《Supreme Emperor System》 Chapter 1: New Beginnings A red Mustang pulled into the parking lot of the gas station. The door slammed open and a blonde youth with tattoos barged in. Michael the cashier looked up "Hello, welcome to Quick Gas -" before he could finish, the youth rushed into the restroom. He wasn''t a customer; just another person looking to use the restroom. Michael sighed, he checked the clock and noticed that he still had 2 hours left in his shift. Michael Rodriguez was just an average 18-year-old living in the small town of Briarcliff, Texas. Michael was an orphan who grew up in a Christian orphanage. He graduated from high school with decent grades but did not have money for college. He decided to upgrade his part-time job at the gas station to full-time and save up money. Or at least that was the plan, however now Michael was having doubts. Michael loved reading web novels and loved the adventurous lifestyles the characters had. Somehow he didn''t think he will be happy working some desk job for the rest of his life. "Hey dude it stinks in there" the blonde youth complained and left. He didn''t even buy anything! Maybe a desk job is better than this. Time quickly flew by and his shift was finally over. When he was walking towards his bicycle he noticed a suspicious briefcase sitting next to it. It was a plain leather briefcase that looked like the kind salesmen carried around. He looked around and didn''t see any potential owners. "Did it fall out of the sky or something? Whatever maybe I can sell it at a pawnshop" Michael said to himself. He headed toward his apartment hoping that the manager wasn''t around. In order to save money on rent, he agreed to do handyman jobs at the apartment. So every time Ryan the lazy manager saw him, he would be stuck fixing some clogged toilet or leaky pipe. He pulled in to the driveway and noticed the coast was clear of Ryan. He locked his bike and bolted to his apartment. The AC was not working so he had to make do with the portable fan. Damn it is too hot in Mid-June in Texas. He noticed the Suitcase lying there inconspicuously blending in with the stained walls. "Should I check what is inside?" Maybe there will be something valuable; It''s not like the gas station had a lost and found so he can claim it. He opened it and found a glowing green gem inside. It was about the size of his fist and was surprisingly lightweight. The gem was definitely valuable! He tossed it around and noticed it was very tough. The edges were so rough and jagged that his finger was pricked. Blood flowed into the crystal and it seemed to dim; losing its luster, it crumbled away within seconds. "Crap did I break it?" He could have sold it for some good money. Oh well, it wasn''t his, to begin with. It was probably a fake imitation gem; why would anyone leave a real gem at a parking lot. "Growl" His stomach grumbled, reminding him of bigger issues. He checked the fridge and frowned; the cheese sandwich was moldy and the chocolate milk was definitely sour. Since it was Friday maybe he can treat himself to some tacos and eat out. Of course Michelle also coincidentally worked on the weekends at her family cafe. He grabbed some cash from under the mattress and ran to his bike. The restaurant was really close; In this small town, everything is close by. He pulled up and walked into the caf¨¦.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. "Hey look who it is? If it isn''t the nerd from Loserville" great, Brett was here along with his gang of jocks. Brett was a football jockey and the person who took the most delight in Michael''s misfortunes. He always had his crew with him ready to pick on anyone he deemed too nerdy. Michael ignored him and headed to the counter. "Hey Michael, how are you doing?" Michelle asked while glaring at the football jockeys. She was part of the cheerleader team and was actually the only person nice to Michael. She was just always around the wrong crowd so he could never approach her. "Hey, Michelle I am doing fine. How are you?" Michael replied while trying to flex his nonexistent muscles. "Well I am doing alright just helping out my dad with the caf¨¦; can I get you anything?" She asked while fiddling with her beautiful dirty blonde