Cold water tore my eyes open, waking me up. Could it have been just a nightmare?
"Finally! Hey, Boldwyn, he finally woke up!"
Alaric called Baldie and Elaina. At least, I think so. My head hurts like hell, so I barely can comprehend words. Or any sounds other than ringing in my ears while we are at it. I instinctively touch my chest. It's perfectly fine... aside for the fact that my clothes are torn. So, it wasn't a dream. As my vision gets clear, I see that we're in one of rooms on floor one of the mansion I created. One that escaped the diagonal cut that destroyed entire upper floor. Struggling against weakness in my limbs, I sit up on the edge of a bed I was positioned at. My hair is still wet after they poured, as I gathered, a bucket of water onto me. Where did they even get it? I don't quite remember modern Earth bathroom in this medieval fantasy building I created... but then again, maybe there is one, and I just missed it, there's too many rooms for me to keep in mind.
The rest of the team arrived. It seems like angels were de-summoned while I was unconscious... that, or they didn't answer Alaric's call. No matter, it's not like I want to see these three now.
"What happened? My ears are ringing."
"You died", replied Elaina.
"Eh?"
I start casting all healing and healing-adjacent Spells I know on myself in rapid succession.
"No, no, you are fine now!", she tried to comfort me, while slightly waving her hands.
"After the fight, you had no heartbeat and weren't breathing... but later, your wounds were somehow healed automatically, and...", started Alaric, before I interrupted him.
"Wait a damn second! You were decapitated last time I saw you! Why are YOU talking?!" I said, "Hell, I'm pretty sure you all died in that battle! What happened?! How are we all alive?!"
Everyone was silent for a few seconds. I saw genuine confusion. Not from the fact that they died, but from my question.
"We don't know, actually", answered Boldwyn, "We woke up an hour or two after it all settled. The guy we fought was nowhere to be seen, and you were still out cold. Too cold for someone living."
I chuckled nervously. That... can't be real, right? I couldn't just... die.
"What was his deal anyways? Why were you fighting?", asked Alaric.
They all seem TOO calm for people who just DIED... whatever, I don't feel good enough to be angry at them.
"It seems like he is another human from the same world I came from. The rest... I have no idea, really. I don't even know what he was saying! He can speak Eng... Common Language of our world, but he chose to speak in his own."
"We actually could understand him perfectly fine", Boldwyn said and shrugged.
"And it just made me angrier! He was so smug and confident that he had time to mock us at the middle of the fight!", Alaric, however, apparently was feeling good enough to be spending his energy on throwing tantrum.
"Sigh... so not only I didn't learn anything, but also I died. Amazing", I hold down all the yelling and shouting I wanted to express and tried to analyze the situation, "I don't remember applying Contingency to you guys, and I think mine was destroyed by him. So... I don't think I was the reason we were all revived."
"It was me, actually!"
I heard a squeaky voice coming from near me... wait. Do I have hearing hallucinations now?!
"Stop ignoring me!"
"Who is talking?!", said Alaric as he pulled out his sword.
So, it's not just me hearing that?! Did that Allen do something to our minds?!
"Ugh, fine, I'll manifest!"
In a glow of bright blue light, appeared a small creature with a disproportionately large head. The rest of its body was, however, very small. I think it could fully fit on the palm of my hand. I think it was made out of pure energy? At least, its body was somewhat transparent. It also felt... off. I don't know how to explain it. Like you see a cartoon character, or low-effort chibi artstyle character in 3D, in real life. It just doesn't feel right.
Its wings – that looked like 2 pairs of rhombuses behind its back – were at a complete halt. It seems like it doesn't even need them to fly... so why have them?!
Wait, no, what am I thinking? I have other questions to ask... such as...
"What the hell is that?!", finally yelled Elaina, breaking the silence.
Yes, that is exactly what I had to ask.
"Waaah, stop yelling at me! You are mean!", the... creature covered its head with the stubs it had for hands.
"Everyone, get behind me!", said Alaric as he pointed his sword at that thing.
"C-calm down! Please!", it yelled.
Alaric, Elaina and the blue fairy looking thing spent next 5 minutes yelling at each other. In that time, I finally got enough strength to stand up straight.
