My alarm went off, and I could only grit my teeth. I knew I had to get up, but my body protested even the idea. When I opened my eyes, I froze — a blue screen was floating in midair.
I stared in disbelief. Was this real? I sat up and watched as the blue screen shifted to stay in the center of my vision.
Rubbing my eyes, I muttered, "Is this real?" I reached out to touch the blue screen, only to watch my hand pass right through it.
"This is a hallucination, isn't it? That's the last time I stay up late reading manga online," I said to myself. But even as I spoke the words, I knew they were a lie. This was my morning tradition — promise to stop, then do it all over again the next night.
Had it really gotten so bad that I was hallucinating?
I pulled on a clean shirt and grabbed my phone. Saturday. I turned to leave — and the door suddenly slammed open.
There stood a redhead, one leg still raised from the kick, a coffee cup perfectly balanced in her hand.
"Hey, loser. Mom sent me up to get you," she said.
A sigh escaped me, my shoulders sagging as I watched her leave. How troublesome. Never let it be said I didn't love my adoptive sister, but her personality was like gasoline near an open flame.
My attention returned to the blue screen. "Is this just my new normal?" I muttered. "Oh well, might as well head downstairs before Kushina comes and drags me kicking and screaming. It wasn't fun the first time, and it won't be this time."
As I walked, I kept glancing at the blank screen. It looked exactly like one of those system screens from the manga I read.
"If this is a hallucination of me having a system, it sucks."
But as if that were the trigger, letters began to appear.
> "Greetings, selected host. You have been found worthy and chosen for evolution."
"And there's the rest of my hallucination," I muttered.
> "Correction: Host, system is not a hallucination."
"Great. My hallucination talks back now."
> "First mission has been assigned."
As I read those words, my body began to glow — and seconds later, I disappeared.