracious maker of the System of Power that I now had, essentially revealed to me that this world, Planet Earth, was far more than met the eye. And I had to be ready for that.

I sat up and turned to my wall clock. It was still 10:00 in the evening. I'd slept way earlier than normal, it seemed. That was good, because it meant I had time to grind my first skill all night long. So, I stood up, walked out of my room, and made my way downstairs. Dad kept a bunch of medical supplies near the kitchen. I took a single syringe, whose needle I then removed, and went into the kitchen itself to boil some water in a pot. Mom was probably upstairs, asleep. Dad usually came home around 1:00 am, after his shift.

Once the pot began boiling, I placed a fine strainer just low enough to be half-submerged in the water, before dropping the needle in. After about ten seconds, I pulled the strainer up and grabbed the sterilized needle. Good enough. Because I was gonna be doing this shit all night. I then pricked my left thumb, drawing a tiny droplet of blood. And then, I used [Isha's Mercy]...

And almost immediately wobbled to the floor as a wave of exhaustion and nausea washed over me. "Shit."

That hadn't even been five seconds.