Much to my dismay, my hair clip decided that it was time to play hold music while the screen in my vision continues to ring in time with the music. This system must have been made by some sort of sadist, as the screen doesn't even have a cancel call option, just an ice blue screen with a shaking white phone symbol.
As the music continues, my eye starts to twitch slightly. Of course, Yuna wouldn't answer; it's not interesting at all. After what felt like forever, the infernal hold music came to an end, and the screen in front of me finally changed. Did Yuna control my music player as well, because this was too well-scripted not to have someone controlling this sequence of events?
[Thank you for calling everyone's favorite Ice Goddess, Yuna! I am currently clam diving into my harem and don't feel like answering your call. If this is important, call one of my other harem members, and they will take care of your emergency. Otherwise, call again in a year and I might answer.]
Ah, typical Yuna. If she isn't enjoying her harem, she isn't enjoying life. I let out a long sigh as I lean back into my chair and let my head fall backwards. Before I can lament further, the screen changed once more.
[Oh, right, if this is my Great Granddaughter… Well, playtime is over! The system I gave you was never meant to last forever, just get you started on your journey. I suppose we will meet again in the future if you stop slacking on your cultivation. It can be a lot of fun with your first partner, but it shouldn't keep you from progressing. When you get into a situation where you are too weak to solve the problem, you will only blame yourself for wasting time. Cultivation is little steps taken daily instead of large steps taken once in a while.]
[Enough about that, though. Your system will disappear soon, and you will no longer have access to any of its features. My harem has created a small farewell gift for you, and it will arrive once the system has disappeared. I hope you enjoy your new life, granddaughter, and don't do anything I wouldn't.]
[Yuna, Supreme Ice Goddess of the #$!%#!%-]
[Uninstalling…]
[1%...5%....34%...42%...69%...]
Suddenly, the uninstall seems to stall at the magic number. I watch the ellipse after the sixty-nine flash for a few moments until I notice that it seems to grow larger with each cycle. When they reach the size of a pencil eraser, they move off the screen and float around me. I quirk my eyebrow as I wonder what is going on until my brain suddenly remembers what Yuna is known for. I quickly move to try to duck, only for the expected payload to hit the moment I start to move.
***SPLAT***
I just sigh as I am bombarded by a multitude of different cakes. Before long, I am covered from head to toe in fruit, frosting, and cake pieces. I grab a piece of mostly intact cake and nibble on it as I start to wipe off the mess. I notice that the pieces of cake come off fairly easily, but the frosting and fruit just shift around.
A minute or so later, I finish removing what I can, but I am now a naked living statue of frosting, complete with cherries over my nipples and various other juicy fruits in delectable places. I swear I can hear someone laughing as I let out another sigh. I guess I will stay this way for now… I wonder what Flannery will think.
I hear a quiet thump coming from the side, prompting me to look over. On the nearby table lie a few items I have never seen before, and one that I have, a luxury ball. I furrow my brows at getting yet another Pokemon from Yuna, but then I catch the symbol on the ball, causing me to raise an eyebrow. The pokeball has a stylized flame on it instead of my standard snowflake pattern. Is it not meant for me?
I shake my head slightly, putting the pokeball out of my mind for a moment to take a look at what else is on the table. Sitting beside the pokeball is an oddly shaped fruit. The whole thing is nearly transparent with a bright green stem coming off the top of the body that looks to be made of clear gelatin, like you would find in a Chinese buffet. Other than the odd shape and color, it seems to let off a slight mist of condensation, as if it were frozen.
The next item on the table looks positively mundane compared to the fruit and the pokeball. Beside the fog machine of a fruit sits a pale pink spiral-bound notebook. In the lower corner of the notebook, in beautiful, flowing writing, were the words 'Property of Erina Nakiri'.
"Who is Erina Nakiri?" I ask myself quietly as I pick up the notebook and open it to a random page, noting that my frosting-like state doesn't seem to stick to the pages. I find the same flowing script, only written out into a recipe. I flip through a couple more pages and see that each page is a different recipe with little notes on how to improve the taste. I'm not sure why I was given this, but I will make sure to try some of these with the girls.
After checking out the recipe book, I set it back down to read more later, and I reach for the next item on the table. My fingers close around a fairly light yet cool to the touch bracelet with a some tag attached to it. The bracelet looks to be a perfect ring of jade, translucent and arctic-green gem that is almost the colour of frozen mint syrup. The jade has a faint shimmer that is aurora-like as the moisture in the air seems to flash freeze near it.
