Chương 4: A PENALTY OR A REWARD

[User Bruce Sterling agrees to accept the Vengeance System on the condition that

1. The system does not coerce or force the User into any actions against his will.

2. The User keeps the right to refuse participation in any quest or task provided by the System without facing punishment or repercussion.

3. The System can not punish or penalize the User for the failure of any quest or decisions made regarding quest participation.

4. The System is prohibited from invading the User's mind or thoughts without explicit consent.

ACCEPT | REJECT]

Bruce took his sweet time going over the rules, checking and double-checking them repeatedly. Bruce knew all too well how people had exploited his trusting nature in the past, leaving him feeling like a clueless clown. Swearing to himself not to fall prey to anyone, not even his own blood, he vowed to follow his own way.

He'd sacrifice what he loved for his close ones, but he refused to do anything he hated, not even for them.

So, he painstakingly combed through the rules, searching for any loopholes.

After what seemed like ages, the system grew impatient and grumbled,

"How many times must you go over the rules? Just accept them. I've given you everything you asked for. You're just wasting everyone's time."

To which Bruce retorted,

"Got somewhere better to be? Hold your horses! Only by checking and rechecking, I can point out any of your tricks."

"There are no tricks! Just accept it, for heaven's sake," the system shouted back in his mind.

"hmm..Seeing you push so hard only makes it smell fishier," Bruce quipped with his hands rubbing his chin.

"....."

"...@!#&*%!@#&%*....…"

Despite not hearing a thing, Bruce could tell the system was all riled up, probably cursing his nine generations' ancestors in languages even the gods couldn't understand!

He knew he had to decide soon and couldn't keep stalling.

Of course, the system sounded shady as hell and he still had his doubts. But he couldn't shake the thought of all the possibilities the system offered. With its help, he could fix his lifelong regrets and rewrite his history. And the system alone could make it possible.

So he finally relented saying,

"ehm..Alright, everything looks fine."

"Good. Accept the system and let's put an end to this nonsense," the system said, its anger subsiding.

"Except...," Bruce started.

"What? What now? What more do you need?" the system practically screamed in his mind.

Bruce played it cool, trying to calm down the system by waving his hands.

"Oh, um, nothing much..he..he. Just add one more line, and we can wrap this up whole," he said nervously.

Silence filled the air.

After a few seconds of what felt like an eternity of hell for Bruce, his back soaked with sweat from fear, he heard the response.

"What?" the system asked with doubt.

Bruce knew he was treading on thin ice here. If he upsets the system anymore in the wrong way, it might just kick him down, terminate him and move on to someone else.

Although he was not sure if the system was really capable of doing that, he wanted to keep that option open. Still, he couldn't figure out why the system, which seemed incredibly powerful from his brief fraction-of-a-second experience from his last moments, was putting up with his crap. But he knew everything had a line that shouldn't be crossed.

Despite his earlier bravado about facing death like a movie hero, deep down, he feared it. Not the pain of dying but the idea of losing his second chance at a fresh start terrified him. But he would rather lose this golden opportunity and end his own life than become someone's puppet.

Even in his past life, few tried to recruit him into various organizations because of his few unique skills but he declined them all. Because even as a low-level mercenary he had his freedom of choice. Well, the pay was shit and the job had many risks yet he was his own man. So he refused to act as a pawn for anyone, even if it was to a mighty powerful system beyond the realm of who knows where.

Bruce kept up the act of staying submissive as he said slowly

"Just throw in this line as the fifth condition: 'Breaking this agreement means facing the consequences decided by the user,'" he suggested, sweating bullets.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Bruce felt the temperature rising. At first, he thought the system was out to get him, but its furious response showed it was extremely mad.

"Are you out of your mind? How dare you? How dare you impose punishment to the will of [???????]'s will. Do you really think you are irreplaceable? You're overestimating your worth puny mortal" the system fired back indignantly.

As Bruce listened to the system's furious outburst, he caught something about it being someone's will, but the word didn't quite register with him. He pushed that thought aside, realizing it wasn't important right now. His main goal was to calm the system down.

Now, he had two options for handling the situation.

