Along the ruined streets of Fulm City a pile of rubble shifts.

“Ugh, what the-”

A man dressed in refined armor with a blood stained face opens his eyes and finds himself staring at the sky.

Fuck, where am I? Everything is fuzzy.

He stumbles as he tries to push himself up.

As the soldier recollects himself, he recalls he had been facing off against the horde of monsters attacking the city.

Flashes of the battle fill his mind.

The knowledge of the blank space in his mind quickly fading.

“Damn, the stampede! Did I get knocked out?”

Rapidly standing up the man checks himself for wounds.

Along his forehead is a large gash but the wound has scabbed over as though he has been out for a while.

His armor is dented and his weapons are missing.

Looking around he finds people staring at him, confused by his looks and actions.

The city has calmed down since the initial attack, but people are still wary.

Citizens all back away at the sight of the bleeding shouting man.

He looks around but no one will make eye contact with him.

He snorts.

Worthless commoners. Most of them likely never developed their core to the point of being able to use magic.

A group of adventurers walk by as the man glares out at the crowd.

Seeing a bloodied soldier in a uniform that clearly indicates status, they rush over to help, only to freeze in place before getting too close.

“Huh? Why did you stop? I am Viscount Leasteer Tolard and I am in need of healing. How is the battle going?”

None of his questions are answered, the adventurers just look over with confusion.

“Um… Hello?”

Despite declaring his position as a noble the adventurers remain unmoved.

No, they seem to be wary.

Their hands are on their weapons and their glares are piercing straight through the bloodied man.

Confused himself and slightly angry, the Viscount steps forward.

“Stop! Not another step!”

The Viscount’s anger flares as the adventurers draw their weapons on him.

How dare they draw their weapons on a noble?!

I shall have to teach them a lesson.

Filled with rage, the Viscount reaches out and summons a ball of fire in his hand.

Or, at least, he tried to.

However nothing happens, not even a spark.

What? Why can't I-?

He glares at the commoners.

Are they restricting my magic somehow?

The noble hastily tries to identify the group across from him.

Nothing.

No information, no race, no levels, just nothing…

His magic won’t work, his identification skill is gone, none of this should be possible.

His thoughts are a storm.

Nothing can block identification from working! How?!

He reaches out for The System.

No response.

“T-This is… No… Not possible!”

He reaches out, and reaches out, and reaches out.

Still nothing.

The System that has been a part of him for most of his life is nowhere to be seen.

“Why why why why why why why?!”

Falling to his knees the crazed man clutches his head and his neck as he spirals.

The adventurer party keeps their weapons and magic aimed and ready as they watch this unfold.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Hey boss, you are seeing this too right?”

“Yeah, we need to report this immediately.”

Something had occurred when they identified the man.

Normally, the skill returns the race and level of the being, but in some cases it provides more.

[ Human - Level 467 - Threat ]

Such extra information is normally only shown when encountering one race.

The elves.

Enemies of humanity that defy The System.

He is the enemy.

Those words arise, unbidden in their minds.

Disgust, and anger flare in the adventurers.

As the man shouts crazily from his place in the rubble, the adventurers decide to restrain him.

He claimed to be a noble, but that didn’t stop the adventurers from being incredibly harsh as they tied him up.

His struggles are worthless without access to his magic.

Within moments, the man is tied up.

“I got a message back, we are to report to the king with the prisoner right away!”

The leader of the party locks a small enchanted communication device back on to his belt and orders his party to move out.

----------------------------------------

Sitting around the large round bar table I lean forward at the king’s words.

“While I do believe that it would be best to ally with the other races, truthfully I can’t see that happening.”

He looks down slightly with a frustrated face and lets out a rather un-kingly sigh.

Allying with the other races really is the best option for everyone, but there is a major problem aside from just the discrimination from the humans.

“There is just too much history and hatred to even begin discussions.”

Even when the king had tried to push ahead with laws to improve the treatment of slaves he was met with extreme refusal and the laws never passed.

If he had pushed any harder his position as king would have worsened considerably.

Nobles who are set in their ways are difficult to change the minds of, and they hold a lot of power over the direction of the kingdom.

Minds become even more difficult to change when you take into account that, because of Class Ascension lengthening people's lives, and the personal power they gain from their magic, new ideas are all too easily tossed out.

As I point out the issue the king had alluded to I see his guards nod along.

It really is a problem, but there is a bigger one I need to bring to light.

I just received a message from Prim about the current status of our plans.

It seems like everything has worked out so far so I need to do my part as well.

Though, I hope her word choice in the message is not a sign of chuunibyou taking hold… It felt unnecessarily edgy.

Forgetting about my weird maid for now I focus back on the plan and sit up straight with a serious glint in my eye.

“Hey, so I am going to say something strange, but I need you all to hear me out.”

Sensing the serious atmosphere, the rest of the people in the room develop stern looks on their faces.

Even Agera, who had been his usual far too relaxed self, seems to be sitting straighter.

“You all know that I have memories of another world, and while in that world there was certainly discrimination and hate… Something about the way people react to the elves and dwarves in this world… it just feels unnatural.”

“Unnatural?”

Randall eyes me cautiously as he takes in my claim.

“Yea, for example, when you identify an elf their information shows up red and calls them a threat correct?”

Even if someone has never identified an elf before, such information is known even to children.

It is just one of those things that everyone learns as if it is just a simple fact.

“I see, that is true.”

I can see the gears turning in the king’s mind.

I am feeling good about this, just a bit more of a push.

“Everyone treats that as if it is just natural, or because they are an enemy race, but I don’t know… The other world didn’t have this system as part of everyone’s lives. But there was something similar.”

I went on to explain about the internet and how it affected people's lives and opinions.

People would be given incomplete or misleading information all the time to lead them to wrong and hateful conclusions.

By the time the third world war came around, tensions were already crazy high and people would be screaming in the streets about killing others simply for being different.

A lot of which was directed my way.

“So, you are saying that the special identification is acting like propaganda?”

The king is so very close to getting it, I want to smile at how well this is going but keep myself in check.

“Yes. But there is more to it than that, The System is connected to your core which is a direct link to your mind…”

“No…”

The king looks aghast at my suggestion.

He leans back in his seat with a fearful hand placed to the back of his neck.

Sera, who had been struggling to keep up this whole time, finally snaps, and words spill out of her rapidly.

“A-Are you saying that The System is making people hate each other?!”

“I am.”

The whole room goes silent at my clear affirmation.

They could never have considered it.

The System was just ingrained too deeply into their society that such an idea was ludicrous.

It would be like questioning if gravity itself was mind controlling you.

“T-That’s ridiculous…”

A guard standing behind the king mutters, pale in the face herself.

I take a deep breath before moving on to the next bomb.

“I should also disclose that I found something strange during my time in The Sea of Trees.”

The Temple of Rebellion.

A base dedicated to fighting against The System that contained information about how it was created long ago for some nefarious reason lost to time.

I explained what I found there and how it was surrounded by strange monsters made of blue energy, and that these monsters were made by The System.

“It seemed that the entire building was blocked off from The System. I even received information from a rebellious part of The System that claimed that people who are not connected are hunted down by those who are.”

“What?!”

As the whole room screams out a knock comes from the door.

One of the king’s guards manages to reign themselves in before answering the door.

“What is it?”

A soldier on the opposite side explains in a panicked voice that reaches the whole room.

“Some adventurers have found one of the missing nobles, Lord Tolard, but something is wrong. Identification shows him as a threat…”

“Bring him here immediately.”

This is a massive risk I am taking here, but if I can sow the seeds of doubt I can hopefully make a real difference that is not just about killing.