"So, what exactly are you?", I asked, trying to calm both it, and my companions.
It turned around in the air to face me.
"I am a type of spirit that..."
"To the point, please", I interrupted it.
"Previously, I was supporting Ai Lun, but my Master ordered me to stick to and support you, Hero Kyle!"
"Ai... Lun?", I asked.
"Yes, Young Master Ai Lun! You know, one who killed you!"
It is too cheerful saying that. So, his name is actually Ai Lun, huh.
"Ah, so that's what he's been trying to tell me each time I called him Allen... so you say you supported him?"
Sigh... I think I know where this is going. I just hope I'm wrong.
"I'm almost afraid to ask, but... how exactly did you support him?"
"I tell him information and make weird blue squares appear!"
You know what, maybe I want to stay dead...
"You mean to say, you are not an enemy, and in fact an ally?", Alaric started to sheath his sword, but very slowly.
"I tried to tell you that for ages!"
It was just a few minutes, actually.
"Wait! It came from that All... Ai Lun! It might be lying!"
"Can you two calm down? I think blue lad's telling the truth. It's scared no less than you are", Boldwyn said, being the only one with a brain here.
"Fine. But I'll be watching you...", Elaina squinted.
"So... you say you revived us. It means you can just do it every single time we come to hurt?", Boldwyn asked.
"Nope! I used almost all the power I had, so I won't be able to replicate resurrection for... roughly, 59 more years!"
So you're useless!
"Ok, then what can you do?", I asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.
"Same as with Ai Lun, I assume? Give information, about the world and yourself!"
So nothing I couldn't figure out on my own. Incredible.
"And your name, lad?", Boldwyn spoke.
"I don't have one!"
What?
"I was born already by Lun's side, and he just called me System... it's pretty mean, but I assumed it was my name. But now that you are my Master now, you should name me, Master Kyle!"
Why does it all happen to me?...
"Because Young Master thought you have potential, so he assigned me to help you become stronger!"
Did it just read my mind?!
"Indeed! I can read mind of whoever is my Master, regardless of distance!"
Can you... not?
"I can't. But if it makes it better, I can only read surface-level thoughts, so if you train even a bit, you will be able to separate your normal, hidden thoughts from the ones you want to communicate to me!"
Oh my god.
"I can also act like a normal familiar! Which means you can see and hear as if my eyes and ears are you own, while you concentrate, and you can cast magic from my location, rather than from your own!", it continued, but no upsides can outweigh the downsides...
"Uhm, so, Kai, how are you naming the lad?... you are... lad, right?"
"As a spirit, I do not technically not have a..."
"We got it, no need to continue!", I interrupted it so that I won't die from even more shame.
Now, how to call it...
"Can it just be Blue?", Elaina asked.
"It's boring!", answered Bl... I mean, the fairy thing.
"I'm just saying... you probably don't want Kai naming you...", Witch-Hat said in a half-voice.
Oh, she is right about that one. Something with that annoying voice...
"Hey, it's rude!"
...annoying appearance...
"Can you stop being mean to me? Please?"
...and annoying functions...
"That's not funny, Master Kyle!"
Can only be named like that!
"From now on then, your name is Stupid Helpless Insufferable Twerp!"
"Waaah!"
It covered its head with its stub-hands again and started crying. Perhaps I overdid that...
"Not only it's super mean, but it's also too long!"
...that is what concerns him?... or her? Or them? Technically, if it said it has none, I think "it" fits most? No matter. Is my insult being too long really the worst part here?...
"It's fine. You can always shorten it...", I explained, and it smiled a bit, "...so that your name becomes 'S.H.I.T.'"
Worth it!
"You... you are even meaner than Young Master Ai Lun! Why do other spirits always get good Masters, and I get bullies?!"
It continued crying. Okay, now I really feel bad for the little guy. I did, in fact, overdo it.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I went a bit too far!", I said.
Elaina, Alaric and Boldwyn looked at each other in confusion. Are they surprised that I am capable of being sorry?... these little...
"B-but... it's true! I can't do anything after spending all my mana on reviving you four! I am helpless, as you said! I may be a young spirit, but my kind would definitely laugh at me if they saw me like that!"
