~ BEEEEEEP!!
[ huh?! ]
Turning to his left, All he saw was blinding white headlights speeding towards him.
~ SKRRRRRTTT!!!
Then—
Silence.
...
*Ping *
*Ping...*
*Chk.*
" Teleportation completed. "
[AHHH—]
[Haah...haah...]
[ Oh—]
[ FUCK! ]
[ THE DAMN LIGHT WAS GREEN! ]
After letting out his frustration, he quieted down and his mind began to work.
???: [ did I just die? ]
He didn't feel pain, nor anything hitting him. However one thing was certain—
— –[ I'M IN A NEW WORLD! ]
He squeezed a handful of grass from the ground, ripping some out of the dirt.
[ This place....where am I? ]
He looked around, he was in the wilderness, surrounded by trees and other blooming wildflowers, stretched in each and every direction.
He swallowed, breath shaky, thinking of what this world could have to offer...
Then—
???: [ HUD....OPEN! ]
Silence....
???: [hmmmm...maybe I'm doing something wrong.]
He raised his arm up, palm upward, fingers bent as if he was squeezing an imaginary ball, he was simply doing what he'd seen in generic isekai anime's—half as a joke, half out of desperation.
A faint click sounded.
And then—
A small, floating white orb flickered to life above his palm.
It hummed.
??? : [ Heh... figured ya' out. ]
An HUD snapped open in front of him.
Transparent.
Blue-tinted.
Neon bright.
His stats appeared.
|• STATS •|
Strength: 0.8
Speed: 0.7
Endurance: 0.9
Reflex: 0.6
Willpower: 1.0
Pain Tolerance: 0.5
Combat Instinct: 0.1
/ USER: CALIBRATING... \
???: [ Huh?...what the actual— ]
He reached out, trying to tap it like a screen.
His finger slid right through it.
[ Hmmmm. So it's, like a… hologram....-y kinda thing...Pretty Cool. ]
He stood up, brushed some dirt off his pants, and started looking around properly for the first time.
A really dense forest.
Heavy trees.
A cold breeze.
Dirt under his shoes.
No roads.
No lights.
No city noise.
Just him.
And the HUD.
The reality slowly settled in.
[ Al..right… oh...kay… okay. Let's not panic. Let's not freak out. I-I'm dead, I think. Teleported. New world. System. This is—this is fine. ]
His voice cracked on the last word.
He poked it again, trying to see if anything would pop up.
The HUD flickered slightly at his touch, adjusting its brightness as if annoyed.
[ Uhm... ]
He poked it a third time.
A tiny red anger mark popped up on its surface—
like the ones characters get in anime.
???: [ …what? ]
Before he could poke it a fourth time—
"STOP POKING ME!!"
???: [ HUH?! ]
He tried to step back a little, but the HUD stayed locked to his line of sight, moving with him no matter where he looked.
???: [ SINCE WHEN CAN HUDS TALK?! ]
The orb flashed—
Once.
Twice.
Thrice—
And burst into a soft wave of light.
Standing in front of him now was a girl.
Small and short, floating a few inches off the ground, maybe 16 or 17, with glowing eyes and hair made of shifting data streams and random numbers.
Her expression?
Pissed.
She dusted off her small digital dress like he had somehow insulted her ancestors.
"Unbelievable," she muttered.
"I take five seconds to calibrate what they gave me and you're already poking me like a malfunctioning vending machine."
» They?....and also—
He blinked. [ You… you're my HUD? ]
She turned to him, arms crossed.
"I'm your System....and guide....so your system guide, thank you very much.
Or, well— the prototype version of one."
She squinted at him.
"You're the first idiot to activate me by sheer annoyance."
He raised an eyebrow.
[ So you only appear if people bother you? ]
"No. Just you."
[ …wow.....also you're like really short. ]
She sighed, floating up to eye level.
"Alright, listen. You're in a new body. You have a HUD and You have stats."
[ So like a video game...]
"Yes ....but you can't raise anything with points."
She poked his chest.
"You improve by actually improving."
[ Hard work system? ]
"Hard work system," she confirmed.
[ Soooo....can you send me back? I kinda don't want to live here anymore. ]
"Hmmmmm.....
—nah."
He rubbed the back of his neck then sighed.
[ Ooookay… fair enough. So what can you like.... actually do? ]
She perked up a bit, proud.
"analyze your body. Track your growth. Point out your weaknesses. Offer advice. Think of me as a personalized trainer, assistant, and occasionally your only functioning brain cell."
He stared.
She floated in closer.
"And no, there's no cheats to this system, you can't find a random glitch and suddenly become overpowered."
[ So… I'm basically raw? ] he asked.
"As raw as chicken left in the sun."
[ Damn. Do chickens even exist here? ]
"Yes." She replied coldy, as if it were obvious.
Then—
Her glare softened for the first time.
"…but," she said quietly.
" raw things can still become strong. And you… you have potential. A lot of it. "
He blinked.
[ …Thanks? ]
» was that supposed to be a compliment?
She looked away, embarrassed.
"Don't get weird about it."
[ I won't. ] He said putting his hands up.
They stood there for a moment — a guy who just supposedly "died", and a small annoyed system....girl, trying not to look like she cared.
[ By the way... ] He said,
[ what's your name? ]
She froze.
Flushed.
"I…I don't have one. Prototype systems aren't… given names."
He closed his eyes then smirked a little. [ Then I'll give you one. ]
Her face instantly went red—her glow flickering like a glitching LED.
"W‑wait—"
He leaned forward, fully committing to the bit.
??? : [ Lumi... or actually,]
He backed away, looked her up and down, then slid in close again.
