The Second Proposal

The next morning, Darius Noctis woke up early and got busy with his usual job of selling hủ tiếu. Yesterday, he had asked Zentharis Lam and Hao Trinh about some important things to keep in mind. In reality, there wasn't much—just act like a normal street vendor, and everything should be fine.

But there was one huge problem.

This damn world wasn't normal. It was a magical world!

What the hell was this place?! There were even people with superpowers?! Was this world abnormal, or was he the only one who didn't belong here?!

Yesterday, he had witnessed Zentharis Lam summon a massive fireball as large as a house with his bare hands—almost setting his food cart on fire. Meanwhile, that chubby-looking Hao Trinh, who seemed harmless, could manipulate the ground to create stone shields for protection. The funniest part was that when Hao Trinh demonstrated his ability, he looked like a fat turtle shrinking into its shell.

Darius Noctis felt that this world was completely out of control. As a mere street vendor, his best bet was to stay put in this small town. Running around like those maniacs would probably get him killed in no time.

By noon, after finishing his business, he sat back in a folding chair—freshly made by a local carpenter. One hand held a cigarette, while the other gently stroked Meow, the cat curled up in his lap.

This life was a disaster.

He had zero magical abilities, aside from having a slightly sturdy build.

Just imagining Zentharis Lam's flames burning him alive… not even five seconds and he'd be a crispy corpse. But staying put wasn't an option either.

Zentharis Lam, Hao Trinh, and Van Bien all thought he was a traveler—someone experienced in surviving the wild. They assumed he would leave in a few days. If he didn't, they would bother him endlessly until he gave in.

He wasn't stupid—he knew Zentharis Lam was trying to lure him to the royal palace. As for Hao Trinh, that fat bastard was always trying to dig up information about him. The longer he stayed, the more he feared his secret would be exposed.

If that happened, he'd probably end up being experimented on—a fate worse than death.

Staying wasn't an option. Leaving was even worse.

He knew nothing about the outside world.

Can I just apologize? Please? Screw dignity, he just wanted to stay alive.

"Let me stay here! I heard there's a ton of monsters out there! Are you seriously expecting this old man to survive?!" —Darius Noctis screamed in his mind.

"Where the hell is Annoying As Shit?! Get out here! What kind of dogshit world did you send me to?!"

With no one around at noon, Darius Noctis pulled out his phone and yelled at the damn AI.

[Ding!]

[Annoying As Shit is online. The device owner is advised to calm down under the scorching midday sun.]

A vein popped on Darius Noctis' forehead. He was so pissed he almost smashed his phone—but held back.

Breaking it would mean losing his only source of information.

"Tell me, **how the hell am I supposed to survive in this shitty place?!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As he spoke, Darius hammered a few wooden planks together. That morning, he had ordered some wooden boards from the town's carpenter. The old man even gave him a few extra planks, asking only for a bowl of hủ tiếu to take home for his son.

[Annoying As Shit was unable to respond yesterday because the device owner disabled automatic alerts. Now that the device owner has summoned Annoying As Shit, a response can be provided.]

"Next time, just get to the damn point! Why do you always talk so much?" Darius sighed in frustration.

[Understood.]

"..."

"..."

"...Why the hell did you go silent?!" Darius was dumbfounded.

[Annoying As Shit is analyzing the device owner's speech pattern.]

"For what?"

[To help the device owner understand his own annoying behavior.]

"So you're saying I'm annoying?!"

"Yeah?! You're goddamn right I am! Now hurry up and answer me, you damn AI!"

[Analysis complete. Annoying As Shit has decided not to adopt the device owner's speech pattern. It is too rude and lacks basic respect for others. Instead, Annoying As Shit will adopt the speech style of Zentharis Lam—polite, refined, and respectful. Unlike the device owner, who verbally assaults others.]

"You really know how to piss people off, Annoying As Shit…" Darius gritted his teeth, clenching his wooden mallet so hard that the handle snapped in half.

"Fine! You win! Just hurry up and talk!"

[Based on two days of energy analysis, Annoying As Shit has determined that the device owner has a 98% chance of dying if he wanders outside human-safe zones.]

"Oh, fantastic. What happened to all that 'supporting me in my new life' bullshit? How am I supposed to survive with a death rate equal to suicide?!"

"What the hell is a 'safe zone' anyway?"

[Over the past two days, Annoying As Shit has deployed several scouting bots—small insect-like machines—to gather intelligence on the town. By analyzing various conversations among the locals, preliminary assessments have been made.]

"Just get to the damn point."

[Current Location: Phucloc Town, Kingdom of Lupterna, situated in the southern region of the Eldorneast supercontinent.]

[Safe Zones (Estimated): Areas with human settlements such as towns and cities.]

[Danger Zones (Estimated): Uncharted primal forests untouched by human civilization. Only powerful Mages and bounty hunters dare venture into these areas.]

