Reaching the cave, Karl started picking some wood for a good fire. The night would be cold, and he didn't want to die of hypothermia.
Especially after his hard day earning an extra six months to live.
After trying for 30 minutes to light the fire, he gave up and wondered how much cold he could take that night.
"System has basic survival capabilities. If the host wishes, we could take over hands to light a fire for the host."
"AGAIN! Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
"System wished to give the host a chance to prove his capabilities before offering help."
"You're evil; you know that right?"
"Negative, System is incapable of either good or evil."
"Ugghh, never mind. Yes, start the fire. My hands are freezing."
Seeing his hands move on their own again, he tried memorizing the movements this time. That small knowledge could be helpful, and he wanted to rely on his AI sparingly.
He observed as his hands picked up two porous rocks near him, what he assumed were flint stones, and struck them together at an angle.
While focusing on the movements, he noticed that he could feel all his muscles as if he made the moves, but without thinking about it.
"System, why do I feel the movements you are doing? And why did I not feel them earlier?"
"We have lifted restrictions on muscle sensation. The system believes it is best to learn muscle memory on such basic skills to limit unnecessary use of automatic movement. We have a goal to make the Host as autonomous as possible. It is all for the Host's good and education."
"Well, at least you'll be useful in learning small stuff like that. Hah!"
"System detects a small level of sarcasm in Host's voice. We advise against such actions, as both the Host and the System are merged, resulting in the host being rude to himself."
"..."
"..."
"Okay, you win..."
Having understood the essential gesture for lighting a fire, he stopped focusing and let his muscles 'memorize' the rest. With a few sparks, the fire was lit, and he began to feel a bit better.
Now, many questions were going around in his head. Choosing to learn about the car crash first, he asked the System.
"AI, about earlier, what happened to the hummer?"
"During the pursuit, no progress was being made. The Tamarain scouts were keeping up with the vehicle's speed. So We made a judgment call and faked an accident and the Host's death.
"We drove the truck down a hill, crashed it into a rock and stopped all body activity for a short period.
"Once the Tamarains left, we gave Host back 'the wheel' over the body, and now we are here."
"So you're telling me you took over, saying I couldn't drive away from the with my 'sub-par' driving skills. But you had to crash the truck and fake death to escape them yourself?"
"Affirmative"
"How dumb can you be exactly, hmm?"
"We don't understand Host's question."
"I mean, who's the idiot that programmed you stupid enough to crash a truck and fake death?"
"We do not have the answer."
"Fucking moron. Stupid program. How could I get so freaking unlucky?"
"System believes that merging with Host's conscience might have compromised logic reasoning."
"Oh, my GOD!! Now you're blaming ME?!! What the fuck, man!"
"We can find no other logical conclusion."
"SCREW YOUR LOGIC !!!"
Grumbling to himself, Karl decided to go to sleep. He was tired, and the System was not helpful at all.
For a second, he thought it was corrupted from merging with him. It was proving stubborn and sarcastic, just like him.
Falling asleep with thoughts of his ancient life, he dreamt about his young self, watching his son grow and become a strong, independent man.
Dreams of his happy life transformed into nightmares of blood and death as his subconscious brought him back to what he had to do to survive now. He felt something tic in his brain and went dreamless for the rest of the night.
The following day, Karl woke up well-rested and full of energy. Having not dreamt the rest of the night and the weird feeling he had felt before that, he had suspicions.
He went on to voice them to the System.
"System, did you do something to me while I slept this night?"
"Affirmative. The host was having trouble sleeping. In the optics of permitting Host a good night of sleep, to be full of energy and ready for combat, System separated sub-conscience from consciousness to prevent further dreams."
"Is that permanent?" he asked, slightly panicked.
"Negative. The system has already reconnected subconscious, as it is part of critical decision making in combat."
"Well then, thank you. I appreciate the gesture."
"Anything for Host's well-being."
"OKAY!!" Karl slapped himself in the face lightly to finish waking up.
"Where to now."
"System has detected many human lifeforms, marching in the same direction at the edge of detection range, early in the morning."
"A path maybe? It could lead to a village. Were those enemies or regular humans?"
"The lifeforms detected were from Earth."
"Ahh, good. Very good. What is the difference, though? How can you know if they are Tamarains or humans from Earth?"
That was an explication he had wanted to ask since his first encounter with a Tamarain, and now seemed like the right time to satiate his curiosity.
"Tamarains are not much different from Earth's humans. The difference lies in the small gland Tamarains have in their brain, allowing them to channel their body's energy into electric current.
"System only has to scan for electrical current within the body to see the difference. The weakest of Tamarains, class F, can only channel a small charge—enough to power weapons or small machines, such as their flight-enabling backpacks.
"Stronger ones, such as class A or class S, can channel their body's energy into lightning strikes, strong enough to instantly kill enemies of weaker levels."
"You mean actual lightning?"
"Affirmative"
"How in all hells have they not conquered Earth yet!?"
"Class S Tamarains are extremely rare, as for class A less so, but still highly uncommon."
"How rare exactly ?"
"One in a Billion Tamarains birth with the potential to become S class."
Feeling relieved that he might never cross paths with one, he sighed and wondered how they got such powers to begin with. So he asked the ultimate question.
"Could I develop such powers?"
"Negative. Host's body does not contain said gland."
"Damn, that's sad, but I guess I can't all have."
But then the System kept talking.
"Host's body being an artificial construct, an operation to add such gland could theoretically be possible. Further research could lead to possible knowledge of the surgical procedure to implant gland in Host's brain."
He hurriedly asked, "What kind of research would that entail?"
"Host would have to dissect and most likely consume the brain and glands from Tamarains to gain precise mapping and connection to the glands within Tamarain's brain."
"Yuck!!"