Side Story 3.1: The Past, The Future, and the Great World Update
High above the mortal realms, within the sterile corridors of the **BUREAU OF CENTUURY'S SYSTEM CONTROL**chaos reigned supreme. Emergency lights bathed the control room in an ominous red glow as dozens of technicians frantically typed at their workstations, their faces illuminated by cascading streams of system data.
The source of their panic? Their very first PROSPECT—designated PLAYER August Finn—had achieved something that should have been impossible. In a mere three to four years, he had somehow completed all 25 levels of his Personal System while it remained locked at Level 1. The feat defied every calculation, every projection the Bureau had meticulously crafted over decades of preparation.
"Status report!" barked Administrator Magnus, his usually composed demeanor cracking under the pressure. His silver hair, typically immaculate, was disheveled from hours of running his hands through it in frustration.
Manager Dorothy looked up from her terminal, her eyes rimmed with exhaustion. "Final patch deployment at 87% completion. The World System integration is... holding, but barely. We're running on emergency protocols across all sectors."
Magnus nodded grimly. They all knew how precarious their situation had become. They spent ten years of preparation—ten years of developing the revolutionary GAME-LIKE SYSTEM—and it still wasn't enough. The integration with Centuury's World System had revealed flaws they never anticipated, cascading failures that threatened the very fabric of their reality management.
The irony was bitter. Their carefully chosen vessel, August Finn, had met an untimely death 4 years ago just as their grand experiment was set to begin. Emergency Protocol 777 had been their last desperate gambit—injecting the blank soul designated 777-777 into the dying vessel, maintaining his ego while fundamentally altering his essence.
It had been the blank soul's final request before eternal rest: to become a tabula rasa, a clean slate paired with a GAME-LIKE SYSTEM for its new incarnation to explore. The fusion had been unlike anything they'd ever attempted—two souls merging with August Finn's original essence, creating something entirely unprecedented. The Personal System had been the only thing standing between success and catastrophic failure, literally pulling their prospect back from the brink of death.
"The Technical Department reports they're pushing themselves beyond safe operational limits," Dorothy continued, her voice strained. "Every level-up triggers massive system updates that need to be fast-tracked. Half our content modules are still locked—which is buying us time, thankfully—but the other half..." She gestured helplessly at her screen, where error messages blinked like warning beacons.
Magnus rubbed his temples, feeling the weight of responsibility crushing down on him. "At least the foundation for Personal System Level 2 is solid?"
"Solid as we can make it under these circumstances," confirmed Lead Developer Chen from across the room. "Patch 1.25 will be our most comprehensive update yet. The World System rebalancing should give us breathing room—assuming August doesn't bulldoze through every trial we've prepared the moment he regains consciousness."
A collective sigh of relief rippled through the control room. Their behavioral analysis of August Finn—based on months of observation by Magnus and Dorothy—suggested their prospect would likely remain in Maya Village for the foreseeable future. The boy had shown a peculiar attachment to building and improving the small settlement, a trait that might just save their sanity.
"He's a builder, not a conqueror," Dorothy observed, pulling up August's psychological profile. "Every indication suggests he'll focus on establishing Maya Village rather than rushing toward the next challenge. It's... oddly comforting."
Magnus allowed himself a small smile. "Then we have our reprieve. Use it wisely, everyone. When maintenance completes, we'll face new challenges, but we'll be ready for them."
Around the control room, exhausted technicians began powering down non-essential systems and saving their work. For the first time in weeks, they could return to their quarters, grab actual sleep, and prepare for whatever came next.
As the last of the staff filed out, Magnus remained at his post, watching the maintenance progress bar slowly tick forward. They had learned invaluable lessons from this crisis—lessons that would serve them well when other prospects inevitably joined August in Centuury.
The screen flickered, displaying the message that had become both their salvation and their burden:
[WORLD SYSTEM + INTEGRATED PLAYER PERSONAL SYSTEM: UNDER MAINTENANCE 15%...]
**[PLEASE STANDBY...]**
In the quiet of the control room, Magnus permitted himself a moment of cautious optimism. They had survived their first major crisis. Whatever came next, they would be ready—or at least, more ready than they had been before.
The Great World System Update continued, and with it, the future of Centuury itself hung in the balance.