Later that night, after Mom had fallen asleep in the chair beside my bed.
Mom was slumped over, her head resting on her arms on the edge of my bed. Her breathing was slow and steady. She was out cold.
I looked at the screen again and stared at the reward listed on the screen.
First Login Reward:
Grand Chariot [Akame ga Kill]
I had no idea what that was. And "Akame ga Kill"? Never heard of it. Some kind of anime or game maybe? I wasn't really into that stuff anyway.
I glanced at Mom again, making sure she was really asleep.
Then I reached out and pressed the "Redeem" button.
The screen flashed.
And then, right there in front of me, a sword materialized out of thin air.
A black short sword with a handguard and a chain link tassel hanging from the hilt. It just... appeared. Like someone had copy-pasted it from a video game into reality. The weapon floated for a second before settling gently onto my lap.
I panicked.
A freaking sword. A real, actual sword just appeared in my hospital bed. Out of nowhere. This wasn't some hologram or illusion. I could feel the weight of it. The cool metal against my legs through the thin hospital blanket.
My heart hammered in my chest. I looked at Mom. Still asleep. Didn't even stir.
Holy shit.
Holy fuckin shit.
This was real. This wasn't a dream. I wasn't hallucinating from the concussion. A literal sword had just materialized in front of me because I pressed a button on a magical blue screen that only I could see.
I had a cheat. An actual cheat. Like in those novels.
My hands were shaking as I picked up the sword. It was lighter than I expected, perfectly balanced. The black metal seemed to absorb the light around it, and the chain tassel clinked softly as I moved it.
"What the hell," I whispered.
The screen flickered, and new text appeared.
[Grand Chariot successfully redeemed]
Grand Chariot: An armor-type Teigu that can be summoned and dismissed at will. Provides enhanced strength, speed, and durability. Warning: Excessive use may drain stamina.
[Next login available in: 13:47:12]
Armor? This thing was armor? I looked at the sword in my hands. How was a sword supposed to be armor?
Then, as if on cue, information flooded into my mind.
Grand Chariot. A full-length dark blue armor that covered the entire body. It had some kind of ghostly defensive holographic projection generated by two panels. To activate it, I had to stab the sword into the ground. The key, they called it. Once stabbed into the ground, something inside it would cover me with the armor. A Danger Beast, whatever that meant.
I breathed as I looked down at the sword again.
I can't believe that this can summon an armor that would make me faster and stronger.
Mom shifted slightly in her sleep, and I froze.
She didn't wake up. Just adjusted her position and kept breathing steadily.
I needed to test this. But not here. Not now. Not with Mom right next to me and nurses walking by every hour.
Still, how was I supposed to hide this sword?
I raised the sword above my head, examining it.
There was no way I could just stuff this thing in my bag without someone noticing.
Unless...
Perhaps I could store it?
The thought came naturally, like the information already in my head was guiding me. I focused on the sword, willing it to disappear.
And just like that, it vanished.
Gone. Just... gone. One second it was in my hands, and the next it was nothing but air.
But I could still feel it. Not physically, but somewhere in the back of my mind. Like it was waiting, ready to come back whenever I needed it.
I thought about summoning it again.
The sword materialized in my hands instantly. No flash of light. No dramatic entrance. It was just there, like it had never left.
I dismissed it again with another thought. Gone.
Summoned it. There.
Dismissed it. Gone.
I couldn't help the grin spreading across my face. This was insane. Completely insane. And amazing.
Then I turned my attention back to the screen again.
[Next login available in: 13:47:12]
I could do this every day. Oh my god.
Every single day, I'd get something new. More rewards. More abilities. More... whatever this system wanted to give me. The possibilities were endless. What would tomorrow bring? Another weapon? A skill? Perhaps something even more powerful than the armor?
If I got something new every day, then in a week I'd have seven different abilities or items. In a month? Thirty. In a year?
I'd be unstoppable.
The thought sent a thrill through me. For the first time since moving to New York, since losing Dad, since getting smacked into a wall by a giant lizard monster, I felt something other than fear or grief or frustration.
I felt hope.
It made me excited for tomorrow instead of dreading it.
I settled back into the hospital bed, wincing slightly as my bruised ribs protested. The pain was still there, but it felt manageable now. Bearable.
That night I slept with a smile on my face.
=====
"Heya? Can I come in?"
I was talking with my mom that morning when a knock came at my hospital door, and someone peeked their head in.
It was Peter.
Huh? I didn't expect him to visit me to be honest. I mean we'd only met for a few hours, and that didn't really warrant a hospital visit. We barely knew each other.
I felt slightly touched at his gesture.
"Ye... Yeah. Of course." I said. It was still hard for me to speak and move that much. My head and chest still hurt but with the meds I was taking, it was bearable.
Though the doctors told me I could go home today if the results were good.
Peter came in, awkwardly shuffling through the door. Behind him was Gwen.
"You are?" Mom asked, standing up from her chair.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Maxwell. We're Adam's classmates." Gwen smiled warmly. "I'm Gwen and this is Peter."
"Nice to meet you, ma'am." Peter said awkwardly, giving a little wave.
My mom's expression softened. "Oh, how sweet of you two to come visit. Thank you for checking on Adam."
"Of course," Gwen said. "We wanted to make sure he was okay after... What happened."
Peter nodded, his eyes flicking to me with genuine concern. "Yeah, man. That was crazy yesterday. How are you feeling?"
"Like I got hit by a truck," I admitted. "But alive. So that's something."
"That's good. That's really good." Peter fidgeted with his backpack strap.
"So when will you go back to school?" Gwen asked.
"I don't know," I replied. "The doctor said I still need to rest for a week to heal my injuries. So looks like I will be relying on you two to help me catch up on classes."
Peter smiled. "No problem dude. If you need help just say it."
"We'll make sure you don't fall behind," Gwen added. "I can bring you notes and assignments."
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
There was a brief pause, then I asked the question that had been bugging me since I woke up. "By the way... what happened to the lizard?"
Peter and Gwen exchanged glances.
"It got away," Peter said. "By the time the police and emergency services showed up, it was already gone. Just... disappeared into the sewers or something."
"Spider-Man showed up though," Gwen said. "He helped evacuate students and tried to chase after it, but the thing was too fast."
Spider-Man. Right. I'd heard about him on the news. Some guy in a red and blue suit swinging around New York fighting crime.
"Did they figure out what it was?" I asked. "Like, where it came from?"
Peter shrugged.
"Not yet. The news is calling it some kind of mutant or escaped lab experiment. No one really knows."
Mom crossed her arms, worry creasing her face. "A monster attacking a school. What is this world coming to?"
"It's New York," Gwen said quietly. "Weird stuff happens here all the time now."