This novel allows you to know the details of objects by words or names with the characteristic [+][1]. << Tap to activate the Black Box system.
[Author's Note]: "I split this into two parts for easier reading. No content was removed.
In thought, or perhaps reality, it was impossible to know. The body floated languidly like a buoy still in a calm sea, passing through the frigid currents of space again and again, as if he himself were a machine passing through an infinite, small cycle and endless slumber. It was as if his body was a part of space; his heart felt too many stars to mention, yet too few to forget.
It drew him like a magnet, his hand reaching out irresistibly. Tears flowed for no reason. His body was twisted and stretched as if melting, disintegrating before being reassembled. Memories spun and appeared endlessly in his eyes, before plunging deep into a realm of emotions that could not be described in words.
In the heart of Endros's dense rainforest, smoke billowed above tall, ancient pines. Birds fluttered from damaged nests. Squirrels scampered along branches. Herds of stags galloped, their hooves shaking the ground and raising dust.
Sharp, crackling sounds, like laser guns, mixed with the hissing from a pipe whipping like a snake over the wreckage of a spacecraft. Lime-green flames licked the air. Reflections flickered across the metal side of the craft. STELLA SPACE The golden-yellow letters, like the light of dawn, pulsed faintly through a deep crevice in the craft.
Inside the black box, light fibers projected from beneath, weaving muscles into the air. Each movement was steady and precise, no different from meticulously crafted weaving. A human form slowly appeared. It was as if someone was pulling an invisible cloak from a lifeless body.
[System: Initiating Guardian Test Mission. Commencing awakening of simulated body.]
The black box remained still against his chest, releasing electric shocks that made his body convulse like a CTR machine.
His eyelids flickered open and closed like stiff hinges. The pale, grayish body of a boy, about seventeen or eighteen years old, lay still on the shiny spacecraft floor, which began to radiate intense heat onto his skin. His heartbeat began as a low, deep rhythm, then gradually quickened. The gray skin began to show flesh tones, spreading like ripples in water.
Those eyes slowly opened... after decades of being lost in a trance.
That moment... was not just a beginning, but destiny. It was like a test for the guardian, and the universe spoke of this event as the beginning...of the end. From the words of an anonymous person.
A chill spread across his back before panic gripped the naked boy. The smell of smoke stung his nose. A thought occurred to him, and he tried to move.
'Where am I?' He tried to gasp, but no sound came out. It was as if the words in his head were like a mute person without language, coupled with a strange pressure on his chest that made it hard to breathe. And then...
All his memories were gone. When he traced his thoughts, it felt like a giant hand was gripping his temples, making his veins stand out. He swallowed a thick saliva, trying to grasp his dwindling consciousness to keep it from slipping away. The room temperature began to rise rapidly. Even though his heart was racing, his body was now as stiff as a rock. All he could do was move his dull eyes, peeking through the hair covering his face.
His gaze fixed on a black box that had stopped moving, perfectly level with his face. A green light blinked rapidly, like a computer system processing information, scanning his face from the bridge of his nose to his chin.
{Initiating scan to identify Black Box ownership.}
A woman's voice rang out clearly, as if whispering close to his ear. It was melodious yet cold, polite like a professional officer, yet something trembled within it, as if hiding an unrevealed emotion.
{Ownership successfully identified. Welcome to Endros. Please name the simulated body.}
Her soft voice echoed in his head. Thanwa blinked, his heart pounding with a strange feeling. The voice repeated itself. He tried to calm himself. The current situation shouldn't just be about a name, but the smell of smoke and the room starting to feel like an oven were making him worried. Any name would do now, but he had to get out of here first.
{Acknowledged. Proceeding with the command "any name". The box owner has been identified as Thanwa.}
Suddenly, a "ding" notification sounded deep in his ear, along with a circular symbol that was likely a confirmation of ownership. But what was more surprising was that she could read his thoughts.
{Welcome back, Thanwa.}
Her voice whispered softly, like an interfering signal for a fraction of a second. She trembled with hope, flickering with a faint blue light. His fingers began to twitch, his fingertips starting to feel the atmosphere. The roaring sound of metal echoed loudly. We have to find a way out of here. He surveyed his surroundings, trying to keep his nervousness in check.
