Not sure how long I was in pain city, population one. But in the end, I had a killer headache. It was probably because most of the attributes were mental and the new skills were of a similar make. Screaming was the norm, muffled by my truly abused belt, and now I craved aspirin. And look at that, I had a bottle in my first aid kit.

  After gobbling down way more aspirins than the bottle prescribed. I leaned back against the icy surface of the wall and questioned my life choices. I always came back to the same problem. Was all this pain and suffering worth it? Did I really need a half-assed system and the dubious power it grants?

  Sure, creating something new was fun and exciting, but was it worth it? Was it worth all the suffering, bloodshed, and risk? Wouldn't it be better to just hide out on some farm as a low-level peasant, marry a woman too good for me and live a contented life in obscurity?

  I could see it now — the farm, the kids, my beautiful wife in a grey dress blowing in the wind. We wouldn't have much, darling, but at least we have each other. Jeremy, playing the role of a house cat, sat next to me as I grew old in a rocking chair. Jenny played music for the kids, and all of us grew old together.

  Stuck in my musing, every thought transmitted to my trusty companion. She made her opinion known as a dreamy, synth-heavy tune brought back the thrill of the eighties on Earth. A slow tempo and melancholy tone followed, asking one question. Do you really want to live forever?

  "Yeah, that's not in the cards, is it? I am not human, and thus, forever young is an apt description." I said, giving voice to an eternal truth. This guy was immortal.

  Of course I was; otherwise, the gods' employees would die of old age. Not sure how we are immortal; maybe they crossbred us with elves or something. Hey that's an idea. I could just marry an elf woman, and I wouldn't have to grow old like Aragorn did. Damn, that scene was such a tearjerker. I gave a quick prayer to the great fallen king and queen. May he and Arwen rest in peace.

  "Okay, let's table the whole farm thing for another time. Besides, I'm a rogue, an outlaw of the system. Not exactly the best situation to settle down with." I stated matter-of-factly.

  Well, I guess we should just keep moving forward, and we can sort all this stuff as we go. With that in mind, I inspected the recent additions to the system. Yeah, now I actually have more stuff fully integrated into my brain. The act caused my headache to get worse; hopefully, that will get better.

  There were three new attributes and three new skills. Attributes such as Reflex, which incorporated some alterations to my nervous system. It was kind of tingly, but that will probably go down once I stretch my reflexes. Another attribute called Sense, that one was tricky since we have got no perception augments.

  So, I had to integrate some of Jenny's sensory capabilities. As the attribute increases, my range and detail of my sensing will grow. But alas, testing is required. Which comes under the Cognition attribute. We based it on the typical intelligence stat. But this one augments the storage capacity of my brain. You can think of it as an extra hard drive with some extra processing power.

  Putting my belt back on, I stood a bit shakily. My mind was reeling from the massive changes dumped into my head. New attributes and skills are all incorporated at once. But I must have developed some resistance, as I didn't pass out for too long.

  Jeremy was in tow, machete in hand. We exited the side chamber and continued down the hall. The world around me was far different, not that it had changed, but my perception of it.

  I felt stronger, not just in body, but in mind. My thoughts were less muddled, and I could clearly recall events with almost perfect clarity. The details were still not perfect, but everything else was in focus. But all of that paled compared to my senses.

  My eyesight and hearing remained unchanged. It was as if I had a sixth sense. I could instinctively detect the system. It was a short range, but nearly everything around me radiated a familiar aura. This world was drowning in the system, soaking in its divine splendour. The walls, floors, pedestals, blood urns and even the corpses. They all had traces of this eternal and ever-present force.

  "The system is everywhere." I muttered in awe.

  The feline to my side meowed as if to agree, and Jenny played some awe-inspiring instrumentals to add some ambience.

  "Maybe keep the volume down. Need to keep an ear out." I suggested, and she agreed, lowering the volume.

  Before I took another step, I realised something and quickly checked the bottom part of my character sheet. Low and behold, I had a bunch of undistributed attribute points. Guess Jenny decided not to auto-distribute and leave it up to me. That was nice of her, but it meant I had to work out my build.

  "I've got twelve attribute points available. No clue what to do with them." I muttered, being honest.

  Going rogue, fleeing the home office to this system world was one thing. Hell, being a system clerk was another thing entirely. I had a deep understanding of the system at the top level. But I had no clue how to build a character, literally.

