Debugging in Combat

The demons surged toward me, their leathery wings beating the air into a frenzy. I counted at least a dozen of them—muscular humanoid creatures with crimson skin, curved horns, and yellowed fangs. Their claws gleamed in the firelight as buildings continued to burn around us.

"System, any advice for fighting multiple opponents with powers I can't control?" I asked, backing up a step.

[COMBAT ANALYSIS MODULE: PARTIALLY FUNCTIONAL]

[RECOMMENDATION: UTILIZE AREA EFFECT ABILITIES WITH MINIMAL POWER]

[WARNING: PRECISE CONTROL STILL UNLIKELY]

Great. My options were essentially "destroy everything" or "destroy mostly everything."

The first demon reached me, slashing with claws that could rend steel. I dodged instinctively, my body moving with a fluidity I'd never experienced before. The creature's momentum carried it past me, leaving its back exposed.

I touched its shoulder, again visualizing the golden regulator construct. "Shock," I whispered.

Electricity coursed from my fingertips—far more than I intended. The demon convulsed as lightning engulfed its body, then exploded into ash. Unfortunately, the electricity didn't stop there. It arced to three nearby demons, reducing them to cinders as well, then jumped to a nearby well, where it superheated the water and caused a geyser of steam to erupt.

[POWER REGULATION: 22% EFFICIENCY]

[CONTINUE PRACTICING]

The remaining demons hesitated, suddenly wary of the strange human who could obliterate their comrades with a touch.

"Back to the Abyss, or whatever you call home," I called out, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "Or end up like your friends."

One demon—larger than the others with a crown of horns—snarled something in a guttural language.

[LANGUAGE INTERFACE ACTIVATING] [TRANSLATING DEMONIC SPEECH] [TRANSLATION: "The master will hear of a godling in human form. Your blood will feed his ascension."]

"Tell your master to stay away if he knows what's good for him," I replied.

The lead demon roared and pointed at me, and the pack attacked as one.

I couldn't keep dodging forever. I needed a defense that wouldn't level the entire village. Focusing on the mental regulator, I imagined the simplest barrier I could conceive—just a thin wall of force between me and the demons.

"Shield," I said.

A hemisphere of translucent blue energy erupted around me, expanding outward with explosive force. The nearest demons were catapulted backward, crashing through burning buildings. The barrier continued expanding until it encompassed the entire village center, extinguishing fires as it passed through them.

[SPATIAL MANIPULATION ENERGY FIELD DEPLOYED] [CURRENT RADIUS: 42 METERS] [POWER REGULATION: 35% EFFICIENCY] [IMPROVEMENT NOTED]

The surviving demons scrambled to their feet, beat their wings, and took to the air, retreating into the darkening sky.

As the immediate danger passed, I became aware of the villagers staring at me with expressions ranging from awe to terror. The knights who had been fighting approached cautiously, weapons still drawn but lowered.

"Who are you?" asked a woman in more elaborate armor than the others, likely their captain.

"I'm—" I paused. I still didn't have a name in this world. "I'm still figuring that out."

[IDENTITY ESTABLISHMENT RECOMMENDED]

[LOCAL NAMING CONVENTIONS ACCESSED]

[SUGGESTION: SELECT APPROPRIATE DESIGNATION]

"You can call me Katsuo," I said, choosing a name that reminded me of my Japanese heritage while being simple enough for this world's inhabitants to pronounce.

The knight captain looked skeptical. "That magic... I've never seen anything like it. Are you from the Mage Academy?"

I shook my head. "I'm not from around here at all."

"He's the Hero!" shouted someone from the crowd. "The one the prophecy spoke of!"

Murmurs spread through the gathered villagers. The knight captain studied me more carefully.

"The summoning ritual was yesterday," she said. "The royal mages said it failed catastrophically. The summoning chamber was destroyed and three archmages were injured."

"Yeah, sorry about that," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "I'm still learning to control my... abilities."

She frowned. "If you truly are the summoned Hero, you should come with us to the capital. The King will want to meet you."

Before I could respond, a notification appeared:

[QUEST UPDATED]

Village saved from immediate demon threat New Objective: Travel to the capital

Reward: ̸̨̙̪̜̻̮̯͆̏̑͌̓́̚͝E̴̡̧̼̰̼͂̅͋̃̾r̸̦̲̖̬̠̲͂͊̍̈́͝ṟ̸͇̥͆̐͐̀̍o̶̹̩̤̹̎̃́͆̍r̸̰̱̠̦̲̤̃̂̓̊̐̚

[MAIN STORYLINE PROGRESSION DETECTED]

[WARNING: NARRATIVE STRUCTURE DESTABILIZING]

Wait, what did that mean? I dismissed the notification for now, focusing on the knight captain.

