Edited by: Kuro and Lille (I also edited this because I had to write this from scratch to be able to post this on Wattpad and saw some errors we missed teehee).
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Among the many hosts who won the lottery, Kyle was able to get into the Top 100. Though he didn't need the points, it was still a joyous occasion.
After the ten-day celebration, Grey was able to learn how to be a System through the classes that were offered near the Command Center. All new Systems would go there and learn the ins and outs of their duties and what each feature does.
Grey already had a vague idea about the features that Systems provided like the System Map, the System Space, and stuff like that, but his knowledge was superficial.
It took a few days but he was able to master everything quickly. He was now a certified System!
Once he finished his training, he met up with Azul who had to help System 225 with something. He found the two in front of the UniOrb, talking to each other but he couldn't hear them. He wasn't interested in eavesdropping on them, so he didn't care what they were talking about.
"Hey, Azul, System 225!" He waved at them to get their attention.
Azul and System 225 stopped what they were doing and looked happy to see him.
Grey arrived where they were standing and saw they were doing maintenance on the UniOrb city, so he didn't ask questions about it. He just delivered the good news.
"Good news," he said before a short pause for a dramatic effect. "I have officially become a System! I came over to report to duty."
"Congrats, my love!" Azul gave him a big hug. "I have a gift for you, but I will give it to you later."
[Congratulations, Grey.] System 225 said while taking out the gift he had prepared for when Grey passed his exam. [This is a tool that lets you materialize in the world your Host is in. This only works in worlds lower than B-ranked though. It's called System Materialization.]
The tool he handed over to Grey looked like a very thin cellphone. All he had to do was tap it twice to activate it. Then, he would be able to choose a physical body that was compatible with the world he was in.
[If your host is having a hard time, you can use this and directly help them with a suitable identity. Once you decide to leave the world, no one will remember you existed, so please keep that in mind.]
Grey was a bit shocked at the tool because it was something a Host could buy from the store, but it was expensive for newbies. They could get it other ways though. Once a month, there was a lottery where Hosts could win the System Materialization device, so a lot of newbie Hosts scrambled to the lottery. Only three hosts would be able to win it at any given time and it can only be received once. Once a Host has a System Materialization device, they can't join the newbie lottery again.
Other items could be won too, but this one was the most sought-after one.
"Thank you for this gift, System 225. I will make sure to use it well!" Grey happily put the device into his System Space.
[It's no problem at all. Also, I have your Host assigned to you but...]
Azul butted into the conversation because he didn't want System 225 to ruin the big surprise. "But we will be going together, so the lucky Host who gets you as their System will also have me."
System 225 coughed because he realized he almost messed up. [Well, Azul will be going with you because he doesn't want to be apart from you. That's why, you and him are a package deal and will be considered as one System. Since he is much more powerful than you are as a System, he will be limited in each world and can only use what you have in your own System Space. Once you become as strong as him, you can also use his System Space.]
"I didn't know this was possible..." Grey was amazed but not surprised by the arrangements. He had just recently woke up and had been away for so long, it's no wonder Azul wanted to be attached to him by the hip.
"Thank you, System 225. I was a bit worried about being separated from Azul, but now, we can go everywhere together!"
[It's the least I could do for all the help you have given me.]
Azul saw they were done talking, so he decided to take Grey to their next destination. "Now that everything is settled here, let's meet up with our Host and pick our first world!" He grabbed Grey's hand and pointed toward the Host Association.
The two said their goodbyes to System 223 and walked to the Host Association building where many people were going in and out.
The Host Association was the place all Hosts went to when they needed to prepare or were about to leave for their next world. It was a large, 12-floor building right next to the Command Center area. They could change points for items and skills to help them in their next world or meet up with their systems to pick and talk about their next world.
On the first floor, not only was it a place for Hosts to meet up with Systems, but it was also the place where Hosts got transferred to their next world with their missions. From the second to the sixth floor, it was the place where hosts could exchange points for items. The 7th to the 11th floor was where Hosts could learn skills. Finally, on the 12th floor, it was the exclusive lounge for Hosts who have completed A and S-ranked worlds. The 12th floor also had an exchange for special skills and items there.
There was no receptionist to greet them, but there were five large tablets that were connected to the floor by a long pole. All they had to do was scan their System or Host badges, confirm the meeting time with a Host or System, and then wait for the other party to arrive. They would give an estimated time of arrival so people could gauge whether they should wait or leave the building.
Luckily, Grey and Azul didn't have to wait long because their newly assigned Host was not busy and would be there within ten minutes.
