9 Potential

Leonard grabbed all the pages and started carefully reading them all. After finishing, he let out a sigh. "My task is simply impossible! How could I possibly use such abstract concepts and thoughts to describe potential!"

'What do they even think potential means? I think of potential energy, elastic potential energy, gravitational potential energy, and chemical potential energy.'

He wracked his brain thinking, but the sheer absurdity of his task didn't allow him to take the knowledge in the other papers seriously. It was a complete reversal of all the pre-established rules that he knew.

He got up. 'Perhaps there are more objects here.' He took a good glance around and found nothing. He considered exploring the area but didn't want to risk losing sight of the table.

"Sigh, It seems I really have to do this." He started thinking about how the six concepts on the paper could possibly be used to explain potential. It didn't matter if it was scientific or not at this point, he had to find some connection. As he thought, he found something very strange. Not once had he needed to reread the information on the pages. It was as if it was engraved in his mind, the information was never forgotten.

Suddenly, an idea hit him. 'Potential like potential energy, right? Using their logic, energy can be changed, and the fact that it's not being used could be order! Potential energy only converts to other types of energy after specific changes happen, it has certain rules to it!'

Leonard quickly took the quill but was dumbfounded. How exactly was he supposed to show his answer? Actually, was anyone grading it!? How did he end up in this situation? Seeing that this area seemed to be safe for now, he started debating his situation.

He was being asked a question. Different from the previous realm where he had no clues as to what was happening, he had some very obvious clues here! The very fact a question was being asked of him, combined with the presence of the papers lead to a very obvious answer. 'This was the doing of a sentient being.'

"Hello!?" Leonard cried out into the void. There was no response, not even his echo. "May I speak to you? Is this a trial?" No response.

'Fine then!' Leonard thought to himself. Grabbing the quill, he wrote two lines from change and order, had them meet, then lead it into "Potential".

As soon as he connected it, the lines began to glow. 'That was actually it!?' Leonard was baffled. He stared at the paper for a bit, then looked around him, but there was nothing. He looked back at the paper, and, without any specific guideline on what to do, simply started writing down his rationale. Some of his text glowed, some didn't. What didn't glow simply faded away after a while.

Unknowingly, Leonard entered a trance as he wrote paragraph after paragraph explaining his logic, his theories, and various explanations and considerations. Eventually, his paper filled up. When it did, a second paper for him to write on appeared. Like this, he kept writing and writing, his mistakes getting automatically discarded. Then, his quill broke. "Huh?" Leonard awoke from his trance.

The papers he had just written on then came together and condensed into one paper and fell down. Leonard hurriedly grabbed this paper, "What happened to what I wrote?" He began to read the new paper, it contained the same information he wrote, but summarized, with the redundant parts removed or shortened. It struck directly at the true essence of what he was trying to convey!

Boom!

A door materialized in the air in front of him, which opened itself to reveal another room. However, Leonard was baffled. While he was writing his page, yes, he simply wrote according to what he felt made sense. However, he felt curious. 'What would have happened if I had instead written something like change and passivity. If I made up convincing enough reasoning, like the change not happening until something actively makes it, otherwise remaining passive, would I've passed? In that case, would the pages have accepted it?'

As soon as he finished that thought, the page glowed, and an addendum was added to his page. "Amazing!" Leonard exclaimed. While the contents of the page were still very questionable, after experiencing this strange realm, he didn't feel as unconvinced by the ideas in it. After all, he was currently in a fantasy.

He grabbed the pages and put them in his inside his pocket. Looking at the door in front of him, he sighed, yet another trial was waiting for him through the door. He stepped forwards.

…

Leonard opened his eyes. He was laying flat with his back on the floor. "Where… where am I?" He stared at the ceiling, his vision slowly clearing up.

"This ceiling… It's home!" Leonard was shocked as he quickly attempted to get up, but he was hit with a sharp pain that resonated throughout his body. "OW...ahhhh...sheesh" Leonard breathed hard as he endured the pain which assaulted his whole body.

As he endured the pain, memories started coming back to him. Yukki had been getting kidnapped, and he had fought with some gangsters, only to get beaten. Then he traveled to some strange realm. Was that all a dream while he was unconscious…? It had to be.

"aaaAAAh!" Leonard endured the pain as he slowly got up, "YUKKI!" Leonard screamed out as he limped around the house, "YUKKI! YUKKI!."

No response.

'....how could I let this happen?' He sighed, and limped back to Yukki's room, sitting down. 'What could I possibly do now? Of course, I would contact the police, but I've had no luck with them in the past... no hope they would be of any use. They would take care of what was in front of them, but to pursue a case, especially one regarding the gangs?'

Leonard looked down at his hands, they were wet from tears. "How long has it been…? Since I've last cried…."

Sitting down, he felt that all was meaningless. He would still try, but he knew, deep down, that he wouldn't see Yukki again, and his own life wouldn't improve, either. If he kept working a job, he would keep suffering for minimal pay as he slowly grew old… 'by that point, I might end up like Elder Zhou.'

Leonard gave a slow morbid chuckle.

He remembered something from long, long ago. When he was just a kid, and was left alone in this world with his baby sister, he had made a resolution to himself. It went something like-

"This pain... I don't want to let anyone ever have to feel this pain...No… I don't want Yukki to ever feel this pain…In this cruel world, I have to take care of Yukki, and prosper together, no matter what it takes!"

After finishing that statement, he gave a deep sigh. He had failed. He had failed in his life's meaning. It was time to do what little more he could do. He slowly got up.

Crackle

"W-what!?" Leonard felt something pressing up against his chest. It sounded like papers! 'There's no way, right!?' He hurriedly reached into his jacket's inside pocket, and sure enough, it was there, the papers from the strange realm!

He took them out and began to read… it was the same thing! "Haha ha…" He gave a slow chuckle, which started to intensify, "AHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He spread the papers out on the bed and stared at them with a crazed look on his face as tears left his eyes. "My last hope!"

'Yes, I may not be able to do anything directly with these papers, but they represent proof! Proof that the supernatural was real! If it was simply a dream, how could I have these papers! Perhaps if I study them hard enough, I could do strange magic like the phantom that attacked me in that dark space! Maybe I could even teleport Yukki to me! This, this is just my beginning!'

Suddenly, he heard a voice coming from his mind.

[Congratulations. You have gained all the qualifications required to use the Living System.]'