Chương 8: Interface With the Interface [Part 1/2]

The roidcoon was less than a meter from Scarlet. In the moment it took to right itself, she raised her gun and fired. Point blank, the bullet caught the roidcoon in the head, finally dropping it for good. Scarlet remained where she was, the echo of a bullet shot still ringing in her ears. Her stance was steady despite the pain in her leg, her grip was firm on both the cane and the gun as she waited for something, anything to happen. Nothing did. Then it was over.

Scarlet looked around herself at the grim scene, at the bodies scattered across the ground. Lingering proof of the battle they'd just won. The largest of them lay closest to the bunker entrance, its neck savaged by Maus's teeth. A few feet beyond it, the others formed a loose, uneven circle around her. The world had changed. Maus scurried back toward her, climbing her good leg without hesitation.

He made his way up her body, leaving bloody paw prints in his wake before settling once more onto her shoulder as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Scarlet adjusted her grip on the cane and drew in a slow, steady breath, letting the air fill her lungs before releasing it just as deliberately. Her gaze moved across the tree line. Nothing moving. She then reached out with that new, familiar sense and tried to 'feel' the area around her. Still nothing.

Scarlet let out a slow breath, her gaze sweeping the clearing one final time before she allowed herself to lower the gun.

"Right," she said, "let us hope this isn't a recurring issue, though we should prepare countermeasures just in case." Maus shifted on her shoulder, entirely unconcerned with the broader implications of their situation. He was coated in blood, they both were. Her suit was ruined, there were bodies on the ground, her yard was a mess of dirt and viscera, and it occurred to her that she didn't even know what time it was. Reflexively, she made to scan the timer that had been a constant companion for so many days.

Of course, it wasn't there. She must have been conveying her intention to the Interface because before she could brush off her mistake a new screen flickered into view. [16: 18 (LT)] LT? She focused on the strange meridian indicator, and to her astonishment and delight the text expanded. [16: 18 (Local Time)] Well now, she thought.

"Well now," she repeated aloud. At least one good thing came out of this. Scarlet glanced once more at the bodies, then beyond them, into the woods. She needed to deal with them. Bodies tended to attract scavengers. However, more than that she needed information. She took a step, and pain shot up her leg. With the adrenalin running out, the pain was coming back with interest. She'd been bitten by the post-system equivalent of a raccoon, and that meant rabies risk.

She'd been vaccinated, but that didn't mean she should be lax. Common wisdom was to seek emergency intervention, but something told her that wasn't a good idea right now. Before anything else, she needed to dress her wounds, then she needed information, and to clean up this mess. In that order. Making her way back inside, she pulled the door closed behind her with a solid, reassuring thud before reengaging the locks. Scarlet leaned back against the door for a moment.

She could feel the cool surface through the fabric of her suit. She stayed there until her breathing had steadied, her pulse had settled, and her legs felt sturdy once more. Maus apparently had no need to recover from the mortal terror of being attacked and mauled by vicious, mutated, wild animals. He immediately dropped lightly to the floor, scampering off without hesitation. Scarlet watched him go.

"You're making a mess," she said but her voice was weak, and she couldn't bring herself to care. She pushed herself upright then moved down the stairs and into the main area. She pulled off her pants as she made her way into the bathroom. She'd be stuck rinsing her leg with soap and water for 15 mins. Might as well get some information while she was at it. She focused on the idea of seeing her Status.

Name: Scarlet Bourne Level: 3 Tier: 0 Stats Per Level (SPL): 10 Free Stats (FS): 18 Titles: Early Adopter (+3 SPL) First Bond (+2 SPL) First Kill (+2 SPL) Traits: Anomalous Soul Primordial Psion Psionic Shroud System Guide Stats: Strength: 4 -> 5 Dexterity: 6 -> 7 Vitality: 3 -> 4 Perception: 11 Intelligence: 9 Willpower: 9 Mana: 6 Skills: Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Empathy (T1) Bond Communication (T1) Bond: Maus"Interesting," she said quietly, reading through the changes. If she had started with two titles that gave her 5 SPL, and yet the Status had clearly shown 8 SPL, she would have to assume her baseline was 3 SPL. Now she had 10 SPL and a new title that granted her +2. Unfortunately, without context the number itself meant little. Ten could be exceptional, or entirely average, or even below average for all she knew. What mattered right now was that it had changed.

She narrowed her focus on the line in question, her thoughts focused on querying, the same way she had with the clock. The Interface responded. Stats Per Level (SPL): Base 3 Titles 7 She queried again. [Stats Per Level (SPL): Indicates the number of free status points awarded per level gained] Her gaze landed on the list of Titles and she couldn't help wondering what Titles actually were. Up to this point, there was no evidence indicating that anything bad would happen to her if she just asked. What is a title?

