The office lights were really bright. They made a weird humming noise that felt like it was inside Sam Lee's head. It was 2:47 AM. The air in the office was stale. It smelled like ozone and old coffee.
Sam's fingers were moving fast on the keyboard making a lot of noise. He was twenty-one years old. Most people his age were out having fun.. Sam was stuck inside staring at a long document on his computer.
"If I can just finish this one part " he said to himself, his voice sounding rough.
Then something bad happened.
It started as a pain in his left shoulder and it felt like something was pressing on his chest. Sam tried to breathe. He couldn't. His hand moved away from the mouse. It knocked over a cup of cold coffee. The coffee spilled over his desk and his papers.
"No, not my papers " he thought, which was a thing to think about at that moment.
The world around him started to get blurry. He felt himself falling off his chair.
The last thing Sam saw was the underside of his desk, which was pretty gross. Then everything went silent.
THE ONBOARDING PROCESS
[DING!]
[Vital Signs: Null.]
[Soul Extraction: Successful.]
[Compatibility Check: 99.8%.]
"Congratulations you have been chosen by the Transmigration Bureau to be an employee " a voice said, sounding really happy. "You get to start a life well, a new set of lives."
The voice was scary but also really cheerful. Sam opened his eyes. At least he became aware of being alive. He was floating in a white space. There was no floor or ceiling and a lot of white light.
"Whats going on?" Sam asked, his voice sounding rough. He tried to touch his chest. There was nothing there. No body, a blue mist. "I was at the office working on a project. My manager is going to be really mad if I'm late."
"Lets be real " the voice said, "your body back in that world is already dead. You had a heart attack from working too much. It's ironic, really."
Sam was shocked. He was really dead. All those long hours and missed birthdays and bad food had finally caught up with him.
"I'm dead " Sam said, which was an obvious thing to say.
"Yes you are " the voice said, ". Don't worry about it. I'm System 016. I'm here to help you. Think of this as a career change."
Sam took a breath or at least he tried to. He was used to looking for logic in situations so he tried to stay calm. "The Transmigration Bureau, you're like a company that moves people between worlds?"
"That's right, " the voice said, "we help keep the world stable. Sometimes the main characters get out of control. The bad guys get too powerful. That's when we step in to help."
". I'm an employee?" Sam asked, "what do I get out of it?"
"You get to live, " the voice said, ". If you do a good job you can earn points and buy your way into a new life. A life with work-life balance maybe."
Sam thought about it. He wanted to see the contract.
"Here it is," the voice. A big document appeared in Sam's mind. It was really long. Had a lot of complicated words. But Sam was used to reading documents so he scanned through it until he found the part about rewards.
"If I complete one hundred missions I get a reward " Sam said, ". What if I fail?"
"If you fail you lose points " the voice said, ". If you lose too many points your soul gets recycled."
Sam thought about it. He didn't want to die so he decided to take the job.
"Fine I'll do it " Sam said, "where do I sign?"
"No need to sign, " the voice said, "you're in. Let's get started."
ARRIVAL: THE OTAKU'S SANCTUARY
Sam felt like he was being pulled apart and put back together again. When he opened his eyes he was in a body. He was lying down. The air was thick with the smell of old snacks and plastic.
He sat up slowly feeling dizzy. He looked around. Saw that he was in a room filled with anime stuff. There were toys and posters
"What is all this?" Sam asked, touching a bedspread with a robot on it.
"This is your home " the voice said, "the original Sam Lee in this world was a big fan of anime. He was a guy, with no social skills but he had a lot of cool stuff."
Sam looked in a mirror. Saw that he was younger and had messy hair.
"Show me the mission panel " Sam said, "I need to know what to do."
A screen appeared in front of him. It had a lot of information on it.
> WORLD MISSION: BUSINESS WORLD
> You are Sam Lee, the neighbor and friend of the character.
> Your original fate was to die saving the lead but now you get to change that.
> Your mission is to survive the yacht party event.
> You also need to get a job as a teacher and help the character in a big moment.
> If you succeed you get points and rewards. If you fail you lose points.
Sam looked at the mission. I thought about it. He didn't want to die so he was going to do his best to survive.
"I don't want to die on that yacht, " Sam said, "I'm going to change my fate."
"That's the spirit " the voice said, "and here's a reward to help you get started."
