I choked, the potion sticking in my throat. Violent coughs wracked my body, and some spewed out of my mouth.

The demon was back.

The demon was back, and its words were too shocking.

Qi dispersing?

I didn’t know what it was, and it couldn’t be good considering who I got this potion from.

My stomach dropped.

I ran to the bucket, pushing my finger down my throat, forcing myself to vomit.

Qi and mana.

The words switched back and forth in the sentence, reminding me of the tugging I felt in class as I looked at the glacier potion and touched the orb.

I laughed, the sound hollow.

I slumped heavily beside the bucket, my hand around the rim, supporting my weight.

Snot and dribble marred my face.

This potion was really my destiny. Just like getting hit by the Duke or Madeline coming into my room. They staged the meetings with a specific outcome in mind.

Madeline wanted her niece to work at my side.

The Duke wanted me to fear and hate the Baron.

The Duchess needed me to drink this potion.

I brought my knees up, curling in on myself, my hands tugging at my hair. The folds of my skirt muffled my scream.

***

System 02

Code Name: Genesis

Head of Department

Systems Management Bureau

#3, 73rd Street

Angels Avenue

Rilyn

Teter Constellation

Date: 46/12/9681

3rd Bedroom in the West Tower

Lord’s Castle

Amber Duchy

Sargos

Blue Ribbon Constellation

Re: System Displacement and Bonding to the Wrong Host

Mr. Gideon

I am sorry to hear about your predicament. We have checked our systems and found the interference you mentioned in your report. I assure you that the company and I are working tirelessly to resolve the issue. You will be the first to know when we have an answer. I would like to commend you for your quick thinking and swift action when binding to a host. The safety and well-being of our systems are our top priority. However, I regret to inform you we currently cannot connect to your location and cannot recall you from deployment.

After a meeting with the company's senior-most staff and hours of discussion, we decided you should continue your mission and help your host build a sect. We understand the challenging nature of this task. You don’t have access to technical support and are in an environment unsuited to your current assignment. With this in mind, we are upgrading you to a platinum system despite this being your first mission. See the data packet below.

With this upgrade, any challenges you encounter will be easier to handle as you are better equipped. Your rewards for reaching mission milestones will also follow the standard of a platinum system.

I want to wish you the best of luck and assure you we are working diligently and swiftly to find a solution.

[Deployment+upgrade &rlz=1C1CHBF_enTC855JM855&biw=1366&bih=667&sxsrf=APwXE]

Best Wishes,

Genesis

***

I sat on the window ledge, playing with the bottle in my hand.

The blue screen was before me, but I couldn’t focus on it. My eyes focused on the distant mountain peaks of Wraith Mountain.

“Lords of old on distant peaks, chanting magic under the moon. Lostonia, how wonderful is she? My heart calls for the city of old. Where magic ran free.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Legends said an ancient civilization lived beyond those mountains. Only a few historical records remain, but many consider it the birthplace of magic. Around five thousand years ago, mages named it Lostonia.

If I ran there, would I find a place to rest?

I scoffed.

It was a children's song and a pipe dream held by mages. Over the years, hundreds entered those forests, but none returned.

I looked at the courtyard.

The seventh-year students were nowhere to be seen, but the second-years clutched large tomes and waddled in groups. They’d wasted no time after the rain stopped to go out and about. I threw the bottle in my hand, enjoying how they scattered, looking up to find the culprit.

“Lord Demon?”

There was no response, and the screen was blank.

“System?”

[Yes]

I breathed a sigh of relief. “May I ask what price you require for granting power, Lord Demon?” I’d calmed down since our last encounter and had reconsidered my willingness to sell my soul. I hoped it would take something else as payment. Other people’s souls, perhaps.

[.... I am not a demon. I’m a Random Generating Quest System from the Revenge Series. My code name is Gideon.]

Did demons admit to it? Yes. The rules for them to exist on this plane were straightforward. You needed to summon them with a sacrifice, and they couldn’t lie, but might hide the truth. It was best to ask direct questions.

“Are you a demon?”

[No]

That confused me, but I was less cautious. “You won’t ask for my soul or any other form of payment?.” I asked. Anything that seemed too good to be true usually was.

[There is always a price. The System allocates revenge points and other rewards for the completion of tasks. As the host cultivates and escapes their mortal fate and challenges the heavens, the System will collect Devine Qi.]

