Chapter 4

Rules and Conditions

It took some time, but after carefully looking through the closet, I managed to find a dark blue shirt with long loose hanging sleeves and a large open v-neck. Pants took more than a few tries. I ruined a couple pairs by clumsily tearing them with my claws, and the less said about my adventures trying to get my tail through the conveniently placed hole that all of the pants had, the better. It took more time and concentration than I would like to admit to tie the strings on the pants but, eventually I was dressed! Hurray for completing a simple task that normal people didn't think much about! As I sat there basking in my accomplishment, I realized that It felt really distracting and unnatural. I told my new instincts to take a long walk off a short cliff, they would have to get used to it.

As I thought about my next goal my dragon friend watched from his perch. Looking at him, I had a sudden thought. "We need to come up with something to call you, names are important, right? Any ideas?"

He tilted his head to the side, and looked off into space before saying. "Dux, I asked the System to name me, it decided to pick Dux. We should spend our time picking one for you, unless you want the System to name you, too. I'm actually surprised it didn't, usually names are automatically applied."

"You just.. let it pick your name? Just like that? And I already have a name, it's.. ah… well…" I looked down at myself, realizing how little my name fit my new form. "Let's go with Angel. Everything about me has changed so much. I want to keep something close to my name." I nodded to myself.

"You won't be able to pick the same name again, if you even have the option, choosing your own name is a rare treat. It's a System safeguard, it will also prevent you from identifying yourself as names you have previously held to anyone below gods, with the sole exception of your agent." Dux said, like it was no big deal. "You can try Angel, it might not pass since it is very close, but it does run an analysis on the repercussions and acceptability of every name individually. Just like getting your status to open you just need to think about the System applying the name you pick"

"It can stop me from saying things it doesn't like? How does that work?" I decided to try. My name w-" my throat closed up, I couldn't speak for a moment, before it relaxed its hold. My stupid ass decided to try again, talking faster. "My-name-w-gack" That time it hurt, and I couldn't breathe while it held me. When it released its hold I decided to just do as Dux said, and Name myself Angel.

Name Choice Accepted

Welcome Angel

"Well," I croaked, still feeling the after effects of what was apparently a literal gag order. "That is unsettling, on top of all the other unsettling things. But hey! It took my name, I guess I'm lucky, I'm officially named Angel now."

Dux looked at me like I was a foolish kitten. "The System keeps civilization as a whole running smoothly for the gods, of course it has ways to keep the regular population from learning about the reincarnation process. If you must try to say something about your origin, it is acceptable to refer to yourself as an old soul. Eventually you'll figure out how to make words carry extra meaning that other old souls can feel. Incidentally, you can ordinarily talk with me about your old lives, as long as no one else is around. You may also speak freely about previous lives with other contractors. I asked the System to apply the rule there, since you seemed to need to feel it, and now is a better choice than later."

"Is there anything else the System will stop?" I asked, I was really beginning to dislike the System, but something told me Dux wouldn't care for my complaints.

To my dismay Dux nodded. "Many things, when it comes to old souls . The System will take measures to stop you from violating any contract you've accepted, for one. You won't be able to mention any entities from off world if any person who can hear you isn't a fellow contractor or doesn't already know about them. You may not introduce science or technology above the level of the world you are inhabiting. You are free to share recipes for foods made of the available resources, but you will run into trouble calling them by names that reference off world locations. You may not hint that you have experiences living as other races, with the exception of circumstances where you are incarnated as a shapeshifter that can take those forms. In this life, for instance, you will eventually gain the ability to assume more forms. You could certainly learn the human form, and then you would be able to talk about that form."

My ears perked up at that, a human form would be very useful. But the thought didn't last long, my instincts screamed at me about how weak humans were. My claws flexed out unbidden, my instincts showing me the weapons I would be giving up if I took that form.

Dux looked at me, obviously having felt something going on through our bond. When I didn't say anything, he continued talking.

"You may not speak of the existence of your contracts to anyone but fellow contractors unless expressly allowed in your contract. Belua has added a clause that allows you to claim to have heard her voice telling you to work with humanity by the way, you should definitely utilize that. There are some other things you cannot speak of that you don't know about yet."

The little dragon paused again, I could tell he was getting ready to explain something he knew I would dislike.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"The System or your contractors can sometimes also require you to do things. There may come a time when the System's algorithms detect a situation that requires action. It may select you as the best person to take that action, it will interface with you. If you require bonus aid to accomplish its objective, you will receive it. You will do what it requires, and afterward, you will be rewarded greatly. If you do not wish to engage in an assigned objective, you will forfeit all rewards. In return it will generate an artificial consciousness to utilize your incarnation to accomplish the objective while you are allowed time to rest."

There were a lot of rules to unpack, so I decided to start with a joke, mostly to lighten my own mood, which was threatening to turn a bit dark with the last declaration.

"Heh well, there went my idea of wowing humanity by introducing the motor, not that having seen a video on how to make one would guarantee that I could do that anyway." I ran my claws through the fur on my chin. "Required quests though.. not sure I love that." I really was starting to hate the System, not because there were rules, but because I wasn't given a chance to choose to follow them.

