"What the what the what the—"
"I just woke up, and now you're telling me the world is about to end!?????"
"Are you kidding me right now? Can't you give me a break for once!"
"I literally just escaped my slave-like job, and now you're turning me into some kind of laborer for this system?"
This has to be a joke.
There's no way my life gets worse this fast.
Constellation of Gates (GM):
I'm not asking you to work for free. I'll compensate you through the system.
"I don't care about compensation if it means risking my life," I snapped back, frustration building up inside me.
But as the anger settled, reality slowly crept in.
No matter what I choose, I'm already standing at the edge.
If I refuse, I'll just die when the world ends without doing anything.
If I accept, I might die while doing these ridiculous missions.
Either way, the result doesn't look good for me.
I clenched my fists, letting out a slow breath.
My life might be shitty, but I don't want the world to end.
There are still people out there trying their best to live, struggling every day just to survive, trying to find happiness with the people they love.
Ending everything like that feels wrong.
Constellation of Gates (GM):
You already received a large reward from the last dungeo. You can sell those items in the system's online store. I will also pay you for every mission.
"The least I can give you is 100 coins."
I raised a brow.
"And how much is 100 coins exactly?"
There was a brief pause before the answer came.
$100,000
Deal.
No hesitation.
No second thoughts.
The moment I heard that number, everything else became secondary.
Helping delay the apocalypse didn't sound so bad anymore, especially if I was getting paid that much.
I mean, if I'm going to risk my life anyway, I might as well earn something out of it
Constellation of Gates (GM):
What a greedy man.
"Hey, at least I'm earning it fairly and honestly with my hard work," I shot back without shame.
If anything, I deserved more for dealing with this situation.
Constellation of Gates (GM):
Whatever you say.
A sudden notification appeared in front of me.
---
[ Mission Identified ]
[ First Mission for Mr. System Bug ]
---
"Excuse me?" I muttered, already feeling uneasy about that title.
---
[ Sabotage the raid of Chrono Guild and save survivors ]
[ Time Limit: 28 hours ]
---
My eyes narrowed as more details appeared
---
[ Mission Details ]
The Chrono Guild will soon obtain a license to access a newly discovered dungeon:
[ The Dead Mansion ]
[ Dungeon Class: A ]
Mr. Bug is required to infiltrate the dungeon, steal its rewards before the guild acquires them, and rescue any survivors trapped inside.
---
"Steal their rewards?" I repeated under my breath.
"That's straight-up sabotage"
---
[ Potential Rewards ]
500 Coins
The Noble's Ring
---
[ Punishment for Failure ]
Death by hunters or monsters, with possiblebof turning into a zombie.
Permanent entrapment inside the dungeon.
All stats reduced to 10.
Sponsor affinity decreased.
---
I stared at the punishment list for a long second.
"Hello? Why is the punishment more than the rewards"
"This is obviously unfair"
There was no balance at all.
It felt like I was being forced into something dangerous with barely any safety net.
Constellation of Gates (GM):
Complaining will not help you. Take the mission or ignore it and die.
I let out a tired sigh.
"It's not like I even have a choice"
As much as I hated to admit it, he was right.
Refusing meant certain death later.
Accepting meant a chance, even if it was a dangerous one.
"Well, as long as the pay is good," I muttered, trying to convince myself.
"But seriously, I have a question"
I crossed my arms, staring at the floating screen.
"How is sabotaging an official raid supposed to help maintain whatever the system needs to run?"
There was a brief flicker before a new window appeared.
---
[ System Explanation ]
[ This is part of the plan: Cleaning up the foolish decisions of humanity to prolong their lives ]
I blinked.
"The what plan now?"
[ Also known as: Revolution and the Rise of Vigilantes ]
"That doesn't make any sense"
I rubbed my temples, already feeling a headache coming.
[ Objective: Inspire hunters to reject corporate ownership of Gates ]
[ Encourage unauthorized dungeon entry to reduce civilian casualties ]
---
I paused, reading it again.
"…Okay, now that makes more sense"
So basically, they wanted chaos to fix a bigger problem.
Still, something about it felt off.
"But this system is kind of… wacky," I said honestly
"It feels like I'm talking to a drunk person trying to explain something complicated"
The words slipped out before I could stop myself.
"Does the creator of this system have loose screws or something?"
---
[ The Constellation of Gates (GM) is furious ]
---
"Hey, why are you getting mad now?"
I raised my hands slightly, not even sure what triggered him.
"Well, let me add this too."
"My sponsor is also hard to understand and completely unpredictable"
Constellation of Gates (GM):
Stop overthinking and complete your mission!
Before I could respond, another notification appeared.
[ The Constellation of Gates (GM) has sent you an item ]
A set of clothes suddenly materialized right in front of me.
I blinked in surprise and picked them up.
It was a sleek black compression shirt paired with flexible combat pants, along with a cloak and a mask.
The material felt light but sturdy, like it was designed for both speed and protection
It looked almost identical to what my clone wore before.
"That's actually… really cool," I admitted, a bit impressed despite everything.
Constellation of Gates (GM):
Wear this for every mission.
Another window appeared, showing the item details.
---
[ Black Combat Suit Set ]
Grade: A
Rarity: Rare
Speed +100
Agility +50
Dirt-proof
Comfortable for continuous wear
Armor Capacity: 700 ATK
Negates God/Constellation curses
---
"This looks amazing"
The stats alone were enough to make anyone excited.
With this, surviving might actually be possible.
But then my eyes stopped at the last line.
Negates curses?
"…Wait"
I frowned slightly
"That last ability feels out of place"
Why would something like this have an effect against divine curses.
That didn't sound like something a normal item should have.
For a moment, I felt a strange uneasiness.
Like there was more to this than I understood.
...
…Nah
I shook my head and pushed the thought away.
I was probably overthinking again.
It's just an extra ability, nothing more. And if anything, it sounded beneficial.
In a world where monsters and unknown forces exist, having protection against curses isn't exactly a bad thing.
I tightened my grip on the outfit.
"Alright then"
"Looks like I'm really doing this"
The mission had already begun whether I liked it or not.
And there was no turning back.