Arrested Development

Turn reached up through a door that hadn't been there moments before. The sound of colliding iron rang through the air as he clapped a pair of manacles on Haruto's wrists. The two of them stared at each other before Haruto sighed and accepted it.

“Haruto Ishikawa. You are under arrest for the crime of illegal border crossing.” Turn said, stepping up and out of his door to stand beside him.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" The System protested. "You can't just—"

The sound of manacles clapped again as Turn placed some on the System as well. Haruto stared at it with a face of disgust. The System looked at the manacles in complete surprise.

"Why do I get cuffs too?" It squeaked.

"Why did you make hands for the cuffs in the first place!?" Haruto shouted, pointing out the idiocy of it all.

"I can have hands if I like!" The System said, poking Haruto in the face with a fat glowing finger. "You don't tell me what to do!"

Haruto grabbed the system, pulling at its sides and stretching it. "You're missing the point, you stupid eye!"

As the two pulled at each other's face, Daddy took a step towards Turn. "I don't really know what's going on, but my little Aki-mist here seems pretty taken by the young man. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Sorry, sir. He's a border jumper. I have to bring him in at this time." Turn stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I understand, son." Daddy gave Turn a warm pat on the back. "You do what you have to do. I'll send a message to the king in the morning."

"Thank you for your understanding." Turn said as a caged wagon pulled up.

"Yeah, whatever!" Haruto threw the System to the side, walking to the vehicle. "I'm done!"

He reached up to the cage door to open it, but it stuck firm. He rattled it a few times before kicking at it. A guard approached with a key in hand. Haruto pulled the key from his grasp, using it to open the door himself, then threw it at the guard. He flopped into the cage like a child having a tantrum. He rested on the cage floor for a moment before erratically sitting up to slam the cage door, then flopped down again.

"Just take me to jail!" Haruto said, ending his mild freak-out.

The System looked at the crowd in embarrassment. "Ahem... I'm... with him." The System floated through the bars, unimpeded.

Turn walked up to the cage and held his hand out. "The stick, please."

Haruto held Yggdrasil out to him without looking up. The vines around his arm released the stick. He watched in silent horror as the vines burrowed into his arm instead of falling away. He decided to ignore it for now in favor of continued pouting.

Aki walked up to the cage to say her goodbyes. "Just so you don't forget... I still have to reward you for saving me." She gave him a wink.

Haruto screamed in frustration as the wagon pulled away from her. She had meant it to be something to look forward to, but it sent him further into frustration. The crowd, still buzzing from the concert, jeered and tossed empty mugs at the wagon as it rolled away.

He slumped against the bars, arms dangling, face dead-eyed, watching as the distance grew between him and his reward. For a moment, he looked exactly as he had at the end of his last shift at work. He thought about how nice it would be if a truck splattered him across the ground again and he got another new world.

"Hey. Cheer up." The System said supportively. "I'm here."

Haruto groaned and slammed his head against the bars. The wagon rattled down cobbled roads toward the looming castle. The System kept rambling, veering between optimism and trivia about his jobs, trying to convince him that general jobs are better because it's how the world was designed.

When the wagon finally creaked into the castle courtyard, Haruto was dragged down and marched through stone corridors that smelled of mildew and despair. Turn stayed silent the whole way, unlocking door after door until they reached a cramped cell lined with straw. Haruto walked inside with no resistance, and the door shut.

He looked around slowly, staring at the filth-caked walls, the broken bucket in the corner, and the scattering of straw that passed for bedding. Haruto ignored it and paced the room, trying to find a clean spot to lie down. There wasn’t one. The cell reeked of damp stone, sweat, and things best not mentioned.

Exhaustion pressed down on him like a lead blanket. His body screamed for rest. His eyelids sagged. He just wanted to sleep, but his aversion to messes and gross surfaces kept him from it.

"Aren't you tired?" the System asked, lying in a molded pile of hay.

Haruto glared at it. "I'm not touching anything in this room if I can help it. I'd rather die of exhaustion."

"Technically, you can get a job based around sleeping," the System said cheerfully. "Sleeper, Napper, Dreamer..."

"I'm not sleeping here!" Haruto said.

"Well, be productive then at least. Do some grinding. Be creative." The System leaned back, closing its eye.

"Alright. You want me to grind? I'll get all of the Sprinter jobs so they merge." Haruto muttered. He kicked at the straw, managing to stir up dust. His nose wrinkled as it hit him in the face.

"Good! You should get a popup when it happens." The System said, rolling over to face the wall.

"Fine!" Haruto said, hoping for the last word.

Cursing his life and luck, Haruto opened his menu to look at his status and info. He noticed a few changes since he checked it last. His physical attributes had gone up as a natural consequence of everything he'd been through. It seemed that physical exhaustion to the point of breaking and regeneration potions were a potent combination for rapid physical improvement.

He checked his job list. He hadn't had time to learn about the logistics of a few things, but his curiosity was piqued the most by the passive skill that kept him alive against Kael. He scrolled down, ignoring the embarrassing things listed as much as he could. He had found it.

Survivor Lvl. 3

A job centered on surviving no matter what kills you. By the nature of this job allowing you to survive regardless of circumstance, this job activates automatically only when it needs to.

Passive Skill: Survivor

Whenever you are reduced to 0 Hit Points or otherwise take enough damage to kill you outright, you regain 1 Hit Point and survive the triggering damage. This skill can activate a number of times equal to your job level. The number of uses resets every 7 days.

Haruto thought back to Aki's potion once again. It may not have healed him as intended, but it saved him nonetheless. He was irritated, exhausted, and in jail, but he was alive. Aki had said bye, thanking him for saving her, but now he wondered if she knew just how many times she had saved him.

"Hey, System? Could you count how many times Survivor activated?" Haruto asked calmly.

The System shuddered at the question, then gave his answer. "Survivor activated... 63 times today."

Haruto laughed lowly. "I would have died 63 times today."

The thought was enough to put some truths he'd already learned into greater perspective. He wasn't an overpowered character in this world. He wouldn't be like so many of the senpais he had watched and read about. He wasn't an all-consuming slime. He wasn't a max-level skeletal overlord. He didn't even have his smartphone. He would have to build his arsenal himself through experience and hard work. And that sucked!

Haruto swiped the menu to his side so he could watch his progress in real time. It was time to work on one of the things that had annoyed him most in this world. He took a firm first step and began to run.

He was free to set a goal for himself for the first time, so he ran. He sprinted from wall to wall, moving in every direction like a caged animal. His first goal was to get the completed Sprinter job, like he had said.