Have you ever heard a stranger’s voice echoing in your head? It’s probably not something most people experience, but I distinctly heard a voice with a subtle mechanical undertone. Confused, I found myself tapping the corner of my ear with my palm, even though I knew there was nothing there. Of course, nothing was going to come out of my other ear either. While repeating this strange behavior, Asrein stared at me with a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong?”

“Didn’t you hear a woman’s voice just now…?”

“…What?”

His neat expression crumpled like thin paper. Asrein probably thought I’d lost my mind. Well, even I felt like I was spouting nonsense, so his reaction wasn’t strange at all. Thinking that further explanation would only lead to more misunderstandings, I slowly shook my head.

“Never mind. I must have imagined it.”

It’s all because of staying up all night. The fatigue from encountering that magical creature in the backyard must have made me hear some woman’s voice. That was the only explanation for the auditory hallucination. While massaging my throbbing temples, he watched my complexion carefully before speaking.

“I’ve noticed since this morning, but you look terrible.”

“What? Me?”

“Who else would I be talking about? I’m sure I told you to check your appearance.”

“I did try to make myself presentable…”

I straightened my back, which I had slightly bent to show off the clothes Asrein had gifted me. Thanks to the scented soap, my body gave off a subtle floral fragrance, and the wrinkle-free shirt looked pristine to anyone’s eyes. But apparently, my deathly complexion couldn’t be hidden by grooming. Though I tried to put on a fresh smile, the response was quite cold.

“I’ve seen someone with such poor color and dark circles under their eyes before.”

“Where?”

“Sadly, they didn’t last long in this world.”

Good observation. How did you recognize someone who had already departed this world once? With a bitter smile, I silently rubbed around my eyes. The dark circles had been my constant companion since my slave days in the modern world, so I hadn’t particularly worried about them. But to his eyes, I must have looked like a patient barely clinging to life. While I self-consciously stroked my slightly gaunt cheeks, a long sigh reached over my head.

“You may go back now. Stay any longer and you might collapse like a dried branch.”

“What? No, I’m really fine!”

“Being able to objectively assess one’s condition is also a skill.”

I was at a loss for words, having no room for argument. But Asrein didn’t stop there and kindly explained further.

“Besides, if you suddenly collapse here, who do you think will have to carry you?”

Ah. I let out an involuntary sigh at the question with such an obvious answer. Let’s imagine if I collapsed in this enclosed space(?) with only Asrein and me present. If he had other graduate students under him, he would naturally order the slave… no, the graduate student to do it, but right now there’s only one person who could move me.

“You… Professor…”

Just imagining it makes me dizzy. The professor, whom I should be honored to even carry, having to haul my limp body like a slime through the campus corridors to the dormitory. If I were to regain consciousness and face Asrein after that, I’d want to fall into an eternal coma denying reality. Especially if Asrein were to mock me saying something like “Did you sleep well? Were you tired? Thanks to you, I had a new experience I never needed in my life.”

Ah! Just thinking about it makes my hands and feet tremble. Such a thing must never happen, not even once.

“I’m sorry. I’ll return to the dormitory now.”

“Good. I hope you look more human tomorrow.”

In reality, I had never received approval for sick leave even when I was about to be rushed to the emergency room, so his easy permission to rest was surprising. This is all because of that black rabbit. No, more precisely, it’s because of this weak body that’s hearing hallucinations just from pulling one all-nighter.

Though it’s regrettable to part with Dandel without properly greeting it, I can always come back to the greenhouse another time. I politely bowed goodbye and left the greenhouse, trailing reluctance behind me.

Fortunately, I didn’t hear any hallucinations during the long walk back to the dormitory. Even after taking a cold shower to clear my mind and lying down on the soft bed, my head remained quiet. I hugged the pillow that smelled of warm sunlight tightly and stared blankly at the ceiling.

“What was that earlier…?”

I tried to sketch the memory from a few hours ago on the white wallpaper serving like my canvas. Let’s see… So… The moment I made contact with Dandel, the Level 5 dangerous magical creature, a mysterious voice suddenly spoke. It said, “NO. 62 ‘Dandel’ connection confirmed.” The neat voice with a slight mechanical tone seemed familiar somehow.

“If I could hear it just one more time, I think I’d remember right away.”

