Glowing messages floated in front of Arthur's eyes, bathing the dark room in a faint light.
He stared for a second.
Then a slow grin spread across his face.
"I really did get a system, huh…"
The words slipped out, half disbelief, half excitement.
He swallowed once and lowered his voice.
"Hey, system. You can talk, right?"
A mechanical, emotionless voice echoed in his head.
[ Yes, Host. What is it? ]
Arthur's smile widened.
"Tell me, what can you do?"
[ As of right now, I can only show you your status window. ]
Arthur blinked.
"Anything more…?"
[ Nothing more. ]
The happiness on his face drained instantly, replaced by a flat look of disappointment.
"You know, on Earth I read a webnovel… what was its name again…" Arthur muttered. "Something like 'The Extra Who Shouldn't Exist'… or whatever. Written by some cringe author."
He clicked his tongue.
"The point is, in that novel the protagonist had a useless system. And you're acting just like that system right now."
The voice responded without a hint of shame.
[ As if you're any better. ]
Arthur's eye twitched.
"All right, all right. Tell me whatever you can do… there must be something, right?"
[ First forget all that and listen to me carefully. ]
The light in front of him pulsed.
[ This world is not the same gaming world that you remember. ]
[ This world exists because higher beings grew bored. ]
[ They decided to add other variables into this boring world where heroes rise, vanquish the threat, and a happy ending comes. ]
Arthur's fingers curled slightly on the bedsheet.
"Wow, it sounds like a fun… game?"
[ What kind of human are you? Did you not listen to me just now? You're playing in someone else's hands. ]
Arthur waved his hand lazily.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard that. Now continue."
[ Systems were created to quell that boredom. ]
[ Each one a toy. ]
[ Each host a piece. ]
"And one of those pieces is me, right?" Arthur whispered.
[ You are. ]
[ Interference breeds anomalies. ]
[ And anomalies end games. ]
A pause hung in the air.
[ This world is no longer the one you remember. ]
[ The script has changed. ]
[ Unknown Heroes who were bound to lose will rise. ]
[ Villains will become more dangerous. ]
[ Extras will awaken and refuse to vanish. ]
[ Many—like you—have been chosen by Systems. ]
Arthur gulped.
'Well, that's concerning…'
"So tell me," he said slowly, "what types of systems are there?"
The air felt heavier with each word the voice spoke.
[ There are countless types of Systems. ]
[ Hero Systems. Growth Systems. Divine Systems. Cursed Systems. ]
[ There are also Systems that see their hosts as parasites. ]
[ When their host is no longer useful, they create situations where the host is guaranteed to die. ]
Arthur's breath hitched.
He inhaled deeply.
"Just to clarify… you're not one of those systems, right?"
[ Don't worry. You have found someone like me, so you are lucky. ]
The voice sounded almost proud.
[ I will help you because the stronger you become, the more my rank will increase. ]
[ And I will also become stronger. ]
Arthur exhaled, half relieved, half skeptical.
"It's hard to believe," he said, "but I can't do anything about it anyway, now can I."
He shook his head.
"Okay. Tell me more."
[ Systems are ranked—from the weakest to the weakest, and from the strongest to the strongest. I will tell you about the ranks later.]
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"Then… which one are you?"
Silence.
He let out a bitter laugh.
"You're one of the weakest, aren't you? A trash system for a trash rank like me."
[ Even if I am one of the weakest, don't underestimate me. ]
[ I am the Ultimate Scavenger System. ]
[ Other Systems grant power. ]
[ I, on the other hand, steal it by consuming them.]
"…Steal?" Arthur repeated.
[ Defeat a System bearer. ]
[ Kill them. ]
[ Their System will collapse. ]
A chill crawled up Arthur's spine.
[ When it does, I will harvest all its fragments and abilities ]
[ Skills. Techniques. Growth functions like a system shop. ]
[ What was theirs will becomes yours and unlike their systems we will not have any limit to steal. ]
Arthur's mouth opened.
No sound came out.
[ Heroes grow. ]
[ Villains conquer. ]
[ Extras refuse to disappear. ]
The words lingered in the silence of the room.
[ You will consume (◉╯◡╰◉) ]
For once, Arthur was truly speechless.
'This isn't trash,' he realized. 'If this is used correctly… this system could become the greatest weapon in existence.'
