OHNIR – Chapter 3
Chapter 3: System
Kelusta sat on the edge of her bed, legs crossed and brow furrowed in solemn contemplation.
After recalling her dream, she had suddenly discovered something extra in her mind.
“Identifying temporary host… Identification successful.”
“Beginning recording. Temporary host registered as: Oceanum. Identity: Heroine. Name: Kelusta Breviou.”
“Recording complete. Generating data…”
“Hello, temporary host. I am the World Line Convergence System, number 15135. It is my distinct honor to cooperate with you.”
“Analysis indicates that the true ending of the world of Oceanum, 【Secret of the Gods】, has not been triggered for an extended period. Therefore, headquarters has dispatched me to reside within the consciousness of the game’s core entity to provide you with professional service and guidance.”
“…”
Kelusta stared blankly into the empty space before her, browsing the interface of this self-proclaimed “System 15135.” The words scrolling across it were the ones she had just heard.
World Line Convergence System? True ending?
So, the royal family route, the demon route, the childhood friend route, and the magic origin route—none of them were the game’s true ending?
—Kelusta, ever the optimist, took the news that she was a game character rather well. After all, if she weren’t in a game, then both Seaside Town and she herself would likely have been destroyed forever long ago.
Only by being the “game’s core” could she have the chance to start over.
Right now, she had only just awakened her water magic. The real plot hadn’t even begun, which gave her ample time to prevent the destruction of Seaside Town.
“Replying to the esteemed temporary host: that is correct. The eight endings previously transmitted to you are not the true ending designed for Oceanum.”
“You can hear what I’m thinking?” Kelusta asked.
“Replying to the esteemed temporary host: yes. The content of your thoughts is fed back to my system through a specific algorithm. I will not eavesdrop on information you do not wish for me to know. Likewise, you do not need to speak aloud when communicating with me.”
“Alright, I think I get it,” Kelusta thought, her acceptance level high. “You don’t need such a long prefix when you talk to me. It’s exhausting to listen to.”
“Host’s feedback received. Updating settings… Update complete. Hello, temporary host. Do you require an introduction to your mission?”
“My mission?” Kelusta was taken aback. “I have to do missions? Haven’t I suffered enough? Look at the plotlines—either Seaside Town or I have to die. And you’re still going to assign me missions after all that?”
The system fell silent for a moment, clearly not expecting the heroine—labeled in its database as optimistic, cheerful, friendly, and innocent—to start haggling like an auntie at the market. But as a high-quality professional on the job, it always collected feedback from its temporary host promptly. So, just a few seconds after Kelusta’s outburst, a new message appeared.
“Temporary host, please return your anger levels to normal. Your mission is to achieve the true ending, ‘Secret of the Gods,’ with the system’s assistance. In this ending, both Seaside Town and you will be well…”
The system thought for a moment, unable to find a suitable verb, and settled for a concise summary: “You will live.”
Kelusta: “Is that it? Just live?!”
System: “My apologies, temporary host. Due to system limitations, I cannot reveal too much at this time.”
It paused, then added, “Furthermore, the perfection of the true ending depends on your performance in each stage of the mission. The better you accomplish each objective, the more perfect the final outcome will be. So please forgive me, but I cannot give you a precise answer.”
Kelusta frowned for a long while before reluctantly agreeing.
“Fine,” she grumbled. “It can’t be any worse than the previous endings, right?”
“Actually, within the limits of the detection system, I can say a little more,” the system said, sounding somewhat sympathetic. “The most perfect version of the true ending can be described as utterly fulfilling, for both you and for Seaside Town.”
“Really?!”
Kelusta’s eyes flew open, and her listless demeanor was replaced by a vibrant energy. “You mean, if I can successfully achieve the true ending, Seaside Town will be safe?”
“Precisely.”
Because the Holy Force Source was buried there, Seaside Town suffered varying degrees of destruction in every ending, and the Source itself was naturally never spared.
In all the happy endings outside of Wend’s route, the Holy Force Source in Seaside Town was damaged, with the damaged portion falling into Gloria’s possession. In all the bad endings outside of Wend’s route, the entire Holy Force Source would be successfully seized by Gloria.
And as for Wend’s route…
It was even worse.
Regardless of whether it was a happy or bad ending, in the magic origin outcome, the Holy Force Source would be taken by Gloria. The only difference was whether Seaside Town was preserved by a blessing Kelusta purchased with her own life.
Among all the endings, Satrick’s happy ending was the one where Seaside Town was successfully rebuilt. Kevit’s happy ending was the one where the Holy Force Source suffered the least damage, but the town’s residents lost their connection to the ocean after the seaside battle. Wend’s bad ending was the one where Seaside Town remained most in its original state, but the Holy Force Source ended up in Gloria’s hands.
In short, none of the endings unlocked so far were satisfactory to Kelusta.
So she decisively accepted the mission proposed by the system.
“Alright,” the brown-haired girl said, her golden eyes, as brilliant as the sun, filled with determination. “Tell me, what do I need to do?”
