The System of Earth

I was just as flabbergasted as she was. There were two reasons for this.

The first reason was Mo Hae-in.

Mo Hae-in was a major character in the Archive universe, which connected the Creator's various games.

The Archive was a story that began when a sudden catastrophe befell Earth.

At midnight on February 29th, Korean Standard Time (KST), a meteor shower rained down over the entire world.

It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a meteor shower that had gone completely undetected by astronomical observatories.

The sudden meteor shower was like a festival of light. Humanity marveled at the beautiful spectacle, but...

...it was a disaster sent from the cosmos.

The disasters that crashed onto Earth hatched in random orders and forms, creating pocket dimensions of alternate realities.

These spaces, which resembled other worlds, were governed by rules strikingly similar to video games.

They were structured like games where you had to gather items and complete quests to clear them.

If a space wasn't cleared within a certain time limit, the disaster would detonate, mutating the surrounding area into the exact same form as the disaster itself.

It would spread an infectious virus that mutated both living and non-living things alike.

It was a literal catastrophe, utterly inexplicable by modern science.

Humans regarded these extraterrestrial disasters as trials from God, naming them Trials.

Along with the hatching of these Trials, humans also began to awaken special talents.

Individuals emerged who could see system windows.

They were called Adaptors, and they could clear Trials by utilizing the system windows.

In the Archive universe, the player awakens as an Adaptor and enters various Trials.

The premise was that you played a different genre of game every time you entered a new Trial.

Mo Hae-in was a soldier belonging to the Trial Response Agency, an external bureau under the South Korean Ministry of National Defense.

As an elite of the Sidae Agency, Captain Mo Hae-in would appear inside Trials to assist the player, or show up at the end to converse with them.

I couldn't help but be shocked to see a character I had only ever seen in pixel art now breathing and moving right in front of my eyes.

And the second reason: the system window.

Staring at the system window emitting a hazy glow, I recalled the last thing I had seen right before losing consciousness.

A message visible only to the Adaptors of the Archive.

The entity commonly referred to as the "System," which guided quests and provided various notifications within the Trials.

I'm that System...?

This was something I had never experienced once, despite playing countless games within the Archive.

Nothing made sense, but there was one highly plausible theory.

Perhaps I had been transported inside the game...

Like the classic game possession trope so common in subculture web novels.

The headache that had barely subsided began to throb again at the overwhelming situation.

For now, I ignored the suspiciously glowing registration window. I couldn't just blindly register her without knowing what it even meant.

As I continued to ignore it, the registration window slid out of sight on its own.

Just when I thought it was finally gone, a new window suddenly popped up.

...What kind of crazy bullshit is this?

After checking the system window, I did my absolute best to maintain a straight face.

While I struggled not to let any strange expression slip, I heard voices conversing nearby.

"Second Lieutenant Park, there weren't any entry requests for HasPack, right?"

"Absolutely none, ma'am. I checked multiple times."

"Then he must be a civilian."

Clack, clack. Mo Hae-in stared at me while flexing her claw hand.

Attached to her left arm was a plastic toy arm.

The toy arm, equipped with a claw hand like a claw machine, was an item obtainable in the Happy Smile Factory—and the very thing that had just been choking me.

Between the system window that had hovered before my eyes and this toy arm, there was no way this was special effects makeup.

While I reeled from the realization that I was truly inside a game, Mo Hae-in scanned me from head to toe.

"He is a bit unusual, isn't he?"

Her short hair swayed slightly as she tilted her head.

I knew why she was looking at me with suspicion.

It was extremely rare for a civilian to get caught up in a periodically managed Trial.

While there were mercenaries who cleared Trials for commissions, or smugglers who snuck in to steal valuable items, almost no one entered completely alone like this.

A Trial was, quite literally, a trial.

Since they had to risk their lives, entering with a minimum of two people for backup was standard procedure.

Smugglers, whose equipment fell far short of government or private corporate standards, usually swarmed in by the dozens to make up for it with sheer numbers.

Of course, when I played the game, solo entry was my default.

Either way, it was clear I wouldn't be treated well if I just stood there silently. I quickly put on a terrified face.

"Excuse me... where is this place...?"

Since my confusion about the current situation was genuine, I didn't even have to act that hard to pull off a convincing expression.

Mo Hae-in, who seemed to be weighing and measuring me on an invisible scale, raised an eyebrow.

Then, she delivered an answer that would have made a real, clueless civilian faint on the spot.

"A toy factory where crazy killer toys roam."

At her blunt response, I gasped dramatically, prompting the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠man beside her to chuckle.

"It's true that there are killers, but don't worry. We'll get you out of here safely."

"We're soldiers, you see," he said, flashing his military ID.

"The Trial Response Agency...?"

"It's under the Ministry of National Defense. It was newly established, so you probably haven't heard of it."

He was just saying whatever he wanted, knowing that a civilian's memory would be wiped once they exited the Trial anyway.

I nodded at his words while quietly examining their jumpsuits.

Mo Hae-in wore an orange jumpsuit with a name tag that read "Morae," while the man wore a yellow jumpsuit with a name tag that read "Specimen."

However, Mo Hae-in's name tag was slightly different.

The smiley face on her tag wasn't smiling.

Its mouth, drawn as a straight line rather than a curve, was entirely out of place in the Happy Smile Factory.

The smiley face on the name tag was a sort of life counter.

In the Happy Smile Factory, abbreviated as HasPack, players were given three chances. Every time they made a fatal mistake, the smiley face's expression would change.

From a happy smile to a neutral face, and finally to a sad smile with downturned lips.

