Suddenly, something materialized in the darkness. Is... is that a robot's hand? No, it wasn't just a hand. A large, sleek robot with a fixed, smiling face now stood before me. Damn!
I knew it! I'm dreaming. There's no chance any of this is real. Absolutely not! But of all things, why would I dream about a robot? And it's not just any metal robot; this one looks human. You wouldn't even know it was one if you didn't look carefully at its arms and hands.
I can't believe it. The first time I dream about a hot guy, he turns out to be a robot! I made a mental note to start dating someone nice—and super handsome—after I wake up.
But still... If I'm going to dream anyway, I should at least dream about something happy, like my retirement or the jealous expressions on my colleagues' faces when I announce it! Just thinking about that makes me happy!
"Ahem, I don't mean to cut the train of your thoughts, but we need to talk, don't we?" the robot said with a touch of consideration.
"Okay! About what, Mr. Robot?" After a moment's thought, this dream didn't seem so bad. Might as well have some fun with it. It's not like I'm going to die if I listen to him.
"First thing: I am a system. My designation is 678567, but you can call me George. I think it's more gorgeous!" he said in a happy tone.
So the robot's name is George. I'd heard that name before, but I couldn't remember when. "Nice to meet you,George! Now I know the first thing. What's the second one?"
"...By the way, this is not a dream" he said with a serious face.
Oh, poor thing. He doesn't know he's a figment of my imagination. But has my imagination always been this vivid?
"Of course I know that!" I'll play along to see how far he'll go.
"Hah... no, you don't know... Anyway, the second thing is that you have a task to comple—"
"Which task, Mr. Handsome Robot George?"
"Can't you be more patient? I hadn't finished talking! And I'm not a robot! I'm a system!"
Oops! It sounds like Mr. Robot is angry. But what's the difference? Robot or system, they're the same, aren't they? I decided to keep these thoughts to myself.
"Your task is saving the protagonist and the heroine. And it will be perfect if you can guide the villain to the right path."
Hah? Protagonist? Heroine? And a villain? Are there more characters in this dream I haven't met yet?
"Okay! Show them to me, George. I'll tell the villain to behave himself and stop bullying the protagonist." Such an easy task! If Mr. Villain doesn't listen, I'll threaten him! 'Mr. Villain, do as I say or I'll make you disappear!' Then I'll laugh an evil laugh: "Mwahahahaha!"
"It looks like you don't understand the situation you're in. You are not dreaming, and this space was created by me, a Highly Developed System. You can't return to your world unless you complete your task. If you don't believe me, I will disappear and leave you alone to figure it out." He said that and vanished as if he'd never existed.
Now it was just me and the three white dots in the dark. But suddenly, a stopwatch appeared from nowhere and started ticking. Did he really think I would believe him just like that? No way.
Even though I couldn't see anything but darkness, I decided to walk around. Maybe I'd wake up soon or find an end to this emptiness.
Let's just say I was so arrogant