Just as Corin was about to argue again, the entire room blinked red.
A piercing beep! beep! beep! followed.
Then, from the top corners of the room, speakers crackled to life. A deep, robotic voice, devoid of any warmth, reverberated through the space:
[WARNING: SYSTEM INSTABILITY DETECTED. REBOOT IN PROGRESS. ALL SUBJECTS EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY. TIME UNTIL PURGE: 60 SECONDS.]
Corin flinched as his eyes darted to the walls, where a glowing green, holographic timer appeared, counting down from 60.
The chibi froze for all of two seconds before smacking her forehead with her tiny palm. "Oh, great! Just great!" she groaned, throwing her hands in the air. "Looks like those bugs are working overtime!"
She turned to Corin, her ruby-red eyes narrowing, though her tone stayed unnervingly chipper. "A'right, ma guy. If you wanna increase your survival rate, you're gonna stop arguing and start listening. Hmm?" She grinned—a sharp, unnervingly cheerful smile that made Corin grit his teeth.
He opened his mouth to protest, but the chibi waved him off with a dramatic twirl of her stick.
A table and chair materialized with a crispy pop and a sparkle. Corin froze as he stared at them.
For some reason, they were the exact chair and table from his high school back in the Philippines. Dark wooden legs with scratches carved by years of abuse. A desk that doubled as a graffiti board.
"What… what the hell is this?" Corin spluttered, dumbstruck. He waved a tentacle at the setup, then at the chibi. "You're joking, right? This is some kind of sick joke!" High school was the worst years of his life, the time when he was most miserable and most helpless. And seeing the chair and table just stirred certain memories in his mind.
But the chibi ignored him, tapping her stick against the floor as though he hadn't spoken at all.
"Step one," she chirped brightly, "orientation!"
Seeing him not move an inch, the chibi arched a brow, one hand on her hip, the other pointing sharply at the chair. "What're you waiting for, dude? The New Year? Sit. Unless you're super into the idea of dying the second you respawn. Not that I'd judge." Her grin turned sweet—dangerously so.
Corin scowled but said nothing. Swallowing a bitter sense of indignity, he stiffly lowered himself into the chair. The wooden seat creaked beneath his weight, just like the ones from his high school days. Memories tugged at the edges of his mind, but he shoved them back into the vault where they belonged.
'Focus, Corin.'
He cast a glance at the timer—47 seconds left—before fixing his attention on the chibi, his silence signaling reluctant compliance.
"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" She twirled her stick like a conductor's baton before pointing it dramatically at him. "A'right, ma guy! First off, introductions!" She puffed out her chest. "I'm Audrey! Acquisition Editor of Phantasia Fictions, the one who sent you that email, and your brand-new System Support! You can thank me later… if you survive."
She twirled her stick again, and the giant 42-inch screen sprang to life. Corin flinched as he saw an image of himself in his Vysalor form, glaring at the tiny 11-inch monitor in the cockpit.
Audrey tapped the monitor with her stick. "See this beauty? Mention my name, and voila! This baby pops up like magic. You can find all your essentials here: Missions, Rewards, the Store, Side Quests, Progress. Etcetera. Etcetera. Think of it like your one-stop survival guide. Oh, and FYI, only you can see it."
She beamed at him like she'd just explained the secrets of the universe in under thirty seconds. "Touchscreen. You're familiar with that, right?"
Corin didn't bother responding, his eyes flicking to the timer—39 seconds now—and back to her. "Anything else I should know? Or do you plan on letting the timer hit zero?"
Audrey gasped dramatically. "Oh, please! Do you think I'd let you die before I finished my presentation? What kind of support system would I be?"
Audrey twirled her stick again, the holographic screen shifting to a new set of icons. "Anyway, due to the uh... technical hiccup during your landing, the system has decided to compensate you. Lucky, right?" She clapped her hands, her voice dripping with exaggerated enthusiasm. "You'll get 500 coins, 5 gems, and an A-grade support tool: the NPC Translator!" She leaned forward with a grin. "Lets you peek into what the NPCs are feeling—three times a day. Neat, huh? You can explore all that when you respawn. You're welcome."
Corin glanced at the timer—27 seconds left now—his patience fraying at the edges and finally asked what he had been wanting to ask since earlier. "Okay, but how do I get back to Earth? As a human. Not… this." He gestured vaguely to his Vysalor form.
Audrey tilted her head, her grin widening into something that could only be described as evil delight. "Oh, that? Sure, it's possible. For only one million gems, you could have your very own one-way ticket to Earth." She threw in a playful wink.
The timer ticked to 10 seconds. Audrey's smile disappeared as she waved her stick, the icons vanishing from the screen. "Okay, listen up! I know you have a loooooooot of questions. Click on the magnifying glass icon on your screen. I believe most of your questions will be answered there." She didn't wait for a reply.
The countdown hit 5 seconds.
Audrey spun her stick in a dramatic flourish, her chipper voice rising in volume. "Eeeey! I think that's it? Don't die too fast, 'kay?" She winked one last time as white light engulfed Corin's vision.
The world blurred.
Then familiar sounds hit him—birds chirping, vehicles rumbling, faint honks in the distance.
Corin blinked, his vision clearing as he found himself back in the cockpit with the sepia filter on.
Audrey's cheery voice echoed faintly in his head: "Have fun!"
The 11-inch screen flickered to life at that moment, hovering just within Corin's view. Lines of text began streaming across it, accompanied by soft chimes.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Compensation Process Initiated]
[500 COINS ADDED TO INVENTORY]
[5 GEMS ADDED TO INVENTORY]
[NEW ITEM ACQUIRED: NPC TRANSLATOR (A-GRADE SUPPORT TOOL)]
[FEATURE UNLOCKED: MINIMUM FUND THRESHOLD MET – CONVERSATION MODE ACTIVATED]
[You can now freely interact with story-relevant characters.]
The text disappeared, replaced by a single blinking notification.
[NEW MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM: FRIENDLY SYSTEM SUPPORT]
Would you like to open it?
Corin stared at the blinking prompt, debating whether to click yes. But considering the cryptic mess Audrey had left him with, he figured it was worth the risk. With a resigned sigh, he tapped the "YES" option with one of his tendrils.
The screen brightened again, displaying a cheerful message in glowing green text:
[Hey there, ma guy! Audrey here.]
- Figured you'd have loads of questions, so use that magnifying glass icon to search for answers, 'kay? I'll keep tabs on you. (Only if the system doesn't glitch again.) Cool? Anyway, don't die too fast. You've got plot holes to fill. Wish ya all the luck!
Below the message, another prompt appeared.
[Would you like to pin the "Friendly System Support" Chat?]
Pinning this feature allows for instant access during missions.
Corin groaned, dragging a tentacle over his face. "This is gonna be a long day…"