I had short black hair. Blue eyes. Baby face. And solid class.
But will my cuteness survive puberty? I wonder.
Anyway, guess what?
I'm taking the Copy skill—actually, couldn't find, from the thousands of skills, the one that steals.
Seraphina told me once a skill is chosen, no one else can ever choose that exact version again.
Skills are one-of-a-kind. You might find similar ones, sure—but they play by different rules, with different costs.
Speaking of costs—turns out, every skill has one. The more you use it, the more this cost gnaws away at you.
And it's normally not in the best interest of the user.
With Seraphina's guidance—which included recommending lovely skills like "Chastity," "Holy Man," and "Priest" (Blegh!)—I kindly told her to buzz off so I could choose for myself.
Here's what I went with:
Ultra Skill: [Cheat]
It lets me copy other Candidates' skills but with the consequences. Though, I can make changes to their skills after copying it, thus, changing the cost too.
Even then, what I copy isn't the real deal. Just a condensed version—less potent than the original. But still, a cheat's a cheat. And best of all?
No one else will ever get their hands on it.
That STEAL skill would be a problem. But if they don't steal my copy skill, I guess I'm a bit safe.
Ultra Skill: [Jericho] — the absolute defense.
This thing is impenetrable—unless it's hit by a stronger Ultra skill. Otherwise? It doesn't crack, bend, or yield. It stands. The perfect fortress.
Then there's Ultra Skill: [GOD]—short for God of Destruction.
This one's sheer madness. Raw, flexible power. I can imagine anything offensive and it'll be overpowered by default.
A finger flick would become a boulder-splitting shockwave. And the best part—I can enhance others with it. Enhance objects, weapons, even bodies.
It's destructive. Overwhelming. And yet, with control, it doubles as a defensive measure. A wall of sheer will.
Now I'm just wondering—can [Jericho] and [GOD] be used together? Defense and offense, combined into one walking catastrophe.
I'll have to test that later.
As for my Extra Skills, I picked wisely.
[God View] was an instant yes.
It allows me to see from any angle—like a floating camera in a video game.
Overhead shots, first-person, third-person, through walls, zoomed-out—anything. There are no blind spots anymore. Not around me. Not above. Not behind. Just pure, uninterrupted visibility. Peeping Tom, welcome to the family!
Sera warned me, saying if a skill excites me this much, the cost will probably be horrifying.
But I think she's just being bitter.
Since I'm a wimp at heart and I dislike pain, I went with another Extra Skill: [Dull Pain] —exactly what it sounds like.
If things go south, and pain is knocking, this skill turns the volume down. Way down. Maybe too down.
Still, I don't plan to use it unless I absolutely have to. I've got a bad feeling about what it'll cost.
Then there's this little wildcard I couldn't pass up:
[PLUSH!]
Yes, that's the name. It lets me transform into any adorable mascot I want—small bear, fox, fluffy thing, you name it.
Why? Strategy. Infiltration. Disguise. And... alright, a little bit of mischief.
Imagine trotting up to a pretty high school girl as a chubby little plush doll. She picks me up. Calls me cute. You can guess the rest!
A teddy bear can't be arrested for groping!
But again—cost. Always the cost.
I could use [GOD] to win a battle in grand fashion, just to collapse and die, foaming in the mouth, from some hidden price tag, mid-gloating.
That's the problem. I can't know the cost, until it hits me in the face.
"Why can't I see it?" I asked Sera, frustrated. "Why doesn't the System Board tell me?"
"Huh? I don't know," she said.
Oh.
My.
God.
The sheer witlessness in her expression…
"Seraphina El Camino Chelia—"
"That's not my name, Master."
"—Are you not the system administrator of this world? How can you NOT know? Then how can I gloat properly, knowing that only I—out of the twenty-four guardian candidates—get to walk around with, essentially, the manager of the world?"
"…Master, it seems you're misunderstanding something."
"What exactly am I misunderstanding, Seraphim El Paso TX United?"
"Again, not my name. And if you keep bouncing around that window, you're going to fall to your death."
"Eep!"
I flung myself away from the edge, at the mention of the word "death."
She gave me that smug little smirk. I ignored the warmth creeping into my cheeks and puffed my chest out.
"Ahem!" Hands on my hips. "Wh-what am I misunderstanding?"
"So cute," she whispered under her breath.
Let's ignored that too.
"It seems you think I know everything that happens in this world. That is not the case."
"But you said you're the system administrator. That's the same as being the manager of the world! I'm going to keep repeating it so you can't deceive me again."
"I did say that. But I never said I actually did any work."
"The fact you're saying that with a straight face is driving me insane, Seraphim'El. So, what work do you do?"
She beamed. "I enjoy watching the misdeeds and foolishness of mortals from a front-row seat. I hop across multiverses, marvel at the diverse cultures, and consume their entertainment."
Oh, mother of…
"Seraphina…"
"Oh! You got my name right this time!"
"…I'm starting to see you for what you are. A slacking blob of existence. But I'm asking what you do for the world—as system administrator. Not what you do on vacation."
She brightened up like I'd complimented her.
"Well, I also instigate wars and conflicts between humans when things get too peaceful. If the world's too calm, it's boring. I hate boring. So there! It's a lot of work, you know?"
Stop being haughty about that!
"…So you're the villain." I squinted.
"Huh? Is that what it makes me?"
Apparently, Seraphina knows nothing about the costs of skills.
Which means—she's useless.
Although, when I tried to hit "Complete" on my skills, Seraphina looked at me with a disturbingly straight face and said,
"I know you lack common sense and wisdom, Master, but you're not about to hit 'Complete' with all those Ultra skills sitting there, right? I TOLD you it was a no-go, remember?"
I felt embarrassed—to be told that… by the likes of her.
Apparently, it wasn't allowed to pick more than one Ultra skill. Something about not giving a single mortal more than one "power of a god."
But I was stubborn.
"I don't care," I shrugged. "These are the skills I want."
Then I willed it. "Complete."
Nothing happened.
I tried again.
Still nothing.
Again. Again. And again. Thousands of times (actually that's a lie), but nothing still happened.
I turned to Seraphina.
"Please, Seraphina, my goddess, help me."
"No."
Oh no. She said it without the word "Master."
"Why?!"
"Why? Because you're not supposed to have more than one Ultra skill. It's against the rules."
"You bitch! Now you care about the rules? You—you slacker! You literal cosmic couch potato!"
"No means no, Master."
At least she said Master this time.
Tsk! I was this close to unprecedented power—to winning over women—and this slab of divine sexiness was standing in my way.
'Whatever!'
I looked back at the system board...
I willed it to change in some peculiar ways—and, surprisingly—