The Real Life System

Adrian's world exploded.

The moment he screamed "YES!" in his mind, a surge of energy shot through his body like wildfire. His vision blurred, his ears rang, and his heart pounded against his ribs as if trying to escape. The alleyway, the thugs, the distant city noises, all of it faded, replaced by a suffocating darkness.

Then, a cold, mechanical voice echoed inside his head.

[ INITIALIZING SYSTEM… ]

Adrian gasped, stumbling backward as bright red and black text filled his vision, hovering in midair like a digital display only he could see.

[ WELCOME, USER. YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN FOR THE "REBELS SYSTEM." ]

[ ANALYZING USER… ]

STATUS: CRITICAL

Appearance ranking : 6 183 836 635

Intelligence ranking: 1 236 376 278

Knowledge ranking : 3 076 665 378

power ranking: 5 066 654 324

Rich ranking : 5 165 352 987

Fitness ranking : 6 364 734 843.

General ranking : 5 346 745 839

Services number : 3

[ DO YOU WISH TO ACTIVATE EMERGENCY PROTECTION? Y/N ]

Adrian didn't hesitate.

"YES!" he screamed in his mind again, desperation fueling his every thought. If this was a dream, it was the most vivid one he had ever experienced. If it was real…

He had no time to question it.

 Then the system activate a service that is stoped the time for 1 minute

Adrian's breath hitched as the world around him froze. The echoes of the alley—the laughter of the thugs, the distant hum of city lights, the scuffle of his own feet—vanished into silence. His body, still tingling from the surge of energy, felt weightless, suspended in a void where time no longer flowed.

[ EMERGENCY PROTECTION ACTIVATED ]

[ TIME STOP: 60 SECONDS REMAINING ]

His pulse hammered against his skull as he took in the eerie stillness. The three thugs in front of him, frozen mid-step, were like statues. One of them had a cruel smirk halfway formed, his knife raised, caught in the moment before he would have struck. Another had a cigarette hanging from his lips, the ember glowing but unmoving. Even the wind had halted, the dust and trash in the alleyway hanging in midair like suspended animation.

Adrian exhaled sharply. This is real !?

His mind raced. He had one minute. Sixty seconds to change his fate.

fear and confusion. Every step echoed unnaturally, the sound reverberating in the dead silence of the stopped time.

[ TIME STOP: 45 SECONDS REMAINING ]

The numbers ticked down in his vision, glowing ominously.

He pushed harder, barely noticing how his surroundings blurred. The alley disappeared behind him, and the familiar streets leading home unfolded before him like a distorted memory. Every building, every flickering streetlight, and every sign seemed to shimmer unnaturally in the frozen world.

[ TIME STOP: 30 SECONDS REMAINING ]

His apartment building loomed ahead, and Adrian felt his chest tighten. His hands trembled as he fumbled for the key in his pocket. It slipped from his fingers, falling in slow motion, spinning lazily as if defying gravity.

[ TIME STOP: 15 SECONDS REMAINING ]

Cursing, he bent down and snatched it up, jamming it into the lock. The door creaked open, and he threw himself inside, slamming it shut behind him with a loud bang.

[ TIME STOP: 3 SECONDS REMAINING ]

Adrian collapsed against the door, panting.

[ TIME STOP: 3 SECONDS REMAINING… ] [ 2 SECONDS… ] [ 1 SECOND… ] [ TIME FLOW RESTORED. ]

The world roared back to life. The distant city hum returned, the streetlights flickered, and Adrian could hear the muffled laughter of pedestrians outside. He was home, but his mind was anything but safe.

His legs trembled as he stepped away from the door. His apartment was a mess, papers strewn across the small table, an empty ramen cup on the counter, his single mattress unmade. But at least he was alone.

He clutched his temples, trying to steady himself.

"What the hell just happened?"

The system responded instantly.

[ SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE. ]

[ REBELS SYSTEM ONLINE. ]

[ WELCOME, ADRIAN. YOUR STATUS IS CURRENTLY AMONG THE LOWEST RANKINGS. HOWEVER, YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR THIS SYSTEM TO CHANGE YOUR DESTINY. ]

Adrian's breathing hitched. "Change my destiny?" His eyes darted over the floating red and black text in front of him. It wasn't just a hallucination. It was real.

He read over his rankings again:

Appearance Ranking: 6,183,836,635

Intelligence Ranking: 1,236,376,278

Knowledge Ranking: 3,076,665,378

Power Ranking: 5,066,654,324

Wealth Ranking: 5,165,352,987

Fitness Ranking: 6,364,734,843

General Ranking: 5,346,745,839

His fists clenched. He was ranked among the absolute lowest in every category. He wasn't just an average nobody—he was at the bottom of the barrel.

The system continued.

[ REBELS SYSTEM PROVIDES THREE SERVICES TO HELP YOU RISE ABOVE YOUR FATE. ]

[ FIRST SERVICE: TIME STOP - USED (COOLDOWN: 48 HOURS) ]

[ SECOND SERVICE: ??? - LOCKED ]

[ THIRD SERVICE: ??? - LOCKED ]

His eyes widened. "I used one already?"

The realization hit him like a truck. If he hadn't activated the time stop, he would've been lying in that alley, beaten or worse. But now, he had two locked abilities and no idea what they were.

His stomach twisted. "How do I unlock the next service?"

[ REQUIREMENT: INCREASE GENERAL RANKING TO 5,000,000,000 ]

He exhaled sharply. That was still over 300 million places above his current rank.

"You've got to be kidding me…"

He slumped onto the mattress, his mind swirling with possibilities. This system wasn't just some hallucination, it was his only chance. He had been chosen for something, even if he didn't understand why. And if he was going to survive in this ruthless world, he had to figure out how to use it.

across the thin mattress. His chest still rose and fell heavily, his heartbeat gradually settling into a steady rhythm. The room around him felt smaller than usual, the dim light of the streetlamp outside casting long shadows across the peeling walls.

His mind refused to rest.

The system wasn't a hallucination. It had frozen time, saved his life, and now it was giving him a chance, an opportunity he never had before. But for what? Why him? Out of billions of people in the world, why had he been chosen?

He sat up, rubbing his temples, his gaze shifting back to the glowing red and black interface still floating in his vision. The rankings disturbed him. His intelligence ranking was relatively high compared to the other statistics, but everything else was abysmal, especially his fitness.

Fitness ranking: 6,364,734,843

The absolute bottom.

That single number made him clench his fists. If he had better fitness, maybe he could have fought back. Maybe he wouldn't have had to run like a terrified animal.

Determination flared in his chest. He needed to fix this.

"I want to improve my fitness ranking!" he declared aloud.

Nothing happened.

The interface didn't react. No new messages appeared. No power surged through his body. It was as if the system had ignored him entirely.

Adrian scowled. "Hey, system! How do I improve my fitness?"

Still nothing.

His frustration grew. The system had given him time-stop as an emergency service, but if it was really some kind of game-like ability, there had to be a way to train himself, right?

He stared at the glowing numbers, focusing on his fitness ranking.

"What do I need to do?"

Finally, the system responded.

[ FITNESS IMPROVEMENT PATHS DETECTED ]

[ OPTIONS AVAILABLE: ]

Standard Training (Slow, Natural Progression)

Accelerated System Training (High Risk, High Reward)

Adrian narrowed his eyes.

"Accelerated System Training?"

That sounded promising.

[ WARNING: ACCELERATED TRAINING COMES WITH POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES. DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED? Y/N ]

His gut twisted at the word consequences, but he wasn't about to back down now. If he stayed weak, he'd remain at the mercy of thugs like the ones in the alley.

"Yes," he said without hesitation.

[ INITIATING ACCELERATED FITNESS TRAINING… ]

[ SYNCHRONIZING PHYSICAL CAPABILITIES… ]

[ DESACTIVATING TRAINING ZONE… ]

[ WARNING: YOU STILL NEED 1500 CALORIES AND 25G PROTEINS TO ACCESS ]