[ I'll call you Lumini. ]
Her eyes widened a full millimeter—an expression that, for her, probably counted as dramatic.
lumini: "L‑Lumini?! Just because I'm Short?
I—Systems don't… get names! We don't do this! You can't just assign—"
??? : [ Too late. You've been named. Enjoy your new life. ]
He said mockingly, turning around and walking away whilst shrugging his shoulders.
lumini : " I don't enjoy, ANY OF THI—"
She paused, floating in tiny irritated circles.
lumini : "…This is highly irregular for your kind, why are you like this?"
He turnt his head slightly, side eyeing her.
Curiously.
Lumini: " You are....really weird, compared to other beings from your specie's. "
He continued in a mocking tone, completely ignoring her question.
??? : [ You're being a bit dramatic over a name no?
Stop whining,You'll live. ]
Her cheeks glowed brighter, almost pink. She turned away slightly, mumbling.
lumini : "…I can't believe I'm letting you do this…"
He glanced back at the HUD panel still floating in front of him.
His miserable stats blinked quietly in the dark.
Strength: 0.8
Speed: 0.7
Endurance: 0.9
Reflex: 0.6
Willpower: 1.0
Pain Tolerance: 0.5
Combat Instinct: 0.1
??? : [ Alright, Lumini. I have stats and shit so what do I do next? What's the next— ]
» Wait a damn minute....my hud is here. But she's also....HERE? I thought she was both my hud AND trainer.
[ It seems, there's a bit of an issue.]
"Sorry? "
[ Yeah so... care to explain why I can see both my HUD and you at the same time? ..thought you were supposed to be linked to it. ]
"Oh uh...I can sperate from it. But I uh.... won't do this very often...heh."
She said shyly, scratching the back of her head.
He continued, digging deeper to find a flaw in the system.
[ Do you perchance ALWAYS, know where I am? ]
She shook her head nervously.
"No...."
[ Then can you teleport TO me? ]
"I uh.... cannot"
"What's up with these weird questions!"
She began pouting, but his question had already been answered.
A Flaw Was Found.
[ Interesting... ]
» "no cheats to this system" My Ass!
I could easily ditch her at a random place and leave this poor system without her partner, I don't know who the higher ups are in this world, or what even created her, but they definitely didn't think this one through fully....I'm not THAT evil to follow through with such a plan though, and it'd probably benefit me to keep her anyways sooo—
[ So uh...about my stats— ]
Before he could finish his sentence, A loud sigh rang out from Lumini.
She hovered closer to him, her tone shifting from gentle to a colder one.
lumini : "Let me repeat myself, You are to survive and become stronger by genuinely working for it."
??? : [ I know I asked before but Still....that answer only confirms it....this is basically hell.]
lumini : "yes."
» Oh...How Nice!
I get killed and wake up in hell, who could've seen that one coming for an atheist?
He laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his neck.
??? : [ Great. So I just… struggle until something good happens? ]
She nodded.
lumini : "Exactly. And I evaluate everything. Your strengths, your failures, your pain tolerance, your emotional responses—everything. It's all part of your growth curve."
He exhaled slowly, taking it in.
??? : [ Alright… guess that's how it is, then. ]
lumini : "Good. Now we can actually start your—
Faith, watch your step! "
He took half a casual step back avoiding a rock, before freezing mid‑movement.
??? : [ …Yeah so anyway— wait. ]
He blinked.
Faith : [ …How do you know my name? ]
lumini blinked once.
lumini : "Because I had access to your memories, dummy."
There was a long, silent beat.
Faith: [ …Oh. ]
He nodded slowly, rubbing his chin as a realization clicked.
» I might be pushing it but...she "had" access to my memories.... So im guessing when she was calibrating me, "they" probably info dumped everything to her, including my memories.
Faith: [ No wonder you were making jokes kinda like mine. I thought you were just weirdly… relatable. ]
She crossed her arms again, but her expression softened noticeably.
lumini : "I pattern‑match your humor because it increases your responsiveness. And because you're less likely to panic if I speak in a style you understand. Efficiency at its finest....I will however NOT be matching your anime taste...it's garbage."
Faith: [ Heh so like a really smart robot... who is kinda cringe at times, Guess that makes perfectly normal sense. ]
lumini floated closer, hesitating.
lumini : "It helps me guide you better. I'm not… designed to be distant. I'm meant to optimize survival. And humans… don't respond well to cold instruction."
He lifted an eyebrow.
Faith: [ So you're telling me you're basically my… personality‑synced survival AI? ]
lumini : "If you want to phrase it incompetently, then yes."
Faith snorted.
Faith: [ Thanks. I genuinely feel the respect. ]
She ignored that.
lumini : "Anyway. Now that introductions are… settled, we need to focus. The forest around you is dangerous. Predators. Terrain hazards. Low visibility. You are statistically fragile right now."
Faith: [ Yeah, yeah—translation, I'm weak as hell. ]
lumini : "Correct. But that can change. You will change. Slowly. That's the system I am. That's what I was specifically built for."
He looked down at his hands, clenching them slowly.
Faith: [ Alright… Lumi. Let's see what I've got then. ]
Her glowing expression brightened—just slightly.
lumini : "Good. Now… let me assign you a quest. First objective: survive the night. Analysis indicates a 63% chance you fail."
Faith: [ …Thanks for the optimism. ]
lumini : "Be grateful. That's the highest chance you'll have for a while."
His eye twitched.
Faith: [ This partnership is gonna be amazing, huh? ]
lumini : "Disastrous. But I'll keep you alive...Probably."
He cracked a nervous smile.
Faith: [ Good enough. ]