[USER'S STATUS]
Name: Adrian
Level: 1
Rank: Origin
Titles: Last of the three; The Zen.
Strenght: 12↑[?]
Agility: 17↑[?]
Stamina: 11↑[?]
Intelligence: 34↑[?][Note: Intelligence translate to Affinity Mastery]
Charm: 54↑[?]
Mana: 1200|1200 [?]
Affinities:[?]
Bloodline: Slave bearer.
+Annabelle Estellia
+???
Note: Stats is subject to mana enhancement and reversal.
[[?]: Stats will change in respect to bloodline use]]
"Adrian?" Eliot muttered, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Am I supposed to be Adrian?" he asked, looking at the name displayed on the system interface.
[Yes, Adrian is the user's original name,] Nedia confirmed.
"But that's not possible. Adrian isn't my name in this life, neither was it in the other," he countered.
[INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGE]
This time, the answer came in the rigid, automated voice.
"Nedia?" he questioned, frowning at the system's shift.
[Try to level up to gain more privileges, only then can you get all the answers you want,] Nedia replied, returning to her usual tone.
"...Fine," he conceded, massaging his forehead.
He shifted his focus past the Name, Level, and Rank—the Level was self-explanatory, and the Rank followed the universal standard of power measurement. He moved immediately to the Titles.
"'The last of the three.' What does that even mean?" he mused, holding his chin and thinking deeply. "Three people? Most possibly, but that still makes no sense." He sighed, deciding after a while of intense thought to simply let it go, knowing he would receive the standard answer from Nedia.
The stats are mediocre. I have to fix that as soon as possible, he thought, frowning again. With these kinds of foundational statistics, even the weakest student in the academy would pose a threat to him.
"Mana capacity seems fine," he noted, his gaze resting on the 1200/1200 figure.
He then looked at the Affinities section. "It seems I only get affinities when I link with a slave. And what's with the question marks?" He frowned, looking below Annabelle's name at the slave the system seemed incapable of identifying.
"That girl," he recalled, referencing the young girl with blue hair that his 'other self' had mentioned. Since the system couldn't identify her, his previous self's concerns were likely correct: something was indeed unusual about her.
"I have to find her," he decided.
After meticulously going through every point of the status screen, he stood up and looked around the desolate landscape once more. He was stranded in a monochrome world filled with poisonous, dangerous monsters hiding at every corner.
"I have to be careful," he thought, closing his eyes briefly before opening them, his resolve hardening. "I can't die here."
His main objective in this world was a certain soul relic. He still didn't know how he was going to find it, but he had a theory: since it was eventually going to end up in the hands of the protagonist, the person who found it here must be Nora, the protagonist's sister. That was the only plausible explanation for how it got to the protagonist, who wasn't even physically present in this location.
That narrowed his initial search to hunting for Nora. There were also Diana and Natashia to consider.
"I have to find them before this world is conquered," he muttered to himself, already running mental simulations of how the confrontations and subsequent enslavements would take place.
Diana and Natashia would be important pawns in the near future. If he could find a way to enslave all three girls—Nora, Diana, and Natashia—his immediate work would be finished. Jason would be as good as done, and with how powerful Nora would eventually become, even future protagonists like Quinn and the others from Trinity Nevas would pose no threat. This would grant him ample time to grow stronger and prepare for the 'Merge,' as 'he' called it, but not before enslaving that goddess and tormenting her to his satisfaction.
"But there's still that blue-haired girl," he muttered, recalling the member of Jenica's group whom the system couldn't identify. "He said she couldn't be human? So what is she then?" he wondered, deep in thought. "Oh, Jenica herself too," he muttered. She was someone he absolutely needed to enslave—or kill—before this mystic world came to an end.
With an exhale, he gazed at the system's interface once more. "Nedia, aside from the link, is there anything else about the Slave Seal I don't know?" he asked.
[For now, you do not have enough privilege to access everything. However, what you do have access to now is the Link and Emotion Transfer.]
"Emotion Transfer?"
[Yes. It's what happens right after you use the Link. You must have already experienced it a number of times: the progressive loss of the ability to feel emotions until there is nothing at all. What really happens is that the moment the Link is activated, your emotions get transferred to the slave, and this transfer lasts until the Link is broken.]
So it's not some sacrifice for enslaving a person? he thought, genuinely surprised.
[No, it isn't. In fact, it's no longer automatic, so you won't be experiencing that anytime soon,] Nedia revealed.
"What?"
[Yes. This way, you have full control of the Slave Seal. The Emotion Transfer still exists, but now you would have to master it yourself and willingly transfer the emotions when you choose.]
"So… right now my emotions aren't being suppressed anymore?" he frowned. The way he felt now compared to before Annabelle's incident was different. He did feel things, but it was like drinking wine versus drinking water; one had a rich taste, the other was bland. The emotions were still present but felt muted, or bland.
[Wrong. All emotions except anger are being suppressed. This is a permanent setting that cannot be changed until you reach Administrator-level privilege.]
"Who made the setting?" he asked, though he already had an idea.
[INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGE]
"Surprising," he said with clear sarcasm. "But, why was the emotion transfer automatic before?" he pressed.
[INSUFFICIENT PRIVILEGE]
He sighed, nodding and letting out a deep breath, accepting the system's limitations for now.
Now, he was ready to move.
But first things first. "Let's get to higher ground."
[A/N: Powerstones helps the writer know what you think about it,]