Loner Rehabilitation Program

Chapter 3 - The Calm Before the Storm

{System: It appears that something is blocking the road to town.}



“...You don’t need to tell me that! I...clearly have eyes!”



On the way to town, Adrian stumbled upon a very big obstacle in his way. Still panting from too much physical exertion, it was nice to take a break, although a bit risky.



A ginormous tree was blocking the path.



{System: The tree seemed to have been cut from its center, thus falling down in our direction.}



“Huh? How...do you know that?”



{System: I may not have a locator function, but I can analyze whatever it is you are seeing. Thus, I’ve analyzed that a cut has been made from one of the tree’s ends.}



Realizing that his system was more reliable than he thought, Adrian applauded it for analyzing the tree so quickly. After all, the tree was so big in size that he really could not see either of its end.



To find out, he would have to go through the other tall trees in the forest and search for it. However, it will be a waste of time to confirm the system’s power. Being a god’s creation, it should be trustworthy.



{System: Host, there are more pressing matters right now. I highly recommend finding a hiding spot before the monsters spot you.}



Even with this warning, Adrian really could not do anything about it. His willpower and energy has been constantly depleting every second, and it took a lot of effort just to keep himself from falling down.



{System: Your body doesn’t seem to have enough energy to continue. Have you eaten anything before you were summoned?}



Upon reading this message, Adrian realized that he still hadn’t eaten dinner yet.



“Blame…that god of yours….”



{System: Would you like to use the summoning coupon? A companion could help make the journey easier.}



“...Huh? Wait, hold on. Let me find somewhere to rest first.”



Looking around, he spotted a bush big in front of a large tree. Guessing that it was enough to fully cover himself, he dragged his tired body to hide in-between the two.



Afterwards, Adrian sat down on the ground and focused on the hovering display screen in front of him.



{System: The coupon is one out of the many gifts you were given. You can find it in your mailbox.}



Wide-eyed, Adrian darted his eyes around the screen, spotting the icon of a mailbox at the bottom right corner. Once he tapped it, he saw various emails from the gods and goddesses.



“I didn’t know there was such a function….”



{System: Apologies. I was supposed to explain to you about all of my capabilities, but as the situation seemed dire, I had planned to tell you this only after you’ve reached a safe location. However, you need all the help you can get right now.}



Remembering that the monsters were constantly spawning even at this moment, Adrian quickly scrolled through the list of emails, tapping the one that had the title, “Summoning coupon item received from the god and goddess of reincarnation.”



Afterwards, the small email message on the list expanded until it covered the whole screen. Upon looking at it, Adrian noticed that the gods of reincarnation had also left behind a message for him.



“System, will be in danger if I take my time to use the item?”



{System: Hmm...the monsters that start to show up are usually weak, and thus they don’t have much skill in tracking. Although you may not be able to win since you still don’t have a class, it’s possible to evade fighting them as long as you don’t make too much noise and stay hidden.}



Now knowing this fact, Adrian carefully peeked around his hiding spot. When he could not spot any monsters near him, he felt relieved and sat back down.



Adrian had asked the system for this information because he was very curious about the message. Thinking that it might be related to the item they were giving him, he wanted to make sure he didn’t make a mistake when using it.



Although it hurt his pride to be more weak than those usual trash mobs from the games he used to play, Adrian didn’t mind. His experiences of being hurt by normal plants have already damaged his ego. In fact, he doesn’t even feel confidence to win against a level 1 slime.



‘Wait, are there slimes in this world? Ah, nevermind. I’ll find out later.’



Free of worries for now, Adrian read the message.



_____

<From: The god and goddess of reincarnation.>



Hello, Adrian. We would like to apologize for our colleague’s mistake in accidentally summoning you to this world. As compensation, we have decided to give you this item we recently created. It will allow you to summon a living being of your choosing to accompany you on your journey. Do keep in mind that you cannot change what you have chosen.

_____



“...Do I really look like a loner? Or wait...did they look at my stats?”



Remembering that he had the status of ‘loner’, Adrian really could not help but sigh at the situation. However, it’s true that it would be nice to have someone to help him. Maybe that will change his status....



After making sure he did not miss anything from the message, he looked at the attached item below.



<Would you like to use the attached item “Summoning coupon”?>

Yes / No



Still feeling that he was missing something, Adrian didn’t click either of the two options and instead clicked the name of the item.



< Would you like to view the item’s information? >

Yes / No



After tapping ‘yes’, he was very proud of himself. If he had used the item carelessly, he might’ve made some bad choices.



Right away, another screen prompt appeared right beside the email.



_____

<Summoning coupon>



Rarity: ???

Required level to use: None

Restriction(s): One-time use

Function(s): Allows the user to summon a living being of their own choosing from another dimension.



