With a massive weight off my shoulders, I check by back for any injury before marching onward. To my surprise there is literally not a scratch on me, weird I could have sworn that thing raked my back with its claws…

'Oh well'

With that sorted I continue albeit at a much more cautious pace, I follow the winding tunnel as I try to piece together exactly what I'm supposed to do now.

I mean I should probably look for some food and somewhere safe to rest without worrying about any other predators.

To that end my best choice is probably to just keep following all these roots to their source, plants got to drink, and chances are better to find something I can eat around water as well.

Sure enough my theory holds true and after what feels like hours of wandering down the tunnel it slowly becomes more and more heavily covered in in the strange roots until they completely cover any trace of the stone wall save for a few patches covered instead with a dense lavender colored moss like growth.

All of these are soaked with water slowly leaking from them in a small trickle down the wall. I immediately rush over and begin trying to maneuver the head of my new body to catch some of the water.

Its instant relief as the water cools me down while the break lets me calm myself after what's been the most hectic day of my life already.

It's not until After I drink my fill that I realize just how tired I am. And with this water being the first helpful thing I have seen I decide its best to try rest here for a while.

So I take refuge under one particularly large bush of moss which I promptly tear into creating a small hollow area inside of to sleep in mostly obscured from anything that may pass by, Before I know it curled up into a ball like a tired cat well on my way to sleep on the surprisingly comfortable bed of moss blissfully ignorant of the voice that echoes through my mind as I slumber.

[System Ready, host sleep state detected, A.R.P.G, V1.0.0 activating]

As I drift off to sleep, I find myself in a strange dream in an endless plane of flat ground all made of the same smooth dark stone as before, only this time I'm somehow perfectly aware That I'm asleep.

Alistair: "Well this dream sucks."

As I speak out in my strange dream, I'm greeted by a voice similar to the one that I heard when I activated that ability.

This one is slightly but very noticeably different from the other, rather than a soulless voice like an answering machine this one sounded far more natural.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

[Greetings Alistair.]

The voice echoes all around me without any apparent source.

Alistair: "uh, who the hell are you, also mind telling me why are you in my mind? I don't want any free loaders in my brain space!"

[I am the entity you refer to as a system. As for why I'm in your mind, that is because I am technically a part of you now via a permanent soul fusion process.]

Alistair: "Wait, You're a system! I think my dad had one of those?"

[Approximately, that terminology was selected from your own knowledge as the closest definition you can understand.]

Alistair: "Wait a minute, you went through my brain?"

[Yes, approximately 30% of it.]

Alistair: "and what was that about my soul…"

[Due to the aforementioned permanent soul fusion I am technically a part of you and will remain present until you die. Infact unless your soul was destroyed ending us both not even death will separate us.]

…..Why God, why…

I mean I guess I'll just have to come to terms with having to share my head, and my soul… with this thing.

Alistair: [Alright, well what can you do anyways, can you tell me anything about what's happened to me? Or maybe why I'm a glorified lizard now?]

[I have only the knowledge I was embedded with at my creation. Anything else, be it power or knowledge must be earned by your own effort. Though as a system I do have the capacity to aid you in many ways, for a price.]

Alistair: [Seems fair enough but why the cost, I mean whatever you do to help me helps you after all right?]

[This system requires materials to act; without them I cannot provide any aid.]

Alistair: [Makes sense, what kind of "materials" are we talking about here and what can you do in return.]

[The primary resource required is Experience points and Anima. The primary method of acquisition for these is to slay and consume other beings Respectively, as well as complete tasks that will become available in time. These can then be used to acquire skills, abilities, etc.]

Now this is what I'm talking about! I was getting worried I'd be spending the rest of my life running from things like that creature but if I can level up, I might be able to make a pretty nice life for myself, if I play my cards right that is...

[Please take this time to view your updated Host interface, from now on you will be able to summon this menu at will.]

Several large holographic screens instantly pop into existence near me with the same dark background and red text as before. All but one of them drift to either side of me until only One remains in the forefront labeled as "profile".

___

[Personal scan complete]

[Species: "Dingy" Infeirior Gray Wyvern "Spawnling"]

[Name: Alistair]

[Level:0]

[XP:0/25]

[Condition: Fine]

[Arcana: 0/0]

[Vitae: 18/20]

[Traits: Inferior Draconic Blood, Wax Scales, Regenerative state.]

(Anima Bank: 0)

(Achievements: None.)

___

[This is all the information I am currently able to provide access to at this time. More will unlock over time if we survive the near future.]

Well, I can't understand all of it but I can infer a few things regen seems obvious enough but what the hell is Vitae?

While browsing the list I discover that by focusing on any one of the abilities names I'm able to instinctually bring up a separate more detailed description:

(Inferior draconic blood: As a distant relative to dragons benefit from a very slight enhanced regeneration and increased elemental affinity growth.)

(Wax Scales lv.1: A layer of soft wax-like scales covers the body providing a very light albeit very weak armor easily detached and regrows within a few hours.)

(Creature Regen: Like most Arixian life you possess an accelerated healing facilitated by pockets of advanced Stem Cells "Vitae" throughout the body, metabolism is vastly increased after use until refilled.)

I scour every option, but it seems for now at least for now there's nothing else for me to find, satisfied with my results I dismiss the screen with a thought.

[Now that you are finished, would you like to resume your normal sleep cycle until you awake?]

Alistair: "Wait a sec will you be there still when I wake up or just when I sleep?"

[Now that the system is activated you will be able to access most features at any time unless a system update is required.]

Alistair: [Awesome, well no point putting it off I'm ready]

Everything around me fades away as I rapidly fall into a deep sleep not unlike the one I woke from when I first arrived.