e squinted at the sunlight streaming through the crack in the curtains, the harsh light adding to the pounding throb in her temples. For a moment, she tried to piece together the foggy remnant

seen it all before. She pictured herself crying, clutching her grandmother's hands, begging for forgiveness. "I didn't listen, Grandma. You were right. I should've stayed away from people like Mina. She's a bad influence. Look at what it's done to me now..." But this system? This thing, this invasive force that was hanging over her head and face like an unshakable cloud-it wasn't just a bad decision. It was too real. Too tangible. Far too real for her to chalk it up to the effects of Dream Bliss right?. The screen floating above her she refused to believe anything else was definitely an hallucination. The words were clear. Cold. Uncompromising. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block it out, but when she opened them again, it was still there, staring at her with its impossible demands. Why did hallucinations have to feel this real? The floating screen had felt like a bizarre hallucination at the time, but now it was in her face, refusing to disappear. She groaned, pulling the blanket over her head. "This isn't real... This isn't real," she muttered, her voice muffled by the fabric. "I'm just sleep-deprived. Maybe I'm still dreaming... maybe I ate something weird. Also yes that it was an allergic reaction to the drug. Yes that's it that's the only explanation last night... or maybe I'm just going crazy." [New penalty activated: Ignoring system messages will result in penalty.] Before she could even process that, her entire left leg seized up in a painful cramp, the muscles knotting as if to punish her for her defiance. Yujin screamed in surprise, clutching her leg as it spasmed uncontrollably. "AHH!-" Yujin shot up, clutching her calf in pain. [Penalty issued: Temporary muscle cramps.] "You psychopath!" she yelled at the air. [You have 11 hours, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds remaining.] Yujin wanted t