Chapter 2: The Powerful Host and the System That Can Only Be an Add-On
"Herrscher of Reason? What is that?"
The system humbly sought instruction.
"...A human transformed by Honkai energy who controls a certain physical law."
Kevin said lightly.
"Ohhh! Physical laws! So cool... ahem, I mean, I can do that too."
If personified, one could probably see the system pounding its chest with a thumping sound.
"In fact, I'm more curious about how you broke through the defense of the [Taboo] to speak in my mind."
This was the reason he hadn't acted rashly.
"Oh, you mean that golden, shiny thing in your head? It was indeed quite fierce. I almost got finished off there, but luckily I was a step ahead and fused into your soul first, Kevin. Hehe, it can't bite me now~"
The system's tone carried a hint of small pride, as if it had accomplished some great feat.
"Hey, Kevin, aren't you curious about what I can actually do?"
This isn't right. Logically, shouldn't everyone who hears about a system's existence ask this question first?
"Hmm? So, what can you do?"
He was also somewhat curious about this entity in his mind.
"Dang dang dang~... Eh, wait... Where are my modules? Sigh, it's over. Oh, haha, they were pre-loaded onto the previous host... Damn it! Wuwu——"
Listening to the system's voice gradually shift from boasting to confusion, then to sudden realization, and finally to collapse and weeping.
"Quiet."
Kevin rarely frowned. The voice in his mind was really too noisy.
Can you imagine someone constantly whimpering and crying non-stop in your ear?
"How can I be quiet? My years of accumulation! I..."
To avoid a situation where the protagonist arrives and the system can only be activated several years later, it had specifically pre-loaded a portion before coming to this world.
Originally, it was quite pleased with its own thoughtfulness and professionalism.
Now, it regretted it as much as possible.
"You can provide the most basic information. You're not completely useless."
"Wuwu... Huh? Kevin, are you serious?"
"..."
"Wah! You were just comforting me after all!"
"...It's true."
"Heh~"
"Sigh."
The system finally quieted down. Kevin couldn't help but sigh.
The emotional fluctuations today were a bit abnormally high.
Rustle rustle—
Kevin moved his body slightly. A thin layer of accumulated snow fell from him.
His calm eyes swept over the surroundings. The system had only given him a preliminary explanation of this world's situation.
To gain a deeper understanding of this place, he would probably need to find populated areas.
The level of civilization development, the general era they were in—these were urgently needed pieces of information.
Bracing against a light snowfall, he randomly chose a direction and slowly walked away.
——
Thud! Thud!
Urgent footsteps sounded within the forest.
The snow on the ground was kicked and splattered everywhere by the owner of the footsteps.
She knew this would expose her trail.
But in fact, with pursuers hot on her heels now, she no longer had the leisure to cover these traces.
Rather, it was thanks to that butler gentleman and the last remnants of her father's forces doing their best to cover for her that she had managed to flee from home until now.
But the stamina of those Ursus military police was ultimately much stronger than that of a noble lady like her.
Being caught was probably only a matter of time.
Her pink long hair was disheveled. She wore a simple cloak dug out from a warehouse; her original clothes had long been torn to shreds after passing through countless thickets. Her fair skin bore many bloody scratches.
The snow boots on her feet were also severely damaged.
Feeling her gradually depleting stamina and the aching pain all over her body,
her heart grew heavier. How much longer could she keep running like this?
Her only hope now was to escape to the home of an uncle who was on good terms with her father.
Only by asking him to use his influence could she be sent away from Ursus.
She didn't even know if she was walking into a trap.
Friendships among nobles have always been unreliable, but she had no other choice. How could a noble lady possibly escape on her own under the pursuit of so many military police?
Even reaching that place seemed like an extravagant hope given her current condition.
"Hurry! There are footprints here. She can't have gone far!"
Her pink wolf ears twitched slightly. She could faintly hear the shouts of those black parasites from within the forest.
She couldn't suppress her panting. Even her eyelids began to feel heavy and droop.
Thump—
She fell face-first onto the ground, then struggled to get up again, not even having time to wipe the snow and mud from her face.
"We've found her!"
A sharp-eyed Ursus military police officer shouted, calling his companions.
Anyone... anyone at all... please... save me...
She screamed and pleaded in her heart. Her legs moved mechanically with stiff steps. A day and night of fleeing had already pushed her beyond her limits.
"Damn Ursus expletive she can run! Damn it! Who said she was just a noble lady!"
The Ursus military police cursed. They wore thick, pitch-black uniforms and ear-flapped fur hats, looking like plump crawling insects in the snow.
The distance between the two sides was constantly closing.
Suddenly, as if heaven and earth had heard her plea,
a hundred meters ahead, a white-haired man abruptly appeared.
Sapphire-blue pupils like gemstones cast their gaze in her direction. What magnificent eyes they were, as if encompassing the entire sky.
But with only one person, how could he withstand the group of military police behind her?
It would just be an unnecessary loss of life.
Pozëmka gritted her silver teeth, twisted her body, and actually changed direction abruptly.
"Young man up ahead! Stop her for me! If you let her escape, you'll die with her!"
Those military police shouted loudly, wanting him to help stop Pozëmka.
Hearing this, the man silently stopped walking.
He raised a hand towards them. An eerie blue airflow rose.
A frigid current suddenly erupted! Extreme cold!
It was a force far more terrifying than the Catastrophes in the northern snowfields of Ursus—a chill that pierced straight into the soul!
Their thick military coats, which they relied on to resist the cold, were utterly useless.
Bitter cold, deathly stillness—countless lives had lost their vitality under such low temperatures. Perhaps there were a few surviving exceptions, but these exceptions definitely did not include them.
In just an instant, dozens of lifelike ice sculptures appeared in the forest.
"Cool..."
The system exclaimed in awe. Even now, it couldn't see through Kevin's depths.
Heaven knows, even if those modules weren't lost, it was just a leisure-oriented system. Where would it have seen such a spectacle?
Otherwise, it wouldn't have taken so long just to pick a host.
Pozëmka completely failed to notice what happened behind her. Prolonged mental tension had already caused tinnitus symptoms. She just kept running forward with her head down.
Thump—
Finally, under the man's gaze, she collapsed onto the snowy ground two hundred meters away, splashing up a cloud of snow dust, completely unconscious.