Countdown

Daniel just tried calling, and the result was that his system responded to him. Touching the black screen that was floating in front of him, Daniel's arm directly passed through as if touching the air. 

'It seems that this system exists in the form of a 3D projection. I wonder if anyone else besides me can see it.'

"Is there anyone other than me who can see the system screen, D?"

[Master, you are the only one who can own and see the system.]

"Oh, so that means other system owners, too?"

[Yes, according to the data, players who own the system cannot observe other players' systems.]

[And you also do not own the world's common system like them, so no one will be able to see and recognize that you own the system.]

Daniel finally felt a little relieved. As long as the system owners didn't know and didn't come looking for him, he would still have time to develop and protect himself. 

"System, can you show me the player rankings or information related to the system owners?"

[Of course, master. Loading global player rankings…]

[Data successfully loaded. Click to view details...]

Daniel lightly touched the void, and a ranking list appeared before him. His finger lightly swept through the air, and each name, each code, and each dungeon completion score appeared.

The ranking was arranged based on a player's dungeon completion score.

And of course, a non-player like Daniel did not appear on the ranking list, even if he scrolled to the end, his name would still not appear.

'It seems like I really won't be participating in dungeons as a player. So what am I?'

"System, if I successfully clear many dungeons, will I be able to appear on the rankings?"

[Yes! Of course. This is a player ranking based on the completion rate of the dungeon. There is still another ranking for players, this ranking is what most players rely on for comparison. It is the ranking of a person's total parameters.]

'Ah... I see, being strong doesn't mean having a high clearing rate and vice versa.'

"So I haven't entered the rankings yet?"

[Yes, you haven't cleared the beginner dungeon yet, so you can't enter the rankings yet.]

[And you can only go up to the dungeon clearing rate ranking. Because your identity and role in the game are completely different.]

[Normal players will have rules and tasks that they must follow to complete the dungeon, but you are a tourist. You can do whatever you want during this trip and can return at any time.]

[Of course, within the framework of not breaking the game rules.]

"How do I clear the game's dungeons and get points on the leaderboard?"

[There are two ways to clear the dungeons. One is to survive until the end of the game time. The other is to decipher all the secrets or kill the mastermind behind the game's plot.]

"So what if I survive and leave before the end of the game time?"

[You still get points.]

"Oh? Then isn't it just a matter of time before I reach the top of the rankings?"

"System, did you choose me to show off? Or to attract others to kill me?"

[The system will never do anything disadvantageous to you. The higher the ranking, the more valuable the gifts from the system will be.]

'That sounds fine, but if you give me a position that I'm not qualified for, isn't it the same as telling me to hold a bomb?'

Looking at the clock, Daniel realized that it was time to enter the game instance. He was only a few minutes away from entering the game space, this feeling was a bit like preparing to be executed. 

Daniel also didn't know what the game that the system mentioned as a trip was like, he only knew that he was different from others and it wasn't safe.

So in this instance, he would probably have to deal with both the players and the game. 

Although the system said that leaving in the middle of the game would still count for points, it was clear that if there was any impact on the instance, the benefits would be greater.

If he wanted a chance, he would have to take the risk.

Daniel immediately stood up to prepare before entering the dungeon. He didn't do much, just simply wrote a message to his mother.

On the white paper, there were only a few simple messages, the content only said that he had to do an internship at a hospital far from the city, so it would take a long time.

He wasn't sure if anything dangerous could happen, he just knew that if he disappeared, they would still know the fake reason he made up to make them feel at ease.

He didn't have much affection for his family or care about them. It was just that if there were so many people in the world who owned systems that ordinary people had never heard of or known about, then there must be a problem. It was better to let his mother not say anything and not know about it.

That was also a way to keep trouble from coming, and a way to keep others from investigating his true identity and past.

'Even if I suddenly disappeared from the world, she wouldn't care. It's just that if she makes a big deal out of it and someone gets suspicious, it'll be troublesome for someone to investigate.'

After writing the text, the countdown timer on his phone also returned to zero. The system immediately appeared.

[The waiting time for the trip has ended!]

[The trip will start in 5 seconds...]

[4...]

[3...]

Daniel calmly looked at the notification. Besides being nervous, he was actually looking forward to the trip that the system mentioned. Since he wasn't participating as a player, what he was and what he would do were all things worth looking forward to.

[2...]

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