Despite the map, climbing down the cliff proved a little trickier than climbing up had been. Finding study handholds and footholds was easier when reaching up rather than down. The fact that it was raining also didn’t help.

Pausing on a ledge, I double checked my map. So far, most of the details on the map were fairly close to accurate. One or two of the ledges I didn’t need had eroded away, but that wasn’t a problem.

As I was about to dismiss the map, I noticed a very unexpected message on my interface.

System messages:

Active codex detected. Attempting to establish a connection.

My first thought was that I had somehow encountered another legacy codex. I nearly lost my grip on the rock face when I realized that the message said an active codex.

I had already halfway convinced myself that I had to have been mistaken about the clearing. I wanted community so badly that it would have been easy to trick myself into seeing things that weren't there. It was so far away, what I thought might be building and smoke could have easily been odd stones and a trick of the light.

This message was far harder to dismiss as wishful thinking. If there was another active codex, then it was very likely that someone else had a system in their head.

I was fairly sure it had to be a person at least. I didn’t know enough about the system to rule out the possibility of a magical beast claiming a copy of the system. I wasn’t sure if it was the system feeding me information again, but I was mostly sure that wasn’t a possibility.

The horrifying image of the crimson monkey running around with system granted boons flashed through my mind. I shuddered at the thought.

Regardless, it seemed that my system was having difficulty connecting with the other codex for whatever reason. I wasn’t sure what would happen if it did, but I didn’t know of any way to speed up the process.

Pushing down my excitement, I returned to the task at hand. I needed to keep moving if I wanted to be off the cliff before nightfall.

Almost a mark later, my little purple notification started flashing. It wasn’t long ago that I selected my most recent boon, so I figured it was one of two possibilities. The first was that minor boons integrated very quickly. The second was that my system had managed to connect with the other codex.

Looking at my interface, I found the second option to be true.

System Messages:

Connection to active codex established.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

System updates available.

Begin update?

Updates? What sort of updates?

Updates available:

Improved system layout: Enabled by default

Improved mental interfacing: Enabled by default

Improved connection range: Enabled by default

Improved codex filtering: Enabled by default

System access restrictions: Enabled by default

System barrier: Enabled by default

Reduced boon integration speed limit: Enabled by default

Long distance messaging: Enabled by default

Updated default settings: Enabled by default

…

The list continued onward for quite a few more lines. Some of the features listed sounded very helpful, like the long distance messaging. Others I didn’t particularly like the sound of. What exactly would the system access restrictions or the system barrier do?

System access restrictions

Restricts user’s access to lower level elements of the system to prevent misguided alterations.

Subfeature of system customization. Enabled by default.

System barrier

Creates a mana construct around the system to prevent direct modification and examination.

Subfeature of mana pool. Enabled by default.

I really, really didn’t like the sound of either of those. Both of them sounded like they would prevent me from accessing components of the system that I might want to. What if I got some other subfeature that I desperately wanted to turn off?

Without the restrictions, I could easily turn off any unpleasant subfeatures quickly and easily. Would the update prevent me from doing so?

With some vehemence, I rejected the offer to begin the system update. Once I reached the ground, I would see if I could pick and choose my updates. Until then, I couldn’t afford the distraction.

Not wanting to miss any possible messages concerning the other system user, I set a new notification specifically for system messages. On a whim, I made this one green.

Closing my interface, I got back to work climbing. I had almost reached the top of the canopy, but I could still see for quite a distance. I frequently cast glances at the trees around, wondering if I would suddenly spot the other system user.

Instead of seeing another person, I saw much of the usual wildlife flying about the trees. There were the many colored birds which all raced along over the treetops as well as a few monkeys leapt from branch to branch.

Oddly, many of these creatures were headed in the same direction. Rather than watch them further, I checked the direction they had come from.

At first I didn’t spot anything and I wondered if I had been imagining things. After a few moments, a large, snake-like creature rose up from the canopy.

While nowhere close to the size of the serpent I encountered at the river, the winged snake was still quite impressive. Its scales ranged from a leafy green to sky blue. The feathery wings, which I found to be magnificent, were a lovely mix of deep blue and a beautiful shade of purple.

As pretty as I found the creature, I didn’t have any intention of lingering long enough for it to spot me. I continued my descent, with renewed haste. With any luck, I would be able to reach the tree line before the serpent turned my direction.

The loud hiss that echoed over the treetops reminded me that I did not, in fact, have any luck.