Chapter 72
In the current world, the [System] is a second god.
People live by the [System]’s [Stats], are only acknowledged if they have [Skills], and are treated differently based on the level of their [Stats].
In this day and age, that was what the [System] was.
Something that knew everything, could do anything—something you had to use, and without which you couldn’t survive even a moment…
The [System] was, quite literally, a god in itself.
And yet….
‘How am I supposed to explain this?’
There’s supposed to be only one god.
The god of the current era, displayed on a white background with a blue border and text, floated before his eyes.
And next to it, another god, displayed on a black background with a red border and text.
‘Right now, I….’
Just where in the world did this black god come from?
And why do I have two gods?
“System.”
Tiring.
The god of the current era answered the voice that called it.
A [System Window] floated in the air.
“Another System?”
But the black [System] did not react to the voice calling for the other god.
“God-nim?”
….
“Black God?”
…..
“Black System?”
…..
[Tirrring.]
“Huh!?”
He opened his eyes, thinking it had finally reacted, but the one answering Hyuk-min’s call was, as expected, the current [System].
[The command ‘Black System’ is not a valid command.]
Of course.
The black [System] didn’t respond, merely remaining silently afloat before his eyes.
“I can’t even turn it off.”
No matter how many times he called it, the other god, the black [System], remained silent.
Afraid he might never see the black [System] that had appeared so suddenly out of nowhere again, Hyuk-min had left it on ever since it first appeared and hadn’t turned it off once.
Why on earth did this appear, how could he call upon it, and what kind of things did it contain?
And why did the black [System] suddenly show up?
“Aargh! It would’ve been one thing if I’d never seen it, but now that I have, it’s driving me even crazier.”
He tore at his hair, searching for an answer that didn’t exist, even after rummaging through all the memories of his past life.
He looked around.
The light of the slightly-less-than-full moon hanging over the calm lake was dimmed, obscured by the black [System].
And he could see the contents of the black [System].
[A Skill has been detected.]
That was all.
The only buttons he could touch were [Exit] and [Confirm].
On the off chance something might happen, he had pressed every part of the black [System Window], but the only thing that came back was the voice of the black [System], that of a young man.
[A Skill has been detected.]
“Haaa….”
It was right at that moment, when he felt like he should just give up on everything.
‘Wait a minute….’
A memory flashed through his mind.
It was the memory of when he first met this other god, the black [System].
A faint, unimprinted memory that he hadn’t considered important because it had shattered and disappeared, one he had taken lightly.
“The beginning of all this. That black orb!”
His memory storage ability, which allowed him to remember anything he saw once, shone through once again.
The name of the black orb in his memory, which felt like it would vanish if he lost focus for even a second!
“Sealed Rebellion! Right! It was Sealed Rebellion.”
But that thought, which had seemed like a good idea, turned to foam and vanished the moment it left his lips.
The black [System Window] remained silent.
“No way that would work.”
The meaningful action he thought would lead to progress ended up being just him spouting nonsense in the middle of the night.
Still, it wasn’t a completely useless act.
Another memory, one that would have been forgotten if left alone, surfaced.
‘It didn’t fall and break.’
Just before he passed out from the extreme headache.
He remembered the black orb rolling from his palm, and just before it hit the floor, it had already shattered into fragments at his fingertips.
And with the shattering, he recalled the voice and notifications of the black [System].
….
[Beginning synchronization.]
‘If it’s synchronization, that means all the times the black [System] has spoken to me recently. If it didn’t fall and break… then really….’
He looked at the black [System Window].
‘That Sealed Rebellion… is this black [System]?’
An orb with a new god sealed inside it.
And did Park Chung-ho know this when he conducted the Dungeon opening experiment?
If so, does that mean the Park Chung-ho from his past life had accepted this new god?
What did he do with it?
What happened?
Hyuk-min’s expression grew serious.
He retraced his thoughts.
He carefully examined the reasons why the black [System Window] had appeared until now.
But before long, he reached an unfavorable conclusion.
‘There’s no commonality, no point of contact.’
The black [System Window] that had popped up intermittently, announcing synchronization.
It had spoken to him, babbling about qualifications and whatnot, but none of its messages were notifications that had appeared because of Hyuk-min’s actions.