I nodded. As expected, instead of upsetting me or making me nervous, my last bit of vigilance toward this system disappeared. I didn’t trust it, but I knew the price it was asking on the surface.

“You’re going to take my mana?” This question was twofold. I wanted to check whether the Qi and Mana were the same. I also wanted to see if I was losing more than I had gained.

There was no excitement at finding out I had Mana. There was only a gaping loss and soul-deep anger.

[Mortals don’t have access to Devine Qi until they have cultivated to the atomic realm and can start seeing the threads of fate.]

“Do I need Devine Qi?” It seemed fantastical. More unreal than a hidden utopia in the mountains.

[If the Host survives the heavenly tribulation and ascends to the upper realm, you can absorb and cultivate Devine Qi.]

“If you’re not a demon, why are you collecting Devine Qi?”

[Does the Host care if I’m a demon or not?]

Good question. “Not really. I just don’t want to get screwed over.”

[The System won’t contract a Host who doesn’t desire revenge and isn’t in a perilous position.]

Yeah. There was no leeway to care if it wanted to screw me over. “Are you a god?”

[No]

[Ding. Random Quest: Copy five hundred books on art, culture, history, and magic*]

[Ding. Optional Quest: Cure status ailment.]

“What is the difference between random and optional quests?” The latter appeared more critical than the first. If I couldn’t remove the potion’s effect, I could cultivate or become a mage.

[A task chosen arbitrarily from an available list of questions. After the Host completes a certain number of quests, their level will increase, and they can access more functions of the System. Optional quests relate to cultivation. The Host can choose when or how to complete them. Cultivation is a battle against the Heavens. A person’s resolve determines how far they will progress. The Host must choose their path. Every step will be arduous, and they must decide whether to proceed or stop.]

Far from being dismayed or worried, I was excited. “Which is better, becoming a cultivator or a mage?”

[That might be a comparison of apples and oranges, but with your resources and situation, cultivation is the better path.]

“System, do you have a potion to cure the mana-dispersing potion?”

[The Host can call me Gideon. Yes. The store has several medicines that can cure or nullify the poison.]

“Call me Jal. How do I access the store?” The blue screen changed.

[Storage] [Store] [Quest] [****][****]

I giggled, tapping on ‘Store’ excitedly.

The screen changed, and there was a list of five items.

1. User Manual

2. Fasting Pills

3. Qi Generating Pills

4. Remedy Pill

5. Brick

I tapped on ‘Remedy Pill’ without Gideon needing to prompt me.

- (x100) Remedy Pill- cures low-level injuries, including cuts, broken bones, and burns. (Price= 1 Point)

I reread the description. “I don’t think this is what I need.”

[Insufficient level to access other items for purchase.]

That brought me back to reality. I was too eager for quick success, even though Gideon said each step would be arduous.

I couldn’t help wishing it was that easy. With a few presses of my finger and the shame, regret, and greed that defined my life would be gone.

Over and over, I’d wanted to steal magic or destroy those who had it while not knowing I was the one who’d had it stolen from me. What a nice world that would have been. Power at my fingertips as I strived to master spells and advance. I would be powerful. I knew it. While two Mana Sources weren’t as good, I had Ice and Water, which were complimentary.

Maybe not.

The dream disappeared as I caught a black-cloaked figure walking across the courtyard, blond hair glistening in the sun. I could hear the pretentious tap of his cane as he walked.

The people who gave me that potion were my family.

The entire premise of my life collapsed the moment I had mana.

My mother’s reason for selling me was that I didn’t have magic, and the Kala Tribe wouldn’t accept me. The price the Duke paid made more sense, but why spend so much if you were going to disperse my magic?

There was also after I got married. Did they continue to give me the potion? They had no reason to do that. It made more sense for them to want me to learn magic. That would help regain some of the prestige lost by the Crown Prince’s marriage to me and the Duke’s slight of the Royal Family.

I didn’t know how this would affect my already tenuous plans of staying in the Duchy while married to Baron Smolt.

It was already a foolhardy plan, closer to blind hope and desperation than a strategic move.

I sighed. The people who had the answers I needed would never tell me. I could only increase the urgency of my plans to visit an apothecary. It was already on the list of things to do on my outing, but I no longer needed a Healing Potion since I had the Remedy Pill.

I didn’t know whether I could make a discreet inquiry or if they could help me.