hair. Michael was still zoned out but was woken up when Michelle started coughing. Well, that was embarrassing "Umm.... can I get the number two with extra taco sauce". He paid the cash and waited while trying to stay as far away from Brett as possible. Michael pulled out his phone and checked on his favorite web novels. No updates, damn why can''t these authors update every day. The best feeling in the world is definitely when there is an unexpected mass release of chapters. Hopefully, there will be some new chapters by tomorrow. "Here you go Michael, do you need anything else?" Michelle asked while glancing at the cloak. Maybe she is going to a party? It is Friday and not everybody is a shut-in like him. "No I''m good, thanks" he grabbed the bag and headed out. When he walked out he saw Brett waiting by his bike. Oh great, he was wondering where the gang vanished to. "Hey, Nerd we were waiting for you. You see I noticed you staring at my Michelle and wanted to teach you a lesson." Brett said while signaling his friends to surround Michael. "I wasn''t staring and it''s none of your business Brett," Michael said while getting ready to fight. Brett did try to ask Michelle out but was rejected mercilessly. "It is my business to make sure you stay away from my girl" Brett obviously didn''t want to debate. His friend Jimmy was easy to handle because he is too slow but Brett and Larry were both in good shape and he could not handle them 1vs1, much less 3vs1. He tried to throw a punch but missed; Larry landed a roundhouse kick to Michael''s stomach and Jimmy grabbed him and pinned him. He couldn''t shake Jimmy off and was helpless as Brett and Larry turned Michael into a punching bag. It hurt like hell but sadly he was kind of used to it. They took turns till it seemed like he was going to pass out. "Make sure you stay away from Michelle or we won''t go so easy next time" they dropped him like a sack of potatoes. Michael felt a sharp pain as his head hit the concrete and he abruptly passed out. Michael woke up and winced as he felt his entire body in pain. He still had a terrible headache when he heard a sound [Beep Beep System initializing]. Who was that? He looked around. He was still at the caf¨¦ but there was nobody around. [System initialized, linking with host''s DNA. Congratulations, you have successfully bound the Supreme Emperor System] He is definitely hallucinating. He pinched his cheek and felt the pain. [Host is not Hallucinating. The host has absorbed organic hard drive containing the system.] "NANI !! That gem was a hard drive and I absorbed a system? "If that was true then his wishes really did come true. Can that really happen in the 21st century? It sounds like a plot from an isekai novel but he didn''t reincarnate so that can''t be true right? Not to mention he did not see a truck anywhere nearby that ran him over. "Truck-Kun where are you?" Chapter 2: It really is a System He almost didn''t want to hear the answer. If time could be stopped that would be best. That moment when you find out you have a system is the sweet spot. Rather than finding out it''s a useless system like a cooking system or that the system gives suicidal quests; it is much better to just know that you have a system. [ I can read your mind. I am not a useless system and I won''t give suicidal quests.] "Haha let''s not talk about any of that dark stuff. So what kind of system did I get exactly?" Michael asked. [The Supreme Emperor System allows the host to become a powerful emperor who builds an unparalleled empire by offering many skills and functions for the host to unlock by hard work and luck.] "But this is the 21st century and Earth doesn''t have any empires. I mean there are a few dictatorships but I don''t think I can build an empire" [The system was being figurative; there are many different types of empires like business empires, criminal empires, and political empires. The system provides tools and skills; the host can choose what to do.] "Phew good thing the system is flexible." Michael cannot imagine what would happen if he tried to establish an empire in America. He probably will be killed by some CIA agents. For now, he needed to get back home so that Michelle does not come and see him in this pitiful