Your System Interface? is generally considered a private line to the multiversal mechanics governing your existence. Emphasis on generally. While robust, Systems are not infallible. Anomalies can occur, ranging from benign glitches (flickering pixels, minor translation errors) to potentially catastrophic security breaches.
Recognizing Potential Compromise:
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Unexplained Inputs: Receiving messages, quests, or items not originating from the System's standard protocols or known external triggers (like quest givers).
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Interface Manipulation: Visual distortions beyond simple glitches, controls becoming unresponsive, unexpected pop-ups (especially those asking for your Soul Seed Phrase - never share this!).
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Data Discrepancies: Stats fluctuating illogically, skills appearing/disappearing without leveling, inventory items vanishing or being altered.
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Direct External Communication: Another entity speaking through your System interface without using conventional means (telepathy linked to the System, not just general telepathy). This indicates a high level of access or technological/magical sophistication.
Potential Causes:
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Environmental Interference: High background magic, unstable dimensional fields, proximity to reality-warping entities.
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System Glitches (Budget Tier Woes): Poor coding, beta versions, insufficient firewall protection. You get what the universe paid for.
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Parasitic Entities: Magical/psionic beings attempting to latch onto your soul/System for sustenance or control. Often subtle at first. (See Appendix P: Mind Flayers, Soul Leeches, and Other Unwanted Mental Roommates).
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Advanced Hacking (Technological/Magical): Another entity possessing superior knowledge of System architecture or reality-coding bypasses security protocols. Extremely rare, usually indicates a powerful player is involved.
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Benevolent Intervention (??): Sometimes, powerful entities (Gods, System Administrators, overly helpful Void Celestials like some Guide authors) might directly interface for critical warnings or plot nudges. Usually distinguishable by a lack of overt malice, but motives always bear scrutiny.
What To Do:
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DON'T PANIC (Excessively): Panic rarely helps. Assess the nature of the anomaly.
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Run Diagnostics: If your System has self-diagnostic functions, run them. Check logs if accessible.
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Consult This Guide: Search relevant modules (like this one!) for known issues and countermeasures.
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Attempt Isolation: If possible, move away from suspected sources of interference.
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Seek Expert Help (High Risk): Approaching powerful mages or System specialists might provide answers, but also exposes your vulnerability. Choose advisors wisely.
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Document Everything: Keep a mental (or physical, if safe) log of anomalies. Patterns might emerge.
If you suspect a malicious breach, prioritize survival and information security. If it seems potentially benevolent... still prioritize survival, but maybe listen cautiously. Just don't click on any unexpected celestial pop-up ads.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
(Inkstained Prophet's Stern Warning: I assure you, any direct input I might hypothetically provide would be clearly marked, professional, and entirely for your benefit. Unlike those shifty slime sympathizers.)
[Kevin's Story: Part 16 - Questions for the Ghost in the Machine]
Kevin scrambled back through the hidden passage, the heavy stone grating shut behind him with a soft thud that echoed unnervingly in the main cellar. He leaned against the cool wall, catching his breath, the tarnished Sea Serpent cufflink feeling heavy and dangerous in his hand.
Finn, an informant. Playing dangerous games between smuggling guilds. Killed for it, most likely. Not random alley violence, but targeted silencing. This changed everything. He wasn't just inhabiting the body of some unlucky dockside casualty; he was wearing the skin of someone who'd known too much and angered the wrong people. People like the Sea Serpent Guild, apparently powerful enough to operate clandestinely even in Wharf Rat territory.
But amidst the rising tide of paranoia about guilds and unfinished business, another, more immediate question clawed at Kevin's mind. The message. It hadn't been a note left conveniently behind. It had appeared directly on his System interface.
Incoming Message from 'Concerned Veteran'...
How?
His System was supposed to be his. A direct line, however budget-tier, between him and... whatever cosmic bureaucracy ran this transmigration racket. Notes left in the physical world were one thing – suggesting the Veteran was observant, perhaps using mundane or magical means to track him. But injecting a message directly into his HUD? That implied a whole different level of access.
"System," Kevin whispered, still huddled in the relative darkness of the main cellar, "Source of last incoming message identified as 'Concerned Veteran'. Analyze access protocol. How did that message bypass standard input methods?"
Ding!
[Query Received. Analyzing last external input event...]
[Input Protocol: Authorized External Directive (Sub-channel Sigma-7).]
[Source Authentication: Verified - Tier 4 Clearance (Inkstained Prophet Oversight Protocols Active - Non-Interference Mandate Currently Engaged).]
[Source Identity: Masked (Privilege Level Exceeds Host Unit Access Rights).]
[Analysis Complete: Message received via authorized, encrypted sub-channel. No security breach detected within Host Unit System parameters.]
Kevin stared blankly at the notification. Authorized? Tier 4 Clearance? Inkstained Prophet Oversight Protocols? What did any of that mean? It sounded official, complex, and utterly unhelpful. It didn't feel like a hack, according to the System, but it definitely wasn't normal. Could the Veteran be... associated with the Guide's author? Or someone with similar access?
He quickly pulled up the Guide interface, mentally flipping past familiar sections towards Module 404: System Anomalies. He scanned the potential causes. Environmental Interference? Parasitic Entities? Advanced Hacking? Benevolent Intervention (??) That last one seemed vaguely plausible, given the Veteran's generally helpful (if cryptic) nature. Sometimes, powerful entities... might directly interface... motives always bear scrutiny.
And the System mentioned Inkstained Prophet Oversight Protocols. Was the author of his damn manual somehow involved, even passively? The Prophet did mention providing direct input hypothetically... but this message was signed 'Concerned Veteran'. Were they the same entity? Or was the Veteran using some kind of authorized backdoor sanctioned by the Prophet?
The lack of clear answers was frustrating, and more than a little unnerving. The Veteran wasn't just some helpful ghost leaving notes; they possessed significant power or access related to the very fabric of his transmigration. Were they helping him for altruistic reasons? Or grooming him for something?
The immediate danger, however, remained Finn's legacy. He now knew Finn was caught between the Wharf Rats (led by Grok) and the Sea Serpent Guild. He'd found evidence of the Sea Serpents operating in Wharf Rat territory (the stolen goods, the cufflink). And someone had killed Finn, possibly to silence him about one side or the other, or perhaps because his double-dealing was discovered.
He needed to be more careful than ever. Being 'Finn the Fixer' was one thing; being 'Finn the Informant's Ghost' was quite another. He tucked the cufflink deep into the hidden compartment of his reinforced pouch, alongside the silver piece. Evidence like that needed to stay hidden until he knew what to do with it.
He finally climbed out of the cellar, bolting the trapdoor and replacing the barrels to obscure the hidden passage entrance, making sure everything looked undisturbed. He secured the warehouse side door and slipped back into the darkening streets of Port Azure.
The EXP notification flashed briefly – 198/200. He was on the cusp of Level 3. He needed to get back to the relative safety of the Drunken Sailor's storeroom, process this new information, and figure out his next move. The simple grind felt safer than ever, but the pull of Finn's secrets, and the mystery of the technologically adept Concerned Veteran, was becoming impossible to ignore.