He thought for a moment, then asked quietly:
"So… is there any other way? Any way that doesn't involve killing? In case I don't want to get my hands dirty."
A brief pause followed.
[ There is. ]
[ But it requires specific conditions to meet. ]
[ If all are met, you may steal only one ability from them. ]
Arthur's eyes lit up.
"So I don't have to—"
[ The ability will be random. ]
[ You cannot choose. ]
His shoulders slumped.
"Well… that's a bummer. Not being able to choose."
[ Do not worry, Host. ]
[ As I grow with you, these limitations will be removed. ]
Arthur blinked.
"Oh…"
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Looks like you really do have potential, huh?"
The interface warped slightly, lines of light bending as if the system were smug.
[ I told you so. <(￣︶￣)> ]
"All right, all right, don't get cocky," Arthur said. "First, show me my status window. You can do at least that, right?"
[ Of course, Host. ]
The air shimmered.
A transparent screen materialized before his eyes.
════════════════════════════
[ STATUS ]
════════════════════════════
Name : Arthur
Race : Human
Class : None
Rank : G
Talent : Imperfect Imitation (F-Rank)
Level : 1
EXP : 0 / 100
────────────────────────────
[ ATTRIBUTES ]
────────────────────────────
Strength : 16
Agility : 9
Durability : 20
Intelligence : 70
Will : 15
Charm : 80
Luck : 14
────────────────────────────
Attribute Points : 0
────────────────────────────
[ INNATE ABILITIES ]
• Photographic Memory • Boxing
────────────────────────────
[ Skills ]
None
------
[ Remarks : If mediocrity and uselessness had a patron saint, it would be you. ]
════════════════════════════
Arthur stared.
Then slowly facepalmed.
"You know," he muttered, "now I get why you chose me."
[ What does that mean. o_O ]
"Forget it," Arthur said.
His gaze dropped back to the remark.
"What's with this insulting remark, huh?"
[ Don't look at me. The beings that made you their chess pieces put it there. ]
Arthur froze.
Then he slowly looked up toward the invisible sky.
"Fuck you guys, if you're watching right now," he said clearly.
He raised his middle finger.
The status window continued to float before him, mercilessly honest.
"Now I understand why that father of mine kept calling me a failure," Arthur murmured. "My talent is trash. My stats are miserable."
He squinted.
"But it can't be that I don't have any skills. Surely the previous Arthur must've learned some skills, right?"
His eyes slid to the lone line under innate abilities.
"The only useful thing I have is a photographic memory and boxing… looks like I was born with it. But even that can't help me fight my enemies.
What surprises me is boxing. Sure, the coach trained me properly, but it's not like I was born with it… or was I? Well, forget it. It's a good thing I at least have that."
He exhaled slowly.
"I'll have to do something about that…"
His gaze drifted across the numbers again.
Strength, low.
Agility, sad.
Durability, barely decent bu nothing helpfull.
Intelligence and Charm stood out like anomalies.
"The only high stats I have are Intelligence and Charm," Arthur muttered. "Intelligence will be useful for learning magic…"
He clicked his tongue.
"And Charm is not very useful. On Earth it didn't help me much anyway."
Arthur sighed and let his body sink into the cozy bed, limbs sprawled.
"What the hell," he thought. "One moment I was living that boring life on Earth, and now I have to fight to survive from tomorrow… and I'll also be homeless."
He closed his eyes.
The glowing screen slowly faded as the night deepened.
Time passed.
The sky outside shifted from black to deep blue, then to the pale light of dawn.
Morning came.
Arthur stood in his room, a packed bag resting by his feet.
He took one last look around—the spacious bed, the chandelier, the shelves of books, the polished floor.
"Well… goodbye, luxury," he muttered.
Cold air from the corridor brushed his face.
He stepped out and began walking down the long hallway of the Imperius estate, the sound of his footsteps echoing softly.
Servants glanced at him and quickly looked away, as if he no longer existed.
Eventually, he stopped.
A pair of ornate doors rose before him, elegant and imposing.
He stared at them, taking a deep breath.
"Don't worry," he whispered to himself. "Now she's your mother too. How bad can it be…"
Just as he reached for the handle, a calm, chilling voice floated from inside.
"You can stop standing at the door and come inside."
Arthur smirked.
'That's the world's greatest assassin for you.'
He pushed the door open and stepped into the room.
------
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A/N : -
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