6:30 AM.
Vash slowly opened his eyes.
For a few seconds, he remained still.
The room was quiet.
Then he heard the familiar sounds from the restaurant.
The clatter of dishes.
The sound of boiling water.
His grandfather moving tables.
His grandmother preparing breakfast.
Vash smiled.
Life was beginning to feel normal again.
He sat up and opened the system.
---
[ORDINARY SYSTEM]
Host: Vash
Age: 14
Level: 1
Physical Attributes
Strength: 6.0 / 10
Agility: 5.0 / 10
Endurance: 4.0 / 10
Reaction: 5.0 / 10
Mental Attributes
Intelligence: 6.0 / 10
Memory: 7.0 / 10
Comprehension: 6.0 / 10
Concentration: 4.0 / 10
Recovery Data
Rehabilitation Progress: 0.3
Walking Stability: 0.2
Balance: 0.3
Skills
Cooking — Basic
Mathematics — Basic
English — Basic
Observation — Basic
Physical Rehabilitation — Beginner
Business Sense — Beginner
System Points: 10 / 100
---
Vash stared at the recovery numbers.
They hadn't changed much.
He looked at his legs.
Then back at the system.
"System."
[Yes.]
"When will I recover completely?"
The interface remained still for a moment.
Then another window appeared.
---
[RECOVERY ANALYSIS]
Current Rehabilitation Progress: 0.3
Current Walking Stability: 0.2
Current Balance: 0.3
Current Recovery Target: 10.0
Estimated Remaining Rehabilitation Progress: 9.7
Recovery Time: Insufficient Data
---
Vash frowned.
"Insufficient data?"
[Correct.]
"Can't you calculate it?"
[Current recovery rate is unstable.]
Vash thought about it.
"Then what's 10.0?"
[Current rehabilitation completion target.]
"So when I reach 10.0..."
[Current rehabilitation objective will be considered complete.]
Vash looked at the number again.
0.3 / 10.0
He sighed.
"I've barely started."
[Correct.]
Vash gave the system an annoyed look.
"You really don't know how to encourage people."
[Statement noted.]
Vash laughed.
"Fine."
He slowly stood up.
"I'll make the number bigger."
---
The first part of the day was rehabilitation.
Rohan had helped Vash create a simple routine with the doctor's guidance.
Standing.
Stretching.
Balance exercises.
Short walks.
Rest.
Then repeating the exercises.
Vash hated the difficult parts.
But he hated being unable to walk even more.
So he kept going.
One step.
Then another.
He rested.
Then continued.
The system recorded everything.
---
[REHABILITATION SESSION COMPLETE]
Rehabilitation Progress: 0.3 → 0.4
Increase: +0.1
Walking Stability: 0.2 → 0.3
Increase: +0.1
Balance: 0.3 → 0.4
Increase: +0.1
---
Vash stared at the screen.
"0.4."
It was still a tiny number.
But it was bigger than yesterday.
He smiled.
"Better."
---
After breakfast, Vash helped his grandparents at the restaurant.
Grandpa's Noodles was already getting busy.
The restaurant remained small.
Six wooden tables.
An old refrigerator.
A tiny kitchen.
A faded sign outside.
But the customers kept coming.
Some ordered chicken noodles.
Some ordered fried rice.
Some came only for the fried chicken.
Many of them were regular customers.
Vash had begun noticing something.
He wasn't looking at the restaurant the same way anymore.
Before, he had simply seen food and customers.
Now he noticed things like:
How many customers arrived during different hours.
Which dishes sold quickly.
Which ingredients were left over.
How much food was wasted.
His new skill had changed the way he looked at ordinary things.
---
Around nine in the morning, a white delivery van stopped outside.
Vash immediately recognized it.
"Uncle Arun."
A middle-aged man stepped out of the van.
He smiled when he saw Vash.
"Good morning!"
"Morning."
Arun walked over.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better."
"That's good."
Arun began unloading the restaurant's supplies.
Rice.
Noodles.
Chicken.
Vegetables.
Cooking oil.
Spices.
Packaging materials.
Vash watched him carefully.
He remembered their conversation from earlier.
Arun had several restaurants to deliver to every day.
His route wasn't properly organized.
Vash had suggested grouping restaurants by location.
"So, did you try it?" Vash asked.
Arun looked at him.
"Your route idea?"
Vash nodded.
Arun smiled.
"I did."
"And?"
"It worked."
Vash's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"I used less fuel, and I finished my deliveries earlier."
Arun laughed.
"Not bad, kid."
Vash smiled.
The system appeared.
---
[BUSINESS SENSE ACTIVATED]
Practical suggestion confirmed successful.
Business Sense Proficiency:
1.4 → 1.6
---
Vash stared at the screen.
He hadn't expected that.
He hadn't magically created a company.
He had simply noticed a problem and suggested a solution.
Yet even that mattered.
Maybe business wasn't about having brilliant ideas.
Maybe it was about noticing small problems and fixing them.
---
Later that afternoon, Rohan arrived with Vash's textbooks.
"You ready?"
Vash looked at the books.
"Not really."
"Good enough."
They studied together.
Mathematics.
English.
Then some general science.
Vash struggled with some topics.
He had missed two years.
But he was slowly catching up.
The system recorded his progress without giving him easy answers.
---
[STUDY SESSION COMPLETE]
Mathematics Understanding:
29.5 → 29.8
Increase: +0.3
---
Vash smiled.
"Almost thirty."
Rohan looked confused.
"Thirty what?"
"Nothing."
Rohan shook his head.
"You're weird."
"I know."
---
The days continued.
Vash woke early.
He trained.
He studied.
He helped at the restaurant.
He completed his daily tasks.
Some days were harder than others.
Some days his legs hurt.
Some days studying frustrated him.
Some days he wanted to stop.
But he didn't.
The system became part of his routine.
Not something magical.
Not something that solved his problems.
Just something that measured his progress.
And slowly, Vash began changing.
---
At night, before sleeping, the system displayed his daily tasks.
---
[DAILY TASKS COMPLETE]
Tasks Completed: 5 / 5
Reward: +3 System Points
System Points:
13 / 100
---
Vash looked at the number.
"Thirteen."
He smiled.
Then he opened his recovery data.
Rehabilitation Progress: 0.4
Walking Stability: 0.3
Balance: 0.4
He looked at the target.
10.0
There was still a long way to go.
But for the first time, Vash wasn't bothered by the distance.
He understood something.
He couldn't recover two years in one day.
He couldn't catch up with two years of education overnight.
He couldn't make his grandparents rich in a week.
And he couldn't reach one hundred System Points immediately.
Everything would take time.
So he would simply keep moving.
One step.
One lesson.
One task.
One point.
One day at a time.
Vash closed the system.
Outside, the restaurant was quiet.
The lights were off.
His grandparents were asleep.
And Vash slowly closed his eyes.
The next morning would be another day.
He didn't know it yet.
But by then, one full week would have passed since he returned home.