Shadowpaw's Identity Modification spell worked on credit cards.
We found this out mostly by accident, and we tested the limitations a few times.
First, she managed to steal a wallet someone had left in their car. She'd broken the window with a rock to get in.
After creating another set of ID, for me this time, she tried the credit card and was surprised it offered to let her change everything. The name, credit card number, PIN number, associated details, and credit limit.
It sounded like she was filling out a bank application form but bypassing the bank.
Unfortunately, the credit limit was only five thousand dollars. I suspected this might go up as her skill levelled. I also suspected she'd get more of a limit on IDs she created through the Fake ID skill.
Still.
A part of me, the old bookstore clerk me, was awed by the idea of free money.
It was a bit nerve-wracking when I took the card into the nearest bank to check if it would work. I gave the clerk my new ID and asked if I could check my balance.
I expected her to walk off and get the manager.
Instead, she reeled off all the details I already knew and didn't seem to see anything weird with the card.
I stood outside the bank a few minutes later, tapping my lip as I tried to figure out what was going on. It was important to break the System's methods down for two reasons. One, you don't want to assume that something works the way you think it does, or you might get a nasty surprise. And two, there's always options to exploit the results and gain another skill or spell.
You just need to figure out what the System is trying to hint at you to do to grow.
I considered it was all illusionary. That the clerk was seeing only what the System wanted it to see. But I dismissed that. If that was true, I didn't think I could use the card to get money out or to buy anything in a shop.
Unless it affected local bank machines.
That was possible. But I doubted it.
I felt like the System had infected the bank's systems so it could control them. That felt more likely. There was something technological in the way the System worked like a computer game. It wouldn't be difficult, I thought, for it to take over the bank's computers.
And what about other computers?
I shivered.
If it had the bank, it had everything. The entire internet.
That could be… good.
I wondered what else it might have by now. How long did it take to take over a world? And was infecting electronics easier than infecting people? Is that why it wanted more Nekos?
Nekos could provide the support to spread the biological version of the System.
Did it need that? Couldn't it infect people via their technology?
My brain tumbled from thought to thought, but most of it was just basic conjecture. I knew enough about the System to know I'd never have any real answer. But I could guess. A good guess would let me take advantage of its growth.
So, before it truly took over, I could make Nekos the dominant species on the planet!
I grinned, frightening an old lady nearby. Noticing her scuttle a little out of my way, I raised a fist in salute. "Nekos forever," I told her.
She ignored me.
I was okay with that.
Licorice waited for me on the corner. She sucked her bottom lip nervously. "Is everything okay?"
"It works," I told her. "Get Shadowpaw to sort out IDs for all of us. That way we're covered if any cops stop us. Also, we now have some cash to spend on ourselves instead of getting her to steal everything we want. I know she's fairly safe, but I don't want to take the chance the System suddenly decides some cameras can see through her stealth."
"Okay." She took my hand as we started walking down the street. "What about a place to live? We can't keep sleeping in the car. There's also a chance it gets flagged as stolen. The cops will want to talk to her. When they don't find her soon, they'll ask questions."
I nodded, trying to use my knowledge of the System with my knowledge of Earth. It was difficult to marry the two as the worlds were entirely different technologically. Where Neyteria had a simple medieval world to base itself on, Earth was a complex and somewhat chaotic system of its own.
Shadowpaw's skill hadn't worked on the licence plates.
Whether it would if she upgraded it or not was a gamble.
It could be that her skill didn't affect vehicles. She didn't seem to have any car-related skills. They were mostly stealth and combat.
I had a feeling this would be more in Skye's realm.
But how to unlock it?
Maybe, I thought, she could steal a car. If she stole one, maybe it would unlock some skills related to car theft?
Or would I need to find a car thief Neko?
I put a hand to my head. I could feel a thick pressure building. Was I thinking more than I usually did? I didn't think I was.
Suddenly, I stumbled as a flash of white pain stabbed through my brain.
I thought for a moment that I heard a familiar voice call my name; "Bexley!"
My vision split in two, blurring into a kaleidoscope of noise as a sound like rushing water filled my ears. On one hand, I was standing in the street with Licorice beside me. On the other, I was in a room, holding something in my arms and trying to shield it from someone who was hitting me.
Over and over, they kept hitting me.
My stomach roiled and I staggered toward a wall, leaning heavily on it while trying not to throw up. Around us, a couple of onlookers quickly turned away and kept walking.
Drugs, they thought.
Sighing, I waited as the pain dissipated. Licorice clung to my hand; her gaze filled with concern. "Bexley, are you okay?"
I sucked a deep breath and nodded. "That was odd," I said, staring down at her. "I felt like I was being torn in two for a moment there."
"Are you going to leave us? Is the System taking you away again?"
Her voice crackled with fear, and I reached a shaky hand out to gently pat her head. "No," I told her. I tried to remember what I'd just seen. "It wasn't like that. It was just like... I was just disoriented. That's all. Maybe the System is making changes. Sometimes it does that."
"Really?"
"Really, I'm okay." I stood taller, shaking the last webs of vertigo loose. "See? I'm fine."
She squeezed my hand, trying to reassure herself. "You scared me," she pouted.
"I'm sorry." I leaned down and lifted her chin to give her a soft kiss. Our tongues melted against each other and her body went limp in my arms. "I'll try not to do it again."
"No," she whispered. "Do. Do it again."
"Pretty little Neko," I said, booping her nose. "We have to meet the others. And, while it wouldn't be the first time I've spent time with a Neko on a main street, I don't think Earth is ready for it yet."
"Oh!" She forced herself to stand up straighter, brushing down her skirt and straightening her blouse. She'd selected an office look today, as she wanted to present herself as my Assistant during the day. "Do I look okay?"
"You look delicious."
"Bexley!" Her face went red. "That just makes me think naughty things."
"Good." I led her down the street again, ignoring people around us. One or two had slowed their walks to stare. "As for housing… I think I was getting an idea just before my brain twisted itself in two."
"You think that caused it?"
"No. I was thinking about getting Skye to steal a car."
"What?" She shot me a horrified expression. She still hadn't lost that lawyer part of herself.
"Don't worry." I patted her hand. "I'll send Shadowpaw with her."
"I'm not sure that's any better, Bexley." She lowered her voice. "We can't just steal everything… Can we?"
I held my hand up, balancing it left and right. "A little less and a little more than you think, I expect. But I do understand what you're saying. It's not like Neyteria. So, we need to be a bit more careful." I shrugged. "Anyway, that's not what I was leading towards. More that we need to add to our skills. And, if we don't have them, we need to find a Neko who does…"
"Oh!" She bounced along behind me, her tail stuffed up under her blouse. I could see she wasn't comfortable with that.
It's a shame, I thought, that the System hadn't started spitting out other races yet. If there were more around, then she wouldn't-
I froze.
"Bexley?" Her voice cut into my thoughts frantically. "Bexley!"
I held up my finger. "Wait. Thinking."
More Nekos.
But I couldn't yet fill the city with them. I didn't have the levels.
And the world didn't have other races. It didn't have anything which could explain a Neko's tail and ears or allow her to wear them out in public.
But it did have technology.
And social media.
And an obsession with subcultures and fashion.
I began to laugh. Could it really be so simple?
"Bexley? What is it? What are you thinking?" She sounded frustrated and excited as I grabbed her hands in mine and gave her a spin. "Bexleeeey!"