3 Why have a System when you have a Guide?

Alex continued teasing the tiny blonde for a minute before he stopped what he was doing.

By this point, the tiny blonde's face was already red, as she could only huff and puff in anger.

Alex, who already had a fair share of interaction with women before, knew that he had to stop right now.

Since he had his fun already, its time for Alex to get serious.

"Ok, ok, I humbly ask for your apology…" Alex deftly said, as he gave the tiny blonde a bow. "I hope that can appease your anger already?"

"Hmph! Since you had the courage to ask for my forgiveness, then I will give you the chance to earn it." The tiny blonde said as she stretched her miniscule right hand towards Alex.

"Kiss the back of my right hand, and I will consider all of your past transgressions to me as fully forgiven."

"That's what you want me to do?" Alex thought wryly as he looked at the tiny blonde with incredulity. "Maybe its just me, but I think it is impossible for me to kiss the back of your right hand with the way that you are right now…"

"Hmph, just kiss it!" The tiny blonde muttered as she glared at Alex. "Do it right now or else you will feel my wrath!"

"Yes, yes, yes, your Highness…" Alex sarcastically muttered as he did his best to kiss his target.

"Hmph, at least you can do something like that." The tiny blonde said in satisfaction as Alex drew his head back.

"Now that you have kissed this one's hand, then you are now worthy to know my name." The tiny blonde suddenly said as she straightened her body.

"I am the 2,531st Fairy Queen! I am Fairy Queen Asteria, and I am your Guide!" Alex could swear that he saw golden lights spilling around him when Asteria declared her name.

"A Fairy Queen huh. I am not sure what that means, but if it has a queen word in it, that just means this woman is a bigshot." Alex thought to himself as he looked at Asteria, who was giving him a smug look.

It was as if Asteria was waiting for Alex to come and worship her.

"Ok then, since you are my 'Guide', then I will call you Asteria." Alex said, which just made Asteria angrier.

"You…." At this point, Asteria already knew that she had no way to change Alex's mind. All the threats that she told him earlier were just all empty threats, something that she's using to boost her morale.

"Sigh…" Asteria could only slump her body as she flitted towards Alex's left shoulder.

She sat on that spot as she hung her head sadly.

From the looks of it, Asteria has no more energy to retort back to Alex.

Upon seeing that Asteria had partially accepted him, Alex grinned as he started to give his questions.

"Asteria, you told me that you are my Guide. What does that really mean?"

"As your Guide, I shall assist you on your travels on different worlds." Asteria said, almost repeating what she just said earlier.

"Aside from that, I will also be the one that will join you on your transactions with the Endless Monarch."

"The Endless Monarch. Who is that guy? Is he related to my situation right now?" Alex pressed on as he felt the thirst for answers.

"I do not know anything about the Endless Monarch. I do not even know if this Endless Monarch is a person or an organization." Asteria replied quickly. "What I only know is that this Endless Monarch is the one responsible to your situation."

"See that symbol on your forehead? Only the Travelers of the Endless Monarch will receive that symbol." Asteria said as she pointed her fingers at the symbol on Alex's forehead.

"That symbol has the power to bring you to different worlds. Not only that, but you can also access some unique items and cultivation techniques through that symbol."

"Ok, hold up." Alex said as he raised his hands dramatically. "You are saying that this symbol on my forehead can bring me to different worlds?"

"Yes, exactly." Asteria replied quickly.

"Then let me clarify one thing first." Alex said as he rubbed his forehead. "Why is that feature here in this symbol? Am I supposed to do something on each world that I go to?"

"Oh yes, you have something to do in each world." Asteria said as she began to give Alex a pitying smile.

"Every time you go into a new world, you will be given a certain mission to do. These missions have a time limit, and you must finish them on time."

"What would happen if I fail?" Alex said, even though he already had the inkling of the answer.

"Oh, if you fail the mission or if you do not succeed it within the time limit, that symbol on your forehead will kill you." Asteria said as she gave Alex a smile that was also not a smile. "I will also die if that happens."

Even with Alex's mental fortitude, it took him some time before he can recover his wits.

***********************

"Asteria, can I ask you one more question?" Alex muttered after an hour of awkward silence.

"What is it hooman?" Asteria muttered, looking quite delighted as she saw Alex's distraught expression.

"How am I supposed to do the effing missions!" Alex shouted as he waved his hands around him.

"Maybe you already had forgotten it, but I was almost killed by a swordswoman earlier! And by analyzing the words that she just said, it is highly likely that there are more like her in this world! How am I supposed to do what you want me to do in this kind of setting!"

"Oh, do not worry about that Alex." Asteria consolingly said as she did her best to pat Alex's back.

"The Endless Monarch will not abandon its Travelers. Just use the symbol on your forehead to connect with the Endless Monarch, and in that connection, you can trade for some items and even some special cultivation techniques."

