Norman soon headed over to the third realm, which was located in another direction. It had probably been a few days since he had started this journey. He couldn't tell anymore how much time had passed, and he didn't care as long as his mission was fulfilled.
After walking for a while, they reached a familiar door that stood straight in front of him, but this time its color was bronze, giving Norman a bad feeling. The previous two doors were similar in color. But this time, the door color and even the carvings suddenly changed, making it look dark and gloomy.
These carvings gave Norman the feeling that whatever it was behind this door was the most difficult step to cross to get his hands on the last piece of wood. He frowned upon thinking of it.
"Careful. I have a bad feeling," Shane's voice suddenly voiced out his thoughts.
Norman nodded as he put his hands on the cold metal. Soon after, the metal door was blasted open, and Norman glanced inside. He could see a portal-like thing in there as he tilted his head in confusion, "What's this?"
Shane's eyes widened as he stared at the scene. Only he knew what this was, "This..."
The portal looked similar to the one all the systems had entered before to get inside the virtual realms like this one. He was sure that this particular portal would lead them to a completely different place.
He gritted his teeth as he suppressed a wave of anxiety climbing up his throat. He should have known why the previous two realms were too easy. They were probably meant to lower the guard so that the person on this journey could get stuck and fail.
Shane took a deep breath and said, "We have to be careful. This is a portal, and it'll take us to a completely different place."
"What place?"
"I have no idea, but it won't be any better."
Norman pursed his lips as he took a careful step forward. He took a deep breath as he suppressed the traces of fear deep in his heart and entered the portal.
***
Morning sunshine passed through a window as it hit the face of a familiar young man. It was Norman who frowned upon receiving the hot sunlight and covered his face with the pillow behind him. Just as he drifted off to sleep again, his door was knocked open with great force.
"Norman!" A woman yelled from the other side and said, in an angry tone, "Look at the time! You're going to be late!"
Norman groaned as he threw the pillow toward that voice and pushed himself.
A feeling that he was forgetting something hit his head hard as he held his forehead and rubbed it. Then he shook his head and sighed before getting off his bed.
At the same time, Shane, who was inside Norman's mind, saw this scene and squinted his eyes. He should have known things wouldn't be good after entering the portal. He said, "Norman, host, wake up."
Norman seemed like he didn't hear anything as he opened up the toilet and pulled down his pants. Shane's nose wrinkled as he instantly closed the screen and shut off the senses-sharing tool as he heaved a sigh of relief. He should wait a while before walking out.
But why was his host not hearing his words? Something was definitely blocking their paths.
What should he do?
Shane frowned as he thought for a while. Maybe he should just continue to observe the situation before doing anything. Norman might end up just listening to his words for the next moment.
When he opened the screen the next moment, Norman had just finished bathing as he walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed in an office suit. He tied up his tie while staring at himself in the mirror and humming a song. By this time, Shane had already started yelling in his mind, but Norman couldn't hear a thing.
Shane frowned as he continued to watch. It seemed as if this was the real world. When he watched the scene outside, he felt a trace of nostalgia in his heart. He also belonged to such a world. He should have gotten in as a host, not a damned system. At least, these hosts had a chance of heading back, but what about him, and his sister?
He pursed his lips and thought for a while before opening the system menu. He should try and control the body of the host at this time. This way, he would be able to find a solution.
As soon as he clicked the control option in the tools section, the control of the body was handed over to Shane. He stretched the body he was in as he walked over to the table beside the bed and wrote something before the control was taken back from him. He was satisfied with his work.
What he wrote was: "Norman, wake up! I'm your system!"
But it was still useless. As soon as Norman got control of the body, he fell to the ground as he stared at the paper in horror. He couldn't control his body for a moment, and suddenly, his body started writing these absurd words! He was so scared that he took the paper in his trembling hands and crumbled it in his fist before throwing it away.
Shane sighed. He should have known better than to waste his opportunity like this. Well, it didn't matter. He still had an hour to wait before he could use that tool again, and if it still didn't work, he could always purchase it from the shop.
After settling it all in his head, he leaned back and purchased some popcorn from the shop before chewing it one after another in his mouth as he continued to watch the daily life of his host before the man died.
It turned out, Norman was the most common and social guy who had his fair share of being yelled at by his boss. Even after coming out of the boss' cabin, he would have a smile on his face while his colleagues would clap their hands at his expression despite whatever happened inside.
Once they were outside the office, they would directly go to the bar and become drunk before heading over to their homes in stumbling footsteps. All this time, Shane didn't do anything and continued watching the entire thing while chewing on popcorn. He felt that watching the world outside was way better than returning to his own system world.
He was also like Norman once. He also had dreams of becoming an employer or starting his own company after graduating. Compared to what he was facing in the system world, his life in the mortal place was so simple that it could be compared to a 2D game filled with flowers and butterflies. Even his problems during his university days weren't worth mentioning in front of what he faced now.
Shane sighed as he narrowed his eyes. His host wasn't going to end up at his house with the speed Norman was stumbling on the road. He quickly purchased the sobering drink and took control of the body. As soon as he took control of the body, he felt a wave of dizziness in his head, making him stumble.
How much time had passed ever since he drank some alcohol to the point of dizziness? He took a deep breath and grabbed the sobering drink before sipping the entire bowl that he had also purchased. Once he was done, control of the body went back to Norman.
The body nearly fell forward as Norman pressed his forehead and frowned. He didn't know what was happening. He felt like something was wrong ever since he woke up in the morning. He shook his head rapidly as he felt that he had suddenly become a lot more sober. But how?
Hadn't he drunk alcohol to the point of fainting?
Norman couldn't make a head or tail of the situation as he booked a cab and went back home.
Shane watched everything as he finally felt a trace of anger in his heart. He had been trying to call out to his host since morning, leaving obvious clues now and then, but this stupid host only considered him to be a fictional ghost!
'Fine, if you want to be like this, I'll also have to use drastic measures!' thought Shane as he waited for the host to arrive at his house. As soon as they reached the destination, Shane instantly took control of the body by purchasing the tool and going directly to the kitchen. Then he pulled a knife and attacked his own stomach with great force!
He felt a jolt of pain thrashing through his body as he quickly gave control over to Norman. The entire house froze. The middle-aged woman and man in the kitchen, who were shocked by Norman's behavior, dispersed into dust along with the scene, leaving behind a familiar door and a piece of wood fallen right outside the bronze door with a portal.
Norman's injured body was lying on the ground as he clutched his stomach and cursed, "F*ck! What the heck is wrong with you?"
"You left me with no other choice," Shane reminded his host, "I saved your life."
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