NOVEL WEB Chapter 3: The Awakened
Adam spotted his smartphone under the bed, wedged near the leg of his desk. "I must have forgotten it there when I went to the park," he thought to himself.
Standing up, he reached for the phone. But the moment his fingers brushed it, a purple window appeared right before his eyes.
Startled, he stumbled backward, losing his grip on the phone, which dropped onto the floor, and the mysterious screen vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
"What… what was that?" Adam murmured, looking at the phone lying a short distance away, just beside the bed.
He approached cautiously, studying his phone. It looked completely normal, with no trace of the strange purple window.
Slowly, he stretched out his hand and gently tapped the phone again. Immediately, the purple screen reappeared in front of him.
Adam's heart raced, and he quickly withdrew his hand. "What's happening to me?" he thought. "First, I get hit by an asteroid—if that even really happened—and now this weird screen pops up every time I touch my phone?"
His heartbeat thudded loudly in his chest. He felt a strange mix of fear and excitement, uncertain of what to make of it all.
"Come on, Adam," he whispered to himself. "You're not that timid... at least read what it says on the screen."
Steeling himself, he reached out and touched the phone again. The purple window appeared, and this time, Adam kept his hand steady, reading the message displayed.
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Would you like to create a life form in this medium (smartphone)?
Yes / No
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Adam pulled his hand away, blinking in disbelief. "This… this only happens in web novels, right?"
A spark of excitement flashed in his eyes. "Do I have a system?" he wondered aloud.
With a grin, Adam stretched out his hands dramatically and said, "Status!"
One second… five seconds… ten seconds passed. Nothing.
Adam's grin faded. "System," he whispered to himself. Still, no response. Frustrated but determined, he tried again, "Technological System!" Yet, the result was the same—nothing.
Disappointed, Adam picked up his smartphone again, and, as expected, the purple window appeared.
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Would you like to create a life form in this medium (smartphone)?
Yes / No
---
"It seems this only works when I touch my phone," Adam mused.
He looked back at the message on the screen, reading it over again. "Create a life form? Does that mean I can actually… create life?"
"Alright, let's do this!" Adam said with growing excitement, selecting "Yes" in his mind. He didn't know what would happen, but he couldn't help his curiosity.
The moment he mentally confirmed, a strange sensation washed over him. Energy seemed to pour out of his body, draining him until he felt exhausted and light-headed.
"Why do I suddenly feel so weak? Is it because of this… power?" he wondered, clutching his chest as his strength waned.
Suddenly, a bright golden light burst from the phone, illuminating his dark room. The glow was warm and intense, filling every corner with radiant energy. After a few seconds, the light faded, leaving Adam in complete silence.
"What… just happened?" Adam muttered as he felt the light from the phone dissipate.
He hesitantly picked up his phone, turning it over and pressing the screen. As the display lit up, his eyes widened. On his lock screen, a tiny humanoid figure was curled up, fast asleep.
The avatar had a blue tint to its skin, and its body was no bigger than Adam's thumb. Despite its small size, the oversized face made it look endearingly cute, like a newborn baby. The avatar was unclothed, lying on its back with its eyes shut peacefully.
As Adam stared in awe, another window appeared before him.
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Name: Not Given by Creator
Age: Just Born
Gender: Not Developed Yet
Occupation: ???
Race: Evolved Artificial Intelligent Species
---
Adam read the message and chuckled. "So I can name it… That's so cool!"
He scanned the details and smirked. "And its gender isn't developed yet. Well, I'll just leave that alone for now."
Suddenly, he noticed the little avatar stirring on the screen, attempting to open its eyes. It tried once, then again, each time its eyelids falling shut before it could open them fully.
Watching this, Adam felt a pang of sympathy. "Come on, little one… Is this what mothers feel like when their child tries to walk for the first time and stumbles?"
Just then, another purple window popped up. Adam frowned, slightly annoyed. "Another window? Didn't one just appear a second ago?" But he read the contents anyway.
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Your creation would like to access the medium (smartphone).
Would you like to grant permission?
Yes / No
---
Adam thought for a moment. "Oh, I get it. It doesn't have a physical body, so it needs the phone to act as one."
Without hesitation, he mentally clicked "Yes." Immediately, the avatar on the screen began to glow, shifting and changing in small, subtle ways. But before the transformation was complete, yet another window appeared.
Adam sighed in frustration. "Can't you just ask me all at once instead of popping up every few seconds?"
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Your creation has no language to communicate.
Would you like your avatar to learn your language?
Yes / No
---
"Why does this avatar seem so… clueless? This doesn't happen in web novels, right?" Adam muttered to himself, amused.
Shrugging, he clicked "Yes" in his mind. The moment he did, an overwhelming weakness washed over him again.
It felt as if all the energy in his body was being drained away, leaving him feeling dizzy and light-headed.
"Ugh, what is happening to me today? I have school tomorrow," he thought, gazing at the avatar, which was still glowing as more changes took place in its form.
"I… I need to stop this," he thought, trying to focus, but his vision began to blur, and he felt himself fading into a deep, exhausted sleep.
But Adam somehow keeps himself awake and doesn't fall asleep because he has to see what kind of species he has ultimately created.