章 51: System

[Why are you in a hurry? I'm not going anywhere. After all, I am in you.]

As soon as Joon-won called out the system, a slightly irritated voice resonated in his mind. He wondered where this system got its attitude from.

[What? Do you have a problem with me having an attitude? I'm not like those cheap prototype systems which are mechanical slaves to their owners and only have basic functions to make them stupidly strong. I don't have any of those useless features. And don't think you can hide anything from me. I can even read your thoughts.]

Hearing the system sneer and diss other systems was weird for Joon-won. He didn't even know what this so-called system was, and now it was talking about others.

"Well then, tell me about yourself. What are you? And why are you inside my head? Is this black magic?" He wondered if it was black and forbidden magic from his old world, concerned but puzzled because he thought magic couldn't exist in this world.

[Well, I am here because you are a confused little human. This world is unlike your previous one; it has no mana and instead has something called technology, which I'm sure you've come across in the past few days. So I'm here for a short while to show you the ways and give you some guidance.]

"A short while? How long is short?" he inquired, confused.

[Well, you don't need to know that. Just forget my presence. I'll pop in and out before completely disappearing. I'll be around for a while, giving you a few suggestions and explaining some things. That's it.]

Joon-won finally understood. This system was inside him to help him find his foothold. It was valuable, considering he was in a new world and knew nothing about it. Having guidance was good and helpful as he started his journey, which was bound to be shaky.

"Now for the rest of my questions. How did you get inside my brain? And what do you mean by other systems? Does that mean there are other people with systems too?"

[How did I get inside your brain? Hmm, it might have been a god who granted that soul's wish to give you a good life after you died. Yeah, it was that woman's soul. When God asked her if she wanted to reincarnate, she chose to give you a system and a chance to live the life you always wanted instead of herself living another life.]

"Woman? What woman?"

[Your wife. What was her name again? Zen...]

"Zen Quin. She did that? But why?" Joon-won sat in a daze, hearing the system explain how he got it. His wife chose to give him this power and life instead of using it for herself.

[Hey, what are you getting so emotional about? Knowing God, she might have reincarnated anyway. Who knows, she might be in this world?]

"What? Where? How can I find her?" He instantly felt hope. He wanted to meet his wife, the wife he understood and loved too late. If he had a chance, he would give everything to her.

[Woah! Don't get too hyped. I only said there was a chance, not a certainty. Who knows if she even remembers you? Leave it up to fate. If you're lucky, you might meet her.]

This deflated his excitement as he lay back on the couch.

[Well, now that this is out of the way, let's continue. There are other 'systems' but mostly prototypes made for God's amusement. They were all failures because their users became too powerful and dumb. I am a simpler system with more human-like intelligence to help you.]

[As for other system users, there shouldn't be any in this world. It's a basic world with no power. Another system user would overwhelm it. There are limits to worlds. If it were your old world, there would have been many because its limit is higher.]

Joon-won felt relieved hearing this and digested the information. The system seemed almost human, with feelings like irritation and pride.

"Now, the main question: do you really read my thoughts? Because if you can, I'd like to turn off that feature." He felt uncomfortable with the idea of the system knowing his thoughts.

[Hahaha, of course not. I can't believe you thought I could. I just predicted your reactions and thoughts. I've seen many reactions with the prototypes, so it's easy to guess. God didn't make me a stalker to creep you out.]

Joon-won felt relieved, as if he was free again. He leaned back, reflecting on the past week—from being reborn to getting to act again to gaining a system. It was a rollercoaster ride.

He grinned slightly and asked, "So now, system, what next? Do you have any suggestions for me?"