Outside the guild, Liam glanced back at the building, his mind racing.
Did she just try to steer me toward joining a Familia from the beginning? Is that girl too scheming?!
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.
No, no... maybe she already knew what I wanted ever since I walked through the door. Scary... or am I just being paranoid?
He sighed, muttering to himself, "Bah, what a bad woman. She even went ahead and notified the goddess that I wanted to join her Familia. Now, if I don't show up, won't that just look bad? And they're goddesses... what if they call me a heretic? What if they burn me at the stake or something?*
The thought sent a shiver down his spine.
Bah, bah! I'll remember this, you sneaky elf!
Liam decided to take a stroll to clear his mind.
Now that he thought about it, he realized he didn't have any money.
No money? No food...
As he walked, he noticed a bench on the side of the road. Glancing around to make sure it was safe, he sat down, watching the bustling street in front of him.
The scene still felt surreal, like something out of a dream—a fantasy world come to life.
Sighing, Liam pushed the thought aside and focused on the system he'd discovered earlier. The panel was still floating in the corner of his vision.
Hmm, so it moves based on my thoughts... Good to know.
The panel displayed a button labeled [Start Game].
Curious, Liam used his thoughts to "click" it.
The screen changed instantly, showing an open space with a long bridge stretching into infinity. Slowly, the view moved closer to a massive gate in the distance.
As the gate opened, a blinding light illuminated the entire screen.
Wait, wait... is this what I think it is?
The loading screen appeared, displaying various symbols of elements.
...
Damn, system. You really copied Mihoyo's loading screen, huh?
As the loading screen lit up the elemental symbols one by one, Liam's thoughts raced.
Wait, don't tell me my system is just a game?! No, no, I hope not. Why would I play a game in a world where I could actually get killed? Seriously? He shook his head in disbelief.
Finally, all the symbols lit up, and the screen changed.
The screen turned black, and words began to appear one by one, resembling a text-based game. In the top-right corner, there was a character image—his image.
[Character]
Liam (Traveler)
Empty
Empty
Empty
Liam stared at the image of himself.
I do look good...
His eyes then drifted to the bottom of the screen, where a row of options appeared:
[Map]
[Action]
[Wish]
[Daily Quest]
[Inventory]
Wait, did they make a downgraded version of Genshin Impact? Did they run out of budget or something?
He paused, then chuckled to himself.
I mean, I'm not complaining. Think positive—maybe the creator of this system was just afraid of getting sued by Mihoyo.
Liam clicked on the [Character] option.
A 3D model of himself appeared, standing emotionlessly in the middle of the screen. He couldn't help but play around with it, swaying the model side to side.
Damn, the detail is really on point.
On the right side of the screen, he noticed a status panel displaying his name, level, and stats:
Liam
Level: 1/20
Max HP: 430
ATK: 50
DEF: 50
Elemental Mastery: 30
Max Stamina: 60
...But compared to a level 1 Genshin character, am I too weak???
Curious, he clicked on [Level Up]. The screen showed how much EXP and Mora he needed to level up, but...
I don't have any EXP materials... and I'm completely moraless.
Sighing, he exited the level-up panel and glanced at the left side of the screen. The options were:
[Attributes] ←
[Weapons]
[Artifacts]
[Constellation]
[Talents]
Hmm, so I'm on Attributes right now.
He clicked on [Weapons], and the character model shifted its pose, now holding a dull blade.
?]
Confused, he clicked on the question mark. A description popped up:
[Character can use any type of weapon.]
Oh, that's good. That's really good. So I don't have any restrictions like other characters in the game.
Huh? So where can I change my weapon?
Liam frowned. Unlike in the game, there was no [Switch] button to swap weapons.
Hmm, if there's no such thing, then where is this dull blade even coming from?
Shaking his head, he decided to continue exploring his status.
Sure enough, the [Constellation] and [Talents] sections were completely empty.
When he clicked on [Artifacts], his character model shifted into a praying position, with empty artifact slots floating around it.
After clicking the info button, he learned something surprising: Artifacts don't need to be leveled up like in the game.
That's a good start. I don't want to spend all day farming artifacts just to upgrade them, only to find out all the stats went into DEF and HP...
But considering this world was now his new reality, Liam thought differently.
If the stats go into DEF and HP, it's probably a blessing from the gods...
He exited the [Character] panel, though his fingers had been itching to click on the [Wish] section since he first saw it.
