Chapter 555 - 553: You Want Me to Exploit the Mission? What Kind of Crappy Mission is This?

Chapter 555: Chapter 553: You Want Me to Exploit the Mission? What Kind of Crappy Mission is This?

There was no response from the system.

Arthur Jacobs left Mrs. Dawson and immediately returned to his room. After shutting himself inside, he couldn’t help but call out to the system.

"System, are you there?"

Arthur Jacobs called out again, but there was still no reply in his mind.

Before, he could always sense the system’s presence. A single call was all it took for it to respond. But just a moment ago, it was as if the system had vanished. He called for it, but his mind remained silent.

He had relied on this system for everything since his return. He couldn’t imagine what he would do without it.

’No... The system is mine.’

’I am the chosen one.’

’I can lose anything, but not the system.’

"System, come out... System."

Arthur Jacobs called out a few more times until, finally, a crackling sound echoed in his mind. At that same moment, a round ball of energy materialized before his eyes. Wisps of black energy swirled from the top of the glowing orb as it hovered in the air.

[BZZT... BZZT...]

The sound reached his ears, followed by the system’s mechanical voice.

[Hello, Host. The system was undergoing an update and adjustment, which is why it could not respond immediately. What are your instructions, Host?]

This time, the voice didn’t come from inside his head but from the ball of light before him. The sudden appearance of a talking, glowing orb startled Arthur Jacobs, and he couldn’t help but take a step back in fear.

He was not a modern man and had no prior knowledge of what a "system" was. The first time he’d bonded with it and heard its voice, he had been so scared he nearly wet his pants, thinking he had encountered a fiend.

Fortunately, he later learned of the system’s benefits and realized it was something that could change his destiny, which led him to fully accept its existence. After learning how powerful it was, he became firmly convinced that he was the chosen one.

However, this was the first time Arthur Jacobs had seen the system manifest itself. He had never seen it before, only heard its voice in his head.

"You... You’re the system."

’So this is what it looks like?’

Although the system looked strange, that wasn’t his main concern. What mattered now was that it was still here.

’Thank goodness, thank goodness! The system is still bonded to me. I can sense its presence again.’ For a moment there, when it went silent, he had thought it had left him. ’Looks like I was overthinking things.’

But then he recalled what happened earlier. Why had the system said it had "no authority to view" information about the Warden Prince?

Thinking of this, he frowned slightly and couldn’t help but ask, "System, earlier I asked you to look up information on the Warden Prince. Why did you say you had ’no authority to view’ it?"

The system’s voice rang out.

[Host, your current level is too low. You do not have sufficient clearance.]

Arthur Jacobs waved his hand dismissively and said in a low voice, "Never mind, that’s not important. System, what’s today’s task?" He needed to accept tasks quickly, get all sorts of rewards, and level himself up.

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the system announce a task.

[New task triggered: Crawl through 66 doggy doors. Task completion reward: Memory +5. Once cumulative Memory reaches 100, the Photographic Memory skill can be unlocked. Please note: Each doggy door must be unique. The time limit for this task is one day. If the Host fails to complete the task within the specified time, the system will initiate an electric shock punishment.]

Arthur Jacobs, who had been eagerly awaiting the task, froze.

"What?"

He thought he was hearing things. With a face full of disbelief, Arthur Jacobs couldn’t help but exclaim, "System, you want me to crawl through doggy doors?"

Hearing the task that required him to crawl through 66 doggy doors, Arthur Jacobs’s expression completely cracked. He was the young master of the General’s Mansion! How could he lower himself to crawl through doggy doors? If word got out, he would die of shame.

The system’s mechanical voice returned.

[Yes, Host. Please complete the task as soon as possible.]

Arthur Jacobs’s face darkened. He couldn’t help but say, "System, what kind of weird task is this? I’m the young master of the General’s Mansion, and you want me to crawl through doggy doors. Aren’t you an Imperial Examination System? Shouldn’t you be issuing tasks related to the exams? No, I can’t crawl through doggy doors. If people found out, I’d become a laughingstock."

[Tasks issued by the system are triggered randomly. Once a task is issued, it must be completed within the specified time. Otherwise, the Host will be punished. Please do not slack off, Host.]

[This is for your official career, for your path through the imperial examinations. This is a tailor-made arrangement from the system. The system has the right to dismiss your doubts; this task is perfectly reasonable and has no issues. Isn’t photographic memory related to your studies and the imperial exams? Didn’t you always say you wanted the ability of photographic memory? Now that the task has been triggered, you should be happy. All you need to do is accumulate enough memory boosts, and you will unlock it.]

Arthur Jacobs’s expression remained sour.

He still didn’t want to crawl through doggy doors.

’Those are doggy doors.’

The system’s voice once again emanated from the ball of light.

[You should know that there are no rewards without sacrifice. Or did you expect to get this for free? You only need to make a small sacrifice to obtain the skill of photographic memory. Others study arduously for ten years, putting in a hundred or even a thousand times the effort, and still can’t possess it. You are already very fortunate.]

’That’s true.’

’It’s the ability of photographic memory, something countless people dream of having. With this skill, studying would be a piece of cake.’

Of course he wanted photographic memory.

With that ability, he was certain he could sweep the exams and have a meteoric rise in his career. But the thought of crawling through 66 different doggy doors made him feel sick to his stomach. A chill ran down his spine. Why would there be such a bizarre task?

"System, can’t you just change the task?"

[No. All rights of interpretation belong to the system. If you are unwilling, then unbind. I can go find a new host. Additionally, detecting that the Host is pushing his luck and that his resolve to take the imperial examinations is still not firm enough, initiating one instance of electric shock punishment.]

’There’s a punishment now?’

’There wasn’t one before.’

Just as he was wondering what this "electric shock punishment" was, a sharp pain shot through him, accompanied by a zapping sensation. It felt just like being struck by lightning on a rainy day. Arthur Jacobs felt pain wrack his body as he collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

"AHHH..."

Electricity coursed through his body. In just a moment, the shock was so intense Arthur Jacobs’s eyes rolled back in his head.

The system’s mechanical voice sounded again.

[Electric shock punishment complete.]

[This was a warning, Host. Please do not challenge the system’s dignity. Of course, if you are truly unwilling, you may apply to unbind from the system. The system can then find a new host.]

’The system is going to leave.’

’It’s going to unbind from me.’

’No... I can’t let that happen.’

’If I lose the system... ’

"No... I won’t unbind."

.