System update

At this point, my life was a joke.

One minute, I was ready to live the quiet, side-character life of my dreams. The next, I was getting blackmailed by a floating emoji with an attitude problem.

And now, I had to make a choice: Sell my soul to a suspicious system or let my little sister become Loki's new chew toy.

Yeah. Not exactly the kind of moral dilemma I was hoping for.

I narrowed my eyes at the smug face on my screen. "How do I know you'll actually keep your side of the deal?" I asked, my voice sharp enough to cut steel.

The emoji's grin widened. "You don't. That's the fun part."

I was this close to smashing the laptop against the wall when it spoke again.

"That's what I like to see," it said, voice dripping with amusement. "That fire in your eyes, that rage... But let's be honest here—you can't do shit."

I clenched my fists.

"It's simple," the system continued, now sounding downright aggressive. "It's you or your sister. No 'ifs' or 'buts.'"

I gritted my teeth. I knew I didn't have a choice. There was no way I could just sit back while my sister, Alice, got dragged into whatever twisted game Loki was playing.

"Fine," I muttered.

The emoji's eyes gleamed. Hook, line, and sinker.

It was clearly proud of itself. Meanwhile, I was just trying not to commit war crimes against a laptop.

I clicked the Enter button.

Before the system could celebrate, I leaned in and whispered, "If any harm comes to my sister, you'll pay for it."

The system didn't even flinch. If anything, it looked... amused.

The screen flickered as the loading bar filled up. Then—

BOOM.

A blinding light engulfed the laptop, and in its place, a tiny ghost girl hovered above my desk. She looked like one of those chibi anime mascots—small, floaty, and way too smug for her size.

"Aaaah~" she stretched. "It's been forever since I've had a body."

She floated over to me and smirked. "Nice doing business with you."

I immediately regretted every decision I had ever made.

The System Has No Chill

"So," the system-girl said, still hovering over my desk. "What do you want to see first?"

"You could start by deleting yourself out of existence," I replied.

She cackled.

I was not joking.

Ignoring me completely, she clapped her tiny hands together. "Okay! Let's check your stats."

I groaned, running a hand down my face. "Fine. But first, you're actually going to help my sister, right?"

"Oh, about that…" She twirled a lock of her floating hair. "I was just kidding. She was already under protection the whole time. Since you signed Loki's contract, no one can touch her. I physically can't kill anyone, so… yeah. It was all a bluff."

Silence.

"…Excuse me?"

The system gave me a lazy smile.

I stared at her. My vision turned red.

I swung my fist—

And missed completely.

My hand went straight through her ghostly body like she was made of mist.

"Aw, look at you," she giggled. "So full of rage, yet so powerless."

I took a deep breath.

Then another.

Then I stormed out before I did something that would haunt me for life.

The system tilted her head, watching me go. "Huh," she muttered. "He's kinda weird."

I needed to calm down.

Badly.

So instead of heading straight to the dining hall, I took a detour. I figured exploring the academy might help me forget the fact that I just got scammed by an AI.

Stellar Hunter Academy was even bigger in person than in the game. Massive stone buildings, towering statues of legendary hunters, glowing torches that never went out—it was an RPG nerd's dream.

Eventually, I found myself in an empty classroom.

And that's when I saw her.

Slumped over a desk, completely asleep, was Olivia.

Meet Olivia: The Most Powerful Useless Person Alive

Olivia was one of the strongest characters in the game.

In theory.

In practice, she was a walking disappointment.

She had insane magic power, a combat talent that rivaled the protagonists, and the ability to crush monsters that most students couldn't even scratch.

The problem?

She was lazy as hell.

She had no stamina, no motivation, and no desire to do anything except nap in random places she deems okay

Honestly, I found her existence offensive.

I sighed. What a waste of potential.

I turned to leave—

"Time?"

I froze.

Her voice was soft, slow, and incredibly sleepy. She didn't even say a full sentence. Just "Time?"

I cautiously backed up, trying not to provoke her. "Uh… almost dinner time."

Olivia stretched. Then, without a word, a pool of black liquid formed beneath her.

Before I could react, she sank into it like it was quicksand.

And just like that, she was gone.

I stared at the empty desk.

"…What the hell just happened?"

I'd had enough exploration for one day.

As I made my way back to the dining hall, my thoughts lingered on Olivia.

She had so much potential. She could have been one of the strongest in the world. But because of her own laziness, she never even tried.

It reminded me of… well, me.

Back in the real world, I'd try to take responsibility for looking after my sister . I worked hard . I convinced myself to put in all I have into what I do. But I always failed.

And now, Loki's words echoed in my head.

"I can help you unlock your potential… if you agree to play a game with me."

I clenched my fists.

For the first time since arriving here, I made a decision.

I wasn't going to end up like Olivia.

I wasn't going to waste my potential.

I wasn't going to be a failure

If I was stuck in this world, I might as well reach go all out.

Meanwhile…

Unbeknownst to me, the system watched everything from inside me.

Floating in the depths of my mind, she smirked.

"Heh. Now we're cooking ," she whispered.

Then she vanished, leaving me alone with my thoughts as I finally reached the dining hall.