“--y a-e y-o- aw-k- -et?” I thought I heard someone say.
“Mmmm?” I mumbled in response, still half asleep.
“Come on! Wake up already!” The voice excitedly yelled. I then felt someone start to shake me.
“Mmmhmmm, what time is it?” I slowly asked the person who was shaking me, still wanting more sleep.
“It’s 12:30!” The voice cheerfully responded.
“5 more minutes.” I requested.
“No! It’s time to wake up now!” I felt someone grabbing my arm, trying to pull me up. The pulling made me start to wake up fully, and I saw the person who was trying to wake me up.
It was a girl with wavy leaf green hair that reached her shoulders and dark green eyes. She was wearing a yellow shirt with diamond-shaped green buttons, baggy sleeves, a green collar with black on the edges of the collar and a yellow stripe around above where the black started, and a green skirt with a rose pattern. Atop her head sat a black hat with a yellow ribbon tied around it, just above the brim of the hat. She had some sort of purple cord attached to her heels that seemed to levitate a few inches away from her body as it moved upwards towards a spherical object positioned over her heart. That object to me looked like a closed eye. The girl looked at me with a smile on her face and started to dance around.
“Yay! She’s finally awake!” The girl gleefully shouted.
Still groggy from having just woken up, I confusedly looked at the girl before moving my gaze to where I was. The bed I was laying on had pure white sheets and was soft enough to make anyone immediately fall asleep if they lay on top of it. The room was covered with a white carpet, and the room itself was spacious with plenty of room to put more furniture or to move around in. There was a painting embroidered with gold on the wall, a bookshelf filled with books, and a desk near one of the corners of the room. To me, it looked like a bedroom that was fit for a royal, which made me confused about why I was placed here.
I stretched, but when I did, I felt a slight discomfort in my body. I was unsure as to what was causing that discomfort, but I decided to pay it no mind. I then looked back at the girl, who was still joyfully hopping around the room. It was at this moment that I realized that I did not know who this person was.
‘It seems that I was not fully awake yet, as my mind was still half-asleep if I didn’t realize that there was someone that I did not know. H-how should I interact with her? She seems friendly, but I still don’t want to talk to people I do not know. W-well, if she doesn’t talk to me, then I won’t initiate a conversation with her, but i-if I have to, t-then what? I-I could keep quiet, but that seems disrespectful. I assume that this girl helped take care of me when I was unconscious, so I don’t want to be too rude to her. Ahhh, what should I do?’ I started to panic.
My eyes darted around the entire room as panic gripped my body, my breathing accelerated, and I felt like my heart was about to fly out of my chest.
‘I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine!’ I tried to convince myself to calm down, which helped a bit. I took deep breaths to attempt to bring my heart rate to normal, and I finally began to relax.
‘Who is this person and where am I?’ I thought to myself after having achieved a clearer mind. Suddenly I heard a quiet pop sound. Confused at where the sound came from, I looked around the room again before looking down towards the bedsheets I was laying on. I saw another transparent window, like the ones that had shown up during the evolution process. Focusing my attention on the window, I saw the words
Evolution Completed
Host Ayaka has evolved into an Underworld Chimera
Granting Benefits
Acquired {skill} Lesser Darkness Manipulation
Acquired {skill} Lesser Mind Reading
Acquired {skill} Quiet Presence
Acquired {skill} Miniscule Wind Manipulation
Acquired {skill} Lesser Illusions
Acquired {title} Progenitor
‘What are skills and titles? Judging by the names of the skills, I would assume that skills are basically the supernatural abilities I have. Titles, based on the actual meaning of title, should be special rewards for meeting specific conditions or for making some kind of accomplishment. I should ask Miu just to be sure I’m right. Miu, can you explain what skills are and what titles are?’
