Wren cried for a long time.
The clearing remained silent. The deer carcass remained where it had fallen. The blood stubbornly remained on her hands no matter how many times she rubbed them against the grass. The hunger receded for the most part and she felt satisfied. Somehow that felt worse than everything else.
For several long minutes she simply sat there staring at the ground. She tried not to look at the deer. She failed repeatedly. Each failure made her feel worse.
"Is this really my life now.."
Eventually she stood.
Or at least attempted to.
A burst of light suddenly exploded directly in front of her face.
Wren yelped and stumbled backward, landing hard on her behind.
"What the hell?!"
A familiar progress bar appeared.
[Emergency Initialization Authorized]
[Initializing...]
[...3%]
[...15%]
[...40%]
The window glowed with a soft blue light.
Wren froze.
For just a moment she was reminded of the Earth System. The progress bar continued climbing, and as it did faint traces of gold appeared along the edges. The blue slowly receded while the gold spread, only for another color to begin emerging beneath both.
Crimson.
A deep crimson glow crept across the window, replacing the gold as the progress bar passed halfway. By the time it neared completion, the entire interface had transformed. The soft blue of the Earth System was gone. The warm gold that reminded her of Occatus system windows followed shortly after.
Only the crimson remained.
Wren stared.
"A System window?"
The progress bar didn't answer.
That felt surprisingly familiar.
Eventually it reached one hundred percent.
[Initialization Complete!]
Then nothing happened.
Wren waited.
The window waited.
Neither side appeared interested in continuing the conversation.
"Uh... hello?"
Several moments passed before a new line appeared.
[Hello!]
Wren nearly jumped.
The text somehow felt cheerful. That was new.
"Occatus?"
[Nope!]
The answer arrived instantly.
Wren blinked.
"...You're not Occatus?"
[Correct!]
That was disappointing. Then again, Occatus had specifically said she hoped they never met again, which remained one of the most concerning farewells Wren had ever received.
New text appeared.
[Designation: Personal Soul System]
[Classification: SSS+ Unique Skill]
[Status: Partially Bound To Host.]
[Remarks: Please complete Binding!]
Wren froze.
Then reread it.
Then reread it again.
The clearing became very quiet.
"An actual personal system? Like those systems from lightnovels?"
[Correct!]
A system.
She had a system.
A real system.
Not a world system. Not a universe-spanning administrative entity. Not the cosmic reality-maintenance nightmare Occatus called normal.
A personal system.
Her personal system!
The realization hit all at once.
The gift. Occatus' gift. The one she had absolutely refused to explain. This had to be it. A laugh escaped before Wren could stop it.
"No way."
The System paused.
[Way confirmed.]
Wren snorted despite herself.
Years of fantasy novels, webnovels, and light novels suddenly came rushing back. Heroes with systems. Hunters with systems. Cultivators with systems. Villains with systems. Merchants with systems. Somehow even sentient buildings ended up with systems eventually.
And now she had one.
She was still naked.
Still covered in deer blood.
Still having an existential breakdown.
But she had a system.
For the first time since arriving in this world, a small amount of excitement managed to push through the guilt and misery. She finally had a path forward!
Then her eyes drifted upward.
They landed on a single line.
[SSS+]
The excitement stopped.
Then blinked again.
"A SSS+ skill?"
[Clarification requested.]
She pointed directly at the screen.
"You. You're a SSS+ skill?"
[I am!]
The answer somehow managed to sound proud and a bit too smug.
Wren stared.
That wasn't normal.
She knew enough light novels to know that wasn't normal.
That was protagonist nonsense.
The unfair kind.
The kind readers complained about in comment sections.
"I actually got given a max level skill...What am I some kind of overpowered protagonist..?" The words were meant for no one but Wren herself.
"Do all reincarnates get skills like this?"
For the first time since appearing, the System hesitated. Then several new windows appeared.
[Creation Analysis Requested!]
[Skill Grade Determination]
[Primary Construction Material: Earth System Core]
[Secondary Construction Material: Residual Vessel Creation Mana]
[Tertiary Construction Material: Allocated Reincarnation Special Skill]
Wren's smile slowly faded.
The Earth System.
The System continued.
[Skill created using resources significantly exceeding standard skill formation requirements.]
