Charles was on his knees, scrubbing the stone hallway floor with a damp rag that reeked of stale soap.
The bucket beside him held murky water, and his hands, already raw from the work, moved in clumsy circles.
The hallway stretched endlessly, lit by flickering torches on the walls, and the echo of his scrubbing mingled with the shouts of his supervisor—a grizzled older servant in a white tunic with a face like carved stone.
"Rian, move faster!" the man barked, standing a few meters away with his arms crossed. His voice was deep and rough.
"You think this is a game? If you don't finish by noon, I'll report you for slacking!"
Charles gritted his teeth, feeling a flush of anger creep up his neck.
'Slacking? I've been at this for hours…' he thought, pressing the rag harder against a stubborn stain that refused to budge.
His knees ached from the hard floor, and hunger was a tight knot in his stomach.
He tried to clean as best he could, but each swipe of the rag felt futile. The floor still looked grimy, and the supervisor kept glaring at him like he was a bug.
"This is ridiculous!" Charles muttered under his breath, making sure the man didn't hear.
He was exhausted, starving, and the idea of spending the day scrubbing floors while being insulted made him want to chuck the bucket out a window.
But before he could complain further, a blue panel popped up in front of his eyes, bright and clear.
[Update complete. Changes applied.]
Charles blinked, startled.
"Done…?" he said, pausing with the rag for a second.
The update bar had been climbing fast, but he hadn't expected it to finish so soon.
The supervisor noticed and took a step toward him.
"What are you doing, Rian? Keep scrubbing!" the man growled, pointing at the floor with a thick finger.
Charles clicked his tongue, returning to the rag.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," he muttered, but his focus was on the panel.
"System, now that you're done updating, can you tell me what's up with this authority-to-attack nonsense?" he asked quietly, ensuring no one heard him talking to himself.
The panel flickered, and a message appeared:
[System level too low to answer that question.]
Charles let out a grunt, loud enough that the supervisor shot him a frown.
"Then what the hell did I upgrade you for?" he hissed, scrubbing the rag harder than necessary. "You're useless, you know that? All that time waiting for an update, and you still can't tell me anything worthwhile."
"Rian!" the supervisor shouted, stomping closer with heavy steps. "Talking to yourself again? Focus, or I'll send you to clean the stables!"
Charles felt his patience fraying. He glanced at the man, his face red from yelling, then at the blue panel.
"Alright, system," he said, lowering his voice. "Can you at least teach me a cleaning skill? Something to shut this guy up for once."
To his shock, the panel responded immediately:
[Yes… yes, I can do that. Would you like to activate Auto-Cleaning Mode?]
Charles froze, the dripping rag limp in his hand.
"What?" he muttered, eyes wide. "There's actually a cleaning skill? And since when do you talk like that, like you're a person?"
The system's response sounded… different. Less robotic, more like a casual chat.
He shook his head, trying not to get sidetracked.
"Whatever. Yes, activate that skill right now."
The panel flickered:
[Confirm you wish to activate Auto-Cleaning Mode?]
"Yes, damn it, do it!" Charles said, unable to hold back a grin.
But as soon as he confirmed, something weird happened. His hands started moving on their own, like they were puppeted by invisible strings.
The rag glided across the floor in perfect circles, wiping away stains with a precision he could never have managed.
His arms moved fast, but he didn't feel in control.
"Whoa!" Charles exclaimed, staring at his hands with a mix of awe and panic. "Wait, wait! What's happening?"
He tried to stop, but his hands kept scrubbing, ignoring his commands.
It was like the system had hijacked his body.
The fatigue still burned in his muscles, but the work was happening on its own. Stains vanished, the floor began to gleam, and Charles could only watch.
The supervisor, about to yell again, fell silent. His eyes narrowed, inspecting the floor now shining under the torchlight.
"Hmph," he grunted, crossing his arms. "Not bad, Rian. But don't think this gets you off the hook. Go clean the entrance hallway now."
Charles wanted to fire back something snarky, but his hands kept moving, gathering the rag and bucket without his say-so.
'This guy's a jackass!' he thought, glaring at the supervisor.
But he couldn't deny the system was doing a solid job.
His movements were swift, precise, like he'd been cleaning floors his whole life.
It was weird, but also… satisfying. Seeing the floor spotless, not a single smudge, sparked a tiny bit of pride, even if it wasn't really his effort.
"Alright, system, you win," Charles muttered as his hands scrubbed the new hallway.
The hours blurred by in a flurry of automatic motions.
The rag went up and down, the bucket filled and emptied, and the floor gleamed brighter.
Charles felt exhaustion piling up in his shoulders and legs, but he didn't have to think about cleaning.
The system handled it all, and that was a relief.
Finally, the supervisor bellowed from the end of the hallway.
"Break!" he announced, his voice echoing off the walls. "To the dining hall, everyone!"
The servants dropped their buckets and rags, heading toward the exit in a group.
Charles, still with his hands moving on their own, stopped in front of the bucket.
"System, that's enough," he said with a tired smile. "Nice work, buddy."
The sense of control snapped back, like someone had cut the strings puppeting his body.
Charles flexed his fingers, relieved to be himself again.
But then he felt something odd: a tingle in his hands, like tiny sparks of electricity dancing across his skin.
"That's new," he muttered, staring at his palms.
There was no water nearby, but the tingle was unmistakable.
It was his power, the lightning, humming inside him.
"Status window," Charles said, curious.
The blue panel appeared, showing updated stats:
Name: Rian Cole
Element: Lightning
Level: 4
Stats
Health: 95/100
Energy: 100%
System Intelligence: 3
Control Level: 1
XP: 378/800
Available Upgrade Points: 1
Charles blinked, surprised.
"Energy at 100%?" he said, frowning.
He felt exhausted, his muscles heavy and hunger still clawing at his stomach.
"How's that possible? System, what's this energy stat mean?"
The panel responded, this time with a clear explanation:
[Energy represents the amount of elemental power stored in your body. It can be used to activate skills related to your element. Physical fatigue does not affect this stat.]
Charles let out a low whistle.
"So it's like a battery for my lightning," he muttered, grinning. "That's handy."
But the explanation got him thinking.
So far, he'd only used his power with water, channeling electricity through it.
But if his energy was at 100%, maybe he could do more.
"What else can I do with this?" he said, eyeing the panel. "Can I shoot lightning without water or what?"
The panel flickered but didn't respond.
Charles sighed, used to the silent treatment.
"Whatever," he muttered.
He knew they wouldn't let him into the dining hall, not after the earlier rejections. But with his energy maxed out, he had a chance to train his power.
"System, guide me to a quiet spot where I can practice without anyone seeing," he said.
The panel displayed a message:
[Searching for location…]
A blue arrow appeared, pointing to a side hallway.
Charles followed, but before moving on, he glanced at the servants heading to the dining hall.
The smell of food wafted through the air, and his stomach growled again.
"Damn it," he groaned, clutching his abdomen.