Of course Ayaka, I’d love to! You are basically exactly right in your assumption of what skills are. Simply, they are the supernatural capabilities that you have. They are divided into 2 categories. Active skills and passive skills. Active skills have to be activated manually by either saying the name of the skill out loud or by clearly visualizing the skill with the intent to activate it. Passive skills are always active, but they can be turned off if you clearly declare either verbally or mentally your intent to deactivate them. Of course, you can reactivate them at any point by doing the opposite. Out of all the skills you have just obtained, only Quiet Presence is a passive skill, the rest are active skills. Active skills have multiple tiers of progression. Once a certain proficiency has been reached with a skill, it has the potential to advance and become more powerful as a result. Titles, as you thought, are special rewards for meeting certain conditions or making an accomplishment. Some titles give you special effects or skills, so they are not just for bragging rights. Anything else that you want to know?
Miu explained.
‘Thanks Miu, also, I want to know the difference between affinities and manipulation skills. From your explanation in the system space, you said that affinities allow me to incorporate a certain element into my attacks. Wouldn’t I be able to do something similar with manipulation skills? What exactly is the difference between the two?’
Good question! Using an element you have an affinity for will be easier because it will feel more natural. Affinities are the element that the individual is naturally gifted at. Affinity to an element causes it to be powerful by default and more readily able to be incorporated into attacks, but unlike manipulation skills, elemental affinities cannot be derived from or grow. As a whole, using an element you have an affinity for will always be stronger and easier to use than an element that you have a manipulation skill for. To summarize, elements with affinity = stronger and easier to use but less flexibility, and elements with manipulation = more flexibility but weaker and harder to use. Any questions?
Miu elucidated in a gleeful voice.
‘Thank you for the clarification! I have one last question, is there any way for you to show me all the skills, titles, and affinities I have?’
Of course! What system would I be if I could not do that!? Simply say status inside your head and a screen detailing all your skills, affinities, and titles will appear. You can also click on the names of any of them for a description of what they do, so you don’t have to ask us! Of course, you can still ask us for an explanation if you find anything confusing or if you want to know the difference between two things!
Miu told me.
‘Thank you again, let’s try this! [status]’ A transparent window appeared in front of me like Miu said it would.
Name: Ayaka Komeiji
Species: Underworld Chimera (One-Tailed)
Age: 11
Job: [Locked]
Status Effects: None
Skill Points: 0
Unique Skills: None
Skills:
Lesser Darkness Manipulation Lv. 1
Lesser Mind Reading Lv. 1
Quiet Presence Lv. 1
Miniscule Wind Manipulation Lv. 1
Lesser Illusion Lv.1
Affinities:
Stellar
Titles:
Progenitor
Family Bonds:
None
Quests:
None
‘There are quite a few things I want to ask Miu about, before I ask her, I should probably get a description of my skills and title to find out what I am currently capable of doing.’ I decided after reading my status. I clicked each of my skills and my one title and a description of each popped up on the screen, like a mini window of sorts.
Lesser Darkness Manipulation: Allows limited control over the darkness element.
Lesser Mind Reading: Allows the reader to read the mind of a target for 10 seconds. Cooldown - 10 hours.
Quiet Presence: Makes the user harder to detect by eliminating the sounds of heartbeat and footsteps.
Miniscule Wind Manipulation: Allows little to no control over the wind element.
Lesser Illusions: Allows the user limited control over the illusion element. Enables the creation of small illusions that last for 10 seconds. Cooldown - 5 hours.
Stolen novel; please report.
Progenitor: A title given to those who have evolved into a new species. Reduces pain felt by 10%.
‘Interesting. As the description said, I really did gain a weakened version of the abilities of all its constituent species. Some of them were greatly weakened, but at least I have more options. What I’m curious about is the Lv. 1 next to all of them. Miu, what does Lv. 1 mean for skills?’
It means level 1. Levels indicate the amount of proficiency with the skill. When you become more proficient with the skill, the level will increase and the capabilities of the skill will increase. For example, leveling up lesser mind reading could increase the time that skill is active or decrease the cooldown time. When the skill’s level is high enough, you can evolve it into a more advanced skill or you can derive it into a different skill. At this moment, your elemental skills can only evolve. For example, Lesser Darkness Manipulation will evolve into Darkness Manipulation. Then when you level up Darkness Manipulation enough, you will have the option of evolving it to Greater Darkness Manipulation or deriving it into Shadow Manipulation.