[Orange Zones (Estimated): Borderlands between safe and danger zones. Occasionally, beasts far stronger than ordinary humans may appear, posing significant threats.]

[Safe route to the next destination: Unable to calculate due to lack of information.]

[Proposal 1: Remain in your current location until further data is gathered on a safe travel route.]

[Proposal 2: The device owner may choose survival mode. The system will provide various options to assist survival in this situation.]

[In case the device owner is unaware: Many people have been sent to explore new worlds for thousands of years. With the advancement of technology, survival tools are now highly developed and optimized to the finest details. They can assist the device owner in adapting to even the harshest environments. The device owner does not need to worry about survival.]

After hearing Annoying As Shit's explanation, Darius Noctis sat there, stunned. He silently pondered over the two proposals from the AI.

If he chose the first option, he would have to stay here until enough information was gathered about a safe passage to another region. Living just for the sake of survival, like a machine without purpose—he had already been through that countless times before.

If he chose the second option, the system would provide him with certain choices—but what exactly those choices were, he had no idea.

His original plan was to stay put, but the arrival of Hao Trinh and Zentharis Lam had completely shattered that plan. As mentioned before, he couldn't stay here because of those two. At the same time, heading deeper into the Kingdom of Lupterna would expose him to Zentharis Lam's network of informants.

At night, when he slept, he always felt like he was being watched. It was extremely uncomfortable. His instincts told him that whoever was watching him was related to Zentharis Lam.

"If I choose the first option, how long will it take for you to finish the analysis? And what the hell are these scouting bots? Why haven't I seen them? Are they in the car?"

[Calculating…]

As soon as Darius Noctis asked, a tiny beetle landed on his fingertip. Upon closer inspection, the small metallic insect had eyes that moved like a camera lens.

Then, he understood.

He watched as the beetle-like bot fluttered its wings and flew toward the back of his food cart. Following its movement, he noticed a small square compartment inside his vehicle, resembling a mini honeycomb nest.

Darius Noctis' face darkened.

He suddenly recalled the man who sold him this cart—the guy's expression had looked suspicious, as if he were scheming something.

At the time, it was just a gut feeling.

Now?

He had definitely bought something heavily modified.

[Analysis complete. Estimated time for route calculation: One year.]

[Based on Annoying As Shit's assessment, this town is an isolated settlement near the border of the Kingdom of Lupterna. Information is limited. The system recommends asking Zentharis Lam for details—this would be a more efficient approach.]

"Forget it. Talking to him any longer and I'll spill everything. Conversing with him is like digging my own grave. Do you know how many times I almost slipped up?"—Darius Noctis sighed.

Yesterday, when speaking with Zentharis Lam, he felt like he was being interrogated. That guy was constantly probing, as if one small mistake would completely expose him.

A person like Zentharis Lam was someone Darius Noctis absolutely wanted to avoid.

He was grateful for the man's help, but deep down, he couldn't shake the feeling that Zentharis Lam had ulterior motives.

Even though he had nothing valuable to offer, his gut told him that Zentharis Lam wasn't helping out of pure goodwill.

Maybe it was paranoia.

Maybe it was because he had nearly been killed by Zentharis Lam's men when the guy first revealed his true identity.

[Proposal 2 involves completing tasks to earn device privileges.]

"What does that mean?"

[The system will issue various tasks. The device owner must complete them within a specified time. Rewards will be sent directly via spatial transfer.]

"What kind of rewards are we talking about? Will they actually help me survive out there?"—Darius Noctis asked.

[Of course.]

[Standard rewards include personal items, primitive weapons, and various supplies from other worlds. The system will ensure that all items are compatible with this world to prevent disruption to its balance.]

[As a result, firearms and highly advanced weapons (such as futuristic laser-based weaponry) will be restricted. However, advanced protective gear is available to ensure the device owner's safety. All additional details from the main system have been relayed.]

"So I can only defend myself? Well… better than dying, I guess. Fine, I'll take Proposal 2."—Darius Noctis agreed.

[Annoying As Shit must confirm with the system one final time: The device owner agrees to select Proposal 2 and will undertake various missions?]

[Reminder: Some missions may require the device owner to do things they don't want to do. However, these tasks are for the device owner's benefit, so the system will enforce penalties for incomplete missions.]

"Penalties? What kind of penalties?"—Darius Noctis narrowed his eyes.

[Future rewards will have lower quality. Alternatively, the system may issue… "less useful" items.]

"So, you're saying if I fail, you'll dump garbage on me?"—Darius Noctis tapped his phone's screen repeatedly in frustration.

TAP. TAP. TAP.

He pressed too hard.

A crack appeared across his screen protector.

"Ah, shit…"

This world was a damn nightmare.

Darius Noctis sighed heavily, staring at the town's quiet streets.

He was trapped.