00004. The ultimate scam of all systems.

Hey everyone, sorry for the delay. I passed out once I got home from work and just woke up a little while ago. I am going to try and post another chapter of this story this weekend, but I also need to work on the next chapters on my other two stories. Anyways, have a good night everyone, I am going back to bed.

Zhi stood in front of his fireplace as he shivered from the cold. Taking a bath turned out to be a terrible idea with how cold the water was. Once he was back inside, he quickly added more wood to the low fire and fanned it with a shirt.

As the fire started to grow Zhi thought, ‘How are you doing Buddha? You have been pretty quiet since I showed you that system exploit.’

[I am currently busy. Also you should remove your potato, I believe it is fully cooked.]

Zhi glanced down to study the potato for a moment before he carefully reached into the firepit. After a moment he pulled out the potato and placed it on the table to cool down as he thought, ‘Thanks, I forgot that was in there.’

As Zhi warmed himself by the fire he also pulled out the supplies the village elder gave him. A small bag of rice, some fresh vegetables, a loaf of bread and a bit of smoked meat. It could easily last a week if Zhi was frugal. He also planned to check over his farmland tomorrow for anything edible to help make it last longer.

He hummed to myself as he took the shirt he used to fan the fire and poured a little water on it. Afterwards he used it to wipe down the cooked potato as he thought, ‘Since you reported that issue to the system, will it notify you when it's fixed?’

[Possibly. It might just patch the issue, but not inform me.]

Zhi took a bite of his potato and frowned slightly, it could definitely use some butter and salt… Or some sour cream and cheese…

Zhi glanced at his pantry before letting out a sigh as he thought, ‘I wonder if anyone would give me some salt.’

Zhi washed down the bland potato with some water before he thought, ‘By the way Buddha, you said the system can change depending on how I use it right?’

[Correct, the system will evolve over time to be more compatible with the host. Depending on host actions and how they interact with the system will determine how system evolution will occur.]

‘Nice, that's good to know. I do have a question though. You should have access to all my memories, correct? Are they like how I recall them or are they better quality?’

[I see your memories in a type of perfect recall. I can see every little thing that happened in them, even things you didn’t notice or missed when you lived through it. You will also have this ability when you become a stronger cultivator.]

Zhi nodded along in understanding as he thought, ‘So hypothetically, if I wanted to hear some music. Would you be able to recall it and play it for me?’

[Hypothetically yes, if I was a music player. But I'm not, so don't even think about it.]

‘I have no idea what you are talking about.’ Zhi thought as he started to whistle innocently.

[Sure… If you need a music player, you can purchase one with your points, if you wish to waste them on things that don't matter.]

After he finished off the bland potato and the rest of his stale bread. Zhi waited next to the fire for his body to warm up and dry completely. Once he was done, he sat down on the bed naked and picked up his new robes before he unfolded it. He quickly noticed there were actually four different pieces to the robe. The robe itself, a bottom half called a sarong, a belt and to his surprise and happiness a pair of what look like black cotton boxers. He rubbed his fingers over the fabric and confirmed his thoughts before he slipped them on.

‘Now this is so much better. Nothing beats some comfortable underwear. Buddha, could you wake me up before dawn?’

[I am not an alarm clock, but you can buy one from the system store once it opens.]

‘Nevermind, I forgot you don’t like to be useful.’

[I only need to be useful when it comes to the system. Acting as an alarm clock is something outside my functions and not something I am required to do.]

‘Alright, so you don’t want to help me out. I understand.’

[You can’t guilt me into doing stuff.]

Zhi let out a sigh before he placed the rest of his gear into his inventory and laid down on the uncomfortable bed. He then pulled up the old linen blanket and closed his eyes as he tried to fall asleep. It took a while, but he finally fell into a restless sleep, that thankfully lasted the night.

When Zhi awoke the next morning the first thing he did was restart the fire that was almost out again. Once the fire was going properly, he placed a potato down in the pit to cook it for his breakfast. As it cooked he dressed in some of Zhi’s clothes and thought, ‘Hey Buddha, you never really explained the system to me and just rushed me into my first quests. Is there a reason for that?’

[You only need to know the basics of the system, which were already explained. If more knowledge is needed about the system please by the beginners guide.]

‘And how would I buy that?’

[From the system store once it unlocks.]

‘Why is… Fuck it, I don’t care. But what about my other question? Why does it seem like you are rushing me?’ Zhi thought as he watched the fire.

