Before looking at my available boons, I put some distance between me and the bug and pulled up my interface.
Name: Kyo —-----
Class: System Initiate (6/10, 100%)
New boon available
Boons:
System interface
Mana Pool
System Codex
Interface Status
Codex Recording
Interface Customization
Current status:
Mana Pool: 86/100 mana available
Codex: 99.99% available space
Environmental Conditions:
High Ambient Mana
Hostile Entities Recently Perceived
Limited Available Resources Perceived
Personal Status:
Mana resistance level: 237
Total Physical Enhancement Level: 0
Somehow I intuitively knew that I could change anything about the interface with a thought. Yet another instance of magic messing with my head, but I wasn’t going to complain about the convenience. I certainly wasn’t going to complain about finally being able to disable the obnoxious dinging.
With a mental command, I finally turned off the hated chime. I didn’t know what I was going to replace it with, but anything would be better than that shade-cursed ding.
Looking back at my interface, I hid away some of the unchanging information in such a way that it would alert me to any changes. After that, I moved around some of the remaining items.
Name: Kyo —-----
Class: System Initiate
(6/10, 100%)
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Mana Pool: 86/100
Codex: 99.99%
Boons: 6
New boon available
Environmental Conditions: Unchanged
MR:237
TPEL:0
Focusing, I was able to set the new alert for new boons to be a tiny purple mark flashing at the edge of my vision. It was easily noticeable, but not anywhere near as obnoxious as the chime.
I could feel that there were other changes I could make using Interface Customization, but those could wait. I had a new boon to pick out using my now reorganized interface.
Codex Link
Allows the user to draw information from the codexes of other nearby system users.
Codex Identification
Allows the user to rapidly draw information from the codex about viewed objects and entities. Functionality may be limited without Codex Link.
Codex Map
Automatically maps known areas. Functionality may be limited without Codex Link.
There still weren't any new boons. Considering that there was allegedly a total of ten boons for the System initiate class, I was very curious what the mysterious tenth boon would be.
Turning back to the matter at hand, I needed to choose between mapping and identification. My concerns from before remained the same. I probably didn’t have enough information stored in my codex yet for identification to be useful. The map likely wouldn’t tell me much, but at least I could probably check my progress with it.
Selecting the Codex Map, I resumed walking.
Thinking about the map, I realized that I didn’t know how far I still had to go before reaching the Three Sisters. It wasn't possible to see very far ahead through the dense foliage of the jungle. With a sigh, I looked for a good tree to help me up past the canopy so I could check.
As I climbed, I noticed a large family of little black monkeys leaping about in the nearby trees. They kept their distance while I passed, so I paid them little heed.
The upper reaches of the knotwood provided a bit more of a challenge than normal. At some point during my climb, the clouds had decided that it would be a great time to send a deluge my way.
If I was still climbing one handed, I would have turned back then and there. My blistered hand had healed enough that I could use it to climb, so I didn’t let a little rain stop me.
I probably should have turned back the moment I noticed the rain. The wind grew in intensity the higher I climbed and I moved slowly from one rain slick branch to another as I laboriously ascended. As the branches waved more and more violently in the wind, I slowed. It was getting very difficult to keep moving.
Looking through the occasional gap between the wind tossed leaves, I realized that my climb had been pointless. The pouring rain greatly limited visibility, rendering my elevated position useless.
As another strong gust of wind pounded into me, I clung tightly to the twisting branches. I dismissed any thoughts of reaching the top of the canopy. Just getting back down safely was going to be hard enough.
I cast one last look up at the dark gray sky through the ever shifting leaves. As lightning danced across the sky, I thought I almost saw a large silhouette amid the clouds. A second bolt didn’t reveal any monstrous beings, leading me to believe that I had only imagined it.
Agonizingly slowly, I worked my way back downwards. I grumbled to myself about the half-mark I had wasted climbing when I could have been walking instead.
It took me far longer to climb down from the upper reaches of the canopy than it did to climb up.
Once I reached branches thick enough not to sway in the wind, I paused to recover my strength. Soaking wet, I regretted my recent decisions.
Lightning flashed directly overhead, illuminating the foliage around me. As the light reflected off dozens of eyes all around me, I realized that the group of monkeys from before had me surrounded.
Fortunately, most of the little black monkeys were only about half the length of my arm. Unfortunately, a scarlet furred monkey half my size glared at me malevolently from a few branches away.
I was really regretting my recent decisions.