Oh god. Our little new friend has an inferiority complex. I need to change the course of dialogue... uhh...
"You said there are other spirits. Do they also... assist... heroes?"
"Yes... they are mostly active in the Freeholds..."
"These heroes... do they all come from other worlds?"
"No! In fact, almost all of them are pathetic, useless and complete weaklings!", Twerp responded with weirdly cheerful expression.
"Uhuh... wait. Do you know who else, besides me and, I assume, Ai Lun, aren't from this world?"
"Mmm, Ai Lun met another one in his travels. Not quite sure about the name though, but I am sure everyone knows the title!"
"What's the title?", Alaric asked in the most uninterested tone.
"The Demonlord!"
Our chosen hero and his elf friend almost had their jaws strike a hole in the floor. Even Boldwyn was stunned. Not sure what the surprise is. It seemed pretty obvious even from the first thing I learned about them.
"Wait a second! But the Demonlord is the ancient evil that lives in this plane for thousands of years!", said Alaric.
"I also found it strange... but I know my eyes did not lie to me! The Demonlord is clearly from another world, and I am more than sure it's the same world Young Master Ai Lun and Master Kyle came from! The Demonlord's pretty young, too!"
Heh. Alright then. It means that my plan to go home though the Demonlord isn't completely baseless.
"Hey, blue lad, if you are so... offended by our cleric, why don't you just... go your way?", asked Boldwyn, who recovered from shock first.
"I can't! My previous Master appointed me to Master Kyle, and..."
"I can just appoint you to someone else if you want. I, personally, don't need info help."
"Spirits can't change Masters more than once every 3 years!"
Great. I'm stuck with this annoying voice for 3 years.
"Is it your years or our years?", I ask.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, say, I use Haste on you enough times that 3 years passes for you as fast as 1 second for us!"
The rest of the party stare at me. Did I say something wrong?
"Kai, that's... that's torture", Elaina broke the silence.
Yeah, I assume she's right.
"Regardless! Can you show me my abilities? Spells and such?"
"Of course!"
Countless blue panels with walls of text appeared all around me. I swung my hand, making them all disappear. I'm not reading all that!
"Haha, Ai Lun had a similar reaction at first! Although, he had about 3 times more information..."
That guy's a monster...
"But if you'll need information about a specific Spell, either by name or by its function, you can let me know! Search will take some time, but I will find it, if you can use it!"
It does, unfortunately, completely invalidate my "Kyle's Big Book of 'WhatThe Hell Does This Even Do?!'", but, I guess, it is pretty convenient. I'll check it later.
"Sigh... I assume we need to continue our journey. We've been stuck here for 3 whole days..."
"I wonder whose fault is that!", said Alaric.
"I had a hole in my chest", I replied.
"Yeah, well, my head was cut off, and I still woke up much earlier than you!", he retaliated.
Touché. Actually, it's a good question. Why did it take me so long to wake up? Hey, Twerp, you can hear me, right? Can you answer that? "It must be because, unlike other people native to this world, or Young Master Ai Lun, your body is incredibly weak!", replied an annoyingly squeaky and cheerful voice in my head.
"What about our financial problems, though?", I ask.
"Apparently, we found quite a large sum on us when we woke up... I think it was that Allen... Ai Lun person who left it."
I definitely don't get that guy. But I assume we can't look a gift horse in the mouth.
We decided to stay here until tomorrow. It has been late already, after all. Of course, I dispelled the mansion and created new one using Tiny Hut, so that we have a proper house. As we were getting ready to sleep, I called for our new companion.
"Hey, Twerp. Can you show me the Wish Spell?"
"I don't really want to answer to this name, but I have to."
Its body appeared by me, alongside a single panel that gave me information... in about as many detail as it is possible to not be informative.
"Wish [Unclassified Rank]: Call for a Divine Class or above creature to grant you a wish. Results may vary based on the creature you make a wish for. If you do not guide your wish to a creature, it will be assigned to a random Divine Class or above creature."
So, that Lovecraftean-looking monster appeared because I didn't direct it to, say, the Mother of Origin, or whoever is a proper god in this world, and instead, it called a random thing that happened to be an abomination? This guy's explanations are awful... but I guess it's better than not having them.
