Zhentaxia : 300

No messy desk, no paint-splattered walls, no little potted plants. She wasn't even on her comfortable hanging bed!

'A dream within a dream?' Amara dumbly asked herself. She didn't panic at the strange environment she was in. Her mind was just completely blank.

Everywhere her eyes could see was white. That kind of blinding white that hospitals with bright fluorescent lights have.

Silence.

For a few moments it was silent, Amara couldn't even hear her own breathing. For her, a few minutes were like a long time. "Am I dead?" She asked herself another question, but this time, she asked it out loud.

Amara wasn't expecting someone to answer but a cute tender voice spoke up "No, at least not yet."

Amara turned her head at a speed that almost caused a whiplash. Her eyes were opened wide as she stared at the white ball of fluff on the white floor beside her. She was frozen in place, but it wasn't because of fear.

Without a sound, Amara stretched out her hands and snatched the furry thing, and hugged it tightly, rubbing her cheeks lightly on the soft fur.

"Hey! Wha- what are you doing!" The thing exclaimed its a childish voice filled with panic. It struggled in Amara's arms aggressively.

"Woman, let me go!" It snarled arrogantly, making Amara want to bully it more, but she still reluctantly let it go. She has a major addiction to cute and furry creatures or things and everyone knows this.

"How presumptuous! You dared to touch me?" The little fluff ball angrily berated her the moment it was freed. It took a lot of willpower to stop herself from reaching out again to hug the little thing.

The little thing might have noticed her thoughts, as it hurriedly widened the distance between itself and Amara, its fur bristling.

Two pairs of eyes met each other, they were both silent for a minute before the ball of fluff cleared its throat in an attempt to look serious, but because of its appearance, Amara thought its cuteness had risen to another level.

"Ahem, let me introduce myself first. I'm System No.9137, also called Celestial Noble" The little thing introduced proudly.

Amara blinked her eyes blankly. "System?"

"Yes system"

"But-" Amara paused thoughtfully "Aren't systems mechanical... things?" She didn't know what to call them so she just blurted out whatever was in her mind. In the novels she has read, systems are emotionless and usually have mechanical or robotic voices, but the little thing in front of her was different. The fur was so soft and the voice was so tender, in other words, this system was cute.

"Those are low-level system administrators," the little furry system snorted in disdain. "Do not compare this noble from those metal scraps."

"Then... What do you need from me?" Amara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you think?" Amara's eye twitched, if it wasn't for this little thing's cuteness, she might have already kicked this fluff ball far from sight.

"What I meant was, shouldn't I get more information?" She patiently asked

"Oh right!" The little thing exclaimed as it floated closer to her and sat atop her head.

A Series of information registered themselves in her mind as she started to study it.

Like what the little thing claimed, it was called System No. 9137 - Celestial Noble, one of the advanced systems from the Central Zone.

For some reason, the Central Zone was infiltrated by numerous viruses and caused the world under its jurisdiction to collapse and Amara's world was one of them. The Central Zone's main system, also called the Mother System, has initiated self-repair. This thing called self-repair was by pulling those who possess the quintessence of space into the void and bound them with the small systems to traverse through the worlds under the Central Zone and prevent the collapse of the realms, repair them, and if possible also give birth to new worlds.

Coincidentally, Amara was one of those who possessed the quintessence of space but the world she lived in was weak and had immediately collapsed. If it wasn't for the little fluff ball's timely assistance she might have already ceased to exist.

After sorting the information she was given she took the little thing off her head and held it with both hands. "So I have to bind myself to you and help you prevent those worlds from collapsing by fixing them right?"

The little system struggled at first but stopped when it heard Amara's query. It raised its limpid eyes and met Amara's dark ones. "Yes, if possible you might also participate in the birth of a new world."

"But what's in it for me?" Amara might look innocent and naive but her life revolved around the deceptive life of the rich, politicians, businessmen, and the triad, so it was normal for her to ask for something in exchange for her "assistance". She's grateful for the little thing for saving her but it also means she has to work for this so-called Mother System, and she refuses to be an unpaid laborer.

"After finishing the tasks set by the Mother System, the Central Zone will grant one of your greatest wishes!" The little furball enthusiastically answered her.