"I'll come with you," I agreed. "But I should warn you—I'm dangerous. My powers are... unstable."

The captain nodded grimly. "I witnessed as much. We'll take precautions. I am Captain Leila of the Royal Aldorian Guards. We were dispatched to investigate reports of demon activity in the outer villages."

"Perfect timing," I said. "How far is the capital?"

"Three days' ride," she replied, gesturing to the horses tethered at the village edge. "Though we've lost men and must now escort villagers whose homes were destroyed. It may take longer."

I looked at the devastation around us. Several buildings were completely destroyed—some by the demons, others by my wayward magic. People were emerging from hiding, many injured or in shock.

"Let me help the wounded before we leave," I said.

Leila's eyes widened. "After what your magic did? I don't think—"

"I'll be careful," I promised, though I wasn't entirely confident myself. "System, do I have healing abilities?"

[AFFIRMATIVE]

[ALL FORMS OF ENERGY MANIPULATION AVAILABLE]

[BIOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTION POSSIBLE]

[WARNING: EXTREME PRECISION REQUIRED]

I approached an elderly man with a severe burn on his arm, kneeling beside him. "I'm going to try to heal you," I explained gently. "Please stay very still."

Focusing more intently on the regulator construct than I ever had before, I visualized the burn healing, skin regenerating cell by cell. I placed my hand an inch above the wound.

"Heal," I whispered.

A soft golden glow emanated from my palm, enveloping the burn. Unlike my previous magical outbursts, this energy flowed smoothly and precisely. The burned tissue began to regenerate before our eyes, new skin forming until no trace of the injury remained.

[POWER REGULATION: 89% EFFICIENCY]

[SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT DETECTED]

[HYPOTHESIS: PRECISION TASKS ENABLE BETTER CONTROL]

The old man stared at his arm in disbelief, then fell to his knees before me. "The Gods have blessed us with a true Hero!"

"Please, don't—" I tried to help him up, uncomfortable with the worship. "I'm just trying to help."

For the next hour, I moved through the village, healing those who were injured. With each healing, my control improved, until I could mend bones and close wounds with minimal energy expenditure. The regulator construct became clearer in my mind, more responsive to my will.

As night fell, Captain Leila approached me again. "I've sent riders ahead to inform the King of your coming. We'll leave at dawn with those villagers who wish to relocate to the capital."

I nodded, suddenly aware of a strange sensation—I wasn't tired, despite the day's exertions. "Do you have someplace I can rest for the night?"

"The village elder has offered his home, since you saved his grandson." She hesitated. "The men are talking. They're calling you the Godslayer now, after what you did to those demons."

"I'm not a godslayer," I sighed. "Just a guy with a buggy system."

"A what?"

"Never mind. Lead the way."

The elder's home was humble but warm, with a hearth fire and simple furnishings. He insisted I take his bed while he slept by the fire, despite my protests. Once alone, I finally had time to explore my status more thoroughly.

"System, show me everything you can about my current state."

[EXPANDED STATUS]

Name: Katsuo (Self-Selected Designation)

Level: ̷̨̡̛̠̙̱̬͔̞̦́͐͊̊̓͘͝Ụ̶̡̜̘̖̱̙̓̌̿̒̔̚͜ņ̵̡̺̻̯̠̭͈͈̊̑̒͌̈́̕͝͝k̷̡̡̪̜͓̝͈̠̆̈́́̚͜͝n̴̨̢̞̪̘̻̙̙̈́̿̎̈́̊͋̀͠ò̴̢̡̠̬̞̘͉̂̾̐̀̈́̓̀͜w̶̪̩͕̟̯͖̅̀̄̃͌̇͗ͅͅn̵̢̝̳̟̥̠̗̊̄͋̋̌͑͜͝

Class: System Administrator (Corrupted)

HP: ∞/∞ MP: ∞/∞

Physical Attributes: Self-Modifying

Current Control Efficiency: 89%

Skills:

All Elemental Affinities

Spatial Manipulation

Biological Reconstruction

Matter Conversion (LOCKED - DANGEROUS)

Reality Editing (LOCKED - EXTREME DANGER)

̨̢̧̛̥̭̘̙̹̪̍̒̋͆̄̌͝ͅͅ (CORRUPTED DATA)

[Special Status: Narrative Anomaly]

[WARNING: Your existence is causing storyline instabilities]

[NARRATIVE COHESION: 78% and declining]

I stared at the status window, particularly the last entries. Narrative Anomaly? Storyline instabilities? What did that even mean?

"System, explain 'Narrative Anomaly' and 'storyline instabilities.'"

