Her body closely resembled that of a human, but there was an undeniable uniqueness to her appearance that distinguished her from any human I had seen before. Her hair was a pristine white, flowing down her back. Atop her head sat two triangular ears, reminding me of wolves.
But there were even more features that reminded me of wolves.
Her skin was unblemished and pale, while fur of the same color as her hair covered her forearms, shins, and calves. Her feet resembled large paws, and her hands, though somewhat wolf-like, retained traces of a normal hand with long fingers and opposing thumbs. From her lower back grew a bushy, white tail, which gently swayed behind her.
She wore a plain white dress that reached down to her knees, and her face was adorned with a smile that carried a foreign warmth—foreign to me. Her genuine, carefree smile was a strange sight for me, as just moments ago I was struggling to not be squashed to death by a giant bug, but now all of that was gone. Veraxia, the drone and soldier corpses, and the lair in general.
Despite that, I was feeling calm, almost unbothered by the sudden turn of events, and more importantly, even though I knew I should be, I was not wary of the woman standing before me.
Interested in what or who she was, I tried to identify her, but the skill did not work. I was given no information at all and I didn’t even feel the skill activate.
“I’m afraid that is not going to work, little one,” the woman spoke as she strolled my way. She was still smiling and carried herself without any signs of aggression. Despite my wariness with her, I remained standing in the same spot. It was not only her body language but almost like a sixth sense telling me that she posed no threat.
She eventually came to a halt only a few steps away from me and put a hand to her chin while looking me up and down before nodding with satisfaction.
“Heh, you have been busy, haven’t you little one? You probably have a ton of questions, but before you even start throwing those at me, how about a small introduction, yes? I’m Silvia, and while you don’t know me, I am here to help you,” she turned around and started strolling away from me.
Not knowing what to do, I followed her. “I do not have a name to give you, but what is going on?”
“You are going through a few changes as a result of one of your dormant traits awakening. Since these include some adjustment by the system itself, your consciousness has been sent here.”
“Changes? A dormant trait? What are you talking about?”
While dormant traits sounded familiar, I did not remember anything specific about them, but instead of hoping for an answer from that woman, I decided to look into my status to check what was going on, but once again what I would normally do without any trouble did not work.
Even after multiple attempts, my status just wouldn’t open. “Status,” I muttered, but even saying it out loud did not do anything.
“Like I said, you are going through some significant changes at the moment, so things won’t work like they used to until the awakening of the trait has been completed.”
“How long is that supposed to be?” I asked, uneasy about not being able to use my skills.
"Uncertain," she replied with a hint of reassurance, "we will just have to wait and see." The vagueness of her response only fueled my growing frustration and curiosity.
I clicked my tongue but kept following Silvia around. I tried out a few of my other skills, but without any objects around, I couldn’t test Telekinesis, Mediation was also not working while moving.
Now I also realized that my clothes were gone. I didn’t know why I hadn’t noticed it earlier probably because of everything that was happening, but not only was I naked, but my body was clean and even my scars were gone. Honestly, it was a strange sight.
After walking for some time without exchanging any words, I finally gave in to impatience.
“Are we going anywhere?”
Silvia briefly glanced at me with a small smile. “Nope, we are just moving around. Keeps my thoughts going.”
“Okay,” I replied. “Then do you mind clarifying a few things?”
“Like what?”
“Why what is happening to me is happening to me.”
Silvia paused for a moment, considering her response. "Dormant traits can awaken for various reasons, but the most common and natural trigger is reaching a certain level. As you level up, your body undergoes subtle, almost imperceptible changes. These gradual adjustments eventually touch your dormant traits, awakening them.”
“And what role do you play in all of this?”
Hearing her explanation, I wondered why Silvia was even here. I didn’t know her, nor had I ever heard of her before and it seemed odd for a stranger to appear with me in some sort of space while I was undergoing some ‘changes’.