Grey and Azul went into the waiting room and didn't even wait five minutes before a familiar figure walked into the room. It was Kyle. He looked happy to see Grey even though he had just seen Grey hours prior.
"I'm here as your new Host, Grey and Azul! Please take care of me." Kyle gave a polite bow like this wasn't his first rodeo.
"Kyle?! Why are you my Host?" Grey was genuinely confused because Kyle had been Arisa's Host ever since Kyle started as a Host.
Kyle gave a grin. "Surprise! Are you surprised? I was told that System Grey would be going on his first mission and needed a Host that could show him the ropes, so I was called."
"Well, honestly, it was because System 225 was a bit overprotective and wanted to make sure you had a good first experience as a System. Plus, he said I could think of it as a vacation as I run around an F-ranked world!"
For the past couple thousand years, Kyle only worked on worlds with a B-rank or higher difficulty. He was also the first one to go to an S-ranked world if needed.
Being able to go to an F-ranked world was more than just a walk in the park, it was a full-blown paid vacation! He was actually quite happy to be able to do this. Plus, Arisa was going to be working with another Host soon, so he was free to do what he wanted.
Grey couldn't help but think of System 225 pacing back and forth trying to make sure that he had a decent host for his first job. The image was cute!
"That's fine with me," Grey responded. "Since I can only do F-ranked worlds right now, it would be good to have an experienced Host by my side. Being a Host turned into a System is definitely a different experience."
Azul was amused at Grey's reaction. He already knew about this and just wanted to see Grey's surprised face. It was all within his expectations and he loved that!
Azul coughed to get their attention. "Since we now have met and already know each other, we can skip introductions and pick Grey's first world."
To pick a world, the System would need to go into their database and press the "Select Worlds/Universe" tab. Once they did that, they would have to input the rank of the world the System and Host would be tackling, and then wait for the database to generate three worlds. All of it was based on priority and luck, especially in the higher-ranked worlds. For F-ranked worlds though, they were so easy it doesn't matter what they picked and there were trillions of options. F-ranked worlds would always be there for new Hosts and Systems.
From there, the System or Systems and Host would choose the one out of the three that they wanted to do.
When Grey's options opened up, he had three interesting worlds to go to. The first world was like a crappy romance novel here the main couple should not be together. Only one person benefited in this relationship while the other person died in the end. They held a lot of resentment because as the client was dying, they realized how blind they were in this relationship. The should have left at the beginning of their relationship and shouldn't have tried to stick around to help their partner.
The main mission for this crappy romance world was to break up with this person, cut all ties with them, and live life to the fullest. They also wanted the Host to find a partner that would treat them with respect and equality, something the client, aka the original body, was unable to experience.
For the second world, it was in a world where Virtual Reality was the new normal. The client regretted getting into competitive gaming because the team he thought were his allies turned out to be his worst enemies, pushing him ruthlessly out of the E-sports community, and even got shunned by everyone online and in-person. This all drove him to end his life because his depression from the betrayal and the public hate was too much to bear. His wish was to never set foot in the E-sports world. He wanted to be able to enjoy the virtual reality world of the open-world VRMMO that took his breath away when he first started playing.
He didn't want revenge. There was no mission for that. All he wanted was to enjoy the game and complete the main quest that people could complete in the game. Even with the extremely long main quest, not many people did it because as long as one person did it, the world would change for everyone as that one person went through the main quest. But he was quite invested in the story and wanted to know how it ended.
As for the third world, it was another world with the original body being an actor. But this time, the person was starting from the bottom. He was used as a stepping stool time and time again for the main character who was also an actor. In the end, he faded into the background, never to become someone that anyone remembered. His wish was to become a famous actor even if it meant going against the main character. He just wanted to complete his dreams of being on the big screen as the lead actor in a top-grossing movie!
After reading through all of their options, Kyle decided he wanted to go into the second world. As much as he wants to do the actor world because that was how he and Grey first met, he wanted to replace the memories of Grey's time in fighting against the Villain System. He felt the second world would be a much longer, but more fulfilling experience. He was also interested in this open-world VRMMO. It would be fun to team up with Grey and Azul!
Grey and Azul also thought the second world was a lot more fun and relaxing. It was decided that they would go there first and enjoy a vacation in an F-ranked world - they mean training for Grey…
Let's just say, it was quite a chaotic run because Grey, Kyle, and Azul became an unstoppable trio that shook the VRMMO world with their amazing combat abilities.
No one could convince them to join the E-sports industry, which drove people absolutely crazy.