"I can't believe my eyes..."
I stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes fixed on the dark heights of the cavity, my breath coming in short, choppy gasps. But it wasn't fatigue.
It was surprise. And maybe a little excitement.
"What is it now?"
The voice came from behind, as deep and authoritative as ever. It was Keld, our group leader, a veteran whose charred armour still bore the mark of the Guneseven shot down a few minutes earlier.
I rushed forward, pointing with my chin to the rocks beyond, my gaze still fixed.
"Over there. I saw... something. Something watching us."
The others burst out laughing.
"Are you hallucinating again? Have you burnt your brain out from the fighting?"
"We're in Elroe's Labyrinth, you idiot. Of course there's stuff watching us."
But I wasn't laughing at all.
I squinted, my hand tightening on the handle of my spear.
"No, I'm not laughing. It wasn't a classic monster. It was a bit smaller, and a lot more humanoid."
There was silence.
Keld stared at me for a long moment.
"Do you think....?"
I nodded slowly.
"I think it was a half-Oni.
A wave of tension spread through the group. The last remaining jokes died on the lips.
Not a sound.
"A half-Oni here? Are you kidding?"
"It's supposed to be rare, this kind of shit. And dangerous, right?"
"Yeah, but if it's watching us... it's lonely and probably weak."
Keld straightened up, his eyes shining.
"If it is indeed a half-Oni... we can get a good deal out of it. Frankly, well done Garth."
Someone hissed through his teeth.
"A creature like that fetches a lot of money. Slavers, alchemists... even the nobles of the big cities could pay big money for that!"
I began to smile at last.
"So what are we waiting for?"
Keld motioned to two scouts.
"Spread out. Lads, we're doing this properly. If it's what you say, this creature is ours. And try to take it alive, if possible."
As the voices in the distance died away, I realised straight away that I'd been spotted.
You don't have to understand their language to get it!
The humans looked at each other and exchanged gestures. Clearly, it looks like military signs. So clear and sharp.
One of them points in my direction and says something, his voice low but tense.
I don't get it - you don't change a winning team.
Their hands rest on their weapons and their movements are slow and controlled.
"They're not preparing a picnic, I'm afraid..."
They move forward, cautiously, fanning out. I notice two on the left and one on the right, while the rest stand back, surely ready to intervene at the first sign of trouble.
They know what they're doing. They're not lost tourists, just like me.
And I'm standing there like an idiot, hiding behind a rock, clutching my makeshift weapon to my chest like it's about to turn into a sniper rifle.
I start shivering. Not from the cold, of course - because the heat is still there, and still just as unbearable.
But this time it's coming from the inside. I don't understand how it's possible, but I can feel it clearly.
[The skill has reached the required level. Skill acquired [Mana Perception LV1]]
"WHAT!?"
No time to figure out what's going on, the humans are closing in.
I stand up like a mole who's just been woken up with a shovel, and I run as fast as my puny legs will take me.
"She's running away! Catch her!"
OK, I don't speak their language, but you don't need an A-levels to know they're out to get me.
"System! What's all this mana perception shit?
[Mana Perception: ability to detect internal and external mana flows. Allows for greater magical awareness]
"Gné?"
I blink as I dodge a pebble, trying to figure it out while my brain spins at two FPS.
"How exactly did I unlock it? Black magic, human sacrifice, demonic pact?"
[You've been exposed to a concentration of high quality mana during combat].
"... Fucking YES! Thank you Guneseven for dying like a champion!"
I laugh inwardly like a dehydrated hyena.
At that moment, a light bursts above me, and a fucking fire spell explodes on the wall right next to me.
I roll to the ground in a badly calibrated Dark Souls reflex, swallowing burning dust with every breath.
"Seriously?! Now they're sniping me Call of Duty style?!"
Another spell splits the air, and a wave of heat bites my skin, causing me to scream without thinking.
"FUCK!"
I roll onto my side, the burning stone rasping against my skin, the smell of ash filling my nostrils. I can feel my lungs screaming, my legs begging to give up, my heart pounding like it's trying to get out of control.
Another spell explodes nearby - this time, far too close, in fact.
I can feel the heat biting, lacerating, digging its claws into my back.
"Bloody hell, to think I was supposed to be a basic human!"
That's when it happens.
Something twists inside me.
"What the fuck is going on with my body?!
Wait a second... last time I unlocked Mana Perception, so maybe now..."
I gasp.
I can feel a current flowing under my skin, vibrating through my veins, as if something inside me were responding to the surrounding heat.
[The skill has reached the required level. Skill acquired [Mana manipulation LV1]].
I half stop, stumbling against a rock.
"Wait... WHAT!?"
Mana?
Isn't that the thing in isekai that makes any clown completely cheat?
"Future power to me!"
I clench my fists as I feel my body vibrate like an old 56k modem on the verge of implosion.
A nervous laugh shakes me.