Amara frowned, "Just that?" Isn't this Mother System too stingy?

The little furball wriggled out of her grasp and buzzed around her "Don't say 'Just that?' Ah! If you wish for your world to be restored it could be granted! As long as it's your deepest desire." It explained with pride "Even if it's a collapsed world, it could be restored by the Central System using the points you have collected when you are completing tasks for the Mother System."

"Just one wish? Isn't that too little?" Amara continued to question

"Sheesh, you're too greedy. It's your greatest desire! What more can you ask for?" The little thing complained

Amara laughed at this and reached out to the restless ball of fur, hugging it. "Then what about these points?"

"I already sent you the information"

Amara glanced at the little thing snuggled in her arms, it wasn't as arrogant as it was a while ago. She resisted the urge to poke it and focused on another set of information that appeared in her mind.

The point system of the Mother system wasn't very complicated, it was just like other system administrator novels she had read before.

At the end of each task, there will be points awarded, called the wish points. Wish points could be used to purchase items in the system store and also exchange them for that greatest desired thing mentioned by the little thing earlier, as long as the number of points required for it is met. To gain points, the given tasks by the Mother System must be completed. There are also hidden tasks and achievements that would give a generous amount of points.

After roughly scanning the general information provided by the little system she raised the little thing higher so she could see its light amethyst eyes and black button nose. "What if I decline?" Amara grinned. She was interested, yes, but the chance to bully the little fluff ball was something she couldn't pass on.

To her surprise the response of the little thing was cold and apathetic, the light in its eyes disappeared like the switch was turned off.

"Then there is no use for you."

Amara's lips twitched, her smile fading away "Tsk. So that means I don't have much choice?"

"You should be honored!" The little system was back to its arrogant self again in a blink of an eye. Amara looked down at the furball that was comfortably nestled in her arms.

Speaking of arms, Amara finally noticed something wrong with her right arm. It was covered in intricate symbols, from the back of her hand up to her shoulders. Most of the symbols were made of ink, while the smaller ones were from scars. The silvery normotrophic scars and the pinkish and red keloid scars made her skin uneven. The appearance itself was very unsightly.

Her eyebrows furrowed in disgust. She remembered that before she lost consciousness she felt something on her right arm as if something was crawling on her skin and leaving a burning sensation in its wake.

"Say, Novus" Amara decided to ask the little furry thing about her right arm. The sight was making her uncomfortable.

"Novus?" The little furry system perked up

"En. You don't expect me to call your system right? I presume you won't like that." Amara explained, "And calling you, a system with the numbers and all is too bothersome, so I decided to call you Novus which sounds better and more convenient than calling system balabala whatever."

The little system that was named was silent while Amara smirked, knowing that the little thing was happy. She's not sure why she's too confident to say that the little furball was delighted, she just knows it.

"Hmph! What do you want me to say?" Again with its arrogant attitude, Novus snorted, avoiding the topic of Amara naming him.

In response, Amara just chuckled before asking about her arm "Do you know what happened to my right arm?"

Novus was silent for a moment before he freed himself from her hands, staring at her right arm, hesitance could be seen in his round eyes "Maybe because of the slight delay from pulling you out of your collapsing world?"

"You don't sound so sure"

Novus shook its body "I don't know why it became like that, I first thought that you already have that but when I examined it earlier when you were still unconscious, I found some anomaly in it but I can't say what is it yet"

"So this reason is what you came up with?" Amara raised an eyebrow at his answer.

"Yes, temporarily, that is indeed the biggest possibility" Novus confirmed

"Has this ever happened before?" Novus shook their round body again to express his negative answer to her question.

With a sigh, Amara chose to stop talking about the issue "Ahhh whatever, let's just get over this and start with the tasks"

The moment the word task was mentioned, Novus became enthusiastic again. "So you're accepting the repair mission?"

Amara rolled her eyes, muttering "Do I have a choice?" after speaking, an opaque teal-colored holographic system panel appeared in front of her.

❝Bind with System No. 9137 - Celestial Noble?❞

『 YES 』 || 『 NO 』

A loading screen immediately appeared after she chose the "Yes" option.