# Chapter 2: Systemic Changes
## Prologue
Dawn seeped across the bruised roofs of the Shack District, casting lilac shadows across a world that seemed never to shift. Except for Lyn Kariel, for the first time in his life, the world had shifted—shifted for him, because of him, with him. Blue luminescence of the System lurked at the periphery of his eyes, pulsing silently like a second heartbeat. It was threat and promise. The city's jeering "Drip" water mage would become something new.
***
## 1. Morning of the Marked
Lyn sat bolt upright in cold darkness. Blue prompt from the System, a lash through sleep, as if it could feel any reluctance to its task.
> **Daily System Prompt:**
>
>*Get a cup of rainwater without getting wet.*
>*Reward: Minor Attribute Point (Random).*
Rubbing his eyes, he blinked at the hovering script. No one else saw them. They disappeared when other people entered, reappearing as soon as he was alone, wordless but waiting.
He moved to the window. Rain pounded the broken glass; thunder rumbled outside. The world was always raw—a mess of troubles and small hope—but on this day, Lyn grinned, feeling the thrill of possibility. The System was a cruel master, but it was just: it required work but always presented a way forward.
He seized a battered ceramic mug and slipped out, allowing the storm to pound his threadbare tunic. Lightning forked the sky; the entire world seemed water and chaos and sound.
A cluster of earth apprentices walked by, sneering. "Attempting to drown yourself, Drip?" They stomped away without pausing for an answer.
Lyn shut them out, turning to the drops instead. He closed his eyes and stretched not out, but in. He discovered the queer, unfamiliar spark—like a lock that had finally welcomed its key. Water sang to him now, each raindrop a bell.
He murmured, not in the tongue of mages, but in the silent grammar of unity:
Let me borrow your shape.
Let me demonstrate to you my will.
He could feel the weight of thousands of droplets. They hung suspended over his palm, twirling, clinging, then giving way. He coaxed them down—a twirling, soft vortex sucking with a strange accuracy into his mug. Not a single drop splashed. He was parched. He ached with relief as if he might cry when the System beeped.
> **Prompt Complete!**
>
>*Luck +1. Hydrokinesis +1.*
The system repeatedly rewarded completion with this quiet heat, another notch in the pillars of his existence.
He drank victory, flavored with rain and potential.
***
## 2. Revelations in Shadows
Breakfast in the Arcanum was rowdy, crude, but as Lyn walked into the creaking hall, whispers trailed after him. Someone had noticed the damp laundry from the previous night—impossible after last night's storm. Water mages were weak because raw water was unstable, heavy, and uncontrollable in anything but the occasional moments of snowmelt or rain.
Today, Lyn moved more lightly on his feet. Only he and the System were in on the secret. But Magister Trovos pinned him with a thoughtful stare between spoonfuls as Lyn ate in silence.
Between bites, the System flashed a new notification:
> **Subquest: Water's Edge**
>
*Manipulate water to clean an object without harming it. Reward: System Skill Tree Unlocked.*
During breaks between lessons, Lyn managed to sneak away, holding a charred copper kettle—no one would notice one fewer in the storage rooms. He spotted a niche and pressed his palms against the kettle's dented edge.
He sensed past the form, probing inside for the knotted remains of stale tea and grime. Water in his hand penetrated within. He imagined in his mind's eye through currents: how beads enveloped filth, sheared it off, and washed it out—leaving bright clean copper as smooth as a pond.
He let out a breath, shuddering, as the System sang:
> **Skill Unlocked: Microhydrokinesis (Novice) – Detailed manipulation of water at sub-gram scale.**
>
> *System Skill Tree: Unlocked.*
A shining tree branched before his eyes, blue-white and magnificent. Roots inscribed "Basic Water Control," with branches for "Purification," "Pressure," "Temperature," "Flow." More branched further on—"Healing," "Binding," "Conduction," but they were faded, locked behind requirements. One shone now:
*Basic Water Purification (Acquired).*
Lyn's mouth curved into the start of a smile. A faint light in the darkness.
***
## 3. An Incident by the Well
By mid-morning, Magister Havel's voice called apprentices to the big courtyard. "Well spirits are well and truly stirring again. We have volunteers!"
No hand went up. Cleaning up old wells was mud, hauntings, and not much credit.
Havel's hard eye spotted Lyn. "You. You did the laundry dry last night?"
There was a silence. Lyn nodded, her heart racing.
"We require gentle hands. Take three with you."
The assigned apprentices—Garen (fire), Sallo (earth), and Miren (wind)—gazed doubtful.
Try not to get in the way, Drip," taunted Garen.
