Jaden arrived at work exactly ten minutes late. For others this might be normal, or mildly frustrating. For Jaden, it was unacceptable. He had never been late during his entire time at the company. He was hating his system more and more.
He tiptoed into the office. Perhaps no one would notice? Too late, they all looked at him walking through the door.
One of his coworkers, a man named John, hid a smile quickly. "Nice of you to finally join us, Jaden."
How frustrating. John was always late, how could he make a big deal out of this? Complete double standards.
"Just copying your timing, John."
John's face turned beet red and he began to mumble something. There was that old voice:
[Universal Emperor Status –
Oh, enough already.
Jaden slid into his cubicle. There was work to be done and he was already behind. Unfortunately, the universe was seriously against him today. The CEO stuck his head out of the meeting room.
"Meeting in half an hour, make sure you're prepared!"
Seriously!? He had that report due soon and now another meeting? Please, boss, take pity on your poor employee today. He has a terrible system trying to prevent him from being an ordinary office worker!
John leaned over the cubicle dividing them: "Yo Jaden, did you hear? The meeting today is about that emperor monster, and apparently a real life system user is coming in. Crazy, right?"
"A system user, huh? I never could have seen that one coming." He seriously wasn't ever going to be able to get away from this whole system thing.
They gathered around in the meeting room, it was as sleek and modern as if it was inside of an Apple product. Jaden was tapping his foot on the floor, impatient to get back to his work. Then, the person giving the talk walked in. She was a woman, and not just an ordinary one.
Her long black hair flowed lightly off her face and her pale skin had an ethereal glow. Her blue eyes were bright like diamonds and as cold as ice. She was tall, and her body was very shapely. Her lips looked like -
Wait a second…
Why was she being described so much more than anyone else? Why, Jaden himself hadn't been described yet and here this girl was getting a whole paragraph just like in one of those typical web novels! What was his life coming to, can't it be enough to say she is cute?
When the woman talked, however, her voice wasn't sweet or adorable at all. It was as sharp and cold as razor blades. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. Are you prepared for war?"
Jaden immediately knew he could never get along with a girl like this. Prepare for war? There was no need to be so dramatic. He caught himself rolling his eyes.
The woman continued her speech: "I am the one known as Sofie Jensen, and I have been given the "Sharpshooter System". I have been invited here to discuss the Emperor Class monster that disappeared from this city yesterday."
Jaden wanted to throw up. The last thing he wanted to do was discuss that night.
One man raised his hand: "Yes! Ms. Jensen, what effect will this have on the stock market!"
The stock market!? That's your concern here?
Sofia seemed to agree: "The stock market is not why I am here. I am here because we fear the Emperor Class monster is hidden somewhere in this city."
A round of gasps filled the room. Even the CEO looked a little uncomfortable. Jaden felt like Sofia was staring straight at him, her gaze like daggers.
He was often popular with the ladies but this was a bit much!
The woman wasn't finished yet, though. "It is imperative that we discover this monster soon. We have reason to believe that if we don't the world shall be destroyed and humanity shall cease to exist."
Destroyed? Cease to exist? What sort of crazy prophecy was that?
"Due to this, we have ordered a mandatory training session for every workplace in order to determine if there are traces of Beastial Energy present."
The system stats blinked orange temporarily.
[Armageddon points: 3]
System, what do you mean!?
Why did Jaden suddenly have the terrible feeling that things were going from bad to worse? Better to avoid trouble altogether. He gave a big sigh and raised his hand: "Do I have permission to skip this training? I have a…medical condition."
She looked straight at him, and then looked a little longer. He held her gaze, expecting her to look away, but unfortunately she wouldn't stop staring.
Finally she spoke, in her cool, even tone: "You…definitely cannot skip the training."