[System Activated]
"W- What? System activated?" Nessa panicked, shocked by the unfamiliar terminal hovering in front of her eyes.
"Yes, would you like me to give you a cave report?" It asked, making Nessa dizzy.
"What the hell is going on? Is this telepathy?" Nessa inquired, clutching her head.
"Yes, Master. I am a system that can use telepathy to avoid prying ears." Nessa attempted to process the weight of the system's response carrier, her jaw dropping unconsciously.
[Noitce: your body is changing; you should rest]
"I just need more good food." Nessa explained, puzzled by the difference in terminals and telepathy.
[Notice: The cave contains a tremendous amount of energy.]
"Notice again huh? Agh.. I don't understand anything. If you don't start explaining, I am not going to listen to you." She snapped back, the frustration of not knowing or understanding slowly piling up.
"Mean… Be nicer. I'm like a guide."
"This can't get any weirder…" Nessa sighed as she propped her body against a nearby wall.
"Master, you need to rest or you'll collapse from exhaustion." Nessa dismissed the system's nagging with a sigh. A low growl emanating from the darkness of the cavern halls replaced the nonchalant mood with mortal fear, sending Nessa flying a few feet.
[Skill: Double Barrier activated.]
"What in the world is this?" Nessa asked as a blue glow encircled her body momentarily then vanished.
"What is this, Miss Notice?" She continued to pry after a brief silence.
"You were afraid, weren't you?" The system replied.
"A little… I don't know anything about this place, or even you... Tell me, what is your purpose?" Nessa tried to pry into the system's intentions without being too suspicious.
"I'm an interface to your powers, whether it be activating them on a command or a delay, or even creating new skills. There's more, but it'll take a very long time to explain it all, so you'll find out slowly in the future. To clarify, I am not your power, they are within your body. Do you understand?" The system explained.
"I think so… Can you scan the cave?" Nessa requested, doubtful it could be done since she never felt a power that could do so.
[Scanning cave.]
[Scan completed.]
[Life force detected.]
"Is there someone in here?" She wondered.
"Not someone, something. East of where you are, but a seal is blocking most of my view" It replied. Nessa followed the system's direction towards the ambiguous signal.
"Oh, there are some magical crystals within the cave that your body could use now and most likely in the future." The system explained, having picked up on a few signals on route to the original destination.
"Am I supposed to eat these crystals, Miss Notice?" Nessa asked while walking.
"No, there's a skill for that. The crystals are rare though; do you want to keep them?" The system queried.
"Will it be useful to me in the future?" Nessa pondered, sliding her hands along a cavern wall, continuing her slow pace forward.
"Probably." The system replied as Nessa approached a glowing red crystal.
"If I get hurt, I'm never going to listen to you again…" She threatened in a low tone as she cautiously reached for the crystal.
"Roger that. Should I activate the skill?"
"Go ahead."
[Skill: Gluttony activated.]
Nessa's palm gravitated closer to the crystal until it laid within her grasp. A red energy came out of her hand and wrapped around the large crystal in front of her. The crystal started to melt upon contact with the mysterious substance. The molten crystal merged with the energy then receded into Nessa's body, giving it a red tent reflected by her now red eyes.
[New skill acquired: Hardening.]
"Hardening… Nice… I'm beginning to enjoy this, this world ain't so bad. I would like you to show me the types of powers I can use later on, is that okay, Miss Notice?" She inquired.
"I can, I see you understand my purpose now," It teased as Nessa's eyes picked up on motion within the darkness and widened slightly.
"Miss Notice, will I die here?" She muttered as she noticed a massive snake in front of her.
"Make use of your abilities." The system responded as the snake charged at her. Nessa leapt into the air, a dark whip appearing in her hand, which she used to slash the snake on the side of its neck as it charged at her.
"Miss Notice? What is the purpose of this whip?" Nessa smirked, realizing she wasn't as powerless as she thought she was.
"The dark whip is used for slashing. It's as sharp as a sword and is formed using your powers. It's similar to the red webs that you can create by simply calling out their name with your mind, they move in the direction you want them to." The system explained as the whip emitted a black glow.
Nessa flung the tip towards the snake and watched with awe as it coiled around its neck, giving it a slight tug and witnessing the blood spurt in quick succession from the decapitated snake.
"Wow… this whip is very useful." She exclaimed admirably.
"You said I can create new skills and you help with that… I have no intention of relying on you because they are my powers, but I hope you can guide me through what my powers are used for and how I can control them. Maybe I will stop calling you 'Miss Notice' too and give you an actual name." Nessa attempted to set some ground rules, but only got a chuckle as a reply.
"Master, you are in charge here, not me. I would be happy to guide you in using your power, it's not me as a system that's strong, it's you. I can't make it any clearer than that." It replied, causing Nessa to smile as she stared at the snake's body.
"Gluttony." She uttered, and the same red energy devoured the snake's head, returning to Nessa's palm once every piece of flesh had melded with it.
'I want to get out of here now… but I can sense a dark energy with some light energy within this cave… Weird…' She thought as she walked past the snake's body to another opening within the cave where she heard shackles and the crystals were glowing just like when she first entered the cave, it was filled with different types of energy.
[Warning: Danger.]
"I can feel it…" Nessa mumbled as she slowly approached the other opening in the cave to take a peek. A dragon met her gaze, letting loose a roar that shook the very earth, yet Nessa met its staring contest head on, unfazed.
'Danger, indeed…' she thought as her body stiffened and she smiled nervously.
"It was very stupid of me to open that door from the very beginning. I just had to touch the door, didn't I?" She mumbled aloud.
"Am I supposed to respond?" The system wondered.
"No, you don't have to. It's a bloody dragon!" Nessa nearly shouted and the dragon turned its head to face her properly while growling.