I really want to try my luck... Not that I'm totally addicted to gacha or anything... Ahem.
Resisting the temptation for now, he clicked on [Map]. The screen displayed Mondstadt.
He tried to move the map to other regions, but it seemed like they were locked. Everything outside Mondstadt was just a black void.
His character's location appeared to be near Starsnatch Cliff.
Hmm, interesting.
Exiting the map, he clicked on [Actions]. A large panel appeared with the prompt:
[Put your prompt here...]
Oh, so it really is a text-based game.
Curious, he typed a few words to test it out:
[Prompt: Fishing fish]
The screen responded:
[Fishing rod unavailable. Changing route...
Found solution...
Going to Starsnatch Cliff Statue of Seven...
The character walks toward the Statue of Seven.
The character enters the water.
Finds bass.
Gains 4+ fish ingredients.
Stamina not enough.
Character drowns.
Death.
End.]
As soon as the text ended, Liam felt a sharp sting in his head, as if he'd been stung by a bee.
That hurt! What the hell?!
Liam glanced at his character image in the top-left corner of the screen. It had turned gray, indicating his character's death. He tried to click on the prompt again, but nothing happened.
Sigh... So I can still die in the game, and it hurts like hell!
He clicked on his grayed-out character image, and a new option appeared:
[Revive]
Without hesitation, he clicked it.
A sudden breeze of fresh air seemed to wash over his mind, refreshing him instantly. The action panel reappeared with a notification:
[Character has revived near Starsnatch Cliff Statue of Seven.]
The headache from his character's death was gone, replaced by a soothing clarity.
That was really uncomfortable before, but now it feels so refreshing.
Just as he was about to dive back into exploring his system, a sudden tap on his shoulder interrupted him.
"Sir? Are you okay?"
Liam quickly exited the system and turned to see who had disturbed him. Standing there was a girl with gray hair tied into a small ponytail. Her eyes matched the color of her hair, and she wore a green outfit that looked like a uniform from a fantasy-themed restaurant.
"Who are you?" Liam asked, eyeing her curiously.
"Ah, I'm sorry for bothering you. My name is Syr," the girl introduced herself with a gentle smile.
"Oh... but do you need something from me?" Liam asked, still suspicious of why she had approached him out of the blue.
"Well, I noticed you've been sitting here for about two hours, staring blankly at the ground. I thought you might be sick, so I came to check on you," Syr explained, fidgeting slightly with her hands.
"Ah, I've been sitting here for two hours?" Liam was shocked. He hadn't realized how much time had passed.
Was I too focused on the system? That's bad... It means I was completely defenseless while checking it. I didn't even notice what was happening around me.
"Yes. Do you need to see a doctor? Syr can guide you to one," she offered kindly.
"No need, I'm fine," Liam replied quickly.
Liam stood up, deciding to find a more secluded spot to continue exploring his system—somewhere he wouldn't be disturbed.
As he was about to leave, Syr spoke up again.
"Um, sir, can I know your name?" she asked, her tone soft and polite.
"My name?" Liam paused. Well, it wouldn't hurt to tell her. Besides, she helped me realize how dangerous it was to lose myself in the system like that.
"You can call me Liam, Miss Syr," he said, offering a small smile.
"Liam... Liam..." Syr repeated his name a few times under her breath, her voice so quiet that Liam barely caught it.
"Liam, then. Nice to meet you," Syr said with a warm smile, extending her hand for a handshake.
"Yeah... nice to meet you too, Miss Syr," Liam replied, shaking her hand briefly.
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now," Liam said, nodding politely.
"Bye, Liam-san!" Syr waved cheerfully as he walked away.
Liam simply kept walking, not looking back, his mind already shifting back to the system.
That was a stupid move... tsk.
Liam scolded himself as he walked.
I should've found a safe place to check my system instead of doing it out in the open. I'm lucky the one who approached me was a decent girl like Syr, who didn't take advantage of me. But what if it had been someone else? I could've lost valuable items... or worse, my life.
He sighed, shaking his head at his carelessness.
Deciding to make up for it, Liam continued his stroll, this time keeping an eye out for a secure spot where he could explore his system without interruptions—or risks.
As he walked, however, he failed to notice a petite figure quietly trailing behind him, staying just out of sight...
(A/n: I've written 1.7k words so far and was about to write more, but my flight is about to take off.)