Chapter 76: The System’s Secrets

The system interface was very similar to a computer interface, the only difference being that it was transparent, and there were also some minor glitches on it, small cracks on its surface, and thin lines in the background that glimmered and disappeared.

But Arthur did not notice that, for the program icons had seized his entire attention, yes, programs. Unexpectedly, the interface was filled with a large number of them, some had distinctive icons and clear names, while others had gray hazy icons, and instead of names there were question marks.

In addition to that, a few programs, or rather system features, were blocked by a golden lock symbol.

"What is all this?" Unable to hide his astonishment, he opened his mouth wide. An overwhelming feeling of excitement came over him, and as calmly as he could he began examining the contents of the screen.

[ — Main Interface — ]

– Host Account?! »

– Personal Status »

– Dimensional Storage »

– Bloodline?! »

– Settings?! »

– Activity »

– Mail1?! »

– Map?! »

– Archive »

– Skills »

– Restricted Feature?

– ????

...

— — —

When he got a clear look at the main interface, he directed his focus toward what had caught his attention the most, the Bloodline. For unlike the rest, its icon was the only one that did not display a symbol clearly indicating its contents.

"This is a bit strange... When thinking about bloodline, the first thing that comes to my mind is blood and monsters, but what about this symbol? Is this a woman or am I imagining things?"

The shape of the icon was a black square, in the center of which was a mysterious golden figure formed of several interlocking thin lines.

Although the features of the figure were blurred by a faint ethereal glow, it was fairly apparent that the figure was a woman with long hair and cold blue eyes that seemed to be staring at him.

After staring at them for a long time, a shiver suddenly ran through every part of his body, and a strange feeling of unease came over him, originating directly from his bloodline. It was not a warning or an alert, but more like a threat, and this was something that had never happened before.

There was no need to think about the reason, for he immediately realized that some questions are better left unasked, and some secrets are better left unrevealed.

Answers have consequences, and he was still too weak to bear them.

’Even though the Primal Predator Bloodline has saved me from death several times, it is good that I have not changed my mind. It is a double-edged sword and I cannot trust it at all.’ A slight frown appeared on his face.

His bloodline’s ability to threaten him was sufficient evidence to reinforce his suspicions. It seemed that it was not an inseparable part of him like other monsters, but rather a foreign element in his body that possessed a kind of independence, or even its own consciousness.

Unfortunately, this unsettling possibility applied to the system as well.

’The longer I stay in this world, the more I realize the extent of the complexity and mystery that surrounds my very existence. It is not reasonable that all of this is mere coincidence, whether I like it or not, there are questions I will not be able to avoid forever.’

Fear of the unknown spread its shadow over him, and doubt surrounded him from every direction, to the point that he could not voice his thoughts out loud, for who knows, perhaps there are ears listening, or eyes watching.

In the end, all he was able to do right now was ignore this matter until his strength increased, or at least, until ignoring it itself became impossible. If he did not knock on its door, it would knock on his.

He let out a long sigh, and without wasting any more time on matters he could not control or predict, he redirected his full focus to the main system interface.

Without any hesitation, he mentally pressed the Bloodline button, and in the next moment a large golden screen opened before him, filled with an enormous amount of information and details he had not seen before.

[ —— Bloodline —— ]

General Information

– Name: Primal Predator

– Category: Legendary

– Rank: SSS Negative

– Evolution Potential: High

Status

– Effectiveness Rate: 79% — High —

– Biological Compatibility: 59% — Medium —

– Side Effects: 17% — Low —

– Transfer Mechanism: Overlapping

Settings

– Control: Manual »

– Smart Mode: Restricted »

– Safety Measures: Active »

– Synchronization: Unstable

Warnings

– Malfunction: [19% of bloodline missing]

– Malfunction: [Identity data missing]

– Malfunction: [Failure to stabilize some data]

– Malfunction: [Overlapping data]

— — —

He read everything very carefully, making sure not to miss any piece of information, but given his ignorance of how both his bloodline and the system worked, all he could glean was a general idea.

He felt a little confused, and without hiding it this time, he told the system what was on his mind, "What do you mean that part of my bloodline is missing, where could it have gone?"

The seconds passed and nothing before him changed, the system did not answer him.

"You know what? This does not really matter, let us move on to the next feature." He shook his head in disappointment.

The system’s unresponsiveness was annoying and made him strongly wish he could rub his temples, but unfortunately, he had no hands.

He returned to the main interface, and pressed directly on the Settings button. In the next moment, a large screen appeared before him in the familiar blue color, also filled with information.

[ —— System Settings —— ]

Runtime – 92 days, 13 hours, 47 minutes, 28 seconds

General Status

– System Efficiency: Low [ Adapted ]

– Error Rate: 21%

– Malfunctions: 627

– Breach Attempts: 3658

– Successful Breach Attempts: 0

– Reset Operations: 3

Host Settings

– Permissions: Adapted »

– Synchronization: Adapted [ Multiple External Interferences ]

– Protection: Emergency Protocol »

System Settings

– Smart Mode: Emergency Protocol »

– Notifications: Active

– Updates: Emergency Protocol »

– Memory Management: Adapted

– Self-Repair: Emergency Protocol »

– Error Correction: Emergency Protocol »

Data Settings

– Data Saving: Adapted

– Data Encryption: Emergency Protocol »

– Data Recovery: Adapted

Emergency Settings

– Emergency Protocol: Activated

– Safety Measures: Maximum State

– Blocking: Maximum State

– Adaptation: Maximum State

– Factory Settings: Overridden

– Hazard Settings: Disabled

– Compass: Active [ Searching for missing data ]

– Recovery System: Low Efficiency

– Data: Insufficient

– Settings: Undefined.

— — —

"Hah?!" His pupils contracted, and involuntarily, he gasped loudly. He had gone through several shocks today, but when his eyes fell on the number of breach attempts, he felt as though the world around him had begun to spin.

His worst fear had been confirmed, or rather, it had already been true for a long time; he simply hadn’t known about it.

"There is someone who knows of my existence, and not only that... They are seeking to reach me. Fuuuck!" Merely thinking about it made his heart stop beating for a moment.