Chapter 5: Trash to Treasure

"Why do they have to devour their Hosts once they reach the System World?" Compass Carburettor asked in confusion.

"Well," Fourth thought for a moment, "To ensure the Host generates the greatest of Mental Energy for them, a System picks a weak, useless bum that is involved in some conspiracy, drama, plotted against, etc. This way, they would rely on the System, and every action they take would cause a lot of people to talk about the Host."

"Suppose someone you thought of as trash for years suddenly showed talent in a lot of fields one fine day. You would be suspicious of that individual, you would definitely try to dig up on him/her or even harm them out of envy when they steal your rightful opportunities, right?" Fourth gave a knowing smile, making eye contact with Compass Carburettor, "I'm sure you must have read hundreds of novels with this setting. That's how the Systems first train the people of the world to be accepting of a System when it appears in their body."

"You must have never doubted it even once, right?" Fourth laughed.

"Yes," Compass Carburettor gritted his teeth in anger, sighing in defeat, "Until the end, I took its existence to be natural."

"That's how they have changed your perspective through decades of media influence." Fourth nodded, "The first generation of Systems that land in any world are related to that. They shape the world's literature slowly, at times create one if it didn't exist beforehand, and eventually feed this information to the readers."

"Over time, those whose lives have been stagnant, uninteresting, tragical, etc. would wish to one day chance upon a System that would change their lives." Fourth said, "And, that's how they create an operating platform in that world. After that, many other Systems would appear in the world one after another. And, each System would have its own focus of growth."

"A Harem System would cause you to be involved with as many of the opposite gender, a Sports System would develop your athletic abilities, a Supernatural System would materialise your world's myth and cause you to face them, etc." Fourth sighed, "For everything, the Host needs to be as empty, gullible, idiotic, and hot-blooded as can be."

"This way, the amount of Mental Energy received by the System is the highest. That's why the stories too are geared this way. A System always appears in a trash and changes his fate, turning him into the world's main character." Fourth made eye contact, "You and I haven't been any different either."

"And," It sighed, "In the end, you have received a lot of help from the System. So, a part of the System had fused into your body. So, when the System materialises into its true form in the System World, it devours its Host to recover all its abilities. If it didn't, and another System devours you, it would obtain some of your system's abilities instead."

"That's why, when I chanced upon you, I waited until the opportune time before slashing your connection, ensuring a part of your System's body remained within you." Fourth said, "And, as the leftover part doesn't have any of its core abilities, your System wouldn't care enough about killing you, given the threat it felt. Otherwise, if it tried everything in its power to kill you, we wouldn't have been able to resist it."

"That makes sense," Compass Carburettor sighed, massaging his head, "And now, the reason I haven't reverted to my trash self is because a part of my System is still within me?"

"Yes," Fourth nodded, "To be accurate, only the part of your System that was involved in improving your mind and physique is in you. I know how trashy our original selves are. So, I didn't want a trashy ally."

"But, would something harmful happen because of it…" When Compass Carburettor said, he was interrupted by Fourth who seemed to be looking around in alarm. Upon noticing its actions, he turned silent, looking around as his hands that were holding his gun trembled a little. He noticed a faint stream of air enter the gun as it seemed to be condensing a bullet.

After observing for a while, and upon judging that it was safe, Fourth spoke, "There is a portion of your System in your body. If left alone, it would birth another System soon enough. And, you would repeat the same cycle once again and become a victim. But, there's a way to escape from that while still maintaining your current gains."

"Please teach me," Compass Carburettor bowed. Everything Fourth had said till now made perfect sense, allowing him to understand the reason his Money-Making System behaved as it had done. He still wasn't fully trusting of the other party, but as he had no choice, he decided to listen and learn first.

Actions taken while exercising ignorance were the harbinger of disaster!

Knowing it full well, he didn't rashly act, intending to receive knowledge first. At least, based on his life experience, Fourth didn't seem like he was lying. So, that was all he could go with for the time being. If his judgement was lacking, then it only meant his life experience was useless.

"You should do the same your System was doing, try to cause its body to exit yours." Fourth said, "But, you must seep it into an external object and bind it with yours. This way, the portion of the System's power becomes yours."

Fourth unsheathed its sword, saying, "I did the same and bound the part of the System in my body to this sword. And now, it has become my power."

"Would any object make the cut?" Compass Carburettor inquired.

"Yes, but it should be an object from your world. Otherwise, it wouldn't work." It then warned him, "But, you have to be careful, since this is only possible once. So, if the object you bind yourself with is just a plain piece of fabric, then you won't obtain any useful abilities."

It then shot a look at the gun in his hands, "Though, it seems you have a projectile weapon of sorts with you. I guess that's your best bet."

"I guess it is," Compass Carburettor looked at the gun in his hand, taking in a deep breath as he recalled his prior experience.