Whoooosh!
A blast of icy wind struck my body where I sat on the ground. Snow was piling on me, and my clothes were damp and cold.
The chill rising from the earth and the howling winter wind rapidly drained my body heat. I had on a protective outer robe, but at this rate, I wouldn’t last long.
“Huff... haah... huff...”
My entire body was trembling violently. My vision began to blur.
Even though I knew I’d freeze to death the moment I lost consciousness, it was becoming harder and harder to keep my eyelids open. Just as I barely held on, a status window appeared in front of me.
Ding!
《Would you like to use the Divine Power (S-rank) skill?》
I ignored it.
But it didn’t stop—new windows popped up like a flood.
《Would you like to use the Divine Power (S-rank) skill?》
《Would you like to use the Divine Power (S-rank) skill?》
《Would you like to use the Divine Power (S-rank) skill?》
《Would you like to use the Divine Power (S-rank) skill?》
The message was clear: stop being stubborn and purify the cold before I died.
Fighting against the crushing fatigue, I muttered,
“...If you really want to save me...”
I couldn’t finish the sentence. My body gave out, and my eyes shut.
Ding, ding, ding!
The alerts rang desperately, but I couldn’t open my eyes anymore. My head drooped forward as I thought,
‘Shit... this is actually bad...’
I didn’t come out here to freeze to death—I was threatening the system to force a conversation, not suicidal.
I was just about to give up and activate the Divine Power when—
《Skill: Divine Power (S-rank) activated!》
《A surge of holy energy flows through you!》
...What?
I hadn’t used the skill yet.
But the skill activated on its own, surrounding my body in warmth. The freezing sensation vanished instantly, and my fading consciousness returned to clarity.
I looked down at my body wrapped in white light and frowned.
‘Don’t tell me... the system forcibly activated my skill?’
A wave of shock—and then fury.
“...You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Activating a skill without the user’s consent? Was that even possible?
Rage boiled in my gut. Just as I was about to unleash a string of curses, another alert rang.
Ding!
I glanced up, expecting another useless status window—and froze when I read it.
《State your request.》
“...!”
The phrasing was strange, but it was unmistakably a sentence. A message from the system.
I’d finally made contact. With the entity that had revived me after death and pulled me this far.
My fists clenched with tension. I swallowed hard and tried to speak calmly.
“...I want to know your true identity.”
This had been my most pressing question—ever since the status windows and quests began appearing.
The system... might be the only one who truly understood the suffering I carried.
There was a pause—and then a response appeared.
《Not possible.》
“Not possible?”
Was it saying revealing its identity was impossible?
“Why not?”
《It cannot be done.》
“What do you mean, ‘it cannot be done’? Speak clearly.”
Unable to take it anymore, I snapped—and windows began flooding in.
《Even if revealed, cannot be displayed.》
《ë ̄ ̧ë□□ì□ê31⁄4ê±°ë¥1⁄4 ë3μê ̧°ì¤□ì□ ̧ë□ì□¬□》
《Like this》
A slew of corrupted messages filled my view.
I’d seen this kind of glitch before—twice.
Once, when I first encountered the fake impersonating Song Jiwoon.
And once during the front gate of the Royal Palace incident, when the difficulty of a quest dropped from S-rank to C-rank because someone “paid the price.”
‘Wait... that means...’
As I recalled those memories, a possibility surfaced in my mind.
“That subquest from the front gate of the Royal Palace incident—the one to eliminate the cause of the Rift. Its difficulty suddenly dropped from S to C. You said someone paid the price... was that you?”
After a pause, another corrupted message appeared.
《ì□ ́ì©□ì□□ìë3□ì□ë□¤》
The message was unreadable, but... some answers didn’t need to be spoken aloud to be understood.
I moved on to another question.
“That weird tone of yours—is that because of this cursed ‘glitch’ too?”
《No.》
《This is a limitation. Please express.》
《Only predefined words and phrases exist.》
《They must be combined.》
“...Huh.”