[Result: Abnormally High Grade]
Wren stared at the text for several moments before quietly asking:
"...I got a SSS+ skill because of Earth's sacrifice?"
[Correct.]
The answer arrived immediately.
[The Earth System Core contained exceptionally dense pure mana.]
[Residual creation mana remained available after vessel formation.]
[Unused resources were repurposed.]
[Therefore]
[Me!]
For some reason that answer made Wren laugh.
An entire worlds system had died. The System had sacrificed its Core. Occatus had spent the remnants of her reincarnation allocation creating a Primordial Vampire. Together they had somehow produced a cheerful crimson window introducing itself.
Honestly?
That felt strangely fitting.
The System appeared pleased with her understanding.
[Current functionality restricted.]
[Host requirements unmet.]
[Full binding cannot proceed!]
Wren's smile vanished instantly.
"There it is."
[There what is?]
"The catch."
[Reasonable assumption.]
Which wasn't exactly a denial.
The System continued before she could complain.
[Current functionality remains restricted.]
[Requirements not yet satisfied.]
Wren frowned.
"What requirements?"
[Vessel Stabilization.]
That answer meant absolutely nothing.
Apparently noticing her confusion, the System elaborated.
[Your current body is critically underdeveloped.]
[Vessel Age: 1 Day.]
[Vessel Development: Malnourished Weak Newborn.]
Wren froze.
"...Newborn."
[Correct!]
The cheerful response somehow made things worse.
"I'm not a newborn."
[Your body is.]
"Well, I don't feel malnourished or weak."
[That doesn't mean you aren't.]
Wren frowned harder.
The System did not appear intimidated.
[Current vessel remains nourished and buffed by residual creation mana.]
[This condition is temporary.]
A very uncomfortable feeling settled in Wren's stomach.
"Temporary?"
[Approximately 3 Hours, 30 Minutes, 54 Seconds Remaining.]
The uncomfortable feeling immediately became significantly more uncomfortable.
"What happens after the timer reaches zero?" This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
The System paused.
[Host will become hungry and very very weak.]
Wren stared.
The System stared back.
At least, it felt like it was staring.
Then another line appeared.
[The technical term is "starving."]
Wren suddenly disliked the conversation.
A lot.
The System appeared to notice.
[Current vessel is undergoing accelerated growth.]
[Large quantities of nutrition required.]
Wren already knew where this conversation was heading.
She hated it.
"No."
[No?]
"No."
The System remained quiet.
Wren folded her arms.
"I'm not doing that again."
Her eyes drifted toward the deer lying a few feet away.
The silence stretched for several seconds.
When the System finally responded, some of its enthusiasm had disappeared.
[The deer?]
Wren closed her eyes.
"Yes."
Another pause followed.
[Wren.]
For the first time, the System sounded almost gentle.
[You will.]
[You must.]
The words hit harder than they should have.
Because Wren already knew they were true.
"No."
[You must survive.]
Frustration flashed across her face.
"I don't want to kill things. I've never killed anything!"
The words left her mouth before she could stop them.
"Please... I didn't think. I wasn't thinking at all. I didn't think it would be like this."
[I know.]
The answer arrived immediately.
No lecture.
No argument.
Just understanding.
For a moment Wren found herself liking the System again.
Unfortunately it wasn't finished.
The answer arrived immediately.
[Everything alive must eat.]
[Some graze.]
[Some hunt.]
[Some consume sunlight.]
[Some consume mana.]
The forest remained silent around them.
Then the next lines appeared.
[Everything is prey.]
[Everything is predator.]
[Often both.]
Wren looked toward the deer.
The System waited.
[You are not evil for having to feed.]
The words hurt.
Because part of her desperately wanted to argue.
Another part already knew the System was right.
[You have been alive for one day.]
[Your vessel is still growing.]
[You are not being punished.]
The final line appeared more slowly than the others.
[You are simply alive.]
For a long time Wren didn't answer.
She was alive.
Really alive.
She had died and somehow been given another chance.
The forest stretched endlessly around her, and somewhere far in the darkness she could hear heartbeats moving between the trees. She hated that she could hear them. Hated that part of her paid attention to them. Hated that some instinct buried deep inside her understood exactly what they meant.
Eventually she spoke.
"...I still don't like it."