The occasional sound of clicking keeps echoing inside the room, where the only source of light was the old and broken monitor. A stack of notebooks was also neatly arranged on the table beside him. This is how it should be, just within your reach for a quick jot down. A few pen strokes to note down interesting details.
His tired gaze turns toward the bottom of the turbid monitor, and a string of numbers comes into view.
[10.36 AM]
"Time moves so fast when you read a good story,” he sighs. Before unplugging his phone from the charger, he quickly disabled the do not disturb function.
The minute it was disabled, rows of notifications appeared on his phone. Thankfully, the phone's silent mode was on; just imagining the sounds it would make, the peaceful morning would be ruined.
Scrolling through the notifications, he saw a few messages from his friends. The slight emotion he had on his face just a moment prior slowly faded away.
“Are you coming or not? They said there’ll be a quiz today” Gairy.
That message was two days ago! That’s not the only one, either. As he continues to scroll down, there are at least 8 messages there!
“Quiz!!!” Mamon, shocked!
“Good Soup. Three streets away!” Mamon. Attached to it was a picture of the food and his dumbass face.
“Couldn’t you inform us before you decide to take the day off? It was presentation day as well!” from Daly.
“Are you ready for the semester exam today or what?! Where are you?” - Mamon.
“Great news!” Mamon’s despair had transformed into the last phase known to mankind. The sarcasm! “We’ve grasped the meaning of life and the opportunity of fate. Others are stuck with barely four years of college. You and I, my friend, gained an achievement for an extra one!!”
Julian was speechless. He decided to take a few days off to read and relax. Seeing their messages, he doubted that he had already taken three months off.
Tapping on the screen, quickly replying back to Mamon: “Did you guys take the final exam already?”
After seeing the message, Mamon was slightly surprised. He saw that Julian hadn’t replied to him in the past few days. He’d thought that Julian had decided to give up on school to fight monsters in the darkness of his room with wood in hand forever. Who would have thought he suddenly popped back again.
“Eieh. Do you think I would lie to you for fun? There was even a test and assignment days before; did you even submit them?”
“I was charging my life battery, now that it’s full. Can I submit them later?” Taking a sip of water, he replied back.
“Hmmmm. No wonder. I was just looking at your message. I can see a vibrant life force shining through the screen; some of those lives might be stuck to your screen right now.”
He cursed. “Stop playing with me. Can I still retake the exam?”
“You’ll have to ask Gairy about that for details. But I think it is still possible.”
“I’ll ask him in the classroom tomorrow. Right now, my head is killing me, my legs feel like jelly, and I can’t even count properly right now.” He gets a headache just thinking about it.
Momon's eyes gleam with wisdom. “Not feeling any burns is already a plus. Logically speaking, after 2 days, it should even bleed a little.”
“Why would anything bleed and burn?” Julian was at a loss for words.
Momon smirked. “I wonder why as well. Just say you don’t wanna talk about it, buddy! Btw, want to play a game or something tonight?”
“Not happening! staying awake any longer, and I might have a stroke.” He rolled his eyes.
After two days of going at it, he still has one shot left in the chamber? Mamon was speechless. ‘Is this the new way to show dominance? And the way he says it! Eish, This level of narcissism is frightening!
Knowing that Julian probably won’t talk to him for long, he quickly says what he should. After all, what is the point of being a good buddy if you don't even know some of your friend's quirkiness and their shitty personality. “Don’t forget! Tomorrow morning. Gram cafe behind the school.”
“Got it, got it! Imma get off now.” After saying that, he turns off his phone and tosses it to the side. Like hell, he's going to talk to this guy a minute longer. Mamon yapping is simply one of the inexhaustible forces in nature.
He weakly got up from his chair and slumped down comfortably in his bed, took off his shirt, turned up the AC, and flipped his pillow. Before starting to roll around to locate the sweet spots that give him the maximum comfort.
He has been awake for more than 30 hours. Thankfully, he’s already used to this kind of schedule. As long as he doesn't overdo it, there won’t be any major problems, only a slight headache and maybe some soreness.
Problems like sitting too much aren't on his list of worries at all. As long as there are drinks around him, his bladder won’t let him sit still for more than an hour. Heh, talking about ‘evolution’!
Minutes after his eyes shut, he was already deeply asleep.
Somewhere along the hours a blinding light flashed for a second, engulfing the world. Before disappearing without any trace. While sleeping on the bed, Julian frowned slightly. Did he not shut down the PC properly? Pulling the blanket to cover his face, he dozed off to sleep once again.
***
Opening his eyes. In the dark stillness, the dim glow was dancing back and forth. Julian wasn't sure how long he slept. All he knows is that the exhaustion and his soreness before he falls asleep have been washed away completely.
