[WAKE UP!]
"Haah!" I gasped, jerking upright.
What...?
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!
[You passed out.]
"Oh." I blinked, trying to orient myself. "WAIT! WHO THE HELL WAS THAT?!"
I sprang to my feet as my memories slammed back into place. The rooftop. I was still on the rooftop—and there should be no one here except me.
I spun around, searching for whoever had just spoken. Nothing. No one. Just empty concrete and the distant hum of the city below.
[Haah... Really? Fine. I'll say it plainly: I am the system.]
"Wait... what?"
[I SAID, I AM THE SYSTEM!]
"I HEARD YOU! I'M NOT DEAF!" I shouted back, my patience already threadbare. "WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS WHY THE SYSTEM CAN TALK!"
[I don't know... maybe because the system CAN talk.] The voice dripped with sarcasm so thick I could practically taste it.
Weird.
Shouldn't the system be a program? A bunch of code? Why was it dishing out this much attitude? It sounded almost... human.
"Then why is this the first time I've heard you talk?" My voice came out sharper than I intended, but I'd calmed down enough to think.
[I only made an appearance now because you completed your first mission. You are now deemed a player.]
"Hold on. A player?" I raised an eyebrow.
[Yes. But before you ask any more questions... don't you think you're forgetting something?]
"No..." I frowned, trying to figure out what it meant. "I don't think I'm—"
Then it hit me.
"The exams." My stomach dropped. "CRAP!"
I bolted toward the rooftop exit.
This was bad. Really bad. If I skipped the exams, the staff would track me down and make my life hell. I couldn't afford that—not now, not with everything else going on.
"What did you mean by player?" I asked, taking the stairs two at a time.
[It means exactly what it sounds like. You are a player in this world, chosen from countless others, and you are on a mission. After successfully completing it, you will be given back your memories... ********* ********* ********** ******** ********* *********]
"Huh?" I frowned mid-stride. "What are you saying? I can't hear the last part."
[You do not have sufficient privileges to learn more.]
"What?"
[You are only at level one. Your access to certain information is limited.]
"Just great," I muttered, reaching the floor with the elevators.
I sprinted toward them just as the doors slid open with a soft chime. I stumbled inside, bracing myself against the wall to catch my breath. Both hands on my knees. Exhausted—mentally and physically.
It had been a long day. One where I'd died more than once.
"You said 'countless others.' What did you mean by that?"
[You do not have sufficient privileges to learn more.]
"Again?" I snapped.
[You do not have sufficient privileges to learn more.]
"Okay, I get it. But at least help me understand what the hell is going on."
[As you have already been told, this world was created from a game—but it is by no means a game. Everything here is reality: the characters, the world itself. Do not be fooled by your knowledge.]
"I know that."
This wasn't a game. My repeated deaths had proven that much. This was reality, and every single action I took would ripple forward into the future.
[You were selected for this mission, like many others. But they are all dead. Most couldn't pass the first stage. If you die, you will be taken to the Nether Realm, where hell awaits you—just like it did for them.]
"What?" I frowned, but before I could process that bombshell, the elevator doors opened.
I ran.
[That is all you have access to for now.]
This was insane.
What the hell was all this? Who selected me for this mission?
[A god. The most beautiful goddess in existence.]
"Huh?" I muttered, still running. Some goddess of beauty or something?
[Well, no... but all other goddesses pale in comparison to her beauty.]
"FUCK HER AND HER BEAUTY! WHY THE HELL DID SHE BRING ME HERE?!"
[How... how DARE you insult her!]
I almost laughed despite myself. What the hell was up with this system?
'Seems like I'm not getting any useful information from this busted thing,' I thought. 'From the way it's talking about the goddess, it's probably made by her to monitor me. I'd better be careful.'
[I can hear that!]
"Just shut up and tell me where the lab is," I snapped, stepping outside.
The campus was still dotted with students, though most were probably from other years. All classes under Year Eight had exams today, so these had to be upperclassmen killing time.
[... Follow this.]
An interface materialized in front of me—a map of the school grounds with my current location marked by a blinking blue dot.
"Sweet," I muttered, and broke into a sprint toward the lab.