The quests generated by a System might not be entirely unique, but to successfully complete a quest, a Host had to follow the specific Path decided by their System.
Oscar’s System had asked him to hack into the bullies’ system database to completely crush them.
A frown appeared on Oscar’s face as he read the golden text floating in front of him. "Hack into their system database? How?"
As far as he could recall from the memories of this world, Systems were not physical entities. Humans had been researching for decades to discover the origin of the Systems.
Yet despite all their advanced technology and mana research, they could not figure out how Systems granted rewards or where they came from, let alone their underlying mechanics.
How could he possibly hack into such an abstract existence?
[Awakening me naturally enabled you to do so...]
A sudden mechanical voice echoed directly inside his head, jolting Oscar right off the edge of his bed.
He landed on his feet and stared at the empty room. "You can speak?"
[Naturally.]
The voice was cold, flat, and robotic. Oscar rubbed his chin, listening to the monotonous tone, and raised an eyebrow.
"Speak in a female voice."
[Granted.]
The voice instantly shifted, morphing into a smooth, crisp, and refined female tone.
"Now continue," Oscar said, sitting back down on his metal bed frame.
[You can hack into the system database of anyone regardless of their rank. But for you to destabilize their innate variables, you need to have the said variable higher than theirs.]
"You mean...?"
[Currently, you have only one option available: Ban. You can Ban any of their variables, such as attributes or traits, for a short duration until your mana runs out.]
Oscar’s mouth opened wide in complete awe.
That was far too overpowered.
Imagine fighting a powerful opponent, and right in the middle of a battle, you simply banned their Strength attribute, leaving them completely strengthless and weak.
What kind of absurd nonsense was that? No wonder the System was named the Divine Hack System.
It was literally an illegal hack translated into real life. Oscar involuntarily started rubbing his hands together as a wide grin spread across his face.
He envisioned himself rage baiting powerful people in real life, just like he used to do in online games back on Earth.
He could not wait to try this out on someone.
[Be warned, attempting to use Options on variables that are higher than your own will inflict a heavy physical backlash on the Host.]
"Naturally," Oscar nodded, taking the warning seriously. It made sense that there had to be a limit.
If he tried to ban the stats of a godlike Host right now with his current weak body, his own brain would probably explode from the strain.
The System went quiet after answering his questions, fading back into the background. In a way, Oscar preferred it this way.
He enjoyed solitude and quiet environments. Even if the System was not a true living species, a talking voice broke the peaceful atmosphere he liked.
He leaned back against the concrete wall and began to carefully plan the completion of his quest.
’Ronin must have already complained to his masters by now,’ Oscar thought.
That was practically guaranteed. Bullies always preyed on those they perceived as weak and submissive.
The moment a weak target showed even a small bit of resilience or fought back, the bullies’ carefully crafted illusion of dominance started to crumble.
Ronin would never dare to face Oscar alone after getting knocked out by a simple cola can.
But at the same time, he was not benevolent or forgiving enough to let go of the shame and embarrassment Oscar had inflicted on him in the hallway.
That half-brained bootlicker would obviously run straight to his masters to do his dirty work for him.
’Brad is the son of a wealthy transport officer,’ Oscar recalled, going through the original owner’s memories.
’He is also a Host, though he is only Level 1. The others in his gang are just ordinary lackeys, not worth mentioning at all.’
The old Oscar had never actually seen Brad fight in a real battle. Brad usually just stood back and ordered his cronies around like personal servants.
However, it was rumored across the academy that Brad was strong enough to take out all of his cronies at once in a one-versus-all fight.
His signature skill, the One Step Punch, was famous throughout the entire District 4 student housing sector.
It was physically impossible for Oscar to face Brad in a direct physical brawl right now. With Oscar’s current Strength attribute sitting at a miserable score of 2, the bully’s Strength would obviously be far higher than his.
On top of that, Oscar was completely unsure about Brad’s other attributes, like Agility or Constitution.
’First, I have to find out the exact attributes of Brad...’ Oscar calculated in his mind.
He looked up at the ceiling and spoke to the empty room. "System, how can I hack into someone’s system database?"
[You just have to look at them directly,] the smooth female voice replied in his mind.
That made things significantly easier. He did not need complicated tools or physical contact. He just needed to get eyes on Brad.
He could easily sneak around the campus tomorrow, get a glance at the bully leader, read his stat variables, and then figure out a strategy to destabilize him.
Bang!
Before Oscar could finish his thought, the locked wooden door to his dormitory room was violently yanked open.
The heavy metal lock snapped with a harsh metallic crunch, and the door slammed hard against the interior concrete wall, sending dust raining down from the frame.
Oscar did not even flinch. He remained seated on his bed, calmly turning his head toward the entrance.
Standing in the doorway was a tall, broad-shouldered teenager wearing a high-end academy jacket made of polished black leather.
He had slicked-back brown hair, sharp arrogant eyes, and a thick silver chain hanging around his neck.
It was Brad himself.
Standing right behind Brad was Ronin, clutching a damp ice pack over the massive purple bump on his forehead.
Ronin was pointing an angry, trembling finger straight at Oscar from behind his leader’s shoulder.
"That is him, Boss Brad!" Ronin yelled, his voice squeaking with anger. "That is the bastard who attacked me from behind! Look at what he did to my head! He completely ignored your authority!"
Two other large, muscular students flanked the doorway, blocking the exit to the hallway entirely.
The atmosphere inside the tiny dorm room instantly turned heavy and tense.
Brad stepped into the room, his heavy leather boots thudding loudly against the floorboards.
He folded his arms across his chest and looked down at Oscar with cold disdain, as if he were looking at a bug crawling on the floor.
"I heard you suddenly got brave today, orphan," Brad said, his voice deep and laced with arrogance. "Not only did you refuse to hand over your weekly allowance to Ronin, but you also dared to put hands on one of my dogs."
Oscar stayed seated, his expression completely blank. Instead of panicking or pleading for mercy like the original owner would have done, he simply stared straight into Brad’s eyes.
The moment his gaze locked onto Brad, the dark golden interface of the Divine Hack System flickered silently into his field of vision.
Lines of glowing data began floating directly above Brad’s head, completely invisible to everyone else in the room.
Target: Brad
System: Brawler System
Host Rank: Level 1
Trait(s): One Step Punch (Lvl 1)
STR: 8
CONST: 5
AGI: 4
INT: 3
Mana: 30, HP: 50
Oscar read through the floating numbers in a fraction of a second. Brad’s Strength was at an 8, four times higher than his own.
His Constitution and Agility were also much higher. In a normal fight, Brad could break Oscar’s ribs with a single hit.
The same could be said for his intelligence.
’What kind of dogshit stats do I have...’ Oscar thought, subtly shifting his hand toward the alarm clock nearby. Brad obviously followed his movement as a wide grin appeared on his face.
"Do you think you can hit me with this, Orpha—"
Bang...