Chapter 13: System, Part 1

It’s about 2 PM.

I’ve accomplished my goals for today: delivering the luggage and meeting one of the heroines.

I could move on to the next phase, but there’s somewhere I need to go first.

A small, unassuming house in a quiet neighborhood, far from the bustling plaza.

It wasn’t described in detail in the novel, and I’ve never been here before, but it’s like Allen is guiding me.

I stand before the house, a strange sense of familiarity washing over me.

Creak

“I’m home!”

I open the door and announce my arrival in Allen’s usual cheerful voice.

Thud

“…Allen?”

Allen’s mother is in the living room, a book falling from her hands as she looks up in surprise.

“Yes, Mom, it’s me!”

Allen, a young adventurer with the potion-making talent, didn’t have his own place.

He was practically still a high school student when he joined the hero’s party, so he lived with his family.

When he went on longer adventures, he’d camp or stay at inns.

He visited his mother before leaving on his journey, and she cried, worried about him.

She must have been waiting for his return.

And after three years, when she heard the news of the hero’s party’s return… she must have been praying for his safety.

Of course, Allen is dead.

That’s why I’m here. But seeing Allen’s face, even if it’s just a shell… it might bring her some comfort.

That’s why I came here before anything else.

I couldn’t just leave her worrying.

And…

“How have you—”

Hug

“Oh… my… son…！ You’re… you’re back…！ I’m so glad… you’re safe…!”

Seeing a parent’s relief at their child’s return… it’s heartwarming, even though she’s not my mother.

Allen only has his mother.

No siblings, which isn’t unusual. But there’s no mention of his father in the novel. No grandparents, no relatives… just his mother.

“Are you hurt? I was so worried you weren’t eating properly, that you were sleeping outside… but you look healthy… you’ve grown so much… Was it hard? I was so worried… Are you hungry? I’ll make you something…”

…Hearing her worry about Allen… it makes me feel strangely sad.

“No, I’m not hungry. Just… tired. Can I rest in my room?”

“Tired?! Of course! Go rest. I always keep your room clean.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ve worked so hard, my son…”

Creak… thud… fluffy

I hurry to Allen’s room and bury myself in the bed, trying to avoid getting overwhelmed by emotions.

“…This isn’t why I came here.”

I have another reason for coming here, a more practical one.

I need a safe, quiet place to think, to organize my thoughts about this world.

And this is the safest place I know. No one else knows about it.

It’s time to confront the many questions I have about this world, and my place in it.

First, why am I here?

I’m possessing Allen’s body, which means I might be able to leave it eventually.

But I don’t know the conditions for that.

Do I want to go back to Earth? I had no purpose there, nothing but this novel.

Here, I have a clear goal, a reason to exist.

So, no, I don’t want to go back.

But what if I’m forced to? What if Allen’s soul, or consciousness, awakens and kicks me out?

…There’s no way to know.

Next, what am I supposed to do here?

My current goal is to guide Allen’s story down the regret route.

I believe that’s the only way to give meaning to his existence, and to the story itself.

But I could just give up and live a peaceful life.

Or go back to being the hero’s party’s punching bag. Or even… end it all. I don’t know what the “true ending” is.

It’s like playing a game without a walkthrough.

Allen said in the dream that he wanted the regret route, so I’m assuming that’s the right path for now.

But there’s another problem.

What happens when I reach that ending? Will I be sent back to Earth? If so, I can’t let that happen. But then what?

It’s complicated, with countless possibilities. But it’s something I need to consider.

Finally, the most pressing question: what systems can I use in this world?

Allen said I’d gain the ability to resurrect or reincarnate.

But that implies the existence of more fundamental systems, like a status screen or quests.

I haven’t found anything like that yet, which is strange.

The only system I know is the dream, where I can ask Allen three questions. What else is there?

Yerin, another person from Earth, has a status screen.

Is this world discriminating against transmigrators?

If there are other systems, and I can’t find them… it’ll make things even more difficult… Wait.

Yerin’s status… screen?

Status… screen?

…

No way.

“Status screen.”

Bzzt

…It worked.

Seriously?!

I tried “status” and “stats” before, and they didn’t work. I had to use the specific term “status screen”?

This damn system is so picky.

“Haa… let’s see what I have.”

I might be annoyed by its pickiness, but I’m glad I finally found it.

This interface is a common isekai cliché, but experiencing it firsthand… it feels like a VR game.

The first thing I see is my status screen. Allen’s height, my current status effects… and level?

“There are levels in this world? This makes it seem like I’m supposed to be overpowered…”

There are tons of isekai stories with overpowered protagonists who start at level 1 but are ridiculously strong, or who are already level 999.

There’s even a popular Korean webtoon with a level-based system, although it’s not isekai.

“But why level 2? Why not 1, or some higher number?”

Level 1 would mean I haven’t met the conditions for leveling up. A higher number would make sense, considering Allen’s experience fighting monsters. But 2?

I was in control when we defeated the Demon King, so maybe I got some experience from that. But 2 seems too low…

Level 2 means I did meet some leveling condition. Hmm… I’ll ask Allen about it in the dream.

“And there’s the ‘???’”

Yerin mentioned this before. I told her it was something more than hatred, but…

“My other status effects are ‘Hatred,’ ‘Contemplative,’ and ‘Comfortable.’ Hatred is obviously directed at the heroines. Contemplative is my default state in this world. And comfortable… well, I am lying comfortably in bed.”

So, the “???” probably is my transmigration status.

It seems the status screen shows not just emotions, but also… characteristics?

There are other options, but I don’t seem to have the ability to view other people’s status, like Yerin can… Oh, there’s something else.

Quests.

Ding!

I click on the quest tab, and the screen changes.

“…Two quests completed?”

Apparently, I’ve completed two quests without even realizing it.