CHAPTER SIXTY NINE

The more questions that I ask, the less I feel I know

~

Core Message

This is the worst day I’ve had since the last big Update

When the mana format changed and left me in this state

But somehow you’ve integrated both in your own soul

Whether it was a mistake or some deity’s goal

After they all read the screen, Sky turned to face the stone

“How come all these red message screens are just yours alone?

What are you, and why couldn’t the system delete you?

When the System attacked Twig, why did it hurt you too?”

Core Message

I’m a dungeon core, but that won’t matter anymore

Thanks to ‘Twig’ I’m not sure I’m even that anymore

His mana is corrupted, but it’s ancient in nature

I guess that I absorbed some, which saved me from erasure

“You’re saying that his mana is a corrupt, old format?

Can’t you be a little bit more specific than that?

What about us, did we get contaminated then?

Will the System delete us too, and if so, then when?

Core Message

It resonates with me because that’s all that I can use

But it’s a format that both your bodies would refuse

You should be safe as long as you don’t hear of that man

Twig, keep that name to yourself for as long as you can

“So you existed in a time before some big update

And there’s no mana now with which you can still resonate

Why would the System do such a thing in the first place

Isn’t there nothing that the System cannot erase?”

Core Message

If only it had that much power, no, there’s System rules

System admins who erase all their problems are fools

Deletion can damage space itself and the timeline

Though their powers are honestly tricky to define

Leaf and Twig were both lost in the conversation now

But they felt relieved and scared at the same time somehow

Twig then thought to ask the only thing that came to mind

“Will the one whose name I can’t say be that hard to find?”

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Core Message

I don’t know if fate will lead you to him, but it might

Either way, all I can help you do is shed some light

There’s no gods to boost your stats, they’re an ancient format

But there is a nostalgic way to get around that

Core Message

You’re no monster or animal, and here’s what that means:

Only gods can channel mana into your blue screens

But in the past dungeon cores like me could to that too

Though the blessing we could give were very small and few

Sky was getting more intrigued by everything she read

She started to feel more excited than frustrated

“You mean you can boost our levels just like gods can do?

Would you do that for us if we kindly asked you to?

Leaf was less inclined to trust the strange old glowing stone

“Sky, we should leave while the System’s leaving us alone

What if it messed up both of our status screens or worse

Who knows if it’s magic is a blessing or a curse?”

Core Message

I would be offended, but you’re right to be afraid

Many die when too many careless mistakes are made

But I cannot channel mana which does not exist

My current mana pool is about the size of your fist

Core Message

I don’t think the System’s going to leave you in peace

It will try to delete you before its woes increase

But I’ll do what I can to help you just out of spite

It’s not much but it should help in the upcoming fight

Core Message

I can only bless one with the old era’s blue screen

But I can give you the best blessing you’ve ever seen

There’s no gods to bless you, but you’ll level up quickly

If you find another dungeon core like you found me

The stone began to crack and red smoke started pouring out

Flowing straight toward Twig who let out a startled shout

It had reached Twig’s chest before Sky had time to react

And seemed to flow into him upon making contact

She cast a healing spell to no effect and thinking fast

She summoned strength into a punch and gave the stone a blast

But it was unaffected by her physical attack

And before long, the smoke was gone and Twig had stumbled back

Core Message

I may have overdone it, but you should be strong enough

Compared to the new mana, that’s quite powerful stuff

It’s getting quite hard to stay awake, but one more thing

Quite a big hole in the realm seems to be opening

The glowing stone upon the pedestal then ceased to talk

Dimming until it looked like an ordinary rock

It still felt alive in some way, but its light was gone

Then their attention turned to the floor they stood upon

“What is going on now, did that rock do something weird?”

Leaf worried the rock was more suspicious than he’d feared

“Is this the instability that the System mentioned?”

The answer to Sky’s question came as if it was beckoned

System Message

Unable to delete the targeted entities

Unable to edit their corrupted properties

Removal from the realm likely the least damaging course

It should but some time while researching the problem’s source

The three children had barely read the System’s final word

When suddenly a sound rang out which they had often heard

The sound of space distorting before a portal appeared

And then beneath the children, the ground began to look weird

Beneath the children’s feet, a green and purple glow had spread

And they all clearly understood the words the system said

Whatever realm the monsters came from, they would be sent there

And for a brief moment they were suspended in the air

They couldn’t run atop the portal surface, though they tried

All the kids could do was watch it slowly open wide

The portal’s energy made it impossible to fly

They didn’t even have a chance to bid their realm goodbye

~