As the two of us got on the school bus, I saw that most of the seats were already filled to the brim with students who all went to the same school as us.
I didn't remember any of their faces but had a familiar feeling about most of them. It was quite a surreal experience; I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
Well, not like I cared about that much. I didn't have a lot of time, and I was dead set on achieving what I had to do.
The blue screen continued to float in front of me, but only I could see it. No one else on the bus seemed to notice, not even as I moved to take a seat.
The screen followed right in front of me, floating and conveying the same message in the air as it did back at home.
[The Door]
[Make your debut in the entertainment industry]
[Time limit: 30 days]
[In case of failure: The Door will close itself]
I was sure of one thing: it's not going to happen. I still had 30 days until I had to make some kind of debut in the entertainment industry.
If I have to, I will leave school earlier or even skip if needed…
If I can make my debut, the money I would get would help us stay in our neighborhood. If everything works out, my father can quit his construction job.
While deep in thought, I sat down in one of the few available dual seats close to the window, and Aiden sat beside me with a sour expression on his face.
I swear I could hear some murmurs about Aiden from the farther back seats on the bus. Most of them were mocking or outright fearful of him, I knew that he heard them as well.
Still, he just closed his eyes while leaning back against his seat.
I almost forgot that even at around 17, he was quite scary for most of the other high schoolers, even seniors.
Then I looked at Aiden, and as I did, I almost chuckled… he was grumpy 24/7, even while sleeping his expression was sour, just like how I remembered him.
Well, he did look quite dumb while sleeping.
While I looked at the screen, I decided it was time to start. The system I designed not only requested tasks but also made the job easier with various tips and the best route of action to improve one's life.
This was my big project, my big passion, my obsession.
The way to improve the quality of life.
To give people a goal to strive for, improvement was the best way to motivate them for further improvements.
However, using voice commands here was impossible. I needed to move from the Quest terminal to the main menu…
I didn't know how to do that with this many people around without looking like a lunatic speaking to the air, but I did not need to as the screen shifted without me saying anything.
But how?
I didn't program this into it… did it detect my thoughts and move accordingly?
… that's impossible.
Still, I had to test it.
Move back to the Quest menu point.
And as I thought of it, the menu shifted back to the quest… how?
I have no idea how this is happening or why, but well, it's not like I am in my office to access the code…
[User: Liam White]
[Current Quest: The Door]
As I stared at the main menu, I was shocked to find it almost entirely empty… but why?
Once I finished the project, it was supposed to work perfectly. Yet here it is, its main functions barely operating, and it has a new function that I never coded into it.
Something is up with it… and I am afraid to think about what else might be malfunctioning. What if it breaks even more?
God damn it…
I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Aiden.
"What is it?"
"Are you sick?"
"No…"
He continued to stare. I don't think he believes me.
Well, it's not like I can tell him what the real problem is.
"I'm just a bit lightheaded. I'll get better once we get off the bus."
"If you say so." He still did not seem to believe me, but this was fine the way it is.
Okay, I need to access the attributes now. I need to know how I'm going to improve if I want to debut in 30 days.
Just like before, the screen shifted with my thoughts, something that seemed useful but was only distressing to me.
The screen displayed:
Acting: Beginner
Charisma: Intermediate
Public Speaking: Intermediate
Singing: Beginner
Dancing: Beginner
These stats… they seemed accurate for where I am now. But how do I increase them quickly? The screen then displayed another prompt:
[…]
[…]
[…]
It was empty, even this was empty.
Now I started to worry, my palms got sweaty as I absentmindedly stared at the blue screen which was empty.
I felt my stomach fill with lead again and cold sweat accumulated on my forehead.
This was the main function of my System… and it doesn't work.
Fucking classic.
I don't usually swear, but I felt the urge to curse a couple of bloodlines in my rage…
Of course, it doesn't work again, I hate how this is the usual and how I got used to it… but it seems like I have to figure things out on my own and the system will… hopefully, display it if my attributes increase.
Aiden continued to pester me. I felt that he was worried, which made me feel a bit good about myself, even more so because we hadn't talked in a long time… in my real life.
"Everything is fine, stop pestering me."
I was harsh, not what I intended to be, but I was way more focused on the screen in front of me that was slowly shifting again.
This time, I wasn't even thinking of anything to warrant this.
Slowly, the numbers and text started to morph into a sentence.
[Attribute(s) window is not yet fully implemented.]
[0.4%]
…
Now I really felt like puking. My stomach rumbled in the middle of the bus, making Aiden worry even more.
Damn it, when is it going to be fully loaded? My time is limited, yet this piece of crap is barely working as intended…
Aiden continued to poke my shoulder even stronger and call out to me.
"Liam!"
He slapped me on the back of the head. How dare he?!
"We are already here, get up!"
"Oh…"
Okay, maybe I forgive him just this once.
I got up and walked off the bus together with the few students who were still around me.
The chill in the air hit me again as I stepped off the bus. The familiar sight of my old high school loomed ahead, and a wave of nostalgia mixed with unease washed over me.
It was a large school building with three stories high up, it was quite old for a school building, but I remember they just renovated it after we left… classic.
Aiden just put his hands into his pockets while walking ahead, only to look back and call out.
"Come on already… or wanna go to the school nurse?"
"No, I'm feeling fine, the bus was just too stuffy for me."
I followed behind Aiden as we headed to the building.
This is going to be problematic…
But this is not enough to stop me…
Just a small setback.