THUD-!
"I ain't a servant of yours, Kiddo, that you can just order around to move stuff for you. Learn to move some of this stuff yourself." Zephy grumbled.
Placing the last of the logs in front of the entry to only have a small opening left, combined with the stones he previously put there, it should hold out pretty well even against a Snake like that.
And despite his words, he knew Aiden couldn't move the logs, even if he died using everything he had.
Just all the more reasons he needs to strengthen the brat.
Aiden quietly listened to his words, acknowledging them, and focused on his work.
He crawled through the opening and used one of the decent chunks of the stone to cover the same hole he crawled through.
Though he couldn't find a stone that could cover it perfectly, he did it with one that sealed ninety percent of it, leaving some room to see through.
It took a grueling effort to move it a few metres.
He knew he was weak, but he realised how weak he really was, even after all that training.
After all, the Body of a ten-year-old child can only get so strong.
Covering the opening, Aiden lay down the leaves and shrubs he gathered to sleep on, for himself and Zephy.
And with the remaining shrubs and shaved bark, he rubbed them with his palms to gather some flammable dust on top of the pile of dry sticks and some other inflammable stuff he brought back.
Starting a fire wasn't a tedious task by any means, but it did still leave a slight burn mark on his same finger yet again, as he didn't know how to utilize his Death Scythe for its ability to serve as a Mana Catalyst.
By the time Aiden was done setting up everything and actually cooked the serpent meat, not burnt it, the night was up, and the sound of wind rustling, coupled with howling of some unknown creatures, made his imagination run wild, the whole time he was having dinner.
"Didn't burn the meat this time around, at minimum." Zephy's voice echoed in the tiny cave, his body already lying down in a relaxed position above the Aurora he showed Aiden in the morning.
Though he was figuratively lying at the place Aiden built for him, just at a height.
"Sleep, Kid. When the sun comes up, be prepared to see hell for how much work you made these old bones do. I'll ensure that." With that threat, Zephy fell asleep, his little back facing Aiden.
Following his words, Aiden lay down, closed his eyes, and tried to sleep, but his perfect memory repeated the tragedy in front of his eyes.
The Skill that was supposed to be a blessing was proving to be a curse for him, and he was realizing that as time passed.
Every time he got some time to gather his thoughts, he was interrupted by that curse, which repeated his worst memories in front of his eyes, again and again.
He was getting used to it just a bit, but the gore and sheer horror of it had his heart rate spike, his pupils dilate, his breath getting short, goosebumps all over his body, with his fists clenched tight.
Not wanting to continue seeing the tragedy on loop, Aiden got up and sat down, staring at the flickering flames of fire, its smoke escaping through the small gaps that he deliberately told Zephy to leave.
It was soothing. A temporary feeling of calmness that he needed.
But he couldn't sit idly staring at the fire with no thoughts, or the curse might strike again.
Thus, Aiden decided to talk with Char for a bit.
'Char, what do you think about my decision to accept Mortivis's offer? Do you think it was the right thing to do?'
[...I am only a system, Host. What I think is the same as your thoughts, otherwise we would have been clashing constantly.]
'Well, don't we already do that?'
[...]
At Char's silence, Aiden let out a slight chuckle. One of the only beings he considered a friend was telling him it was somehow part of his own consciousness?
Was he delusional, or did Char treat him as a dumb idiot?
It occurred as a funny thought to him, though he didn't ponder it long.
'We are doing it then. I expect some help from you throughout the whole way, Char. Don't disappoint me.'
[As long as you stay alive, I'll do my best to help you through. It is my mission.
Oh, I forgot until now, but the Shop function got unlocked, the second you awakened magic in that battle against Pope Eugene.]
'...'
At that statement, it was his turn to be silent.
'What does Char mean by that? Could I have had some things to help me with till now?'
'...Let's not jump to conclusions just yet. It could have been useless things, by a useless system.'
[...I can hear your thoughts.]
'Don't care. Now, c'mon, show me the Shop now. Quick.'
[Don't have your hopes too high, though.]
[Opening the Shop interface.]
[1% 2% 5%... 100%]
[Skills - {Click to Show more}
Arts - {Click to Show more}
Attribute Points - {Click to Show more}
System Upgrades - {Click to Show more}
Total SP: 45]
'...No items?' Aiden questioned. To him, it felt like the shop would contain items that might help him.
But it didn't, which surprised him.
[How can I even provide you with items, host? I am a system that is a part of your soul. How can I even access physical items to give you?]
Char's words made sense. They were logical.
Why did he even feel like it would contain items in the first place, though? ...He had no idea.
[The most I can give you is things related to the system.]
He shook his head to get rid of that useless thought line, and, subtly nodding, clicked on the Skills, curious to check each of the four categories one by one.
[~~~~~Skills~~~~~]
[[Passive Skill: Calm Mind (Mastery Lv. 1)] — This Skill provides, as its name states, a calm mind. If the host wants to purchase this skill, it'll reduce the host's nightmares, overthinking, panic, ability to feel fear, anxiety, and other things related to the mind. The higher the Level of Mastery of the Skill, the Calmer the host's mind is.
SP Required -> 40.]
[[Extra Skill: Virtuoso of the Grit] — If the host possesses this skill, as long as the host has the grit to continue fighting the battle, the host will not fall unconscious or be susceptible to any kind of mental attack.
Extra effect: The more physical pain the host feels in a battle, the sharper and deadlier his attacks would become.
SP Required -> 100.]
[[Passive Skill: Comfy Cozy Rest] — As the name implies, this skill helps provide a comfy and cozy rest in a fraction of time at any surface the host sleeps on. After sleeping, the host would wake up feeling completely recovered, depending on the number of hours slept.
15 minutes — 4% rested
1 hour — 20% rested
2 hours — 45% rested
4 hours — 100% rested
6 hours+ — 100% rested + [Instant Resurgence x1]
[Instant Resurgence — An effect that can be activated upon the host's will to provide 100% rest and have him experience all the benefits of sleeping without actually sleeping. Can be stored up to 50.]
Defect — [Dreamless Void] — Host can no longer dream.
SP Required -> 50.]
[~~~~~ Upgrade the [Otherworldly System: Char] to the next tier to unlock more skills ~~~~~]
Aiden was mindblown looking at the skills in the shop. They were actually useful. All of them were.
[Hehe. See told you, I am a special system~]
[The Skills, Arts, and all the things in the shop might only have a small number of cases in them cause I am still on a low-tier compared to my ultimate potential.
However, everything you'll see on there will be something that you might need around that time. That's my way of helping you.]
Char bragged, and Aiden couldn't argue back this time around.
It was genuinely useful.
'I guess my SP increased cause of some important decisions I took in my life after that Quest, cause I haven't received any quests after it. Right?'
[Yes, that is correct. In hindsight, that is the way to earn the most amount of SP for people who have a system like mine, which, mind you, no one else has.]
Aiden subtly nodded at Char's words, his eyes focused on the hovering blue screen in front of him, analyzing all three of the skills.
'I can purchase Calm Mind right now, as it is the only one I can afford, and get others later.'
[Oh, that's not how it works, host. In one batch of skills, you can only purchase one skill. After that other gets locked and can't be purchased, and it resets when I upgrade to the next tier.]
'...'
Of course, it works like that. There had to be some sort of Caveat there, otherwise Char might have proved to be too useful.
Still... getting only one would be good too.
Aiden decided to hold onto the decision to purchase anything and moved to check the other three categories before making a decision.
**********