I grab the tag, which is currently hanging loosely off my hand, and look it over. In neat, perfect lettering were the words 'Use your aura' written on it, nothing else, just those words. I shrug slightly before closing my eyes for a moment to channel my aura. I mentally reach towards my core to draw some of my power, but it slips out of my control before I can really draw it out. Undeterred, I reach out again and once more attempt to grab a tendril, only for it to slip from my mental grasp once more.
I frown slightly as I should not be having this much trouble. I know I have only been cultivating for a few weeks, except recently, but my internal energy should be much more responsive than it is. It takes me a few more tries before I am able to coax my aura away from my core and towards my hand.
As soon as my aura touches the bracelet, my mind is sucked into a huge, empty space. I look around, thankful that my eyes can see without any light, only to find absolutely nothing. I spend a few more moments looking around, yet no matter how much I look, nothing changes.
With a shrug, I mentally release my hold on my aura, letting it slip away. As my aura leaves the bracelet, my mind exits as well, and returns my mind to the real world. I glance down at my cream colored hand, only to find the bangle missing. A quick search lets me find it; it didn't really go far except onto my left wrist. I reach over and give it a slight tug, only to find that it is too small to slip off around my hand to get off.
"Of course… a magical bracelet. Not the strangest thing I could have gotten. Pretty sure it's a storage bracelet though…" I mutter to myself with a slight bit of exasperation. I shake my head and let out another sigh, and I push any thought about the bangle to the back of my mind as I look towards the final item on the table.
A circlet rests like a halo of winter on the table, formed from a translucent crystal that seems to have been pulled from the heart of a glacier itself. A faint mist clings to the circlet, curling away in wisps that never fully dissipate, like the bracelet and fruit before it. Etched along the inside are faint, silver runes that pulse with a soft, azure glow every time I breathe.
Along the front of the circlet are three perfectly cut gems sitting at equidistant points and set into the band like frozen droplets. The central gem is a large sapphire that seems to contain a swirling vortex of snowflakes. The side gems are iridescent white, catching and refracting every shaft of light into a cascade of sparkling prisms.
The moment I lay my eyes on the headpiece, I feel as if something is calling me. The longer I stare at the circlet, the less I notice the world around me. A trance-like state falls over me as I reach down and grab the circlet, hardly noticing that the mist seemingly wraps around my arms like an old friend. Moments later, I snap out of the trance to a pair of empty hands, which is becoming distressingly common lately.
I shake my head again, only to pause as I feel that my hair is falling differently. I had put my hair in my standard ponytail when I woke up, but now my hair is hanging loosely except for a slight bit of pulling around the crown of my head.
"Well… isn't this interesting…" Flannery purrs as she steps out onto the balcony where I am sitting. "I didn't know that Alcremie could shape shift into such delectable treats~"
"Hey, love." I greet her with a little wave, "I can probably explain… but first, I have a present for you!" I grab the luxury ball off the nearby table and gently lob it at her when I see I have her attention. She catches it easily before taking a look at what she caught.
"Where did you get a luxury ball?"
"Don't worry," I say as I give her a small flick of my wrist as if dismissing her question. "I will tell you about it in a bit." Flannery stares at me for a moment before she just shrugs and pulls out her phone to register the pokeball to her Trainer ID. A moment later, I can hear a soft ding come from her phone.
"A Growlithe? I was planning on catching one after we got to Celadon or seeing if I could get one from the Jenny Clan."
"You still can; nothing says you can't use two of the same Pokemon on your team. Though this one should be rather special."
"Special how?" She asks as she raises an eyebrow at me.
"Let them out and see!" I reply with a teasing smile on my face.
"I would tell ya to keep your panties on, but we both don't wear any. Anyways, come on out, Growlithe!" Flannery hits the release button, and a second later, a red-orange beam comes from the pokeball, gradually growing larger until Growlithe appears.
"Grooooooowl~" The puppy Pokemon greets the world with a cheerful howl.
"Puppy!" Flannery squeals as she kneels beside the Pokemon and gives it a tight hug.
I smile at her reaction and take a moment to inspect Growlithe. The Pokemon stands at just under a meter tall, on the larger size of the species, and wearing a pair of aviator goggles and an aviator scarf, similar to what World War One pilots used to wear. Besides its odd choice of attire, I notice some other small changes. The mane and tail, while still majestic and fluffy, are no longer cream colored but more into white, similar to the color of a fluffy cloud. The black striping on it is also slightly different, in that it is no longer just black but more of a raven color that shimmers a slight blue tint in the morning sunlight.
"Love, I think your new partner is a little more special than I was thinking…"
"Awoooooo~" Growlithe howls in agreement as it is being molested by Flannery.
"Ooh no… It's the Pokemon equivalent of a husky. We are doomed."