"Oh right, you mentioned about that earlier." Alex's expression started to clear up as if he saw a ray of hope shining down on him.

"But, for me to get those things, I must give something as payment, right?" Alex was not a stupid person.

Alex knew that for somebody like the Endless Monarch to give Alex these great benefits, there must be a hidden agenda in it.

After all, there is no such thing as free breakfast, lunch, and dinner in this harsh world.

Asteria's tiny head bobbed up and down, indicating her agreement.

"Alex, you will just have to pay with your lifespan." Asteria said these words so casually as if it was just something normal. "The more powerful or special the object that you want to get, the more lifespan that you should pay for that."

"Wow, that kind of payment is something else." Even if this payment sounded weird to Alex, he realized that for someone like the Endless Monarch, money and influence must be already useless.

"Wait Asteria." Alex said as he furrowed his eyebrows. "How am I supposed to spend more lifespan in the future? My lifespan is always doomed to decrease, and I have no way to increase it…."

"Every time you complete a mission, you will be rewarded with additional lifespan." Asteria replied. "As for the amount of lifespan that will be given, that will depend on your performance."

"Oh great, that just means I have to do more and more missions to stay alive…" Alex muttered with a resigned sigh.

"Oh, and before I forget to tell you, every time you finish a mission in a world, you will be forced to transfer to a new world." Asteria said, which shattered Alex's plans of having a relaxed vacation after a mission.

Asteria then said one more line which made Alex more depressed.

"Oh, and every transfer to a new world also consumes your lifespan. So, you must do your best to increase your lifespan every mission. Who knows, your next transfer might literally suck all the life out of you…"

"...…" By this point, Alex was already regretting being in his position.

Alex knew that people like him only had around 40-50 years of lifespan left.

If Alex wanted to survive in this world and complete his mission, then he must spend some of his lifespan to increase his power.

Then this lifespan of his will be further reduced one he goes to another world.

And the only way to increase his lifespan is by completing a mission!

Even someone bad at math can already see that the chances of Alex losing all of his lifespan is somewhat higher than his chance to live long!

As such, Alex could only wish that his lifespan reward will be high while the expenses for a world transfer will be low.

"Ok then. Since we are talking about the trade, then maybe I should try trading something right now." Alex thought to himself as he gave Asteria a quizzical look.

"Oi, Asteria, how should I initiate the trade?"

"Ah, you don't need to actually do anything, as I will be the one that will initiate the trade for you." Asteria said as she touched the symbol on Alex's forehead.

"I shall tell you about the available items and techniques, and you will tell me what you want to get." Asteria said as she closed her eyes.

"Hey… why don't I just be given something like a system interface?" Alex muttered, remembering some of the fantasy system novels that he read. "Won't that make things like this easier?"

"The Endless Monarch had tried using the System Interface before." Asteria replied as she continued on closing her eyes. "However, every Traveler that used the System Interface became so strong that they became a menace for the plans of the Endless Monarch. So the Endless Monarch scrapped the System Interface, replacing it with Guides like me."

"Oh." Alex replied with disappointment as he waited for Asteria to be done.

"Here it is!" Asteria's eyes glowed as she started to speak in an ethereal tone.

"Alex, right now, there are only three items available for you." Asteria then enumerated these items for Alex.

[[[Electromagnetic Saber. Cost: 1 month of lifespan.]]]

[[[Star-Crusted Dagger. Cost: 15 days of lifespan.]]]

[[[Esper Cultivation Body. Cost: 11 months of lifespan.]]]

Asteria then continued talking before Alex could say something.

"I recommend that you choose the Esper Cultivation Body, as it is something that will allow you to gain Esper Abilities. It will be a perfect fit in this world, as this world is only filled with Espers."

"Well, if you say so…" After hearing the name of the items, Alex was also sure that he must get the Esper Cultivation Body.

Alex could still remember his near-death encounter with the black-haired woman earlier.

Alex clenched his fists as he knew that once he had the Esper Cultivation Body, then he will be able to find ways to keep himself alive! Maybe even getting his payback will be possible!

"Wait, before I buy that item, can you tell me the current amount of my lifespan?" Alex asked as he rubbed his hands nervously.

"Alex, you only have 12 months of lifespan left." Asteria replied.

"Huh?" Alex's mind went blank, as he could not believe what he just heard.

"Just 12 months? That's all the lifespan that I have?" Alex croaked out of his suddenly parched throat. "How could it be that few…"

"Every time someone becomes a traveler, almost all of their lifespan will be sucked away, leaving only 24 months for the traveler." Asteria said without any hints of emotion in her voice.

"Since it is your first time going to a new world, your first world transfer has only consumed 12 months of your lifespan. That leaves you with the grand total of 12 months of lifespan." At this point, Asteria tried to sound as sympathetic as possible.

Asteria's next words however, hammered the nail on Alex's metaphorical coffin.

"Traveler Alex, I wish you luck on managing that limited lifespan that you have."

"...…"