So let's recap. I was walking down a blood-soaked corridor, inside what I can only assume is a temple dedicated to a god that liked blood way too much and was now stuck in the middle of a spear trap.
Jeremy crawled off my shoulder, underneath the spears and casually pranced his way to safety, leaving me stuck. Frowning at the inconsiderate creature of apathetic temperament.
"You're just going to leave me here?" I complained, eyeing the spears dripping something I didn't want to touch.
Jeremy just meowed, and I knew what the little terror was saying. The little bastard was telling me to hurry. The dude had no chill and was expecting me, an absolute level seven noob, to just circumvent such a well-crafted deadly trap.
This feline was dreaming and was an absolute dick. But hell, he was an adorable little bastard. I mean that head tilt alone and those wide innocent eyes that hypnotise.
"Hey stop that!" I demanded.
I wasn't sure if that little guy had magic cuteness powers, no proof. Alas, something in those eyes was malevolent power designed to beguile the mind and ensnare the heart. Then he tilted his head again, cuteness meter went up a few notches.
A sudden pain in my hand took me away from my musings. My hand was sizzling; a drop of the strange viscous fluid descended from the wall spears and landed on my appendage.
"Bloody hell, who puts acid on spears? How does that even work?" I complained and questioned all in one furious sentence. "Wait, where is my machete?"
Glancing around, avoiding the dripping acid, I finally found my makeshift weapon on the ground, and the thing was up against the wall, four spears deep into trap territory.
"I don't suppose you can get that for me?" I asked of the feline.
The animal that had no clue how to speak simply stared back at me for a few seconds. Before grooming itself became a greater priority. It was then I realised I was pretty much on my own.
"How do adventurers do this?" I wondered. "I mean, don't adventurers raid dungeons and ruins? They should be able to handle crazy, dangerous traps. Like bloody acid spears!"
Getting out of this will be tricky. I'm sure I'll come up with a brilliant plan. Any second now, it will come to me. Come on, brain, pull an idea out of thin air that will work spectacularly. Naturally, nothing came to mind. I mean, they are bloody acid spears
As the moments ticked by, one major concern dwarfed everything else. More than the sizzling drip of acid, the rusted spear tip of tetanus or the inevitable march of my death. Something of greater importance.
"Should I pee my pants or try to shuffle out of them and piss on the spears in protest?" The last one sounded petty, but they started it.
Okay, need to focus more on the situation than my progressively filling bladder. The fact is, I can't touch the spears without getting acid all over me. The stuff is viscous as hell and probably magically coated instead of by the mundane method.
That means I need to break these things without touching them. That would require magic-level stuff, mage hand or something like that.
"I can't magic my way out of this. Wasn't born with mana circuits or whatever they are called." I said self deprecating as I looked down at these useless, non-magical hands.
But they weren't non-magical, at least from a certain perspective. It wasn't exact, but I could sense a thin layer of energy covering my entire appendage. Both hands were soaking in the system's power. Not magic, but a mix of the divine and the magical.
This force field around my whole body could project kinetic energy, used to simulate great strength for a body absent such power. What was the limitation, I wondered? Was the field limited to the area surrounding my skin? Could it be extended?
All questions that required the scientific or systemific method. Wondering if I had just coined a new term, I put it into practice. Step one: observe the phenomena. My system sense ability had already completed that because I could literally see how saturated my body was with the system.
That means the next step is to make a hypothesis. Mulling it over, I came up with one that seemed provable. At the least, I think it's provable. Well, there's only one way to find out.
"The hypothesis shall be thus." I proclaimed, nearly stroking my nonexistent beard. "With mental effort and focus, I can extend the force field outward from my body."
With the hypothesis made, I went to step three. Testing the crap out of my idea until I was sick of it. Acid-spewing spears trapped me, so I had a powerful motivation to persist. The testing phase involved a good solid hour of focusing, visualising and becoming one with the system.
"I am one with the system, and the system is with me." I repeated it so much my testing bore fruit from sheer stubbornness.
Noticeably, the field extended a few millimetres away from my palm. Localised entirely around my right hand and only maintained for a few minutes of effort. Step four was to compare and analyse. Nothing to compare to and no system messages to speak of since Jenny decided that.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
"In conclusion, I can do it, and the hypothesis is proven. The next step would be to commit my findings for peer review, but I was pretty sure I was the only one around."