state. He cycled home as fast as he could; only to see Ryan waiting for him. "Michael there is a toilet leak in Number 16. Fix that and don''t forget to mow the lawn this weekend" Ryan knew Michael had no choice because he could not afford the full rent and had nowhere else to go. Looks like the system has to wait. Michael grabbed the tools and spare keys from the storehouse and headed to fix the toilet. Luckily the tenants were not there. It was a quick fix and the scary pit-bull was stuck inside the cage. When he got back home he realized he still didn''t have any food as Brett squashed his dinner. Well compared to the system, hunger did not seem like a big priority right now."System open the menu" He couldn''t wait to see what all the system can do. [Host just has to use his mind to express the thought to interact with the system and use its functions.] It seemed easy Michael cleared his mind and tried to access the Menu. When he opened the menu he saw several tabs. There was a store, mission tab, and an inventory. When he opened the store he saw it split into a skill store and a general store. Most of the things in the general store were grayed out. He probably has to unlock them later on. The skill store was split into 4 sections: Combat, Social, Business, and Technology. "How do I buy things?" Michael could not wait to get some crazy skills and see what is inside the general store. [The system uses a currency called credits. The host can earn them by doing missions. However, Missions are rare since the system does not wish to restrict the host. There is an exchange center in the store where the host can exchange the world''s currency into credits. This will be the primary income for the host as an emperor needs to figure out how to earn money for his empire by himself.]The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. That seems reasonable because it does not force Michael to do ridiculous missions; however, Michael had a feeling that the skills and goods in the store were going to need a lot of real-world currency. Michael then turned his attention to the inventory. "So how does the inventory work?" [The inventory is a complimentary dimensional storage offered by the system. It has near infinite space and can store pretty much anything; on the other hand, it cannot store living creatures. It can also be upgraded to include additional functions such as: remote collection, Sub dimensions/Folders, and auto sorting.] Infinite storage! That is ridiculous and can be so helpful. However, this is not a fantasy world with dimensional rings so Michael knew he has to be cautious in order to avoid trouble. The inventory was already good enough so he did not have to worry about upgrading it for now. He noticed a starter gift in the inventory and tried opening it. [Starter gift box opened: basic genetic potion, Basic training manual, and 1000 credits granted. Basic genetic potion unlocks the potential of your body and by using the techniques in the training manual, Host can strengthen your body and mind. ] It sounds like a cultivation method; "can you show me my current stats?" [System can quantify current stats. The average human has 1 point per stat]
Name Michael Rodriguez
Strength 0.7
Intelligence 1.1
Stamina 0.6
Agility 0.6
Status Healthy
Credits 1,000
Well at least I have good intelligence and am healthy, he thought. Maybe I can buy some skills to get stronger. "How do skills work?" [Skills can be purchased in the skill store; all skills when bought are at basic tier and then can be upgraded to intermediate, advanced and supreme tiers. However, each upgrade will be more expensive. Skills do not affect physical stats; only training and genetic potions can increase physical stats.] Michael opened the skill store and went to the combat section. When he checked out the prices he was flabbergasted. All the skills started at 10,000 credits; He noticed the exchange rate for dollars was 1:1, which meant the cheapest combat skill was at least $10,000. He saved up $6,000 for college and that took him 1 year. He did not know how he was going to buy these skills. Oh well, at least I have the stuff from the starter pack. He noticed the mission tab was blinking; he opened it and saw a new mission.