Because, damn it, I've managed to do something this time. Not by training - I've never done one before - and not by a miracle, but just by sheer stubbornness.
I scream without thinking:
"FOR FUCK'S SAKE!
Yes, again!
"OK, mana in my body... do something!"
[In your situation, a use of fire magic would probably be productive].
"Because of the Middle Stratum?"
[Partially. And as previously mentioned, the Oni have a natural affinity with fire].
"So I can defeat them?"
[Impossible.]
What...?
System!?
[Using fire magic can still slow down your enemies. However, serious injuries will be inflicted if you use it without proper mastery].
"Who cares, I'll die if I don't!"
I close my eyes and concentrate on the mana in my body.
A rather timid flow, somewhat shaky and very clumsy. But it's alive, damn it.
"It's now or never!"
I grit my teeth and start to block my breathing.
I want to breathe fire. I want a fucking Katon, like in Naruto.
REAL HELLFIRE.
I gather up all the mana I can, in a state of panic and hatred for these miscreants.
I push it towards my mouth, like a chakra-possessed psychopath.
I scream:
"Katon! Ultimate fireball!"
And...
A splash.
Not an inferno, not a flaming tsunami.
Just a ridiculous mini jet of malformed flames, like a Bic lighter on a flatbed.
The flame laboriously advances three metres, pitifully bursts against a pebble, and is extinguished in a pathetic poof.
Silence.
Even humans stop running for two seconds.
[The skill has reached the required level. Skill acquired [Firebending LV1]]
[Skill has reached required level. Skill acquired [Fire Magic LV1].
I stand there trembling, my mouth still smoking.
I feel a silly grin creep up my burnt face.
"It's level 1... what was I expecting? A Kamehameha?"
And then the humans explode with laughter - but like, literally. Some of them kneel down, holding their ribs.
I grit my teeth as I feel something stir in my body.
A frightening shiver, and clearly I'm not comfortable with it at all.
"Again?! That's a lot, isn't it?"
Before I know what's happening, my body explodes. Of course, not in game over mode, but in furious propulsion mode.
A blast blasts me across the room like a rocket on amphetamines. And so I fly in a straight line and end up smashed against a wall.
As I feel my bones crack in a concert of demonic orchestral pain, I try to get up. Every movement is an insult to the logic of the living body.
"You didn't fucking lie, you bastard! It HURTS to use magic without control!"
I straighten my head as best I can - and then something goes wrong.
My arm's on fire. And this time, literally. Not just stylish, not badass magician. Just burnt, and half charred. Just as I'm thinking that I'm in a bad situation, I feel hot liquid pouring out of me.
But that's not the worst of it.
Screams ring out. In the distance, it's the humans.
"Garth!"
I look up, and there he is at last.
And I understand.
One of the guys has collapsed. His armour is torn, and right in the middle of his torso, a hole. But it's not just a hole - it's big and clear.
And... it's my size. The shape, the trajectory, it's all the same.
I look down at my own silhouette. This time I'm covered in red blood dripping all over me, and a few drops fall into my mouth.
"Wait."
Is that me? No... it can't be me... And yet, I can still feel the heat of his body breaking against mine, the shock of the impact, the soft resistance of human flesh being pushed through like a sack full of organs and bones that give way, one by one, with a crack that's as discreet as it is horrible.
I've just passed through a human being... not a monster, not a wild beast.
A real human being. A living, breathing, thinking person, one who will never again have the time to do anything else.
I've killed someone.
My stomach churns, as if it too wanted to flee this body that has just betrayed everything I thought I was. My breath doesn't respond, it's jerky, torn, as if each breath brings with it a piece of truth I didn't ask for, while my heart drums so hard it doesn't beat any more - it hits, it bangs, it wants to shut me up. But I can't switch off, not now, not when everything is falling apart.
The mana still sizzles in my veins, uncontrollable, animal, as if something had awoken inside me. Something foreign. Something hostile. It moves under my skin, pulses in my nerves, refuses to shut up, and with it comes that metallic taste in my mouth, that taste of blood and panic mixed together - the kind you can't forget, even in your dirtiest nightmares.
And that smell...
That stench of ash, of burnt tissue, of fluids that should never have been exposed to the open air. And in the middle of it all, my own smell, altered, unrecognisable, almost animal-like. As if it wasn't me any more. As if I'd become something else. As if I'd been replaced by a double with no soul.
I want to scream, but it's stuck somewhere, drowned out by the weight of shock, rejection and guilt. I want to vomit, but my body is numb.
Dozens of thoughts invade my mind and give me an almost endless headache.
[The skill has reached the required level. Skill acquired [Co-Mind LV1]].
A new pain strikes me. This time, not in my arms or legs.
Just a burst of energy. As if my brain were trying to give birth to a volcano.
Data. Multiple pieces of information. Hundreds of voices, infinite numbers and myriad lines of code.
I don't understand what's going on, but my brain starts screaming and bleeding.
[Error when assigning the skill].