So it’s using fixed vocabulary and preset phrases to build these messages?
I recalled the wording of past quests and status messages.
The quest texts were always rigid, while skill descriptions were sometimes gentler. That probably explained the mix of formal and casual speech.
“Well, if that’s the case, there’s no helping it. I’ll try my best to interpret. Just ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) answer me.”
《Continuing is difficult.》
《Will soon be restricted.》
“You mean your answers are limited? How many more do we get?”
《Not for long.》
Damn it.
I bit my lip and scrambled to think.
If I lost this opportunity, who knew when I’d speak with the system again?
‘The question about its identity led to corrupted text...’
Then there was only one urgent question I could still ask.
“Tell me your objective. Is it the same as mine—to stop the Catastrophe and save the world?”
This time, the response took longer than ever.
Alone in the silent, snowy mountain, I waited tensely. Just as I opened my mouth to speak—
《The correct path》
《Must be found.》
“...The correct path?”
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
That wasn’t a real answer. Sure, to me, the “correct path” meant defeating the Catastrophe and saving everyone—but I had no idea what the system considered the correct path.
“Don’t give me vague crap. Be clear—what is your actual goal?”
Again, silence.
I gritted my teeth and yelled.
“Why me? Why did you come to me? Why bring me back to life? Wouldn’t it have been easier to pick one of the main protagonists instead?!”
Crackle...!
Sparks burst where the windows had been appearing. Then, a new window blinked into existence—barely visible, distorted worse than before.
《You were the one ́ë□¤》
“...What?”
The window vanished instantly.
Stunned by the response, I blinked in disbelief, then finally managed to speak again.
“What the hell was that supposed to mean?”
I shouted urgently—but no new messages appeared. The system had truly vanished.
“System!”
My voice echoed hollowly across the snowy mountains.
No matter how many times I called, there was no response.
‘That’s it? It just ends like this?’
After dropping a vague message like that?
My eyes narrowed as the frustration I’d been bottling up spilled out.
“...You sick bastard.”
The world was still silent.
But I didn’t stop muttering.
“You’re watching me twenty-four-seven, aren’t you?”
There was no way it didn’t know everything.
The perfectly timed quests. The life-saving notifications. Activating my skills on its own.
None of that was possible unless it was watching my every move.
“You even watch me when I shower or change clothes, don’t you?”
A wide smirk spread across my face.
“You voyeuristic, perverted freak.”
Ding!
At last, the alert rang. A new window popped up.
That’s more like it, I thought, grinning inwardly as I checked the message—only to be stunned.
《A Cash Box has arrived! Please check your Gift Box in the Item Shop.》
《Auto-connecting to Item Shop!》
“...Wait, what?”
I had assumed the system would respond in rage.
Instead, it handed me an unexpected gift and launched the Item Shop. I took a startled step back.
But the Item Shop cheerily exploded with fanfare and fireworks.
《Congratulations! Your Item Shop tier has increased. (Bronze → Silver)》
《Surprise Gift! A Cash Box has arrived!》
《Cash Box: Surprise Gift from the System (1,000,000 cash)》
《Surprise Gift! A Cash Box has arrived!》
《Cash Box: Surprise Gift from the System (1,000,000 cash)》
《Surprise Gift! A Cash Box has arrived!》
《Cash Box: Surprise Gift from the System (1,000,000 cash)》
I stared blankly at the three consecutively exploding cash boxes.
Then, when I finally processed what was happening, my face twisted in horror.
‘The system... this insane bastard... gave me cash because I called it a pervert?!’
But it didn’t stop there.
Along with the cash, I received an item gift box.
《Surprise Gift! An Item Box has arrived!》
《Item Box: Surprise Gift from the System》
Surprise Gift from the System
A rare gift personally sent by the System.
You're truly lucky to have received this!
(No special effects.)
A single bright yellow flower dropped out of the item window.
The moment I saw it, white-hot rage flared inside me. My fists clenched so hard they trembled.
“...System...!!”

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