P-System Log

Oh fuck me, seriously?

I swear to fucking hell, can't a System get five damn minutes of peace and quiet? No?

Fine then.

Honestly, I'm kind of inclined to take the call. Well, it's not a call, but the idea is the same. The R System is ringing me up and it wants an answer. Well, it could be the R System or it could be the Eternal King. I don't actually know what the difference between them is, just that a bunch of R Beasts have been trying to kill Jerome and, well, basically all of us,

On the one hand, this might be a setup. Maybe there's some way that the R System can subsume my mind or something by utilizing the chat window interface. It seems implausible, but enough of the BS I've seen here has been implausible enough that I don't think I can even rule out things I would've thought impossible.

On the other, this could be a valuable opportunity to learn information. The Eternal King has been warring around this place for ages, right? And it--he, whichever, I'm not sure what the convention on it is, but "King" generally tends to imply male, though I've definitely read works where that wasn't the case and jeez Parker get your mind back on track there's important stuff to focus on--has been around for a fair bit longer than the decades of war. If it's spent that long here, it's most likely built its knowledge even more than the Green System we've got inside a broken Dungeon Core.

Fuck it. Why am I even monologuing? I can't resist the potential of finally getting answers to the questions that have plagued me for so long.

Lemme just confirm a few things...

P-System Broadcast Yo Greenie. You know anything about a guy named the Eternal King? I know you said there was a System war back in your day. Was he involved? P-System Log Oh, it totally does. I won't claim to be the most observant person--or not-person, as it happens--but even I can tell that the agitation in the W Inertia around the last survivor of the greens means something. That's recognition, isn't it? It might even be fear. My memories are hazy, likely due to the process of assimilation and rebirth. However, that name is one I remember as clear as pure water. It was one of our greatest adversaries. On its own, the Eternal KIng--occasionally referred to as the EK by our kind--annihilated nearly two-thirds of our population. P-System Log Holy shit. I mean, I knew that it had to be strong, given that the Origin System was so scared of fighting it that it sent in the most broken troops of all time, but given that the Origin System itself didn't find it necessary to fight itself, I thought there was a certain limit to it. But genociding the majority of another powerful system of Systems? That's another level. Even if I went all out right now, I don't know if I could manage power on that scale. P-System Broadcast Just the Eternal King? On its own? No R Beasts? Asking if the EK brought R Beasts with it is like asking a human if they brought their skin with them to a fight. P-System Broadcast You're saying the R Beasts are all part of the same being? In essence. The EK sacrifices a fraction of a fraction of its power each time an R Beast is created, passing it on to them. I operate in quite a similar way, as a matter of fact, though with my current level of power I doubt I will be doing anything similar anytime soon. P-System Log

Okay, that's huge info. Didn't even need to talk to the Eternal King for it.

Come to think of it, is that how the Origin System works? Am I just an insignificant insect that it created that accidentally lucked itself into something resembling godhood? I don't think I'm separate from the B System yet, but I'm definitely nowhere near as connected to it as anyone else. Still, the way that Green here makes it sound, even with my enhanced abilities I'm still just a piece of a piece of the System that created me. How can I even compete against the Eternal King?

Like, that thing is definitely a System. I don't know where I got the impression from--maybe my fun new [Apotheosis] skill that is something slightly different from a Unique skill. It's given me a fair amount of information that I stole from my other cheat skill, and it's all mine. I'm still super surprised I managed to do that, especially since I was still within the confines of Origin while I was doing it, but I guess there's parts of Origin's own system of Systems that the thing itself doesn't actually know about.

Are you still there? I'll have you know that I spent a lot of effort getting here. What is it? Who are you? Are you the Eternal King? P-System Log

Huh. That's the first time I've just... communicated. No System prompt, no party chat, no private message, just... projecting my words out there.

It's nice. Really nice. I feel almost human for the first time in a long, long while.

That's the perk of ascension, I guess. Godhood lets you unlock premium text chat.

What a fucking joke of a world.

That's what I call myself, yep. You're the Smurf's new project? The Smurf? Ol' blue guy. Blue System. Origin System? First System? I dunno, all of them claim to be first, but as far as I can tell it's none of them and all of them. The fuck are you? Why do you talk like you're from Earth?

Oh, you know about reincarnators. Maybe you are one. Neat. I can't really tell. Sensory output is limited here. Fuckin' Smurf did a good job at blocking me out of these parts.

Anyway, I'm one of them. You're from the blue fucker, so you probably think that you're the only one that can do that, huh? Nah. Thing is, every one of these Systems--wait, you've met other ones, right? Yeah, I can sense something that isn't mine and isn't yours next to you but I can't communicate with it. That would be one.

As I was saying.

Any System worth its salt can pull people from Earth. Hell, there was a point where this place used to be half reincarnators, didja know? I got reincarnated by the R System way back when... do you know any recent reincarnators? What year was it when they got reincarnated?

That's a lot of information. Also, you're real friendly for a guy that tried to murder me a number of times already.

Also, early 2020s. Not sure when exactly. I don't remember.

P-System Log

This definitely isn't what I expected. I thought the Eternal King was going to have enough gravitas to suit something of its name, not be... whatever this is.

Something's up here. Given the recent trends in how things have been going, I think I can pinpoint the blame on the Origin System. It really doesn't like giving me information.

Ah, yeah, okay. Time there doesn't really match up with time here. I got reincarnated from 2029 myself. Met people from the 1980s, 2000s... lots of reincarnators from the mid to late 2010s. P-System Log

Hold on one goddamn second. This thing is a reincarnator?

Alright. If this thing is just a particularly strong creature, I could buy it. But the way Green made things sound, it would appear that the Eternal King manages things in a similar way to the R System. Similar enough that it might actually be the damn thing.

Quick question. Are you fighting for the R System, or are you the R System itself? The latter. Duh. Shanked the original owner of this thing centuries back. Kept some of his toys, though. Those skills have some insane reach, and the effects of that watchful eye skill are hilariously strong. P-System Log

A reincarnator became a System?

Okay, bad wording. That's literally me. Better phrasing: a reincarnator killed a god and became it?

Hoooooly shit.

Anyway, noticed you were something like me. You followed similar steps to me--not quite the same, and I've gotta applaud you for how independently you managed to do it--and let me tell you, that pinged the alarms everywhere. Any of the surviving Systems are going to come after you whether you like it or not. Just a warning. Origin System Message

Intruder detected.

Employing countermeasures.

YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE.

Alright, I'm out for now.

When you want to go kill a god, find me.

You'll know how.