One Percent Too Late

Bound to his host for twenty years, a system has watched Simon Mercer fight for the affection of Vivian Hale, a woman who keeps returning to her ex-husband Adrian Lane and their son. On the night of their anniversary, Simon's carefully prepared meal lies smashed on the floor, and Vivian leaves again for Adrian's apartment, carrying the bank card she always uses for them.

When Vivian says she no longer cares about love, the affection score stuck at ninety-nine drops to ninety-eight. Simon asks the system what happens if he abandons his mission and is told he will be erased. He orders the request submitted, and after Vivian walks out, he collapses, coughing blood.

At the hospital, his friend Nolan Cross confronts Vivian, while Simon tells her only that he has the flu. The system can only watch his life value fall and wonder whether twenty years of devotion were ever worth it.