Spending My Retirement In A Game

Benjamin silently stared at the system message. With a wry, confused smile, he read through the text multiple times. System Resistance? Just... why? What did it mean?

What did it imply? Was the system something harmful? Something that had to be restrained?

The questions came flooding into the old man\'s mind. But more than anything, he was scared. Mostly, of how the kids were going to feel when they woke up. They had gone to sleep together with Eisen, and he doubted that they were going to be woken up by this, but when they did wake up later they would be more than just startled.

If this skill was at Rank 0 until now, and then reached Rank 1 just now, then its effect must have been strengthened. Or rather... its effect only just started.

"It\'s... it\'s called System Resistance," Benjamin said, and the other originals looked at him a bit confused, "What do you mean?" Nataly questioned with a puzzled expression.

"That blank skill... it apparently \'ranked up\' just now... and it got a name. It\'s called \'System Resistance\'."

The group was quiet. Until finally, Jasmin spoke up, "So... it really was like that..?"

Benjamin turned toward her, "What are you talking about? What is it like?"

Jasmin placed a hand in front of her mouth, and her eyes were darting around the air in front of her as though she was staring at a system window herself, but Benjamin knew that she was just deeply thinking and trying to figure this out, "The system is a sort of external force itself... a new \'substance\', something similar to magic, but also not.

It might be something so far along the line of magic that even I can\'t comprehend it anymore. Maybe in the past I could have, but..."

"Okay, sure, let\'s say that\'s the case, but how does that make any sense?" Brody asked with a deep frown as he leaned forward, clasping his hands together nervously, "How is the system resisting itself? To me, that sounds like... pulling your whole body up by grabbing your leg. It doesn\'t make sense."

"Except, what if it\'s not that? What if that thing that Eisen is seeing is just something else that\'s borrowing the system\'s framework?" Jasmin suggested, "That would also explain why it\'s not closing. I gave up on it to concentrate on the Samuel-blocking mechanism, but I spent some time trying to figure out how the system works.

I tried to make an artifact that could let you see someone else\'s system windows. I only got far enough to tell \'if\' someone was looking at their system windows. The windows give off some kind of energy that I was able to somewhat track, but it disappears completely when the window is closed. Like just completely dissolving.

So, I came up with a hypothesis," she explained, trying to think of the best way that she could explain it all.

The others listened intently, "Each being with a \'system\' integration is marked. Their mana, or rather the essence that lies within their mana, which is also the case for Brody\'s internal energy, is tracked, like a sort of \'ID\' number. It\'s basically the mana signature that\'s also on Adventurer Guild tags, but it holds all sorts of information at the same time.

Honestly, it might be the true nature of the system itself; a force within all of us. And then, there is some kind of central computer that holds all possible data related to the system that we actually interact with. Skills, classes, titles, races, all of that.

That computer reads the information in the individual\'s essence, and then apply\'s the system\'s control to that \'system essence\' inside of us. Guiding and interpreting the necessary information. That\'s how they were also able to roll out all the \'updates\' of how the system appears and works, like what Silber told you about, Eisen. They just updated that central computer."

Benjamin slowly nodded as he listened along. So far, that made a lot of sense. However, "Then how about this broken window? That central computer\'s not here, so how is the system window here?"

"Again, I don\'t believe it\'s really a system window. Or at least, it\'s not really the same. When someone opens a window, the system makes it appear for that person, but it pulls back everything that\'s unneeded. The window just completely disappears, and the energy is pulled back to the computer, to sort of save processing power, or something like that.

I believe that \'someone\', or maybe the right word would be \'something\' hitched a ride on the system\'s signal. While you were using that massive amount of mana and your body was breaking down, the system must have been trying to read your information rapdily trying to understand your current status.

Using that opportunity where maybe the system\'s and your defenses were down, that \'something\' infiltrated your body, and was potentially influenced by the system in the meantime, hence why it takes that form. Or maybe it\'s borrowing a part of the system to do this; that\'s not really important right nlw.

What is important is that the \'something\' can\'t let you close that window, because all the energy is going to disappear, and the small connection that it has to you will be cut. Who knows if it\'s going to ever get that kind of opportunity again? That would also explain why it\'s only one window; that\'s all it has access to right now.

So it has to keep changing the information on that one window instead of giving you more."

Nataly looked at Benjamin concerned, "So is it a threat, or is it trying to help somehow?"

Jasmin thought about it for a moment, but she could already tell that she wasn\'t able to answer that question, "I... really don\'t know. Considering that Samuel is the one that ultimately has control over that system, I think I might default to that \'something\' trying to help, but... in the end, \'the enemy of your enemy is your friend\' isn\'t always the case.

That \'something\' is clearly against Samuel\'s system, but that doesn\'t mean that it\'s on our side."

"So instead of thinking like that... is that \'something\' a parasite, or a symbiote?" Haruo asked, and Benjamin thought for a while. He was the one that was directly affected by this, so that answer had to come from him, "Is it harmful... or has it some use to me?" he muttered, trying to come up with an answer. The way that the skill made him feel... it wasn\'t necessarily bad.

It made him feel more free, somehow. As though Samuel\'s system had been shackles holding him down without him noticing. Of course it was also scary; without the system\'s guidance, he might have to completely relearn how to do anything at all. Like learning how to walk or speak all over again. However, one thing was clear.

"This \'system resistance\' skill... it doesn\'t lower my abilities, it just reduces how much Samuel\'s system is controlling it. These abilities are innately our own, and not one given by the system itself. And if Samuel has a way to tap into that... to control, and twist those innate abilities to what he wants them to look like, then... I think this skill is something good.

For all we know, Samuel might be blocking abilities we\'re supposed to have, or weakening them so we\'re less of a threat. Frankly, it might be how he had ever managed to control us in the first place. If I have the choice, then I\'d rather be without it. But at the same time... the system allows us to access some things that I\'m not sure we could without it.

Messaging, potentially even the way that I summoned you all to the giants\' capital. I have no idea if those are also innate, or if they\'re externally created. And more importantly... what if the power to move from here to there and back is also something given by Samuel\'s system? What if, if I start trying to make use of this \'System Resistance\', I lose the ability to log in or out?

What if I\'m stuck in either one of the worlds without a way to get back? Honestly, I\'m not totally sure which would be the worse outcome at this point..."