Chapter 113: The World Without Blue Windows and the Great Cheese Heist
It had been exactly one month since Von (Volt) had shattered the 'Great Architect' and deleted the system from existence. The world was... quiet. There were no blue notification windows floating in the air, no level-up sounds echoing in the woods, and most importantly for Aki, no "Inventory" to hide stolen hams in.
"This is an outrage! A violation of human rights!" Aki's voice echoed through the bustling streets of the new Capital, now renamed 'Twilight City'. He was currently struggling to carry a large wooden crate with his actual, physical arms. "Von! My muscles are sore! Physical labor is for people who don't have legendary stats! Why do I have to use 'effort' to move things? It's barbaric!"
Von, wearing a simple but elegant black tunic instead of his jagged obsidian armor, was calmly helping an elderly woman repair her shop sign. "Because, Aki, the world doesn't run on mana-packets anymore. It runs on calories. If you want to eat, you have to move."
"But I have 'The Copper Conductor' title!" Aki pouted, dropping the crate with a heavy thud. "Doesn't that count for anything? Can't I just show my title to the baker and get a free loaf of bread?"
"The baker doesn't have a 'System Window' to see your title, Aki," Rena said, walking up to them with a stack of books. She no longer wore her Academy robes; she looked like a traveling scholar, her eyes bright with a new kind of curiosity. "To him, you're just a very loud man with a very colorful scarf who is blocking his doorway."
The Post-System Reality Check
The group had taken up residence in an old, abandoned villa on the outskirts of the city. Without the system, the world was re-learning how to function. Mages were having to study actual chemistry, and warriors were having to learn that if you get stabbed, you don't just lose 'HP'—یou actually bleed.
"Sai is the only one who likes this," Aki grumbled, pointing toward the backyard.
In the garden, Sai was happily tilling the soil. Without his heavy plate armor, he looked twice as fast and three times as terrifying. "It's honest work, Aki!" Sai shouted over his shoulder. "And the best part? No monsters are going to spawn in the middle of my potato patch! The only thing I have to fight now is the weeds!"
[INTERNAL DIALOGUE (Aki): I miss the blue windows. At least the windows didn't give me blisters. And I really miss 'Bonesy.' He was the only one who didn't judge me for my snack choices.]
The Mission: The Vault of the High King
"Alright, enough complaining," Von said, his eyes regaining a hint of that old, Kingly fire. "The High King's palace is being turned into a public museum by the new provisional council. But there's one room they haven't been able to open. The 'Personal Vault'."
Aki's ears practically twitched. "The vault? You mean the one with the legendary Gouda you mentioned? The one that could feed a small army or one very hungry thief?"
"That's the one," Von nodded. "The council thinks it's full of forbidden artifacts, but I know the truth. It's where the Architect kept the 'System Backups'—and the King's private food stash."
Rena looked concerned. "Von, if those backups still exist, someone could try to restart the system. We have to destroy them."
"And I have to eat that cheese before it hits its expiration date!" Aki added, already reaching for his lockpicks. "Come on! One last heist for old times' sake? No stats, no levels, just pure skill and a lot of luck!"
The Heist (Or: Why Aki Shouldn't Lead)
The group sneaked into the palace under the cover of a beautiful, system-free moonlight. Without 'Void Step' or 'Stealth Skills,' they had to actually hide behind bushes and time their movements with the guards' patrols.
"I feel so... exposed," Aki whispered, flattened against a cold stone wall. "Normally, I'd just press 'C' to crouch and become 80% invisible. Now, I'm just a guy in a bright scarf trying to look like a rock. It's not working, Von! I don't feel like a rock!"
"Shh!" Rena hissed, pointing toward the vault door—a massive slab of gold-plated steel.
Von stepped forward and placed his hand on the door. He didn't have his 'Twilight Crown' anymore, but he still had the knowledge of a thousand years. He started tapping on the door in a specific sequence. Tap... tap-tap... tap.
CLACK.
The vault door swung open, revealing... not gold, but rows upon rows of glowing crystal spheres and, in the center, a massive, wax-sealed wheel of cheese that smelled like heaven.
"The Gouda!" Aki cheered, running toward it. "It's real! It's beautiful! It's—"
Suddenly, the crystal spheres began to pulse with a familiar, blue light.
[SYSTEM ECHO: Warning. Unauthorized Access. Re-installing 'Security.exe'...]
Aki froze, his hands inches from the cheese. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Even in the afterlife, the system is a buzzkill!"
A holographic projection of a 'System Guardian' appeared—a small, pixelated version of the Architect. "To access the cheese, you must complete the 'Tutorial: How to Open a Jar'."
Von sighed, drawing a regular, non-magical sword. "Rena, get the backups. Aki, get the cheese. I'll deal with the ghost in the machine."
"On it!" Aki yelled, grabbing the cheese wheel and throwing it over his shoulder. "Run! The system is trying to give us a tutorial! It's the worst kind of torture!"
As they sprinted out of the palace, pursued by a very confused holographic tutorial-guide, the group laughed. The world was messy, hard, and full of blisters, but it was theirs.