Temporal resurgence (being edited)

[VANE'S POV]

Days passed uneventfully. I roamed the fortress, earning curious glances from soldiers but didn't linger around for too long.

I spoke with the nurse about the researchers; they wouldn't be arriving soon. This worked in my favor, sparing me from being a guinea pig if things go well.

I went back to my room, picking up some books on this world to pass the time. Night quickly fell, and I slept, awaiting the next day.

- - - - -

The pleasant morning came, and I checked my pocket watch they gave, displaying; 6:40 a.m.

Resting for 9 hours, I felt rejuvenated and continued my day as usual, but something caught my eye: the system appeared.

- - - - -

I quickly freshened up and wasted no time entering a dilapidated warehouse, steering clear of unnecessary encounters.

The escorts joined me, looking puzzled. They couldn't see the system, so it didn't matter.

"Why are you going to this warehouse?" One of them queried, looking at me as if was suspicious.

"I want to experience my childhood—I think you know my hometown was an agricultural one, so there were a lot of warehouses like these."

"Really? Then why are you going to this one then?"

"Because the rest of them aren't worn down, and I don't want to trouble them by saying I want to go in," I replied, and the soldiers didn't have anything to say.

They let me in, as this was an empty one, and stood near the entrance, probably because of the stench, but also my bracelets.

It was dark, with strands of light seeping through the broken roof. The air was laden with the smell of mouse droppings and urine, and hay was scattered about.

I walked, not dwelling much on the surroundings, and entered another room within the warehouse, a chance encounter.

A room completely shrouded in darkness, an obscure place, and complete isolation. This was ideal.

Letting the door ajar for light, my heart rate slightly rose, my body forgot its fatigue, and my eyes dilated to the darkness.

Navigating the room, I sought an ideal spot to sit.

My mind buzzed with the anticipation of gaining abilities through the system's updates, aligning with my broader objectives.

I had to make do with a broken wooden box, sitting on its edge, and skipped all trivialities and summoned the entity: 'System,' I willed.

[Updates installed. Host recommended to find an isolated space.

Integrate updates: Yes/Postpone]

There wasn't a 'No' option, but I didn't care; my hand moved to the 'Yes' button, prompting a response:

[Integrating updates... ERROR! Magical interference detected!]

[Attempting overriding... ERROR! Strong magical interference detected!]

[Attempting overriding... ERROR!]

[Attempting... ERROR... ERROR!]

[Attempting… ERROR... ERROR!]

[…ERROR!]

[…ERROR!]

As the system encountered errors, a red screen displayed a message:

[Unable to integrate updates. Please diminish the magical interference to proceed.]

I gazed at the screen expressionlessly and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath in, holding it and letting it out.

All my excitement was rendered naught, demolishing my expectations with the red screen displaying errors.

The metallic bracelets, though hindering the flow of mana and causing magical interference, unexpectedly provided insights into the inner workings of the system.

It was really disappointing, yet, what could I do, except for removing these bracelets?

SIGH

I waited for a few minutes and exited, and went to my room, clearing my mind reading some books and left for lunch.

- - - - -

I walked through the corridor, making my way to the cafeteria.

"Hello there Ms. Celine, You're looking beautiful today!" I called out to the young nurse in the corridor.

"Oh, you're too much Vane! Hehe, you're looking handsome too!"

"Haha, thank you, Ms. Celine," I replied with a smile.

"Just call me Celine, Vane, I already told you that!" She furrowed her brows for dramatic effect but chuckled after it.

"Haha, I just find it quite difficult, sorry Ms. Celi-, I mean Celine." I teased her intentionally, and she smiled in return.

I made small talk with the young nurse and greeted everyone I was acquainted with, politely, making small talk sometimes.

"Hello, granny! How're ya doin'?" I mimicked the accent of a cowboy in a TV show, well, at least something similar to that.

"Don'cha make fun o' me boy," she spoke in a heavy accent while handing me the platter.

"It neva' gets ol' ya know? Hehe," I told with a grin, and she smiled at our brief encounter.

I forged good relations within the duration of my stay quite well, and the soldiers I ate with made space for me, smiling.

"Howdy Vane! Come on 'ere, let's play anotha' rounda' poker!"

"Me too! Me too!"

"Today we'll win against him for sure!"

The soldiers chattered amongst themselves about teaming up on me to defeat me in poker.

It seems that I have ignited a fire when I defeated them, using some 'dexterous' moves and math, an underdeveloped subject in this world.

I went on to destroy them in poker every time they played against me, calling out their cheating when I saw them pulling shady stuff.

Too bad for them, I memorized the entire deck of cards.

"Haha—Remy, I see that ridge on that card, don't cheat now and put it back where it came from."

"OH! REMY GOT CAUGHT! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"SHOOT! REMY, YA' REALLY GOT CAUGHT!"

"YA' REALLY NEEDA UP YA GAME REMY! YA' GOT DESTROYED BY THEM YOUNGLIN'!"

The soldiers teased Remy, the soldier I called out, and clicked his tongue, putting the card somewhere.

I laughed on and smiled as I continued to destroy them with practised ease.

- - - - -

Bidding them goodbye, I went to the utility building to pick some new books, briefly reminiscing the contents of the ones I read;

This world had 2 continents; Vespa and Stygia.

The Vespan continent had 4 countries: Eldoria, Azur Empire, Terra Kingdom, and Gamma Kingdom.

All of them were human countries, with an aristocratic government, run by a monarch at the head.

The Stygian continent was unexplored; it was connected with the Vespan continent, and both together covered 30% of the planet's surface.

The Stygian continent housed the two hostile races of this world: Vampires and Ghouls.

There was also another continent, but it was largely debated whether to regard it as one because of the controversy it sparked in international affairs.

Regardless of the governments, the citizens largely reached a consensus as to what it should be named:

The Forbidden Land—which connected to both continents, around 10% of the planet.

It had good reasons for warranting such a sinister name, with beings strong enough to threaten nations lurking in there.

Even I, the novel reader, did not know the mysteries hidden beyond the forbidden land, as the novel wasn't fully updated, and I caught up with it.

Regardless, it wasn't of much concern now anyway and I returned to my room and slept, waiting for the days to pass.