Arriving home in tatters was not the best condition Toto would have liked to see Rose to be in. Like a doting father that he was, he interrogated her rigorously, consequently draining two gallons of water. While at it, he allowed for a bot-medic to fix her up.

The bot-medic was apparently a private technology still in development. With the use of laser cell generation, it was no longer impossible to remain injured for more than a night, leaving not a scar behind.

"Why did you stay in school even after Lockdown, love?

"You didn't want bodyguards to follow you after transferring to that school, so why are you making me this worried ah?

"Did someone try to kill?!

"Tell me honestly, are you being bullied in school?"

All these questions, but Rose merely replied with, "I was grinding levels, Toto. Do we have an analyzer? I have a chip I have yet to know the specifics of."

Though she made her situation as if it was nothing, her loving father knew there was something up. In fact, ever since 'Rosetta' entered the academy, she had been acting awfully secretive. She no longer told her father what her activities in school were.

However, he was also not a difficult man. He would not fuss Rose with questions anymore, he would rather investigate everything himself. Unfortunately, he had been doing this since a few months ago, but there was still no concrete findings of who was the mastermind.

He hadn't stopped because he believes there was no such thing as invisible enemy-- or was that truly the case?

"Toto?" Rose called his attention, for he had stopped moving all of the sudden.

Toto blinked, his suspicious memories completely erased. There was only the doting smile on his face once again. He then gently said, "Love, why are you up so late? Go to bed now, early rise tomorrow for school~"

Rose scrunched up, but merely nodded her head in return. She was about to turn to the staircase when she looked at her estranged father once again. "Toto, do we have an analyzer at home?"

Toto blinked, looking confused. "What do you need an analyzer for, love?"

"I wish to improve my Research skills in passing. Would it be possible to have a portable one that I can carry to school?"

Toto was looking very thoughtful as his hands crossed over his chest. He then bobbed his head with a wide smile spread across his beautiful face. "I just have the right thing to give to you!"

He ran to his laboratory, which was in the basement then came back right away with an exquisite choker in hand.

"This is still in development, but it is equipped with mechanics that you can take advantage of with whatever endeavours you wish to delve into!" He explained rather excitedly. Though he hadn't gone into specifics, Rose guessed it was intended so she could find out the functions herself.

She curiously reached out for the choker that had a simple crimson stone as the pendant. Yet before her hand could reach for it, Toto pulled it back and gently made her turn around so he could put the choker on her himself.

While he was at it, Rose quietly gave her "..Thank you, Toto."

"Anything for my Rose!" He replied dotingly.

Back in her bedroom, she was finally able to relax. From what had happened in school and with Toto not long ago, she was sure:

"This was her reality, but not quite."

After changing into her pajamas, she sat at her study table with a pen in hand, ready to write crucial information down on her journal. As she begun to remind herself of what she currently knew, her lips parted to repeat after her thoughts.

"Autonomous non-players, limited interactions, limited time in school...

"Online players, limited communication, wide range of object interaction- able to destroy doors...

"Non-player character relationships cannot advance nor reduce by external force (?)

"I am not part of the System-- Non-player character with a soul; a set of data that cannot be controlled; an anomaly...

"Lullabies affect underdeveloped monsters- levels 0 ~ 10...

"Monsters can be killed by external factors--

"Once killed, System retrieves unnecessary materials, leaving behind resources and points--

"Non-player characters levels up and receives items, as well as gain points--

"Prestige Points are gained from killing Boss Monsters.

"Lockdown time makes the monsters twice as dangerous, but twice as rewarding..

"Online Players can enter restricted areas (?)

"Non-player characters cannot develop suspicion to the System-- Resets memories..

"Through resets, irregularities can be avoided-- What about me?"

Having written all that down, Rose neatly closed the journal and put it inside the drawer. She moved to her other table where the computer was waiting for her to be used. She begun doing more bouts of research, searching throughout the web, the school's intranet and the rules within the academy.

By the time she finished gathering information, it was already 4AM. Hence, she decided to skip sleep and study the choker instead.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

She pulled out the Chip that had been identified and placed it closer to her neck, thinking it would have a reaction. Unexpectedly, nothing happened.

"How do you do this... Hmmm..." She tried tapping the crimson stone, but it didn't react either.

"Is this defective? Toto did say it's still in development." She was slowly feeling disheartened until a cold mechanical voice resounded inside her head.

[Acclimatization Completed... Installing Little Toto... Downloading Packages...]

[Loading Necessary Components...]

[Updating Libraries...]

All the while, Rose felt her brain tingle, as if an electricity of chain reaction was bursting in her head. It was not painful, but she felt strange by the new experience. After what may have seemed like half an hour, a childish mechanical voice then spoke:

[Princess Rosetta! Little Toto at your service—]

"Cool." She accepted readily, having lived in an era when almost everything was ran with Artificial Intelligence. Although the technological advancement in the game which was set in 21st century was subpar, there were technologies high enough to accommodate the current civilization. Especially with monsters running about.

"Analyze this chip for me, Little Toto." She thought of adding the name of the A.I. at the end of her command, thinking it might help accept her voice.

Yet there was no need for it at all as Little Toto already registered her voice in his System.

[Task Acknowledged.]

After which, a scan flashed from the crimson stone and shined upon the small chip on Rose's palm. It only took 3 seconds then the red beam of light disappeared.

[Tier 1 Chip -- Quagmire Level 1 -- (AoE) Radius of 2 meters from the target. Decreases target's movement speed by 5%. Decreases target's accuracy by 5%.]

