The screech of metal tearing and bending mixed with the screams.
Just a moment of shock, fear, unfathomable torture and…
The world went blank.
There was no doubt in my mind - I just died.
It was a scene like from a Final Destination movie series, where a random oil spill on the road somehow threw the company bus off the road and straight through the safety barriers.
For a second, I floated within the confines of my seatbelt, gravity no longer applying. Before me a windshield that did nothing to hide the ground that the falling car rapidly accelerated towards.
Then, bang, crash and tear, endless pain and…
'Where exactly am I?'
Surrounded by darkness, I tried to look around, tried to feel for my body.
But it was all for naught.
'So… which divine interpretation heralded a land of nothingness after death?' I thought, strangely desperate to keep some train of thought going.
It felt nice to think. Mostly because that was the only thing left for me to do.
In a world without stimuli, without even my body… every thought was precious. Every thought could be the last ever moment of the idea of Theo as a person. The moment even my thoughts would die off, forever joining the silent darkness of this place…
[Congratulations!]
A huge panel appeared before my eyes, chasing away the nothingness through its bright, blue neons and blinking lights strapped all around its frame.
[You've been promoted to a "Fledgling CEO!"]
[This Corporate System will guide you through the steps to help you create a branch of the interdimensional corporation in this world!]
A new set of messages appeared, almost causing my heart to jump out of my chest.
Wait, what heart? What chest? In this world of nothingness, those words lost their meanings.
Then again… how could it be a world of nothingness when I could see the flashy lights of what appeared to be my system?
I took a breath in, before slowly exhaling it out.
"Yeah…" I slowly half-whispered, half-whistled as my eyes drew back to the letters of the message.
Then, my imaginary lips warped into a smirk.
"This world? What world are you even talking about?" I muttered under my imaginary nose, perfectly satisfied at catching this "system" red-handed.
What world?
There was only nothingness and system messages all around!
[This world]
Flash!
The film of darkness lifted from my eyes. Or maybe my consciousness?
Regardless, I suddenly found myself in a side-alley of what appeared to be either a perfectly reconstructed project of a medieval village for a fancy museum…
Or a bona-fide back-alley in a medieval city where filth flooded the gutters, rats came bearing gifts (Surprise, it's cholera!) and humans still had yet to fully iron out the whole idea common rights and individuality.
The world around me, however, didn't care for my surprise and confusion.
The people, even in this remote alley, continued to move around.
In a world deprived of the modern conveniences I was so used to, people rarely had time for leisure.
Time allowed them to do things. And with limited time, there were only so many things they could engage with. So, by following the simple process of elimination, rather than wasting time on leisure, people of this world actively sought to use their time to increase their odds of survival.
Only the richest few could even afford the idea of wasting something as precious as their time.
Somehow, I apparently knew it all from the moment I cast my glance upon the streets, the buildings and the people.
Even though I felt like someone dropped me in the middle of a historical movie, nothing felt foreign.
It was as if I called this city home for the better part of my life.
Still, even the onslaught of memories that suddenly popped not only into my consciousness but also awareness couldn't hide away the one presence that didn't fit this world at all.
[Are you ready to initialize the "Corporate System"?]
I raised my eyebrows.
'What are you, if that system isn't even initialized yet?'
The mental question came out before I could spare a single thought.
[I'm PreBene Bootloader, here to properly install the scheduled OS]
Somehow, I got my answer.
'Well then, let's get this over with.'
Something stirred in my head.
I fully expected unfathomable, bone-twisting pain… But all I felt was a slight shimmer in the back of my head. Even then, it only lasted for a short moment.
Then, the words before my eyes changed again.
[Interdimensional Corporate System Initialized!]
[CEO Grooming Routine initiated!]
[Welcome to the PremiumBenefit, top-of-the-line software here to make your life more exciting!] A robotic voice with that unmistakable, ad-reading tone of its voice filled my ears. [We bring joy across all the dimensions!]
All that was left now was for that PremiumBenefit company logo to flash before my eyes.
Then, however, the words on the panel before my eyes changed yet again.
[CEO Grooming Program - From a peddler to a magnate!]
And as soon as I read it…
[Welcome to your new world, CEO candidate!]
The same, ad-like voice from before returned for another gig.
[You are stranded bare-handed, with no money or connections in a completely foreign world. And no, you are not a hero!]
Judging by the voice's cadence, now that it introduced a problem, it was about to sell me something.
[But fear not, with hard work, stupid beats lazy six out of ten times!
This time, both the voice and the text bugged out on its last part. Then, however, it continued unobstructed.
[Most people would try to look for a job. But you are different. You are a leader! A bona-fide winner! And at the end of this course, you are to become a CEO, not a guy that breaks his back to make others richer!]
The words suddenly fizzled out of existence in a new animation…
Only for the whole world around me to stop as a new, much bigger window appeared right before my eyes.
[Stage 0 - Private Venture]
[Idea, Labor, Product]
[Quests:
- Fulfilling the need - Decide on the product/service for your venture to provide.
- First Sale – Find a paying customer willing to take the risk of novelty.
- Recognition – Obtain legitimacy (local guild, lord's permission, or a magic-brand mark).]
[System Perks:
- Seed Investment (Gold Grant) – initial working capital.
- Market Survey (Insight Perk) – highlights potential unmet needs in local economy.
- Basic Legal Framework – simple contracts auto-drafted by the system.]
I took my time reading through all of this.
Then, while still too shocked by everything that was happening to even think to question it, I just… accepted it.
But for a product…
I looked around.
And honestly, before my eyes could even move, I'd already found my answer.
All that I needed was a single conscious whiff of the air.
'Shit, I'm going to throw up…'
It stank of shit. No matter where I were to go, I could see gutters overflowing with filth.
It was a reality slap of what it actually meant to live in a world like that.
"And it just so happens, it's rather easy to make, hmm…"
Still in this weirdly agreeable mode, I already turned my thoughts towards the first quest.
And the answer to its requirement was quite easy.
In a world so full of stench and uncleanliness, wouldn't simple soap be a desirable convenience if not outright luxury?
'Yeah, that could work. And I even know how to make it!' I grinned to my own thoughts, still too dazed to realize I was in an unknown world, unknown city, surrounded by people I wasn't sure I knew the language of…
And I was thinking of how to set up a Private Venture business?!
'What's wrong with my head…' I thought, genuinely scared by such a sudden and forceful change to my mental inner-workings.
But then, the worry gave way to another thought.
A plan on how I could near-instantly launch an effective marketing campaign for soap in a world that clearly didn't know of it or didn't care to use it.
And weirdly enough, the moment I set myself on my plan, I could feel my belt grow heavier.
Then, the text panels from before appeared before my eyes again… only for the first part of the quest and the first line in the perks to vanish, dimmed out to the point where I had to really struggle to see them
'Hmm?'
I did my best to stifle a smile.
I'd figured out what I wanted to sell. And the next moment, the seed investment perk activated?
'Does that mean, I get a reward for each of the fulfilled subquests?' I thought while my hand moved down, to what appeared to be a money pouch hanging off my belt.
And with just a single touch, I could tell.
This simple piece of cloth wrapped in on itself currently housed quite the few, heavy coins in it!
I breathed out a long sigh before slowly bringing my face up, to face the warm rays of the mid-day sun.
'So it's not one of those unreasonable systems, it seems. If anything,' I took another glance at my missions, 'isn't it unreasonably overpowered instead?'