I looked at the entity in front of me, expecting a reaction. What came sounded too human, too lifelike to what I depicted the System to be. "Tuisto" laughed. Not a chuckle, but a full hearty belly chortle.
"C'mon. Why now?" I asked.
"Your privilege level has increased or we wouldn't be having this conversation," he said.
"So you are the System. Am I above an ordinary user now?"
"Indeed. I am the System. And I am not exactly the System but part of it. You've never been an ordinary user, an everyday person from Earth transported into another world. There are protocols specially tailored for you," he laughed.
"What protocols? What do you mean?"
"Not yet. I can't tell more. Enough levity. Our time here is short. The thieves and your sponsor will soon try to track us down. I don't doubt their ability to do so.
"Listen, traveler. I am a safeguard installed by the System's creator in case of theft. I am active, so it has come to pass. I have an offer to you, but I need a Divine Core. You don't want to use one from a Demon Lord even though it would work. My purpose is to find someone worthy of the power I can bestow. Someone willing to shoulder the responsibility. You have proven to be that person."
"A Divine Core?" Daphne burst a vein. "Are you mad? She already has a spark even though it is a separate entity. Now a Core? What is this 'gift' that you offer her? Are you trying to make her Ascend? To turn her into one of THEM?"
Boy, the Dryad was pissed. Worse yet, the vegetation around us was obeying her mood. The grass started to wrap around my feet and Tuisto's.
"I can't tell you more. I must go," the System entity said. "But think of what a creator would want its creation to do in case it was ever stolen. Siding with the thieves, it would be not."
Tuisto vanished. The power blocking the environmental sounds and connection to the outside vanished as if it was never there.
"Don't say a word about what happened, ever," Daphne said as the barrier vanished. Then her face changed into an innocent smile. "Come, child. Let's plant these acorns on the other side of the valley away from Windemere."
I stood on the hill and reflexively coiled my tail. What would a creator wants its sentient (or close enough to not really matter if it wasn't) creation to do with the thieves?
Fuck them up, I guess. Was the System intending on weaponizing me? He - 'it' didn't click - did call me [God-Slayer]. And asked for a Divine Core, which I was sure he knew meant I had to commit deicide again.
Why didn't he tell outright? Would any of the Gods be able to read my mind? Loki? What special "gifts" had him hidden within my Status? He did say nobody could mess with me again, not even himself.
I screamed inside my mind. Something broke. Shackles that bound me, that made me docile and cooperative before.
Crouching down, I clutched my head and screamed. It felt as if worms were crawling along with my brain, even though brains had no tactile sensation receptors.
I felt a pain similar to my worst incidents. I felt blood trickle down my nostrils into my mouth. My memories flicked in front of me like an ancient Rolodex with screens showing scenes of my life on Earth and some from this world. The world of my imagination used concepts my mind was used to so I could visualize concepts. I saw the Avengers movie. The Mask. The Puss in Boots. The fox, a cunning scammer in both Oriental and Occidental cultures. The Brer Rabbit, so popular in Georgia, the homeland of my maternal grandparents. Leprechauns, Coyotes with or without faulty explosives. The Celtic Puck, the Brazilian Curupira. The Sumerian Enki, the Polynesian Maui, bastardized by Disney. Finally, Set and Loki.
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What had they all in common? They were all fat liars. You couldn't trust a single word from them. It was obvious.
> CONGRATULATIONS. You unlocked a hidden achievement.
>
> You have unlocked the Perk: Closed Mind, Locked Heart (unique): Your deep thoughts and emotions are immune to scrutiny and external manipulation. This Perk cannot be manipulated or edited except by Developer-level Users. You gain 5 Mind, Willpower, Ego, and Soul.
>
> Due to recently gaining immunity to it, 1 hidden trait was removed.
Looking back, I saw it. Dozens of times, I should've just flipped the bird at these bastards, but time and again I cooperated. I gave out priceless treasures for trinkets. I outright believed the blatant lies of the Gods. Mind-fuckery. The worst kind of fuckery, not that was any that was good. Unless it was someone else's kink. Not mine.
No more mental manipulation. Checking my status, I was pleased to see that this Attribute bump went straight into my permanent values, not the watered-down temporary additions from the Class.
> Level 117
>
> Strength: 30+26 (56) / 40 - Dexterity: 34+42 (76) / 40 - Endurance: 40+36 (76)
>
> Mind: 45+42 (87) - Willpower: 45+40 (85) - Charisma: 30+40 (70) / 40
>
> Magic: 40+68 (108)
>
> Ego: 45+26 (71) - Luck: 40+41 (81) - Soul: 45+40 (85)
>
> HP 15.650.887 (6.421 HP/s)
>
> Energy 34.222.443 (31.116 E/min)
I needed 36 Attribute Points to reach the current cap and push the Surpasser count forward.
A vine slapped my rattle and shook me from my reverie. Daphne.
"C'mon, you lazy snake. I know you want to sunbathe, but we need to plant a grove. Then I want you to make the biggest fairy circle you can so I can start moving in some dryads."
I started working on the fairy ring. The ritual took twenty-four hours to complete. I placed a hand on the ground and started pouring Energy into it. White mushrooms popped up and grew around my hand, dying while at the same time another set of mushrooms grew a meter away. This kept repeating, a hundred times over the next twenty-four hours. A hundred million MP went down the drain to create this massive ring with a bit more than eight acres of area.
Then I rested for another day to recover. While I was coiled on the forest ground, the Elder Dryad made trees uproot themselves and walk out of the way to make room for the new copse of giant trees. We would need to just add water and wait for a few centuries. Who was I kidding? She would probably ask for more of my {Truesilver Blood}.
"You know, there is a vacant spot for an Elder brownie," Daphne remarked, half-serious.
"What's the pay?" I asked in jest.
She giggled. "Pay? Nevermind, then," she sniffled. "I never took you for the mercenary kind. Stay here and guard the place while I go and bring some dryads here, will you?"
Daphne would return later with a dryad for every acorn. The plant-fairly-girls were... rapturous as they hugged the seeds. I even heard something akin to a gormandizing groan.
----------------------------------------
Administrator Realm
----------------------------------------
Wyxnos was startled when the System popped a red window before him.
> WARNING: One of the traits under permanent tracking was removed. Current users for [Loki's Thrall]: zero.
He raised both eyebrows. He ran his queries again. [Loki's Thrall] had zero users. "System, lock the trait [Loki's Thrall]. Block the creation of any traits that allow Status edition by any user with less than Administrator access."
> ACKNOWLEDGED.
Was it over? Did he finally plug the last hole Loki could use to mess with the System? He got a shiver as his intuition led him to make one crucial query. "List all users with Administrator access."
> ACKNOWLEDGED. Users with Administrator-level Access in alphabetical order:
>
> * Alice
> * Gaia
> * Loki
> * Petal
> * Tuisto
> * Wyxnos
Six, when only one appeared in previous queries. "What the hell?!"
At least there would be no more surprises coming from Loki's envoy. The Anomaly was now self-contained.
Wyxnos sat down on the void and a chair appeared as he was about to touch down. He took a deep breath. "I need a vacation."