Miu explained.
‘Neat, so if I increase how good I am at using the skill, I will be able to strengthen them. Although it might be hard to train all these skills, I’ll do my best so that I can get strong enough to have my essential questions answered. I’m really glad I chose this species now! Thank you Miu! Now, there are several things on the status I’m still confused about. I wonder if I can click them to see if a small window will pop up like it did when I clicked on my skills.’ I then tried to click on the options on the screen that I wanted to know about, and like before, a small window appeared after I clicked each of them.
Job: The specialization of the user, similar to a [class] in most video games. Some jobs will give the user skills or unique skills. Jobs are assigned based on how appropriately they fit the user. Currently locked.
Status Effects: Abnormal conditions affecting the user that prevent them from being at their best. Ranges from effects that limit movement, inhibit thinking and weaken the user.
Skill Points: A reward for completing certain quests or [locked]. Used to exchange for skills in the skill shop.
Unique Skills: Mostly powerful skills that are usually limited to one person.
Family Bond: An option only available for chimeras. A connection with individuals who hold an affection for each member that exceeds a certain threshold. Allows for a larger pool of evolution options. The new options will be based on the members of the bond.
‘Seems like some parts of the system are currently locked for some reason. I wonder why.’ I thought for a bit before giving up and sighing. ‘Oh well, no use trying to think about it too much right now. I’ll probably be able to unlock them sometime in the future. Anyways, these parts of the system are pretty interesting. It really feels like I’m in a video game right now! From my experience with video games, status effects include poison, confusion, paralysis, and sleep. There are probably more, but I’ll research more into it later. Skill points also remind me of video games. From my experience with video games, I should probably try to save as many of them as possible to buy the skills that I really want.’ I thought to myself.
I then went to the skill store to see what skills I could get, but the store was empty.
‘Hmmm, I wonder when the store will be restocked, or perhaps there is a condition I have to meet before they appear here. I’ll wait a few days to see if they show up, if they don’t I’ll ask Miu. Next up, unique skills. I wonder how I could get unique skills. I’ll have to research them more if I want an answer. I could ask Miu, but I don’t want to become over-reliant on her, so I’ll try to solve this mystery by myself first. Finally, family bond. Family bonds seem very interesting to me. I can supposedly become more powerful when I evolve just by forming connections with other people. Well, that might be hard for me to do because I don’t want to talk to people I don’t know more than I have to. Well, maybe I could form a connection with Satori and Orin. I’ve already talked to them a good amount, and I’m starting to feel a bond slowly developing with both of them. Oh well, this will be something to consider. I should probably ask Miu to explain what quests are like she said she would after I finished the evolution process. Hey Miu, can you explain what quests are now?’ I reviewed the information before turning back to Miu.
Absolutely Ayaka! Quests are objectives assigned by us. Quests can be anything from simple objectives like meeting an individual to more difficult goals like defeating a certain powerful person. Usually, quests are self-explanatory through their name, but some will have more cryptic names. Like for the rest of the system, you can click the quest name on the screen to get more explanation on the quest. Completing the quest will give you rewards. These rewards can be many things like skill points, skills themselves, affinities, or other benefits. Usually failing a quest will not have any drawbacks, but some will have a punishment. Quests can be assigned at any time and from here on, a screen will appear in front of you with the quest name whenever a quest appears. You can choose to either accept or decline the quest on this screen. Quests you have accepted will appear in the quests section of the status screen. I would advise you to accept as many quests as you can, as each will benefit you massively, but it is your decision at the end of the day. Do you have any more questions?
Miu explained.
‘I don’t have any more questions, thank you for the great explanation! As expected of my trusty system!’
O-of course, I love helping you, so do not hesitate in asking me anything Ayaka!
Miu responded, stuttering a little due to embarrassment. I couldn’t help but think to myself ‘I see, so Miu really does get embarrassed by praises.’
