It feels like fire burning inside my lungs, as if every vein in my body is screaming for me to reach out—craving some unknown power. And then, the system screen manifests in front of me.
Only this time, it's bigger. More complete. Or maybe… was it always this way, and I just never noticed before? Maybe I was too scared to appreciate it. But now, I can't help but stare at this marvelous thing...
[Name: {{{Quill}}}]
[Special Power: {{{Author}}}]
[Class: {{{Farmer}}}]
[Title: No Titles yet]
[Author Level: 1]
[EXP: 50/100]
[Combat Level: 1]
[EXP: 0/100]
[Total Power Stones: 37]
[Weekly Power Stones: 13]
[Collections: 38]
[Status: Sleep Deprived // Mildly Traumatized // Angry // Hungry]
[Main Quest: Gain 10 Collections in 3 days: In Progress — 38/10]
[Novel Views: 5k]
[Unread Comments: 3]
[System Announcements: 1 new — Tap to view]
[Stat Window:]
[Strength: 4 {{{Average Farmer}}}]
[Defense: 0 {{{Are you a leaf?}}}]
[Agility: 3 {{{Basic}}}]
[Mana: 1.5 {Very Basic}}} (Gained 0.5 from ObservantReader's essay comment)]
[Magic: 5 {{{Beginer}}}]
[Writing: 99999999999999999999 {{{GOD}}}]
[Characteristics Window:]
[Charisma: 2/100 {{{Not Quite a Charmer...}}}]
[Intelligence: 89/100 {{{Genius}}}]
[Looks: 70/100 {{{Handsome Young Man}}}]
[Physique: 1/100 {{{A Twig...}}}]
[Inventory:]
[Ultra Common Quill: {Mythic Grade}]
[Hero's Necklace of Destiny: {{{Legendary Grade}}}]
[Author Backend: UNLOCKED]
[Browse Reader Comments]
[Reply as Deceased Author]
[Leave Review for Own Book]
[Edit Chapter Titles]
[Pin "GOAT" comment to Powder's forehead (No GOAT comment selected… yet)]
[Notifications:]
[+3 Power Stones: ObservantReader] [You have gained 2 new collections]
[Top Comment: "Your dreams are too small, Quill. Your minor goal should be to reshape the world and move on to the space next or something more metaphysical" —ObservantReader]
[Warning: Do not let Powder learn about the system.]
[Active Buffs/Debuffs:]
[Gifted: Reader's Approval {+10% dopamine generation}]
[Sleepless Night {-5% IQ until rested}]
[Current Chapter:]
[CH: 10]
[Word Count: 300/1000]
This... holy shit! Oh—pardon my language. But what is this?! There are so many things here I've never seen in my life. This really looks like I'm some character in a story.
…Oh. Wait.
Anyway… what does it mean by zero defense? Is that bad? Or…? I wish there was a tutorial to being an author, or is this just their way of making me figure things out on my own…
And why is my charisma only 2 out of 100? I am very charismatic, you know! I clench my fist, doing my best not to tear up. Not that I'm upset or anything…
I wiggle my finger—or should I say my quill? Quillger? Does that work? Some reader tell me if that's a good name or not, I might actually use it. If anyone's still reading. I mean… ObservantReader is always around. I wonder what he's up to right now… Is he reading this? Or can he only see it after I hit the word count, which, right now, is…[472]
Not bad. I think I'm going at a rapid speed. And I'm pretty sure even the system window counts toward my word count… hmm… I need to experiment with this more.
I run as fast as I can away from the house, worried my sister might wake up and catch a glimpse of all this madness. I duck into the tall cornfields—out here, nobody's ever going to notice me fiddling with my system. I open the comments… There are so many, and honestly, it's obvious who my top fan is: The GOAT, the myth, the legend—ObservantReader! Yaaaay!
Kinda awkward, though, applauding myself all alone in the cornfields. If anyone saw me out here, talking to a floating screen… oh god. I'd have to wipe their memory. 100%!
"Let's see… if I click on the top comment, maybe I can reply directly, just like the system said…" I crouch down between the stalks—this is Powder's farm, but he won't miss one or two cobs, and after last night, he pretty much owes me for life. Not that I want anything in return. Still… free corn is free corn.
I lift my Quillger. Or just quill… or finger… whatever, and start writing letters in the air:
{Quill here! Testing a new feature... I hope it works. I just wanted to let you know the new chapter is coming out soon! And... done... phew... It's harder than I thought... wait... why am I still here—?}
I can't figure out how to stop writing, but then I just imagine the ink cutting off—and, magically, it works! Let's go!
I hope he reads that soon. Would be fun to see his reaction pop up in the comments. Also, why isn't anyone else commenting anymore…? Maybe I missed something? Let me check—maybe there are hidden comments I haven't seen yet!?
But just as I'm about to dive in, my eyes catch something wild on the system screen…
WHAT IS THAT WRITING LEVEL?? There are so many nines stacked up there, my head's spinning. Is this what author benefits are like? Am I actually a god now?!
"Good, you're in a safe place."
"AHHH?!" I nearly leap out of my skin, my heart thundering like a racing horse. I whip my head around, fully on alert—and see two glowing letters—WN—floating right above me.
"You almost gave me a heart attack! Why do you have to show up like that?! Can't you warn me before popping in?" I let out all my frustration on Big Boss, though honestly, yelling at the thing that literally controls my life might not be the best plan.
"We're here to give you your reward ahead of time, considering how exceptional your performance has been with collection gathering!" Big Boss goes on, ignoring my complaints completely. He talks like I'm not even standing here... or is he just messing with me? Anger simmers in my chest, and I swear I could punch a tree in half right now.
"Oh! Right, collections—almost forgot." I snap my fingers, suddenly remembering. "Let me see... My quest was to gather ten in three days, and it's only been two—how many do I have now?"
I freeze.
Thirty-eight collections... That's almost four times more than I needed!
"Exactly,"Big Boss says, voice smooth as butter, "and that's why I'm here to give you your reward!" The two letters start spinning in front of my eyes, faster than I can describe, and the sky suddenly goes dark. Too dark, way too quickly...
"Don't tell me—"
There's that weird feeling, like I already lived this moment before, but now I'm finally seeing it for real. Is there a name for that? If anyone knows, leave it in the comments, because whatever it's called, I'm feeling it.
CRACKLE!
A thick bolt of lightning tears down from the sky—right into my scalp.