I was momentarily baffled by the prompt, but I didn’t have much time to consider it as the frustrated growls behind me were growing louder. Turning around in the passage was difficult, but manageable. At the entrance to the hole, a large feline voiced its displeasure. It didn’t look like it would be able to reach me, considering that its head was larger than the entrance. I could only hope that it would eventually give up and leave before morning.
With the monster able to do little more than hiss and growl at me, I was free to consider what to do about this “system”. This situation reminded me of the stories I was told as a child. In many stories, great and powerful beings would offer hapless mortals fantastic treasures or abilities. In almost every one of these stories, the mortal would grow to regret accepting the offered gifts.
I knew life wasn’t like the stories. In stories, if the village were endangered by some ferocious beast, a hero would always rise to save the day. The scaled fiend wouldn’t have unleashed its terrible blaze and killed ev-
I couldn't think about that. I could only deal with one problem at a time. There would be time for grieving later, provided I lived long enough for there to be a later.
That was the key wasn’t it? In all of the stories, the mortal would always live to regret their choice. Without a home to return to, I wasn’t likely to live to regret much of anything. It would only be so long before one of the nameless horrors of the night found me, and there was nothing I could do about it.
With such grim thoughts in mind, I made my choice. “I accept.”
ACKNOWLEDGED
SYSTEM INITIALIZING
The words seemed to echo in my head, nearly drowning out the growls coming down from the entrance.
MORTAL PERIL DETECTED
ACCELERATING SYSTEM INTEGRATION
Pain laced through my head as mana flooded into me from the skull. I saw the entire mana construct lurch towards me before I lost control of my spell. The pain grew worse as my mana sight faded away.
After at least a quarter-mark of suffering, the pain rapidly receded. In its place was a new addition to my vision. Hovering directly in front of me was a gray rectangle similar to the one that hung above the skull. Unlike that one, I could actually read the contents of this one.
Name: Kyo —-----
Class: System Initiate (1/10, 2%)
Boons:
System interface
The information was pretty much useless. I assumed that this rectangle was the system interface, but I didn’t know what to make of the line about my class. I didn’t know what to make of the numbers. As I watched, one of the numbers changed.
Class: System Initiate (1/10, 3%)
I hoped the increasing number was a good thing, but I honestly couldn’t see much point at the moment. If this was all that the system had to offer, I was sorely disappointed.
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As the rectangle continued to float in front of my face, I grew a bit worried. Would I be stuck with this thing obstructing my view all the time? As if commanded by that thought, the interface vanished.
Slightly confused, I tried willing the interface back into existence.
Name: Kyo —-----
Class: System Initiate (1/10, 6%)
Boons:
System interface
The system evidently reacted to my thoughts. I didn’t particularly like the idea of unknown magic messing with my head, but it was too late to turn back. All I could do was make the best of my situation.
Stifling a yawn, I realized how exhausted I was, both physically and mentally. Shuffling as many of the scattered bones into a pile as I could, I cleared a small patch of dirt to lie down. While trying to sleep in a dirty hole in the ground under the hungering gaze of a predator was hardly ideal, I didn’t exactly have many other options. After taking one last glance at my new interface, I shut my eyes.
Class: System Initiate (1/10, 10%)
My sleep was anything but restful. In my dreams I ran through the jungle as it burned around me. Others were running beside me, but a massive, shadowy figure was devouring them one by one.
No matter how hard I ran, the thing steadily closed the distance behind me. With a massive claw, it lifted me high into the air. As it dropped me into its blazing maw, I awoke in a cold sweat.
Not fully aware yet, I sat up quickly. I tried to sit up, that is. It turns out that slamming your face into a dirt ceiling is not a pleasant way to wake up. As I tried to wipe the dirt out of my face, I was forced to accept that the events of the prior day had actually happened.
My village was destroyed, and I was probably the only survivor. Somehow, I found an incredibly complex magical construct in a hole the ground. It still didn’t seem real. With a thought I once again willed my interface into existence.
Name: Kyo —-----
Class: System Initiate (1/10, 100%)
New boon available
Boons:
System interface
I blinked in surprise. That line wasn’t there last night. If there was a new boon available, how could I get it? With that thought, the interface changed:
Boons available:
System Codex
Mana Pool
While the changing information was a nice surprise, I didn’t know what either of these things were. While I could kind of guess what a Mana Pool probably was, I had no idea what a System Codex was.
System Codex:
An internal mana construct capable of storing large quantities of information.
Mana Pool:
An internal mana construct used to fuel system abilities. Slowly refills over time.
Another change to the interface gave me my answer. Evidently, I was supposed to pick one.