She thought at the interface. Shock and delight overwhelmed her when she received a response. [Titles: Provided by the System for actions worthy of recognition]"Recognition," she repeated. Knowingly or unknowingly, she'd done things worthy of recognition. A small spark of ambition bloomed to life in her chest. She moved on. [Early Adopter: Granted for meaningful action taken prior to full system integration. +3 SPL] Scarlet's lips curved faintly at that as she remembered fighting the wave and seeing something flashing in front of her before she was pulled under. The memory felt more like a fever dream than anything but here was the irrefutable evidence that something significant had happened. She moved on. [First Bond: First sapient individual post-Integration to form a System Recognised bond. +2 SPL] Ah, so this must have been the 'something'.

[First Kill: First sapient individual to eliminate a system-recognised entity in a newly integrated world. +2 SPL] She read that one twice. That has troubling implications. Though she remained unbothered. Instead of worrying about the System rewarding murder, she focused on the implications of 'Titles' as a whole. She concluded that certain extraordinary actions resulted in recognition. That recognition then fed into growth. Perhaps they did more, but she would need more data to confirm.

So far, System recognition seemed beneficial. She should strive to earn more. Her attention shifted. Free Stats (FS): 18 [Free Stats (FS): Increase a stat's potential when allocated] Scarlet blinked once, and shut off the water. Interesting. Presumably these statistics were things like 'intelligence' and 'strength'. She scanned her screen and decided to hold off on allocating anything yet. When she focused on Traits, the interface responded.

[Traits: Inherent or acquired characteristics] [Anomalous Soul: Irregular soul structure detected. +2 Skill Slots] Scarlet's brows lifted. Irregular? She wondered. And what was this about Skill Slots? That suggested there was a limit to begin with. How many? Was that baseline fixed, or was the only way to increase the number through things like Traits? It felt like every answer brought up even more questions.

[Primordial Psion: Innate sensitivity to surrounding psionic and energetic fields] That would explain so much, she thought. She'd always been sensitive to the feelings and the way the energy in any given environment felt around her. She'd never had a good name for this sixth sense. She just thought she was more sensitive to 'vibes' for lack of a better term. Only this Trait: Primordial Psion explained what she'd been experiencing, her whole life. There must have been a synergetic effect with that Empathy skill.

When she thought of what she'd felt from the monsters she and Maus had fought, not only could she sense them, but she could pick out their distinct emotions just as easily as if she was naming colours, or sounds. A new, or perhaps a stronger sense. [Psionic Shroud: Obscures perception and hinders investigation and classification] Her gaze lingered on the words and what they might mean. Did this make her more difficult to quantify? Also, what was this about hindering investigation.

The irony was not lost on her, nor was the implication that methods existed specifically to investigate and gather information. Methods she wanted. Was the System Guide one of these methods? [System Guide: A Trait present in all sapient beings native to newly integrated worlds. Provides System information and responds to user queries. Output may vary based on individual development.] Okay, that was a lot… Native beings? She focused on querying the Guide itself.

Wondering if there really were sapient beings not native to her world, and if so, were they something she needed to worry about? [Tier insufficient. Advancement required for additional information] So that wasn't helpful or forthcoming.

"Not very good guidance," she complained. The Guide did not respond. She'd always believed life existed beyond Earth, so confirmation wouldn't be too shocking, however it didn't look like she'd be getting answers any time soon. That brought her to another question. Just how was she using the Guide? She wanted a 'how' not a 'what'. This time, the Guide did not disappoint.

[To query the System Guide, focus intent] The response was sparse, bordering on unhelpful, but Scarlet allowed herself a small, satisfied nod anyway. It had told her to do exactly what she had instinctively been doing, and she figured that was probably by design. She formulated a new query and focused. Just what was Integration? [When planetary mana saturation threshold exceeds the first Tier (T1), the planetary core is activated, and System Integration is initiated] She formulated a new query.

What exactly did that mean?" [Tier insufficient. Advancement required for additional information] Of course it was. Whatever advancement was. She assumed it had something to do with her being Tier 0. Or perhaps not. Okay, she needed a break. Apart from her leg she was still covered in viscera, and she was starting to get uncomfortable. Her head ached and her leg throbbed and she could feel herself flagging.

She assumed something like 'vitality' would help in this situation, but even after gaining a point it remained her lowest stat. Heading into the main room to collect Maus she scanned the space, and froze. Tiny, bloody paw prints led away from the stairs and trailed all around the bunker, detailing an unapologetic record of everywhere Maus had been and what he had done since he left her shoulder. It would have been impressive if it wasn't so gross.

"Lovely," she said, thinking of the cleanup. Then she remembered the roidcoon corpses outside, the state of her own suit, which had fared little better than Maus. Her brand new, only-worn-once, fitted suit. She sighed, resigned. At least it wasn't the Minichiello.

"Do you think the dry cleaners would be open? Probably not, right?" She scooped up Maus as she went.

"And anyways, it would be difficult to explain the blood," she continued, then frowned.

"Or perhaps not." It was a sobering thought as she made her way to the washroom, leaving the interface – and everything it implied – for later.