Chapter 77: What is the System?

Chapter 77: What is the System?

Zac was wiping off some sweat as he sat down on a small stool. He had been mining and running back and forth between the tunnels and the plot of forest for over six hours, and needed a break. This was the ninth day in the mines, and his speed of accruing crystals had progressed greatly as his mastery with his axes improved. He brought out a canteen of water and some food as he looked over to his companion in the tunnel.

Alyn was sitting in a comfortable chair reading a book at the moment, seemingly unaware of the clangor in the tunnels. She had been extremely uncomfortable being left alone with him in the beginning but was starting to warm up to him a bit it seemed. Zac unceasingly peppered her with questions about various aspects of the System during every break he took, and instead of being annoyed like Ogras she seemed to be very much in favor of his thirst for knowledge.

So, youve explained so many things about the System to me. But you havent explained what the System itself is. Does anyone know? Zac probed.

The demoness put down her book and looked over to Zac.

I was wondering when you were going to ask. In fact, almost everyone knows what the System, as you call it, is and how it came to be. It is no secret. But to explain that you first need to know about The Ancient Empire, she said, quickly going into lecturing mode.

Millions upon millions of years ago the System did not exist. Instead, cultivators strove for immortality by cultivating the Dao without any guidance, windows, attributes, or prompts. They used their cultivation techniques to gather the Spiritual Energy in the cosmos, and improved by reaching higher and higher cultivation stages.

In this ancient era there existed an endlessly powerful empire, which stood on top of the cultivation world for millions of years. It spread over myriad worlds in the universe and unceasingly kept expanding. Leading this great nation was a man called Emperor Limitless. He was said to have reached the peak of cultivation, and many still consider him the strongest being to have ever existed. Of course, many also belive that the System has allowed the powerhouses of the multi-verse to reach further heights compared to the ancient cultivators.

Emperor Limitless had already reached the peak of cultivation long ago, and instead set his boundless ambition upon his empire. His goal was to turn all creation into his empire, to control all life in existence.

Therefore he waged wars, fighting for thousands and thousands of years, the empire ever expanding. The battlefields grew more numerous, and the empire actually started to run out of soldiers. Trillions of lives were lost in the battle over millions of worlds, and the empire had problems producing new powerful warriors. Almost all cultivators were forced into the battle, leaving few competent teachers behind to train the next generation.

Emperor limitless, and a few of his closest generals and magistrates, came up with a daring solution. They wished to create a synthetic being that would connect with every single cultivator in the Empire, and train them into strong warriors. A cosmic teacher that would lead the empire to further heights, as no potential genius would go unnoticed, and no cultivator would train inefficiently due to bad teachings.

The creation of this entity took an astounding time, and everyone that worked on the project died generation after generation from old age, except Emperor Limitless with his almost infinite longevity. The resources that were poured into the project cant even be calculated, and just a small fraction of it would cause a bloody storm to erupt even on an A-ranked continent.

So why did the System integrate Earth? If the System is only supposed to be a training system for this Ancient Empire, why bring us into the mix? Was Earth part of the Ancient Empire? Zac asked.

No. Earth isnt even in the same universe as the Ancient Empire was located. The System not only fulfilled its purpose by training warriors, it also somehow inherited the goal of Emperor Limitless. Since the Systems birth all that time ago it has kept expanding. After a while it spread to the whole universe it resided in, and soon after it started finding new ones to spread its influence into. Since then it has kept ceaselessly expanding.

Of course, this is just the most generally accepted theory of the Systems origin. The reason that its taken as the truth is that it is the history that is taught by The Systems pixies in the tutorial of all newly integrated worlds. There are some that believe that the System hides its true origins for some sinister purpose, but such things are far beyond us small F-rank individuals.

The exact details cant be confirmed for certain, as it happened in another universe an impossibly long time ago. We do however know that the Ancient Empire was real, and that it was ruled by an Emperor Limitless. There are multiple historic remains from the empire, and there are many collectors of relics from that long lost time.

Zac was truly in awe of the power of this synthetic being, spreading through whole universes with nothing being able to stop it. At least if what Alyn said was true, Zac didnt feel that the System was either good or evil. It was just an impossibly powerful AI let loose, eternally fulfilling its purpose. Unfortunately for Earth that meant that it would throw the planet into Struggle, heedless of the cost in lives. As long as strong warriors were created out of the turmoil, the System was happy.

He briefly thought about the Technocrats. They had to be truly brave or true lunatics to want to fight against the System. It was like going to war against the basic rules of the universe by this point, like trying to fight Death or Time.

It seemed that there was some parts missing from Alyns explanation though. From her description it seemed that the System was designed to train and strengthen cultivators for the Ancient Empire. But the system did much more than that. It also helped mortals become stronger, and it also seemed to work with Beasts somehow.

It even had side-features such as the Town Shop and the Mercantile System, which enabled trade over the vast distances of the Multi-Verse. And that was just what Zac had discovered so far in the scant two months since being introduced to it. Perhaps there were even more functions that waited to be discovered.

How come the System affects all beings then, like mortals and even beasts? Didnt you say it was designed to train cultivators? Zac probed.

Good question. It as you said, the system initially only trained cultivators, and only those able to cultivate were connected to the System. But the system has changed a few times throughout history, each change disrupting the way of life in the multi-verse. To understand these changes we must talk about the Apostates. Those scant few who managed to throw the laws of the universe out the window, and bend reality to their wills.

The number of Apostates that has emerged since the system was created can be counted on two hands. Each was a being of unlimited power who actually managed to change the way the system operates. Very little is known about the first Apostate, not even his name. He is simply known as The First Defier.