System Destroyed, Backlash

The young man turned away to leave, as Amelia heaved a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, the young man turned back around. He stared intently at Amelia before walking over. He began to sniff around. His nose began to twitch as he walked toward Joe's hiding spot while a dumbfounded Amelia watched.

He muttered under his breath.

"Reeks of Ancient Invaders..."

He walked closer and closer to Joe until they were staring directly at each other. The young man muttered again.

"The source..."

He pulled Joe out of the corner and into the open. He spoke solemnly.

"You... Are you a System Holder? Don't trust your System too much. It rewires your brain and was manufactured by aliens, the invasive type, and they've already tried to invade the Earth once. It'll probably deny my words."

[The System recommends the Host not to believe anything from Target: Jack]

"It... denied your words..."

Jack nodded at that. He replied with a new answer.

"I would know. I had one. They seem intelligent, but against other System Holders, even former ones, they give out an automated response. Dunno why. Mine already stabbed me in the back. After getting whatever it needed from me, it summoned an Ancient Invader to take it back."

"How did you find a System's scent on me?"

"My System collected bloodlines. Dogs, birds, cats, just about any bloodline I could find. It rewarded me with a bloodline occasionally, mutating my body in a certain direction. I got the most wolf bloodlines, enough to remember the scent of an Ancient Invader. Systems were manufactured by them, and it hasn't been long enough, so the scent of them still remains on you."

Joe put on a contemplative look at that. He scratched his face.

"Well, why are you helping me? I don't have anything of use to do I?"

"I'm helping you because you have value to me. You can help me get revenge. You likely haven't completed most of your System's tasks since the smell has faded so little. You probably barely scratched the surface considering the freshness of the smell. Your System is weak right now. Root it out."

Jack emphasized his vengeful tone on the last sentence.

Joe scratched his head.

"How should I go about doing that?"

"I've already done most of it for you. Once I leave, the System will root itself out at the cost of-"

"Ahem! I'm still here!"

Amelia coughed to make her presence known again. She put an indignant look on her face while pouting.

Jack glanced at her before speaking again in an indifferent tone as his face turned ashen.

"Ah yes. Your girlfriend is still here. Whatever. That's already enough information for you. Remember to suppress the backlash, or you'll end up like me, crippled."

Upon leaving those parting words, Jack strolled out of the bookstore.

"Wait, what backlash-!"

[Perfected System Holder has left the vicinity. Host has believed the Perfected Holder's words. Secret Protection Mode: Online. Initiating Self-destruct]

"Wha-!"

Joe suddenly felt as though a supernova went off in his head. His ears were ringing and he was bleeding out of his facial orifices. Joe went woozy-eyed before passing out.

…

Joe's eyes cracked open a tiny bit as he heard a faint voice.

"Hey! Hey!! Hey!!!"

Joe opened his eyes all the way this time. He saw a feminine face reaching out to his. He felt a slight stinging sensation on his cheek.

"Did you... slap me?"

Joe spoke rather hoarsely.

"Of course I did! How else would you wake up?"

Amelia spoke in a rather angry tone.

"You just shouted for a second before bleeding out of your face! I would clearly be surprised!"

Joe wondered about the connection between being surprised and slapping his face before pushing it to the back of his mind.

'Suppress the backlash... Was that all it was?'

Ignoring Amelia's shouts, Joe closed his eyes before sinking into his mental space.

Taking his point of view, he analyzed the damages.

'Damn. My Wisdom has regressed to thirty-two, and I feel a faint power still wreaking havoc in my mind.'

Joe closed his eyes before commanding what remained of his mental power to quell the damage the System had inflicted on him, which it had dealt in the form of a strange black light.

Suddenly, he felt a strong force repel his mental power, before an intense pain filled his chest.

"Pu!"

Joe suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood.

'Whoa. I thought only people in Xianxia vomited mouthfuls of blood regularly...'

His wide eyes saw a worried Amelia, before closing them again.

…

Joe opened his eyes once more, awakening to the very same feminine face as last time.

"You're finally awake. It's been a while.

Amelia spoke while frowning.

"How... long was I out?"

Joe's voice was still as hoarse as before.

Amelia put on an angry face before responding.

"It's already been five hours! Where would I learn magic if you died?"

Joe's expression remained the same, expressionless.

"Maybe that Jack guy?"

"Who? You mean that guy who walked in talking about Systems? I could probably learn sci-fi stuff from him, but without you, I can't learn any magic!"

Joe let out a hollow chuckle at that.

"Alright then."

Joe didn't ask anymore questions about the important things like, where they were, what time it was, and the like. He couldn't care less about that stuff right now. His mind was still on what Jack said before.

'Remember to suppress the backlash, or you'll end up like me, crippled.'

Joe was most afraid of losing his power. He wanted to stay alive now. More than ever before. Ever since he became a Wizard, danger after danger threw themselves at him. His emotions were stronger than ever before.

'Is this what Jack meant when he said it rewired my brain?'

Pushing these thoughts aside, he sunk deep into his mind again, analyzing it once more. The size of the white light in his mind had diminished a bit more.

'Damn. My Wisdom is on the brink of receding below the Wizard stage. If I can't suppress it now, I'll lose my elemental powers.'

This time, Joe took a much softer approach. He willed some of the white light to look out for the faint power. After several minutes, it had found some remainder.

'So there's still some left after all that... I would probably recede back to a regular person's level if this got me again.'

Instead of suppressing it this time, Joe decided to eject it. He controlled his mental power to push away the faint dark power.

Joe suddenly went into a coughing fit. He felt as though wind was being blown out of his ears, before he suddenly felt a strong urge to sneeze. Unable to suppress the sneeze, he let it out.

"Achoo!"

It sounded as though a storm had been sneezed up, prompting Amelia to jump in surprise before staring back at Joe.

"What was that?"

After a moment of hesitation, Joe revealed his answer.

"I just ejected the backlash of the System Jack talked about."

Amelia only stared at him for another second before looking away and busying herself.

Upon seeing Amelia leave the room he was in, he sunk back into his mind space.

He looked back over his white light, representing his Wisdom, before searching for more System backlash.

Upon finding none, Joe attempted to stand up.

Once standing, Joe suddenly felt light-headed, before falling forwards. Upon hearing the crashing sound, Amelia came over from the other room to help him up.

"Jeez, you already bled so much and you expect to be able to stand up like nothing? You really must be dreaming. Your thigh is still hurt too!"

Joe only remained silent at this, inhaling her scent as she picked him up and reseated him.

She smelled like ripe pumpkins. Joe was a slight pervert and he wasn't going to deny it.

Amelia left the room after helping him up, as Joe thought of something to do.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Joe decided to review the second volume of the Virginity Scripture. Although the System had self-destructed, the information still remained in his mind. However, he would likely have to read the Scriptures all on his own next time.

Having sunk himself deep in thought, he didn't notice Amelia closing the door before laying on the table next to him. He didn't even notice her turning off the light.

Once Joe awakened from his thoughts, Amelia was already fast asleep on the large table beside him. He looked around, before concluding it was nighttime.

Joe checked his Wisdom after absorbing the teachings of the Scripture. Before, he was on the brink of receding back to a normal person, but now, he was about halfway to Great Mage with a Wisdom stat of 48.

'I guess now is about time I think about my future path. Becoming an internal or outer Wizard seems like a big decision.'

However, Joe was tired. He already had enough to deal with.

'Never mind all that! I'll think about it tomorrow!'