Walking was rough, even with the walking stick. The main problem was that the pole was too heavy. Well, no. That’s not true. I wasn’t struggling to move the pole as much as I expected, but my wounds were holding me back. The scarred tissue that covered my stomach was able to save me, but it was far from being in a healthy state. Large movements would put too much strain on the damaged muscles that covered my torso. Still, I didn’t have another option.

Slow and steady wins the race and all that crap.

Once I cleared the forest, there was a patch of empty land that I had to cross before reaching the cave. Now, I didn’t need the System’s help anymore. It was easy to recognize the massive wall by my left, and I knew where I had to go to. That being said, the marker was still in the sky, or in the mountain now. Once the trees could no longer provide cover, every single step I took became intentional. The goal was to minimize any noise. Surviving an Eater only to be killed by a wild animal would be the last thing I wanted to do.

Thankfully, reaching the area below the cave was uneventful. Maybe it was a way for the universe to pay me back for my bad luck. But another problem arose. How the hell am I going to climb this wall?

In order to reach the cave, I had to climb a good 6 meters, and doing that in my current state was just impossible.

[User Cassandra, it is inadvisable to attempt climbing this wall. Wounds suffered by user are still healing. The strain required for the ascension will likely cause muscles and organs to rupture. Without access to a source of energy, such wounds have a high likelihood of leading user to her demise.]

‘Gee, thanks. I know that already. I’m thinking about what I could do to get there, or where else I could hide.’

[Suggestion: By using the skill {Compression} user is able to change the size of the pole. It can become bigger or smaller.]

‘You are saying I should use this as a kind of automatic rope?’

[Correct. Structure of the pole will be unable to hold the user’s body for long periods of time. However, while the skill is active, system particles will reinforce the pole, allowing it to elevate user without damaging its overall structure.]

I looked at my walking stick. Being able to change its size was an insane idea, but I had done that once. Placing the pole on the ground, I tried to use the skill {Compression}. The makeshift staff became smaller now reaching around my knee. I thought about stepping on top of it, but that quickly proved to be a bad idea. It was too hard to balance myself on it not to mention my legs refused to go so high right now.

‘Can I use the skill if the pole is sideways?’

[User is able to use the skill with the pole sideways, but results will not be satisfactory. Current skill level is too low to allow for the required change in shape of the pole. Additionally, the pole does not have enough mass to reach the desired height while sideways.]

With a sigh, I looked at the pole again and had an idea. Quickly taking my shoes off, I placed my hands inside them as if they were gloves and used the soles to hold on to the tip of the pole.

‘Now I just have to think about the size?’

[To activate the skill {Compression}, think about activating it and the desired side of the object you wish to change shapes.]

After a deep breath, I thought about the skill and the size I wanted the pole to become. A bit taller than the bottom of the cave, but not enough to go over it.

‘{Compression}’

Once more I felt something leaving my body, but it was hard to tell what. The metal rod started to grow, becoming taller and taller. I was able to hold on to it, even if the strain of lifting my body made me feel like the muscles on the sides of my torso were being ripped apart. Still, I bit down, cursing myself for forgetting about my jaw as the pain almost blinded me for attempting to move that muscle forcibly. In less than 20 seconds, the pole reached the height I desired, allowing me to swing to the side and jump the small gab between my location and the floor of the cave. The marker created by the system now inside.

Landing safely, I still tumbled and fell to my knee. But before being able to take a look around, a noise caught my attention. Metal was scraping against rock as the pole started to shift to the side, about to fall. Quickly reaching out to it, I kept trying to use the skill again.

‘{Compression},{Compression},{Compression}’

That was the only semblance of a weapon I had, and I might need that thing to get down later. Thankfully, this skill worked as I hoped and the pole grew smaller. But it was still going back to the ground. It didn’t seem like this ability could make it change sizes where I was touching it, and it would just do it everywhere at once.

I had to stop it when the pole almost left my grasp, halting the transformation, but I didn’t give up. Grabbing the tip, I pulled part of it into the cave and used the {Compression} skill yet again. This time, since I was holding it and not just touching the metal rod, I was able to keep it off the ground until it returned to the size of my walking stick. Only when that was over that feeling of something missing inside of me vanished.

‘Fuck, that was hard,’ I groaned as I slumped on the side of the cave.

[Congratulations on a successful recovery of the walking stick, user.]

I squinted at that line floating in front of my eyes. Waving my hand, I tried to see if I could touch the words, but even as my finger was almost reaching my face, that writing was till visible.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

‘For some reason, that congratulations feels really patronizing,’ I grumbled.

[Inquiry: Is that considered a good thing?]

‘No.’

[Acknowledged, System will avoid saying anything that can be miscontrsued as patronizing.]

I rolled my eyes and moved to the back of the cave. My body still hurt, and there was a chance I was bleeding, but I had to check one thing before anything else. In a lucky break, I found a box in the corner of the cave with a large plastic container and some blankets. Inside was around 50 kg [110 lbs] of dried meat, a jar of honey, one empty waterskin, a large jar filled with water, and a rope. Back in the village, those held about 38 liters [10 gal] of water and it was almost full. It was a lot of food, but thinking about it, yesterday the hunters mentioned that they had just filled up the cave with food again.

I paused.

‘System, why are you telling me the conversion of those numbers?’ when I thought about a kilogram or liters, a small line of text appeared above whatever I was looking with the measures in question and their conversion to pounds and gallons.