I squeezed my eyes shut then opened them again with desperate hope, but nothing changed. Of course, hallucinations aren’t like radio that you can replay whenever you want. While hitting the innocent pillow repeatedly to suppress my frustration, I suddenly remembered what came next. The voice in my head had said one more thing after I became aware of it.

“Did it say… Monster Encyclopedia System?”

The moment I muttered to myself.

– Did you call for me?

“Waaah!!!!”

That hallucination! I jumped up from the bed at the unexpected appearance. I grabbed the pillow like a weapon and looked around carefully, but fortunately or unfortunately, no one was there. A chill ran down my spine, but being alone in this enclosed room made one thing clear.

– Please call me anytime you need help.

The voice resonating in my head wasn’t a hallucination or imagination… but a third party capable of conversation. Moreover, its overly polite tone felt familiar. While quietly tracing my memories, a word suddenly flashed through my mind. Like Archimedes achieving enlightenment, I sat down heavily on the bed with wide eyes.

“Ah… Aah!!”

It was none other than the voice of ‘System,’ the artificial intelligence installed in smartphones. The very same AI I would call when half-asleep to set alarms or when wanting to listen to music while showering. To confirm my suspicion properly, I solemnly asked its identity into thin air.

“Are you really System?”

– Yes, that’s correct. I am the System that helps Tae-oh’s convenient adventure.

The System’s firm acknowledgment of its existence only doubled my confusion. Why would System, which should be inside a smartphone, be in my head? My eyes moved left and right like a pendulum, reflecting my complicated thoughts. Biting my lower lip with my fingernail, I muttered darkly.

“Prove that you’re System…”

– Tae-oh set the alarm for 6 AM every day and turned it off after exactly three song repetitions. The most searched term was ‘How to get revenge discreetly.’ Speed dial 1 is ‘Family-like Professor,’ 2 is 119, and…

“Okay, okay! I get it!”

What is this? It really is System. How did I end up in this world with System of all things? To find the reason, I traced back my memory to the last time I touched my smartphone.

After checking the novel update notification, I put it in my pocket to show the professor my thesis draft. If that was the cause… shouldn’t I have brought the thesis instead of the smartphone?! Calming my trembling heart, I spoke carefully.

“Search how to get rid of dark circles.”

– Search function is currently not supported.

“Huh…?”

My energy drained completely at the immediate rejection. What’s left of an AI if you remove the search function? It’s no different from just a conversation partner. Maybe it changed significantly while crossing over to this world. Still believing that it must have other functions since it’s an AI, I changed the subject.

“Then what can you do?”

– Would you like a function explanation?

“Yeah. Show me visually if possible.”

– I will materialize the System.

The System spoke so calmly that I thought it wouldn’t be anything special. However, it impressively manifested a brown leather-bound book in mid-air. Too scared to touch it, I carefully observed while walking in a wide circle around the floating book. It was an ordinary book about two finger-joints thick, bound with red string.

“…System? Is that you?”

Seeing it looked harmless, I gently poked the cover with my fingertip. Like being enchanted, the cover automatically turned and the book opened. Whoosh. The pages flipped rapidly like sails catching a fair wind. Unable to dare stop it, I just stamped my feet anxiously until it suddenly stopped at a certain page.

No. 62 Dandel

-Classification: Level 5 Dangerous Magical Creature

-First Discovery Location: Angelus University Greenhouse

-Appearance: Chestnut-shaped ball of fur resembling dandelion seeds. Eyes, nose, and mouth are hidden behind abundant fur. Born about 5cm in size, grows to about fist-size when mature.

-Characteristics: Very timid of unfamiliar things. When encountering predators, hides by clinging to other specimens.

-Relationship Assessment: Cautious

“What is this…”

While I frowned, staring intently at the book, System spoke in a formal tone.

– The Monster Encyclopedia System records all magical creatures Tae-oh encounters. You can access information about any magical creature registered in the encyclopedia at any time.

Monster Encyclopedia…? Doubting my ears, I flipped through other pages. Except for scattered blank spaces, various magical creature information was quite densely written. All the magical creature names were familiar, and the descriptions were quite simple for an ‘encyclopedia.’ It seemed like my thoughts had been directly transcribed.

“Who’s the author of this book?”

– You are, Tae-oh.

“Huh…?”

– The Monster Encyclopedia System is currently operating using the monster encyclopedia you previously created.