They had finally completed that process, and before Joe unpaused the system, Ylsean asked for a moment and spoke to her brother:
"Hey, Dimmy, thank Joe for showing you his biggest secret. Because from now on, this system will create defenses so it can't be invaded like today. And we'll probably never get the chance to mess with something so unique again. You can put the energy stones away, their usefulness here is over."
"The prism 3 as well?"
Ylsean gave Dimmy a look that made him a little afraid of her, and before he got a slap, he went to Joe and hugged him, thanking him for everything.
"Now leave and let me continue alone, my friends."
Unpausing the system, it returned with a lighter blue light.
[I sense a difference in my programming. What did you do?]
Writing on a piece of paper, little Joe showed:
>>> Configuration Option <<< 01 >>>
...20% energy remaining...power-saving option...slow consumption.
...Energy consumption option...prism 3...
[You made the right choices. As a reward, you'll gain the "power-saving option & slow consumption."]
Little Joe found it strange that the system's options had turned into personal abilities. It seemed like they were useless abilities for him, but since he got them for free, there was no reason to refuse.
[Wait a moment, my internal system detected an unauthorized entry in my level 2 configuration. There is no apparent problem, except that you chose an ability you weren't qualified to receive.]
"Oops! But you were the one who gave it to me," Joe defended himself, afraid of reprisals.
[If you give me something of value while you're asleep, when you wake up, would you still consider it as you having given me that valuable thing?]
Little Joe knew the system was right, but who was it to judge Joe's actions when the system itself had injured him?
"I'll answer you if you can at least respond to this question impartially."
[If I had a sense of humor, I would certainly laugh at your pathetic attempt to hide behind false moralism.]
"With what right or whose authorization did you strip me of my strength, speed, agility, leaving me in complete uselessness, reducing my abilities to practically zero?"
[This is about my survival against the strongest, and what about you?]
"The same for me, but I didn't take everything you had. I just saw an opportunity to increase my chances of survival and accessed it. As for you, you should decide whether I keep the ability or not."
The system seemed to think for a brief moment and finally responded:
[Since you chose something below useless, I'll give you an equally useless ability, and then we'll be even.]
"Status!" Joe said as he watched his screen turn off and on about half a dozen times, probably due to the update of everything that had been tampered with.
**Status: Carin Chicken Cleaner**
💪 0.01 / 0.00 | 🏃♂ 0.01 / 0.00 | ❤️ 0.01 / 0.00 | 🛡️ 0.01 / 0.00 | 🍀 0.00 / 0.00
🗣️ Dialogue Skill [Lvl 0.50%]
🔋 Power-Saving Option [Lvl 00.1%]
🕒 Slow Consumption [Lvl 00.1%]
🖼️ Screen Creation [Lvl 0.15%]
Seeing so many skill attributes on his screen, Joe nearly fainted with joy. And when he saw:
["Microsubsystem for the exclusive use of 'Additional Status Window'... Visible only to the user. Do you want to create an additional window [Yes / No]?"
He didn't think twice and clicked:
[Yes /....]
The result didn't take long to appear, and soon a white screen was in front of his eyes, overshadowing the other one.
"The Microsubsystem welcomes user Joe. Do you want to rename the Microsubsystem? Yes / No?"
[Yes /...]
[Renaming Microsubsystem to "Per Joe." To activate status... Microsub Status "]
Little Joe smiled as he manipulated the letters with great agility.
["Does the user wish to keep the newly acquired abilities in the main window? Yes / No."]
[... / No.]
{Transferring abilities to the Per Joe Microsub }
**Visitor Status**
🗣️ Dialogue Skill
-→ 🔋 Power-Saving Option
--→ 🕒 Slow Consumption
--→ 🖼️ Screen Creation
Little Joe ran out to share the news with his friends, but when he reached the room where they were supposed to be, they were already gone. In the distance, he could hear the sound of horses accompanying the nobles' carriage as it moved away from the place.
He returned to his room and was about to sleep when he remembered something:
"Microsub Status! Open options configuration area."
A half-screen opened and displayed the following information:
[The Microsubsystem will remain paused until any action in the options is applied and closed.]
>>> Configuration Option <<< 01 >>>
...5% energy remaining...speed of energy consumption...fast consumption.
...Energy consumption option...Score...
...Additional Status Window...Skill Points 0.67. Visible to the subsystem and "the visitor."
...Visitor's status in progress.
Suddenly, the screen went completely black, while the old system's blue screen displayed:
[Continue dialogue for agreement completion?]
[Yes / No.]
[Yes /...]
[I need to recharge my energy with prism 3. Can you help with that? Just hold the prism with your right hand extended and have the signet ring on your left index finger. Touch the crystal part of the signet ring to prism 3 for less than 20 seconds, and I'll be charged enough.]
As the old system said, in less than 20 seconds, little Joe was free from this obligation.
[And as part of our agreement, here's my reward for you for bypassing my protection system in the configuration area. Since you chose something useless without my prior knowledge, I'll give you something useless without your consent.]
[Do you accept the useless reward "Adversity Multiplier x10"?]
[Accept / Discard.]
Little Joe knew there was something to receive, but he didn't imagine it would come in the form of a useless ability that he wasn't even sure if he wanted or not. Just in case it was truly worthless, he would discard it.
[Accept /...]
[Congratulations, you have been granted an active useless ability. Details: Adversity Multiplier x10: when activated near your enemies, they multiply tenfold. Smaller groups become hordes, increasing the difficulty of combat or the challenge. Ability range: 10 meters. Initial enemies are small in size. Enemies will only stop when defeated or when they eliminate you.]
[Additional warning: If the ability is used carelessly, in addition to having adverse side effects that will repeat tenfold, it may become a passive ability for an indefinite amount of time.]