Dux's eyes began to glow "Please understand that the Rules exist for the greater good. No one is outside the Rules. You may dislike them, the System does not need you to love it. But the Rules will apply, it has its eye on a picture so great you cannot even begin to see the edge of it. It's really best if you don't test the Rules, Angel."

There was a pressure in the last words that caused me to feel like a day old kitten. I resolved to not even try to come close to violating any of the System's Rules.

"S-so what now Dux? I uh, actually… I think I'll see about sitting down." With a tail that kept worming its way between shaking legs, I managed to walk all the way over to the chair, and let my body figure out how to sit on its own.

Dux flew to me, landed in my lap, and pressed against me. "It's okay Angel, the System can be harsh, but it's seldom wrong. You'll get used to it, whatever it does is for the best. Sometimes you'll have to put up with some things that you don't like. I won't lie to you, sometimes the System will cause problems for people on the individual level. But it is always calculating the best possible scenarios." I didn't argue, I was still too shaken by that pressure.

After some time staring at the wall, and petting Dux, I felt better. Dux seemed to notice, because he spoke up, softly. "Angel, we need to get back to work. The next one will be fun, I promise, you don't even have to get up. You are a mage, so you have to learn to use your magic. Your instincts let you skip the first step a few times, but it's very important to do it. You need to learn to meditate, to block the outside world, and become one with the mana inside yourself. Please don't be afraid. I'm going to assume an energy form and enter your mind through our bond to help you."

I shivered, but I trusted Dux completely. For a flash of a moment I wondered why I'd trust an AI from a System that seemed okay with mind control. But the thought disappeared, along with any memory of ever having had it. I remember it now, because I remember nearly everything from that life with crystal clarity.

Dux's body started to glow, softly at first, then bright enough that I had to look away. "Do you consent to me entering your body, so that I can monitor you and communicate directly to your mind as needed?"

"You have my consent Dux. Let's get started." I said easily, only slightly anxious about letting him into my mind.

I felt warmth flow through me, it swept through my entire body before settling in my head, where it faded to a general feeling of comfort. I signed and relaxed, purring. I didn't know why I had been nervous, Dux was just here to help me. My eyes closed as I leaned back into the chair.

"Don't relax too much, you need to learn to meditate, not nap." I heard as I fell asleep.

I dreamed, and in the dream, the person who was once human disappeared from my mind. I knew nothing of gods, or contracts, or death, or what comes after. I knew nothing of humanity, I'd never seen a human. I was relaxing, laying on a flat rock near a river bank, enjoying the sun as it dried my coat. My belly was full of fish from the river, and I sipped lightly on the water, and life attuned mana that surrounded me. I remembered living as an animal, connected to a giant crystal that emanated life, water and air mana. I remember having protected that crystal as it fueled my growth into the creature I was now. Eventually I absorbed the whole crystal into my form. My mind expanded over the next few weeks, I became aware of things that I had never considered important before. The Great Beast who I now knew as the System greeted me, granting me access to new ways to advance myself, and a new, wonderful way to connect to the mana that gave me life.

Life became much easier with the System's help. I claimed a much larger territory for myself. I did feel the strong urge to hunt lesser beasts, who were lost to the mana. Too weak to control it as it corrupted their bodies and minds.

I remembered hunting by instinctively communicating with the dark mana around me, asking it to dampen the color of my coat, and hide my glowing mana pathways. With its help, I became like a shadow in the night. I was a very successful hunter of these things the Great Beast called "monsters," and quickly grew in size and power.

Then one day the System touched my mind again. It told me that it had a request for me. It told me that it would not, and could not force me to do what it desired. But the Great Beast was far above me, so I immediately agreed to do what it wanted.

It requested that I relinquish all of my growth since I first encountered it, in return, it would craft an ability that it wanted me to use. It would grant me the ability to easily shapeshift. I didn't understand why it wanted me to change into such a strange two legged creature, but I did as it asked.

Then it asked me to allow it to take me to a special place, where I would be joined by another. It told me that I would eventually be given a great gift if I submitted entirely to this new soul. The Great Beast would put me into an extended slumber. It would create a clone of my mind with no awareness of self, and merge it into the new soul's consciousness while I slept. It said that the new soul would have an important job, and need my copy's guidance. When the new soul was done with me, I would be given a new life, and great strength in a hunting ground filled with fresh prey. I would be able to be born again and again, never knowing true death, as long as I followed some rules.

As soon as I agreed to its generous offer, I found myself in a strange wooden cave, with no exit. It told me to climb onto the soft box in the middle of the room, and relax, that it would put me into a state where no time would pass for my conscious mind. I felt the Great Beast's gratitude.

When I came out of the dream, myself again, I was stunned. If the dream was real, I was using someone else's body. The instincts I hated were that person trying to help me in their own way. I couldn't imagine what I would have to be offered to give up control of my body to someone else. But that soul had agreed, It sounded like the System had offered my body's previous owner the chance to become a contractor. My instincts, inherited from that young mana beast informed me that this body was mine now , and it was, but I still didn't like how I got it.

Dux seemed to realize I was awake and spoke to me from inside my mind. "That dream was a surprise, but it is true, the System is limited in what it can create without a source. My own personality was created from yours, before the mana beast's integration with some alterations to suit my job. Let us put that aside, and work on you learning to use that magic, shall we?"