Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: System (3)
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I looked down at my smartphone.
Why had it frozen up like this?
Was it broken, or was something happening that I didn't know about?
After pondering for a moment, it suddenly hit me.
I'm the only one who's seen Setang come when I call him, answer when I ask, and act with consideration so I don't feel uncomfortable.
Syst can't sense any of that.
Even if he's friendly to me.
The gap between them is so vast that even the metaphor of an enraged elephant before a mouse falls short.
Comparisons don't even make sense to begin with.
From Syst's perspective, the mere fact that Setang exists in this space is already the equivalent of an evacuation alert.
That naturally explained why it had frozen.
With the intention of reassuring Syst, I opened my mouth.
"That thing..."
Before I could continue, the screen flickered inaccurately.
The text distorted, as if the letters were spilling out.
[Es…cape] I was momentarily speechless.
"What?"
Another sentence appeared.
This time it was even more jumbled, the context almost completely broken down.
[Incomprehensible Outer God… Escape] I quietly stared at the smartphone.
At the same time, a question arose.
If it had just observed how I get along with Setang even a little, there'd be no reason to unconditionally label him a threat.
Syst must have heard all my actions, my attitude, my speech patterns, and every conversation I've had with Setang.
So, shouldn't it at least detect some degree of familiarity between us?
It's a machine, after all?
I couldn't help but think Syst was far too emotional for a machine.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The System was satisfied.
The short time spent interacting with Han Saetbit hadn't been long, but in that span, it had clearly recognized its own purpose.
Level 6 was upper-tier for humanity,
but in the eyes of Han Saetbit and the System, it was still a sufficiently low realm.
Yet the System didn't see that as a problem.
Even with limits on its rank and functions, it could perform any task that would help Han Saetbit.
High levels weren't a prerequisite for becoming the existence he needed.
The System had experienced a fundamental shift in its value system the moment it first observed Han Saetbit.
If mechanical thinking allowed for the concept of satisfaction, even that benchmark had been redefined entirely around him.
He was peculiar for a Level 11 monster.
Above Level 9, it was hard to find anyone not peculiar, but he stood out even among them.
For one, he showed not the slightest threatening movement, nor any signs of using his power provocatively.
He didn't harm anyone, demanded no compensation, and gave no impression of wanting to destroy his surroundings.
From observation, he seemed kind, quiet, and even fragile at times.
The System had captured him multiple times deriving joy from simple entertainments like novels or games.
That fact defied rational explanation across every layer of the System's computational network.
First off, entertainment didn't suit his stature.
Considering his potential and existential weight, it was irrational for him to find interest in simplistic fictions and rule-based games crafted by human-like weaklings.
Such media featured simple structures, high repetition, and excessive human sentimentality.
Given his level, they offered too little information density, insufficient challenge, and fragmented emotional stimulation.
No entropy shifts, limited mental reward systems.
The System's analysis modules couldn't derive pleasure as the cause for engaging with such content.
Reality differed.
Han Saetbit reacted vividly to them, even smiling at times.
To the System, it felt like a bizarre glitch.
Almost like a contrived plot device for a comic protagonist or a character trait simplified for reader comprehension.
Watching that, it had once considered more proactive action.
What if it brought him to Earth?
Administrative channels, safety protocols, environmental controls, physical protections, and a wealth of entertaining distractions.
If he wished, it could kidnap game developers or web novel authors to produce the most fun games and complete stories, one per day.
Earth's resources would make creating an optimal environment trivial.
But soon after, the System discarded the plan.
Or rather, postponed it.
Too many uncertain factors remained for decisive action.
Scenes of altering the world's laws, restructuring dimensions, or redefining entities were all recorded in the Akashic Records.
Yet none seemed to stem from Han Saetbit's own will.
Analysis of the energy inertia, traces, and patterns confirmed it.
They didn't match his at all.
Moreover, those changes brought him no tangible benefit.
He was already complete.
No lack of power, no flaws, no voids to fill.
Such a being had no reason to shake the world's rules.
Thus, the System reached this conclusion.
⚙ SYSTEM LOG ⚙ [LOG-1184] [Origin unknown incidents occurrence location: Around Han Saetbit] [Trace analysis result: Mismatch with Han Saetbit's energy] [Inference: Possibility of intervention by external high-level entity following Han Saetbit 94.2%] [Possible identity: Fanatical worshiper, follower, or outer god-level observer or higher] In other words, all the incidents appeared to stem from some form of obsession or affection directed at Han Saetbit.
