[Wake up!]
"Haah!" Eliot sprang up with a start, eyes opening to a grey sky.
"Ugh," he groaned, then tried to move, but couldn't. Something was firmly holding him in place.
"Grurururuururuururu~" A sound, something he couldn't explain in words, slithered into his ears. It felt like the rattling of a rattlesnake—a sound of danger.
'Something's wrong, where the hell am I?' The thought immediately followed. He decided to remain calm and refrain from struggling against whatever this was. For all he knew, he was in danger, so it was best to first assess the situation.
[Your body is under construction from damage sustained.]
He heard the words and frowned.
'Who are you?'
That voice—it was nothing like the System's usual robotic tone. It sounded human. Female, even.
[I am the System's Consciousness.]
'The System has a consciousness?' he thought back.
[Exactly. You have now leveled up to Level 1 and have acquired some System privileges. This includes access to the System's Consciousness—me.]
'What exactly is the System?' He decided to ask after a moment.
[A boon.]
'…?'
[….]
'That's all you can tell me?' he pressed.
[Your privileges are severely limited due to your current level. This will change over time with due diligence.]
'Exciting,' he thought, looking down slowly to find a whitish, sticky substance coating his entire body. 'Where am I?' he inquired.
[Somewhere within the Mystic World.]
'What? The Mystic World opened while I was unconscious?'
[That appears to be the case.]
'...What's holding me in place? And what made that sound?'
[As for the thing holding you in place, it is a sticky latex substance sharing a great similarity to a spider web.]
'And that sound?'
[The monster responsible.]
With that response, Eliot suddenly channeled mana through his arms, strengthening them, before pulling hard and unexpectedly. Fortunately, he managed to free his hands.
"GRURURURURURU!" He heard the deafening roar. In the next instant, he enhanced his whole body, ignoring the searing pain, and bolted upright. He was lucky, as the very next instant, something slashed the spot where he had been lying, literally digging deep into the earth with that one strike.
"Haah," Eliot gasped, frantically searching for Anna's ring in hopes of manifesting his sword.
"?!"
It wasn't there.
"GRURURURURURURU!" The monster, which looked like a chimera of a scorpion and a serpent, shot forward in a blinding blast. Eliot let himself drop lifelessly to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut—a smart move, as the monster's massive stinger swerved over where he once was.
But just then, the monster stepped in, determined to impale him with one of its numerous blade-like feet: CHU! He had foreseen this and rolled to the side. However, the monster followed, and he rolled again. It followed, and once again he did the same. This went on until he collided with a thick tree trunk. That was when the stinger found its mark on his right leg.
"ARGH!" he cried out in agony. The pain was searing—like a needle that had been held over a fire until it turned bright red, then slowly piercing into your finger, amplified tenfold.
[USER IN CRITICAL CONDITION DUE TO TOXIC SUBSTANCE IN SYSTEM.]
[VENOM IS SPREADING FAST.]
[USER HAS BEEN PARALYZED.]
Suddenly, the monster flung him so hard that he collided with and destroyed a couple of trees before rolling to a stop.
"...HHHHA," He gasped, feeling the painful absence of air for over a minute. The agony assaulting him was so severe he couldn't even think straight anymore.
[USER IS DYING.]
[VENOM IS APPROACHING THE HEART.]
"System, do something… anything," he gasped, feeling himself fading away.
[Understood.]
The female voice spoke.
[Converting user's Starter Bonus to Genetic Points.]
[Conversion successful.]
[Converting Genetic Points to Fate Points.]
[THIS WOULD REQUIRE ADMINISTRATOR PRIVILEGES.]
[Conversion failed.]
[Utilizing System privileges.]
[Trade by barter system is active.]
[Sacrificing user's sight in the left eye for the ability to resist poison.]
[Points required for transaction: 25GP.]
[TOTAL GP: 53GP.]
[Proceed with transaction.]
[Processing….]
[WARNING: VENOM HAS REACHED THE HEART!!!]
"...ARGH!" A roar escaped as Eliot reached his limit. After that, came unconsciousness.
[TRANSACTION COMPLETE.]
[Eliot? Eliot, wake up!]
The System tried to reach him, but there was no response.
[CHECKING USER'S VITALS.]
[USER IS ALIVE BUT CURRENTLY UNCONSCIOUS.]
[Consciousness? Now?]
[I have to do something.]
[CONSCIOUSNESS IS TRYING TO ACCESS USER'S BODY.]
[ACCESS DENIED.]
"GRURURURURURURU!"
[Access denied, but the user is in danger.]
[ACCESS DENIED.]
'What do I do?'
"GRURURURURURURU!" The monster appeared before Eliot's body in an instant and sank its claw into his abdomen.
[USER IS LOSING BLOOD.]
'Of course he would! Danger is imminent, and you refuse me access, don't you see? If this goes on, the user will die!'
[...]
[PROCESSING…]
[...ACCESS GRANTED.]
'Finally.'
[AUTOPILOT ACTIVATED.]
With that, Eliot's hand moved on its own and grabbed the monster's claw.
Cracks!
"GRURURURURURURU!"
It roared in pain, but his eyes were blank, empty, and then…
He moved.