Practising a few more times, I think I got the hang of it. Thankfully, it didn't require spending any system points, or the expenditure was so negligible it ended up simply a matter of cooldown. Now I was pretty sure I could passively replenish energy over time, Jenny integrated that. But it was incredibly slow.
Next, I tried maintaining the extended field on both hands simultaneously. It took longer, and I couldn't hold my bladder much longer and pissed on the spear in protest. Hey when you've got to go, you've got to go. Now sufficiently relieved, I could think more clearly.
With practice complete, it was time to put it all to the test. Palms outstretched, hovering above the deadly spear, I focused with all my will, pushing the field beyond the confines of my body. I could sense that I had made around three millimetres before a single blow released the contained power of all my force attribute.
Flexing my fingers as the utterly simple catalyst to unleash all the raw kinetic power. The metal spear buckled and groaned as the energy bore down on rusted metal and bent the spear to the point it snapped and clattered to the ground.
Beside myself, I grinned as all my effort came to a crescendo of success. Emboldened by the display, I repeated the method and promptly dismantled the trap one spear at a time, palm striking each without even laying a single hand on metal.
[You have created the skill Kinetic Strike!]
[Kinetic Strike (Basic). A short-range attack using your force attribute to project kinetic energy. Cooldown: 1.5s per activation.]
[Class Option Available.]
[You have questioned, tested and experimented. You see not the mundane powers of mortals, but the underlying workings of your reality.]
[Class Unlocked: Systemologist.]
Ignoring the barrage of notifications, I quickly vacated my former prison, indulging in the sudden feeling of freedom. Despite that, I cautiously assessed my surroundings, keeping a close eye on the floor and anymore traps.
Jeremy was still sleeping not too far away, tucked in a corner. There seemed to be no immediate additional traps or monsters ready to eat me. With semi-safety, I reclaimed my weapon and queried my companion. The nice one, not the evil feline.
"Jen, what is this prompt? How can I get a class? We haven't even made one yet."
It was a genuine question, perplexing, and made me wonder if this was just an ego boost. A false class to make me feel better about our patchwork integration. Although it was a one-of-a-kind design, we built it from the beginning.
[Systemologist (Unique). Description: You have questioned, tested, and experimented. You see not the mundane powers of mortals, but the underlying workings of your reality. P.S. This is a real class. Attributes Per Level: Cognition +2, Sense +2. Creators: Jenny & Joey.]
[Class Skill Added.]
[Virtual Keyboard (Unique). Description: Create an ethereal keyboard to make modifications to your system dependent on available resources. Cooldown: 10mins]
Unless Jen was pulling my leg, that was an actual class with attribute increases per level. But how can she swing such an integration? The moment that thought crossed my mind, I immediately checked her reserves and found them decreased by half.
"Jen!" I couldn't help but yell.
This foolish idiot just raised his voice in the middle of an evil temple of acid spears and crazy machete-wielding dog men. I couldn't fathom my thought processes, and I'm the one that thought them up.
"Jen," I said more softly. "Why did you use so much of your reserves to create me a class?"
I needed to know that, as with any artificial construct, running out of battery was like running out of blood. The result was death. Sure, I could technically recharge her, but then we have to get into the existential crisis over whether that's Jen, or a rebooted copy. Sufficed to say, I was very against the idea of her running out of juice.
Steady and upbeat drum solos, followed by the operatic voices of a monarch, declared to me and the world that I was her best friend.
Something got into my eye. This place is really dusty. I just needed to wipe it away with my sleeve since it was irritating. Alas, the smooth words of the brilliant singer said it all. I guess I never considered it.
"BFFs forever, Jen." I proclaimed with all the cringe associated. "But I will not let this stand; I am going to pay you back."
With a plan formed, I would blow through this temple and replenish Jenny, even if it took fighting every monster in this place. Before we get to the murder and trap avoiding, I picked up that little sloth from the ground and plopped him on my shoulder.
Machete in hand and a cool new power up my sleeve, I accepted the class prompt. Flinching, I expected pain and instead only had a slight headache as the class settled into its rightful place on my character sheet.
"This Systemologist is going to wreck this dungeon."
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