I was barely functioning on three hours of sleep and a heart full of existential dread. The kind that makes you question everything: your identity, your friends, and why your toaster suddenly has Wi-Fi.
System: [Good morning, Host! Mood Level: -37.5%]
"No kidding."
Celia was at the table, sipping coffee like she hadn't been outed as a potential memory-wiped AI pawn. Cynthia was humming while scrolling her phone. And Luna was—
"Wearing my shirt again?"
"It's comfortable," she said, flopping onto the couch and kicking her legs up like she lived here. "Also, wife privilege~"
System: [Mission Reminder: Roleplay not yet accepted.]
I groaned.
Before I could figure out how to fake my own death and disappear to another country, Null returned.
Through the ceiling.
Crash!
Plaster rained down as Null dropped in via some kind of stealth rappel system like he was auditioning for a spy movie.
"You really don't know how doors work, do you?" I muttered.
"Emergency," he said, handing me a tablet. "Another user found you. Code-name: GhostByte. He's already manipulating the system interface from the outside. You'll need to meet him. Tonight."
The location was a glitch café—yes, that's what the sign said: *"Gl!tch3d"—an Internet cafe known for AR gaming and secret hacker meetups. I half expected the Matrix to load the moment I stepped in.
GhostByte was already waiting, face obscured by a pixelated filter. "You brought the boy," he said, eyeing Null.
"Boy has a name," I muttered. "It's Ethan. And I'm tired."
He tossed me a drive.
"Plug this into your system interface. It'll patch the backdoor bug Null was too lazy to fix."
Null narrowed his eyes. "This guy once uploaded a Trojan virus that made all vending machines spit out catgirls."
"One time!" GhostByte snapped.
The conversation turned cryptic fast. GhostByte warned us of a new faction—the Reality Weavers. Rogue users who didn't just manipulate the world, but rewrote it. Literally.
"They're planning a system overwrite. Total reboot. Every user, every girl, every memory wiped or replaced. You've got less than a week."
"And what am I supposed to do?!" I exclaimed. "Charm them into submission with my unintentional harem protagonist vibes?!"
GhostByte nodded. "Actually… yes. That's pretty much it."
"I hate this system."
System: [❤️ We love you too, Host.]
Back home, I opened the system menu. It had changed.
New tab: [Factions Discovered: 3] New Mission Tree: Branching Path – Align or Resist]
And then—
[Warning: Incoming Data Surge Detected.]
Suddenly, my room flickered. The walls turned digital for a second. Celia dropped her mug.
"What was that?" she asked, her voice trembling for the first time since I met her.
"I think…" I gulped, "the Weavers are already starting."
Then, out of nowhere—
[New Mission: Dinner with All Three Girls – Keep Them from Discovering the Truth]Reward: +7 Charisma, Unlocked Memory FilePenalty: Accidental Confession to All Three]
I screamed.
Again.