Abel stared at the clear, reflective surface of the water in disbelief. The face he was looking at was not his. It was different in every way. His long, dark hair had turned blue. His roundish cheeks were now defined and his formerly plain, and similarly round chin had turned sharp. Perhaps the only thing that didn't change were his lavender eyes.
He used his hand to splash the water, wondering if it was a trick being played on him by some water nymphs. Although they weren't known for causing trouble for humans, in this case, he wouldn't doubt that they had done something to the water.
"A mirror. I need a mirror." He staggered to his feet, and began running down the path that led up to the house. The lake he had been staring in was behind the old man's house; so was the little hill with the tree on top.
Audu was seated on the porch outside the house. In his hands was a mirror, as though he knew Abel would come asking for one. Abel yanked the mirror out of the old man's house, eliciting a raised brow. He hardly paid any attention to it, though, as he peered at his altered image in the mirror.
"No... no... what's wrong with my face?!" He dropped the mirror ran his hands through his hair, tugging at the blue strands.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions." Audu spoke up, choosing to ignore Abel's question.
"Forget all of that! Just what happened to my face?! My hair! My eyes!"
"Are you trying to say that my face is ugly?!" Audu snapped back. A few veins could be seen bulging on his jaw. "Shut the fuck up, kid. You took my good looks. Be glad you aren't carrying that shit ass face anymore." He snorted and sent a leveled glare at Abel. The young man who was on the receiving end could only flinch and swallow his words under that fiery gaze.
"Ahem... About you current looks," Audu returned to the topic at hand. "That is a side effect of inheriting my Legacy through the System. It transformed your body, giving you an entirely new body. You will find that your body is slightly stronger and more powerful than before." Audu explained. Abel nodded slightly along with his words, still trying to process them.
"What... what happened back in the Tower?" He asked hesitantly. His mind tried to flash back to what had happened after the descent of whatever it was that happened with the Gnoll.
[The effects of the System is restricting all traumatizing memories from being accessed.]
A light buzz went off in his head and his vision swam.
"You probably can't remember past a certain point, am I right? Well, that is thanks to the System. It automatically restricts your access to any and all traumatizing memories." Audu nodded sagely as he stroked his long, white beard.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on a sec. Just what is this 'System'? How the hell is it able to do what it does? Is it some sort of magic?" Abel waved his hands widely. He just couldn't wrap his mind around it all.
"..." Audu had no response. He opened his mouth a few times, but closed it back in the end.
"Old man? Give me some answers. Please..." A slight undertone of frustration could be heard in Abel's voice.
[Mental stress threshold is rapidly approaching. You are advised to calm down! Mental...] The System kept on spamming his vision with messages, warning him about his stress levels. His vision began to swim as he lost focus.
"Abel-!" Everything turned black.
.....
Audu sat by Abel's bed side as the young man rested. The System had forced him unconscious to forcibly stop the climbing of his stress levels. Audu had personally gone through such a process multiple times in the past... In the numerous pasts that he had.
Yes, Audu was a reincarnation. He had lived and died multiple times already. With this life, it would be his third time living now. As strange as it might sound, some concepts such as reincarnation, transmigration, immortality and whatnot were not as distant as most people thought. After all, he was one of those who saw such things as absurd until he was a victim, or rather, blessed by the System.
He remembered his first life as clear as day. It was a sunny day. Well, as sunny as it could get in the simulated environment of the Floors. The scorching hot desert sun was glaring down at him. Not even his enchanted gear could do much about it. After all, he was on the top Floor of one of the Three Major Towers.
In the distance, a large mountain loomed ominously. That was his goal, the Trial of this Tower.