If you're any bit as smart as you look, you'd know this is a blind shot in hell.

She laughed as her hands moved dexterously between the weave of knots. Along the shore, everyone sits or stands with some task. Building the oars, finishing the hull, or bringing larger leaves to be knotted and tied taut here with me and Astra.

The night was long, and after the talks, we drank fermented juice found in the local fauna. Its taste was horrendous. It rolled and caught in one's throat as if fighting back. But once it hit the gut, it clung and hummed a warm, calming feeling. It made the whole thing worth it.

Intense shit last night. I said trying to liven the mood, to break the monotonous flow of work.

Yup, she said as she continued her work. Astra had grown taciturn; had I done something? No, it must be how she is when working. I simply didn't know her enough. After all, we only shared a bed, not our hearts, minds, or souls.

Never that.

Quietly, I hummed and mimicked her weaving, taking my time so as not to mess up the complex pattern.

Losing myself within the rhythm of the pattern made me lose track of time. It wasn't until we had reached the end of the rope that I realized the sun was setting on the rocky coast. Turning my head, I searched for her face but found nothing. Looking around, I saw that everyone else had begun returning to camp.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Letting them go on before me, I waited for the beach to completely clear out before entering my warden.

Unlocking the system, I looked at my power reflection.

Odd, I thought.

Every stat that I had was now reaching the max, 99. At least, that was the cap back then, with a new expansion on the horizon that might be changed again. Or, a pre-patch could have already unlocked several stats to the next power creep.

Next, I fumbled over my skills, noting that they glowed oddly, some even doing that familiar glitching pattern I had now grown accustomed to. To any sane person, this would be akin to waking up with a tumor on your head and going on with the day like everything was normal. But no matter the ailment, whether physical or system-based, a person gets used to it. It became your new normal.

What they meant by being a system breaker was when one oscillated with power yet was still a prisoner within its grips, battling to touch a higher level or merely unlocking content without its permission.

I was a virus; that's what I was.

Whatever or whoever was in control of the system, people like me, those who break what others create, I would snuff them out first if I were them.

They shouted for me to join them from the shore's end. Standing at the start of the jungle clearing, their voices broke my thoughts and even scared me a bit.

Unconsciously, I snapped my system screen closed as if they could see and spy on my very being. You never wanted anyone to know your accurate stats, what you were actually capable of. They seemed like good people, that's why I felt that it was worse for keeping myself as shrouded as I was.

Then again, squinting at my stats that glowed with new untested power.

I didn't want to promise more than I could bring. It's better that my strength surprised them than let them down.

Closing my system again, I approached them at the edge of the woods with a friendly smile that had nothing to hide.