The sad smile was the final chance.

One more mistake after that, and it was an immediate game over.

I couldn't believe a character of Mo Hae-in's caliber had already lost a life so early on.

"By the way... what was that loud noise earlier?"

I asked in a timid voice, carefully gauging their reactions.

In truth, I wanted to ask what kind of crazy stunt they had pulled, but unfortunately, I didn't get an answer.

"Civilians don't need to know."

Cutting me off coldly, Mo Hae-in pulled something from her inventory and tossed it to me.

Catching it reflexively, I realized it was a toy arm identical to the one Mo Hae-in was wearing.

"Equip it."

At Mo Hae-in's command, a scowl of irritation flickered across the man's face. He clearly didn't like the idea of handing over a valuable item to an ignorant civilian.

Not that it mattered to me.

"I'm fine, thank you."

I had fully intended to reject the item anyway.

"Since I don't know anything, wouldn't it be better for experts like you to use it? To be honest, it looks a bit scary."

I added that the flashlight on my hip would be more than enough, pumping my fist to show I would follow closely behind them.

The man looked pleased with my response, while Mo Hae-in narrowed her eyes, studying me as if I were some bizarre specimen.

The reason I refused the item was solely because of the True Ending.

HasPack had multiple endings, and the conditions for achieving the True Ending were exceptionally strict.

First of all, you must not equip any of the toy limbs obtained within the game.

As you progress through the game, NPCs hand out toy limb items one by one.

Because these items appear essential to progress, players naturally equip them.

They are incredibly convenient, but if you get greedy and replace all your limbs with toy parts, you trigger an immediate bad ending.

An ending where you become a toy employee of HasPack, forced to work in the factory for eternity.

Mo Hae-in should have been well aware of this risk.

But seeing her wearing the toy arm, it was clear she didn't know about the True Ending.

My plan was to follow Mo Hae-in and the man for now, while strictly adhering to the conditions for the True Ending.

It wasn't just because of the bizarre threat from the system window.

If I can only see one ending, it has to be the True Ending.

Because I was a die-hard enthusiast of happy endings.

In most games, the True Ending was synonymous ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with the happy ending.

Even when playing the Archive games, I always finished with the True Ending after unlocking all the others.

Only when I saw the characters living happily ever after could I finally rest easy.

And I'm curious about that man, too.

I had a pretty good memory.

As much as I loved the Archive, I remembered almost every detail, yet I had never seen a man with the alias "Specimen" before.

He had never appeared in any of the Trials, nor in any post-credit scenes.

It wasn't entirely surprising, though.

Dying in a Trial, getting trapped forever, or surviving only to be quarantined due to viral infection—any of those fates were common.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠man named Specimen was likely a character who had vanished from the Archive universe before I ever had a chance to know him.

Mo Hae-in spoke while keeping her eyes fixed on me.

"Second Lieutenant Park, you equip it."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The man eagerly took the toy arm and attached it to his right arm.

The moment he brought the item to his arm, his human arm vanished, replaced by the toy arm.

He smirked, clacking the claw hand boastfully.

"If you want to live, just stay right behind me."

Mo Hae-in clicked her tongue without a word and led the way.

I followed alongside the man, keeping pace behind her. As we walked, I quietly shifted my gaze to the side.

Smiley was wedged into the wall.

Smiley, with its grinning face, was the mascot toy of the Happy Smile Factory.

The colorful plastic doll possessed arms with the exact same claw hands provided to the players.

Upon entering the factory, the first thing players encountered was the NPC Smiley. Unlike the mass-produced 15-centimeter versions, the NPC Smiley stood at a height of one meter.

Just like the size of a young child.

While you eventually had to fight Smiley later on, at this point, you were only supposed to exchange a few lines of dialogue, receive the toy arm item, and move on.

I couldn't fathom why they had attacked it and even lost a life in the process.

Judging by Mo Hae-in's sour mood, I suspected the man had screwed something up.

Smiley, whose head was buried in the wall, let its toy arms and legs dangle limply to the floor.

A crackling, mechanical voice leaked from Smiley.

"S-Smiley... welcomes... you all... to the Ha-Happy... Smile... Factory... let's... be... happy-happy... together..."

It wasn't a pleasant sight.

It was an NPC I had grown somewhat fond of while playing the game, so seeing its half-broken state in reality felt unsettling.

It felt like Smiley might just haunt my dreams tonight.

Unlike me, the man and Mo Hae-in paid it no mind. The man struck up a conversation with an easygoing smile.

"Shall we introduce ourselves? I'm Park Seong-gyeon. You can call me Second Lieutenant Park."

"I'm Han Goyo."

"And that lady over there is Captain Mo Hae-in—"

"Second Lieutenant Park. Are you on a picnic?"

"My apologies, ma'am."

Park Seong-gyeon quickly apologized and shut his mouth, but his eyes rolled with discontent.

Seeing that, I had a pretty good idea of why I didn't recognize him.

He must have caused an accident and died during a Trial.

And if we were unlucky, today might be the day he causes that fatal accident.

While Park Seong-gyeon walked with a stiff face, I bent down under the pretense of tying my shoelaces.

As I did, I scooped up a handful of candies scattered all over the floor.

They were candies with hexagonal nuts printed on the wrappers.

The Nut Candy, easily found throughout the map, was the primary healing item in HasPack.

It was said to taste like nuts, but unfortunately, I couldn't eat it myself.

This was because it could only be used by those who had equipped toy arms or legs.

As I passed by Smiley, I subtly slipped a candy into its claw-shaped hand.