Roy took his ti and briefly viewed Pierre’s current data. If he didn’t do it now and the simulation began, the simulation would show Pierre’s simulated character’s data instead.
[Host Data]
Na: Jean-Pierre Dubois
Age: 17
Level: 9
Stat Points: 0.0
Number of Sign-Ins: 34
Skills: Je T’ai (Active), Love Sensor (Passive)
Overall Stats: Appeal = 3.0, Morale = 3.0, Social = 3.0, IQ = 2.5, Luck = 2.0 >> Total = 13.5
Overall Rating: "A perfect, handso hearthrob who can do no wrong. Please let have your kids, uwu~"
Miscellaneous: [Apple], [Cursed Ragdoll]...
"He hasn’t used his cursed doll. Th-That’s good. That’s good." Roy nodded repeatedly, a bit frightened.
Just because of this item alone, he vowed in his heart not to overly antagonise Pierre anymore. At least, until he tier-2 item was no longer in the bully’s possession. Who knew just what the bastard was capable of?
"It’s okay. I’ll just have to make sure he never gets hold of my hair or anything that belongs to ."
Moving on, he compared Pierre’s overall stats with the previous ti he checked.
"Hmm... he increased his Morale and Luck," Roy noted.
After the welco ssage, a familiar panel appeared before Pierre and was read in the sa enthusiastic feminine voice.
[Host, choose one of the following options to continue:
(A) Restart simulation;
~or~
(B) Continue from last checkpoint.]
Roy called for his system shop, and the table of available items was before him.
[Null Archive]
1. Code Injector Module
Module Description: "This module permits the host to inject code in the linked host’s executable, enabling communication between the host and linked host."
Cost: 5 error points per line.
2. Performance Ratings Module
Module Description: "Evaluates the performance of the linked host after clearing a level and returns an estimated star rating."
Cost: 10 error points per level.
Roy tapped the first item, and imdiately, a page and a keyboard appeared before him.
» Type your code here... «
’What should I write?’ He thought for a second and quickly tapped on the keyboard. He only had one line, so he had to make it concise.
As Pierre raised his hand to choose Option B once again, his pink-thed interface glitched, forcing his eyes to widen.
And right before him, a blue interface tore through the pink panel in glitch blocks. Symbols made words were written, forming a short phrase.
» Ɨ’Μ Ħ€Ř€ ŦØ Ħ€ŁƤ. Ř€ŞŦΔŘŦ ŦĦ€ ŞƗΜỮŁΔŦƗØŇ. «
"What the fuck is happening?!" Pierre exclaid and sprang up from his seat, moving away from the panel out of fear.
"Calm down, you dumbass. I’m trying to help you!" Roy annoyedly said, but of course, Pierre couldn’t hear.
[Is there an issue, Host?!]
Pierre’s system asked, and he pointed at the panel.
"What the hell is that?"
[The options before you, Host? You can choose either option A or—]
"No! That’s not what I’m talking about! There’s a glitch, don’t you see it?"
[There is no glitch, Host. To continue your sign-in, please choose either option A or B.]
"There is! Are you blind?! What the fuck is that?!" Pierre scread hysterically at his system.
Whereas Roy just pald his face and shook his head.
[Host, calm down. There is no glitch. And yes, I am blind as I have no eyes.]
The feminine system voice said, but the glitched writing was visible in every panel of the words she spoke.
Pierre could think of only two possible options: either his system was playing a prank on him, or sothing else had caused the glitch.
"Can you really not see this? It says: I’m here to help. Restart simulation," Pierre described for his system.
However, she still denied.
[There is no such thing, Host. To continue your sign-in, please choose either option A or B in the next thirty seconds. Otherwise, the sign-in attempt will be forfeit.]
And with that, she started counting down.
"What?! No, stop!" Pierre frantically said, but the countdown continued.
[27... 26... 25...]
The system didn’t listen to him, and there was no way to stop the countdown but to make a decision.
But right then, the glitch writing disappeared as though it was never there.
"Goddammit..."
Pierre was confused. He had toiled a lot to replenish his energy reserve earlier, so this wasn’t the kind of situation he wanted to be in.
Restarting the simulation seed so wrong, but then the entity behind the glitch did say they were there to help.
He clicked his tongue and finally chose.
[You have selected Option (A), restarting the simulation in 10...]
"Yes!!!"
Roy exclaid with gnashed teeth and a tightened fist.
The countdown ended, and the simulation began.
Pierre opened his eyes in his room and grumbled, not really keen on the idea of redoing levels. But before him, a pink-thed ssage panel appeared, read out by an enthusiastic female voice.
[Main Story #1 — Love at First Sight]
Current Stage: Class B – 1st Sester, 1st Year.
Target: [Watanabe Hinata].
Story Description: "Starting a new academic year in a new school, your first day in class remains unforgettable because you couldn’t take your eyes off Hinata Watanabe. Shy, a bit dumb, and outspoken, she also couldn’t take her eyes off you. Is this the beginning of a fairytale?"
Difficulty: EASY.
Objectives:
1. Confess your feelings.
2. Make her your girlfriend.
3. Share a kiss.
Rewards: 0.5 Stat Points, 15 Love Points.
Final Remark: Love is a beautiful thing. Good luck, Host!
"Well, back here again," Pierre muttered and got up from his bed.
He only decided to follow the unknown entity’s words because he saw once on the forum a complaint about how system hosts didn’t have five-hundred-year-old elders guiding them in-world on how exactly to reach the peak, like in those popular cultivation comics.
This post was made as a joke, of course, but the thought surely lingered in the minds of the Irregulars who engaged with the post. Most especially those like Pierre, who believed their systems were practically good-for-nothing in a dying world, constantly ravaged by creatures from another realm known as God’s Abyss.
Pierre may have a system, but what could LOVE.exe do to protect his loved ones against abyss creatures? Nothing, that was what.
But who knew, maybe his system was actually unique and had this hidden, helping feature?
Thinking this, his spirits lifted, and he told himself, "I just hope this shit is worth it..."
Roy heard this and simply grinned.
"You bet it is."
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