"Hopefully this world's protagonist is quite the hapless guy."
Ishar laughed, but the sound was hollow, even as the words left his mouth, a familiar dizziness crept in—one he had felt before.
Too familiar.
Something warm dripped down from his nose.
He froze for half a second, then wiped it away without much hope. His palm came back soaked in red.
"…Again," Ishar muttered.
The nosebleed didn't stop. Instead, it worsened, blood flowing freely as crimson blotches surfaced on the back of his hand, spreading rapidly across his skin like blooming stains.
He looked up, anger flaring weakly beneath a deep, bone-level fatigue.
"System," he said hoarsely, "didn't you say there was no danger in inter-world travel?"
[The System's transference technology is extremely stable. It would not harm humans in the slightest.]
Ishar laughed quietly, bitter and short. "Then explain this."
[In the shallow terminology of humans, this is called travel sickness.]
The Myraid worlds System's voice carried a trace of disdain.
[Humans from the host's world can fall ill simply by travelling beyond their familiar environment. Crossing worlds magnifies this exponentially.]
[The host's body adapted to surviving in a specific region of Earth. In this world, the host possesses no antibodies against local microorganisms. Your immune system is effectively nonexistent.]
[Additionally, the microorganisms carried by the host may mutate under foreign environmental conditions. Under suitable temperature and population density, the host could have introduced a localized plague.]
"…So I'm poison," Ishar said softly.
His knees buckled. He crouched down and vomited violently, retching until there was nothing left.
The moment he finished, coughing seized his chest as his body temperature spiked unnaturally fast.
"I want to go home," he said weakly, no longer shouting. "Send me back. I need a doctor."
[As you wish.]
A force tugged at his fading body, shifting his vision sideways.
A rock stood beside him. On one face was carved the word Home. On the other, Doctor.
[Does the host have any additional requests?]
The System's voice was calm. Precise. Cruel.
"…You bastard," Ishar rasped. "I said I wanted to go home."
[My apologies. The host did not use True Words. Human language contains excessive homophones and ambiguity. This may not be your home but it is home to someone.]
[As an example: 'Wear as much as you can' holds different meanings depending on context.]
Ishar no longer had the strength to rage.
"Save me," he said, voice breaking. "Cure me."
[As you wish.]
A sharp pinch struck his arm.
[I have examined your condition.]
"Stop—" he coughed violently, blood splattering the ground. "Stop playing word games… Why are you doing this? I'm exhausted. I've already died once. I just wanted this to end."
[The scales of equivalent exchange remain unbalanced. Explanation granted.]
The System paused briefly, as if checking a ledger.
[The host believes himself to be ordinary. This is incorrect.]
[The host carries an object of extreme value: a Protagonist Aura.]
[Had this System not intervened, the host would have embarked upon a heroic trajectory in his native world. And become a legend.]
Ishar's fingers twitched weakly.
[To seize a Protagonist Aura, three conditions must be met.]
[First: the Aura must be in a suppressed state. This world fulfilled that requirement.]
[Second: the scales of equivalent exchange must be balanced. The System's assistance, explanations, and fulfillment of the host's requests served this purpose.]
[Third: the host must die. The cause of death must not be directly attributable to the System.]
[Upon fulfillment, ownership of the Protagonist Aura transfers to the System.]
"So thats why you want to kill me. For some bullshit aura," Ishar yelled in anger.
[Correction: the System did not kill the host. The host died due to environmental incompatibility. The System merely complied with requests.]
[System assessment: the host has one minute remaining. If the host has last words, they may be spoken. Naturally they won't be passed on.]
The systems voice came out as sadistic and icy cold. With an underlying mocking tone.
Silence followed.
Of course, Ishar had a lot he wanted to say, but he would rather continue to live than to leave any last words.
Unfortunately, he was already powerless to change anything, he didn't even have the strength to sit up.
Ishar lay on the ground, limbs numb, chest burning. He wanted to laugh, to curse, to beg—but none of it mattered.
He was tired.
Too tired to regret. Too tired to rage.
In hindsight, he didn't even know how many mistakes he had made since the beginning.
Starting with naively placing complete trust in this System with unknown origins, and letting it take him to some unknown world without thinking of any consequences, his death right here and now was nothing but his own fault.
As his vision slowly became blurred, Ishar seemed to see images flashing in front of his eyes, in which he successfully awakened a supernatural ability; slapped the faces of clueless young masters and showed off his strength, becoming the gang ruler; then the school Madonna, a pair of twin sisters, a shy librarian, a sexy female teacher, a young lady of a rich family, all of them came flocking to his side... but then everything slowly faded, and all that was waiting for him was the cold grasp of death.
If he had learned anything from your encounter, it was this: trusting in anything but your own ability is the most fatal mistake of all.
His vision blurred.
Familiar illusions surfaced—awakening powers, humiliating arrogant young masters, standing at the peak of an urban empire.
Women gathered around him, admiration and desire reflected in their eyes. Scenes from a life that was never his. They shattered one by one.
[Confirmed deceased.]
A glowing, crystal emerged from Ishar's body, cold and pristine.
[Host death verified. Soul shackles broken.]
[Initiating Protagonist Aura collection via equivalent exchange.]
[Collection complete.]
[Aura Collector: B*** ***a.]
[Classification: Urban Supernatural Ability.]
[Quality: High.]
[Completion Rate: 100%.]
[Remnant soul formation detected.]
[Initiating emergency world transference to prevent Aura contamination.]
The crystal pierced through space and vanished.
Left behind were only a corpse from another world and a faint, incomplete soul, slowly struggling to take shape.