Mission 1: A strong emperor (part 1) Objective: Every emperor needs to be strong in order to realize his goals of building an empire. Use the genetic potion and practice the basic training techniques to increase all stats to three. Rewards: Intermediate genetic potion, Intermediate training manual, 1000 credits
Well, a training mission is nice and it gives the materials for the intermediate level. He retrieved the potion and noticed it was clear like water. Without hesitating he drank it in one gulp. It tasted awful but he didn''t notice because an intense pain hit him and knocked him out. Chapter 3: Furious Training Michael slowly woke up and noticed it was pitch black outside. He checked the clock and saw it was 2:15 am. That potion knocked him out for four hours. "Open my stats"
Name Michael Rodriguez
Strength 1.0
Intelligence 1.4
Stamina 0.9
Agility 0.9
Status Healthy
Credits 1,000
It seemed like each stat increased by 0.3; finally, he clicked on the basic training manual and an influx of information flooded into his brain. There were some physical training methods that look like martial arts and there were some meditation techniques specifically for raising intelligence. He first tried the meditation technique. It was hard to clear the mind and enter the meditative state. After about an hour he finally felt his mind loosen and entered a trance. When he woke up he felt relaxed and felt like his mind was sharp. Then he tried the physical exercises and barely finished one set when he collapsed. It was 4:00 am and he needed to mow the lawn in the morning so he went to bed for once with a smile. The next day he trained for 2 hours before heading to the storeroom. It took him four hours to mow the lawn for the whole compound. When he finally finished he felt like he could eat a horse. He grabbed his bike and headed to the only grocery store in town. On the way, he saw Brett yelling at his dog while trying to walk it. Brett got a golden retriever when he was in middle school and he bragged about it to everyone. But he quickly got tired of the dog, hence the current situation. Michael knows he was stronger and will keep getting stronger; however, Brett''s dad was the police chief; which was the main reason he frequently got away with his actions. "One day I will get my revenge but I will probably have to leave town to avoid trouble from his dad" Michael murmured. Fortunately, the system gave him confidence because he knew he could survive anywhere with the system. The only problem was that the skills were so expensive and he had no idea how he was going to be able to afford them. Michael decided to just finish the training missions and get stronger; He will worry about money later. He bought some instant noodles and some microwave meals and headed home. He got back and ate some noodles and resumed training. He trained till night and collapsed in the bed. The next day he spent the morning reading web novels and spent the rest of the day training. Before going to bed he checked his stats again.
Name Michael Rodriguez
Strength 1.4
Intelligence 1.8
Stamina 1.3
Agility 1.3
Status Healthy
Credits 1,000
It only increased by .2 per day and he knew the training speed was not always going to be this fast. But as long as he can keep getting better, one day he will be strong enough to protect himself. The next two weeks he trained furiously hoping to finish his mission and become stronger. He stayed away from Brett but he grew more confident each day. Finally on July 4th as the fireworks were going off in the sky he heard an alert from the mission tab. [Congratulations on finishing your first mission. All rewards have been granted] "Status" Michael was excited to see the changes.
Name Michael Rodriguez
Strength 3.1
Intelligence 3.5
Stamina 3.0
Agility 3.0
Status Healthy
Credits 2,000
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He felt like a new person; He was much stronger and felt like his mind was more efficient. Michael used to be 5 ft 8 in and weighed 140 pounds. Now he grew 2 inches and gained 20 pounds. His muscles were toned and he looked like a pro-athlete. He was very happy with his progress and was looking forward to the future. As he sat there watching the fireworks he felt resonance with the holiday. Just like America, he too gained independence on this day. There was an intermediate genetic potion and a training manual in his inventory; also there was a new mission.
Mission 1: A strong Emperor (Part 2) Objective: Every emperor needs to be strong in order to realize his goals of building a magnificent empire. Use the genetic potion and practice the intermediate training techniques to increase all stats to at least six. Rewards: Advanced genetic potion, Advanced training manual,1000 credits
"How many more training missions are there?" Michael did not want to spend the rest of his life training. What is the point of being superhuman if all you do is train? [With the advanced materials host can train till all stats are at least nine. After that host needs to purchase the supreme genetic potion and the training manual himself. Furthermore, supreme training requires the X-51 training chamber and many additional materials. Therefore, this will be the last training mission.] Looking at the store, Michael noticed the supreme genetic potion and training manual costs 1 million credits each. He didn''t have the heart to check the price of the training chamber. Michael then headed to the public library. He knew he needs to find ways to make money and he decided to increase his knowledge. With his new stats, he can be considered a genius. At the library A blonde teenager was sitting at the library looking bored. Brenda hated this job but after high school, she did not really have much choice. Since her grandmother was the librarian she was lucky to get the library clerk position. She saw a teenage boy walking into the library and she was stunned. "Hello Brenda, How are you?" Michael was not happy to see Brett''s sister, but their family was practically everywhere in this town so he was helpless. "Michael wow you look different. Did you have a late growth spurt?" Brenda could not believe what she was seeing; Michael Rodriguez was famous in high school because he was the wimpiest kid in school. She knew her brother loved to beat him up and humiliated him often. She never really cared about him and just thought he was an eyesore. Nevertheless, here he was looking like a changed figure. His wimpy figure was replaced by a toned athletic body and he looked confident. "Yeah, I guess so. I was wondering if I can check out some books." Michael knew all his high classmates would be astonished if they saw him, but now he did not really place them in his eyes. She gave him the forms to fill out and he got a temporary card. He went to the business section and checked out some books on investing. He also checked out a Spanish textbook. He learned some Spanish in high school but he needed a refresher. Spanish was practically an official language in Texas; so it was good to know. Over the next two months, he spent all his free time training and reading books. Michael now felt like he was Superman; He could bend pipes, run faster than a racehorse. Most importantly he felt like he had an extra brain. He could multi-task and read multiple books at once. He could remember things from elementary school. When he meditated he felt like he was one with the world; like he was accessing a higher state of consciousness. He felt empowered; Like all the past worries and stress was just a petal in the flower of life. He checked his status.
