15 Minutes Later
"Hahaha… Nine's just a number."
Or so I thought.
As soon as I finished assigning the stats, the Status Window popped up before me.
NPC Status WindowName: Sam RaymondRace: HumanAge: 12Title: NoneLevel: 9°Vitality: 1080/1080Mana: 2,002,100 / 2,002,100Unique Traits: Random NPC, Player's SoulOccupation: SlaveClass: None
Attributes:Strength: 10,010Agility: 10,009Speed: 10,008Vision: 10,010Endurance: 10,009Intelligence: 10,011Wisdom: 10,010Adaptability: 10,008Luck: 10,010Charm: 10,009
Available Points: 00Skills:✔ System Window (Ex)
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"HAHAHA, WITH THESE NUMBERS I'M GONNA SURVIVE."
But then...
[Ding!][System Notification: An immeasurable, unheard-of event has occurred. An incredible achievement has been unlocked. You are the only being to 'Exceed the Permitted Limits'.]
[Achievement Unlocked!]
Exceed the Permitted Limits (Rankless)The laws of nature and common sense no longer apply to you. You have the potential to become an existence above all.
Mental Skills Boost: +1,000,000%
Physical Skills Boost: +1,000,000%
Mana Capacity Boost: +1,000,000%
[System Note: This achievement is permanent and cannot be obtained by any other being.]
"What the hell is this!?"
[Ding!][System Notification: Your stats match the requirements. You've obtained the title: 'Successor of the Supreme Entity'.]
[Title Unlocked!]
Successor of the Supreme Entity (Rankless)What is "supreme," if not the one who excels at everything? Every path is merely a stepping stone toward your destiny.
Learning Capacity: +1,000,000%
Skill Mastery: +1,000,000%
Magical Affinity & Capacity: +1,000,000%
Combat Boost: +1,000,000%
Special Effect: ☑ Supremacy
[System Note: This title is permanent and cannot be obtained by any other being.]
"WHAT KIND OF BROKEN TITLE IS THIS?! How the hell did I get this?! Since when am I someone's supreme heir?!"
Before I could even enjoy the moment—
[Initiating Reconfiguration Process]
"W-wait… what? NO, NO, NO, NO—!"
[Reconfiguration in Progress…]
"AAAAAARRGGHHHH!!"
Suddenly, an indescribable pain tore through every fiber of my being.
"THEY'RE RIPPING ME APART, DAMMIT!"
It was as if my entire body was being dismantled and rebuilt in real time. Every cell, every muscle, every nerve screamed as it was shattered and reconstructed at insane speed.
Bones cracked. Skin burned. My soul shrieked.
"SHIT, I'M DYING! IS THIS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE SUPREME?! GIVE ME BACK MY WEAK LITTLE BODY, YOU DAMN PROGRAMMERS!!"
I screamed, kicked, and thrashed on the floor like a man possessed.
Then suddenly—
[Reconfiguration Complete]
"Hah? That's it…?"
I breathed heavily, feeling my body... different.
Staggering upright, I stared at my hands.
"Wait… what the hell? Were my arms always this muscular?"
My small 12-year-old body had grown by several inches.
And worse…
My muscles were now absurdly shredded.
My clothes had literally torn apart.
"HOLY SHIT, I'M JACKED!!"
I couldn't stop looking.
"Check out these biceps, baby... heheh… too bad this doesn't happen in real life… LOOK AT ME, BABE! I'M FUCKING STACKED!!"
But that joy didn't last.
[Warning: You possess stats that are abnormal for the game and are considered a threat to the original programming. Please wait for your nerf.]
"WHAT?! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! SYSTEM, I SPENT TOO MUCH FOR THIS!"
Panic set in.
"I can't hide from the supervisors… but... you know what?"
"SCREW YOU."
"I REFUSE to be nerfed. Before they get me, I'M GONNA SCREW THEM FIRST."
[System Message: The process has already begun.]
"NO, NO, NOOOO— DAMN IT! I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!"
A crazy idea hit me.
"SYSTEM WINDOW!!"
[Ding!][System Notification: Condition fulfilled. You have obtained the basic skill: 'Systematic Transcendental Omniscience'.]
"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS, SYSTEM, I DON'T CARE ABOU—"
[The skill 'Systematic Transcendental Omniscience' is now active.]
"...Oh."
Lines of code filled my vision.
Thousands of strings, commands, configurations... flowing past my eyes like pages in a textbook.
"Wait… I understand this? WHY THE HELL DO I UNDERSTAND THIS?"
[10 seconds remaining until reconfiguration.]
"SHIT, SHIT, SHIT—GO GO GO!"
[9]"COME ON, BRAIN, WORK!"
[8]"SYSTEM, DON'T YOU DARE CRASH ON ME!"
[7]"THERE'S GOTTA BE A WAY!"
[6]"THINK, YOU BROKEN GENIUS, THINK!"
[5]"ALMOST… ALMOST…"
[4]"ONE MORE CHANGE!"
[3]"GOOOO!!"