*blink*
*blink*
Blinking a few more times, he finally shook off the last bit of drowsiness. But weirdly, despite the drowsiness already gone away, he still keeps blinking non-stop like an owl.
*blink*
*blink*
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
*blink*
His eyes lock onto the thing in front of him. It was something that he knew all too well. He has read hundreds of books related to it, not to mention the stack of notes he has dedicated to it.
That’s right. In front of him is the transparent screen he has always dreamed about, day and night.
Yet upon seeing such a fascinating scene brought into reality, Julian didn't show as much joy as one would imagine. His limbs feel cold under the blanket, and his eyes dart around between the screen and the surrounding darkness. It wasn't a genetic light blue commonly used in the story; it was blood red.
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[Mission: A silent room]
Keyword: (Survival) - Remaining Time (2 h 13 mins.)
Danger: Sure Fetal!
Grade: modified for beginner!
Exploration Progress: (0%)
Description: After you wake up from a night of rest, you find yourself inside an unfamiliar room that is strangely silent—even too silent? You started to cautiously look around the room, and finally, you saw something in the corner that horrified you to no end!
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For others, seeing a transparent screen appear out of nowhere probably means little. But how can Julian ignore it? As a fantasy reader, why shouldn’t he believe this type of thing? What is there to lose? Woke up to reality?
How many stories have you read where the side characters, who were quickly killed off because they were in disbelief for too long making them reacted too late to the dangerous situation at hand.
Believing it first and reacting later is an overall wiser choice.
But if the mission he sees is true, this doesn’t look like a usual transmigrated story, right? From the appearance of the screen, coupled with the ominous words written down, it gives him the vibe of a horror film.
Reading through the mission screen a few more times, the picture of his current situation clears up a bit, and his thoughts begin to race. He is currently inside a place called a silent room; what more, there is a horrifying creature in the corner? But… Why hasn't the creature made any moves yet? Is there going to be a cutscene?
Julian was more bewildered than panicked. “Think properly. There is bound to be a mission similar to what you read before. There aren't any monsters attacking, so I should be inside the rule type mission. What is the rule for this mission?”
Survival mission. From what he knows, survival missions like this can be put into two categories—action and rules.
Action will be anything from a monster chasing you or just staying alive in a dungeon full of monsters. This kind of mission will force you into a scenario with a lot of action involved.
Rules are different. They are similar to the law in real life; punishment will be served if violated. The monster in this theme will always possess special abilities that you find hard to understand or imagine. For this kind of mission, being cautious is the key. As long as you can understand their rules and use them well, you should be pretty safe.
Looking at the title and description, it very likely has something to do with silence.
What could this mean? The mission is set in a complete silence scenario? or making sounds have anything to do with triggering the attacks?
He opened his mouth wider and suddenly bit down on his teeth.
A clear “click” can be heard! Clearly.
“I can still hear. Could I only perceive the noise I made?” Julian speculated. If he could only perceive the noise he made and not the other noises, it’d be dangerous.
Isn't this putting him too much at a disadvantage? It's similar to playing a first-person horror game. There is no chance of running. The minute an enemy appears, you will die without hearing anything prior! Julian shook off the pessimistic thoughts. Now isn't the time to think about that.
Since he couldn’t hear the creature, he could only use his other senses to locate it.
Despite the doubt in his heart, Julian knew he had to proceed; the chance of the mission deafening him to sound as well as making him blind to the monster is not high. Especially when the system wrote, Grade: Modified for Beginners.
The mattress he was sleeping on wasn't high above the ground. Leaving no room for any creatures to lurk beneath him. The room wasn’t big, but the room was too dark. There are also tables and closets inside, making it harder for him to make everything.
Right now. There was only one direction outside his line of vision. It was toward his right. Julian took a deep breath and slowly turned his head little by little without daring to make much sound.
Was something going to happen? He did not know.
In the corner of his eyes, he finally saw a vague figure in the corner. Realizing that he seemed to be holding his breath. He exhaled lightly. But the moment the noise was made, Julain’s pupils shook.
Move. Just slightly, yet it was enough to make Julian pause instantly. He took a few short breaths, then continued to turn with an even slower movement this time.
As he did, his hair made a scratchy noise when it rubbed against the pillow.
Again. There is no doubt about it this time. The trigger for it to attack was noise. Julian also noticed something else along with it. The noise he produced seemed way louder than it should've been! It seems to be amplified in volume with each sound he makes.
Julian felt relieved in his heart. “Being cautious from the beginning is the right choice. If I had moved recklessly, I might've triggered something irreversible.”
What's more, Julian finally barely makes out that creature's appearance. He didn't need to see everything, just enough to be sure it didn't move without him knowing.
He didn’t dare to move anymore; he lay there, still as a statue; his breaths were shallow and deliberate. Crouching in the corner, the creature's curved spine turned toward his bed, the elongated fingers extending in an unnatural manner. touching the back of its head. Its face was half turned toward him.
