MC POV
a dull ache spread around my back, limbs pounding as I tossed and turned in this uncomfortable warmth, sitting up with a start, I groggily opened my eyes, my surroundings still a blur to me.
Eventually my vision started to clear up, the surroundings unveiling themselves before me.
I was sat on a bed, a warm blanket on top of me. Scratching my head with my aching left arm, I pushed the blanket off me, and, like a ragdoll, I fell on the ground with a plop.
a sharp pain made itself known as I took an equally sharp breath. My memory hazy. and my left arm pulsing.
letting the pain calm down a bit whilst staring at the wooden ceiling, I used a drawer next to me as support, propping myself up, Stepping on my leg just to fall again.
The room I was in was mostly wooden based, a tell-tale sign of an important building in the village, it was a small room, a counter stood at its right corner, where a bunch of medical supplies and a book was located, a wooden chair right next to the counter, whilst the bed was in the bottom right corner and the drawer midway between the bottom right and left.
stumbling my way to the chair, with difficulty, I managed to prop myself on it, absent-mindedly staring at the book on the counter. Trying to remember the events I seemingly forgot.
[Hello host]
A voice called out, seemingly from nowhere, making me jump.
"Eh, who are you? show yourself! " I called out, my eyes scanning the room
[You can call me 4, I am what's called a system]
a floating orb came out of my chest as I let out a startled yelp.
A screen appeared on the orb, mechanical blue eyes looked back at me
[Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help]
"alright... 4, what are you?" Trepidation apparent in my voice
[I've told you, I'm a system ^_^]
"and, what is a system.. exactly?"
[ I am ^_^, Again you don't have to worry about me hurting you, that's not why I'm here trust me, say 'status']
that- that's not an answer-
"status? "
immediately a blue-ish transparent screen appeared in front of the prince, along with that, a few words appeared.
{Welcome to the Fourth Wall System}
[ Name: Atlas
Race: Onion
Age: 17
Strength: F ***** : E
Dexterity: E **** : ??
Intelligence: E. **** : ???
State: bewildered
Skills
TimeWind - 0.01
Description: Peirce through the veil of time and upon the time stream. see up to 5 seconds to either the future or past.
Invisibility - LV 1
description : create a veil around yourself obstructing light from reaching you. Time limit: 15 seconds. state: Blindness , Enhanced senses.
[Locked skill]
SP (soul points) : 0
]
even though I had a hard time understanding this status screen, it was somewhat simple enough.
" What are soul points?" I ask the orb, I couldn't keep myself from grinning, this system, I could do so much with it, I could be strong, strong enough to protect the village. I could avenge my mother.. take back the kingdom.
With that thought, I found myself unable to grin. my fist clenching as I grit my teeth. Not for long as the system started talking.
[ soul points, or soul energy as I like to call them, are a type of energy that comes from other beings, taking that energy nourishes me, the system and makes you stronger] The orb instructed, as it Orbited around me, a screen appearing in front of us both like a whiteboard, a visible presentation of what soul energy is, on the screen.
"How can you make these things just appear?" I point towards the blue-transparent screens. 'such a cool ability'
[The hologram? You can think of it as a sort of illusion magic, I would be able to do other stuff, but something had to Interrupt my sleep.] The orb seemed to mutter in obvious discontent.
[Its fine though, gimme a bit of time and ill show you the full power of a system like me \^_^/] the system exclaimed as if making a grand declaration.
smiling at its antics, I nod my head whilst tapping my finger on the counter, getting the conversation back on track " so how am I supposed to 'take' Soul energy?, do I steal it from them orrr-"
[Oh, well, you just need to kill them most of the time]
"Wait what, killing them?, isn't that a bit much, isn't there another way? "
[For soul energy? Nope. You need to absorb a part of their soul, and the only way that's happening is by destroying the vessel that contains it.]
"Really-"
Before I could speak, a man with a white lab coat entered the room.
his Wavy green hair, mixed with his green eyes, made the burn scar on his left cheek stand out.
