AEGIS

Deep darkness shrouded the entirety of her perception. She could see nothing. Even a single glimpse of luster was nowhere to be found. She should have been panicking by now, but her heart was as still as a calm lake.

Was this what comes after death? Being embraced by the darkness, becoming tranquil with the void? Was this the afterlife? The abyss of nothingness where all consciousness meet its end?

She had many questions, all of whom assumed she had already met her death. Though obviously, such questions were wrong. As to begin with, she was far from dead. She was simply trapped under a seemingly deep and long slumber.

Am I right, Mercedes?

"W-What!!!" Mercedes opened her eyelids and immediately rose up from the cold wooden floor. Her sapphire-like eyes kept darting glances throughout the dark room. It was as if she had woken up from her coffin. A strange feeling of apathy covered her heart.

She didn't know what had happened to her. What came after she accepted the so-called second chance of that scam post? Why did she fall unconscious? Was she merely too tired that she began hallucinating for no reason?

"Don't tell me that was nothing more but a nightmare? Did I fall asleep while skimming the Internet without noticing it?"

Mercedes wondered if this was the sleep paralysis her online friends told her about. It was a unique phenomenon to go through if what happened to her was sleep paralysis. Anyhow, she couldn't believe that the nightmare was highly realistic.

'That nightmare felt like I was actually dead. I was different from sleeping. It felt long, cold, and silent.' Mercedes stood up from the cold floor and glanced at the computer screen. The words on the display had already disappeared as if they didn't exist.

Well, it might not have existed. The thing Mercedes had experienced might have been a part of her nightmare. Even so, Mercedes thought she had a chance to change her life. After all, it was a second chance. She didn't know what kind of chance it was.

But a second chance nonetheless.

"At least I didn't die." Mercedes couldn't help but likely chuckle. Despite being a failure and a loser to everyone, she wanted to continue existing in this world. She didn't want to leave it despite suffering within it.

While the embrace of the void was calming and free from pain, it wasn't the place that Mercedes wished to be in. Mercedes didn't want to lose all pain and have no problems. She wanted to have a good life in this world.

Quite a hypocrite, right? For someone too lazy to even correct her destructive behavior. For someone who disappointed her family by burying herself in her comfort zone. For someone like her to wish for a good life, she'll never get it unless she takes it for herself.

"*Sigh...* For some reason, I slightly feel that something or someone's cussing me now." Mercedes knew how much of a hypocrite she was. Though that didn't stop her from wishing a good life. Such was the reason why she wanted a second chance.

Before, Mercedes could continue thinking about herself after that semi-near-death experience. A monotone voice sounded throughout her head. It jolted her entire being as it was unexpected for her to hear a voice that wasn't hers.

[𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐞𝐝!]

[𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐄𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦, 𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐒]

She glances around in confusion while her eyebrows furrowed. She noticed that the sound didn't come from either of her ears. Its origin was inside her head. But how? Was she hallucinating again? Was her mental health this bad?

"Damn, don't tell me I'm slowly becoming crazy?" Mercedes didn't want to turn into one of those people who could hear some weird sh*t in their minds. She'd rather avoid such a fate if possible. Sadly, she'll be stuck with this fate for her entire life.

[𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞! 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.]

Her question was answered by the weird thing she heard inside her head. She looked around to see if anyone was trying to prank her. But who would prank a loser like her? She was someone who hadn't touched grass for a couple of months now.

"If this isn't some sort of a prank or me going crazy. Then, its only correlation is that nightmare." Mercedes rubbed her chin and continued. "Though, was that even a nightmare?"

The things she had experienced might not even be a nightmare. It might have been genuine, which explains the strange monotone voice inside her mind. Though another question arises, what is this monotone voice?

[𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]

"I won't bother remembering that name."

Mercedes replied as if she was talking to someone. The only difference was that someone was inside her head. At any rate, she was stumped, wondering what the monotone voice really was. It already gave its name or what it was, but what was it?

Was it some kind of alien parasitic creature that burrowed itself in her brain? Was it an interdimensional god messing with a lowly being such as her? Wait, why should she compare herself to those protagonists in the novels?

