Previously on System Error: My Magic is Powered by Insults...
Alex discovered his first real spell, the Memory Lash—formed from emotional trauma and pure sarcasm. He faced his first real monster, a Shadow Spawn born from collective misery, and defeated it with insults sharper than steel. But the aftermath? That's when the real pain started to settle in...
"You know you're screwed when your most powerful weapon is a well-timed roast."
Chapter 4
Alex had fought monsters.
But now?
Now he had to fight himself.
The hideout was quiet. Too quiet. The kind of silence that made your skin itch and your brain scream. He sat on a half-crushed bean bag near the arcade machine graveyard, the faint hum of cracked CRT screens the only lullaby.
Every flicker of the neon lights above threw long shadows on the walls, and in those shadows, Alex could swear he saw the outlines of things that weren't there. Or maybe they were. It was hard to tell anymore.
He had just insulted a creature into oblivion. That should've made him feel powerful. Triumphant.
But all he felt... was empty.
He rubbed his temples, muttering under his breath. "I'm a sad magic gremlin with trauma issues and a System that rewards me for oversharing. Awesome."
Lia walked in with two cups of something vaguely coffee-flavored.
"You okay?" she asked, offering him one.
"Define okay," he muttered, taking the cup. "If you're asking if I'm still spiraling? Oh yeah. Like a majestic emotional tornado."
She didn't smile. Not this time.
"I get it," she said softly.
And for once, he believed her.
They sat on opposite ends of a broken pool table, neither one looking directly at the other.
"How did you learn all this?" Alex asked.
"Systems? Spells? Shadow Spawn?"
He nodded.
Lia stared into her mug.
"I used to think I was gonna save the world. My sister too. She had one of the first-generation Systems. Made from joy. Imagine that? Spells powered by happiness."
Alex blinked. "You're joking."
She shook her head. "She could literally turn laughter into barriers. Hug-based shields. It was beautiful... until they took her."
"Who?"
"Doesn't matter. Government. Cults. Corporations. They're all the same when they want power. She died in a lab somewhere, powering something she didn't understand."
Silence stretched.
Then:
"You ever think maybe we're the bad guys?" Alex asked. "Like... if our trauma fuels our spells, and we're just stockpiling pain for power—aren't we just weaponizing our worst selves?"
Lia looked up. "Maybe. Or maybe we're finally fighting back."
That night, Alex couldn't sleep. Again.
He paced the rooftop of the hideout, staring out at Harrow City—a grim stretch of modern neon and ancient rot. Billboards flickered. Sirens echoed. A city on the edge of waking and collapse.
[System Notification]
XP Gained: 100 – Introspective Meltdown: Grade B
He rolled his eyes. "Great. Now I'm leveling up from insomnia."
He sat on the ledge, feet dangling off the edge, and let his mind wander.
To his mother.
To that chipped plastic dinosaur.
To the nights he waited for his dad to come back—and the day he realized he never would.
[System Sync at 57%]
New Passive Perk: "Emotional Armor – Your pain is your shield. Increases defense by 15% when recalling trauma."
He laughed. It was bitter. Dry.
"I swear, if this thing starts offering me a trauma loot box, I'm rage-quitting reality."
The next day, Lia dragged him out early.
"We've got a minor Rift to investigate," she said.
"Define minor."
She shrugged. "Only a 40% chance of cognitive meltdown."
"Oh joy. Field trip."
They arrived at an abandoned train station on the outskirts of Harrow. Cold. Empty. Dust floating like lost memories.
And then... the air split.
Like a wound opening in the sky.
From it oozed something that looked like a man—only wrong. Skin like wet concrete. Eyes like shattered mirrors. And a voice like every horrible memory spoken in reverse.
"Regret," Lia whispered. "This one feeds on guilt."
The creature turned to Alex.
And it spoke in his mother's voice.
"You left me."
Alex froze.
The world blurred.
He was in the kitchen again.
Burnt coffee. Crumbs on the table. Mom's hands trembling.
"You were supposed to be better," she said.
"I'm trying," young Alex whispered.
"Trying isn't enough."
[System Conflict Detected]
Error: Memory Loop Initiated.
Alex clenched his fists.
"NO."
[Override Successful.]
Memory Rewritten:
"You did your best."
A whip of golden sarcasm burst from his palm.
He shouted: "Hey, Regret! I already pay rent to my self-loathing. You don't get to move in too!"
[Spell: Memory Lash – Level 2 Activated]
It struck the creature hard.
But not enough.
The monster laughed.
Alex stood firm.
"You think I'm scared of feeling? I live there. Rent-free."
Another whip. Another scream.
Then silence.
The Rift sealed.
[XP Gained: 500 – Memory Defiance: Grade A]
New Spell Learned: "Sarcasm Overdrive – Your next attack reflects emotional damage taken in the last 24 hours."
Far away, Lucan Zelios sat in his hall of broken time.
He watched Alex on a dozen mirrored screens.
"So... he's starting to rewrite his own past," Lucan mused. "Fascinating."
His assistant, still silent and pale, stepped forward.
"He survived the guilt entity."
Lucan turned.
"Good. Let him think he's healing. Let him build himself from the ashes."
He touched one of the screens—a moment of Alex, laughing.
Then, he whispered:
"The higher he climbs, the harder his fall."
And behind him...
Something opened its eyes.
Back at the hideout, Alex was finally starting to feel human again.
He warmed up leftover noodles. He even let himself hum a song he didn't hate.
Then the System buzzed.
[Critical Event Triggered]
Dream Rift Detected: Sector 12
Time Limit: 1 Hour
Penalty: Memory Disintegration
Lia ran in.
"Alex, it's happening again. This one's different. The Rift... it's inside a child's mind."
He blinked.
"What?"
She handed him a file. A photo of a kid—no older than seven. Pale. Blank eyes. Surrounded by floating symbols.
And in the corner of the image—barely visible—a shape.
A figure.
One Alex hadn't seen since he was a boy.
His father.