“Well, dormant traits have to come from somewhere, you know? And it just so happens that is currently messing with your body comes from yours truly,” she stretched out her arms as she spun around, her silver eyes shimmering with pride.
I, on the other hand, was dumbfounded. What did she mean by that? How could something that was asleep inside of me for who knows how long originate from some stranger, whom I met for the first time after passing out? Just saying sounded as if I was a crazy person.
“I see the confusion on your face, but it does not matter. The ‘how’ is not something I can or am willing to tell you, so just nod your head and accept that as it is, alright?”
I wanted to protest that unreasonable demand, but I was also convinced that it wouldn’t change a thing, so I refrained from doing so. At least for now.
“Okay, then assuming for a second that I just accept that, that still leaves me with the question of why you are here. What is your purpose?”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“Like I said before, I am here to help you.”
“With what exactly?”
She stopped in her tracks, “Killing time.”
“Killing…time?” I repeated slowly after her.
“Yes. I mean this was an opportunity I couldn’t miss and I also want to know what you are inheriting from me.”
“You don’t know?”
“Nope. The trait comes from me, but I am not the one that placed it there,” she told me firmly. I opened my mouth to ask a question, but before the first word left my mouth, Silvia cut me off. “And no, I won’t tell you who did it.”
I clicked my tongue.
“Instead, I will answer other questions for you, just ask away,” she said as she sat down on the ground, tapping a spot before her.
She did not seem to be joking, but I also understood that she probably wouldn’t ask questions that mattered to me at the moment, so for now I would have to be satisfied with other questions. Well, I had plenty of them, so one of them should be answerable.
“What are you?” I asked while sitting down.
From the first time I saw her, I wondered about her. She was humanoid, yet possessed the features of a wolf, and her hair and fur color were also not something you would see on the average human or wolf.
Silvia smiled, revealing teeth as white as her hair, but with the canines of a predator, sharp and deadly. “We are known as Barghests, but since that won’t tell you much, just imagine a big, scary phantom dog. We are quite rare, so I might even be the only one you will ever meet,” she puffed out her chest.
She went on to describe her kind, explaining how eating corpses was a totally normal thing to do in this world and that there was nothing strange about it. As I listened to her stories, time passed and eventually, a long-awaited system notification appeared in my vision, causing me to jump to my feet.
The title [Specimen] has made minor adjustments to your species description.
As a result of [Specimen]’s actions, the species skill [Mana Affinity (Unique)] has been revised.
Stat Points for reaching level 21 have been allocated. 3 Free Stat Points have been acquired.
A dormant trait has awoken. Physical adjustments will be made…
Suddenly, a searing pain erupted in my mouth and I fell back on my knees, hunching over as I waited for the pain to disappear. Using my tongue to feel around, I noticed that my teeth were somehow changing and that my canines were growing longer and sharper. The pain only stopped when my teeth were no longer transforming.
You have acquired the Species Skill [Draining Bite - Mana (Rare)].
[Draining Bite - Mana (Rare)]
Your teeth can be infused with mana, enhancing density and durability. Your canines drain the mana of anything you bite, absorbing it into your own pool. Physical contact must remain for the drain to work.
When I looked back up and past the system text in my vision, I found Silvia looking at me with widened eyes and a manic smile on her lips. “It was physical! You just experienced a physical change didn’t you?”
In place of a response, I simply opened my mouth and showed her my new set of teeth. “My, that is intriguing, unexpected, but intriguing.
“Didn’t you say I would go through some change…ouch?” I asked, accidentally stabbing my tongue with my new canines. Well, that would need some getting used to.
“Yes, but none like this. None that would directly change your body to this degree. Traits usually manifest as skills, but on rare occasions, an awakened trait changes the physique permanently, transforming you forever. This is a huge discovery.”
“How so?”
I mean, all of this was basically new knowledge to me, and I couldn’t empathize with Silvia’s excitement, although I was curious about what this meant for me.
“This means the system is incapable of assembling all the necessary information about you because you, the source, are still incomplete.”
