《System Dilemma》32. Countdown to a Disaster
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I was sitting in my chair, and watching a certain sitcom that mortals of the newly integrated planet seemed to enjoy.
This is so shitty; all sitcoms are basically the same! And the fake laughs after every bad joke get on my nerves.
I picked the little box that could control the ‘television’ and clicked the button whose role was turning off the device remotely. The level of technology in this world before the system integration was impressive, but the system was still more developed.
Oh well, nothing is more entertaining than that kid.
I laughed so hard for a while after seeing what he did to the female that accompanied him, as I wasn’t expecting him to be like that at all.
He might end up facing a steep hurdle soon, and it would be sad to see him getting erased so soon.
I contemplated for a while, thinking whether I should give him a hint about the imminent danger that the other gods are preparing for him.
I shook my head and decided not to meddle in such matters. It would be sad if the little kid disappeared for good after the encounter with the Primordial, but I didn’t feel the compulsion to do anything about it.
I am only an observer, after all.
I was sure that Jason would give me a good show, and I couldn’t wait for it to start.
*
“[Dismantle],” I said while touching the Chimera’s corpse.
[Condition of the corpse: 70% intact.]
[Host gains three drops!]
[Host gains [Genome Splicing Compound]!]
[Host gains [Chimera’s Attaching Thread]!]
[Host gains [Chimera’s Mana Core]!]
The corpse seems fairly intact on the surface, but the damage that the flames caused to its innards must be staggering.
The corpse disintegrated as those three items appeared in its place. The first item was a vial containing a liquid that constantly shifted its colors. The second one was a spool of thick black thread, and the third was a purple sphere that I could fit inside my palm. I bought the description of the items that I got using some tutorial points.
[Genome Splicing Compound]
(Uncommon)
It wasn’t an easy task to create a Chimera, as many experiments failed throughout the years.
Most of the time, the resulting creature wasn’t stable enough, and it was nothing more than the sum of its parts. It would survive for a couple of days before dying because the immune system rejected most of the organs.
However, one scientist succeeded in this unfathomable task! He made a certain liquid that allowed the Chimera’s parts to accept one another, and the creatures that he created worked seamlessly.
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Only a small number of people know about this, but this liquid was made through a sacrificial ritual.
-Could be used for organ transplantation, allowing for perfect assimilation.
-Could be used to create a new creature from many different parts.
Warning: This item is prohibited from being sold in Worldwide Markets that are under the system’s surveillance.
[Chimera’s Attaching Thread]
(Uncommon)
Suturing a strong creature’s skin is and will always be a daunting task, but fear not!
Made using titanium alloys along with other lesser-known materials, this kind of thread can penetrate the skin of most (Uncommon) creatures under the E rank (Level 150 or less).
It can survive harsh conditions, and it takes a strength stat of at least 800 for the host to be able to tear it apart!
This is one of the most popular items among the medical practitioners of the Intergalactic Systematic Union! Nine out of ten doctors attest to its usefulness.
-The length of the thread wrapped around this spool is 100 meters (100/100)
[Chimera’s Mana Core]
(Uncommon)
A chimera is a powerful creature, and it has mana.
-Can be consumed to restore mana.
Warning: Consumption by hosts with incompatible classes may lead to dire consequences.
The first item could be very useful if I ever want to experiment a bit, but the second item is more interesting.
I might be able to sell it for a high price on the black market, and I could also use it for some stupid experiments.
I converted the mana core to shop points and put the items inside the bag of holding. Once everything was ready, I tried to use [Zoom] only to find that it was still on cooldown. I knew that I’d need to wait at least eight minutes for the cooldown to end, and I still had another boss to beat before the tutorial was over.
I mended my damaged items using the [Mending Wand of Fragos], and everything was ready for another beating. I didn’t care much about my clothes, but I appreciated the stat boosts.
I can’t waste more time on this area since I cleared everything. I should call the fairies and ask them to teleport me.
“Phillian!” I brought my hands around my mouth and shouted as hard as I could. I called the male fairy because I found communicating with him to be easier than with the female one.
Suddenly, he materialized in front of me with a puff of fairy dust around him.
