Yep, I'm not crazy. It's still there. No matter how many times I focus on something else, the screen, or whatever this is floating in my vision, remains. I think I'll just stick with “screen” for now. As I come to that decision, the system runs out of patience with my hemming and hawing and opens another window.

  Not really sure what is going on and too overwhelmed with new and unusual stimuli, I decide to stop thinking and just roll with everything going on. “Um, Yes?”

  Well, it seems I have no choice but to click yes. I can't think of any reason to wait so might as well get this show on the road. Speaking out “Yes” seemed to work, just as it did last time, and I was met with a new screen replacing the previous one.

  Really, it's as easy as just focusing on it? Why have I been saying everything out loud then? Well, can't change the past, so concentrate on the future Elias. Focusing on the + next to Traits in the so-called Character Screen, a new window is opened just as the system said it would.

  You know, I'm getting really tired of being confused. Every time this system throws something at me I have no clue what it is. I mean what am I supposed to do with Monster Creation or Trap and Puzzle formation? And it wants me to pick one? Why?! No, keep calm Elias. Just go with the flow, roll with the punches.

  Huh, for once self-talk actually worked. I actually calmed down from that. That's another thing to add to the list of new and unusual things I am experiencing. For now though, I need to focus on what's important: this screen the system placed in front of me and wants me to choose from. Although the system said I could get some help with this so lets try it: “System Help: Monster Creation.”

  Great, so Monster Creation allows me, the Dungeon Core, to create monsters in a Dungeon … What's a dungeon? I mean I can guess, but the system has never actually said what a Dungeon or a Dungeon Core is.

  You know, thinking about it, the system never said that the help command was exclusive to the few subjects it has provided so far. Maybe I can get it to answer some questions about other things it's showing me. With that thought in mind, I state “System Help: Dungeon Core” and am rewarded with a new panel opening.

  Well, it's an answer at least. But why did the system say I was extremely valuable? I mean those two teens THREW ME AWAY!!! I was a person god dammit, not some cheap toy they could just toss aside. But wait, I am a ball now. An opaque, yellow, glass ball.

  Why was this upsetting me so much?! Whoo, deep breaths Elias. Just, calm down. Anyway, now that that's over, it’s time to find out what a dungeon is, “System Help: Dungeon.”

  So it was self-explanatory. Well, I needed to check anyway and now I know for certain. A picture of what is happening to me is finally starting to come together. Now I need to try and flush out some more details from the system. I think I start with what is a trait? “System Help Traits.”

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  Really informative there, system. I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything more from this system. Outside of a few instances, it has been quite stingy with information so far. Oh well, while I'm at it I might as well just get the rest of the things on the Character Sheet out of the way. I think I'll start with “System Help: Level.”

  Well no shit. Is the System intentionally being extremely vague on some things? Ehhhh, nothing I can do about it. Next up is “System Help: Tier.”

  Another dud… Great. No clue what to do with this lackluster information but any info I can get for now helps. Anyway, on to the next one. “System Help: SP.”

  Sooooo, a Fiat currency. Great. What's next, unpaid mandatory overtime? System, if you are trying to enslave me I swear to god I will find a way to kill myself again… Why did I say again? Have I killed myself before? Is that how I got here?!!!

  No, bad brain. No more spiraling down any rabbit holes. Actually, I don't have a brain, do I? Soooooo, how am I thinking right now?!... No, no, no, stay focused Elias. I have more important things to focus on for now and the next thing is “System help …” What was next again? Oh Yah, “System Help: Companion.”

  Hey, the system is back to giving details. I mean seriously system, would it kill you to be consistent? The information I’ve been getting is aaalllll over the place. Although what I have so far at least paints a basic picture.

  In essence, I dig a hole in the ground, fill it with traps and monsters, and the bad guys can't get me. What bad guys though? Come on system, would it really kill you to tell me what's going on? Still no answers, huh? Not that I expected any.At least I'm getting… somewhere.

  Now that I'm done with the Character Sheet, it’s back to the Traits, “System Help: Trap and Puzzle Formation.”

  For the whole build-a-dungeon thing, I can see some potential here. I just don't have enough info as to whether it's actually useful to me. Working off the assumption that I will be making a dungeon, do I need traps?

  Also, looking back at the Monster Creation Trait, I'm not sure I need it either. Just like traps, what am I going to do with a bunch of monsters? This world obviously has no clue what a dungeon core is. Extrapolating from there, this world probably has no clue what a dungeon is either. For argument's sake, I built my dungeon, then what? If no one knows what a dungeon is, why would they delve into it, why would I even need to build it in the first place?

