He saw a torch flashing up at him, and surrounding it were three figures standing with some lustrous materials in their hands, waiting.
'There are people. They will save me from falling to my death. They will...'
"Aaaaaaa!"
But he continued falling, and none of the figures moved an inch to save him from splattering on the hard ground.
His eyes widened as the ground zoomed up to welcome him. It was a cold, hard, stony welcome.
CRASH!
It turns out the floor wasn't full of jawbreakers, but was made entirely of cobblestones.
He felt his skull crack open, and he would even bet there was a gap that allowed the free entry of the cold night air.
He'd place an even higher stake on broken ribs, smashed legs, an escaped kidney, and one of his balls relocating to join the other.
'Why is a forest floor that cold and hard?'
'I guess this world took 'concrete jungle' literally.'
But...
[!HOST HAS TAKEN CRITICAL DAMAGE!]
[HP: 1/10]
[FIND A HEALER TO HEAL YOU QUICKLY]
[OR KEEP PUT AND SUFFER A SLOW, PAINFUL RECOVERY]
'Oh, you're still there? I thought it was schizophrenia when I remembered hearing those voices in my head.'
[FIND A HEALER]
'Why did you leave me there? Hanging on a damn tree?'
[What Was I Supposed To Do? Fight The Tree For You?]
[FIND A HEALER]
'How the hell do I find a healer when I can't even move my shattered legs?'
[Beats Me]
Just then, a different voice spoke.
"Tsk tsk. I knew he was 'challenged' when I heard that cry," a harsh, deep masculine voice sounded. It reminded Eric of a baritone singer who was also a chain smoker. He sounded like he used mints to smooth the guttural edge of his voice. He sounded like a lot of things, but mostly, he sounded annoying. "You shouldn't have bothered saving him from the tree. He was gonna die anyway."
'If you had moved to save me, it wouldn't have turned out this bad, you fucking narc,' Eric thought while lying still, dealing with the sharp stabs of pain that ravaged his head and belly. His shattered leg was the least of his worries now.
Two other figures moved in, leaning over to take a good look at the apparently dead boy. One was a female, the other a male and they both seem about the same age. Eric could tell their gender even when they haven't spoken yet. At least, he already took a quick glance at the three of them when he was falling.
"Well, it's a no-brainer that he's a challenged. Otherwise, he wouldn't be caught up there by a low-tier carni-willow tree, squirming and screaming in such high pitch," the younger male remarked, circling Eric, still curious. "It's a pity he's dead. We coulda asked him how he got there. There's no way he could have survived that fall. What do you think, Winter?"
The female shrugged, adjusting the loose strands back into the white red band that held her snow-white overflowing hair in a ponytail. She swung a soul weapon idly in her hand, appearing unbothered about the squirm before them. But she was. She has stopped the group after hearing his cry of help, and had even ran with an insane burst of speed halfway up the tree before unleashing her soul weapon, a sickle to cut the thick branches that held him captive.
"Well, there's something else intriguing about him. I can still feel a strange aura around him, and it's waxing strong even when he is lying there, completely shattered."
"What? You mean this squirm is still alive after that fall?"
"Yes. And he's healing faster than you can imagine, Summer."
The rough-voiced man cut in. "What a prize. What is his tier? What piece is he? Did ya check yet?"
"You're not gonna believe this, Bux," said Winter, looking perplexed and trying to withhold what information she had to give. "I can't check his system."
"Does that mean he's one of the unborn pieces? You mean he doesn't have a system like the rest of us?"
"No, Bux. He has a system, but...he's rejecting my intrusion."
"What?!" Summer, the young male grunted, bending even closer as if he could tell just from looking. As if what Winter said could be confirmed from Eric's face. "But nobody has the ability to resist system inspection from an SS-ranked Mage like you, Winter. Are you sure of what you just spewed?"
"Don't think you can question my judgement just because you're my brother, Summer. Bux, do you think this is an anomaly? Or is there any being recorded to carry such powers from the history books?"
"None that I know of, Winter. We must get him to the guild with us. Such power hiding behind a frail body shouldn't be allowed to roam freely among our folks. We must get rid of him."
"I'm intrigued," she muttered while she kept her weapons in an invisible space. The glimmering blade slowly disappeared till the hilt was swallowed and it was completely vanished. "Summer, you've been idle all through this journey. He's all yours to heave. Now you won't go venturing into the woods, trailing off track again."
Summer grumbled but carried Eric's limp body easily on his shoulder. They all continued down the hard road silently.
Eric was however trying to piece the bits together, but failed. He had received notifications from the system, asking if he'd like to reject or accept the system inspection from a certain high ranking mage. He had chosen Reject of course, but that had utterly surprised the crew, and now he's to be delivered as a test subject.
'That kinda hard luck needs to be studied.'
'Hey, system. Care to explain everything about this Snow-born girl?'
[I Can't. She's However an SS-ranked Mage Just Like You Heard, So It's Hard To Check Her System]
'What do you mean her system? Does she have a system too? Isn't the system unique to me?'
[Your SYSTEM Is Unique To You. But Hers Isn't Unique To Her. There Are Others Who Have Similar Systems To Hers]
'THERE ARE OTHERS WITH SYSTEMS ALSO?!'
[Yes!]
'Even the Summer boy? The brusque Bux? Everyone?'
[Well Not Everyone, Eric. You Heard Bux Talk About "Unborn Pieces". Those Beings Do Not Come With a System, But They Are Basically Outcasts In This World]
[You Are In a System World]
'Aw, man. I feel like my second kidney just walked out of me.'
*Chime!*
[AN SS-RANKED MAGE SYSTEM IS TRYING TO CHECK YOUR STATS]
[ACCEPT?]
[REJECT?]
'C'mon. Reject that shit. Cut that prying latch off.'
Winter smiled knowingly. She's been rejected the third time.
"This is gonna get interesting," she mumbled, widening her smile into a grin.