Lazry's eyes widened as he stared at the floating screen. He felt his breath stop in his throat.
The glowing blue text shimmered faintly in front of him. For a moment, he didn't move. He just blinked, once, twice, three times, waiting for the illusion to fade. But it didn't.
"What the hell…" he whispered.
He rubbed his eyes hard. The words remained. He slapped his cheeks, once, twice. "Ouch!" He muttered. The sting was real. The screen didn't vanish.
Lazry sat up straight, staring at the faint lines of text floating in midair. "No way. I'm dreaming, right?" He pinched his arm, hard enough to make himself wince. "Ow! Okay, that hurts. That means I'm awake… right?"
The words on the screen didn't blur or disappear. They glowed steadily in front of him, taunting him with their strange calmness.
"Alright… alright, think, Lazry, think," he muttered, ruffling his messy hair. "You're not hallucinating. You didn't drink. You didn't use curse energy today. You… did nothing. Literally nothing."
He leaned closer to the glowing letters, squinting as if his proximity might reveal a trick. "So, is this real? Like, real real?"
The blue light reflected in his pupils. He hesitated, reached out a trembling hand, and tried to touch it.
His fingers passed right through.
"Wha—!" Lazry yelped and jerked his hand back. The light rippled like a pond disturbed by a pebble, faint waves spreading outward. The air around his fingertips tingled faintly, as if brushing static.
"No way. I actually felt that," he whispered, staring at his hand. His heartbeat quickened. His mind raced through every possibility—illusion spell, curse residue, some leftover backlash from losing the Nine-Failed Fox. But none of those explanations fit. This felt… different.
He paced back and forth in his cramped apartment, muttering to himself like a man losing his mind. "Okay, okay. You're seeing things, Lazry. Maybe the backlash is hitting your brain late. Or maybe this is some kind of… post-traumatic hallucination."
But when he turned back, the glowing panel was still there, waiting patiently.
"Alright, if this is real, someone's gotta confirm it." He grabbed his phone from the nightstand. His hands trembled slightly as he scrolled to one familiar name.
"Winston," he mumbled, pressing the call.
The phone rang three times before a soft click came.
"Good evening, young master," came the calm, well-trained voice on the other end. The sound of an engine purred faintly in the background—Winston must still be in the car.
"Winston, tell me something," Lazry said quickly, voice tight. "Am I awake right now?"
There was a brief pause. "Pardon, young master?"
"Just answer! Am I awake?"
Winston frowned inside the car, glancing at the driver, who looked equally confused. What sort of question is that? he thought.
"Of course, young master," Winston replied cautiously. "If you are calling me, you must be awake."
Lazry exhaled sharply. "Not you, me! I'm asking if I am awake!"
The butler blinked. "Young master, you… are calling me. So… yes?"
Lazry let out a long sigh, sounding both relieved and excited. "Alright, alright. Good. Don't disturb me for now."
And then, before Winston could respond, the line went dead.
Winston stared at the phone, bewildered. "He hung up?" he murmured.
The driver peeked through the mirror. "Everything alright, sir?"
"I… am not certain." Winston's brows furrowed deeply. "The young master was devastated earlier. He sounded broken. And now he calls me asking if he's awake? He even sounded… cheerful."
Winston's heart skipped. A dreadful thought crossed his mind. "Don't tell me… the young master has gone mad?"
"Should I turn around, sir?" the driver asked.
"Yes. Go back. Now."
The tires screeched as the car made a sharp turn.
Back in the apartment, Lazry was oblivious to Winston's panic. He sat cross-legged on the bed, staring at the floating screen like a child discovering magic for the first time.
"This thing's real," he muttered. "It's actually real."
He reached out again, poking the light, this time with more confidence. Still no physical texture, but the light shimmered at his touch, responding faintly. "Alright, let's see what you can do."
He waved his hand. "Close."
Nothing happened.
"Disappear."
Still nothing.
"System go away?"
The screen floated, unbothered.
Lazry frowned, squinting at it. "Turn off? Vanish? Hide? Shoo? Begone, cursed screen of light!"
