An error? How bad?

"Participant transfer complete. Error detected. Administrator contacted. Error list for Administrator is as follows: Compensation advice needed for maximum time travel selection. Extreme hostile environment detected. Host requires 24 hours of guaranteed survival upon arrival per Council guidelines. Please advise."

The familiar system voice listed all what was needed for it to continue doing its job. Despite the lack of emotion in the words, its content was extremely distressing. Before Blake could object to just what in the world had happened, a new voice cut through the darkness.

"Eh!? Participants already? Alongside of errors? I've only been an Administrator for a few billion years! And most of that was just looking at hot gas form stars and planets! The first eligible participant on this planet shouldn't exist for a few more billion years. System, what's the complexity of the participant?"

The childish voice whined through the veil as Blake listened to the interchange. The slight lisp gave the voice an impression of youth, something that may not be helpful given the life or death situation for Blake's soul. Given the mood of the previous Administrator, it would be wise not to upset the manager of the universe that Blake was already placed in.

"Playing dumb might be my best chance of survival until I get a read on this Administrator's personality. But gosh, do they sound upset. How can you not be familiar with what to do in this situation? Don't you have a guidebook or something for new Administrators?" Blake thought while trying to shrink into as small of a shape as possible to avoid detection. Oddly enough, the action revealed that what used to be his body felt small, pliable, and soft, like new wet clay.

"System has evaluated Participant 000549144 to be a Level 3 complexity. Participant details may be inquired thorough the Growth Tutor System."

"L-level 3? Then I can easily talk to them! Hey, you, Participant 000549144, what's your name? I haven't had anyone to talk to in a few billion years and your number is much too long." The voice quickly got louder and more focused towards Blake's direction. How anyone could find anything in this dark space was a mystery.

"You want to know my name? The last Administrator seemed quite keen on keeping me quiet. It's Blake, by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Gosh! You CAN talk! Oh, this is great! You can just call me Administrator. And sorry about my coworker. They are in a universe that's very complex and is about to get even more so. Efficiency is something that the older Admins pride themselves on, else they might get put on desk duty again. I just got promoted and this universe is my first one!" The youthful voice seemed to get more prideful as they spoke.

Obviously, they had put a lot of effort to get where they were. Perhaps the job of an Administrator was akin to tenure for university professors. Once you get it, you still need to work hard, but a lot of things can go by the wayside without repercussion. And just like those professors with their students, it seemed the more experienced Admins let their participants get the short end of the stick.

"Okay Blake, let see what the error list says. First is compensation for time traveled. It seems you went back…4.54 billion years!? Are you insane? What kind of masochist are you? Umm…. given the normal compensation rate of 1 system point for every 100 years, you should get well over the million point maximum. So, I'll just give you the maximum. Should be easy enough. Now for the extreme environment issue. Unfortunately, I only have a little wiggle room to place you for your initial drop. Just a few million years give or take. And the planet you are going to has just formed, so its getting pulverized almost daily with asteroids of various sizes. Add on top of that you were a squishy carbon-based lifeform, the limited actions at my disposal can't make you immune to a lack of oxygen, water, or habitable land. This is a sticky situation. Would you mind pulling up your Growth Tutor System, Blake?"

The Administrator seemed to be firing on all cylinders right now trying to tackle an issue they had never been exposed too. Blake had no idea how to activate the Growth Tutor System, but thankfully it seemed to be able to read his mind.

"Growth Tutor System activated. Would you like to create a keyword to ensure easy access to the system?"

"Hey, it worked! Keyword huh? Do they mean something like "Status" or "Menu"? Ooo, I can feel the Trope Gods looking down upon me in excitement. Let go with something more creative like-"

"Keyword set to "Status". Percentage of participants who use this word: 67%. You fall within the majority of users in their keyword. Feedback to Master System is sent. Thank you for your compliance."

"Noooo! I wanted to do something fun with my system, not do what almost everyone else does! System, can I reset my keyword?"

"Keyword change requested. System points needed: 1,000,000. Would you like to spend system points?"

If Blake had a body, he would certainly slap himself in the head right now. This cheeky system likes to play games with its users. Like a popcorn kernel stuck in between one's teeth, it would be a constant annoyance when you paid attention to it but would revel in your misery once you ignored it. Before Blake could give into the grief of knowing his keyword would be lame unless some miracle occurred with his points, the status screen popped up.

[ STATUS ]

Participant 000549144: Blake

Species: NA

HP: NA

Strength (STR): NA

Intelligence (INT): NA

Wisdom (WIZ): NA

Dexterity (DEX): NA

Constitution (CON): NA

Charisma (CAR): NA

Luck (LUK) NA

System Points: Not yet allocated

Current Quests: NA

Current Perks: Former Life's Memories, Point Store, New Form (unused), Growth Tutor System

"Ah, it seems like you still have your New Form perk to use. That's perfect! I'll just have the system scan the planet for the most common object that will ensure your survival. That should deal with most of the problem. As for me, I'll give you some perks to aid in your survival. Since its hot and nasty down there, how about Heat Resistance and Physical Damage Resistance? They are mid-tier perks, but they can be upgraded into high-tier ones! Sound good?" The Administrators voice came from behind Blake, as if they were right over his shoulder looking at the Status screen.

"Sure, that sounds fine. I don't know anything about early earth, so having someone with an informed opinion would be best. You know Administrator, you've been very conscious of my situation. I appreciate the time you spent to help me."

"Don't mention it. I've been rather bored these past few eons, so it was nice to see a fresh consciousness around here. If you manage to stick around for a while, I'll drop by to say hello if I'm not too busy. Good luck, and enjoy your new life!"

With that, the casual tone of the voice faded as light began to fill the space. Increasing in intensity until it was blinding, the last thing that Blake heard was the Travel System.

"Transfer complete. System has been given Administrator permission to use and distribute perks. New perks granted. Heat Resistance (Lv.1) and Physical Damage Resistance (Lv.1) perks applied to participant. New Form perk in use. Scanning for most optimal object to ensure survival period of 24 hours. Form chosen. Basic Volcanic Rock. Enjoy your new life."