First, he could get all aggressive again, like when he boldly claimed he wasn't scared of death. Sure, he was relieved the system hadn't terminated his ass and still listened to his "requests." So, he could try that same approach and hope the system kept listening. But then he remembered the system's ranting about him thinking too highly of himself and being replaceable. He didn't want to over-risk the situation and get burned permanently.

On the other hand, he didn't want to act all scared and weak either. It was pretty obvious the system was trying to use him, and Bruce wasn't keen on being manipulated. He wasn't sure how making him more powerful would benefit the system. But if there's one thing he learned from his past experiences, it's that anyone offering something without asking for anything in return couldn't be trusted. So, acting all scared and being a pushover might just backfire on him and the system could scrap the whole deal and go back on its word. So he planned to take the middle ground

"Okay. Can you calm down first?" Bruce said sternly, not showing an ounce of arrogance or fear. His voice was very clear as he continued,

"It was not my intention to insult you in any way. So if you think I insulted you with those words, first I deeply apologize," he said, bending his head slightly.

He sensed the tension easing and knew his words were getting through. So he went on,

"I have my doubts, but I also know for a fact that you're offering me a great opportunity here." Pausing briefly for a response, he continued when none came,

"You very well know that our first meeting wasn't exactly trust-building. As much as I hate to repeat, it is you who were responsible for my death."

He could feel the system was itching to respond but he pressed on without a pause not wanting interruptions.

"But I also appreciate the chance you've given me to redo things. So I deeply thank you for that" He said now lowering more than his head, his total upper body made a 90-degree bending.

After a few seconds, he straightened up and continued,

"I have no idea about the reason for you to do this, but I'm definitely sure you got a purpose and I don't want to dwell on that as I don't have enough authority as per your words. So I promise you that I will not ask you for any information in the future that cannot be answered. You need not worry"

Even though he couldn't pinpoint it, he felt the system's anger easing off, so he got to the main point

"But I'm a person who frequently got duped by many people in the past. I was pretty naive. It's like I had a sign on my back saying 'Easy Target.' Even those I trusted most didn't hesitate to use me for their own gain. So I swore to myself not to get cheated by anyone. I would rather lose my life."

"Now If you take a moment and rethink what I said, you'll understand that my words weren't meant to offend you or much less punish you. They were simply a means of safeguarding myself from potential future pitfalls, ones that could sneak up on either of us without even realizing it. When I mentioned 'consequences,' I was referring to a wide range of possible outcomes, none of which was taking advantage of you. My aim was solely to prevent any exploitation, to shield myself from being taken advantage of. That was the whole point behind the condition. If you feel I came across as arrogant or superior, feel free to administer whatever punishment you see fit. Hell even terminate me and move on to someone. But please understand, that wasn't my intention."

He closed his eyes tightly, bracing himself for some kind of imminent strike of lightning. But as seconds ticked by without incident, he cautiously opened his eyes and heard the system's voice.

"I get why you're worried. But that doesn't change the fact that your proposed condition still sounds like punishment to me," the system stated firmly.

Bruce, anticipating the same response, replied promptly,

"How about this instead? Instead of facing consequences, what if you offered some kind of "reward" each time you went against one of the conditions? Because if you can't agree to this simple rule, what's the point of our agreement? What's to stop you from ignoring everything in the future?"

"Are you suggesting a form of penalty?" the system inquired.

"Penalty is an ugly word. Think of it more as a compensation you grant me. That's all," Bruce clarified.

After a few moments of silence, the system relented and added the final condition.

[User Bruce Sterling agrees to accept the Vengeance System on the condition that

1. The system does not coerce or force the User into any actions against his will.

2. The User keeps the right to refuse participation in any quest or task provided by the System without facing punishment or repercussion.

3. The System can not punish or penalize the User for the failure of any quest or decisions made regarding quest participation.

4. The System is prohibited from invading the User's mind or thoughts without explicit consent.

5. If the User ignores any of the aforementioned conditions, the System shall provide the User with a form of compensation as an acknowledgment of the oversight.

ACCEPT | REJECT]

Bruce double-checked all the conditions again, much to the annoyance of the system.

Despite being uncertain about the system providing compensation if it broke any one of the conditions, or frequently breaking the conditions and providing worthless compensation, he felt he had no other choice but to accept. He didn't want to provoke the system further, at least not today. So, in the end, he decided to accept the system.