[The first quests are designed to help you leave your starting location as soon as possible.]

Zhi nodded a little in understanding as he thought, ‘So the next quests won’t rush me?’

[Correct.]

Zhi got up from his bed and went around the hut to gather everything that could be useful as he thought, ‘I wonder if Ao took my advice?’

[Humans rarely do things that are logical, so I doubt it.]

Zhi placed a small cooking pot, a slightly rusted firewood ax and a few other items down on the table before he sat back down on his bed. The pot was dirty and would need to be cleaned out, but otherwise would work to cook rice in. The ax he planned to use to cut some more firewood. While the other items he picked up were a small carving knife with a slightly dull blade and some crude gardening tools. He didn’t really need them, but he figured he would put the tools to use when he searched his farm land later for food. As he rested on the bed a new message box popped up.

[Congratulations, you found a system bug!]

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While you weren’t the first person to figure out the bug, you were the first person to report it. Since you decided to help out the system by reporting the issue and not abusing it. You will be rewarded for your actions in making the system better.

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Rewarding:

100 Artificer Points

Unlocking prize wheel

Granting one free elevated spin of prize wheel

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Zhi stared at the message box blankly for a while before he asked out loud, “Did you really just give me a gacha prize wheel?”

[The system prize wheel is a very useful tool that can help you gain items you normally wouldn’t be able to acquire easily.]

‘Can those items be bought in the system store?’

[Of course. All items from the prize wheel come directly from the store.]

Zhi pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought, ‘So it is just a gacha prize wheel…’

[The prize wheel is a rite of passage for all system users and normally only granted after they upgrade the system many times. Getting this item so early is a boon for you!]

‘A boon uh? And how much does a single spin cost on this thing?’

[You can get 1 spin for only 100 AP or 11 spins for 1,000 AP! Or you can do 1 elevated spin for 500 AP or 11 elevated spins for 5,000 AP! There are also higher tiers to unlock but you must spend a certain amount of AP on spins before you qualify to purchase them.]

Zhi placed both hands over his face as he leaned down and let out a groan of frustration as he thought ‘It’s totally a gacha wheel meant to waste points! You don’t even give the upgrades to the wheel for free and you have to purchase them after you waste money on spins! What kinda crazy scam is this?!’

[How could a tool made by the system be a scam? All tools from the system are meant to help you on your journey.]

‘The fact you don’t realize it's a scam is concerning.’ Zhi thought as he shook his head.

[System tools are only made to help a system host. Please give the prize wheel a try, so you can see how useful it is.]

Zhi glanced at the message box that displayed he had one free spin before he thought, ‘Fuck it, it’s free anyways. Use my free spin chance.’

The message box disappeared and a moment later a massive prize wheel appeared in Zhi’s mind. There were at least a few hundred prizes on the golden colored wheel that now rested in Zhi’s mind. As he tried to inspect the prizes on the wheel, it started to spin up and a moment later was going at full speed. Once it reached its max speed a golden glow surrounded the wheel and Zhi watched in fascination as it started to slow down.

After about a minute of so the wheel finally slowed down enough that Zhi could almost make out what was on it. Items, bloodlines, pets, weapons, pretty much anything you could think of was on the wheel. Would they actually be useful? Zhi had no idea, but he already decided he wouldn’t waste his time with this wheel. Maybe in the far future if he was bored and had a lot of AP saved up, but even then it seemed like a stupid idea…

As the wheel slowed down to almost a crawl he could see the next items on the wheel clearly as the flipper clicked slowly. One by one he watched the pointer go past items as he waited for the wheel to finally stop. When it looked like it was about to stop on a bloodline, the pointer clicked over to the next slot and landed on an item slot instead. Zhi stared at it for a few moments before he was pulled out of his mind and a small box appeared in his hands.

[Congratulations, you won a random item!]

Zhi slowly opened the box and a moment later it was replaced with a simple set of sandals.

[Congratulations, you won a set of sandals!]

Zhi looked over the sandals for a few moments before he thought, ‘I told you the prize wheel is a scam! How in the fuck is this some kinda elevated prize?'

[Those are not normal sandals. They are guaranteed by the system, to fit perfectly, be comfortable and last for years if you take care of them.]

Zhi stared at the sandals for a while longer before he let out a sigh as he thought, ‘That thing is one hundred percent a scam. Can I turn it off or hide it somehow?’

[System tools can not be turned off once they are activated.]