"I choose the Conjurer System," Benjamin said, extremely excited about his choice.
If the system did exactly what its name implied, he should be able to conjure—or, in other words, create—whatever he wanted out of thin air. And with zero doubts in his mind, he already knew what the first thing he was going to conjure was going to be.
Money.
If he could conjure as much money as possible, not only would his life change forever, but also that of his mother and sister— both of whom he had sworn to protect and provide for since his father was no longer able to.
With enough money, he could get his mother the best doctors in the world to treat her illness—if that was possible—while also making his sister's life so comfortable that her being crippled would no longer be as much of an inconvenience and obstacle as it was now.
"Alright. Confirm my choice", Benjamin said, wanting to complete the registration process as he clicked the confirm button.
However, what happened next shocked him.
A massive error popped up in the center of the display, overlaying the list of systems.
"Error? What am I getting an error for?" Benjamin asked himself while being confused as hell.
If only he could move his face to show all the emotions he was fluctuating through.
"I said I want the Conjurer System", Benjamin said, then tried to confirm his choice, again. However, the same thing happened. He got a massive error in response.
"What the hell is going on?! Why can't I choose this?" Benjamin asked himself, getting increasingly annoyed.
Wanting to get to the bottom of things, Benjamin contemplated for a moment before an idea came to him.
"Since I was told that there are one hundred participants in this project—including me—and only one hundred systems on this list to choose from, does that mean that each person gets only one system and no two people can have the same one? If that's the case, then is the reason I keep receiving an error when trying to confirm the Conjurer System because someone else has already chosen it?" Benjamin theorized, and his theory made a lot of sense.
"There's only one way to find out. Let me go for another system and see if it'll go through this time. The question now is, which system do I go for?" Benjamin asked himself.
He really wanted the Conjurer system out of the other ninety-nine he had scanned through, but it looked like he couldn't have it because someone else had already taken it. What a shame.
Feeling a little disappointed, Benjamin started to go through the list again, looking for the second-best option that would serve his goal of being rich and helping his family.
He groaned after seeing one he liked and then said "This one should be interesting."
It was a system that would help him get the money he was looking for if he applied it in the right way.
"The Luck System. Give me that" he said internally, and the Luck system was highlighted.
Feeling confident that it would go through this time, Benjamin confirmed his choice.
Unfortunately, another error message popped up, shattering his confidence and hope.
"What the hell?! This is a no-go as well?! What then can I choose if I can't have such a great system?!' Benjamin complained.
However, he didn't have the time or energy to dwell on what he couldn't have, so he quickly moved on. Thankfully, he had thought ahead and already chosen another system to pursue if the Luck System wasn't available.
"Time for my third option, I guess. I choose the Intelligence System", Benjamin told the interface in front of him.
His thought process for choosing that system was that if the system helped develop his intelligence and make him extremely smart, then he could do something with his vast wealth of knowledge and become insanely rich in a very short period. After all, the richest people in the world were tech moguls.
Maybe it would have been better and wiser to choose a system with a higher chance of helping him through the mysterious upcoming event he had as a participant in the System Project. Unfortunately, Benjamin didn't care about that.
His concern was more aimed towards his family's wellbeing, so thinking ahead about the intricacies of the upcoming System Project event hadn't even crossed his mind yet.
He would figure out how to handle the event when it eventually came, but for now, he needed to get his chosen system approved.
Hoping— or more accurately praying— that this selection would go through, Benjamin clicked the button to confirm his selection.
Sadly, another error message popped up and he got furious.
"What the hell?! Even this one has been taken by some other participant?! What a load of bullcrap! What system can I choose then if all the good ones have been chosen already?!' Benjamin complained.
One of the major reasons Benjamin was upset was because there were other systems that technically were better than the intelligence system. However, most of them didn't serve his goal of making money, so he was angry that the last one he could find a way to make money with was gone.
Just then, a different option, like the one that allowed him to see the list of one hundred systems, appeared at the bottom of the display— between the confirm and cancel buttons.
It was like how a game would assist a player who was having trouble maneuvering around its program by giving them hints and pointers.
Benjamin was probably noticed to be having issues selecting a system, seeing as how the three systems he had just chosen were not allowed approval.
The newly provided option was to show him only the systems that were available for approval, meaning that the ones that other candidates had already chosen would go dark while the ones he could choose would remain in their bright white color.
That way, he wouldn't waste time choosing a system only for it to be rejected when it came time to confirm his choice.
He selected the option and expected to see a few or maybe even half of the total list of systems go dark. However, to his surprise, everything minus one system went dark, meaning that he only had that one system to pick from.
"What the hell?!" Benjamin's eyes widened.