The longer he stared at it, the more he felt something was wrong. His hands and feet started to tremble without warning. Julian opened his eyes wider. “Is this some kind of skill? Aura effect?”
Julian stubbornly didn't look away. He would be vulnerable for attack if he didn't keep an eyes on the creature. He also wanted to see if he could get a skill just by standing up to that pressure; a free resistance skill would be a good start.
A minute went by.
Sweat started to trickle down his forehead.
“I can’t hold on much longer.” Julian frowned, and suddenly, a thought struck him.
The red screen materialized one more time.
Using it as a shield isn’t impossible, right?
After waiting for a while, the feeling of restlessness begins to receded.
This kind of trick shouldn't work if it were an ability, yet now it does. Which means it shouldn’t be a skill. Was he just paranoid? The corner of his mouth twitches.
Heaving a silent sigh, Julian still decided to stare at it a while longer. The temptation of a skill is just too much to give up. It's not like he has anything to do other than this anyway.
“Keeping an eye out won’t be a problem with the screen's transparency. Now that the monster is fully within my line of sight, can I just lie here until the mission ends? Isn't it too easy?”
While looking at the beautiful creature filled with love and compassion for his flesh and blood, or even his soul. Julian began to wonder. He doesn’t really have strong drive or motivation like most characters he's read in the stroy. Nor does he have a strong trait that makes him stand out enough for the system to notice him. Why did the system choose him?
His parents didn’t abandon him; they were pretty much still alive and healthy. Maybe their complaint was too annoying? Meh. It wasn’t to the point where he would lose his sleep over it. He just stayed inside his room more on a bad day, that’s all.
Growing up. His living conditions were pretty up to standard. He has food to eat every day and manages to go to private school. Then again, private school wasn’t expensive in his city. The clothes he wore were always fresh and ironed out; there wasn’t really a lack of anything...
Oh yea. He didn’t have any cars! But who has time to read the driving manual when they can read fantasy books? It is mostly his fault as well. His parents told him to get the license; he was just too lazy to do it. So it couldn’t be blamed on them.
School life is also pretty normal. Bullying was a rare sight at his school; maybe there were some. Julian has just never been a victim; his appearance and personality put him in a neutral zone most of the time. His manipulating and flexible way of talking always makes him get along well with most people.
He also has no birth defects. His face is average, but his sense of style, he can be consider above avarage in appearance.
Could it be because he been single for too long? That's also unlikely.
It's clearly wasn’t his revenge arc. It's shouldn't be a pity arc as well. He doesn't lack anything.
"It can’t be a punishment arc, right? Was my life too average to be considered normal?" Staring at the creepy surroundings, Julian found it hard to keep his skepticism in check. But if it is a punishment act, why would it give him this scenario where he doesn't even need to fight? Horror wasn't on his list of phobias at all.
***
After 30 minutes, Julian didn’t find anything unusual during this time.
It become stale and boring the more he stay this way.
Being alone with his own thoughts freaks him out more than this entire situation. With nothing else to do, his gaze fell on the system panel.
The first time he saw the blood-red screen, it was too sudden. With the mission at hand, he didn’t have time to look at the details. Now the time was just right.
Alone time.
There were black thorns, like twisted vines, that wrapped themselves around the screen, pulsing and shifting as if they were alive. Thorny tendrils sewns different flesh and parts together. lifeless eyes on the left, the bottom jaw that clenched at an odd angle, and the scattered remnants—fingers, ears, and teeth—each arranged just at the right angle, making the whole frame filled with a sense of harmony. The system itself seems like a canvas of agony and beauty. It was as unsettling as ever.
But the centerpiece that captivated him the most—the red hand—held the screen as if it were protecting something. The more he looked at it, the more curious he felt. What purpose does it serve?
Unexpectedly, the black thorns were pulsing and shifting again, but this time they moved one of the fingers slightly away, opening a gap to reveal the object within.
Looking inside, Julian was surprised.
It was another eyeball.
This one, however, wasn't lifeless. It was completely in contrast to The System's horrifying and gory scene. It was shimmering softly, giving off a sacred feeling.
Is this a treasure? or a cheat, perhaps? Julian’s eyes lit up.
Staring intently at the eyeball. Then he clicked on it with his mind's eyes.
Julian's heart beats erratically. He might be able to kill that creature if there were cheat-like cultivation techniques or a lottery with a golden body on the line!
The red screen blinks for a second. Then the information finally changed.
***
[Beginning Guide and Policy of the System!]
Seeing the name, Julian was stunned!
What the hell is this?
Where are the cultivation techniques? The bloodline and golden body?
Why is there a beginning guide here? Is there a policy too?