Chương 14: Chapter Thirteen: What Now? Maybe You're Right.

Again, I insisted that it showed me an answer, "What quest? Show me." I know I'm jumping the gun a little, but knowing what I know, I'm under-reacting to the curse it had bequeathed on me. Instead of answering me directly, the mission board materializes and switches tabs to the completed folder. Just below the generic file name is the tag and title of the most recently completed mission. By what means did it conjure what was below that?

Hostile, I glared at the frozen avatar and shifted my attention to the greyed-out file. [Hidden Quest: Derrick the Terrible.] It took me a minute to grasp an inkling of what that meant. A terrible realization dawned on me, a bolt of lightning crashed in my mind, and I turned once again to the metal bird. Pushing the boundaries of their patience even further, I interrogated him while he was still in a chatty mood.

"This better not be what I think it is. What exactly did you do? What were the conditions that I fulfilled?" Maybe it's not what I think. Maybe it's just the result of a children's squabble that escalated far beyond what is right and reasonable. Maybe it's even worse than I'm thinking. A tide of guilt washed over me, and I bunched my fists by my side. Uneven breathing fills the lull in the transactional conversation we'd been having thus far. What did you do to him?

The Penguin chose his words carefully but emphasized the underlying point he was making in a cold voice, " You made Derrick lose significant favor with the Duke. You ruined his reputation, and then you had him punished. Public opinion is on your side, and any lingering apathy your birth mother had towards you has evaporated, greatly increasing your chances of survival and quality of care. Lastly, the most impressive feat of all, you had him effectively banished to the Obsidian Sea."

A buzzing sound echoed, and I barely caught on to the tail end of its dispassionate account of the event. He resolutely continued, adding on despite my visible shock, "The Quest was finished before your third birthday. Truly, you surpassed expectations, and you should feel very proud of yourself. Your performance review has sparked high hopes in your future accomplishments." Butterflies shredded the lining of my stomach as my heart dropped to the floor, and I lost the will to even scream anymore.

That can't be true. I didn't. I wouldn't. This has to be a misunderstanding. Tears burned my eyes, and I belatedly realized I'd been crying a lot lately.

"O dpn't remember any of this-I didn't do any of this. This has to be a misunderstanding. Please, you have to check again." A voice crack opened the floodgates, and I was full-on sobbing at how I'd ruined everything. Again. It didn't matter that he started it or deserved some kind of reckoning. His chubby face burned my eyelids, and my shoulder shook with the weight of it. I denied it over and over, but he didn't hear it, "I didn't." He wouldn't hear it.

Traversing the space to stand a foot away from me, where I could most definitely hear him over my constant blubbering denials, "I pulled you into this space just before he was to be persecuted, so I could communicate with you. To outsiders, you seem to be in a coma from y, our injuries. So, of course, you have no recollection of the incident. It hasn't happened to you yet, but it will. It's done." Blue curved eyes detected my horror, and he raised a fin to touch my knee. Patting it gently and routinely.

The cool touch felt so real and jarring that I almost leaned into it. Hesitating between accepting the false calculated comfort and kicking the bastard away from me. Reason warred with an old scar I'd been nursing and applying bandages to. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. I stepped back again and slowly enunciated under duress, "Let me go." A streak of defiance whispered to me. Don't let them have their way. It doesn't have to happen the way he said.

This is how they wear you down. It wasn't my fault. It hasn't happened yet. Screw that. Not yet. Losing my composure, I yelled down at it, disgusted with myself for even considering giving in, "Send me back!" Breaking the bones of the creature until it was just smithereens flashed by, and I held onto the feeling. The metal warden stepped back and raised its head, the curve of its emotionless eyes gone. All fake assurances are a memory.

"Use your status points to update your status, and I'll consider it." I gaped at its unexpected ultimatum and stewed in the fury. Thankful I hadn't accepted its declaration, I coldly laughed and promised myself not to lose my head. Hastily adding the additional points wherever they seemed best at first glance, I submitted the page and let it load. Foot tapping, as I waited impatiently for the end of the long wait. After I was finished, I was given another value. Mental energy?

That's unexpected, but I'm not messing with that right now. Seeing it staring up at me expectantly made me feel bitter and spiteful. Inspired by the ball of blue fire growing into a pyre, I asked harshly, not expecting an answer. I don't know where I got the courage to, but irrational hatred led me to do it.

"Does everyone have one of you?" God forbid. It chimed brightly.

"Of course not! Systems like me are reserved for special hosts like you!" Should I be comforted by the fact that there are only a few models of this demon out in the world or offended that I'd been chosen to bear this gremlin in my soul? [Miseria] [Level: 2] [Race: High Dark Elf, Pureblood Vampire, #####] [Age: 364 Days] [Health: 390/390] [Mental Energy: 180/200] [Strength: 5] [Vitality: 13] [Intelligence: 20] [Agility: 5] [Skill: Telekinesis]"Wow. I'm so impressed. Can I leave now?"

"Almost. I would advise that you open your gift bag before leaving." On the verge of bursting with anxiety, I rushed to give it what I wanted and swiped towards my inventory. Of the ten transparent blue boxes floating before me, only one was filled with the assumed 'present' it had given me. I reached into the blue bubble and grabbed the girly pink pouch. Not in the mood to question anything, I breathily asked for directions, "Do I just open the strings?"

A hint of anticipation in its voice, it answered immediately, "Yes." I pulled apart the strings, and a bright red light came from the pouch. A bell rang, and something popped out of the bag. I reared back and narrowly avoided it. A few other things popped out of it and floated in a circle in the air. What is that? What am I supposed to do with it?

"Congratulations, Host! You have been awarded five amazing gifts! Allow me to introduce them!" Ugh, he's got that mock excited voice again. So creepy. The Penguin did a little twirl, and I cringed. The red-glowing object floated in front of me and lost its glow. Revealing its contents.

"Within this glass bottle is a premium-grade Health Potion! One drop can cure a poison, and two can heal an injury! Congratulations!" The potion was sent into my inventory and locked away safely in a bubble. The next two objects had a golden glow, and when they lost that glow, it was revealed to be two golden scraps of paper. Wonderful.

"Next! We have two golden tickets! When you reach a certain level, you can use them to get a special prize! Congratulations, Host!" I sneered. So it's useless. The next two objects had a black-and-white glow to them.

"Congratulations, Host! You pulled a map of your world!" A spark of interest alighted, and my gaze remained glued to the gift. The map was sent into my inventory, and I reminded myself to check it out later.

"Congratulations, Host! You pulled a system function!" No, no more lectures, "A what? Can I do that?"

"Of course, Host. The new system function is Inspection! You can now inspect anything and anyone around you! Congratulations!"

"That's all well and good, but I need to go back. How long have I been here?" The Penguin rubbed its fins all of its hoops jumped through to its satisfaction, "A few hours. Ejection from the soul space commencing…" A countdown began, and I looked around. What the hell kind of world was I born into? My eyelids got heavier until they felt like they were stuck together. I inhaled and opened my eyes again. The stars. The mobile. This is my room. My room. I wanted to cry just thinking of it.

"She's awake!" Burning hands seized me, and I bolted upright, coughing out a mixture of bile and paste.