[WAKE UP!]
"Haah!" I gasped, sitting upright.
What? WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!
[You passed out.]
"Oh... WAIT! WHO THE HELL WAS THAT?!" I sprang to my feet as my memories came rushing back, and I realized where I was.
The rooftop.
There should have been no one here except me. I looked around, searching for whoever had spoken, but I couldn't find anyone.
[Haah... Really? Fine. I am the system.]
"Wait, what?"
[I SAID, I AM THE SYSTEM!]
"I HEARD YOU! I'M NOT DEAF! WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS WHY THE SYSTEM CAN TALK!" I snapped, not in the mood for this.
[I don't know... maybe because the system CAN talk,] it replied, the sarcasm completely unsubtle.
That was weird. Shouldn't the system be a program, a bunch of code running in the background? Why was it dishing out this much attitude? It sounded almost human.
"Then why is this the first time I've heard you speak?" I asked, still skeptical but calmer now.
[I only appeared because you completed your first mission. You are now deemed a player.]
"A player?" I raised an eyebrow.
[Yes. But before you ask anything else, don't you think you're forgetting something?]
"No," I said, frowning, "I don't think I'm—"
I stopped mid-sentence as it hit me.
"The exams. CRAP!" I turned and bolted toward the rooftop exit.
I couldn't skip the exams. If I did, the staff would track me down and the punishment wouldn't be light. I took the stairs at full speed.
"What did you mean by player?" I asked as I ran.
[It means what it sounds like. You are a player in this world, chosen from countless others, and you are on a mission. After successfully completing it, you will be given back your memories... ********* ********* ********** ******** ********* *********]
"Huh?" I frowned. "What are you saying? I can't hear that last part."
[You do not have sufficient privileges to learn more.]
"What?"
[You are only at level one. Your access to certain information is limited.]
"Just great," I muttered, reaching the elevator floor. I sprinted over and stepped in as the doors opened.
"You said 'countless others.' What did you mean?" I asked, catching my breath with my hands on my knees.
I was exhausted, mentally and physically. It had been a long day, one where I had died more than once.
[You do not have sufficient privileges to learn more.]
"Again?"
[You do not have sufficient privileges to learn more.]
"Okay, I get it, but at least help me understand what's going on," I said, waiting as the elevator moved.
[As you've already been told, this world was created from a game, but it is by no means a game. Everything here is real: the characters, the world itself. Don't be fooled by your knowledge of it.]
"I know that already."
This wasn't a game. My repeated deaths had made that clear. Everything I did here had real consequences, and every choice I made influenced what came next.
[You were selected for this mission, like many others, but they are all dead, as most couldn't pass the first stage. If you die, you'll be taken to the Nether Realm, where, like the others, hell awaits you.]
"What?" I frowned, and just then the doors opened. I stepped out and kept moving.
[That's all you have access to for now.]
This was insane. What the hell was all of this? And who had actually selected me for this mission?
[A god. The most beautiful goddess in existence.]
"Huh?" Some goddess, apparently.
[Well, not exactly... but all other goddesses pale in comparison to her beauty.]
"FORGET HER AND HER BEAUTY! WHY THE HELL DID SHE BRING ME HERE?!"
[How... how dare you insult her!]
What was wrong with this system? Tsk. It was clearly built by her to monitor me, and from the way it was talking, it was practically devoted to her. I needed to be careful about what I said out loud.
[I can hear that!]
"Just shut up and tell me where the lab is," I said, stepping outside the building. There were still students around, but they were probably from other years, since all classes under Year Eight had exams today.
[...Follow this.]
A map of the school appeared in front of me, marking my current location with a blinking indicator.
"Sweet," I muttered, and took off toward the lab.