He sighed, dragging a hand down his face. "Alright, maybe I'm supposed to say something specific."
He leaned back and muttered to himself for a solid minute, thinking. Then, snapping his fingers, he said, "System on."
The screen pulsed softly, like it heard him.
His heart skipped. "Wait… really?" He quickly said, "System off!"
And just like that, the screen blinked out of existence.
Lazry froze. His mouth fell open slightly.
"...System on?"
Ding!
The screen returned.
His face lit up like a child who just discovered fire. "It works! Oh, it actually works!" He jumped to his feet, his laughter echoing in the small room. "System on, system off! On! Off! On! Off!"
The screen obeyed him each time, flickering in and out of existence.
"Okay, this is insane," he said breathlessly. "But in a good way. Like, really good."
He read the glowing text again, every word sinking in more clearly now.
[ Ding!
[ Congratulations… you did nothing today…
[ AFK System Activated!
[ The host will now grow endlessly without end…
[ Daily missions: Optional missions available with unique rewards too.
[ System: Any activity related to curse magic pauses the AFK system… ]
He stared blankly at it for a moment. "Wait… so all I have to do is… nothing?"
The idea slowly sank in.
"Hold on. This system rewards me for being lazy?" He rubbed his eyes, reading it again just to be sure. "Grow endlessly… by doing nothing? That's… that's insane. That's actually insane!"
He laughed nervously. "No, no, there's gotta be a catch. Systems don't just hand out free power."
He raised his hand, focusing slightly, letting the faint trace of his curse mana gather at his palm. A soft red mist coiled between his fingers—weak, unstable, but still there.
Ding!
A new warning flashed before his eyes.
[ Warning!
[ The Host is about to use curse mana or magic that will interrupt the AFK system.
[ Are you sure you want to continue?
[ Note: If curse magic is used, the host will stop growing endlessly for one month.
[ Another note: The higher the level of the curse beast conjurer the host has reached, the shorter the punishment will be: A month can turn to week, to day, to minute, to seconds…]
Lazry blinked. "One month?!"
He immediately released the energy, waving his hands. "No no no, stop! Cancel! I didn't mean it! Put it back!"
The screen steadied.
He sighed, collapsing onto the bed again. "Okay… so no curse magic. Got it. No training. No fighting. No summoning. Just… nothing."
He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "After all these years of breaking my body to get stronger, now I received a system that wants me to sit still. Haha! Guess the universe has a weird sense of humor."
He stared at the ceiling for a long while, letting the absurdity of it all settle inside of him. His mind buzzed with thoughts. If this was real, then he might finally have a chance. A real chance to surpass them.
He turned back toward the floating text. "Alright, let's see what else you've got."
He started experimenting again, trying different words. "System stats? Menu? Status? Profile? Info? Data? Open sesame?"
Nothing.
He tried tapping the screen. Still nothing.
"Come on, work with me here," he said, leaning forward, his face inches away from the glowing panel. "I'm the host, right? I'm the chosen one or something, right? Give me something to work with!"
He slumped, scratching his head. "Maybe I should phrase it differently."
He took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and said clearly, "System host profile."
The blue light rippled. Then, new words appeared.
[ Profile:
[ Name: Lazry Lycannis
[ Age: 17
[ Status: Healthy
[ Occupation: Curse Beast Conjurer
[ Curse Beast: None
[ Abilities: Basic Lycannis Fighting Style
[ Curse User Level: 4th Infusion Initial Stage Curse Beast Conjurer. ]
Lazry blinked. "Wait a second…" He leaned closer, eyes wide. "Fourth Infusion stage? That can't be right!"
His voice trembled. "I was only in the 3rd infusion peak stage yesterday!"
His hands shook as he gripped the edge of his bed.
"I… I really leveled up? By doing nothing?"
He laughed, half-crazed, half-ecstatic. "No way! No freaking way! This system's real! It's real!"
He threw his head back and let out a long, triumphant laugh that filled the room. The sound echoed through the night, blending with the city's chaos outside.
And for the first time in years, Lazry felt something he hadn't felt since he was a child.
Hope.