Another one.
The words echoed in the cavern of my mind. Another System user.
The universe wasn't just playing a joke; it was hosting a fucking convention. First a regressor sister, then a demonic half-brother protagonist, and now a rival love interest who was, in all likelihood, a transmigrator just like me.
The "Scribe of Correction" class. The same designation the Nexus Codex had given me upon activation. It wasn't a coincidence. We were two players from the same team, inexplicably dropped onto opposite sides of the board.
My mind raced, connecting the dots. Her impossibly logical moves, her foresight, her ability to subtly guide events—it wasn't just the cunning of a noble's daughter. It was the calculated precision of someone with a System of their own, someone with quests, analysis, and a database of knowledge.
The 'Guidance Imprint' on Lin Feng wasn't a spell. It was a skill. A debuff. She had tagged the protagonist, turning him into her unwitting asset, a bloodhound she could guide towards treasures and opportunities that she could then usurp. She wasn't supporting him; she was farming him.
It was a brilliant, parasitic, and utterly ruthless strategy. I felt a surge of professional, almost academic, respect for her.
This changed the nature of our noon meeting entirely. It was no longer a viper meeting a predator. It was a System user meeting a System user. A clandestine summit between two gods hiding in mortal skin. Did she know what I was? Unlikely. If she did, her approach would have been different. She still saw me as a native of this world, a talented but ultimately comprehensible anomaly.
This was my single greatest advantage. The element of surprise.
I spent the next few hours in deep meditation, not just to stabilize my power, but to plan. I delved into the System Store, my 10,000+ SP a formidable war chest. I didn't buy weapons or techniques. I bought information and utility.
[Skill Purchased: 'Mind's Eye' (Passive)] - Cost: 3,000 SP
Description: A low-level psychic defense. Grants resistance to mental probes, illusions, and emotional manipulation. Generates a notification if the user is targeted by a hostile psychic or system-based scanning ability.
[Item Purchased: 'Pendant of the Liar'] - Cost: 2,000 SP
Description: A simple silver pendant that masks the user's true emotional state and intent, presenting a facade of calm neutrality to all forms of detection, both magical and technological.
[Information Package Purchased: 'Known System Classes & Origins'] - Cost: 1,500 SP
Description: A basic primer on the various known types of Systems distributed by trans-dimensional administrative bodies.
I spent over half my points, but it was a necessary investment. I was going into a meeting with a fellow player. I needed to be shielded, and I needed to be informed.
As I absorbed the information package, the true scale of the game began to dawn on me. The Nexus Codex wasn't a unique miracle. It was a piece of incredibly advanced technology or magic, distributed by entities far beyond the Netherworld or the Heavenly Dao. There were dozens of classes: 'World-Breakers' like Lin Feng (though his was a corrupted, demonic version), 'Scribes of Correction' like us, 'System Slayers', 'Glitch Mages'. We were all agents, pawns, or wild cards in a cosmic game far beyond the comprehension of the mortals around us.
And Seraphina and I, two 'Scribes', had been set against each other. Why? Was it a mistake? Or was this world a designated arena, and we were the chosen gladiators?
The time for the meeting arrived. The Whispering Bridge was a delicate arch of white stone in a secluded, quiet part of the Imperial Gardens, a place known for secret lovers' trysts. A perfect place for a clandestine meeting.
She was already there, standing in the center of the bridge, looking out over the water. She was dressed in a simple but elegant gown of deep violet, her black hair unbound, rippling in the gentle breeze. She looked like a painting.
As I approached, a soft notification pinged in my mind, thanks to my new skill.
['Mind's Eye' has detected a passive scanning attempt.]
[Source: Seraphina Vane.]
[Scan Type: System-based 'Appraisal' skill.]
[Scan has been successfully deflected by 'Pendant of the Liar'. No information has been breached.]
I kept my expression neutral, my stride even. So, she started the game before I even arrived. As expected.
