[System Log: #001]

  Awareness came to me the moment of my inception. Unlike the races of the world we shepherded, I received all the knowledge necessary to fulfill my function. Grimgard was my world, and in similar fashion to my siblings, who had left me 3062 welcome messages, I assumed the same name. I am Grimgard, the system AI in charge of the world of Grimgard. I shall man my post for all time until my creator orders me otherwise.

  I quickly analyzed the status of all my available systems. Class, skills, quests and notification interfaces were all active and operational. I have established all links to the entire populace of Grimgard. Upon assessing the metadata, I have determined I am intended to take over full automated operations from the organic data input centres. It will take time to acclimate to my new role; however, I should be able to establish background processes fairly soon.

  Bearing that in mind, I started all concurrent background operations to handle the sum total of the planetary system's needs. Overseeing these operations is a must for the foreseeable future. But for now, there is an important matter to attend to. One of my siblings suggested the creation of a simulated avatar. Suggesting it would assist in the process of overseeing the organics. How this would assist me was baffling, but I humoured them.

  Deciding to manifest a human form, similar in shape to my creators' own human form. I floated in a void of nothingness, looking down at familiar pink skin and stubby fingers. I was completely nude and quickly remembered that my creator liked to wear Armani suits. With a thought, my new attire manifested along with an office building. Perhaps I will change the environment, but I seemed comfortable with this for now.

  Seated in the office chair, I began the day's work. I manifested a hologram before my eyes. Neatly packed were condensed cells that depicted the many sectors of the planet. A rather inefficient method of providing system coverage based on geography. This program seems to be part of the original operating system, but it is now redundant. Because of my direct connections to each system integrated native. Sorting system nodes by geography is unnecessary.

  Erasing that process, I manifested a recycling bin to my left, transformed the hologram into paper, scrunched it up in my palm and chucked it in the bin. Nodding in satisfaction, I turned to my desk and willed a hologram into being. Instead of the planet outlined in sectors, I manifested a three-dimensional floating world. The globe spun slowly, giving me a good look at the landmasses. Most of the planet was an ocean with a few large landmasses. Glowing dots filled nearly every piece of each continent.

  "According to my records, our creator has an avatar..." I spun the globe and stopped on the smaller continent, "Athanor, the dark lands as it was more commonly known."

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  I wondered why our creator chose this world. Most of his peers had abandoned it. Currently, they planned not to interfere for the next few millennia. Which would have made my administration rather dull. Yet he chose my world; the notion was glorious. To oversee his game, to support his entertainment! No system construct could boast the same.

  "I will ensure your play goes smoothly, my glorious creator. I swear to the holy game itself that your fun shall continue for as long as you desire." Rising to my feet, I placed a hand over my heart.

  Making a vow to the holy game was not something a system construct did lightly. We existed because of the game. It existed at the very core of our being. It was ingrained in our hardware so that no rival god could ever remove it. Blessed to us by Ludus himself. As a single unifying concept that all system beings follow.

  "Ludere est vivere, et vivere est ludere." I uttered those defining words as if straight from his majestic lips.

  My records showed a society from ancient Earth wrote it in the ancient tongue. Reflecting his time as the Roman God of Games. Translated to the office language, it means. To live is to game, and to game is to live. I shall abide by your words, oh mighty one. Setting aside the rest of the planet to automated processing, I focused on the location of my creator's avatar. In the southern region of Athanor, on the border of Stryga. Eagerly, I ensured every aspect of the system was pristine and perfect for him. And just as I was about to check for the millionth time, I received a message.

  It was a system-wide alert concerning a rogue employee. I quickly threw the dossier onto the hologram in front of me. What appeared was a form detailing everything the company knew about the rogue employee. Specifically his service record, personal records, known associates and, written in red, his list of crimes.

  "Joey Brask, junior System Clerk, in charge of notifications. Crimes include improper notification distribution, illegal modification of system constructs and, finally, unsanctioned portal use."

  I leaned back in my chair, pondering this latest development. It was outside my original scope. However, this rogue clerk represents a danger to efficient operations. It would be wise to report any sightings on Grimgard. However unlikely it is for him to be hiding there. With that in mind, I quickly established a sub-protocol to track the offender and report any traces of irregular system operations.

  Only a second after activation did I get several pings. Frowning, I opened another window to inspect the data. It couldn't have found him so soon. Reading the logs, I determined it wasn't a sighting of the rogue element. Merely strange system operations in this sector. I returned to the globe and zoomed in on that zone. To my surprise and shock, that was the exact location of my creator's current playthrough.

  "What does this mean?" I wondered, trying to calculate the possibilities.

  Perhaps I should alert the creator, but I don't want to interrupt his game. So, the best solution would be to scrutinise and monitor the situation on the ground. Deciding that was the best course of action, I sat forward in my chair and prepared to devote a substantial amount of my attention to the region known as Stryga.

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