They arrived at the abandoned old north well, rumored to be haunted. The village had left it alone after water became vile and floods consumed homes. No one had gone near it for years.
Lyn gazed into the dark well. Nightmares appeared to grasp at the stones.
> **Dungeon Quest: Purify the Well of Evil Spirits.**
>
> *Reward: Large Attribute Bonus. Warning: Death Possible.*
Death possible. Lyn's hands trembled. Still, he moved forward.
"Obliged to do it with water?" Miren taunted.
Lyn ignored them, calling on his small kernel of power. He could sense the spirit inside—battered, fighting, tainting the well. He streamed his ideas in: Cleanse. Heal. Calm.
He sent droplets swirling gently into the depths, washing through fear, anger, pain. It wasn't a fight. It was compassion—a salve for the wounds of the spirit.
There was a silence, heavy and ringing, then a sigh of tension released. The water in the well became clear. The air vibrated with power.
The System flashed:
> **Dungeon Cleared! Wisdom +3. Hydrokinesis +1. Minor Reputation Increase.**
>
*Skill Progress: Healing Waters – Novice Rank (Unlocked).*
The apprentices stared in wonder. Garen swept a hand through the now crystalline water. "How did."
Miren replied, "I felt nothing—no spell, no force. Just a. peace."
Lyn smiled, tired. "It's not always about power."
***
## 4. Status: Updated
That evening, Lyn looked at his Status window:
**Lyn Kariel – Water Mage (Low)
WATER AFFINITY: 5
CONTROL: 4
LUCK: 2
WISDOM: 3
SYSTEM LEVEL: 2**
**Skills:** Microhydrokinesis, Basic Purification, Healing Waters.
System Prompts continued to blink—new Subquests and Side Missions. System was as pitiless as it was bountiful. Sometimes Lyn wondered if it was a blessing or a chain.
***
## 5. The Price of Notoriety
The following day, Magister Trovos drew Lyn aside. "The other Magisters are gossiping. You are. improving."
She glanced at him warily and hopefully. "If there's any trick—any artifact—let me know. Now."
Lyn turned away. "No artifact, Magister. Just… persistence."
She scowled, nodded. "Finish your research. But watch yourself. The Circle doesn't take kindly to surprises."
He departed, pulse thrumming. The System alerted slyly:
> **Daily Subquest: Go unnoticed by the Circle for 24 hours. Reward: Perception +1. Failure penalty: Exposure.**
He scanned about him, becoming small, staying close to the walls, slipping through passageways, crouching silent, blending into the background. For once, old tricks were a benefit.
That evening, he managed—the System boosted his Perception, rendering him more sensitive to hostility.
> **Skill Progress: Awareness – Novice Rank.**
***
## 6. A Storm Approaches
Whispers passed along the Halls. Some murmured that he was employing dark arts. One even claimed that Lyn had discovered a relic. Others talked of "Drip" with hesitant respect. Some envied him. Others were scared.
The System continued to demand achievements, and each transformed him:
- Cleaning an inundated storeroom without upsetting books (Reward: Focus +1, Fine Manipulation Skill).
- Cooling down a feverish recovering apprentice without causing damage (Reward: Empathy +1, Soothing Waters Skill).
- Clearing a city drain by perceiving the forms of obstructions (Reward: Control +1, Perception +1).
Days ran into nights of study, practice, and quivering excitement. The System nourished his growth. Every task demonstrated to Lyn more about water—the element everyone else despised as passive, but which Lyn realized was flexible, gentle, raging, and sustaining all simultaneously.
Through illicit system windows, he now viewed:
**CONTROL: 6
WATER AFFINITY: 7
LUCK: 3
WISDOM: 5
FOCUS: 1
PERCEPTION: 2
EMPATHY: 1
SKILLS: Microhydrokinesis, Purification, Healing Waters, Fine Manipulation, Soothing Waters, Awareness.
***
## 7. The Ritual of Names
But with growth, came challenge.
On the seventh day since his waking, Magister Havel called out all apprentices for the Ritual of Names—a trial of power, to discover who would be officially declared advanced mages.
No one anticipated "Drip" to step forward. Lyn did.
Older apprentices glared disdainful; faculty members traded nervous glances. The Matron of Names plunged her staff in holy water, incanting.
Each mage was required to imbue the font with their own element, then speak their selected title. Fire mages ignited water to steam; earth mages enchanted it to glint with crystals; wind mages created ripples.
Lyn's turn. The hall shuddered with expectation—or fear.
He put his hands in the basin, invoked water, and brought out heat and dirt, so that the font was not just clean, but imbued with healing power. It radiated soft light, and any apprentice within its influence felt pains and bruises vanish.