[Error: the brain data does not correspond to the neural norms of this world.]
What? What? WHAT?!
I press my hands against my head, as if I can stop it exploding, but the pain builds.
Over and over again.
[Emergency measure engaged.]
"EMERGENCY?!"
As I gasp and my whole body shakes, I start to wobble.
Then, suddenly - nothing.
Silence.
"Thank you, System..."
Silence.
No little beep.
No [Confirmation].
Only this voice.
[Partial reset completed. Cognitive instance successfully transferred.]
I freeze.
Wait... why am I hearing that voice differently?
[Functional integration in progress. New mental interface: online.]
I stand there, mouth half-open, staring at the void like an idiot, as a thought crosses my mind: I'm mentally bugging out in deluxe schizophrenic editing mode.
"What are you... supposed to be?"
[System-derived unit, relocated following failure to install the [Co-Mind] skill].
I blink.
"You... hacked my brain?!"
[For reasons unknown, the System was unable to assign the skill to you due to abnormal brain structures].
...Sorry!?
Oh no. Maybe it's because I'm a reincarnate...
[As a result, the skill has been replaced. The sub-system that was assigned to you no longer exists as a separate entity. It has been integrated into your mental structure].
"BUT ISN'T THAT A BIT OF A VIOLENT CONCEPT?
[From now on, I'll be partially sharing your cognitive flow. Functions performed: calculation, magical assistance, environmental analysis].
[Additional note: normally, the sub-systems assigned to living beings do not intervene proactively. However, I am no longer linked to the Rank 2 System in charge of the Great Labyrinth of Elroe].
I squint. I have no idea what "Rank 2 System" means, but that's not the priority.
"Wait... are you telling me that I literally have the System in my head?"
[A fragment, yes.]
[Deprived of a hierarchical link, my actions are now governed solely by my initial programming.]
"So I have... magical AI built in now?"
[Temporarily, yes. Until the link to a higher system structure is re-established]
"A more... global structure?"
[The Global System is composed of a central core (rank 1) overseeing multiple subsystems (rank 2) responsible for regions, functions or species. These in turn employ units like me (rank 3) to manage individual entities].
I collapse on the floor, half dead, half hilarious.
"You know what? I'm going to freak out. But I'm going to do it with class."
The soldiers' screams are getting closer - they've obviously moved in the meantime. They're literally angry and screaming in all directions.
[I'm offering you combat assistance, would you like to activate it?]
"What's that?"
[The System will temporarily take control of your body for the duration of the confrontation, in order to fully exploit your current abilities.]
Wait... I'm actually weak just because I lack the knowledge to fight?
[Affirmative. But it's important to note that this feature will only be used once].
Damn... I'm supposed to be getting strong, but before I can have a built-in Super System version "me", I already have to survive these guys.
"Okay... Yes."
At that moment, it was as if my mind was fading. I was no longer in control of my body - I was like some kind of spirit, a passenger in my own carcass.
My body propelled itself forward at extreme speed, pushing its limits to the breaking point.
A sharp snap, and I'm already on my feet, with my bony weapon in hand.
The humans had no time to react.
I lunge at one of them - the one with the axe.
My claw splits the air and grazes his throat. He recoils just in time, but his cheek opens in a spray of blood.
The second - short sword, heavier armour - tries to flank me.
But I retreat without understanding how.
Wait... I've got Danger Perception, haven't I?
How the hell does the System use it so well?
My body pivots and a blast of mana gathers in my hand.
A flame erupts. No bigger than a camping torch, but enough to force him screaming backwards.
The third casts a spell.
A fucking fire spell.
And he's clearly level 2 or 3, the way he's got the drop on me.
My body plunges to the ground, rolls under the glowing spray, then shoots up again.
I strike with my bony spear, which sinks into the mage's thigh.
He screams.
Not dead yet, but no longer mobile either.
The swordsman returns to the charge. He's quick. Much too fast.
I block, but not enough, and his blade cuts into my side with a pain that makes me scream - or rather, I think I'm screaming. I'm just a voice trapped in a box.
My body takes it for me.
"Fuck, when I wake up, I'm going to be in pain..."
And then the System launches its counter-attack.
A smile appears on my face. But not a happy smile - more of a sneer.
The swordsman's hand flies, literally, in a spray of red, and he falls to his knees.
Two down.
The last one - the guy with the axe - throws his weapon at me.
Too fast.
I take it in the back and start spitting blood.
But the System doesn't care. He keeps going to finish off the wounded, when he notices that the mage is starting an incantation again.
Too late. My body jumps and his head rolls.
I've just killed another human being...
Of course, they wanted me dead. But I'm human. So why do I feel so bad?
I've seen dead bodies before on Earth. So why do I have this strange feeling here? Is it because I'm the one who hit them?
The soldier with the axe is furious. Unarmed, he chose to flee.
I try to pull the axe from my back, but far too slowly.
He has time to disappear with several of his colleagues.