Nighttime had fallen, and Mikeal was sleeping all by himself in his room. Actually, sleeping was the wrong word to describe his current state. He was busy tossing and turning, unsure of how to get a full, good night's rest. He even changed sleeping positions multiple times, just trying to find the right one.
The room was completely dark. The only thing that was on—but not that bright—was the clock next to him. The time displayed was 3:00 AM in the middle of the night.
Something was really bothering him, and he was unfortunate enough to remember it all—hence, tormenting his own mind.
It was still the first day at the academy, and when the sun rose, it would mark his first day attending classes and training for his new role in the military as a First Liner.
Usually, things like being assigned a role in the academy were procedures that took time and were thoroughly processed. But when it came to him and the others, they were automatically handed the position—just like that. They were simply First Liners, and starting from morning, they were going to be training for their first mission—though the timing of that mission was still unclear.
But it wasn't just those thoughts running through his mind. Indeed, they were part of it—but not the real reason behind his tossing and turning and insomnia. Something else bothered him deeply. Something he couldn't bear to think about.
His day had already started off badly. He lost his family picture. His best friend was now suspicious of him, sensing he was hiding something—something even he didn't fully understand.
And to make things even worse, his rival was going to be his teammate. The very same rival who was hell-bent on taking revenge for what had happened on their last day of school.
So, in short, it was all getting too much for him. And honestly, who could blame him? He was just a simple guy.
Mikeal kicked the sheets off and stared at the ceiling, gazing into the abyss. Then the real reason keeping him up popped back into his mind.
Mikeal started to recall the conversation he had earlier with Hector during lunch at the cafeteria.
---
"Hey, Hector, what do you know about systems?" Mikeal tried to pick his brain.
"Systems?" Hector looked confused.
"Yeah," Mikeal responded.
"Oh—you mean game systems?" Hector assumed.
"Sure, let's say game systems. Are you familiar with them?" Mikeal asked, looking at his food with disgust.
"Well, it depends on what kind of game system we're talking about. Either the board system inside video games, or the game and its system itself. So, which one are you referring to?" Hector replied, busy chowing down his meal.
Mikeal sighed. Hector might've been one of the smartest people he knew—if not the only one—but his questions were so precise that even Mikeal's vagueness confused him.
Mikeal took a deep breath and tried to explain to Hector, who was as lost as ever.
"Man, I don't know much about systems, but let's say it's a gaming system that tells you what to do and gives you rewards afterward. Do you get what I mean?"
Hector suddenly perked up, clearly interested in what Mikeal was saying. He stopped eating and leaned in. His face lit up with excitement. Hector might have been a genius, but deep down, he was still a total nerd—and discovering that someone else at the academy might like video games was like a dream come true.
"Okay, now if we're talking about systems, then from a player's POV, it usually grants them the ability to live by the system's rules and guidance—making them the main character in the whole game. Let's talk about a zombie-infested game."
Hector really got into it. He explained the whole process just to help Mikeal understand better. He described how a player who fends off zombies is always guided by a system—telling them how many zombies to kill, what kind of weapons to use, and other such details.
After Hector's detailed explanation, Mikeal felt a bit of relief. Everything Hector said just made sense. It all aligned with what he was experiencing. Suddenly, the whole system thing felt less chaotic.
Mikeal's facial expression shifted in a way Hector had never seen before.
"Okay, I know I don't know you that well—but what's with the smile?" Hector asked, a little freaked out.
"Don't worry, it's nothing. It's just... I understand things a little better now," Mikeal said.
He had forgotten how bad the pizza tasted, so he took another bite. He immediately spit it out faster than a race car on a track—the taste was awful. He reached for the soda but remembered that it tasted just as bad. Then, he reached for Hector's water.
"Are you gonna finish that?" he asked.
Hector eyed Mikeal's plate.
"Here, help yourself," Mikeal said, handing over the food.
Hector dove in like he hadn't eaten all day, completely forgetting they were in public. The funny part was, to him, the food tasted perfectly fine. In his words:
"It was the best food he'd ever tasted."
So Hector asked:
"Why do you say your food tastes so awful?"
"Well, maybe you don't notice because of the way you're eating, but to me—it just tastes like nothing," Mikeal answered.
"Okay… since you say that it tastes awful, then what exactly does taste like food to you?" Hector was now intrigued.
Mikeal thought about it. Then he remembered when the food first started tasting off—back when the system gave him an order to eat raw meat.
"Now that I think about it... I like raw meat."
"Raw meat? Yuck! What are you, a cannibal?" Hector joked.
They both had a blast earlier that day. Honestly, it was the most fun Mikeal had had in forever. But the comment about being a cannibal did bother him… just a little.
Before they returned to their rooms, Mikeal asked:
"Uhm, hey Hec… since we're going to face cannibals, where can I find more knowledge about them?"
"Eh, I think the best place would be the archives room," Hector replied.
---
Mikeal woke up from his insomnia and went to the archives room in the middle of the night. There, he sifted through every archive until he found a file labeled "The Truth About Cannibals."
Mikeal decided to play the file. He lowered the volume and watched.
The archive video explained everything about the cannibals—how they came to be the monsters they were. Mikeal was a bit relieved to discover that he didn't have most of the common symptoms of the virus. But one thing he did have in common with them was that food tasted tasteless, and he had frequent, unexplainable memory blackouts.
Still… those weren't exactly unheard-of symptoms. So, he didn't give it too much thought.
But while watching the video—specifically the image slides—Mikeal began to feel a sudden headache. A kind of pain he had never felt before.
There was a ringing in his ears. His head throbbed violently—if throbbing was even the right word. He collapsed, and a flood of memories washed over him.
He remembered what had actually happened to him during the test… and what the system had told him to do. He remembered what he did—something he wasn't proud of.
Then, he also remembered the day he was running from Griffin… and a low-grade cannibal. His memory had been scrambled—but now it was clear.
He had been attacked.
And bitten.
After some time, the headache stopped. He returned to normal and sat back down, finding himself exactly where he had been before the pain struck.
The video was over.
As much as he didn't want to remember… as much as he hoped it wasn't true… Mikeal felt a sting on his shoulder.
The exact place he'd been bitten.
And then he remembered.
"Oh no… no way. It's not possible. I don't have the symptoms. Which means—"
A familiar sound interrupted him.
[Ding]
[You have gained more knowledge about the system]
[10 EXP received]
[15/100 EXP]
"I couldn't possibly be..."
"I was turned."