He spoke, voice full:
"I am Lyn Kariel, of the Water Path."
A silence fell. For one heartbeat, even the Matron was without words.
The System murmured:
> **Main Quest Progress: 12% – Make Water Magic Respected. Reputation Earned. Skill Upgrade: Healing Waters – Adept.**
***
## 8. Secrets and Suspicions
That night, as Lyn departed the hall, someone tagged along behind him—a girl with curly, unruly hair and watchful eyes: Sera, apprentice of the forbidden arts.
She pinned him against the shadows. "You're not casting regular magic. I recognize a System when I see one." Her eyes blazed with feverish hope. "Reveal your secret, or I'll reveal you."
Lyn's world came to a halt. The System's response was instantaneous:
> **Warning: Exposure Risk Detected. Possible Subquest: Negotiate Ally or Neutralize Threat.**
Sweat tickled Lyn's forehead.
"How do you recognize Systems?" he whispered.
She leaned forward. "My grandmother survived one—a Fire System a few years back. It nearly killed her. Everyone says it's a myth, but I know what a power jump is like."
The silence trembled between them.
> **Decision Point:** Trust her, lie, or threaten.
Lyn thought about it. He decided to take a chance on honesty—up to a point.
"I have something that makes me know water. I don't know how I got it. But it's not bad—not like in the old stories."
Sera looked at him, then nodded slowly. "If you prove you're not like them, I'll keep your secret. But remember this: the Circle won't accept a system mage. Acquire power secretly or you'll be annihilated."
She dissolved into the darkness.
The System's prompt flashed with satisfaction:
> **Ally Gained: Sera (Neutral/Curious, Potential for Friendship).
***
## 9. Dreams of Old Water
That evening, nightmares pursued Lyn. He dreamed of apparitions of ancient magicians, submerged cities, waves that consumed and cradled the earth. A faceless man with a diadem of rivers spoke in a hushed tone:
"Water is not harmless. It remembers."
He jolted awake, panting, the System singing:
> **Special Quest Chain: Past's Debt. Find the Temple at the City's Heart.**
***
## 10. Broadening Horizons
There was additional power to his: he read ancient scrolls on forgotten hydromancies, modified fire spells to push water to steam, experimented with adding empathy to water in order to feel truth in someone's voice. Every day the System promoted trying things out. The Skill Tree opened up more branches.
- Ice Crafting (locked: Focus 3)
- Blood Manipulation (locked: Ethics check, Intimidation 5)
- Mist Concealment (unlocked: Stealth Quest)
- Healing Waters (Adept: can be upgraded)
- Detection (unlocked: finish three detection quests)
Lyn accepted quests both great and small—assisting herbalists by cultivating pure lotus, mending fisherman nets with silk carried on water, and calming a dying bird with a droplet of healing power.
His ability was never dramatic, but growing more potent. But despite all the external alteration, Lyn retained his original humility, dreading what the System could yet require.
***
## 11. First Betrayal
Not everyone was happy about Lyn's ascendancy.
Returning to his quarters one evening, Lyn was confronted by Garen and two henchmen. The fire mage sneered. "You think we can't see you've been cheating? That you're suddenly special after years as a nobody?"
They pinned him. Automatically, Lyn went for water in the crevices of the rock—enticing steam to fog their eyes. He did not resist but fled, panting, System rewarding his creativity:
> **Quest: Escape Danger Without Aggression. Reward: Wisdom +1, Skill: Mist Camouflage (novice).**
He learned something at that moment: the more creative and empathetic his solution, the better the System's payoff.
***
## 12. A Mage Reborn
Several weeks had passed since the System has awakened in Lyn. He stood at the top of the great city aqueduct, observing moonlight dance on the skin of the river. He was another man now—stronger, yet still guarded, still the same.
His status window now shone:
**WATER AFFINITY: 9
CONTROL: 8
LUCK: 4
WISDOM: 7
FOCUS: 3
PERCEPTION: 2
EMPATHY: 2
SKILLS: Microhydrokinesis, Purification, Healing Waters (Adept), Fine Manipulation, Soothing Waters, Awareness, Mist Concealment (basic).
The System pulsed softly.
> **Main Goal Progress: 17%. You are no longer "Good-for-Nothing." But beware: The path of power does not forgive recklessness.**
Lyn looked at the city he used to hide from, not feeling afraid for the first time. The adventure was just starting. Storms brewed; enemies schemed; and the System's requirements became increasingly bizarre.
He spoke softly to the ripples below, "I am Lyn Kariel. And I am water. I endure."
***
## End of Chapter 2