I was asleep.
At least, I thought I was.
But in that dream, something… called to me.
A girl's voice, whispering in the dark. Faint. Pained.
"It hurts..."
The voice echoed through the void. I wasn't sure where I was anymore, only that everything was pitch-black, and up ahead—
a flicker of light.
A tiny flame hovered in the darkness. Pale white, trailing faint strands of light like broken threads of silk.
It was weak. Fading. And it kept whispering.
"It always hurts..."
I walked toward it—if you could even call it walking. Maybe it was just my consciousness moving.
"What are you? Are you okay?"
The light pulsed faintly as I spoke. As if responding to my presence.
When I reached out, it calmed. Stabilized. Its glow grew slightly brighter.
"...Host..."
"...You're... my host..."
"Host?" I frowned. "Don't call me that. Makes me sound like you're some kind of parasite."
"...I am... the System..."
Wait. What?
"You? You're that mess of errors in my soul? The System?"
This fragile flame… was that glitch-riddled cube from before?
I had a hard time believing it, but… her presence felt familiar. Like the strange hum I'd hear in my mind when opening a menu.
"You used to be a cube. What happened to that?"
The flame didn't answer directly. Instead, it flickered again—quieter this time.
"I am System #0... the first... made by my creator... but I was flawed from the beginning..."
"The guy who threw me into this world?" I scoffed. "Figures. So you're his first experiment?"
"Yes… constructed with no prior knowledge… I am... riddled with errors... It hurts to exist..."
Something in her voice hit me hard. She wasn't just some tool. She was suffering.
And yet… she still functioned. Still tried.
"Is there any way I can help?"
The flame hesitated.
"Why… would you help me?"
"Because we're stuck together, whether we like it or not." I crossed my arms in thought. "Besides, I don't like leaving people—uh, systems—suffering alone."
The flame dimmed slightly, then pulsed gently.
"There is… a way. But I need energy. I once drew it from my creator… but he severed the link."
"So he abandoned you too…"
That bastard really had no sense of responsibility. First he drops a broken system on a newborn, then he ghosts his own creation like she's trash.
"What kind of energy do you need?"
"External… due to my flawed core, your HP and MP values are frozen—stagnant. Infinite in quantity… because they cannot decrease."
"So that's why I never run out of mana…"
"I can also absorb energy from external sources… monsters… corpses… even souls. This energy can be used to slowly fix my errors."
The light was flickering faster now, as if speaking hurt her.
"I get it. So, EXP through combat. Absorb energy, use it to patch your broken code."
"Yes… but… I am stagnant now. Without surplus energy, I cannot fix myself further. Still, I can… wait."
"Well… sorry to break it to you, but I'm currently a baby. Not exactly in monster-hunting shape. Can you hold out?"
"I can… I always have…"
Something about that response made my chest tighten.
How long had she been in pain like this?
"Is there anything I can do for you now?"
"...I don't know. I don't remember ever being without pain…"
That hit harder than I expected. I looked down at her flickering light and, without thinking, I reached out and wrapped my spectral arms around her.
A hug.
That's all I could offer.
"I know it's not much… but try to hang in there, alright? I'll figure out how to help you properly once I grow a bit."
There was silence for a moment.
Then…
"...I can… feel it. The hug… It helps."
"Good. You're not alone in this. We're both outcasts, yeah? But we've got each other now."
The flame trembled.
"You're… kind. Even to something like me."
"You're not just 'something.' You're stuck with me, and I don't leave my allies behind." I smirked. "Besides, I am a bit of a softie, despite the daggers and explosions in my last life."
She was silent for a bit, but then whispered:
"…Thank you."
We stayed there like that for a while—me holding her in the dark, letting her speak when she could.
I learned a lot.
Her creator was apparently called the God of Transmigration, some weirdo who hurls souls into different worlds to act as "heroes" or "saviors." The systems he gave were tools to aid them—but unlike the others, she was the prototype. The test run.
Her purpose was to help me absorb energy from enemies I defeat. Convert it to EXP. Help me level up.
But here's the catch: because of a critical error buried in her root code, my status values are frozen.
They can't increase… or decrease.
Which means:
I can't grow stronger using the system.
But I also never run out of mana.
And I… probably can't die.
A curse disguised as a blessing.
She even said that the glitch is now rooted into my soul. Even if she's repaired, it might not go away.
Honestly? I was fine with that.
"Can I still get stronger outside the system?" I asked.
"Possibly… through traditional means. Mana manipulation. Training. Muscle growth. The way native beings grow."
"So basically, no shortcuts. Hard mode."
"Yes… and because of my presence… your soul is shackled to the system's framework. Your learning speed will be… greatly reduced."
"How reduced?"
"…Possibly ten times slower than normal."
I let that sink in for a moment.
Then I grinned.
"Well, good thing I'm a stubborn bastard. I'll just work ten times harder."
She paused.
"You would really do that… for me?"
"Not just for you. For me, too. I've got a second shot at life. I'm not wasting it." I held her tighter. "And if I have to drag you along the way, glitch and all, then so be it. We'll figure this out together."
"...Okay."
Her light pulsed faintly—brighter, steadier.
"Thank you… Leon."
"No need to thank me. You've got a name?"
"I… don't."
"Hmm. Then I'll give you one when I wake up."
Because you're not just a tool. You're not just a system.
You're mine—my partner.
And I never leave my partners behind.
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