[WORLD STRUCTURE INFORMATION RESTRICTED]

[PARTIAL EXPLANATION AVAILABLE]

[EACH WORLD OPERATES ON NARRATIVE PRINCIPLES]

[YOUR CORRUPTED STATUS IS VIOLATING ESTABLISHED NARRATIVE PARAMETERS]

[POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES: UNPREDICTABLE]

"Are you saying this world is like a story? And I'm breaking the plot?"

[ANALOGY ACCEPTED AS APPROXIMATELY CORRECT]

[YOUR POWER LEVEL EXCEEDS NARRATIVE BOUNDARIES]

[RECOMMEND ADHERING TO EXPECTED HERO JOURNEY PATTERNS]

This was getting metaphysical fast. If the system was to be believed, this world functioned like a narrative, with expected story beats and character roles. My glitched reincarnation had placed me outside those rules, potentially threatening the world's stability.

"Can I fix this 'Narrative Cohesion'?"

[AFFIRMATIVE]

[FOLLOWING MAIN QUEST LINE WILL STABILIZE NARRATIVE]

[DEFEATING DEMON KING IS PRIMARY OBJECTIVE]

[ESTIMATED COHESION INCREASE: 40% UPON COMPLETION]

"And what happens if cohesion falls too low?"

[WORLD COLLAPSE POSSIBLE]

[SCENARIO SIMILAR TO NARRATIVE PARADOX]

[RECOMMEND AVOIDING THIS OUTCOME]

Great. Now I not only had to learn to control my powers, but I also had to follow some predetermined hero's journey to prevent the world from collapsing into paradox. This was far more complicated than the light novels I'd read.

I was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Enter," I called.

A young woman slipped inside, carrying a tray with bread, cheese, and water. "Elder Tomas thought you might be hungry, Hero Katsuo," she said, setting the tray down.

"Thank you," I replied, dismissing the status window with a thought. "And just Katsuo is fine."

She smiled shyly. "I'm Mira. My brother was one of those you healed today. His arm was nearly severed by a demon."

I remembered—a young man with a terrible wound that would have been fatal without immediate attention. "How is he doing?"

"Sleeping soundly, with no pain," she said, her eyes shining with gratitude. "The healer says there won't even be a scar."

"I'm glad I could help."

She lingered, seemingly wanting to say more. "Is it true what they say? That you're from another world?"

I nodded. "Very different from this one."

"And in your world, everyone can use magic like you?"

I laughed. "No, there's no magic at all where I come from. Just... technology. Machines."

She looked confused but fascinated. "The priests say the Hero will defeat the Demon King and bring a new age of prosperity. Is that why you're here?"

I considered my answer carefully. According to the system, following this "Hero's journey" was important for maintaining this world's stability.

"It seems that's my purpose," I said finally. "Though I have a lot to learn first."

She nodded solemnly. "The capital has the greatest libraries and mages in Aldoria. If anyone can help you understand your powers, it will be the Royal Arcanum."

After Mira left, I tried to sleep but found I couldn't. Another quirk of my altered body, perhaps. Instead, I spent the night meditating, focusing on the regulator construct, refining my understanding of how my power flowed.

By dawn, I felt I had made progress. I could create a tiny flame on my fingertip without setting the house ablaze—a small victory, but significant.

As the first light of morning filtered through the window, another notification appeared:

[SYSTEM UPDATE COMPLETE]

[DEBUG MODE ENABLED]

[NEW FUNCTION AVAILABLE: POWER SCALING]

"Power scaling?" I asked.

[ALLOWS PERCENTAGE-BASED POWER LIMITATION]

[EXAMPLE: "POWER SCALE: 10%" LIMITS OUTPUT TO 10% OF MAXIMUM]

[WARNING: EVEN 1% OF MAXIMUM POWER EXCEEDS NORMAL HUMAN CAPABILITIES]

This was a breakthrough. If I could set explicit limits on my power output, I might avoid accidentally destroying everything around me.

"Power scale: 5%," I said experimentally.

[POWER LIMITER SET: 5%]

[CURRENT MAXIMUM OUTPUT: EQUIVALENT TO HIGH-TIER MAGE]

[DURATION: UNTIL MANUALLY RESET]

A gentle warmth spread through my body as the limiter took effect. I immediately felt more... contained, like a raging river suddenly guided into proper channels.

When Captain Leila knocked on my door to announce our departure, I was ready. With my power scaled down and my control improving, I felt more confident about the journey ahead.

As we mounted horses and prepared to escort the displaced villagers, I couldn't help but wonder what awaited me in the capital. If my existence was truly destabilizing this world's narrative, what other anomalies might appear? Would the Demon King be affected by these glitches as well?

And most importantly, could I ever find the missing full administrator to fix my broken system?

The road to the capital stretched before us, and somewhere beyond it, answers awaited. For now, I was Katsuo, the accidental godslayer with a buggy interface and the weight of a world's stability on my shoulders.

I just hoped the next system update wouldn't make things worse.