Description: Created by the god and goddess of reincarnation, this item allows the user to summon a living being with their chosen preferences from another world into theirs. The summoned being will then be bound to the user, not allowing it to hurt them. However, consent must be given from the chosen candidate. When picked, a message will be sent to them, giving them the option to either accept or decline your summon. If the candidate doesn’t accept, another candidate will be picked that is similar to the user’s preferences. Once the candidate accepts, they will be teleported to the user’s side. After all the necessary conditions are met, the candidate is allowed to request something from the gods of reincarnation themselves.

_____



After reading the item’s description, Adrian was very confused.



‘So when the message said I could ‘choose’ my companion, it literally meant I could adjust what type of companion I wanted?’



Deep in thought, Adrian re-read the description again.



‘I can get the consent part, but is it really that easy to summon someone from another world? How can the system even know what kind of person to get based on what options I picked? This is so strange….’



{System: I would recommend hurrying before the monsters spot you.}



Remembering once more that he could not win a fight with them, Adrian put all the other thoughts out of his head and used the item.



‘If this is a gift from the gods themselves, I really should stop questioning it. This isn’t Earth anymore, so anything is possible here.’



Soon after, yet another screen appeared.



_____

< Pick your preferences for a companion >



Species: Human / Humanoid / Neither  || (More choices will appear if either ‘humanoid’ or ‘neither’ are picked)



Gender: Male / Female / Neither



Age Group: Teenager / Young Adult  || (Options are limited to around the user’s own age group)



Class Selection Type: Power-oriented / Skill-oriented / Task-oriented || (The user will be able to select which class they prefer their partner to be, after choosing the class type.)



Extra information:

Power-oriented = Type of selection with different classes to choose from, that focuses mainly on increasing combat capabilities and fighting power.

Skill-oriented = Type of selection with different classes to choose from, that focuses mainly on having many skills for various situations.

Task-oriented = Type of selection with different classes to choose from, that focuses mainly on many non-combative job specializations.

_____



After glancing through all the information, Adrian pondered on what to do. However, hearing noises in the distance made him panic. Thus, he slowly peaked up his eyes above the bush and looked around for the source.



When he could not find anything, it only made him panic even more.



‘If I hide myself well, I might be able to avoid whatever is making all that noise.’



{System: It appears that goblins are near your location.}



Surprised to see this message, Adrian mentally slapped himself for forgetting about the system.



When he was about to reply back, Adrian remembered the system’s advice and quickly covered his mouth, afraid that he might make too much noise and draw attention to himself.



{System: I applaud you for not making a sound. Goblins have quite the sensitive hearing.}



Upon reading this, another display screen popped up in front of Adrian.



< Would you like to turn mental-link on? >

Yes / No



Seeing this message, Adrian was dumbstruck.



{System: This option allows us to communicate telepathically instead of you having to read my messages, or me having to listen to your voice.}



After pressing ‘yes’, Adrian sensed that he had just been insulted. However, the situation right now didn’t let him dwell on it.



---To be Continued---



Author’s Notes:



Haha.... Hey guys! It’s been a month now, and I still don’t have much motivation to be productive ;-;.



Got through this chapter on separate days, and it still has the same length as the previous ones XD. I’m gonna be writing some action next chapter, but it really will be my first time doing this. Therefore, it’s most likely gonna have even more terrible writing :D.



I also realized that some people were confused about the 3 periods that appeared by itself throughout the story. It's just implying that there will be a time-skip afterwards. I will just edit them and say how much time has passed instead, so everyone can understand.



Hmm.... I also wanted to post some extra short scenes just for fun. It doesn’t really have much to do with the storyline though, so feel free to skip it if you want.



Extra Scene:



“Hmm....”



{System: Is something the matter Adrian?}



“Ah, not really. I was just wondering how you could see and even hear me. Since...well, you don’t have eyes or ears.”



{System: Don’t league me with those imperfections. After all, I don’t need any body parts to function. It just takes a bit of mana to communicate with you.}



“You are quite a rude system, even going as far as calling humans an ‘imperfection’. Still though, you aren’t completely wrong.”



{System: I am never wrong. Facts are my specialty. Besides, humans are nowhere near close to being as ‘perfect’ as I am.}



“You also have quite the big ego.... Anyways, I meant that you were correct that we are imperfections. After all, no one is perfect, and everyone has flaws. Even me.



{System: I believe you need to re-read my last message. I have already stated my point there.}



“...System, you are not really hearing me are you.”



{System: What do you mean? I can hear you just fine.}



“System. I will make it clear to you, so either shut the hell up and listen to me talk, or I’ll turn you off.”



{System: Adrian, even if you are my host, you can’t just tu-}



< System has been turned off. >



“Hah...I wish there was someone like me I could talk to. It just doesn’t feel the same talking with the system....”



‘I miss Earth...no, I just miss my family....’



(Hey, author here. Just wanted to let you know that Adrian doesn’t really have the power to turn the system off. Otherwise, I would have to expla-I mean, otherwise, the story would get complicated. These short scenes are just a little extra side story, so don’t think everything they do here is in line with the story.)