System Change

‘Thank you for humoring me.’ Alanah’s voice rang in Derek’s head. ‘Would you mind telling me how your… skill works?’

‘Since you already know some about it, I don’t see why not. Just don’t let others know.’ Derek said.

‘Wait one moment, please.’ Alanah said. Then the communication crystal went quiet. Soon, a notification appeared in his vision.

An oath to the Great System has been made by one, Alanah Swan. This oath is binding until death. If broken, Alanah Swan will lose all classes and skills obtained by the Great System, and she will never have access again. Stats will remain as is at the time of breaking the oath.

As this oath was made while not in your presence, the conditions of the oath are outlined as such:

Alanah Swan will not reveal what she learns of your ‘Void Beast Summoning’ skill to anyone outside of whomever you allow or until you decide that the oath is no longer needed.

‘Did you get that?’ Alanah’s voice broke Derek out of his thoughts.

‘Uh… yeah. Are you sure about that?’

‘Of course. I wouldn’t trust someone I barely know with something so sensitive without an oath. Why should you have to?’ She responded.

With that, Derek was no longer concerned about talking about his Void Call skill with Alanah. ‘Well, the skill is called Void Call. It actually doesn’t have a description other than ‘call the void,’ so all that I know about it is through trial and error.’

‘Interesting. I’ve never heard of a skill with such a lack of description. I can only imagine it is because it is a skill that interacts with things that are not of the Great System.’

Derek paused. He had not thought about that. He thought back to the first time he killed a Void Beast and the Award the system had given him. The Void Beast was considered a ‘creature unknown to the Great System.’ He took a moment to examine all his other void skills, but Void Call was the only one lacking in description. Void Sense did not have much of a description, but ‘The ability to sense the void’ was more than enough to explain what the skill does.

‘That may be right. I never thought about the skill like that. It makes sense because of the Void Beasts not being creatures of the Great System.’ Derek agreed with her conjecture.

‘Mhm. That’s what I was thinking.’ Alanah replied. ‘What else can you tell me about Void Call?’

‘First, it takes a massive amount of mana. I don’t think it’s a set amount either. It doesn’t seem to get any less consuming with more Wisdom. It’s about 90% every time I use it. The only difference Wisdom makes is that the mana depletion headache is lesser with more Wisdom.’ Derek explained.

‘Does the ‘call’ seem to be more powerful with higher Wisdom?’ She asked.

‘No. Not at all. It’s the same as the first time I used it.’

‘Interesting. What else?’

‘Well, I think it calls to the closest creature in the void. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a Void Beast tear apart the sky and enter or exit the void, but when I used it yesterday, the small Void Beast was not even able to exit the void. I had to go up and help it out. So, at any time, the skill could call down an infant beast, or even one that could possibly destroy the nation.

‘Sometimes, it takes longer for the Void Beast to arrive, and I’m pretty sure that if there were two beasts together or at equal distances apart, both would arrive. I think the biggerVoid Beast heard the first call, but it was unable to locate the correct space once the first beast arrived. Of course, it only seemed that way to me. I could be completely wrong. You have to know, I’ve only used the skill three times. It is still level 1.’ Derek said.

‘I see. That leaves the skill with multiple ways for it to grow. Some which may not be all that great. It may call more than one beast when it levels, which could be catastrophic. But, you may be able to obtain more control of the skill. Perhaps, when it is greatly leveled, you would be able to choose the strength of the Void Beast that is called, though, that is just speculation.’ Alanah replied.

‘Yeah, I’ve thought about that. One possibility is control. The intelligent Void Beast seemed to want to kill me out of fear of what I may become. It strongly hinted at me being able to control its race. So, I was thinking that the skill may eventually become an actual summoning skill. Perhaps I would be able to control Void Beasts one day.’ Derek explained.

‘That idea is both fascinating and terrifying. You must never let anyone learn of this. The ability to control an army of Void Beasts would cause the King and his men to fear you. Same for the other kingdoms in this world.’ Alanah warned.