“Are you okay? What are you staring at the bedsheets for?” The green-haired girl asked, suddenly appearing from out of nowhere a few inches from my face.
“Kyaaaahh!” I shrilly screamed, shocked by her sudden appearance in front of me. I had been so focused on the screen that I completely forgot that there was a girl in the same room as me. Now that my focus was diverted from the system, I started to panic again, seeing a girl I did not know a few inches from my head curiously tilting her head in confusion.
‘W-w-what s-s-should I-I d-d-do?’ My mind was empty except for one thought ‘I-I-I’m s-s-scared’.
The girl began to chuckle seeing my panic and started to speak. “Hello! My name is Koishi Komeiji, younger sister of Satori Komeiji, and from what my sister has told me, your older sister!” The girl smiled as she introduced herself.
‘T-t-this p-person i-is the sister of Satori and my older sister? She really does not act like Satori does. Still though, w-what should I do? S-should I introduce myself? I-I probably should i-if this person i-is my sister like she said’ My thoughts were still jumbled, but I managed to straighten some of them out. ‘O-oh w-well, h-here g-goes n-nothing…I can do this’ I encouraged myself.
“M-my n-name i-is A-Ayaka Komeiji, d-daughter of Mizuki Komeiji and Hikaru Komeiji. P-pleased to m-meet y-you.” I quietly told her. I ended up doing a formal introduction in my panic about having to interact with her. However, I did notice that I was ever so slightly more comfortable with talking to her.
‘Maybe I can start to overcome my shyness now! Oh, who am I kidding, I’m still a long way away before I can do that.’ I admitted, downcast at the thought.
Koishi’s smile widened when she heard the names of my parents. “Oh! I’m also the daughter of Mizuki Komeiji and Hikaru Komeiji! Sister was right! You are really my younger sister!” She started to approach me, trying to catch me in a hug. Like when Orin tried to hug me, I backed away, but soon I reached the edge of the bed. With nowhere to escape, Koishi caught me in a hug. I started to tremble like when Orin hugged me.
“Don’t be scared, your older sister is here for you!” Koishi comforted me, noticing my trembling. Hearing her words, I started to calm down and accept the hug. Koishi tightened the hug after she felt my reluctance disappear.
“By the way, younger sis, you look so cool!” Koishi said to me after releasing the hug and scanning my appearance with her eyes.
“I-I do?” I asked, curious about what I looked like. ‘Come to think of it, I haven’t seen what I look like since I woke up in the cave. Actually, what did I look like before waking up?’ I tried to remember my appearance, but I found that I was unable to. ‘Does this mean the memories of my appearance were also sealed? Thinking about it, that would make sense. When I saw that first memory, my younger appearance was blurry. Why seal my memories of my appearance though? That’s another question to ask the person who sealed my memories. All I know right now about what I looked like is that I looked human.’ I concluded.
“Yeah! You do! Wait here, I’ll bring a mirror for you to see yourself!” Koishi told me before suddenly vanishing before my eyes.
‘Now that I think about it, the system has the ability to report information about people I’ve met. I should probably request information about Koishi and Satori, knowing that they are my supposedly older sister.’ I thought, remembering the ability of the system that I had used on Orin before. ‘Mio, can you give you information about Satori Komeiji and Koishi Komeiji?’ I requested while climbing out of bed preparing for when Koishi returned.
Affirmative
Satori Komeiji: Daughter of Mizuki Komeiji and Hikaru Komeiji, sister of Host Ayaka and Koishi Komeiji. She is the mistress of the Palace of Earth Spirits and a satori with the ability to read minds. She is loved by animals because she is the only one who understands them and has many of them as pets. She manages the ruins of the Hell of Blazing Fires and prevents the vengeful spirits in the Underground from revolting. She is able to induce traumatic memories to the surface of one’s mind or induce amnesia. She is able to use attacks that her opponents have seen in the past.
