Chapter 4

"Ow!"

A voice breaks the silence of a forest in the middle of nowhere.

The voice belong to a boy who is currently sitting up from his initial position of lying down. The boy awoke with a head-splitting headache, resulting in his cry of pain.

The boy, Alluna, looked around the unknown place he has woken up to, after his headache subsided. He was filled with confusion upon waking up to a forest, and fear, not because he is in a scary place, but that he is alone in that said place.

"S-system?! Where are you? Hello?!" The boy frantically shouted, looking for the blue box that he is already considering as his friend, with tears bordering his eyes.

Suddenly, the friend he was just looking for appeared in front of him

[I am here, you do not need to shout, lest you risk attracting dangerous creatures that live in this forest,] the system warned the boy who sighed in relief, not minding what the blue box said about the creatures that could kill the boy, [Seriously, would you just stop crying over little things, what is wrong with you?]

The system, having awakened earlier than Alluna's maturity age, had not been fully assimilated with the boy. It does not have access to his memories, experience, and personality, that is why it does not understand why Alluna reacts the way he is reacting. For now, all it could do is open up the system's interface for the boy because that process is automated, and send him limited information about a few things.

While it is true that it can force assimilation with the boy, it doesn't believe that he will like the pain that comes with it, and its disappearance after it, because it will have to go into hibernation for the updating process.

The only thing it could do for now is to patiently prepare the forced assimilation to the best of its ability as to not hurt nor have to leave its host, because it is sure as hell it cannot wait until the boy reaches 18.

"...I was just scared when I couldn't find you..." the boy says with his head hung low.

The system lets out an audible sigh, feeling guilty about its reaction.

[I apologize for reacting that way. For now let me send a few bits of information into your brain. I promise it will not hurt.] The system says softly. The boy nods.

The system sends out information about the system's functions. It was able to fully send its basic functions, but can only send most parts of the games that it is able to give the boy for now. It was able to send up to the Twelfth Season of the League of Legends game, and up to Generation 7 of the Pokemon game.

True to the system's words, the boy had not felt even a slight of pain, much to his delight. All that he felt is confusion about how did he know about some things that he hasn't known before.

[The process has been completed. I apologize for not having able to fully send information about the games, there had been restrictions from sources I cannot disclose for now,] the system says after a few minutes, having finished sending out information to the boy. [but I believe that will be enough with your current level.]

"Thank you, system...? Wait, do you have a name? It does not feel good to only call you system. You don't sound like a boy or a girl too." The boy asked with a frown formed on his brows.

[While I may be sentient... I have a consciousness and ability to think, I do not have a name, nor a gender. I am simply a guide, and I do not need such feeble things.]

"Everybody needs names! How do I know that you are my system and not just a random system?"

The boy was surprised to know that the System does not have a name nor a gender. Alluna created his own definitions and importance of names through his experiences. He figured that names relieves him from thoughts that he does not exist, and that he is not important, like what the few bad people that he met had said. He thinks that names are important to every single being as it provides a sense of individuality, and just because names are pretty, therefore, he is quite adamant to give his friend a name.

[...how did you even come to the conclusion that there are others like me?] The system... see, names are important, calling it 'the system' is being redundant now... was flabbergasted. It is not able to understand how this boy was able to uncover one of the secrets of the universe... even if it is not much of a secret, really.

"Well, you exist, so you must have some others just like you that exist everywhere." The boy reasons. "We are drifting off the topic, I am going to give you a name!"

[Alluna, I told you tha-]

"Be quiet! I cannot come up of a name because you're being loud." The boy says, quite irritated about being distracted by the system. On the other hand, it just resigned to its fate of having given a name by the boy. "I know! Lucas! I am gonna call you Lukas!"

[That's a rather human name for a System like me, boy.] The system was quite disappointed for reasons it cannot decipher. It doesn't know the longing that welled in it for a name. It just brushed it off thinking the name was bad, and not fitting for it. [And how did you even come up with such a name?]

"Remember about the woman that I told you that was reading a book about planets to her baby boy? I heard her say his name was Lukas." The boy says with a huge smile on his face. "I'm sorry if you don't like it but that's what I will call you now!"

[If you wish to do so, I do not believe I have a choice now.] The system sighs.

"Hehehe! That's right, you do not have a choice!" Alluna says with a toothy grin, and raises his hands in triumph. After his little moment, he looks around the place he is currently in, quite disturbed having been in an unknown forest. "Hey, Lukas. Why am I in a forest? Lukas? Hello, are you still there?"

