The Broken System

I was laying in my bed, staring at the roof. The dream came to me with a shock. Though most people couldn't do it, I was confident about my mind and was sure that I will be able to control my dream till the end. It was the first time that I saw a dream that I couldn't control. It is better to say that it was a nightmare in a way

I sat up on the bed as I took off the helmet. It was a VR helmet, but different from those gaming ones. The VR-Dream catcher. It could record the dream you saw through the night. Other might think it as a useless device but to me, it is an irreplaceable part of my life. Without this, I would have lost many ideas of my novels.

The year 2074. The paperback novels were long history. The reading world dominated by the online novels, but it was also becoming an endangered one. Though some might argue that a live-novel could never take the place of a written one, still the live novel was becoming popular with time. I have read some people had the same opinion about the paperback novel when the online novel became mainstream. But that is history now. The live novel is the thing of the future, rather than reading the novel you will get to live it, it's like dream come true.

I am Capula Mural. I am a research scholar, going to submit my thesis soon. With a contact from the VR-Dream Catcher Company for Live-novel, I had no need for job hunting. Many people applied, I was one of the few to be selected and given a contract.

As I tried to watch the recorded dream I was surprised to find that it wasn't recorded. No matter how much I looked I couldn't find it. Well, what I can do? 'Let's head to the lad' with the thought I went towards the bathroom.

"System." I called. A beautiful voice answered,

[What the hell do you want?]

Well, I was kind of chuuni and am still now. So the house assistant named as "System" and she is kind of tsundere. I am very obsessed about the novel with systems. When I was little I really thought that it would be great to have a system just for myself. But, here I am. "What is my schedule?"

[Don't think I am willing to spend some time just because it is a holiday. Go to the lab and get it cleaned if you want. It's not like anybody is waiting for you there.]

'The cleaning day? It will be a boring holiday.' I hit the shower, took some coffee and sandwich on the way to the lab.

"Capula here." I spoke as I entered the lab. A very low light scanned me.

[Authorised entry, Capula Mural. Sanctioned for lab cleaning duty.]

If the lab assistant was a woman then it would have been a deredere. I checked the situation of the eggs first, then the insects. But how can be everything be ok?

"Which f**king idiot kept the spider cage open?" I cursed out loud.

[Is there any problem, Capula Mural?] The assistant was quick to respond.

"Activate both 3d recorder and the motion tracker. Capture any movement outside the cage. Also, put on the UV lights." The spiders were genetically engineered to spit out the UV activated silk. Putting on the goggles everything became clear to me. It's totally a jungle here.

[No motion detected.] The assistant concluded.

'How that can be? The thing might be hiding in some corner.' Even before I could move from the place something bit me. With a single thought, a chill ran through my spine.

'It must be a mosquito.' It wasn't a guess but a prayer. I reached my hand and grabbed it. The moment I touched it I screamed. "Lab on high priority, contact all lab personnel, contact preofff…proffer…" It was my tongue which gave way first. Soon the other muscles followed. In a moment my head hit the ground but for some reason, I couldn't feel the pain. 'Well, who knows I might become Spiderman.'

Next time I wake up I was in the hospital bed. I can hear about other talking.

"Please, doctor do something." I can hear my mother pleading too.

"The problem is he was there for 2 hours without any treatment. The poison was circulated through the body…"

'Looks like I am not going to be a Spiderman.' But for some reason, I couldn't smile.

"Ma" that was all that escaped my throat. With the words, the room was in disarray.

"What is it, Cap?" My mother voice was happy but clearly worried.

"Dr..am…-Ca..cher." I don't know how I said it but I felt immense pain in the head in a moment and fall unconscious again.

"Look Cap I brought it." It was also my mother's worried cry that brought me back to the world again. I still wasn't able to move. But you know it was my mom. I can fell that ma was trying to put the helmet on me. I slimed, at least I tried to. With the smile in my heart, I command 'Connect'.

////////////////////////////////////

'Where am I?' It was the first thought in my consciousness as I woke up. I was bitten by the spider, right? This should be a hospital… but something was wrong. I couldn't open my eyes.

Are the muscles still affected?

That might be so, but it surprised me as I tried to move my hand. It wasn't just the hand, the leg and the body too, I can move it as much as I want.

Could it be I died and now in amniotic fluid? Could it be like the 'Isekai' story? Well, at least it would explain why I am not in bed. But I have never heard that a child who could use such reasoning before he is born. Maybe this has something to do about the 'Isekai'.

/////////////////////////////

'Why there is no sound?' That fact confused me a lot.

Well for the first few days I was happy, thinking about the world I am going to born. Will it be a world of cultivation or a world with a system, maybe magic or mecha. I hope there will be at least adventure guild.

I even forget about my terrible death. I planned out everything, for endless possibilities. But all went through the drain because there was something wrong.

For a starter, there is no sound. It is said even a child can hear a sound inside the belly. Well, there is a chance that my ear is not fully formed or I am deaf. Above all, I could move my body without any problem. That's why I am trying to open my eyes. If I can control my other muscles then I might be able to control my eyes too.

It was painful, well painful may not be the right word to describe it but somehow I succeeded. But view made me speechless.

