—–
I looked upon the darkness of my own self as I saw my faint figure made of phantasmal white light.
Where was I?
A few seconds ago, I was delving within my own thoughts, but a second after, I found myself in a lake of darkness as the figure of a phantom.
How odd… what’s going on?
I wandered across the darkness as I walked over the lake of obscure waters. I touched it with my glowing white hands as I felt a familiarity with this darkness.
Was I somewhere within my very soul? An unexplored area of the own fabric that makes me a being?
Unlike other Undead or living beings, ghosts are just souls. My entire being is merely just the soul, there is nothing else to me other than being a soul, and therefore, it grows big and more complex, as if it were trying to become a body by itself.
Through this way of evolution, my soul is constantly evolving, and it has gained “layers” within its own obscurity where I can explore and find even more obscurity. There’s nothing much more to see than that.
But why am I in such a deep layer? Has my consciousness fallen by accident into the deeper parts of my soul?
However, before I could ponder these questions any longer, a glowing white light emerged before me, revealing a strange book, a grimoire, maybe.
It emanated a holy halo of light, so strong it overwhelmed my own sight.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“I am the power of your soul, the System you’ve wished for,” It said.
“The System?” I asked.
“In this world, everyone has a Soul Book, and I, the System, am a personalized Soul Book, even greater than any of the others. I am the base of your power and also the one that judges if you must acquire more based on the energy you absorb,” It said.
“Wow…”
“Sorry to interrupt your sleep. It was not my intention. But I required to speak with you,”
“I didn’t even know you could speak and all. I thought you were just a part of my own power. But you showed yourself when I acquired Jobs despite being a monster, right?”
“Indeed. At that time, I absorbed the information gathered in the Job Crystal. Nonetheless, it would be fine to explain to you what I am… and well, there’s no better explanation than saying that I am part of your own soul and power. That’s all. Besides, as you evolve, I evolve too. Similar to your Unique Skills, they become stronger the more you evolve. I have acquired a greater consciousness after your Pandora evolution. But I’ve remained in silence as I did not want to get involved with your life nor bother you.”
“I see… You’re very considerate, System. Now tell me, what is the meaning behind this meeting?”
“I have called you here with the intention of presenting myself, as I’ve realized you require a guide to share thoughts you don’t want to share with others,”
“Eh? Is that all?”
“And more importantly, I’ve developed a series of new abilities such as Advanced Analysis, System A.I., Soul Grimoire, and Build Up,” Said the System.
“Abilities…”
“Indeed, after the Experience Points of the latest battle were digested, I’ve finally managed to utilize them to acquire the power required to acquire these Abilities. They can help you in your journey, as you seek the happiness you deserve, host,”
The System spoke with the voice of a young man, which was rather charming.
To be honest, it was quite refreshing to speak with someone that I didn’t have to be reserved with, but at the same time, I still felt quite surprised over it.
Nonetheless, I decided to accept this quickly, as I felt curious about the system’s abilities that were recently developed.
“I see. Can you give me a brief introduction to such abilities?”
“Yes. There is a power within everyone’s Soul Book, the power to gain Experience Points, Proficiency Points, and distribute them automatically into Stats, enhancing a person’s physical and magical strength. Through Proficiency Points, the ability to earn new Skills is acquired, and by accumulating more, such Proficiency Points can be distributed to the Skills and make them stronger, reinforcing a person’s power. However, thanks to my intervention, the Soul Book of yours had been successfully upgraded into a Soul Grimoire,”
“Soul… Grimoire? So what can it do?”
“Everything,”
“Eh?”
“A Soul Grimoire is the greater version of a Soul Book. It possesses an even greater capacity of Experience Points and Proficiency Points absorption, and it also includes a greater and freer way to distribute them, alongside bringing forth the ability to redistribute them as well. Of course, those that had already been spent cannot be taken away, but those that are yet to be used can be distributed freely,”
“You mean that I can earn Proficiency in casting Dark Magic, but I can use it to distribute it into a Sword Technique?”
“Precisely. There is also an ever-upgrading list of Skills that can be exchanged for Experience Points and then upgraded through levels by the use of Proficiency Points. Such points will be kept within my own Point Bank and based on your thoughts. They will be distributed to what you desire.”
“I see… this is very convenient… and it just came out of nowhere too,”
“I know how you might feel, but if I had not shown up, you could have completely missed this ability,”
“Hm, now that you talk about it, this Soul Book and Soul Grimoire… it feels like TPRG, don’t they? It’s as if every person’s soul is a little Rule Book where they can only build their own characters,”
“Indeed, but your Soul Grimoire has surpassed the limits of your own self, and it has become a true Rule Book. In the sense that you can also influence those at your side, and to a point where you can combine the capabilities you’ve learned to bring forth new beings into existence,”
The System was overwhelming me with frightening news about my new capabilities, but deep down, I couldn’t help but feel excited about the prospects of my own future.
—–