Chapter 1
You have been obliterated.
Entering suspended animation until Host is found.
...
...
...
Host found.
Merging with Host.
Merge successful. Countdown to The Great Game Tournament: 79 years, 359 days, 15 hours, 34 minutes, and 17 seconds.
Round 4 has commenced! Quickly equip all add-ons.
Warning. Soul at maximum capacity.
Status.
Error. Current status unattainable.
A sigh would have been pointless. Only the system could halt the system. My feet found solid ground. I began to explore. My elongated canine snout quivered, searching for opportunities. My acute sense of smell detected a hint of fleeting mana. I reached for the dissipating energy, inhaling deeply, watching the swirling colors with my claws extended. A fleeting grin appeared on my face.
Thumbs! Genetic modifications had once again proven successful! The trait had carried over. I had to avoid dwelling on the dark days of Round 2's thumbless first year. I wriggled them happily. Cursing the brief distraction, I refocused on the scent of binding magic.
Who or what are you? A permission slip? The scent grew weaker over the course of 3 seconds. Time was of the essence. Being aware of the temporary nature of the system and capatalisling was always satisfying, and now it was time to act. I examined the magical essense in my claws, struggling without my usual add-ons. By concentrating intensely, I unraveled its link to the master-summon bond, the vital connection between summoner and summoned. This slip of permission offered a system of shared skills? No, wait. I sniffed the rainbow mist, trying to distinguish the individual components. It was a prompt to accept a hidden ability that transformed the servitude system into one of equal access.
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I am a summoned creature. And it appears I am now within my master's mind? This would explain the dual light sources on a nearby wall, both casting shades of blue, green, and brown. But why would something like this even exisit? To even access it would require... No time.
23 seconds remaining. Think, Cozmo, think! We perished, transformed into a core, and melded with a 'compatible' host. Now, I must persuade them to accept a prompt that may initially seem like a soul-crushing curse. All within the next 20 seconds. I trusted in my ability to theorize, to stick to the scientific approach, yet I needed more information.
I gazed at the twin orbs of glowing data a few meters ahead. I could vaguely discern two small hands against a backdrop of beige, green, and brown. Not enough to identify the planet, as my eyesight was limited. But it confirmed my status as a summon. Which likely meant I remained on the same planet as before. My left brow twitched as I pondered what little I knew about children.
Hope. Hope and tales...
17 seconds.
"Child, can you hear me?" I spoke within my confines, pleased that my usual bark of a voice still held.
The swirling colors became even more vibrant, indicating rapid changes in perspective. My host was swinging thier head from side to side. "Gravity seems absent here," I noted, storing the information for later. The lack of access to my scratch pad add-on clashed with my desire for a logical approach.
"Who's there?" came the tremulous reply.
I reminded myself: Hope and tales, "Child, I am your great great grandfather from long ago, and you are the final link in our lineage. You are the last of my bloodline. My family. I have arrived to guide you, continuing our legacy! I communicate with you through the Spawn Core you just merged with, and now I have something really important for you to do."
3 seconds remaining.
"Accept this prompt with all your being, think YES YES YES!" I encouraged, extending the intangible slip toward one of my two windows.
Prompt accepted. Activating shared system...
System online.
No more time constrants detected. I reclined on the smooth surface of matt black floor, wings unfurled, reflecting on my past and the transition to this new realm. "The fourth attempt must succeed, after the missteps of the Third Round." I whispered to no one.
"Where are you?" mumbled the scared child in a tiny voice directly to my mind. Probably not even aware he is doing it.
"I am in your new Spawn Core. If you summon me, we can face to face." I confidently sent back.
While my summoner hopefully prepared the mana to activate my core, I sought to check their status.
Name: Scum
Level: 0
HP: 1/2
MP: 2/2
Attributes: 1
Bond to Spawn Core: Cozmo - 100% compatibility.
Scum... as a name? Troubling. Wait, now it's sinking in. And now I'm thoroughly irritated. Someone named their child Scum?!
"Box breath Cozmo, focus, in, 1, 2, 3, 4, and hold, 1, 2...."
I must always remain in control.
Gradally, my sanity returned enough to assess the rest of their status.
Such low stats in a human were unprecedented in my experience.
"I can't." came the shaky response, interrupting my thoughts.
The higher the compatibility between Spawn Core and Summoner, the easier the summoning process.
"Place your hand over the Spawn Core and attempt to channel energy into it." Even a trace of mana would activate the spell and bring me to reality.
30 seconds later, with a few nudges of encouragement.
Puff