Chapter 07: An Unfair System

Someone once said that curiosity killed the cat. Although it wasn't the cat's curiosity that got it killed, it appears to be the case in my scenario.

So far I took all the proceedings for granted and had failed to notice some obvious things. Like, what is all of this had been previously orchestrated and we were just playing out our predefined destinies? Or what if I was just walking into a trap to end up as a pawn?

Yup. That's what happened. Lets rewind to the time before I regretted my choices.

The man was hesitant in making a choice.

[Do you wish to enter? Yes/No] A simple question.

But if I were to look at it another way, it was asking him to throw away everything he had built over the years.

The man glanced at the bracelet that was in the envelope, which I delivered to him, before resolving himself and making a selection.

Yes. He selected the option and the system confirmed, [Choice confirmed.]

[Processing request…]

[Balancing fragment found!]

[Linking with the fragment…] The bracelet on the man's arm immediately got swarmed with floating golden particles.

[Identifying fragment…]

[Fragment Identified!]

[####d Prison]

[Activating ####d Prison]

It took a moment for the bracelet to absorb the golden particles hovering around it. The man willingly accepted the weirdness and stood still. As I was marvelling at how calm he was, multiple black chains emerged from the bracelet.

The chains sprung at the man and twisted themselves around his neck, check and throat. The chains clanked as more chains appeared from the bracelet and bound the man.

With a nostalgic look in his eyes, the man willingly stood still and accepted the creepy chains wrapping around him.

The chains squeezed tighter and after a few minutes a system message popped up, [Resetting stats…]

At this point the man was a bit nervous. Well anyone would be.

I always thought that things like reset would be magical and would happen with a flicker of light. Boy, was I wrong.

Some more golden particles appeared around him. The golden dust slowly settled down on his skin. The moment each particle made contact with his skin, it immediately permeated through his skin and entered his veins. This was very visible as it appeared in the form of glowing golden veins at the point of contact.

For the first few seconds, the process proceeded smoothly. I could feel his strong presence diminish and his mana concentration reduce. It did not take long before he let out a pained moan. And a few moments later he roared in pain. The man who had a domineering presence was now screaming and had fallen on his hands and knees. He was sweating profusely as the process continued.

His breaths got heavier and turned to pants. He was sweating profusely. His screams echoed through the emptiness.

The process finally stopped after a few more minutes. All that was left a weak frail man with chains wrapped around him. His body had shrunk and his beard was gone. His shabby long hair, although still messy, was revitalized.

On closer look, he had physically become younger. His skin was plush and shiny. But he had lost all of his mana and his accumulated strength.

[Stats reset complete.] The system message popped up without consideration for the mood or the vibes.

[Tallying results…]

The man looked up at the screen with pained eyes. The chains had retracted back into the bracelet. He was still huffing and puffing while covered in sweat.

[Results calculated.]

[Compensating user…]

[You have been provided the following as compensation for the reset.
99 stat points.
500 credits.
Personal guide.]

[Welcome to the <Harvest Festival>. Please follow your guide, Elian Hartley.]

Yup. This is where it began. The misery. The shock. The nightmare.

I knew a system message was going to show up at that very moment.

[Congratulations! You have been assigned as a personal guide for <Unknown>. All your selection points will now be converted to stat points.]

[Quest Created: <I am a Guide & a Scribe>
Quest type: Event
Quest Details: You have been assigned to [Unknown] to guide. As someone responsible for <Unknown>'s participation, you are hereby assigned to guide the user. You shall also maintain records of the chronicles of [Unknown]'s actions throughout the Harvest Festival.
Privileges: Able to see all system messages of <Unknown>, Guide related Skills Unlocked, Scribe Related Skills Unlocked
Penalty upon failure of duties: Death
Do you accept?
Yes/No]

And I immediately selected No. And the same quest window popped up. I refused again, and it repeated. I was not being given a choice.

Did I say Celestia was fair? I take that back. This fucking world is more unfair than any greedy merchant. Give me back my appreciation, you damn unfair system.

What irritated me more was the smug expression the man had while he was looking at me face a choice I could not refuse.

Ultimately I had no choice but to accept or I couldn't return home.