{Hello, Eris, the processing system and personal assistant of the Black Box owner.}
{Eris will help guide you through basic functions and survival on the planet Endros.}
Thanwa looked for an exit while she floated nearby, explaining at length in his head, which was becoming clearer. It was as if his thoughts were linked to her system. Only one sentence remained vague.
{If the avatar dies, it cannot be revived, or in some cases, it may be permanently deleted from the Black Box system.}
There was no time to think now; he had to get out before he was burned alive. A loud explosion rocked the vehicle. Metal groaned and twisted, followed by minor explosions that shook the floor. Thanwa quickly glanced at the lime green flames licking at the cracked walls.
The acrid smell of smoke stung his nose, forcing him to raise an arm to shield it. He spun around, looking for an exit. The red light of the emergency alarm flashed rhythmically, making everything appear jerky, like a nightmare.
"Hurry!" he yelled to himself, taking a deep breath before rushing down the narrow corridor, parts of which were engulfed in fire. One wall was charred black and cracked, and electrical wires inside sparked, emitting blue flashes.
The roar of the fire sounded like a hungry beast. Flames surged forward, blocking his path. Thanwa gritted his teeth, quickly turning into a small side passage barely visible by the bright red warning light.
He ran across the metal floor, which was so hot it felt like it would melt. The smell of burning wires and lubricant mixed, stinging his eyes. His body was drenched in sweat from both the heat and fear.
The sound of the vehicle's structure cracking again. Parts of the ceiling broke off and crashed to the floor with a loud bang. Fire showered down like sparks. Thanwa barely dodged it, his heart pounding.
Thanwa kept running until he saw an emergency unlocked door with a faint green light. He leaped with all his might, pushing the door open. The cool air from outside hit his face.
Thanwa stepped out of the wrecked vehicle and looked back. Lime green flames climbed to the top of the structure like fireworks from hell. Red-hot metal debris slowly collapsed and fell.
He gasped for breath, his body aching, but he was still standing—on the ground of a planet covered in vines and thick fog. The smell of damp earth contrasted sharply with the smell of burning smoke.
...He had narrowly escaped.
He took a deep breath before slowly trying to move, as if he didn't have enough strength to support himself. He slowly stepped out of the container. Outside was a forest interspersed with ruined civilization. Vines covered rusty metal structures. Tall trees with dark green leaves contrasted with the decaying gray metal.
Amidst his heavy breathing,
{You can check your status by thinking the command "show status" or "status".}
"Understood...""Eris," he said slowly but firmly, looking at the still black cube as if he had met a super salesperson who was promoting goods during a crisis. No matter how he looked at it, she was not just an ordinary toy but the key to his destiny in this world. Then Thanwa's eyes widened as if he had just solved a mystery.
"Or..." he stammered, "Are you my mother?"
She shone a light into his eyes, hitting him in the solar plexus, making him fall to the ground. He could clearly feel the vengeful gaze from behind that box. He clutched his stomach, got up, and walked around the crashed ship, hoping to find something useful.
[Status] [+][2]
A holographic pop-up appeared in the air. He wasn't surprised, as if he was already used to it, and swiped left to see the crafting bar, which currently only allowed basic items to be crafted. Thanwa looked at the status numbers, which were probably calculated mainly from his basic body mass. For him, everything was normal, except for his agility, which was slightly higher than the others.
After exploring, most of what he found were only fragments of materials that could be stored in the black box by touching them and thinking of storing them. The disadvantage was that he had to touch them directly and could not put large items like the spaceship inside. But the best thing was probably the scanning system, which could find items within a range of no more than ten meters.
He just thought in his head, "Scan."
{Starting scan of the area, the beginning of the end.}
Eris punched the air, releasing blue waves that spread throughout the radius, showing points where items or things that could be collected were located. He bent down and picked up a stone before it disintegrated into small polygons and disappeared into the black box. The first thing he wanted to know was how capable she was, and more importantly, he knew nothing about himself at the moment. And it seemed the black box also had limitations, unable to know more information than the current owner knew, for some reason.