“First, successfully enroll in the Holy Light Magic Academy.” The system was very pleased with her cooperation and did not hold back. “The World Line Convergence System also possesses functions for organizing and recording plotlines, querying character profiles, and monitoring favorability levels. I will provide you with these services without reservation until you achieve the true ending.”
It paused, then said in its stiff, electronic voice, “Good luck, esteemed temporary host.”
The Holy Light Magic Academy was the only magic academy in Nobili. Since the young masters and ladies of the nobility studied here, its facilities were impeccable.
A snow-white gate, verdant willows, and a castle with pointed spires built at the foot of the rear mountain presented a magnificent sight from afar. A stroll through the vast gardens would lead one to a massive lake, where swans with snow-white feathers often played and swam. A gentle breeze carrying the scent of fruit trees would ripple the water’s surface, slowly pushing a fallen swan feather to the edge of the pond.
The people of Nobili believed that the white swan was the symbol of Clara, the Goddess of Light.
To be fair, Kelusta felt that the school’s atmosphere was the complete inverse of its appearance.
“Querying information… Holy Light Magic Academy, also known as Clara Magic Academy. Legend says it was established by the Goddess of Light for the human race. Only humans possessing the ‘Remnants of Divine Power’ may enroll—”
“What are the Remnants of Divine Power?” Kelusta asked as she took her luggage from Kevit, giving him a grateful smile.
“It is what the Nobili Kingdom refers to as ‘magic,’” the system replied. “This concept is recorded in the ‘Magic Origin Route.’ Do you require me to retrieve the relevant world line data?”
“No,” Kelusta said, annoyed. “Don’t mention the Magic Origin Route to me… Just thinking about the name makes me angry.”
The Magic Origin Route was the most tragic one for both Kelusta and Seaside Town, and it was one of the two most difficult endings to achieve, aside from the true ending, “Secret of the Gods.”
After all, the plot of Wend’s route was the closest to the true ending. In the routes for Satrick, Musen, and Kevit, they all foolishly believed that Starangui was the mastermind behind everything!
As her thoughts wandered, she suddenly heard someone calling her name.
“Ruth? Ruth, what are you spacing out about again?”
Kelusta snapped back to reality and gave Kevit an embarrassed smile. “Sorry, I was just admiring the scenery.”
Kevit put on a dissatisfied expression, squinting as he leaned closer to her. “You’ve been like this for days,” he protested. “You’re not keeping some little secret from me, are you?”
It was one thing not knowing Kevit was a capture target, but now that she’d seen the plot, his ambiguous proximity made Kelusta’s skin crawl. She quickly took a step back and said evasively, “Of course not. Don’t be silly.”
“Ding. Kevit’s favorability +3.”
“…What?” Kelusta said strangely. “That gives me three points?”
She was now extremely resistant to raising the favorability of these male leads. For the past two days, every time the system announced an increase in Kevit’s favorability, her mind would uncontrollably flash to the scene from the childhood friend route’s bad ending, where she killed him with her own hands.
It was a visceral rejection.
Fortunately, the system hadn’t asked her to pursue any of the male leads, only telling her cryptically to “follow the proper steps” and that it would issue the next mission once she reached the designated location.
“The system is only responsible for real-time monitoring and reporting of favorability. It cannot explain the reasons for its increase or decrease to the temporary host,” the system stated flatly. “Detected that you have arrived at the Holy Light Magic Academy. Mission node successfully triggered. Receive now?”
“Receive.”
“Issuing mission…”
“Main Mission: Begin the 【Secret of the Gods】 true ending route.”
“Method of Completion (Stage 1): Proceed to the library until the ‘Sage’ achievement is unlocked.”
“Mission Reward: Probability Increase MOD.”
“Wait, what?” Kelusta asked. “What’s a MOD?”
The system explained mechanically, “MOD, short for Modification, is a game module. It is a program that modifies or enhances a game. By altering or adding items, characters, objects, or modes within a computer game, it serves the purpose of enhancing gameplay.”
Kelusta frowned, her beautiful golden eyes narrowing slightly as her expression suddenly grew heavy.
The system held its breath. According to its calculations, this was the expression humans made when they were forming resistant thoughts.
Could it be that this righteous girl from Seaside Town was unwilling to use a MOD, which was akin to a cheat tool?
But without it, completing the second stage would be far too difficult…
It gathered its thoughts for a moment, preparing to persuade the temporary host to set aside her reservations, but unexpectedly, she spoke first.
Kelusta: “I don’t understand.”
“…” The system paused for a moment before saying, “To put it simply, it’s a tool that makes it easier for you to clear the game.”
“Oh, I get it now,” Kelusta said, looking troubled. “But the library… I’m afraid I won’t be able to quiet my mind. Is there some kind of ‘Calm Down MOD’ you can give me first?”
The system replied calmly and perfunctorily, “You can do it, temporary host.”
After that, it made no further sound.
It was as if chatting with Kelusta was nothing but a waste of electricity.
—I’d better not simulate human thought from now on. I actually thought this heroine had some sense of justice!
Ha, justice!
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