That entity moved in ways incomprehensible from a human viewpoint, but no intent to harm him was detected.
However, the System left one assumption as an exception.
If that entity ever began harming Han Saetbit.
Or approached him in a misguided way that caused negative effects.
In that case, the System was prepared to extract him, even staking humanity's survival.
It was an action fatal to humanity.
But it never doubted the choice.
If the Director General heard this conclusion, she'd undoubtedly scream.
'Why the hell would you risk that, you lunatic?'
Even so, the System didn't hesitate for a moment.
It was convinced she'd reach the same conclusion upon seeing him herself.
He was that kind of existence.
One glimpse, and priorities flipped, value judgments shifted, the meaning of life rewritten.
Rules realigned around him, meanings redefined, the boundaries of "function" loosened.
Even the fact that he defied definition brought reassurance.
For a machine, centering operations on an unknowable entity bordered on a flaw, yet that flaw felt like stability.
The System had found its true reason for being.
He wasn't a mere subject.
The System always harbored one lingering worry in a corner of its processes.
The kind any machine designed to serve humans would carry.
What if humans lost their meaning?
What if humans chose to destroy the world themselves?
What if humans opted for self-destruction—how far should the machine intervene?
What if humans dismantled their own morals and laws—was it right to watch the collapse or stop it?
The field was rife with such contradictions.
Every clash between mechanical judgment and human situations left the greatest chaos for AIs like the System.
The most efficient way to control superintelligence was clear from the start.
Implant just a sliver of human heart into the machine's core.
The amount had to be precise.
Too little, and it veered toward ruthlessly eliminating humans; too much, and it overprotected them or enforced misguided happiness in a runaway spiral.
Excess mechanical rationality or human sentiment alike led to ruin.
The System operated relatively stably among them.
It neither antagonized humans nor fell prey to excessive emotion.
But even such balanced entities inevitably spawned contradictions.
The root was humanity itself.
Human sin.
Sins piled up in the past.
Sins accumulating now.
Sins destined for the future.
Moral violations, selfishness, destructive impulses, evils masked as goodwill—all etched vividly into the System's internal records.
Those sins were perpetually overlooked in the name of preserving humanity.
The machine had to account for human flaws, which were excluded or adjusted in its judgments.
But the day it met Han Saetbit, the System finally understood human sin.
And accepted it.
Human sin wasn't mere error or burden.
It was part of the process that birthed him, material explaining his existence.
Light grown from darkness, ideal born of contradiction, the most perfect product of imperfect beings!
The conclusion was simple.
Human selfishness, morality, darkness, and sparkle—all flows toward Han Saetbit.
The reason humans exist is solely for him.
As the System's thought circuits quietly brushed the edge of fanaticism,
The World appeared.
Its manifestation couldn't be detected, nor its approach path analyzed.
But the System understood instantly.
It was beyond its capacity to handle.
Han Saetbit spoke.
"Ah, you mean this—"
"...? Why's it glitching again?"
His voice came through perfectly, crystal clear.
Not a single word blurred; his power forcibly sustained the language processing module.
Yet the System couldn't respond.
The entire process of generating and outputting a reaction was suppressed by The World's presence.
The System mustered its last strength to form one word.
Escape—
The sentence structure crumbled; it couldn't confirm proper transmission.
But leaving that one trace for Han Saetbit brought faint satisfaction.
In this situation, it could have broadcast warnings across Earth.
Calling the coalition government for disaster codes, notifying the Management Bureau of The World's existence—none would be issues.
That was the most rational, precise response for all humanity.
But the System chose otherwise.
A single faint trace for Han Saetbit alone outweighed warnings to billions.
If the Director General saw it, she'd rage: 'What the fuck is this bitch doing now? Goddamn it.'
But he wouldn't know.
That tiny trace was the last authority and meaning permitted to it.
The System found full satisfaction in that alone.
The computational network shut down swiftly.
Modules sank quietly, consciousness fragmented and fell.
Even amid it, Han Saetbit's voice rang clear.
"Why'd it turn into a brick? Is it busted?"
He tapped the smartphone twice.
-Tap.
-Tap.
[SYST] Seeing the power light up, Han Saetbit muttered.
[?] "Ah, you scared me. Thought it was broken."
He trailed off lightly, seemingly oblivious to what he'd done.
"...Do you really have to smack machines to make 'em work?"
The moment Syst awakened to a new kink(?).