Ding.
{Main Quest: Protect Endoross from the Empire. Condition: Gather forces.} [+][3]
{Memory Quest: ?: Description: Find the fading shadow in the mist.} [+]
"Wait a minute, I've only just started using it for less than ten minutes, and you're already putting me to work? And it doesn't even specify the target of the quest, which is suspicious."
Thanwa tried to speak in a low voice. He just felt that he should at least be given some time to prepare. He was currently so destitute that he had to gather grass to make pants. The only weapons he could create were things that were unlikely to be useful for fighting anything other than wood and stone. Thanwa sighed and crafted an axe.
{System: Creating "Stone Axe." Please wait a moment.}
A faint mechanical sound came from the black box. Blue light formed the shape of an axe, with a wooden handle and a rough stone blade.
{System: Stone Axe is ready for use in inventory.}
Thanwa smiled confidently. After all, new things always felt good. He tried to summon the axe from his inventory. The axe handle extended from the black box.
"Eris, how do I unlock these toolbars?" Thanwa asked, looking at the other locked [Crafting Tabs][+].[4]
"For skill upgrades, you can generally earn upgrade points on the craft tree page. As for skills related to the black box system, they are upgraded using special skill points obtained from completing special quests."
"It looks like I'll need a lot more items to unlock everything," he chuckled dryly.
As Thanwa walked deeper into the dense rainforest, his eyes scanned his surroundings cautiously. The damp smell of the earth and the faint sounds of insects created an eerie feeling with every step.
He stopped when he found an area that looked like an old battlefield. Dry leaves crunched under his feet. Signs of battle were everywhere. Large claw marks scratched deep, long paths on tree trunks. Some trees were bitten until the wood shattered, while others seemed to have been corroded or melted into strange, gooey tissue.
{System: Added Sub-Quest: "Check Area Safety."}
{System: Sub-Quest: "Release or Help 0/?" Range 800 meters.}
The voice in his head echoed clearly. Thanwa clenched his fists. He looked up at the creeping shadows among the trees. His heart pounded with a sense of alarm.
It wasn't just about survival, but a war between the newcomer and the ferocious creatures that considered this forest their territory... This world still held many secrets waiting for him to uncover, and he intended to use every tool and ability he had to survive and find out who he was and what the black box truly was.
A guttural growl echoed from beyond the mist. Thanwa raised his stone axe—and took his first step into the unknown.
***
[1] Eris smiled softly, her lights flickering gently as a faint smile curved at the corner of the cube. “Thank you for stopping by,” she said warmly.
[2] Health Points (HP): 100/100 — If depleted, you will enter a “dead” state and cannot be revived, or will be permanently deleted from the Black Box system.
Energy Points (EP): 50/50 — Used for movement and special skills.
Strength (STR): 10 — Determines attack power and crafting ability.
Agility (AGI): 12 — Affects speed and evasion.
[3] [Main Quest: Protect Endros from the Empire]
-Description:
This mission was originally set with a duration of 36,500 days (100 years) to prepare for the Empire’s full-scale invasion. However, the remaining time is now only 99 days, 4 hours, and 12 minutes (approximately 0.27 years). The colonies and original resistance forces have collapsed, leaving only scattered survivors. You have been awakened at this final moment to try to prevent disaster.
-Objectives:
-Gather remaining forces
-Reclaim or establish new bases
-Acquire weapons and resources
-Unite fragmented allies
-Plan for the final invasion defense
Time Limit:
-99 days, 4 hours, 12 minutes remaining (from the original 36,500 days)
Reward Upon Completion:
-Not specified-
Consequences of Failure:
-Endros will be recaptured by the Empire
-Black Box system will erase the owner’s data
-The Empire’s reign begins
[4] [Crafting Levels]
Level 1: Basic Tools
Materials: Wood, Stone
Level 2: Improved Tools
Materials: Metal, Animal Hide
Level 3: Intermediate Tools
Skills: Electric Crafting, Synthesis
Level 4: Advanced Tools
Materials: Alien Technology
Level 5: Legendary Tools
Unlock Condition: Must be discovered and unlocked