"Do you have any idea why I can't teleport to my home world using Plane Shift or Gate?"
Twerp froze in place. It didn't look surprised, confused, or stunned. It was exactly that: frozen. After a few seconds, it spoke:
"Search complete. I am sorry, but I am not able to provide that information. Would you like to see 10+ ways to travel the world bandit-free, instead?"
Did I forget to extend my GPT premium subscription? Why is my AI assistant so dumb? Jokes aside, I did expect something like that. Not making it any easier for me, huh?
"Okay... why do I feel a weird sensation whenever I use a high-level Spell?"
"What's a 'high-level Spell'?", it asked.
Sigh...
"I saw a weird 'rank' thing when I checked your Wish explanation. I assume you call them... high-'rank' Spells?"
Again, it froze, and after some time, responded:
"Search complete. I am sorry, but that query is beyond my current capabilities. Would you like to learn about top 100 highest-ranking wizard duelists of Drakspine Empire, instead?"
It has to be mocking me...
"Can you at least give me explanation of 'ranks' of Spells? I don't get it", I ask, not expecting any information.
"Of course! Spells vary from rank F to S, with the rank showcasing the power of a Spell!"
"And how are they calculated?"
"I have no idea!"
Sigh... yeah, that checks out. Perhaps, my book where I put the results of my trial-and-error is still worth something.
"I don't really want to know the answer, but... can you show me something like, I don't know, stat window?"
"You mean characteristics?"
"Whatever, I don't know exactly how you call it."
Another blue panel appeared in front of me, replacing the Wish explanation. Yeah, unfortunately, there is that stupid RPG-like UI in this world... I really hoped it's not the case. But I literally have a system in the form of this annoying voice, so it's not really surprising. Alright, let's read, I guess... it's sad to think that, even in a medieval fantasy world, I'm still laying down in bed with an analogue of a phone, reading things on a bright screen.
"Name: Kyle"
Wow, they didn't even bother checking my last name. Good, let it stay hidden.
"Race: Human (basic)"
Rude.
"Class: Harmony Adept"
Wow, it doesn't' tell me a single thing!
"Age: Below 1 year old"
I assume it checks my in this world, not my home world.
"Gender: Male"
Well, I hope it wasn't change without my notice...
"Origin: Lumina"
Huh, interesting. It definitely has access only to my backstory in this world, not back on Earth.
"Reputation: Hated in Lumina, Unknown in other lands"
Not very nice of you, but I assume it's true. There are more people who hate my guts, than those who I can normally speak to. Although, I thought the Harmony Adept is respected... but I assume it checks specifically for me, and not for my title.
"Title: None"
Better stay that way. After it, there were my stats...
"Strength: F"
"Vitality: F"
"Dexterity: F"
"Agility: F"
Wow, that's just insulting! You say I'm less dexterous and agile than that stumbling buffoon Alaric?!
"Intelligence: B"
Oh, I'd say, compared to people of this world, my INT should be S+!
"Mana: F"
Huh? Don't I have, like, infinite?
"No, your Spells just don't consume any! In fact, you have total of 0 mana!", said S.H.I.T.
Can you... stop?
"Luck: F-"
Yeah, no, that one seems correct. Incredible. So far, my system did nothing but insult me over and over. Well, I assume, it's fair, since I do nothing but insult it over and over. Good old hate/hate relationship. Twerp looked sad again after I thought it. Look, it's your fault for being able to read my thoughts, no?
"Threat Level: Raid Boss"
Yeah, finally, something good it has to say!
"Alright, you can remove it", I said.
"Do you want to see your unique, non-Spell abilities?"
"Maybe later. I'm too tired to comprehend more information right now. I want to sleep."
"But, Master, you only woke up about 4 hours ago..."
"Oh, shut up! Better tell me, is there some YouTube analogue in you?"
"What is... Yu-Tyub?"
That makes sense, no idea what hoped for.
"Some way for me to see moving images from all across the... I don't know, the network?"
"Oh, you mean Akashic Records' Video Tab!"
Right...
"Well, that, then."
I spent about 3 more hours of watching funny cat videos, before going to bed. No matter the world, the silly cats still rule the media...