Chapter 194: Mastermind in the Shadows?

Seven new system users were added in just a few minutes. With their sudden increase in numbers—

[What the hell happened while we were away, contractor?!]

—Navi couldn’t help but voice his frustration.

As System Spirits, they noticed the change immediately. Sensing that something was off, the two rushed back.

Axel simply shrugged with a deadpan expression, as if nothing unusual had occurred. “I just found a new recipe, the Soul Seal, and decided to use it on the girls,” he explained.

[…A what?] Navi questioned, raising an eyebrow in skepticism.

He then proceeded to explain the Soul Seal to the two, just as he had done with the girls. They listened intently, refraining from interrupting him, but…

[What do you think, Miss Mimir?] Navi asked, glancing at the black cat.

Mimir’s expression was grim.

Though her face was blank, a deep frown creased her lips as she shook her head. “No. Such an item doesn’t exist in my records. It’s not even listed in the current Interdimensional Shop.”

[I knew it…]

“…Huh?”

This time, it was Axel who looked puzzled.

From their conversation, it seemed the Soul Seal “didn’t exist” at all. However, Axel was certain he had crafted it multiple times and even held the genuine item in his hands at that moment. There was no way it could be non-existent!

“Try to confirm it. Look, it’s still in the recipe list!” Axel urged the little penguin.

[Of course, I can see that,] Navi nodded. [I’m the System’s Spirit, after all.]

He then frowned, staring at Axel as if the confusion lay with him.

[And as the one who manages the System, I can confirm that no such recipe exists in my database. This combination should merely result in the usual failure, wasting the materials.]

Navi went into detail, explaining the difference between traditional manual crafting and crafting through the System, as well as how the “real-life recipe” translates into the recipes he possesses.

He described the internal decision-making process for the materials needed for crafting and the variations involved. Everything without leaving a single detail out.

Navi only keeps a portion of the database, which includes names and basic descriptions—what is often seen in the item descriptions within the Inventory. Thus, he didn’t truly possess “all” recipes. However, even with just the names, he could easily check whether a recipe existed.

[This Soul Seal of yours—the entry is in the system, but… It’s not part of the System I govern.] Navi explained. [To me, it seems like a bug—a null pointer that somehow redirects to something that’s existing, but nonexistent.]

Axel fell silent.

With Mimir present to validate his words, there was certainly no deception involved.

In short, someone or something had managed to bypass Navi’s security and manipulate the system, creating a nonexistent recipe for him to craft. Worse yet, not a single trace of tampering was left behind!

Whoever it was must have been extraordinarily powerful…

[I just conducted an emergency system check and found one more item like this.]

Navi continued.

[And I believe you already know it—the World Tree’s Seed.] He declared, before lowing his head in distraught. [How did I or Miss Mimir not notice this…?]

The World Tree’s Seed had been crafted after he accidentally changed one ingredient to Holy Water. He should have recognized the anomaly by then.

He was attempting to create a liquid, yet the result manifested as a living, solid seed!

But the notion that “it must be the system’s doing” led him to ignore this significant inconsistency.

As if even considering a proper explanation was too absurd…

He didn’t even take into account how—even if the crafting system generates containers from thin air—the crafting tab still adheres to common sense in a strict manner. The World Tree’s seed easily broke that rule!

“This means…” Axel whispered, realizing the implication. “Someone is leading our steps…?”

First, it was the world tree’s seed. Now, there was the Soul Seal. He wasn’t entirely sure, but he sensed an intent hidden behind this selection of items.

What that intention was, he still had no idea.

Yet he was confident that this wasn’t everything. Somewhere in the billions, trillions of combinations he still had to explore, there must be other similar items left behind by the mysterious “system hacker,” like scattered pieces of a puzzle.

The more he thought about it, the scarier it seemed…

“Well, what’s done is done,” Axel sighed.

Although the world tree’s seeds could still be unplanted, it would be a waste to do so.

As for the Soul Seals, they did help boost their powers, so they were quite beneficial in a way—despite the fact that they had no idea how to “unequip” them at all.

“Whatever that mysterious being’s intentions were, let’s ride this out for a while.”

He said, his expression serious.

“Navi and Mimir, the two of you need to be on the lookout for any unusual changes in the system.” He added, staring at the two spirits—no, glaring at them.

“As soon as you find anything amiss, report to me immediately. Until then, let’s set this matter aside until the right time comes…”

They were literally tied up in this situation, after all.

The best they could do at the moment was halt the crafting of the two specified items and perhaps allow Navi to analyze the recipes, searching for any hidden clues, if there were any.

“For now, keep this matter a secret from the others,” he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “They don’t need to be concerned about this right now.”

Currently, everyone was in a rapid improvement phase.

This wasn’t limited to just Axel or the girls; it was true for other members of the Valkyrie Knight Order as well. It was a “sensitive” period for them. Thus, he saw no reason to let the girls become preoccupied with an issue that had no immediate solution.

That would only drain their energy and resources.

After exchanging a few more words with the two, Navi and Mimir set off to assign tasks to the other System Holders. Their objective was to discover more “recipes” through trial and error.

However, unlike before, this process was now officially sanctioned by Navi himself, which made note-taking easier.

The recipes were divided among the girls, who were tasked with experimenting using various combinations of materials, substitute materials, and additional materials to uncover new recipes.

Navi and Mimir would oversee the entire process, looking for “bugged” recipes like the two previously mentioned.

“This is going to be one big job…” Axel sighed, leaning back in his chair.

His gaze was fixed on the Harem Settlement System’s main menu, staring blankly. He couldn’t help but wonder, ’How much can I trust this system?’

A seed of doubt had taken root in his heart.

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