The System’s Harvester

Late Morning - Early Summer : Richmond, Virginia | East Coast United States

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-W..woah...- My jaw slowly fell open as I looked over the far edge of the wall to see an unfathomably massive structure. -Humans really did.. advance quite a bit, huh...-

It was a cannon larger than the tallest of skyscrapers from my era, and it made for a view I simply couldn't have imagined before that moment. Such a monument of technology was on a scale you simply couldn't fathom without seeing it in person. -I thought I prepared myself for a sight like this, but actually seeing it is a little.. different...-

Slowly walking over to the inner edge of the wall, a powerful jet of air blasting up the wall tried to sweep me off my feet, but while it didn't make me budge, the sight swept me away.

Inside the towering walls of the city laid a dense landscape of concrete and metal that grew in magnitude as it approached the massive railgun, seemingly at its center, until the structures were nothing short of towering glass monuments.

But while a part of me said most of the place felt like a lifeless concrete compound, from atop the wall, it had a unique beauty I had never experienced before, a sight foreign to me after seeing nothing but nature-laden abandoned ruins and kingdoms for hundreds of years.

But there was one unusual thing that I didn't even find odd until after the awe from the view settled. -Where are the people?-

The streets, shops, and buildings below looked empty, as if the whole place had been abandoned, but on the contrary, there were countless alarms blaring, innumerable lights brightly lighting alleyways and the insides of buildings, and hardly any natural buildup on anything. -Did everyone just suddenly vanish? What's going on?-

Not giving it much more thought, I finally hopped off the wall, easily piercing through the dense wash of air before slamming into the concrete road that supported the metal rails *fwooOOOSH-CRACK*

Before I knew it, a cloud of concrete blew up in my face, but by the time I could wave it away, the strong winds blowing down the street took the dust up the wall. -Geez.. the winds are just as strong down here... Are the alarms from the weather?- The wind was so strong someone could open an umbrella and fly away like Mary Poppins.

*crumble* But after deciding not to give it much thought, I stepped out of the shattered concrete surrounding my feet and slowly started making my way down the street, looking into the closed shops and through the windows of well-lit buildings in hopes of finding someone.

But there was no one at all.

The city felt simply abandoned.

Shops were full of food and products, and some buildings had freshly cooked food visible on tables through the glass, but not only could I not see anyone, I couldn't sense a single presence for as far as my senses could extend. -Just where did everyone go?-

Continuing up the wind-tunnel-like street with nothing but curiosity, I got ready to pick up the pace before noticing a building that stood out.

Surrounded by several small but well-maintained gardens and a couple small trees, the building was mostly made of white marble and covered in detailed engravings, with beautiful colored glass filling each window and impeccably carved statues on display wherever they could fit.

But while I wondered what the place was for, as I looked upward, I saw a symbol that I could somehow still recognize.

It was some rendition of a cross. -Ah, is this place a church? Looks like religion is still prevalent, huh...- I had honestly forgotten that things like religion existed. -How long has it been since I've seen a place of prayer?-

Lowering my gaze toward the building's large open entrance, I was beckoned by the sight of warm light emanating from behind the doorway, and without giving it much thought, started down the central concrete path through the church's courtyard. *FWOOOooosh-tap*

*Ding* "You are entering a protected area."

*tap* *tap* The moment I entered, the noise of the wind and blaring sirens almost entirely faded away, and I was greeted by the voice of the system before the incredible scent of flowers, fruit, and fresh vegetables flooded my nostrils. -Woah...- It was like I had stepped into another world, and before I knew it, the sensation of nostalgia found its way into my mind.

But there were no memories to accompany it. Unfortunately, those had long since faded into nothingness.

*tap* *tap* *tap* *tap* Continuing inside without breaking stride, I looked around curiously without a care. -So Earth's system has protected areas too... I wonder what they're growing...- Looking over the small gardens, I closely inspected the plants to try and recognize them, but it was like playing trivia with blurry memories. -It all looks edible though...-

Pausing for a moment, I squatted down next to one of the more disorderly gardens before, out of the blue, a high-pitched voice made me jump out of my skin.

"That's my garden! Do you like it?"

-WHAT THE?!- Bloodlust instantly exploded from me. Nothing had been able to sneak up on me in centuries, yet that being had no presence at all.

But when I looked over, I was only to be met with the gaze of a cheerful young girl, who was seven or eight years old at most, with bright blond hair and vibrant, forest-green eyes.

And while I had my doubts, when she finally noticed my gaze on her, she froze in her tracks and her cheeriness vanished.

-Huh?- She was really nothing more than a child with a presence so weak I couldn't feel it, but while my nerves took their time to ease, there was something about her that caught my attention... -She has pointy ears?- She wasn't a human. -She's an elf...-

But while her ears were long and pointy, her skin was warm and pink like a human's. -Just what are you...-

The moment I asked that to myself though, a discolored blue panel appeared over her head.

But I didn't have time to read it before the system's horrendously annoying voice filled my head.

*Beep* "Inferior System Hierarchy Detected. Do you wish to overwrite it? The Local System will not be alerted."

-Inferior System Hierarchy?- Quickly skimming the panel, I tilted my head before speaking softly. "Sure?"

*Ding!* The panel updated in an instant.

-Wow...- I was honestly at a loss of words for a moment. -Is this a 'local system panel'?-

Although the memory was a bit foggy, back when I still fought in worlds with sentient native inhabitants, there was something commonly referred to as a 'local system panel'. These panels were generally known to be simple info boxes that everyone connected to a server had, but could only be viewed by people whose System Origin was the server they were connected with. In other words, it was reserved for the natives of the world to view, allowing them to see the basic information of anyone and anything connected to that specified server, whether it was a plant, monster, or foreigner with an assigned mission in their world.

