MTLNOVEL Chapter 2: The Voice
James woke up the next day with a slight headache.
"Ugh... I worked there for almost two years but this headache has been the same since day one," He groaned, rubbing his head, to relieve the pain.
It took a few moments before the headache finally stopped and James could only sigh. He remembered what happened last night and it was now that everything was finally dawning on him.
He had lost his part-time job. The part-time job, the only thing that has helped him to survive the two years he has spent in university.
The job was the only reason why he was able to still keep afloat, with everything that has been happening to him and with how his life has been a massive rollercoaster ride of unfortunate events.
Now that he has lost it, he has no idea on what to do next. He only has around $200 in his account, with the amount he was paid yesterday, totalling to almost $700. But how long will it last him?
With how expensive and pocket-bleeding living in Los Angeles is, how long will $700 last him? A week? Two weeks?
He very well knew that it's impossible for that measly amount of money to last him a month.
"Looks like I have to look for another part-time job but that will be for later. Now, I have to start preparing to leave for home. It's been three months since I saw Patty and Leslie," James said, as he swung his legs down his bed.
He looked around the room and saw that it was just as empty as it was last night, and there was no sign that his roommates came back either.
"How nice is it to be able to live without worry?" He thought to himself with a smile, as he stood up and did some stretches.
[Do you always talk to yourself that much?]
James paused mid-stretch when he heard an unfamiliar voice.
"Who is that?" He asked auspiciously, as he looked around for anything he can use as a weapon.
He slowly looked around the room, looking for the owner of the voice, but when he saw nothing, he started walking towards the door.
[Your brain is working overtime for no reason. Stop panicking and think logically.]
James heard the voice again and this time, he was shocked as he realised that the voice was coming from inside his head.
The more James thought about it, the more he realised that he was right. The voice was coming from his head. This was the only explanation as there was no else in the room with him and the voice wouldn't be so loud, and clear, if it was coming from outside.
The voice sounds female, young but not too young. Probably in her late twenties or early thirties. And there was something like a slight mechanical tinge to it. Like an AI...
"Wait! Was I implanted?... No. That's not possible." James said, as he tried to make sense of what was happening but was unable to.
The realisation that something he had idea of was happening to him, came with fear and confusion, as James didn't understand what exactly was going on. He knew that he wasn't going insane and neither does he have double personality, so what he's experiencing isn't something that his brain is conjuring up.
It was as real as the time he lost $3k in less than five seconds when he bought a meme coin.
"What are you? Why are you inside my head? Is this a prank?" James shot barrages of questions at the voice.
He wants to know what was going on. Why he's hearing a voice in his head. What was everything about and who is responsible.
[Just like I said, too much questions. Let me give you the answers you need.] The voice said.
The next moment after the voice finished its words, James saw a cyan screen popped up in front of him.
[Host Info Screen.]
[Name]: James Zolomon
[Age]: 21
[Stats]
>[Strength]: 9
>[Agility]: 8
>[Intelligence]: 8
>[Charisma]: 6
[Financial Status]
>[Account Balance: $687.67]
>[Networth: -$20,568.89]
[System Resources]
>[Stat Point(s)]: 0
>[Lottery Ticket(s)]: 0
>[System Point(s)]: 0
[Mission(s): None]
[System Store]
.....
"What the?!..." He blurted in shock when he saw the screen and everything displayed on it.
He rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was seeing things correctly but it was still the same. He wanted to slap himself but stopped midway, when he remembered how painful it's going to be.
"Host's info screen? Account balance?... Wait, what the fuck?!" James exclaimed, with his shock deepening.
"How is this possible? How?..." He mumbled to himself, as he slowly stretched out his hand to touch the screen, but his hand touched nothing.
He waved his hand but still nothing. It was like the screen wasn't in front of him but in his head, and it's being displayed in his retina.
[Now, are you going to keep ask the right questions or are you going to keep making a fool out of yourself?] The voice asked, James went silent.
He was still trying to process everything. It's not everyday that hears voice that aren't theirs in their head or see a screen with all his personal information displayed in front of him.
[It's fine if you want to keep mute now but do know that if I go silent after this, you will have to throw your questions to wind.]
James' eyes widened when he heard what the voice said, and he immediately opened his mouth to ask the questions he had, but words weren't forming.
He had questions but he just doesn't know where to start from, and thus, his mouth was left open with nothing but filler words coming out of it.
James was already calmer than he was before and he now has a vague idea of what was going on, but he wasn't sure if it's the same thing he was thinking about.
Closing his eyes briefly, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He did this a couple of time and he felt that he was finally in the right frame of mind.
'Please be what I think you are,' he muttered to himself, hopefully.
"Explain everything on the screen."
[Ok. But first, I'm not an AI. Don't compare me to such trash.] The voice said, and started explaining everything to James.
A few minutes passed before the explanation ended, leaving James frozen in shock and disbelief
"W-what?! Wow! 10x rebate. For real?" James exclaimed in shock, as he continued staring at the cyan screen still being displayed in his retina.
Of course, the voice said more than just 10x rebate but that was the only thing stuck to James' mind, enveloping everything else the voice said. It made them irrelevant.
James just couldn't believe what was happening. He went to sleep last night, hoping to wake up to a new reality and he did really wake up to one.
"Alright... let's see if this is real." James grinned, anticipation gleaming in his eyes.