Mercedes shook her head, realizing she was correlating her experience to those she had read in the novel. What she was experiencing might be similar, but this was real. What was the goal of this creature? What does it want with her?

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐒 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞.]

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐒 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬.]

"Nah, there's no way you're doing it for free."

"The fact that you think you're doing it for free makes me suspicious. It would have been better if you wanted something from me." Mercedes knew that there were no such things as free. Everything has a price. People simply weren't aware of it.

[𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐒 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭?]

The reply of the monotone voice was enough to shut Mercedes's mouth. What can she give to the so-called AEGIS? Wealth? Power? Authority? She had none of that. With this realization, Mercedes gave a deep sigh and accepted it.

Suspicion would bring her to nowhere. It was better to realize her confusion by slowly and thoroughly investigating AEGIS. Being shocked by it would also not be good during the investigation. She also needed to accept it as a part of herself now.

'But how can I easily accept something inside my head? Isn't it creepy? I mean... Sure, in novels, they look and sound cool. However, this is more creepy than cool.' Mercedes's thoughts were raging inside her head.

The monotone voice didn't try to answer any of her thoughts. It perhaps knew that answering more of Mercedes's questions would create more questions instead. There was no use in doing something that didn't benefit Mercedes.

Five minutes later, Mercedes stood silently in the darkness. Her heart had calmed down, and her mind was as tranquil as before. Now that she had gathered herself, it was time to talk with the voice.

As she had clearly thought about it during the last five minutes, she realized that it was a cheat in this world. She might gain powers that were beyond this world's understanding.

"So, ehem... What kind of things can AEGIS do, ah... System Personal Assistant- ehh..." Mercedes had difficulty trying to utter the name of the monotone voice. The more she stalls for time to remember the voice's name, the more embarrassed she becomes.

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭]

"No, no, no... No need for a new name. I finally remember it now."

"Your name is the System Personal Assistant of Diagnostic and Examination... Well, that really is a long name." Mercedes realized that the monotone voice's name was too lengthy.

It would be problematic to talk if she had to pronounce that long-ass name every time she wanted to speak to the voice. So Mercedes realized that the assistant might need a new name. But what name should she give her?

Alice? Lily? Berta? Nah, too simple for someone that's from a real-life system. Mercedes kept thinking about a name. She wanted something good, and after a while of skimming through a name list inside her head. She noticed the implied name of the voice.

'System Personal Assistant of Diagnostic and Examination... SPADE, perhaps.' A genuine smile emerged on her face as if she had accomplished something good.

"Your new name will be Spade. It will be a pleasure working with you." Mercedes didn't know why she was radiating with energy, but it was like she had gained a new friend. Though, that friend was inside her head. It was still someone that she could talk to.

[𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞, 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐝𝐞.]

"Good!" Mercedes nodded with a proud expression. However, she remembered what she wanted to ask Spade. It was about the things the AEGIS could do. She knew not to throw too many expectations. After all, this system might be bound to reality.

It might not be able to do fantasy magic or give her powerful abilities that defy the laws of physics. But no matter what, this was a chance. Even if the only thing it could give her was knowledge, it was still a cheat in this world.

"Spade, can you tell me what AEGIS can do?" Mercedes questioned while preparing herself. She lowered her expectations down to the bottom. She wouldn't even be surprised if the AEGIS couldn't do anything other than talk to her about how much her expectation had been lowered.

Mercedes waited for an answer as her heart kept heavily thumping. She was anxious yet excited about what was to come. She wanted to know what AEGIS's capabilities were.

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐒 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.]

[𝐈𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐡 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬.]

[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭'𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝, 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐬.]

[𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬.]

[𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐒 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬.]

[𝐒𝐨 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬, 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐞𝐝.]

[𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐔𝐩 𝐈𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲?]

As grandiose words escaped Spade's declaration, Mercedes couldn't help but be appalled. Though, a smile of excitement took form on her face as four words escaped her supple mouth.

"Leveling Up In Real Life?"