However, it was technically possible for outsiders to acquire them by migrating from their original system to the new worlds with the help of a god, known as an administrator. -If I remember right.. I think there was a way to wipe your system and do the migration yourself at the cost of everything you had as well, but I can't remember...-

Regardless, seeing one myself made for quite an odd experience. -Good lord, this would have been so helpful back in the day...- A vibrant memory instantly surfaced in my mind as I thought about it.

Back when I was a rookie, I got lost in a forest without any food, and without anyone with me, I had no idea what was and wasn't safe to eat.

Needless to say, I ate some very.. very bad things on that mission, but above them all were some candy-smelling mushrooms. -Blegh...- They were so bad I felt like I could still taste them 500 years later. -But anyway.. I thought these panels were supposed to only display the most basic of information...-

Looking over the panel again, I could essentially see everything, down to the percentages of each race in a mixed blood. -If I remember right, what it displayed was typically pretty vague too... Does each server have different display information on them?-

But before I could give that question much thought, I was dragged out of my thoughts by the young girl taking a cautious step back. *tap*

-Hmm...- "Little Miss, where is everyone?"

She almost immediately stopped in her tracks before averting her eyes. "Th-They were summoned to the upper district!"

-The upper district?- I promptly tilted my head slightly. "Is that the name of a world?" -It doesn't ring a bell...-

"Huh?" Her anxious expression instantly washed with confusion. "What do you..."

-Is it the name of a place in this city, then?- "How would I get to the upper district?"

She paused before speaking with some reluctance. "Y-You would take that rail behind you..."

Looking back at the rail in the middle of the road, I glanced toward the railgun. -So the upper district must be where I saw all those tall buildings...- "Alright." -So they were evacuated... Was it because of The Warden?-

Deciding to investigate it, I quickly stood up and turned toward the road.

But as I got ready to leave, I felt another gaze land on me and glanced back to see a shy beastfolk child with droopy rabbit ears curiously peeking at me through the doorway. -Looks like Earth is still naive when it comes to protected areas, huh...- Hearing the whispers and shuffling of several other kids inside as the young rabbit boy shied away, I wanted to snicker. -Or maybe it's just that they trust their walls that much...-

Idly glancing up the side of the towering wall looming over us, the image of countless creatures big enough to make the entire city look like a sand castle surfaced in my mind before I simply turned away. -But I guess naivety can be a good thing too...-

*woosh* With a gentle wave over my shoulder, I finally started making my way out of the courtyard before speaking just loud enough for the kids inside to hear. "I'm not sure what kind of world this is now," -Especially considering I saw an elf and beastfolk before a human...- "But you should be more careful approaching things you don't recognize. Just because something looks friendly doesn't mean it is..." -That was a lesson your race taught me the hard way...-

*FWOOOM* Eventually stepping back out into the road, the winds relentlessly blasted over me, leaving me to look up the road toward the massive railgun peeking over the horizon, blotting out the bright morning sun. -I still can't tell if I'm over or underestimating humanity... Maybe they're used to things like The Warden.-

But while I wanted to believe that, as the image of them fruitlessly reducing a forest to ash surfaced in my mind.. so did my doubts. "Haah..." Massaging the back of my neck, I tried to let out some stress with a sigh, but it didn't help.

*Vwoom* Opening up the system, I looked at Earth's stats with a troubled expression.

-Rank 6...- It was a rank I remembered almost nothing about, but it was a level considerably below where I would have ranked The Warden. -I'd probably put The Warden around Rank 1 or 2... But if it was that high rank.. why was it here?-

Typically, monsters in a world were restricted by the planet's rank, however, the more monsters there were, the higher that rank would get, exponentially increasing the number and strength of monsters over time. It was what led the countless worlds I saw throughout my missions to their ruined states. -But nothing should allow for a monster over four whole ranks above the planet to appear...-

As I thought back to when it appeared, the warnings my system gave me came to mind: the warnings that said the Local System was trying to purge me. But the more I thought about it, the less sense it made. "Haah..." -Whatever... Trying to think about it now won't do me any good anyway...-

But while I quickly turned up the road and got moving in an attempt to clear my head, the questions never left my mind.

At long last, I was back on Earth. It was the moment I had dreamed of for eons, but while I never wanted anything more than to rest, enjoying the gentle breeze, the melody of nature, and the warmth of the sun from the top of a mountain, the longer I let the questions weigh on my mind, the more my confusion created sparks, until eventually, a tiny, barely noticeable flame was lit in my chest.

Isolated in my mind, it was as if I was standing in a raging river, fighting to stay in place, but as that tiny flame was lit, my attention was dragged toward it, the oh-so-faint glow at the end of the river.

And while I still cannot explain why, at that moment, I questioned myself, 'Why was I fighting the current?'.

Upstream, in the direction I was fighting to stay near, was my past, my memories, logged onto the river banks over countless years like a catalog of my past, laid in remembrance of the series of successes and failures that led me to where I was.

But at some point, they stopped, and the memories that were easily visible along the river had become distant, so distant I could barely see them.

But while I wanted to ask myself why.. I already knew the answer.

At some point, I stopped floating down the river. At some point, I stopped and fought the current. Without a desire.. or a light to keep me facing forward, I unknowingly turned around to face the desires of my past.

Without realizing it, I had started craving the times I had dreams, questions, and motivations, but I saw them nowhere ahead of me, so I turned around.

However, at that moment, the faint flicker of candlelight was finally visible downstream, and while it didn't immediately make me stop fighting the current, for the first time in centuries, I began to drift, guided toward the flickering flame that had once died out.

The very same flame that would only continue to grow as I unknowingly tossed it fuel.

The flame of curiosity.

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