Chapter 2: The System
I opened my eyes… very slowly, but I couldn't see a thing. Darkness surrounded me.
"Where am I…"
Suddenly, a faint blue light appeared in front of me. A transparent screen. [The System]
Player Name: Siraj
You've got to be kidding me—I'm not in a game. Thoughts raced through my head.
"Uh… it looks like I'm dead…? It's all over."
In an instant, I woke up suddenly, gasping for breath, as if I'd just emerged from a dark abyss.
I hurriedly touched my body, checking my existence with panicked eyes, while thoughts tangled chaotically inside my head.
"Where am I…? No… no, that's impossible."
Everything suddenly vanished. No pain, no trace—as if nothing had ever happened to my body.
My breathing quickened even more, and the world began to spin around me, until the ground seemed to warp. I felt nausea pressing against my chest and suffocating me.
Why… why me?
A sharp headache overwhelmed me, and a ringing tore at my head from the inside, until the world around me was completely distorted.
And in the midst of this confusion… fragmented images and words began to flash through my mind: my mother's words… accusatory gestures… "failure"… "trash"… jumbled memories. Then one phrase emerged clearly:
"I love you… to death."
My body trembled.
I looked down in silence, and my tears began to fall uncontrollably. I gripped the grass tightly, then let out a short, bitter, stifled laugh.
I bit my lip hard. "It's all over… it's all over…" I repeated to myself as my tears fell unceasingly. "It's all over… I'm sorry… Mom, I'm sorry… Dad… please forgive me."
But
I felt something slimy crawling over my hand.
I looked at it… It was a strange insect, with many sticky legs, large jaws, and a dark purple color.
I fell backward immediately and crawled away from it, trying to shake it off my hand.
But it jumped… then flew into the air.
I raised my head.
The sky was filled with a suspicious, clear, calm twilight,
a shade of blue mixed with red and black.
And at that very moment, a dense, endless expanse of red grass stretched out before me in every direction, like a silent sea.
From afar, sounds began to seep in… animals, but their voices were distorted, unnatural, resembling those sounds that come late at night from the depths of a forest.
And above the grass, butterflies were flying in groups.
But they weren't ordinary butterflies… they bore sharp, pin-like protrusions that glinted in the light as they hovered silently.
My heart rate suddenly spiked.
And in an instant, memories raced through my mind: laughter… warm moments… our home… my mother calling my name… my father… my family…
Silence fell for a moment as I stared straight ahead; I couldn't see anything in front of me—only memories
"Where am I, oh God… where am I, Mom…"
My breath mingled with my tears, and I could no longer tell the difference between what I saw and what I felt.
Then my mother's smile appeared clearly before me, as if she were standing right in front of me now, with that warm gaze of hers that refused to fade. I curled up on the ground.
I kept repeating: It's all over… It's all over. I muttered under my breath.
I feel cold; I feel hungry.
Mom… I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I couldn't apologize to you and Dad—I'm truly sorry.
Minutes and hours passed, until I heard the sound of a little girl crying.
At first I ignored the sounds, but they gradually grew louder. I struggled to my feet, my vision blurry.
I approached the source of the sound, pushing aside the branches with my hands.
Until I saw her…
A girl with short white hair and dark eyes, wearing a red dress with white stripes.
Her features were pale, her lips dry and chapped, and her stomach sunken.
She was swallowing her saliva repeatedly.
She was standing next to a tree trunk, crying. She seemed distracted, looking left and right. It was as if she was afraid someone was coming.
A transparent screen appeared in front of me:
[System]
Target Information:
Name: Unknown
Gender: Unknown
Class: E
Skills: Unknown
Abilities: Not Recorded
Hidden Skills: Unknown
I shouted audibly, clenching my fists: "Don't mess with me… as if I'd rely on you to evaluate others."
She turned toward me because of my loud voice. I felt tension creeping into my chest, but she, on the other hand, quickly backed away and hid behind a tree trunk, peeking at me out of the corner of her eye.
She looked frightened.
I asked her aloud, "Who are you?"
She didn't answer.
I was surprised and thought she didn't understand my language. I pointed at her, but to no avail.
I repeated, "Who are you?"
Her lips moved in a low voice: "My name is Zoe… just Zoe."
I looked at her in surprise: "What are you doing here?"
She whispered even more softly: "I don't know."
I asked her another question: "What's the name of this area?"
She repeated haltingly: "I don't know."
Then her distress began to grow, and she put her hands to her head: "Aaaah…"
I rushed toward her:
"Zoe! Zoe! Are you okay?" My limbs were shaking like crazy.
But she started screaming, repeating in a trembling voice: "It's coming… coming… coming…"
I stood over her, repeating: " "Everything's fine," in a tone I tried to make sound calm, even though my expression didn't match it.
She calmed down a little… Then I turned to her and said, "How do we get out of this forest?"
She looked up at me and said in a low voice, "I don't know."
I took a step closer: "Are you making fun of me? "
But she didn't answer; she remained silent.
