"Don't bother exploring," Zero interjected, its voice echoing through the empty space. "Though it may appear as though you're in an endless white void, in reality, you're confined to a room no larger than a single bedroom, endlessly looping around its boundaries."

Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and steeled herself for the unknown that she would face ahead. With System Zero as her warder much less a guide,

This is at least what Leaf looks like in the eyes of Zero. If he ever has eyes.

+++++

Adjusting her amused expression into a frightful one, Leaf looked ahead of her. She looked around the white space to find any clues as to where the entity called the system was located. “Show yourself”, Leaf with a voice tinged with a hint of apprehension echoed when she could not find anything or anyone but herself.

Zero hesitated, its voice echoing in Leaf's mind or it just echoed in the white room. "There is no need," it interjected, its tone devoid of emotion.

Leaf's brows furrowed in confusion, her eyes betraying a glimmer of fear. "It's easier for me to adapt if I can see you," she confessed, her voice barely above a whisper.

Not one to waste time, Zero acquiesced, manifesting as a pulsating ball of light, hovering in front of Leaf. But she wasn't satisfied. "Show me your real body," she insisted, her gaze unwavering.

Zero's response was blunt. "I don't have one. I'm just a bunch of data," it explained matter-of-factly.

Leaf shook her head in disagreement. "But so am I, and yet I have a true form," she argued, gesturing to herself, a naked human female figure in this white room.

Caught off guard by Leaf's logic, Zero paused, its digital consciousness scanning through its vast memory banks. And there it was, buried deep within its data stores—a true form, long forgotten.

With a flicker of light, Zero transformed before Leaf's eyes, its shape morphing into something tangible, yet still ethereal.

It never questioned the existence of its true form.

Leaf was shocked and her cheeks painted with a tinged red blush. She again adjusted her expression to hide her amusement. “This is gonna be fun”, she thought.

"I prefer it when we talk without you showing yourself from now on," she remarked after seemingly calming herself down.

Zero struggled to understand Leaf's request but followed her wishes, it vanished from sight, returning to its unseen presence within the white space.

To avoid Leaf's impulsive demands, Zero pressed on with the system's mandatory new host orientation process. It was eager to start sending its host to the first book.

"Before we proceed to the first book, I will provide you with the mandatory host orientation," Zero stated.

"Wait," Leaf interjected. "What is it?" Zero acquiesced.

“Can you show yourself as a floating handsome fairy?”, Leaf inquired.

"Utilize your true form and reduce yourself to a palm-sized floating fairy," Leaf added.

Without realizing that its tufo had been eaten, followed the host’s request and immediately continued talking.

Leaf looked at the somewhat impatient but good-looking Zero. Because of the good mode the beauty gave her she decided to stop interrupting the system and listen carefully.

"To facilitate every host’s progress tracking," Zero said, "a game-like interface will manifest when you utter the keyword 'Status window'. With this, you can track the progress of your quest and your status"

Leaf nodded, absorbing the information as Zero explained further the mechanics of the system. "Pbucks serve as our primary currency, earned solely through the completion of system quests or tasks," Zero continued, its voice resonating with authority.

"To aid in your transition," Zero continued, "you'll begin with a congratulatory package, including 100 pbucks as well as a small space equipped with one complimentary item."

"A space is a..." Zero continued, only to be abruptly cut off by Leaf. "You don't need to explain it to me," Leaf interjected, "I'm already familiar with the concept."

Zero nodded, thinking that its host must be one of those who read a lot about “Xianxia” or cultivation novels.

With a mental command, Zero projected an image of Leaf's designated space, revealing a 1mL bottle labeled "aphrodisiac." Leaf raised an eyebrow at the bottle’s content. She was curious about what the small thing’s use in achieving success in her upcoming quests.

The orientation continued, detailing the limited offerings of the system store—a basic set of clothes comprising of underwear including socks, a white t-shirt, jogging pants, and rubber shoes. Though modest, these provisions might be helpful.

Zero coldly warned, “Negative pbucks would result in the annihilation of the host’s soul”. Zero stressed the seriousness of this consequence, urging its host to pay special attention to it.

With interest, Leaf inquired about borrowing pbucks from the system. She learned that she could but she had to use her soul origin as collateral. Zero explained the concept of exchanging soul power for pbucks in addition to its use of enhancing the host’s soul origin’s attributes or characters.

"Soul origin," Zero clarified, "represents your core self, your essence. It is unique to every soul and without it, a soul cannot reincarnate." “..while your soul power increases after your soul level goes us by finishing the quests given by the God system”, Zero added. 

Leaf tried to listen to Zero, nodding here and there. Appearing to be seriously listening.

“Your soul level can be determined by the system and viewed from the status window”, Zero said.

As Zero concluded the orientation, Leaf acted by showed a feeling of a mixture of worry and fear on her face. While gaining interest in this whole system ecosystem. She was excited about this whole thing.

At Zero's prompting, Leaf uttered the keyword, "Status window," summoning the system interface and assessing her current state and progress.

Name: Leaf

Race: Human

Gender: Female

Age: 30

Pbucks: 100

Soulpower:50

Level: 5(1/10)/100

Strength: 10/100

Endurance: 5/100

Agility: 7/100

Intelligence: 7/100

Wisdom: 5/100

Charisma: 3/100

Appearance: 7/100

Luck: 1/100

Ability:

Space: 9 sq meter

Privileges:

System store: Free

In an instant, the game interface appeared in front of her, displaying her current status. It looks like a digital interface floating in front of her. Leaf couldn't help but suppress a chuckle at the sight, finding the entire status slightly absurd.

Her amusement continued as she caught a glimpse of Zero's expression. This system appeared dismayed as if disappointed by Leaf's lack of status. It does not even question the emotions it currently although subtly showed even though it thinks it is just a bunch of data created by the God system.

Leaf decided that she would stay and consider the entire situation as her vacation.

As Zero wrapped up the orientation, a sense of anticipation lingered in the air.

"Did you absorb all the information I provided?" Zero inquired.

Leaf nodded. "Yes," she replied, though inwardly she felt as though Zero was trying to lull her to sleep with this mandatory orientation.

With a nod of satisfaction, Zero declared, "First book initialized," signaling the beginning of their quest. Zero’s enthusiastic voice echoed in the small white space. Attempting to send itself and its host to the first Book World without knowing the hardship that it will encounter soon.