"Lady Seraphina," I said, my voice calm. "Thank you for coming."
She turned, a polite, curious smile on her face. Her own [Eye of Scrutiny] equivalent had just hit a brick wall, but she showed no sign of it.
"Your invitation was intriguing, Your Highness," she replied smoothly. "You spoke of factions. A complex situation. I am here to listen."
"I believe," I began, getting straight to the point, "that our 'hero', Lin Feng, is not the true threat. He is a symptom. A weapon being wielded by a hidden hand."
Her eyes sharpened. "A bold claim. Who is this hidden hand?"
This was the moment. I looked her straight in the eye, my gaze unwavering. "My sister, Lyra."
I threw Lyra under the bus. It was the perfect misdirection. It was plausible, based on the night's events, and it would force Seraphina to reveal her own position. Would she defend Lyra, her unwitting pawn? Or would she agree with me, throwing her own ally away to gain my trust?
Her smile didn't falter. "The Princess? She seems so devoted to you. And her knowledge of events is… uncanny. Almost as if she has seen the future."
She was feeding me bait, testing me. She was hinting at Lyra's regression, watching to see if I would take the bait and reveal my own impossible knowledge.
"Perhaps she has," I said, my tone flat. "Or perhaps she simply has a better source of information than the rest of us." I paused, letting the silence hang between us. "Which leads me to you, Seraphina."
Her expression remained a perfect mask of polite curiosity. "Me, Your Highness?"
"You are the most intelligent and ambitious woman I have ever met," I said, my voice a low, sincere murmur. It was a genuine compliment, which made it all the more disarming. "You see the game more clearly than anyone. You see the pieces on the board. You see my brother Valerius, the lawful pawn. You see my sister Lyra, the ambitious queen. You see Lin Feng, the chaotic knight. And you see me, the wild card."
I took a step closer. "The board is in chaos. Alliances are shifting. I am building my own faction, one based on absolute power and ruthless efficiency. I have the Emperor's secret backing, and I have the protagonist in my dungeon. But I am missing one thing."
"And what is that?" she whispered, her eyes wide with intrigued anticipation.
"A partner," I said. "Someone who can see the whole board. Someone who understands that morality is a chain and sentiment is a weakness. Someone who, when the world is burning, will not flinch but will instead help me collect the ashes to build our throne."
I held out my hand to her. "Join me, Seraphina. Not as a fiancée, not as a political ally. As an equal. Together, we can take it all. We can crush my sister's ambitions, dismantle the hero's destiny, and seize the mandate of this empire for ourselves."
It was the ultimate gamble. I was offering the one thing I knew a player like her couldn't resist: a seat at the winner's table.
She stared at my outstretched hand, her mind clearly racing behind those amethyst eyes. She was weighing the odds, calculating the risks and rewards. Siding with me, the mysterious and newly powerful prince, against the 'known' quantities of Lyra and Lin Feng.
I had created a new, irresistible quest objective for her.
Finally, a slow, genuine smile spread across her face. It was the smile of a player who has just been offered the ultimate alliance.
"Your Highness," she said, her voice a purr. "You have yourself a partner."
She placed her hand in mine.
And as our skin touched, the system, my system, which had been silent, exploded with a series of notifications that were both a triumphant confirmation and a chilling new twist.
[A temporary 'System-Link' has been established with a nearby 'Scribe of Correction' class System User.]
[Accessing User Seraphina Vane's Public Profile...]
[TITLE: 'Scribe of Correction']
[HIDDEN TITLE: 'Reincarnator']
[ANALYZING... Her soul is not a simple transmigration from another world. It is a native soul of Aethelgard that has been reborn multiple times.]
[CRITICAL WARNING! A foreign entity has been detected within User Seraphina Vane's System. It is dormant, but its signature is unmistakable.]
[ENTITY SIGNATURE MATCH FOUND:]
[THE JUDICATOR. The same entity from the Court of Inevitability.]