The Sovereign System

CHAPTER SIX

Kaiden stared at the panel, without blinking, until his eyes hurt. 

[CONGRATULATIONS, YOU COMPLETED THE EMERGENCY QUEST.

THE SOVEREIGN SYSTEM HAS GRANTED YOU THE BEAST AFFINITY, LV. 3]

“Garrick,” he said, keeping his voice low. “Do you see that thing? In front of my face?”

Garrick looked up from his bowl. He looked at the air in front of Kaiden, then back at Kaiden himself. 

“See what?”

“There's like…a screen…a blue screen, with writing on it.” 

“What?” Garrick chewed slowly. “No. What does it say?”

Kaiden opened his mouth to speak, but paused.  What would he say? 

‘There’s a screen that only I can see, with words that only I can see, that gives me powers that I wasn't born with.’

No, that was insane. Stark, raving mad. 

“Nothing,” he said. “Forget it. I'm just tired.”

Garrick’s eyes narrowed in the dim light, but he didn't say a word and went back to his stew. 

Kaiden sank back against the wall, still staring at the panel. He shut his eyes and pictured the panel going out, Iike a candle. When he opened them again, the air in front of him was empty.

Well, that was easy. 

He took his own bowl then, and ate slowly. The stew was cold, mostly gristle, but he finished every drop.

Chewing, he went over what he knew, which wasn't much.

 This sovereign system, whatever it was, had spoken to him while he was dying on that battlefield. It had asked him a question, and he had answered, he had picked Y, for Yes. 

Next thing, he was alive and well. No marks to show that he had been struck by lightning, but his clothes had been torn. 

Then there was his arm. A few moments ago, the boar had ripped the flesh to the bone. Now, all that was left was a pale pink line. No pain, no lingering signs of an injury.

So, the system was definitely a helper. A mysterious one, but at least it was on his side, if it healed his wounds and brought him back to life. 

‘But what does it want in return?’ 

Kaiden didn't care for that now. As long as it helped him in his quest. 

He lay down on the rotting straw beneath him. In the growing dark, his dampeners glowed a low blue on his wrists. They were supposed to suppress affinities. He wondered if it would stop the new Beast affinity that he had just acquired….

He fell asleep, and he dreamt of Mira. Her blonde hair was dirty as usual, and she had the helmet in her hands, and she was laughing at something. 

Then there was a flash of silver and she was on the ground again, choking on her blood…

But this time the sky was wrong. It was going dark, not with dusk but with something heavier, a color like a bruise spreading from the edges. There was a face in the clouds, drawing closer, accompanied by a loud sound… 

Clang! Clang!! Clang!!!

“Wake up, maggot!” 

Kaiden jerked up. 

Orrin stood at the cell door, banging an iron cup against the bars. 

Beside him, Dask leaned against the wall, yawning. 

“Up, up, up,” Dask said around the yawn. “It’s a brand new day.” 

The five of them scrambled upright as Dask stepped into the cell holding the blue stone that controlled the dampeners. 

“You look sleepy…” 

He grinned and brushed his thumb across the stone, and the dampeners on every wrist flared at once. Fire shot up Kaiden's forearm. Roden cried out. 

“Now. Are we all awake?”

They all nodded, except for Kaiden, who didn't feel the shock anymore. 

“Alright, let's move it.” 

They filed out, Roden whimpering again, a thin, constant sound like a kettle left on the fire. Orrin and Dask fell in behind them, arguing in low tones. Kaiden shouldn't have been able to hear it from that distance, down a corridor that long, but he could.

“... it's the Thornhide, I'm telling you. It has to be.”

“He didn't say so.” 

“Then why's the pit been cleaned out?”

“Because the pit's always cleaned. Stop guessing, or you'll lose another silver.” 

Heightened hearing, heightened sight and perception. Those were abilities belonging to beast-users. And now, he had them…

He summoned the panel again. 

[STATUS]

NAME: KAIDEN 

XP: 50

AFFINITY: BEAST (Lv. 3)

STR: 5  

VIT: 5  

PER: 5   

AGI: 5  

CTRL: 5 

REWARD POINTS: 5

Reward points? 

Another panel popped up in response to his mental question: 

[REWARD POINTS CAN BE ATTAINED BY COMPLETING A QUEST. THEY CAN BE DISTRIBUTED INTO OTHER STATS, TO INCREASE CAPACITY AND OUTPUT]

“Oh, I see,” Kaiden said aloud. 

“Did you say something?” Asked Garrick. 

“No, I was just…talking to myself.” 

They were now in the courtyard. Varax was seated in a reclining chair, eating a bunch of grapes, smacking his lips loudly. 

The sight and sharp smell of the food on the table made Kaiden's stomach rumble. Suddenly, he didn't like the increased perception ability that he now had. 

The man rose from his chair. Roden was still whimpering, but he stopped when Varax stared in his direction. 

“If I hear that sound once more,” he snarled. “I'll put you in the pit alone tonight. And I promise it'll be a bigger beast than the one that killed your friend.”

Roden swallowed the sound. Kaiden felt his own jaw tighten, but he said nothing. Not now that he knew the man's power level. 

Which was another massive advantage from the system. In this world of theirs, one could tell another person's affinity from their eye color, but not the power level. 

Yet, it seemed the system granted him that very ability. Now he knew that he couldn't try to escape Varax, not with his power level as low as this. 

So, Kaiden forged a new mission there and then. Survive, get stronger, and escape this forsaken place. 

Oh, and kill Varax on the way. 

“Do you know where you are?” he boomed. 

No one said anything. Varax lifted a fat finger and pointed straight at Tylar. 

“Tell me, what is this place?” 

Tylar looked up, his frosty eyes glinting for a second with hate. 

 “People stake bets to watch us fight the beasts or fight for our lives in the pits…But it's really a slaughterhouse,” he said. 

“Ah ah,” Varax wagged a finger. “It can only be a slaughterhouse, if you want it to be one. But if you play by the rules, perhaps, you'll live to see another day.” 

“What rules?” Felip asked in a small voice. 

“Well, I control the beasts and the pits. The money, however, can be tricky to manipulate.” Varax took a step forward and leaned down slightly. “So, you do exactly as I tell you, and the bets will fall in my favor. Do you understand?” 

“You want us to die when you say so?” Kaiden spat angrily. 

Varax frowned slightly as he looked in Kaiden's direction. 

“You do not have to die, little rat,” he said. “Tonight, you will be armed. But no matter what you do, do not kill the beasts.”