This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

In this brand new world that I suddenly found myself in, I had honestly thought that I\'d be the only one to get sucked in. Then again, what kind of selfish thought was that? Did I seriously think that what happened to me would stay as a one-off? Of course not. Sooner or later, the mystical force that whisked me away to this beautiful, albeit, infuriating world would take its next victim.

And wouldn\'t you know it, the world chose the one person that could actually fix the game from the outside. Talk about luck...

"W-what happened...." Guidance groaned out, her hand placed on her head to steady herself. "I... Was I dreaming just now..."

"Nope," I shook my head at the poor woman. "This is real, and you\'re inside your own game."

It had been a surprise to see Guidance of all people suddenly appear right in front of us. It had been just after our battle with what I now knew to be Vestygian troops, and we were about to take a short rest before leaving when a disheveled woman in pajamas literally dropped into my lap. I would\'ve joked about her being literally from the heavens, but that would just be poor taste on my part.

"G-Guidance is awake, Stranger?"

Beside me, Shizu hesitantly asked. We were currently in the same inn we stayed at back in the city, having dragged the unconscious dev around on my back as we made our journey back to safety. Well, Guidance was actually awake every once in a while, but a quick look at Shizu almost instantly made her pass out again.

"S-Should I leave?" Shizu worriedly offered. "If she sees me again, maybe-"

"Nah..." I scoffed. "I\'ll pinch her awake if she passes out again. We both know she can\'t continue like this." Especially so now that the dev also clearly had a [Manifest] with her. "We need her to fix whatever\'s happened to the world, and I\'m pretty sure those Vestygians will be back sooner or later."

"Well, if they ever come back, the Empire will face their full might," the princess threateningly mumbled in a low growl. "Father won\'t bow down to their mechanical freaks of nature."

I let out a sigh at Shizu\'s declaration. I didn\'t know when it happened, but she somehow managed to send word of what happened to us to the Emperor, causing the entire capital city to go on high alert as military soldiers now littered the once lively streets. Although, the clear lack of technology on the troops was kind of alarming now that I thought about it.

I mean, how would they even kill machines with spears and pikes?

"W-Where am I..." Guidance weakly whispered out, her bleary eyes blinking blankly at me as she slowly woke up. "Why do I feel... great?"

I almost let out a chuckle before I stopped myself. "Yeah. That\'s one of the side effects of being in a game world, I guess."

"Game... world?"

Oh boy... "Guidance, this is real. You\'re currently in Kattleyna in nothing but your pajamas."

"M-My pajamas..."

I crossed my arms over my chest as I leaned into my seat. Watching as the dev slowly took in her surroundings, her eyes widened when her eyes fell on her own set of admittedly revealing clothes. I wasn\'t one to ogle, but I could still admit that I never expected her to be so... attractive, is the safest word.

"EEK!"

And there it was...

Anticipating this exact scenario, I stood up and grabbed the complimentary bathrobes I got from the drawers inside the room. Ignoring the way her spaghetti straps were practically falling off, I draped the robes over her shoulders, letting off a sigh before quickly going back to my seat.

"T-Thanks..."

"Don\'t mention it," I chuckled. "And don\'t worry, I don\'t particularly care about what I saw."

That was obviously a lie, but I know better than to antagonize people like a lecherous idiot. It also helped that I was utterly desensitized with women being revealing around me at this point.

"I see..."

An awkward silence settled between the three of us. With Shizu standing by the doorway, Guidance sitting up on the bed, and myself leaning into my seat, the joke was starting to write itself by the time I had enough of the absolute nothing going on at the moment.

"Are you okay?"

Guidance perked up at my question, her nervous tension leaking out in spades as her grey eyes locked themselves against mine. Her black hair somehow shone against the starlight coming in from the window, her hands pulling the bathrobe into herself as if looking at it for comfort.

"I\'m... honestly not," she admitted, her voice coming out shaky as she spoke. "I mean, who would be after getting sucked into a new world?"

Giving Shizu a glance, the princess had the tact to keep her thoughts to herself as I moved myself to sit on Guidance\'s bed. The dev immediately scooted away from me, as if trying to give me more space than what I truly needed.

"I would\'ve thought that you\'d like to see your own creation?" I asked.

"No- I mean yes- I mean.... I just don\'t know what to think yet," Guidance admitted, her gaze trained solely on the window illuminating the room as she continued. "I\'m so conflicted..."

I kept my silence as I let the woman process her thoughts. Shizu had taken my earlier seat as she elected to watch the conversation play out without her, golden eyes gluing themselves solely on the newest addition to our group.

"This world... This is my life\'s work..." Guidance wistfully breathed out. "And now I\'m seeing it with my own eyes... It\'s just surreal..."

"Take your time," I advised with a slight chuckle. "I know I did. Besides, we have a lot to talk about, so ask away any questions you might have."

"Questions, huh... In that case..." Guidance trailed off again, seemingly lost in thought as she slowly turned her gaze towards Shizu.

"U-Uhh... My lady?"

"You\'re Shizu... yes?"

"Y-Yes-"

"Can I hug you?"

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