My eyes opened in surprise at the sudden intruder, quickly looking at the orb that was floating right in front of me, presentation still in motion. its mechanical eyes seemed to change with a certain playfulness as it floated around without a care in the world.
[Don't worry~ only beings with the capabilities to travel realities can see me]
my eyes widened even more at the mention of travelling to a different reality 'reality? there are other realities apart from this one? '
"you okay Atlas?, have you taken more medication than you should've? If you're having hallucinations then maybe its best for you to stay here awhile longer" The doctors green eyes glanced at where the boy had been gawking at, not noticing anything in particular.
'Hell if I'm staying here any longer'
I immediately stood up, "no, no, no~ need Doc. I'm alright, no injuries, no hallucinations and certainly no flying balls anywhere" patting The doctors lab coat as a gesture of good will before I immediately turned to the exit, intent on getting out of here.
On the way a sudden sharp pain makes itself known, making me wince, my left arm...
'please don't notice..'
"Oh yea, you're going to be feeling that reoccurring pain for awhile now, that incident a week ago has done a number on you. come back here after you speak to your father, he wants a word with you." The doctor sat on his seat, seemingly unbothered about the confusion written on the boys face.
"'A week ago?'" I can't help but voice my thoughts, A week? surely it hasn't been that long? what even happened? I thought as a sudden jolt made me wince, my body seemingly shrinking as flashbacks of my limbs being cut off echoed throughout my mind.
A vivid picture of my arm lying in front of me formed, a creature seemingly half wolf, half scorpion standing menacingly above me.
A wave of dizziness overcame me as the world seemed to start spinning, my arms covered my head trying to shield myself from the wave of unease that attacked me, a strong pulse vibrated throughout my body each pulse resonating through my ears like a drum, finding it harder to breathe as each inhale seemed to be constricted, my body seemingly being deprived of oxygen.
unknown to me how much time had passed, consumed in this suffocating feeling that gnawed at my being, until a pair of hands gripped my shoulders, green eyes that seemed to glow in the surrounding darkness around me. pulling me back.
"..las, ATLAS!, Breathe, everything is okay, you are okay, breathe." I heard as he started to take deep slow breaths, breaths that I unintentionally mirrored.
The overwhelming sense of unease started to disappear as the pulsing died down.
Sitting me down, he started taking a device out, wrapping it around my arm "I'm just checking your heart rate, the pain you are feeling on your limbs is called phantom pain, it should go away with time" he started to explain.
"H-how my arm was cut off…" baffled I gazed upon my arm, it was like nothing happened.
"You can thank our healers for that. Wasn't easy to regrow your limbs." He states in a matter of fact tone.
Baffled at the thought, I turned towards the orb who seemed unbothered by everything that's happened, making me raise an eyebrow
'Really?'
[Your life wasn't in danger ^_^]
[what? Why are you looking at me like that O_o]
" make sure you come see me after you see your father." He insisted, seemingly worried about something, "You might need this" The doctor offered a suitcase.
Inside a seemingly inconspicuous brown cloak, with a small engraving on the inside of the hood, black trousers and a pair of brown boots were found.
"The cloak will make you harder to spot, don't need you being swarmed by people now do we" he states, clearly expecting me to take it.
which I did, being the son of the king meant that in the village, people would recognise me no matter where I went.
which could be annoying sometimes, some people really don't have a concept of personal space.
"thanks" I really did appreciate it, engraved items were rare, especially In our situation. putting them on, I found that they fit perfectly, almost tailor made.
A small smile made its way to my face, as a warm feeling spread across my chest, this time however, it was a pleasant feeling.
"All right, well, time to see what he wants"
Raising my hood, I trudged out of the infirmary, internally dreading facing the possible severe consequences of my actions.
My new orb companion gliding behind me. Seemingly excited about the new environment.
[into the unknownn~]