They were simply things the black [System] had announced after doing something on its own.
In other words, Hyuk-min himself had never once managed to summon the black [System]!
‘No, there was one time.’
Just as the light in his eyes began to fade, his dwindling will suddenly flared up like an ember.
‘Right now.’
[A Skill has been detected.]
He pushed himself up.
Then, like someone who had found the answer, he stared at the black [System Window] and repeated the word.
“[Regression Mode].”
No wind blew, nor were there any special changes.
[You have used Regression Mode.]
Just like always, the only things that changed were the message and [Stats] that appeared in the current [System Window]……
Or so he thought.
But that wasn’t it.
“Ahh….”
There was something else that had changed, something he hadn’t detected.
A new interface called [Notifications] had appeared in the black [System Window], something he had never seen before!
‘[Regression Mode]… was the key?’
Clench.
He clenched his fist.
“Sealed Rebellion. What in the world are you?”
Then, without hesitation, he raised his index finger and pressed the [Notifications] interface that had appeared on the black [System Window].
At that, with numerous notification sounds, the black [System Window] provided information for the first time.
[Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!]
[Synchronization complete.]
[The current System’s attack system, ‘Threat Elimination,’ has been activated.]
[‘Hiding’ from the current System is activated.]
[The current System’s attack system, ‘Threat Elimination,’ has been deactivated.]
[The current System’s warning disappears.]
Threat Elimination?
‘Wait a minute.’
Thinking back to when the ‘Threat Elimination’ notification had appeared, it was when he was writhing from a headache.
Then….
‘That splitting pain… could it be that the current [System] considered me a threat and was trying to eliminate me? By making my head explode?’
The [System], the god of this era, does not harm its user.
It had never done so before; on the contrary, the [System] had always strived to help its user.
‘That can’t be… huh?’
An uncertain suspicion arose.
But as his gaze lowered, the notifications that followed revealed the truth.
[Imprinted memory has been detected by the current System’s tracking.]
The second ‘Threat Elimination’ that occurred after the black [System] appeared.
That was the day he had recalled the time he first fainted from a headache.
He had heard the black [System]’s voice and, in his search for the reason, had been digging through his memories of that day.
[The current System’s attack system, ‘Threat Elimination,’ is reactivated.]
[Updating.]
[Update complete.]
[Upgraded ‘Hiding’ is activated.]
[The current System’s attack system, ‘Threat Elimination,’ has been deactivated.]
[The current System’s warning disappears, and all tracking has been evaded.]
Then that second bout of pain… was also the black [System]?
It all started to make sense, like pieces of a puzzle falling into place.
Why the sudden, extreme headaches had occurred, and why the pain would vanish as if washed away whenever he heard the black [System]’s voice, that of a young man.
A doubt flickered in his mind.
‘The [System] can kill its user? There’s no precedent for that….’
He shook his head violently from side to side.
That wasn’t what was important right now.
‘I don’t have much time.’
He could only see these notifications while [Regression Mode] was active.
The time allowed to Hyuk-min was now just under 3 minutes.
He had to check the remaining notifications quickly.
[All updates are complete.]
[Synchronization complete.]
[Update complete.]
[Qualification check complete.]
[Commencing System ‘Rebellion.’]
“Rebellion.”
…..
“Rebellion?”
…..
“Rebellion!”
…..
Just in case, he shouted the word written in the notification, hoping to open a specific window, but the black [System Window] gave no reply.
However, it wasn’t that nothing had changed.
[Ding.]
Along with the heavy new notification sound from the black [System], the young man’s voice did not give him the result he was waiting for.
[The current System’s tracking begins due to the repeated shouting of the word ‘Rebellion.’]
[The current System’s attack system, ‘Threat Elimination,’ is reactivated.]
Threat Elimination!?
With that voice, a faint headache began once again.
[Additional update in progress.]
“Dammit…”
What in the world was this [System]?
Why was the white [System], the god of this world, trying to eliminate him?
The faint headache instantly intensified into the same extreme pain as before.
“Nnghhh…”
His arms went numb, and all strength drained from his body.
His firmly planted legs gave way, and he had to slam his face into the ground.
Even so, he couldn’t move.
The vicious headache, the Threat Elimination system, was trying to erase Hyuk-min.