  Of course, what else am I going to do with my time? Even though there is a computer right next to me, I doubt I can use it to surf the web or anything. And that TV has definitely seen better days, so no 1000 channels of cable for me. I guess I'll make a dungeon if for nothing more than to just pass the time. And hey, when I DM’ed for DnD 5e, I always like making the dungeons more than watching my players stumble through them.

  So, I'm making a dungeon. The first step to do so is to finish off this Trait selection. “System Help: Loot Creation.”

  Another dud. Well, they can't all be good options. I was hoping for at least one good option though. Are any of these useful? Monster Creation, Trap and Puzzle Formation, and Loot Creation. I don't think I need any of these. Is there any detail I missed that can swing my decision?

  Looking back at the Trait selection screen, I do see a detail I missed before. A detail that ultimately decides which trait I am choosing: the recommended tag next to the Monster Creation. For a system that has been quite stingy with any help or advice, to go out of its way to recommend something to me, there must be a pretty good reason. So I'm picking “Monster Creation”.

  Navigating back to the character screen, I do just as the System recommends and select the Plus sign next to Features.

  Before I can even begin to try and understand anything of this new selection, I am interuppted by a great crashing noise coming from the pile above me. Turning my attention to the pile, I am surprised to see metal raining from the sky. Why is metal falling from the sky? What kind of hellish place is this?

  No… The metal is not raining from the sky, it's falling from some flat, round disc of metal. This strange disc sways with each piece that falls from it, and as the last bit of metal is cast off the begins to move away. Now that i can get a better look at it, I realise that it is in fact a crane with a magnetic plate. A crane that appears again shortly to dump more metal upon my pile.

  Was that crane always on the other side of the pile? How did I never notice it? It‘s making enough noise that it's impossible to miss. Have I been so caught up in my head that I've been oblivious to my surroundings? Looking back through my crystal clear memories I immediately realize that, no, I was not oblivious, as every sight and sound was perfectly captured. Just not focused on at the moment.

  So what changed? In fact, now that I'm looking, a lot has changed. For one, long shadows now stretch from everywhere towards my right. Shadows that weren't there just a little while ago. Where did these shadows come from? It's not like it suddenly got brighter out? Or did it? My memories seem to paint a startling picture.

  A sense that I didn't even know I had has just shown itself. Looking back, I realise that my sight’s sensitivity to light has changed. For some reason though, I can still see perfectly fine no matter how bright or dark. Looking at the shadows confirms it for me as my new sense is telling me that some of those shadowed areas should be too dark to see. Yet I can see into them just fine. What's going on?

  Putting all the pieces together it suddenly clicks for me. The new light, the long shadows, the sudden activity. It is all because it is morning. People have come to work, sorting the trash. Then, almost as if to verify that, a truck pulls into view, passing between my pile and the one in front of me.

  The “truck,” for I'm not sure I should call it that, is weird. Theeeee, I'll call it a vehicle for now, is a boxy, square thing made up of hard angles and smooth white panels. What makes it weird though, is the lack of any noticeable cab. Instead, its front is just a flat surface angled back at a shallow angle. No doors or windows noticeable anywhere.

  Honestly, it looks like a long rectangular box on wheels. The wheels are another thing weird about the vehicle, it has eight of them. Four in the front and four in the back. Also, all the wheels turn simultaneously to maneuver the machine through the trash.

  While I have been observing the vehicle, it has come to a stop just past my resting spot on the pile. Before I can wonder what it is up to though, it begins to back up towards my pile. As it comes to a stop just short of my pile, two panels on its back swing open to the sides revealing an interior not unlike that of a semi-trailer, but absolutely full of trash. Trash that was summarily shoved out the back of the truck by an unseen force, right onto the base of my pile.

  Once all the trash was out of the back of the truck, for now I know it is a truck, a trash truck, the truck pulls forward out of sight. I assume it's off to pick up another load of trash somewhere. Well, that was enlightening, I guess?

  Now that the distractions are out of the way, I should focus back on this Feature choice. Looking at the options I begin to parse through them when my attention is once again grabbed by a sudden noise. My focus turning to the noise, I merely see the pile I am currently inhabiting. I assume that the noise came from the other side of the pile, so I once again turn my attention back to my pending choice only for my attention to once again be stolen away by another random noise. This continues on for the rest of the day.