Derek was happy with her warning. It did not seem like she had any fear towards what he may be able to do, just curiosity. ‘I will keep that in mind.’ He said. ‘Other than the things mentioned, I do not know anything more of my skill. The only way to obtain more information is to use it more, and that comes with a lot of risk. Both with the summoning and being found out.’

‘I understand and agree with your reservations. Perhaps it would be too much to ask for you to use your skill right now. However, I know of a few places that are both remote and abandoned that you would be able to use the skill to your heart’s content without the worry of being found out. Of course, I would still suggest bringing an ally to help you deal with whatever is summoned.

‘I would be remiss to not include myself in that list. I hope you consider me when the time comes that you want to improve your skill. It has been some time since I went out and had fun.’ Alanah stated.

‘I may have to take you up on that offer.’ Derek replied.

‘Thank you.’ Alanah replied. ‘Is Stella showing any signs of awakening yet?’

Derek focused on Stella’s eyes. They were still glossy, and the woman was staring into space. ‘Nope, she’s still pretty lifeless.’

‘I see…’

Derek considered some things for a moment before coming to a conclusion. ‘About the process of unlocking those with rare classes. I won’t ask for an oath or anything, as I didn’t when I told Walter, I trust both of you to be discrete.’

‘You don’t have to…’ Alanah began to say before being cut off.

‘No, it’s only fair that I do.’ He said.

After that, Derek went on to explain the process he took with Brandi, without mentioning her specifically, of course. He told her about keeping under level 10 and improving master of different general skills before choosing a class. He also told her about becoming close with an element of their choosing, like fire or water. But, the big point he made was not rushing to obtain a class and how a 20-year-old person with a level 10 epic class would quickly surpass a 20-year-old with a common or upcoming class who obtained their class at 13.

After giving his hypotheses and theories, Derek waited for Alanah to reply. Alanah was obviously taking in everything he said and suggested before coming to a conclusion.

‘Fascinating.’ She finally replied. ‘It will, of course, be difficult to persuade somebody to hold off on obtaining a class, but the possible benefits will help me sway them. I know some of what you said is just conjecture, but it all makes perfect sense. My class has always had to do with sounds, and I spent the first decade of my life in… a hellhole where there was never a break from noise. This only helps confirm some of your hypotheses…’ Alanah trailed off. ‘Thank you, Derek. I mean it.’ She spoke in a broken voice.

‘Don’t mention it.’ He said.

‘No, this is really something. I have the means to test it, and I will begin immediately. And, don’t you worry, I will have some of my deathsworn act, so none of this information will ever be leaked by me. Of course, I will have to select the children carefully, I much prefer loyalty over oaths. And, I do not like obtaining oaths from children, especially those who have not unlocked the Great System yet.’ Alanah said.

Derek smiled. What she said is already what set her apart from most of the noble houses. He still felt the disgust he had when he first heard about slave oaths, and the nobles who choose to use them. ‘Can I ask, what is a ‘deathsworn’ that you mentioned.’

‘The deathsworn are scum. Some of the worst people you could imagine. For those who deserve a fate worse than death, who others would torture, I choose an alternate route. I’ve an ability that allows me to trap a mind after I break it. Think of the state Stella is in, right now, but permanent. I use the skill sparingly, and it takes more than you could imagine for it to work, but the result is what I call my deathsworn. If ever they think about defying me, it is instant death.

‘I do not like using the ability, but sometimes, it is what is needed. And yes, the majority of my deathsworn are high level nobles… or, used to be. For example, the deathsworn that is currently monitoring Torith, and thus, you, is a noble from the Capital. I discovered that he was the creator of a ring of child sex trafficking. Nobody in that group had a good ending, but he became a deathsworn, fated to live inside his mind, but never able to control himself again. He has been this way for 45 years now.’ Alanah explained.

Derek shivered. Alanah was a very kind hearted and vicious woman. Of course, he could not blame her for her actions. He had met many people who deserved the same. ‘I see… Thanks for the explanation.’

After that, they sat in silence for a while. Finally, Stella began to stir.

She shook her head. “I hate it when that happens. How long was I out?”