'It's a fucking stasis pot'. A full glass cylinder type. As I looked up there were thin-tubes that were coming from the top, one went into my mouth and I can't see where the other went but I didn't feel any pain. Can I be still on earth? In a moment I got the result.

My struggles in the pod attracted the attention of the people outside. I can't see the outside clearly but it looked like a human. Form the dress I almost cried "It's Isekai". Other than some liquid going in my throat no sound came out. But for some reason, I lost consciousness.

//////////////////////////////

Well, I got good news and bad news for me. The good news is it is actually another world. But the bad news is I am not in a good position right now. My life can be in jeopardy. It's like some kind of facility and it is not some 'happy go lucky facility'.

For example, I was in this room whose wall was marked by some unknown creature, with day count marks, dry blood spots and many more. I was fed through the small spot in the door. And the foods are like bread, unknown meats, mushrooms, fruits with some weird effect. One gave me diarrhoea, another gave me insomnia and much like it. One gave me an erection for 4 hours straight. That would have been a pricey product on earth, but believe me, you don't want to use it. On the top of I don't understand the language they were talking.

*Crack*.

The door opened breaking my train of thoughts. Two people in weird dress came in. It was not weird rather it more looked like leather armour with shamshir hanging from the belt.

"@#@#$@#$!%%@" they shouted aiming the crossbow at me.

"Do you guys forgot that I can't understand you?" Well, I shouldn't have shouted that out. But after waking up somehow I was losing control of my emotions. It's not like they could understand it, so they shoot. If I didn't move at the last moment the arrow would have pierced me.

Soon we were moving through a narrow corridor with one in front and one behind me.

It was a shamshir. Not that I didn't say that before, but it was in a museum and those were old rusty one. I wanted to grab it but the one at the back will shoot me for sure before I could take it out. I am not the spy material who can kill them in a blink, so I followed. Rather than dying I followed the word of master Sun, 'knowing the enemy is winning the war'.

After about 4 left and 2 right turns we reached a big door. Believe me, the door didn't give me any good feeling and as I suspected they forced me to enter the room. Soon the door closed behind me.

It was an arena. Did I become a gladiator? For the starter, I ran straight toward the weapon deck close to the wall. What I took out first was gladius, to be exact a curved gladius and a round shield. I also hid small dagger inside my dress. Who knows when it will come handy? A helmet was an all-important of war. Though it was heavier than my expectation, it was necessary. There was no armour so I moved towards the arena with the shield and sword at ready.

"Ha ha ha…" laughter arose through the arena. It colosseum look alike, packed with those beings who were dressed weird.

'I don't look weird, do I?' Even before I could give another look at my attire the light of the arena gone out. For the first time, I realised that the arena was underground.

'Could it be it is legendary [Dark Vision]? Did I really get a skill at last?' That was my second guess, but my excitement was short lived. There was a pair of red eyes was coming at me at high speed. It was human, a butt-naked one and totally tackled without hesitation.

Even before I could understand what was happening I was already laying on my back with unbearable pain. The shield was fast to come into contact with the charge, resulting in a broken arm. Then I was thrown into the air. [Dark Vision] was good enough to see in the dark but nothing was as clear as a day. I felt weightlessness followed by a crash on my butt.

Somehow my thought became clear. Without hesitation, I rolled to left, put my back against the wall with the shield at chest and the gladius was ready to strike. It didn't even strike me once that how I was able to move my broken arm, but that wasn't important right now. The important question was where my attacker was now. Without much of a surprise, the red eye was sanding just a few meters from me and was staring right at me.

"@#$%#$#@@$%#" All his effort was wasted on me. He sighed as he understood that too and raise his arm. Before I could move something pushed me toward him. In a moment he was grabbing my neck. I can see my life flashing right in front of my eyes.

*Snap*

He did it. He broke my neck without hesitation. His eyes were like red LED, not a single shard of hesitation.

'But how can I still think about it?' The moment the thought appeared I could feel my consciousness fading away. Maybe it is the transition period. There was a light flash before I lost it all.

'Did I just dozed away?' The moment I opened my eyes I was surprised. I was holding a body by its neck, it was not moving. The body had the same red eyes. But something was seriously wrong about it. For starter, my body wasn't under my control and for an unknown reason, I couldn't keep my thought straight. I lost my consciousness again with a sharp pain in my head.

This time something was different. Rather than standing I was sitting. There was the stinky smell of blood in the air. Everything around me was red, red with blood. The buildings were burning. For the first time, I saw the beautiful night sky above my head after coming to this world. And beneath me was… bodies, dead bodies. Not just one or two, hundreds of them. What I was sitting on was a big pile of dead bodies.

"Did I kill them all?" I couldn't help but murmur those words but nobody answered. It was shocking to me that I was sitting on the top of that and I don't even remember doing it. A moment ago I was dead, now I am the only one alive when everyone else is dead. It wasn't making any sense. My mind was in chaos as I tried to stand. There was no even ground under my feet, all there were the bodies. I tumbled down from the body mountain. Before I can stop myself I was already the bottom. A child's head was staring at me with shocked eyes, the body of the child was nowhere to be seen.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!" with the scream I lost my consciousness again.