[I apologize for not responding. I required a few moment to update a small feature of mine. Do you like how I sound now?] The system, or rather Lukas now, upon receiving the name, went offline to update one small feature of it. Now, Lukas sounds like a boy just barely within the age range of Alluna.

"You sound like a boy now! Now, I feel like I now have a human friend!" Alluna was quite pleased with the new feature of the sys... Lukas. He is quite ecstatic upon having a friend that feels like a real, living friend, and not just a blue box friend!

[Yes, now, be quiet. To answer your question, one down-side of teleportation is that I do not have control over the place where I can teleport you, just that you will not be killed in an instant, or teleported inside a thing, or a creature.]

Upon hearing that, Alluna felt chills. He feels like he narrowly escaped death even if his new life has just started.

[Now, I suggest you find a place to hide for now. I am going to send you a mission.] Lukas says, quite worried for the boy, because even he does not know of the danger of the forest that he teleported the boy in.

Alluna, wanted to ask what a mission is, however, much to his confusion, he felt like he knows what a mission is out of nowhere.

"Okay."

[(ding!)

A mission has been made.

Mission Name: Find a Shelter!

Mission Description: This forest is filled with dangers, everything can kill the host, from the smallest insect, up to the biggest creature. The host is tasked to look for a safe place so that he will not be killed in an instant!

Completion Requirement/s: Look for a safe place

Reward/s: Starter Pack, 7-Day Rations

Punishment: None.]

"That's really cool. What's a Starter Pack?" Alluna nods and asked after he read the issued mission. Wait, read?! "Woah, wait! I-I... I was just able to read that, right?!"

Lukas, upon sending the information about the games and his functions to Alluna, decided to give him the ability to read and write to make his life in this world much much easier.

[Yes, Alluna, you were able to read that.] You know how you are able to tell if a person is smiling even without seeing them, just by hearing them talk? Lukas was just like that.

"Thank you so much! I-I can't believe this! That bitch, Ombre said that I was too stupid to read, and now I can! Take that you fugly motherfucker! HAHA!"

[Quiet, Alluna!] Lukas had to warn the boy to end his little fuck-you-Ombre session for the fear of attracting monst-

(grrrr...)

[Quick, Alluna, hide!] Lukas was quick to react to the sound of a deep rumbling sound that came from a distance not too far from Alluna's position. That was a monster that heard Alluna's shouts and decided to make him into its snack.

Alluna, moved by fear and adrenaline, ran towards a humongous tree that had a small opening in it. Deciding it to be his hiding place, ran towards it with all the speed and strength his desperation could muster.

Unfortunately, while when the boy was nigh to the place, a tiger-like monster with huge fangs protruding from its upper jaw came out from behind the tree where Alluna was running towards.

The sabre-toothed tiger saw the boy, and a chillingly human grin spread from its face. The monster was quick to run towards the boy, and make a meal out of him.

[Alluna, RUN!] Lukas shouts at Alluna who was frozen in place in fear. The loud shouting urged the boy to run towards the opening of the tree. [Quick, quick, quick! Hurry!]

"AAAAAAH!" Alluna shouts as he spent all of his luck points into that jump, hoping to fit into that small opening, otherwise he will be a meal for that hungry, ugly monster. "OH MY SHIT!"

Luckily, the boy was able to make it into that small hole, barely escaping the monster that was eager to eat him. Suddenly, a huge, furry arm equipped with large, sharp claws entered the opening, frenziedly clawing around in search of its meal who escaped it. Alluna fiddled his way from the dark inside of the tree, away from the opening where the monster's arm was. He tried his best to keep quiet, even suppressing his heavy breathing to avoid being found.

After a few minutes, the sabre-toothed tiger grew tired and gave up on Alluna, much to the boy's relief.

[(ding!)

Congratulations, Alluna, for completing the mission {Find a Shelter!}. The rewards have been placed into your inventory.]

"Inventory" Familiar with Lukas' features, because of the information he sent, Alluna opened his inventory to check out the rewards.

The Inventory Interface appears, several individual boxes appeared, and in the first three slots are where the rewards are settled in.

[Inventory:

Starter Pack (Open it!)

Water Bottle x14

Dried Meat Jerky x14]

[Alluna, are you alright?] Lukas worriedly asked the boy who was still catching his breath.

"I am, thank you for asking. What is a Starter Pack?" Alluna asks, after taking out the box wrapped in red wrapping paper and tied with a pretty green ribbon.

[Open it, what's inside will help you. Just say 'Open'.]

"Open?"

Upon saying the word, the top of the box flew off and a blinding light came out of it.