Name Michael Rodriguez
Strength 6.2
Intelligence 6.8
Stamina 6.0
Agility 6.0
Status Healthy
Credits 3,000
There was an advanced training manual and genetic potion in his inventory. The potion tasted sweet going down his throat and surprisingly it did not hurt like the other times. This time he felt his body was gently being reformed. Before he felt like he was standing at the edge of the bridge unable to go any farther, now he saw the bridge extending farther inviting him to come and conquer. The advanced training manual built upon the other manuals and added more strenuous exercises and new meditation poses. The basic phase took him two weeks while the intermediate phase took him two months. He knew the advanced phase would take even longer. Therefore, He decided to gradually train; he was strong enough for now. He turned his attention to all the books stacked in his room. He read all the books in the library about investing and learned Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese and even French. Learning languages were easy; he mostly watched anime in those languages. However, after learning about investing he was in a dilemma. All the methods in the books recommended long-term investment portfolios and stock options. These methods required a large amount of capital, to begin with. It seems that there was no easy quick cash method. "Will I ever be able to afford any skills?" Chapter 4: Moneymaking 101 Michael needed cash to buy skills. All the investment books showed strategies that required capital and long-term investing. He turned to the system hoping for a solution "System do you have any way for me to earn some quick cash?" [ Host should check out the business section of the skill store. All the skills there are meant to help host earn income.] Michael opened the skill store and went to the business section. He saw many skills: Accounting, Stock market analysis, Legal Expertise, Money Laundering, Sales etc¡­ However, he was stunned by the prices. Each skill costs 100,000 credits just to buy the basic tier. "Why are these skills so much more expensive than combat skills?" [ Combat skills at basic tier are supposed to be 100,000 credits too. However, considering the host''s pitiful financial situation, the system subsidized those skills and gave a 90% discount. However, this only applies to combat skills as they help you protect your life. All other skills from Business, Social, and Tech category are considered supplementary; therefore they are at full price.] "Well, at least the system wanted me to stay alive" Michael consoled himself; however, he was let down by the prices."But I cannot even afford any of the business skills so I how do I make money?" [That is not true. Host should check the bottom of the list in the business section.] Michael scrolled to the end of the list and saw a skill that only costs 100 credits. He read the description for the skill.
Gambling: One of the best ways to make a quick buck and lose ten in the process. However, that only applies to people without Overpowered systems. This skill increases the host''s innate gambling expertise. Basic tier (100 credits): Host will have increased chances in all bets and will be able to learn new games much faster. Intermediate tier (900 credits): Host will have an innate gambling sense and will be able to predict outcomes with 30% accuracy. Advanced tier (2000 credits): Host will be able to predict outcomes with 60% accuracy, and is able to rapidly learn new games. Host will be able to detect traps and tampered machines and instantly recall the odds for any bet. Supreme Tier (1,000,000,000 credits): Host will never lose in gambling as long as there is a chance of winning. Host can instantly learn any games and can completely detect any tampering.