‘Hurry….’
A punishment delivered by a god.
It was not something a mere mortal could evade.
Nnghhh…
‘Hurry up and activate Hiding!!!’
Was it because it heard the voice he couldn’t get past his throat?
Or was it worried by the final scream Hyuk-min had let out with all his might?
“Kuaaaargh!!!”
Just then, as he was being pickled in agony, having rolled on the ground for who knows how long!
A notification from the black [System Window], which had been invisible until now, appeared.
[Ding.]
[Upgraded ‘Hiding’ has been activated.]
That was when it happened.
As if the black [System Window] physically existed, the head-splitting pain vanished as if it had been washed away.
“Hah… hah…”
This unbelievable situation unfolded before his eyes.
With a dazed expression, he vowed never to say the word ‘Rebellion’ again. Just as he was checking the notification that had just appeared!
“Huh…?”
A type of notification he had never seen before caught his eye.
[Command ‘UNLIMIT’ was attempted.]
“When did I…?”
It was a word he’d never heard in his life, a word that was definitely not among the thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of words he’d uttered while living in this world.
It was a word he had never spoken aloud, nor had he ever even thought of it.
‘But it says I attempted that command? When on earth?’
[Command ‘UNLIMIT’ was attempted.]
[June 14th, 17:33:10.]
[A Skill has been detected.]
[June 14th, 17:33:25.]
‘Wait.’
Something was strange when he checked the time the notifications appeared.
The message [A Skill has been detected.] appeared about 5 seconds after [Regression Mode] ended.
That means the other notification appeared 10 seconds before [Regression Mode] ended…
‘That doesn’t make sense.’
For Hyuk-min, whose memory was so good he could remember everything he saw, this was simply impossible.
His memory of that conversation was so clear he could recall the entire thing if asked.
He had never uttered such a command, nor had he thought it internally.
It was absurd, impossible.
Perhaps because of that, an even more absurd thought came to mind.
“Right, unless someone entered my mind and spoke for me, it’s impossible….”
He’d thrown the words out there because the situation didn’t add up otherwise, but surprisingly, that statement sparked an assumption so shocking it sent shivers down his spine.
“Chang-kyung!!”
The absurd assumption that the One Who Awakens Potential, Chang-kyung, might have done it.
No one else can interfere with another person’s [System].
That would be an act of meddling with a god, a power not permitted to anyone living in this world.
But the One Who Awakens Potential, Chang-kyung, was different.
Chang-kyung was someone who could see what others couldn’t, touch what others couldn’t, and draw out the latent abilities they possessed.
In other words, while direct interference with the [System] was impossible, indirect interference was possible!
[Regression Mode will end soon.]
[Time remaining: 1 second.]
“Aargh!”
While he was lost in such absurd thoughts.
The final key that could have led to a breakthrough slipped away.
It felt as if someone had reached a hand into his back and taken away the power that had been overflowing within him.
[Regression Mode has ended.]
[Remaining cooldown is 120 minutes.]
“What in the world did Chang-kyung see? What is ‘UNLIMIT’ that Chang-kyung would….”
[Ding.]
“Say something like that….”
[The startup command for the ‘Rebellion’ System has been activated.]
“….!?”
The black [System]’s notifications were so startling they made him forget all the words he was about to spit out in frustration.
[Startup command and password ‘UNLIMIT’ activated.]
[To evade the current System’s tracking, the ‘Rebellion’ System’s name has been changed to ‘UNLIMIT.’]
[From now on, you can open and close the system with ‘UNLIMIT.’]
Along with the numerous notifications, for the first time…
Shhk.
“What… what is this…”
Not the current [System Window], but the black [System Window]—no…
UNLIMIT’s [Status Window] appeared large before his eyes.
[Opening the Status Window for first-time use.]
[You can view additional interfaces by pressing ‘Back’ or the ‘X’ mark.]
[Welcome. This is ‘UNLIMIT.’]
==========
[‘UNLIMIT’ Status Window]
[Name: Bang Hyuk-min]
(T/N: Honestly, I don’t know. “UNLIMIT” feels awkward, but it’s the most direct translation. Any suggestions—or should we just keep UNLIMIT as the second system’s name? The author really has a terrible naming sense. IDK.)