The classroom was silent too silent.
Dust swirled in the pale moonlight filtering through cracked windows. A chalkboard stood crooked at the front, its once-proud surface scarred with faint white streaks, as if the ghosts of old lessons clung to it out of stubbornness.
Riku Yamato sat hunched at a broken desk, arms crossed, teeth chattering. His body hadn't warmed since crawling inside. The System's glowing interface floated at the corner of his vision like a smug firefly.
[Congratulations, Host. You survived your first tutorial step.]
"Oh, yeah, sure," he muttered, his voice hoarse. "Collapsed through a jungle, scraped my knees raw, froze like a popsicle… real five-star tutorial."
[Your sarcasm has been noted. Logging emotional instability.]
"Don't log it!" Riku Yamato said
[Too late. Entry saved.]
He groaned, rubbing his face. "…Why me? No, wait. I already said that last Time."
[Correction: Prologue.]
"…Did you just break the fourth wall?"
[Irrelevant. Initiating Survival Protocol: Phase One.]
A new glowing list appeared in front of him.
TASKS:
– Block all broken windows.
– Create a sleeping arrangement.
– Acquire food supply.
– Establish light source for safety.
What the hell all this for one man. He laugh
Time Limit: Before Dawn.
Riku's eyes widened. "Before dawn?! That's like… six hours! You expect me to be a carpenter, farmer, and electrician in one night?!" It's going to be a stressful day he said.
[Affirmative.]
"…I want my chu-hi back." He said it and laugh
Task One: Windows
The howling wind pushed through the gaps, rattling loose glass shards. The sound of vines scratching across the outer wall made his skin crawl. Every groan of the decaying building echoed like footsteps.
"Okay, Riku Yamato future teacher. Don't panic. You've dealt with worse in your day's".
Had he? His worst hardship before this was running out of instant noodles during finals. That was not survival training.
Still, he stumbled through the hallway. The school stretched like a corpse: collapsed ceiling tiles, cracked lockers, overturned desks. His flashlight no, his lantern barely lit the way.
He scavenged old desks, ripping planks loose until his hands blistered. Dragging them back, he jammed them against the window frames of his "base classroom." The gaps weren't perfect, but at least the wind dulled.
He let out a shaky laugh. "Ha! One step done." Few more to go
[Correction: Incomplete. Gaps still detected. Probability of nocturnal entry: 78%.]
"…Nocturnal entry by who?"
[Unknown. Good luck.]
His stomach dropped. "Why do I feel like I'm going to regret asking that question later…?"
Task Two: Sleeping Arrangement
The floor was dusty and ice-cold. Desks jagged. Chairs splintered.
He dragged together broken furniture, tore down one moldy curtain, and cobbled them into something vaguely futon-shaped. It looked like a failed art project more than a bed.
"Five-star hotel vibes," he muttered, collapsing onto it.
[Rated one star. At best.]
"Thanks for the Yelp review, System."
[You're welcome.]
Task Three: Food
That was the big one. His stomach growled so loud it could've been mistaken for a monster.
He dug into his pocket looking if he will find something in it and pulled out the tiny cloth pouch the one that had "squirmed." It wriggled faintly even now.
"…The Mystery Seed."
[Correction: Companion Seed. Potential ally.]
"It still looks edible."
[Warning: Consumption may result in diarrhea, hallucinations, or spontaneous combustion.]
"…Noted." He shoved it back into his pocket.
Desperate, he scavenged deeper. The cafeteria was a graveyard of rusted pots and shattered trays. He found a tin can on a shelf, pried it open with a rock only for a foul stench to hit him like a truck.
He gagged. "Nope! Not food."
[Assessment: Botulism.]
"Great. I'll just starve then. And find something later to eat".
[Alternative: Plant Companion Seed.]
"…Now? In the middle of the night? In a crumbling classroom?"
[Affirmative. Growth acceleration guaranteed.]
Grumbling, he found a cracked flowerpot near a window, scooped dirt into it, and buried the seed. The soil pulsed faintly. Seconds later, a sprout wriggled upward.
"…That was fast."
The sprout quivered. Then, in a squeaky voice, it whispered: "Water…"
Riku yelped, dropping the pot. "IT TALKS?!"
[Correction: Companion Seedling ,Species: Unknown, Function: To be determined.]
"Nope. Nope, nope, nope." He shoved it back onto the sill, heart racing. The little sprout tilted toward him like a puppy.
"…Guess water it is." He sighed, fetching some from a cracked sink. The seedling slurped it greedily.
"…This is my life now." He said.
Task Four: Light
The school's electricity was long gone. His lantern flickered faintly, but somehow, the System provided a dim glow that followed him.
By some miracle, he found an old container of oil. When he poured it into the lantern and struck a spark, warm golden light filled the room. The shadows fled to the corners, leaving silence behind.
"…There. All tasks done. Happy now?" He said it to his system.
[Correction: 73% complete. Insufficient effort.]
"Go bite me again."
[Tempting.]
He slumped onto his makeshift futon. His muscles screamed. His stomach gnawed. But for the first time, the fear dulled.
Moonlight spilled through the patched windows. The little seedling swayed, humming faintly in its sleep.
Riku Yamato stared at the cracked ceiling. "…Welcome to Kurasu-9, huh? Worst first day ever."
Then he froze.
A sound echoed in the hallway. A dragging noise, slow and steady.
"…System?"
[Alert. Unknown entity approaching. Distance: 27 meters. Classification: ???]
His throat went dry. "…Please tell me it's the janitor."
[Negative.]
The scraping grew louder. Closer.
[Recommendation: Stay very still.]
He gripped a broken desk leg like a bat, heart hammering. The lantern flickered. Shadows stretched long across the walls.
The door creaked open.
A silhouette filled the frame.
For one terrifying heartbeat, Riku imagined fangs, claws, some monstrous apocalypse predator but
Then, something moaned.
"…Braaaains…"
Riku blinked. "…No way."
The figure stumbled forward, its head tilted at an unnatural angle. Rotten uniform clung to its skeletal frame. Its jaw snapped open again.
"…Excuse me… where's the cafeteria…?"
Riku's grip loosened on the desk leg. "Wait. WHAT?!"