The nightly street lights flickered onto the paved pathways weaving through Agriche like the threads of a spider's web. Kristina and I coursed through the roads with heavy feet and heavier sighs, strangely though, my mind wasn't running as rampant with thought as I thought it would.

Soon, we made the turns leading to the cafeteria at the central parts of the campus. To neither of our surprise, the cafeteria was closed.

We stared at the sealed doors for a few seconds.

"Hm..."

Then, we walked away from the cafeteria and went further down into the central plaza. The enormous structures surrounding us that would usually be bustling with activity were quiet and dark, and the clear sky above was quickly being covered by gray clouds.

We eventually found ourselves at a vending machine in a slightly obscure alleyway. Kristina quietly sat down at the edge of the road while I scanned my watch at the vending machine, it was almost out of power. The vending machine rolled out two cans of cold coffee and a bag of chips. I grabbed them and tossed one can at Kristina before sitting down next to her.

I opened the bag of chips and held it between us as she opened her coffee. Kristina then took the bag from my hand while I opened my own can of coffee.

-Pssh

The compressed air danced out of the can with a soft noise.

***

The Green Wolves Dormitory's gates were unmanned as usual, I pushed them open and stepped inside my current home after three whole days. Just as I was about to cross the yard, long black hair tightened into a braid entered my sight.

Wearing a black hanfu with red lacings, Jin Xuefeng, my dormmate, was meditating under the night sky. A long mat was spread out below him as he controlled his breathing, his fingers resting on each other and his thumbs raised to form a ring around his core.

Jin Xuefeng slowly opened his eyes and looked at me with a faint smile. "Sir Ralph, it has been a while."

I nodded at his words. "Sure has," I said.

A brief bout of silence filled the space between us.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Oh, it's just some cultivation. It's a special type of meditation from my homeland we use to develop our strength." Jin Xuefeng's widened when I showed interest.

"Is that so? That sounds cool."

"It is! We have practiced this ancient technique for ages now!" Jin Xuefeng maintained his impeccable form. "there are also many different ways to perform it to develop your stats and attributes alongside your abilities."

"If you don't mind, would you teach me someday? Just the basics?"

His smile grew even wider and had become a complete grin now. "Yes! I would love to!"

I left my friend to his meditation and walked inside the dormitory, climbing up the stairs and getting to the first floor.

I was still hungry.

The door to my room swung open. The bleak walls and the empty desk had started emitting a familiar feel in just a week of moving in here. With a sigh, I opened up the windows and let some fresh air in.

***

The sound of water hitting the floor filled my ears as I rinsed off all the grime, dirt, and sweat from the last three days in the bath. I first used shampoo and rinsed my hair before using the soap for the rest of my body.

{Hey host...}

"Yeah?"

{What do you think will happen now?}

The water was a tad too cold, so I moved the meter to a slightly higher temperature toward the 'hot' sign. "Whatever does, I'll handle it all."

{Is that so...?}

I smelled my arm and hair. Hm, this much was fine.

The soft towel pushed against my skin as I quickly dried myself off and wrapped it around my waist and walked back into my room. My gaze shifted out the window to see it had started drizzling.

I reluctantly closed the windows and turned on the air-conditioner in my room. After changing into a baggy set of track pants and a loose white t-shirt, I dusted off my bed and jumped on it. I rolled around the bed from left to right before stopping on one side. The duvet snuggly covered my body as I shoved my face into the pillow.

{Host...}

"What?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

{Do you... trust me? I mean what I said, but do you accept it?}

The system's window popped up in front of my eyes anyway, so there was no need to move from the comfortable position I had found on the bed.

"What are you saying?" I muttered, "Of course, I don't. Not one bit."

But it was powerless. I had already died once, though I didn't know how that worked, unless I died again, the system wouldn't be able to do anything. Considering its uselessness, though, could it even do anything?

{Hah... right. Why would you trust me? I say big words and talk about dreams, but in the end, I am just a useless system. Just a stupid F-Ranked who can't do anything}

Ah, it made a mistake. "It's stupid, perverted, F-Ranked."

{Right... Stupid, perverted, F-Ranked system... why would you trust me?}

I ignored the system's window as my eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Still, I couldn't help but recall Damian's words.

A system pulled you out of the deepest pits of despair.

In a way, it had done just that.

No, not in a way. This stupid, perverted, F-Ranked system had pulled me out of my deepest pits of despair.

The pits of stagnancy, of self-doubt, and pity.

Thinking things were for the best, thinking that was how things should have been, thinking the only way ahead for me was to give up.

It pulled me out of that pit, this thing.

How ironic.

"You know, system," I said, my eyes closed. "I don't trust you. You are stupid, and perverted, and useless... You are, but you don't have to stay that way...

I do, but I don't have to keep doubting you..."

Maybe the system said something in return, maybe it didn't. I was too tired to open my eyes to see it.

"Goodnight," I said, leaving myself in the hands of sweet slumber.

.

.

.

{... Goodnight.}