“Oh! Jason! How can I help?” he asked as he flew in front of me in small circle-like patterns.
“Teleport me to that area we visited. The one that seemed like a desolate land with charred soil, y’know?” I said as I described the area that I wanted to visit.
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“Ah! I remember. Alright, accept the transaction!” He replied, and a system screen appeared in front of me.
Transaction in Process: Would you like to proceed?
-This Transaction will cost you 1200 tutorial points.
[Agree]
[Decline]
“You might find this transaction to be too expensive, but that’s how it is because you called me!” said Phillian, “I guess can give you a discount because you’re my friend.”
The price dropped down to a thousand points, but it was still more expensive than what I hoped for.
I tried to negotiate with him, and after thirty seconds he settled on five hundred points as a final price. I paid for the trip and waited for him to teleport me.
I closed my eyes to be ready for the dizziness that was about to hit me and opened them as soon as I felt my legs touching the ground once more.
The whole environment was desolate, and the soil was completely black. Everything looked as if it was burned beforehand, and I’ve heard about the true story of this area.
According to the aliens from my past life, this area was a replica of a battlefield from another planet. It was all that remained after a certain magician fought an army of lizards, and killed them all using meteors and infernos.
The ground was damaged due to the great number of meteors that struck it, and there were many holes from which lava came out. Those people didn’t have a lot of information, and they didn’t know about the background of the battle or the identity of the people that participated in it.
This event sounds oddly similar to how the dinosaurs disappeared. Maybe such an occurrence is common between system-integrated planets that reach the fourth breakout?
The only way for me to find out was to clear the tutorial and have a conversation with some truly knowledgeable people.
I moved ahead as fast as I could, and I found a group of monsters in front of me. There were more than ten of them, and they growled when they saw me.
They were roughly the same size as a Dobermann dog, and they had similar features. However, their skin was completely black and there were cracks all over it. Smoke came out of those cracks, and they seemed to glow with an orange hue at random times just like burning charcoal.
I examined one of them and bought a small description of this species using some shop points.
[Hellhound] (Uncommon)
Level: 42
[Hellhound]
(Uncommon)
Legends say that they crawled out of Helheim into the world of the living, and they’re chasing mortals to take them there.
They thrive in hot climates, and they prefer the temperature to be as hot as possible. They are resistant to most kinds of fire damage, and they can absorb flames to replenish their mana.
They live in groups, and they are united under a single three-headed leader.
Most of them had levels between forty and fifty, and they looked eager to kill me.
This might be the hardest challenge for me at this point. Let’s see what they got!
*
“Ummm, do you think we should do this?” said Phillian, “Jason might be weird, but is this our only option?”
Phillian was a pacifist, and he didn’t have a strong sense of duty like his sister. He always solved things tactfully unless the other party broke a rule or wronged him.
“Don’t be stupid, this is an order from the Lady herself,” replied Phaella, “She has enough wisdom to decide on such matters.”
Phaella found great pride in following the Queen’s instructions, and she respected the higher-ups and never questioned their decisions.
The two fairies were inside an underground room, and each of them held a key in their hands.
Phillian held a blue key, and Phaella had a red one. They looked at each other for a moment before they nodded. They moved toward the wall in front of them, which had two small holes. Phaella inserted her key into the hole that was on the left, and Phillian inserted his inside the one that was on the right.
Both of those items disappeared and a loud thud could be heard from within the wall.
[The tutorial is entering emergency mode!]
[Ambient mana will start declining after one hour!]
[Safe mode is disabled! All the monsters will be hostile to every living creature within a radius of one hundred meters.]
[Respawning is disabled! Please take all the hosts to the safe room!]
[The safe room will lose its effects after one hour!]
[Awaiting the awakening of the Primordial… 00:01:00]
[What’s the mission to be given to the Primordial?...]
“The destruction of the host ‘Jason Stubbs’,” said Phaella and a loud roar could be heard from behind the wall, “Alright! Let’s go Phillian, we need to maintain the safe room for the rest of the tutorial! We must also make sure that Jason doesn’t know about this!”
“…Yeah,” replied Phillian with a soft voice, “I hope we’re doing the right thing…”
Both of them exited the room, and the countdown started.
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