[Should Quagmire be installed? Yes or No?]

Rose blinked, while her lips parted a little from surprise. "Install? Explain, Little Toto." Though his name was strange due to it being after her father... Intended? Toto really doted on her that he couldn't even let her forget about him even with things she needed to interact often...

[Princess Rosetta, this one is capable of duplicating data from a chip. This one can then allow you to use the spells installed at will. Would this explanation suffice, Princess Rosetta?]

She was starting to feel creeped out by the address, but ignored it as much as she could. Aside from that, she was in awe at how a choker that was only in development stage could be this useful... Wouldn't this be breaking the game itself? What was the game System thinking allowing for Toto to develop this technology at this point?

Or could this be in preparation for the plot that was never revealed in the Alpha version that her daughter played?

Her thoughts spiraled in droves, making her dizzy especially from the lack of sleep. She gently massaged her head while muttering a reply to Little Toto, "Install Quagmire, please."

[Task Acknowledged— Installation Successful; To summon Quagmire, you may call upon it through your mind or invoke it with your voice. This one will heed your command.]

A light bulb lit up in Rose's head upon hearing this bit. "Does this mean I don't necessarily have to speak aloud to communicate with you?"

Inside her head, there came Little Toto's response:

[That is correct, Princess Rosetta! How very smart of you— Admirable and beautiful!]

The compliments were fine if it weren't for the mechanical tone that came along with them. "Silly goose."

[Princess Rosetta, this one is Little Toto-- Your precious partner, friend, best friend, sweetheart and husba--]

"Stop, stop, stop... You are Little Toto, I got it." Her headache was getting worse from having a voice constantly ringing in her head. She was not used to this, yet.

Just when she thought she could take a little break from this newfound sensation and progress, Little Toto once again hammered in her mind. She was completely stumped after he begun speaking.

[Princess Rosetta, according to System intel, information concerning this world is restricted by a higher authority. However, it is possible to obtain the data once you receive the privilege. Only then will you be able to understand your nuance between the entities from within and out. This one tried, but could only gather this much--]

"Wait, wait, wait! You read my mind?!"

[That is correct, Prin--]

"Stop addressing me with that fancy title! Call me Rose, and please stop picking up my thought process and doing something with it without my permission." She strictly commanded.

Having had no time to rest at all, her patience was not generous, especially not when her privacy was breached!

Despite her temper, Little Toto's response still remained cold and mechanical.

[Settings Configured--]

[This one apologizes to you, Rose. It will not happen again.]

Now she felt silly getting angry by herself when the little A.I merely wanted to help. She sighed and ruffled her messy hair that fell all over her shoulders and back. "Thank you."

[You are welcome, Rose.]

After their little communication, Rose got ready for school; completely haggard. There were dark circles under her eyes, her hair a mess and her skin very pale. She looked unhealthy overnight.

Despite all this, her day in school was just as mundane as any bullied kid would experience. Her desk was a mess with vandalized writings written by either a cutter or permanent markers. Her chair gone, while her locker busted. If it wasn't getting worse, she didn't know what else.

If it was the original 'Rosetta', how would the game make her turn out to be?

As this thought took root, she was suddenly confronted by a crowd like no other. She was heading towards the isolated area where she could find solace in the Janitor Room, yet before she could even reach the other building, her path had been blocked.

Seniors 3 years older than her were looking at her smugly, clearly ridiculing her appearance, character and just about anything they could see on her or think about her. "If you'll excuse this junior, Seniors, I shall take my leave."

Unfazed, Rose attempted to turn around and go another way, but the seniors were not letting her go this time as they blocked the other way too.

"...Seriously?" Her temper was not gonna help her this time, not when her tolerance was about to bust! She hadn't had a wink, rest nor mental break; she was about to kill someone if this kept up. She clenched her hands in an attempt to keep her mind from doing what she would regret.

After all, the best way to counter stubborn kids was to ignore their attempts of provocation. If she complied and gave them a reaction they most wanted, their treatment towards her would only get worse. This was the case with the previous 'Rosetta'.

"Seniors? Did you just call us Seniors?!" Boy A whistled, amazed at her address to them, though obviously he was being sarcastic. "Haven't seen you in a week but you've added a word in your tiny vocabulary?"

His words received cheers from his friends, snickering at Rose while at it. "The idiot princess learnt a word people! It's a cause for celebration-- my treat! Haha" Boy B quipped.

Rose did not even feel offended by their childish provocations. Lifting her hands to cross over her chest, she stood there like a statue while her eyes hooded.

"Were you gonna visit Prince Ben again, Idiot? Too bad he is obviously gone to stay far away from a kid like you!" Boy A provoked.

Rose was beginning to question the meaning of life, of why these NPCs were trying their best to provoke her into committing murder, of why these NPCs were very stubborn at their job-- which was to make an evil out of 'Rosetta'. But she couldn't properly think as her head was muddy from tiredness. She really wanted to close her eyes and be at peace...

"Oi, the idiot princess is not really listening..." Boy C nudged his friends, pointing at Rose rudely. Boy B noticed this too and decided to push Rose's shoulder. He only intended to catch her attention, but she fell back from the light nudge and collapsed on herself, down to slump on the floor.

She blinked herself awake, only to be met with loud ruckus of laughter from her embarrassing fall.

She had enough!

Just when she was about to stand up for herself against these NPCs that were only doing their job, a window popped up on her face.

[Jerico Walsh has challenged you to an Arena Battle. Accept or Decline?]