> BEGINNER'S REWARD GRANTED:
> You get ten points to help you on your mission.
Sam looked at the stuff he got.
* He got Beginner's Luck that will last for 24 hours.
* He got a Protection Talisman that he can use one time.
* He got 2500 Bureau Points.
* He got 10 Special Tokens.
"System, show me my Character Interface " Sam said. He wanted to know how much money he had to start with.
> CHARACTER INTERFACE
> Name: Sam Lee
> Level: Lv.1 (Beginner Agent)
> HP: 100/100 | MP: 80/100
> Soul Stability: 100%
> ATTRIBUTES:
> * Intelligence: 98/100 (Max potential: 100)
> * Charm: 67/100
> * Intimidation Resistance: 71/100
> * Manipulation Resistance: 68/100
> * Stress Tolerance: 67/100
> * Stamina: 60/100
> * Reflex: 60/100
> * Strength: 55/100
> * Posture/Composure: 72/100
> * Luck: 100/100 (Buffed)
> * Agility: 9/100 (Warning: Low)
> * Endurance: 8/100 (Warning: Low)
Sam was shocked. "My Agility and Endurance are really low? Was the guy who used to be in this body just sitting around all day?"
"Host the original body owner spent eighteen hours a day sitting in a gaming chair " 016 said. "His muscles are not very strong."
Sam looked at the 10 points he could use to make himself better. This was a decision. In his job he had to make good choices about how to use resources.
"If I am going to survive in the business world and as a teacher I need to be smart and able to handle stress, " Sam said. "I want to use my points like this: +2 to Intelligence. That will make me really smart. +3 To Charm. I need to be able to talk to people and make them like me. +3 To Stress Tolerance. I do not want to have another heart attack.. +2 To Manipulation Resistance."
[DING!]
[Allocating points... Done!]
[Intelligence has reached MAX (100). You have unlocked the trait: 'Analytical Mind'.]
Sam felt a lot clearer. He looked around the room. Saw that the anime figures were worth about $45,000. He looked at the posters. Thought about how to organize the room to make it more efficient.
"Now " Sam said, sitting at the desk. "Let's look at the Relationship Grid."
The screen showed three names with bars under them.
* Matthew Servilla (Male Lead): 15/100 Affinity. Status: Consider you a weird neighbor.
* Isabelle Diaz (Female Lead): 15/100 Affinity. Status: Consider you 'Matthew's friend'.
* Liam Choi (Villain): 15/100 Affinity. Status: Doesn't know you exist.
" Fifteen percent, " Sam noted. "That is okay. It means I am someone they know. Not someone they think about a lot. That is good. It gives me room to do things."
Sam spent the four hours looking at the original Sam Lee's laptop. He found a teaching degree in Mathematics and Economics. The original owner had the degree. I was too afraid to teach.
Imperial Academy was a school for the children of people. It was also where the story between the Male Lead and the Villain happened.
"If I want to survive the yacht party " Sam thought, "I need to change how people see me. I need to be a teacher at Imperial Academy. Then Matthew and Isabelle will listen to what I say."
He opened a word processor. Started typing. His fingers moved fast because his Intelligence was now 100. He did not just write a resume. He wrote a plan for the Imperial Academy's Economics Department. He found three problems with their curriculum and offered solutions.
"System, " Sam said as he hit Send. "How long until the Yacht Party event?"
"Three months, Host. You have a lot of time to get ready!"
"I do not fail at interviews, 016 " Sam said, standing up and stretching. "I used to sell ideas to angry executives. This will be easy."
He walked to the window. Pulled back the curtains. Outside the city of Neo-Veridia was beautiful. In the penthouse across the street he could see a man standing by the window.
Matthew Servilla. The Male Lead. The man Sam was supposed to help.
Sam watched him for a moment then turned back to the room. He started packing the anime figures into boxes. He was not getting rid of them. They were valuable.. He needed a space that looked like it belonged to him.
"One hundred missions, " Sam whispered. "I am going to do them all.. This time I am going to take my vacation days."
[DING!]
[Host's Motivation Levels: 110%.]
[System 016 is looking forward to our partnership!]
Sam Lee, the Planning Department worker and current background character closed his eyes to sleep. He was not a background character anymore. He was the one in charge.