Michael was happy with the prices for the first three tiers; however, he was astonished at the cost of upgrading to supreme tier. "One billion credits! That is equivalent to one billion dollars. Why is it so expensive?" [System has subsidized the first three tiers for completing the training missions without complaining even once. Gambling is not a good long-term income source. If host tries to play with supreme tier and wins every game then the dealer will ban you and maybe even kill you. With current stats, host will be safe with the advanced tier; Host should wait until buying and upgrading life-saving combat skills before considering supreme tier gambling.]Stolen novel; please report. Michael was happy that the system was so thoughtful and concerned about his well-being. He purchased gambling.
Gambling skill purchased; 100 credits deducted.
"Upgrade all the way to advanced tier," Michael requested. He decided to go for the highest tier he could afford.
Gambling skill upgraded to Intermediate tier; 900 points deducted. Gambling skill upgraded to Advanced tier; 2000 points deducted
After purchasing and upgrading the gambling skill, Michael was broke. Until he started earning money from gambling; he could not purchase any more skills. Fortunatly, there were tons of gambling tutorials online so he could start learning immediatly. And after a couple of hours, he memorized all the popular casino games. Initially, he was planning on going to Las Vegas because there were 40 casinos in Las Vegas. He knew that with the skill from the system he could cheat in many ways. Just with his intelligence stat, he could count cards in blackjack. Michael was planning on alternating casinos so that he does not cause massive losses for a single casino and incur their wrath.So the more casinos he could visit, the less risk he would have to take. However, he decided to go to Oklahoma. There are actually over 100 casinos in Oklahoma including the famous Winstar casino. He also read that the Casinos owned by Native Americans have a much better reputation and are less aggressive to "winners". Unfortunatly, Michael stumbled on a roadblock; How was he going to get to Oklahoma? He could not exactly ride his bicycle the whole way. He wanted to rent a car but he was not 21 yet. He would turn 20 on January 20th and it was only September. There weren''t many trains in Texas so he had to take multiple buses in order to get to Thackerville, Oklahoma. He bought the bus pass online and went to bed looking forward to the adventure. The next day he woke up and went to work hoping to get some days off. Clark Benedict was the manager of Quick-gas. His father owned the gas station and he has been managing it ever since his father retired. He did not necessarily love his job but he liked the feeling of being the boss; Even if he is just the boss of a tiny gas station. He felt like he was in control of others, like he owned them. He noticed Michael riding into the parking lot. Clark did not like Michael because he thought that Michael was not grateful enough. When Michael first came in to apply for a job he was only 16 years old; which meant that he was barely legally qualified to work. At that time Michael was scrawny; Clark honestly just gave him the job out of pity. Over time though Michael''s gratitude dried up as he started asking for raises and holidays. However, recently Michael changed a lot. He grew much taller and gained a lot of muscles. Michael went straight from wimp to pro-athlete within less than three months. "Michael you are supposed to come 30 minutes early. You are late again" Clark was looking forward to going home early and enjoying some cold beers. Honestly, Michael was tired of Clark; He always made Michael come in early and would not pay him for it. He also only paid minimum wage and never gave Michael a raise. However, after this weekend everything will hopefully change. Michael did not want to quit yet; because he wanted to make sure he can earn money from gambling before resigning. Michael took over and started his shift, while thinking about the future. Time flew by and his shift was finally over. Michael headed straight home and packed up his backpack. The backpack was just a decoy as he could store everything in his inventory. He also went to an army surplus store and bought some basic survival tools. With everything stuffed in his inventory, he finally headed to the bus stop. As the bus arrived, Michael looked back at Briarcliff; He was going to come back to this town however, he was probably not going to come back in the same way. Etching the scene into his memory Michael finally started his journey to Oklahoma, the place that will change his fate.