I stood up slowly, watching her. She didn't seem capable of speaking or thinking—exhausted, hungry, lost.
And at the same time, I wasn't doing any better either. The same sense of being lost, the same emptiness.
I said aloud, "All right… let's walk."
I reached out my hand to her: "Come on."
She hesitated for a moment, then took it.
I looked at her: "I forgot your name… Tell me again." I'd completely lost my focus—I couldn't even remember her name.
She lowered her gaze slightly: "Zoe… My name is Zoe. Just Zoe."
I nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed.
We began walking among the trees, not knowing where we were or where we were going.
Suddenly, I caught a suffocating, foul odor filling the air. I stopped, scanning the trees with my eyes for the source. I moved slowly into the shadows; with every step, the smell grew stronger.
Until it was revealed before me… a rotting, lifeless corpse, partially torn apart, with worms writhing ceaselessly over it, and among them strange, slimy insects with sharp jaws gnawing at the remains of the flesh.
I froze in my tracks. I felt something strike my chest all at once, so I recoiled quickly as if the air had vanished from around me.
I fell backward, gasping for breath, a strange, unrelenting pain in my stomach, until I began to vomit repeatedly.
At the edge of the clearing, Zoe stood silently, waiting for me.
I struggled to my feet, trying to control my ragged breathing, while her eyes watched my pale face and my silence. I walked past her, avoiding her gaze. I said in a low voice, "Let's go…"
The fear was still there, but it no longer had complete hold on her. As we moved forward, the forest began to change gradually; the trees grew less dense.
I couldn't forget it, but I tried to pull myself together. I knew Zoe was emotionally shattered, and that my feelings would only make things worse, so I suppressed my reaction as much as possible. Still, the look of revulsion hadn't completely vanished from my face.
The suffocating stench hadn't gone away… It was like the stench of a rotting rat, clinging to my throat and making it hard to breathe. Suddenly, I felt something cold and slimy moving across my neck.
I quickly raised my hand and grabbed it… it was something alive. Between my fingers appeared a tiny creature, with two large, sharp jaws and thin wings fluttering violently. It wasn't big… about the size of an almond, but its mere presence brought the image of the corpse flooding back into my mind all at once.
I took a step back, nausea rising in my throat, my breath catching. And before I could process it…
The tip of my finger vanished. I yanked my hand back, clenching my teeth against the pain, as a burning sensation began to creep through my finger, as if it were eating away at the flesh from the inside.
"Damn…"
A scream almost escaped me, but I stifled it. At that moment, Zoe suddenly appeared in front of me, her eyes filled with fear.
"Are you okay? Are you okay?"
I didn't answer. I quickly tore off a piece of my clothing and wrapped it tightly around my finger to stop the bleeding.
My heart was still pounding hard. "Focus… don't lose your composure."
Meanwhile, the insect was still flying through the air, circling us like a small, restless shadow.
Then…
I heard faint chanting behind me. I didn't understand the words, but the tone was clear.
I turned slowly.
Zoe raised her hand.
She was trembling. But a blue light began to gather around her palm, gradually growing brighter until it became painfully bright to the eye.
She clenched her fist in the space before her. "The air filled with glowing blue particles."
And in a single instant…
The insect's body exploded as if it had split from the inside, like a broken mirror shattering into tiny pieces.
Then it vanished into thin air… without a trace.
My eyes widened as thoughts raced through my head. I knew Zoe wasn't an ordinary girl… but what had just happened exceeded all my expectations.
I'd always read comic books about magic and fantasy worlds, but I never imagined I'd see it right before my eyes.
I stood up slowly, trying to stay calm. I turned to her and said, "Is… that your power?" My expression seemed to reflect my own surprise as well as Zoe's at the same time.
She avoided looking at me, then said hesitantly, "I guess so…"
Only one question remained in my mind: Is this girl… a friend or an enemy?
We kept walking until we reached the end of a cliff.
I hadn't forgotten what had happened earlier. Thoughts were racing through my head nonstop: Where exactly am I? And who is Zoe?
Then the town came into view.
Scattered buildings stretched out before me with no apparent order; some were absurdly huge, and others were absurdly small. There was no pattern to their layout—it was as if they'd been placed there randomly, without any logic.
I looked at Zoe nervously and said, "Do you know this town?"
She replied calmly, "I don't know."
I felt anxiety and frustration rising inside me. You don't even know this… Are you making fun of me?
I muttered to myself: Don't mess with me…
Then a faint notification appeared in front of me.
[System]
Important Notification
New Daily Mission:
Destroy a demonic energy source
Absorb 5 units of demonic energy
Run 10 km
Note: Failure to complete the mission will result in a penalty
Primary Mission: Reach Sky Tree Town
Mission details not specified
Reward: Fulfill one wish.
I stared silently at the screen, then muttered to myself
sarcastically: "Ridiculous… as if I'd listen to this system."
At that moment, Zoe's voice came from behind me in a low tone:
"The system…"