Chapter 14: 10 Days, 10 Dates, and a Kidney on Life Support

"The system just loves making my life awkward, doesn't it?" Nox muttered, sitting alone at the back of the empty classroom. His melancholic gaze was fixed on the world outside the window, dark circles underscoring his eyes.

Last night after getting the mission, Nox lost his desire to sleep. Not because of excitement, but because he spent the entire night thinking about how to complete this ridiculous mission.

"Sleep with 10 people in 10 days? Are you kidding me!?" Nox clutched his head with both hands, his eyes bloodshot. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find even one, let alone ten?"

[Host, believe in yourself! You can do it!]

A line of text floated in his vision. Seeing it, Nox rolled his eyes in exasperation as he leaned back and shouted under his breath, "System, you're overestimating me - I'm just a normal dude from another world, not some Casanova-Cupid hybrid!"

[Host, you're underestimating yourself. Before transmigrating, you were good with numbers.]

Nox stared at the text incredulously. "What does being good at math have to do with getting laid? You want me to solve integrals while stripping or something?" He snorted. "Unless there's some kinky numerology cult I don't know about, my calculus skills won't really help with this ridiculous mission!"

He ran his fingers through his disheveled hair in frustration. "Ughh! Never mind, it's no use talking to you, but yes, I got to clear this mission. As the reward is too tempting."

[Mission Reward: Tier 1 Cybernetic Enhancement Formulae]

Nox's eyes blazed as he examined the reward details, "If I could get this, I could produce cybernetic enhancements and sell them without a hitch. Unlike genetic enhancements, the market is always flooded with new cybernetic tech." A sly grin crept across his face as the possibilities unfolded in his mind.

Then he dragged a hand down his face, exasperated. "But the question is, how to complete the mission? Advertise?" Nox began frantically patting down his pockets, eventually pulling out a crumpled piece of paper and a stubby pencil. "What should be my slogan?"

Chewing on the pencil eraser, he scribbled down some ideas, mumbling under his breath. "How about...'Get lucky with a man who treats every day like a 'National Put It In Your Mouth Day'....!'" Nox snorted derisively at his own words, who is he kidding? Like his kidney could support that kind of holiday.

Ripping the paper into shreds, he leaned back in his seat with a bitter smile. "Seriously, my life is turning into a hilariously bad sci-fi plot written by someone who just woke up from a drunken nap."

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Nox heard footsteps and looked over. 'It's still an hour before class… Who's so early?'

Due to yesterday's sleepless night he arrived at the academy early, hoping to get some fresh air to clear his mind. That's why he is so early.

Creak!

The door of the classroom and a figure walked in, Rather than walked in its appropriate to say it staggered in. The person who entered the room was a thin man, his shoulders hunched inward making his narrow malnourished frame even smaller. 

Dark bags sagged underneath his sunken, bloodshot eyes, the sclera tinged faintly yellow - a surefire sign he was running on fumes after too many sleepless nights. Stringy strands of lank, unwashed hair hung lifelessly around his hollow cheeks and pointy chin.

His chapped lips were slightly parted, tongue darting out to wet them subconsciously as his gaze roved the room but when Nox entered his vision, His lifeless eyes showed brilliant light.

"Nox, my soul mate! You're here!" The man hollered excitedly, flinging his arms open wide as he barreled towards Nox.

His clothes hung loosely from his bony frame, a stained wife beater clinging to his sunken chest while his threadbare sweatpants teetered precariously on his narrow hips, threatening to plummet at any sudden movement.

"Who the hell is your soulmate? You creepy bastard!" Nox shoved his chair back, not from fear but to put some healthy distance between them. A flicker of recognition passed over his face. 'What is this nutjob doing here...'

"Oh, don't be like that, Noxy!" The man closed in, his eyes blazing with an unsettling intensity that straddled the line between passion and instability. "Don't you remember our countless nights together? The games we played, just you and me?"

"What the absolute fuck, dude!" Nox recoiled, appalled. "First off, speak Human, not whatever deranged language that is. Second, you're putting out some seriously messed up vibes here. We just played some dumb virtual game together, that's it! Nothing more, you weirdo!"

"Right! Right!" The man nodded vigorously, a whimsical smile playing across his gaunt features. "But it wasn't just some dumb virtual game...it was our youth, Nox!" He clutched a bony hand to his sunken chest, eyes glistening with nostalgic yearning.

"Those halcyon days of whiling away the hours, just you, me... Remember that glorious summer we spent earning the 'Couchlock 5000' achievement by logging over 3,000 consecutive hours of gameplay? I still have the bedsores to prove it!" The man chuckled fondly, his eyes glazing over.

"Or how about the time we pulled that all-nighter fueled by soda and Pizza until we synced our brainwaves with the game's dank beat?" He let out a dreamy sigh. "We were so locked-in, I nearly got arrested when I tried to no-clip through my apartment door for more provisions." [AN: No-clip here means cheat code in some games that allows character to move through walls and solid objects freely. Here he was comically suggesting that he was so engrossed in the game world that he attempted to walk through his real apartment door as if using a no-clip cheat, to get food. ]

The man shook his head wistfully. "These kids today will never understand the transcendental bond we forged through those deliciously interactive experiences. Our connection transcends the physical, Nox! We are—"

"Dude." Nox cut him off, visibly cringing. "You're reading way too much into this. It was just a game, for fuck's sake. I think you need to log off and reintegrate with the actual world for a while."