"Ugh..."
Skyler's eyes fluttered open. Dazed, he lay for a moment on the cold grass, amidst the familiar tall trees, under a dark sky studded with sparkling stars before muttering.
"What happened...?"
His mind was hazy, and his whole body ached so intensely that he felt as if a truck had run him over. He remembered climbing to the peak of the mountain, using the map to find the direction of the Gate that would lead him to the next level.
Then, he recalled sneaking towards the dragon's cave to claim the golden gate he couldn't take the first time. He easily took it, all thanks to the dragon who had destroyed the entire structure of the cave.
After that, he remembered happily running towards the Gate, carrying his harvest. But why couldn't he remember what happened next? Everything went dark suddenly.
He hissed as he dragged himself to sit down, his heart sinking as he surveyed the scene. Corpses of countless monsters lay scattered around him. Only then did Skyler notice the blood staining his clothes and the familiar spear clutched in his hand.
"505? Explain what happened here. How long have I been unconscious? No, tell me who killed the monsters because I don't remember fighting any monsters."
A kinda weird response arrived.
("Haha... Host... You fainted like, uh, three days ago. 505 believes your body could not handle all that running without a hint of rest. It gave up and needed time to heal. I'm glad you're finally awake.")
Skyler's eyes darkened.
"505, that is not the right answer. Tell me who killed the monsters here."
There was a moment of silence. 505 fidgeted, unsure how to respond because it was very sacred. If it mentioned something it wasn't supposed to, it would be erased by the hands of its own host, who seemed to have a dangerous split personality.
("Host, I can only say I am glad that you're back to being yourself. Please understand that my life is on the line. QAQ. You are a lot more dangerous than you think.")
Skyler rubbed his aching temples.
His mind was a jumbled mess, making it hard to think clearly. Yet, he already had a terrible hunch about what had happened.
He could feel it in his gut, an instinctive feeling, that one of the massive mirrors in his subconscious had stayed empty while he was unconscious. Almost as if the 'him' trapped within it had escaped to reality but returned when he woke up. Yet, he had no idea what triggered something like this.
Staggering, he heaved himself to his feet. But his legs trembled so violently that he feared they might buckle beneath him.
"Damn it... I hate this. How dare he use my body without my permission? And to make it even worse, I don't remember what that bastard did while I was unconscious."
He braced himself against a nearby tree, clenched his fist and hit his chest angrily.
"Hey, you hear me? It doesn't matter if you are me from another timeline. If something like this happens again, I swear I will break those mirrors myself to get rid of you both."
His expression was grim. There was no response, but he smirked in triumph when he sensed a shocked feeling within him.
"Hehe, I guess I hit the mark. If I broke the mirrors I can get rid of you two. Now, now, we are the same. But this life is mine and I hate sharing. So, if you two want to come out to do something for whatever reason, make sure I can see what you are doing."
He checked his storage rings to ensure nothing was missing from his belongings.
"That's the only rule I'm setting for now. Because I have a hunch that if I stopped you two from coming out, something bad would happen. There's probably a reason why you two are still present. And it would be a lie if I said I wasn't curious about your stories."
Skyler cleared his throat, feeling pleased with himself. He was confident that no one else could be as big-hearted as he was! The two others 'him' should really be thankful to him. Instantly, he slapped his thigh.
"Shhh! Why am I even thinking? I shouldn't be so full of myself, even if I am that good."
If the others 'him' could speak, they would have questioned how the hell he turned out this way. They were never this shameless.
505 watched him silently. The system had no idea what was going on inside its host's head. Ultimately, it couldn't take it anymore. It just wanted to rest for a while. To digest what it had witnessed over the past days.
("Umm... host? How about you go to the next level? The Gate is behind you.")
Reading the message, Skyler's head snapped back. A jolt of shock ran through him. He whirled around almost instantly. But the next second, his excitement vanished.
"Ah... the Gate is rather ordinary?"
He stopped searching for a sharp weapon that could be used to dig out gems, as he looked at the gate with disappointment.
An ordinary wooden gate, bathed in blood, stood amidst the trees. Its old surface was carved with ancient symbols, but that's it. It was nothing in front of the beautiful golden gate he took from the Dragon's cave.
505 noticed the disappointment etched on his face and was utterly speechless. So, its host was still not satisfied, even though he had swept a dragon's lair clean. The system didn't know whether to cry or laugh, but one thing was clear: it had to get used to this or else it wouldn't be able to function.
("Host, you should go back to your world. When you come back next time, 505 will have reached the stage of acceptance.")
Skyler blinked innocently, a wistful expression clouding his features.
"Wouldn't you miss me, my dear system? Why are you so eager to send me away?"
505 left and cursed in the system chat, the other systems were scared and went silent. Only when it felt it had released its anger did it come back, now calm and collected.
("Of course, host! 505 will definitely miss you! You are the best! Just crazy! QAQ")
Skyler chuckled. He needed to treat 505 better, lest he frighten the system away.
But his smile faltered, morphing into a grimace as he attempted to approach the Gate, only to find his legs betraying him.
"I have no strength... 505, do I have any points left? I don't think I can even walk in this state, let alone open the Gate. And why are my elemental crystals depleted?"
He raised a surprised eyebrow when the gloomy system suddenly became excited.
("Do you have any points left? Hehe. Host, you better see your status. I believe you will like what you would see, since I do.")
Skyler took a deep breath, trying to absorb as much of Evol as possible into his body.
"Status."
A familiar screen materialized before him.
_______
Status:
Name: Skyler Ironhart
Elemental Affinity with:
1) Light: 5-star (First stage)
2) Darkness: 6-star (Final stage)
3) Space: 0-star (Final stage)
4) Lightning: (Locked)
5) ???
Overall Strength:
6-star Novice (Final stage)
Potential: 10-star Adept
(Currently locked due to 'Special Spirit Constitution'. No further information.)
Class: None
Skills/Spells: (6)
System 505 Functions:
- System store: (Opened)
- System points: 22,450
Imagine pressing the words to:
- Enter 1st level of Battle Royal (In Use)
- Exit Battle Royal (Not available)
_______
Skyler's eyes widened when he saw the amount of points he had. The fact that his dark elemental crystal had jumped another star in just three days was also shocking.
"I have grown stronger! And 20 thousand plus points! What the hell did I do the past few days to earn so many points?"
505, in a moment of excitement, forgot that it was supposed to keep a big secret.
("Host, you were acting very crazy, but you found some missions and completed them. You even killed many 10-star beasts!")
Skyler rubbed his chin. It seemed the him with dark eyes was up to something.
"What type of missions?"
505 wanted to respond to him happily, but remembering its promise to keep everything a secret, it gasped and fell completely silent. Skyler called out to the system a few times, but getting no response, he was furious.
"He even swayed my system!"
He clicked his tongue, annoyed.
"Okay, buy me a healing potion. One that would heal my body as soon as possible."
("Host, 505 will buy an expensive one because you have a lot of points now.")
He nodded and held out his hand. A vial filled with liquid dropped onto his palm.
Skyler opened the vial and swallowed the liquid. Soon, he felt the potion's effects as the pain in his body began to subside. He sighed and closed his eyes.
A minute later, he was finally able to stand upright, his body feeling a sense of relief as he walked towards the wooden Gate. With a soft push, he swung it open. Only darkness greeted him, but he still stepped in.
The moment he saw light, without looking around, he checked his status. The option 'Exit Battle Royal' was finally available.
"Okay. Time to go back."
With that, he imagined pressing the option. A light enveloped him, and he vanished.