Koishi Komeiji: Daughter of Mizuki Komeiji and Hikaru Komeiji, sister of Host Ayaka and Satori Komeiji. A playful and free-spirited satori who has closed her third eye to destroy her mind-reading ability in an attempt to escape the fear and hatred of others towards the satori species. This caused her to lose her mind-reading ability, but also all her thoughts and motives. She no longer can be hated, loved, or even remembered by people. Her presence cannot be felt unless she allows it, thus allowing her to instantly vanish. Mind reading has no effect on her as she has lost all her thoughts. She is forgotten by most people after she has left their vision. Her primary ability is the ability to manipulate the unconscious, which allows her to force her targets to see everything she desires, oftentimes using this ability to force people to confront the weakness in their hearts.
Mio reported.
‘Thank you Mio! Wow, that was a lot of information. I already knew about Satori’s ability to read minds, but I didn’t know about her ability to bring back traumatic memories or induce amnesia. Is it possible that Satori caused the lapses in my memory?’ I felt a little suspicious of Satori but immediately dispelled it. ‘No, there’s no way. My memory issue isn’t amnesia as I haven’t lost the memories, they are just blurry. Also, Satori seemed genuinely surprised for the first time meeting me, so it couldn’t have been her.’ I took a deep breath before resuming my analysis of the information that Mio had provided me.
‘Koishi’s has a rather sad backstory for how cheerful she seemed to me. It does explain why her third eye was closed rather than open like how Satori’s was though. It also makes sense how she vanished right in front of my eyes, she just made her presence unable to be noticed by me. What’s weird is that even though she disappeared, I can still remember her. I guess I’m one of the ones who won’t forget her. Her other ability sounds pretty powerful to me as well. It sounds similar to illusions, but a bit more powerful and she can apparently trap them with what she wants them to see.’ As I was continuing with my analysis I noticed something.
‘It seems like my evolution to closed-eye satori was related to Koishi, and it sounds like my Quiet Presence skill is a massive downgrade of Koishi’s ability. Does this mean that all my evolution options were based on someone close to me or Koishi and Satori? Then where do the hell raven and kitsune options stem from? Maybe I’ll find out a bit later. Anyways, it seems like it’s true, Satori and Koishi are my blood-related sisters and the two that my parents told me about in that memory. Wait… didn’t they also mention having 2 pets as well? If Orin is one of them, who is the other? Perhaps the other is a hell raven… Only time will tell, I guess.’ I finished my review of the information.
Just as I finished my review, Koishi reappeared holding a giant full-body mirror in front of me.
“Here! I brought a mirror for you to see how you look!” Koishi happily exclaimed before placing down the mirror.
I looked in the mirror and was flabbergasted by the sight I saw. I saw a small 11-year-old girl with platinum silver hair that reached her waist. Her hair seemed to sparkle, like the ocean’s surface when the sun shines on it, in the light of the crystal chandelier. On her head was a set of cat-like ears. They were cerulean blue on the edges of the ears and the same platinum silver as her hair towards the center of the ears, which added to her cute appearance. Two large obsidian black raven wings sprouted out of the middle of her back, giving a more intimidating feel, contrasting with her otherwise cute appearance. A fluffy platinum silver fox tail was attached to the bottom of her back, slowly swaying in response to the girl’s fascination and excitement. Some kind of scarlet cord was attached to the girl’s heels, spiraling upward around her body until reaching a scarlet sphere right over where the girl’s heart was. The scarlet sphere seemed to be a third half-open eye, similar to the eye of someone who had recently woken up. She wore a simple black dress that only amplified her beauty.
“Is this me?! I look so pretty!” I yelled, my eyes glittering with stars in them. I felt my tail start to wag even quicker because of how happy I was at that moment. Koishi chuckled at my antics, but otherwise stayed silent, allowing me to continue looking at the mirror before I started to feel a bit embarrassed. I felt my cheeks begin to flush as I started to snap out of my excitement. I usually wouldn’t complement myself excessively because I wasn’t a narcissist, but I couldn’t help but praise myself because of how I looked. Despite feeling embarrassed, I still felt the need to thank the system for giving me this appearance.
‘Thank you so much for the appearance, System!’