[2]"DONE!!"
[1]
[Reconfiguration sequence successfully avoided.]
[You have successfully prevented your own reset.]
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, HOLY SHIT, I FUCKING DID IT!!"
[Access to NPC Mob 858191 has been fully blocked.]
"And with this… NO ONE CAN TOUCH ME!!"
I collapsed to the ground, laughing like a madman.
"FUCK THE PROGRAMMERS, FUCK THE SYSTEM, FUCK THIS GAME—THIS IS MY WORLD NOW!!"
And now...
"Time to fix this little issue called slavery."
Arcade HQ – Programming & Support Department
Monitoring and Administration Room
Glenn, the lead supervisor, walked into the monitoring room with a smug expression...Until he spotted the message flashing on the main screen:
[Access to Mob 858191 has been fully blocked]
His smile vanished.
Glenn began cursing under his breath, pacing like a lion, face twisted with rage, veins bulging in his neck. His monitoring team watched in pure terror, barely daring to breathe.
The message blinked again:
[Access to Mob 858191 has been fully blocked]
—"Shit, shit, SHIT!" Glenn hissed, running his hands through his hair.
With a chilling expression, he turned to the team.
—"Gentlemen... WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?"
No one wanted to speak. No one wanted to be the next to die.So—like a bad horror movie—everyone stepped back...
And pushed Carl into the fire.
Carl gulped hard.
"You bastards sold me out... Even you, Alison... And I was gonna ask you out for coffee someday."
Mustered what little courage he had left—
—"C-Chief Glenn... s-sir... the Mob... escaped from the system."
—"WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?! SPEAK HUMAN, YOU IDIOTS!"
—"H-he was just a Mob, sir... a regular one! But... somehow, he had money. A lot of it. Enough to buy every single pack we hid in the code."
Glenn's face froze. His eyes went wide.
—"...All of them?"
Carl nodded, drenched in sweat.
—"Please tell me this is a joke…"
—"I wish it were a joke, sir..."
Then Glenn exploded:
—"YOU INCOMPETENT MORONS! I GAVE YOU ONE SIMPLE JOB! MONITOR THE PACKS AND YOU'D GET A RAISE! BUT NOW?! FORGET IT—GO TO HELL!"
Carl tried to calm him:
—"Boss, maybe we could talk to VP Choi... He might help recover the—"
—"ARE YOU INSANE?! HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THE PACKS EXIST! IF HE FINDS OUT, I'M FIRED—IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?!"
Alison jumped in, trying to soften the blow:
—"S-sir, don't take it out on Carl! Technically, we just discovered a bug with a Mob…"
Glenn wasn't in the mood for logic.
—"DO YOU WANT US ALL FIRED?! IF THEY FIND OUT THIS HAPPENED ON MY WATCH, I'M DONE!"
Elvis raised a shaky hand:
—"That's not even the worst part… When we tried to reset him… the system failed."
—"WHAT?!"
Now Glenn was terrified.
—"L-look at the logs, sir… It's like the code itself decided that Mob doesn't belong to the game anymore."
Glenn leaned in, paled as he read the screen—
—"No. No. No… This… this can't be…"
Elvis laughed bitterly.
—"Boss… that Mob... he dodged the reset."
Silence.
The only sound left was the soft hum of machines.
—"That's... impossible…" Glenn whispered.
Carl, already dead inside, dropped the final bomb:
—"Chief... I think that Mob… developed a consciousness."
Glenn nearly collapsed.
—"ARE YOU TELLING ME THERE'S AN ACTUAL AI IN THE GAME?!"
—"Uh… technically, yes…"
Glenn stumbled into a chair, staring at the monitor like it was a window to hell.
"Forget the packs… if THIS leaks, I'll be sued, fired, probably jailed."
Alison tried damage control.
—"We can cover it up. Just say it was a coding bug."
—"BUG, MY ASS! THIS IS A DISASTER!!"
—"W-we can say it happened during the lunch break..." Elvis added nervously.
Glenn glared murder at him—But after a pause, sighed.
—"...If we spin this right... no one will notice."
—"Exactly, boss."
Glenn stared at the screen, defeated.
—"From now on... no one says a word. If anyone talks, I'll fire you myself. And I'll make damn sure you don't work anywhere, not even a convenience store."
Everyone nodded like bobbleheads.
—"And as punishment…" Glenn grinned like a demon."...No one's getting paid this month."
—"WHAT?!" they all screamed.
—"THAT'S UNFAIR!"
—"IT'S NOT MY FAULT!"
—"DAMMIT, CARL, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
—"MY FAULT?! ALISON SHOVED ME FORWARD! I DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO SPEAK!"
SLAM! Glenn smashed the desk.
—"SHUT UP! You should be grateful I didn't fire all of you!"
Silence.
The team swallowed their complaints and fear.
Meanwhile, on a secondary screen...A level 9 Mob with absurd stats laughed maliciously—Blissfully unaware that, in the real world, a team of panicked adults was desperately trying to hide their disaster.
And the worst... hadn't even begun.