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"You look like you're scrambling for words…" He sighed and then looked up again, his tone a lot brighter. "You don't have to say anything, Edward. I appreciate you listening."

[Ding! You have learned the final backstory!]

[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the Quest]

Did that really count…

Even though Ray had told me about himself, all it did was completely change my perception of him. I thought I knew about him less now than I did yesterday.

What kind of things must have happened to make him like this? How was he still able to keep his grades and friendship strong despite working on the side, his family situation. How did he end up becoming a person like this?

Sometimes learning of people's pasts could do that too.

It could fill you with many more questions than you would have thought of before.

He was just a cool guy in my head till now, I knew very little about him.

How strange…

"Oh, we can see the station. I'll take it from here, Edward."

Ray skipped ahead and turned back, waving at me.

"I'll see you in class tomorrow," he said. 

"Yeah! See you there…"

I stood in place and watched him walk into the distance.

My head was muddled with thoughts. Through all this, I had also become curious about the senior now.

But, more than that, there was one thought that stood out.

How… could I use this experience in my stories? 

I had no idea. The truth was, I was still an amateur. 

If there was no way to use it in my tales…

"I'll at least learn to be a better person."

Not someone insensitive, but someone who could lend an ear or a hand. That would be a good way to repay both of their trusts, right?

[That's right.] The silent system seemed to agree. [Become a better person. That is the easiest way to become a better writer.]

I finally sighed, stretching my hands above my head as I made my way home.

Hearing about all of them had left me with more questions. Maybe it was a sign of closeness? It would be alright to call them good friends now.

Especially Ray, that was unexpected.

"Is there going to be more strange stuff like this, system?"

[Is the common human experience strange for you, host? Everyone has encounters like these.]

"Why does it feel special?"

[Because you looked at them upfront for the first time…]

Everyone had experiences and encounters like these. These small, seemingly insignificant words from others came in everyone's lives.

I might have just nodded at their tales a few months back. No, I had probably done so before as well. But this time, those insignificant words had become impactful backstories for me.

"There sure is a lot to learn…"

Didn't I say it earlier? There are sometimes those days where things just keep going on, over and over.

A single day ends up feeling like weeks, new events arise and come into your life like dominoes falling over.

Today too was that kind of day.

And that kind of day hadn't finished yet.

I pulled out my phone on the way back, and an email notification was waiting for me.

{From: Novel Acquisitions (Snack Novel)

Subject: Re: Novel Submission for Premium Partner Program

Thank you for your pitch regarding 'REVERSAL' for the program. Unfortunately, we do not think your work is a right match for this program.}

Yeah...