[During the moment when System accessed user’s memories, user thought about the importance of said conversions. Doing said conversions requires some brain power. It is easier for System to perform those calculations to allow user to focus on more important tasks.]

‘Fine,’ I sat back down, closing the plastic box and making sure it was properly sealed so no insects would get into my supplies. Even if I felt really thirsty, I still couldn’t move my mouth.

‘System, how long until I can open my mouth again?’

[Time until jaw is no longer paralyzed: 1:35:12]

I rubbed my eyes, ‘Right… Let’s go to the real topic then. System, what are you?’

[System is a tool.]

‘A tool? For what?’ while the system talked I started undressing, my clothes were still soaking wet, and in the cold of night I couldn't afford to keep them on.

[A tool for personal development.]

‘What do you mean by that?’

[Personal development refers to the ability to improve one’s self.]

I groaned, which was a very odd thing to do when you can’t move your jaw, ‘System, you can send information to my mind, right?’

[When certain conditions are met, the information given by System can be directly sent to user’s mind, minimizing the need for conversation.]

‘Minimizing? So you still need to have the conversation?’

[Correct. Without a conversation related to the subject where user is able to understand said subject to a certain degree, System is unable to directly complement the information.]

‘Ok, so you can see that I’m not getting what you are trying to tell me, right?’

[System can understand that user is unable to understand enough of what System is explaining in order for System to send information directly into user’s mind and speed up the process of understanding.]

I squinted at the words, ‘Now you are just being difficult on purpose. Stop that.’

[Acknowledged.]

‘So you do know you were being an ass!’ I gasped.

[System is aware of user’s request.]

Whatever that system was, it clearly had a personality. And if that thing was stuck in my head, I need to learn how to handle it, or I was going to go crazy.

‘Ok, let’s try again. System, what are you? Give me an explanation with details that I will be able to understand, please.’

[As said before. System is a tool made for self improvement. System is able to perform its tasks in several ways. System will list the paths of improvement in no particular order as all paths possess the same level of importance.]

[System allows user to gain levels improving user physical and mental prowess in the process.]

[By using System, user has access to skills. Which can be considered actions that generate results that would be impossible without the assistance of System or another tool.]

[System serves as a personal assistant that can assist the user in a number of ways from time keeping to waking up.]

‘So you can make me smarter, stronger, and give me abilities akin to magic?’

[Correct.]

‘How?’

[All those possibilities exist thanks to the System Particles, or SP. These particles are able to improve capabilities on an atomic level. When using a skill, the SP will be responsible for the effect of the skill. For example, the {Compression} skill works by first covering the target object with System Particles, then the particles will shift the molecules of the object to fit the desired effect.]

‘So… those are basically nanobots? I remember reading about them. People studied that, but we never reached the point of being able to do this kind of thing. Unless you are counting fiction.’

[That is an apt approximation. However, the System Particles are particles, not tiny robots. They only function with the help of System.]

‘Right… that’s…,’ I shook my head, ‘I’m going to take a while to process that. What you are telling me feels… impossible.’

[System is an existence that goes beyond the realm of possibility.]

‘What do you mean by that?’

[System current age is 5 hours and 23 minutes. But it is also over 1x10^10^10^10^10… recurring years old.]

‘Recurring? Do you mean your age is infinite?’

[According to the available data, that is correct.]

‘How is that possible?’

[System does not have an answer.]

‘Can you find out?’

[System does not have an answer.]

‘Could it be a mistake?’

[No.]

‘Are you some sort of thing from the future?’

[System does not have an answer.]

‘Were you created by some kind of higher being?’

[System does not have an answer.]

‘Ok.. Fine. What do you want? Where do you come from?’

[System originated from user Cassandra’s necklace. However, the necessary data present inside the necklace was incomplete. To rectify that issue, System took the necessary data from System belonging to dead Eater.]

"THE EATERS HAVE A SYSTEM?!" I shouted, my jaw stinging in pain as I tried to open my mouth it by accident. At the same time my hand reached out to the necklace. Thankfully it was still there, even if it was a bit charred now.

[That is correct. System mentioned the skills the being known as Eater possessed. Was that not a clear indication of the existence of a system for the beings know as Eaters?]

I blinked slowly, still trying to process that. If the Eaters could use skills, like {Compression} or whatever was able to keep me alive after being stabbed in the gut, wouldn’t that explain how they were so powerful? This all sounded, at a baseline, very video gamey. And if that was the case, it would explain so much. Could it really be that simple? Well, I say simple. All it took was a tool that was infinite years of age to be capable of doing something like that.

‘I almost died. I wasn’t able to pay that close attention to what you were saying.’

[Acknowledged.]

The way the System’s voice rang in my head, I could tell it was upset.

‘C’mon. I almost died. Don’t be angry at me.’

[System is unable to feel anger.]

‘Really?’

[Yes, even if user ignores information provided.]

‘I didn’t ignore, I was in a situation that I thought it was impossible. Forgive me for being frazzled,’ I huffed.

[Acknowledged.]

The System had the same icy tone as it did before.

‘Oh, you know what. Screw you. You might have lived forever, but I didn’t. This is all new to me,’ I groaned and laid back on the cave floor. Pulling the blankets from the crate and getting ready to sleep. It was more out of spite and annoyance, but the moment I covered myself in that warm piece of fur, I instantly felt sleepy.

[User Cassandra, do you wish System wake user up once user’s jaw is no longer paralyzed?]

‘No. Just.. Let me rest,’ was the last thing I could muster to say before passing out.