Chapter 54: Please Be My Godfather
Following the system’s call, Mark slowly opened his eyes. It took a few seconds before his eyes really looked like the eyes of a living person.
"Noooo!"
The moment he opened his eyes, Mark screamed in panic. His arms and legs flailed around wildly until his hands touched his body and he realized he was already wearing clothes.
"Could it be that it was just a dream?"
The last thing Mark remembered was the scene of everyone laughing at him for running naked down the street.
Everything had changed too quickly, making Mark cling to a lucky thought and believe that those horrible things had only been a dream.
"It wasn’t a dream. You passed the first lesson."
"M-m... master?"
Mark frowned as he looked at Nexus, then at the system. Feeling that wasn’t enough, he walked to the edge of the rooftop of the apartment building and looked down.
The familiar street, the familiar figures. Everything matched so perfectly that he couldn’t believe it.
Those people were clearly gathering to watch something. But the problem was, there was nothing in the center for them to look at.
Mark’s mind quickly worked and placed him in that central position. With everything matching to this extent, it couldn’t be a dream anymore.
Mark’s face twisted like a wrung-out towel, his eyes teary and on the verge of crying as he looked toward Nexus, only to receive a calm nod.
"Master! You and the system did this to me, so how am I supposed to live from now on? This place is high enough, so let me jump down."
The moment Mark finished speaking, he saw Nexus voluntarily move aside, leaving an extremely wide space for him to get a running start and jump as far as possible.
He still harbored a desire to die, but Nexus’s attitude made Mark feel he’d look like an idiot if he jumped down right now.
No longer wanting to die, or at least not wanting to die too much for the time being, Mark wanted to understand exactly what had just happened and why his memories had been cut off like that.
"Master, what do you mean when you say I passed the first lesson?"
"Exactly what it says. You’ve memorized the cultivation technique. Even though your mental state was very chaotic at the time, your will helped you complete it."
For Nexus, an existence that knew no shame, lying left behind no flaws at all and was no different from telling the truth. Since Mark had asked for his help, naturally, as his master, Nexus would agree and do the best he could.
"I... I actually did it?"
Mark pinched his own face with his hand. The pain that traveled to his brain was completely real. Along with that, he discovered that there was a complete cultivation technique in his memories, without even a single missing word.
The corners of his eyes suddenly became a little wet, and tears rolled down his cheeks. This achievement had far surpassed his belief in himself.
At that time, there wasn’t even a shred of hope left in his heart, and even his consciousness had been hazy, but he never expected his will to be so firm.
"I did it... I really did something this impossible... I’m not a loser!"
Mark raised both fists high and jumped up happily. For a moment, he completely forgot to ask what had happened after his consciousness became unclear.
The system really wanted to curse when it saw Mark jumping around excitedly. This is what you call something impossible? Your enlightenment is what’s actually impossible!
[You stupid mortal, why haven’t you thanked this great system yet?]
"Thanks, thanks, thanks."
Mark was already excited, so he happily thanked it. But these extremely perfunctory words of thanks obviously couldn’t satisfy the system.
[You idiot! Do you know how much effort I’ve put in because of you?]
The system screen suddenly moved right up against his face, startling Mark so badly that he slipped and almost fell off the rooftop. From this height, if he fell, Mark’s weak body would definitely be smashed to pieces.
"System! Are you trying to kill me for the third time?"
Mark had been happy, but getting scared like that made his mood drop. Only now did he really have the mind to care about what the system had just said.
"System, what exactly did you do? I feel like everything is really weird. It’s obviously not a dream, but something doesn’t add up. Just look at those people down there; they look like they’ve temporarily gone stupid."
[I replaced everyone’s memories. Every image and video, whether on devices or social media, has also been edited. The main character isn’t you but a dry skeleton dancing in the middle of the street. I...]
The system was still about to explain all of its achievements when Mark suddenly burst into tears and pounced at it. Of course, he couldn’t actually hug the system, because the system didn’t have a body.
"System! The greatest system in my heart. You are the salvation of my life. My admiration for you flows endlessly like the mighty rivers, forever without end, like the Yellow River bursting its banks and flowing without stopping. Even towering mountains can be worn away by the passing of time, but my respect for you is eternal and unchanging. Godfather above, please accept this bow from your son."
Whether or not the system had some secret reason for doing this, it didn’t matter at all.
All Mark knew now was that the system had saved his life and given him a chance to start over. As long as no one had seen that embarrassing scene, it was no different from being given a second life.
[Hey, you stupid mortal! What the hell are you doing? I welcome you kneeling down, but what do you mean by taking me as your godfather? This fair and upright system absolutely will not form overly close relationships with the disciples of the cultivation academy.]
Even though it felt really good hearing those words, especially while Mark was kneeling on the ground and crying like he’d never been able to cry before, the system also had its own standards.
Fairness! Integrity!
The system had never accepted even a single bribe, nor had it ever become overly close with anyone in the cultivation academy.
Of course, hearing a few flattering words and then helping a disciple was fairness, not some kind of spiritual bribery. Helping disciples improve was the system’s duty, while disciples saying a few sincere words to express their gratitude was only right. This was absolutely not a negative behavior.