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  "Jenny, Jeremy, do you guys got any ideas?" I asked and received metaphorical shrugs from both.

  I shouldn't be surprised, since one was a cat and the other a system construct designed to manage the system, not act as a user. Now, being the user, it was all up to me. So I stood in the middle of the antechamber, surrounded by Volkaran corpses, staring into space.

  Okay, let's base it on necessity. My force attribute probably needs a couple of points to get me a little more strength. Resilience, because I don't want to die. As a result, I dumped two points into each attribute. That brought force up to fourteen and resilience to twelve. The act of putting in points made my skin crawl, but not pain, so that's good.

  Turning to my other attributes, Reflex was around seven and needed some love. So I dropped three points into it, raising it to ten. That gave me a decent headache that was manageable, if annoying. The last two attributes were Sense and Cognition. They were both the lowest and the ones most likely to give me a serious headache.

  But the Sense attribute was already showing its capabilities, and getting the lion's share of remaining points seems prudent. Cognition, however, should help with my maximum system points, but I would need to refill from XP harvests.

  "Jen, send a portion of the XP to my system bar, but hold on to the rest. Let's say twenty percent per harvest." I suggested.

  Turning back to my attributes, I dumped three points into Sense and the rest into Cognition. Blinding pain lashed my brain; the hot pokers returned with a vengeance, but again, I could hang on.

  I was getting better at enduring the attribute increases. But integration was still hell on earth level suffering. I felt much better after a few minutes, and I noticed the change immediately.

  The effects of Cognition weren't apparent right now, but I could already recall memories a little clearer. The Sense attribute was quickly becoming my favourite as not only had my range increased but the level of detail had shot up a few notches.

  Closing my eyes and focusing intently, I could almost see exactly where the dead Volkaran lay and could even faintly perceive certain facts about them. Despite being dead, there was a trace of the system left behind, and I could instinctively know they were a group of deceased Volkarans around level four and five before they died.

  Turning my senses to the two corridors and the portcullis. The central chamber that barred my entrance had something of value within. I felt it at the absolute edge of my perception. The system had quite a presence on that pedestal in the centre. Perhaps a powerful item? Or maybe a ritual circle?

  Getting to the prize would prove tricky as another very noticeable thing was tripping my senses. That portcullis was not just simple iron bars; there was magic soaking into that thing. A magical barrier of what design, I had no clue. But one thing is for sure, the sense of the system told me I wasn't powerful enough to breach it.

  Shaking my head, I decided the right was the safe bet. You would think tracking down the other party would have been smart. But what if they were a bunch of bandits? Brigands and tomb raiders are not eager to share the loot.

  I know it's a cliché, but I needed to get stronger. Being level seven was cool and all, but these guys would likely be higher in level. They must be a level ten party at least. This place seems like a mid-tier noob ruin. I mean, I hope it is.

  Keeping my senses trained and my machete in front. Me and my feline friend and I struck an imposing figure.

  "Alright, Jer, if someone attacks us. You claw their eyes out and I'll finish them. The good old one-two punch."

  Lord Jeremy didn't deign to give me a response, but I'm sure he got the gist. Glancing at the midnight grey cat perched on my shoulder, I could see the soul of a warrior within.

  With a bunch of points and senses now, I could totally sense the hidden power in this creature of devastating might. I'm sure if I keep hyping him up, he will reveal himself as an outstanding talent.

  But until then, we must remain cautious. The hallway was gloomy, but the magically charged torchlights gave an evil castle impression. Stone walls of pure darkness concentrated into a stone-like framework, finished by a few faint smatterings of blood.

  Halfway down the dimly lit hallway. I swore I could sense something, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Giving a look at the musty floor, I could swear there was something in that general location. Curiosity got the better of me, and I walked over.

  The soft click and the depression that pulled my foot a little down into the floor gave me a sense of foreboding. Quick thinking and years of rewatching Indiana Jones movies trained me well.

  All those points in Reflex really paid off. A spear barely grazed my cheek as the weapon that totally killed alternative timeline Joey just barely missed me. Frozen, as everything inside told myself to stop in my tracks.

  "Shit." I cursed as I realised I was stuck between a dozen spears emerging from the walls.

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