“Will that happen again in the future?” I asked, still trying to get used to this new feeling in my mouth.
She shrugged, “Dunno. You changed once, you might change again, or you might not. All I can tell you is that you will not change again after you complete your title, but the number of times you will change before that, or if at all is a matter of time and patience. I am almost impressed how you managed to confuse one of the world’s basic laws,” she smiled, her eyes gleaming with curiosity and fascination.
Now that my status had returned, I checked up on the title in question and was not surprised to find that I had indeed reached ten percent and therefore the second milestone.
[Specimen]
Current Progress: 10% | Milestones: 5%|10%|25%|50%|75%|100%| Every milestone brings a temporary change to your species description| This title will be lost once 100% has been reached.
After confirming this, I checked out my species description and what kind of changes had been done by the system.
[Unregistered]
This species has yet to be named by its progenitor. If half of Aevintir’s population acknowledges a name for this species, it will be forcefully bestowed by the system.
This species does not age and, therefore does not possess natural growth processes. As such there is no natural growth of the body, muscles, hair, or pools. While this species does not require food, drink, or sleep, it requires a stable amount of mana to remain conscious and healthy. The body of this species is as much physical as it is spiritual, as such it is highly receptive and sensitive to mana.
Stat bonuses per level: +2 to all stats except FTH, +3 Free Stat Points.
While the phrasing changed a lot, the core of the information remained mostly the same. However, a new piece of information was added that bothered me quite a bit. That I did not age like a human did was not that much of a surprise, and no natural growth for body or hair was not that much of a disadvantage in my opinion, but what did bother me was that apparently, this also affected my pools. Although the increased number of stat points for each level gain was encouraging, still it wasn’t enough to make my frown disappear.
“You don’t seem too thrilled,” Silvia remarked. After explaining she hummed in understanding. It seemed like she knew more about this than me.
“Think about it this way, there exist so many species with millennia-long lifespans, yet humans still persevere to this day with their measly hundred years of life. Why do you think that is?”
I had no idea, so I simply shrugged.
“It is because natural growth rate and lifespan walk hand in hand with each other. There is a balance between the two that upholds natural order. Long-lived species age slower, and stay longer in a certain state, so they naturally ‘grow’ at a slower rate. Opposed to that, humans or other short-lived species grow fast. Naturally, all of this leaves stats out of the picture, but when your body never had the capability of growth, then even stats cannot force it.”
I listened intently, absorbing the new knowledge. "So, because I don't age, my body doesn't naturally grow or change as it should. That's why I've remained the same for a century.”
Silvia nodded in agreement. "Exactly. It isn't as bad as it sounds, but rather a unique trait that comes with certain benefits. The lack of natural growth means you won't experience the same physical changes as most species do, and your body remains in a state of near perfection. Also, while humans are quicker, you will have more than enough time to compensate for that.”
“What about my pools? Does that mean they cannot grow at all?"
”Not naturally, or they already would have. There are other ways, but explaining those would take a lot of time. Although I think that your new skill will aid you in that matter.”
Now that she said it like this, how did she know about the skill? I hadn’t told her about it. She also knew about my title. I didn’t question it, because I was used to the other person knowing after having Veraxia in my head, but Silvia never was and shouldn’t be able to know.
I opened my mouth but was interrupted by a rumble that shook the entire white space. When it ceased, Silvia was looking up with a frown.
“Well, there goes our time. We didn’t even talk about your skill yet… Well, it doesn’t matter. It might be better for you to learn out there anyway. Even though you will forget our conversation, it was nice meeting you,” she slowly stood up.
“Wait, what do you—“
Silvia cut me off. “It was a pleasure talking your ears off, little one. See you around,” she said before simply fading out of existence and vanishing for good. Just like that.
In the blink of an eye, the space around me crumbled and my vision was encroached by darkness, briefly, I felt everything fade, then my eyes shot open, Veraxia’s green eyes above me, staring right at me.