Chapter 38: 34. Evolution and Mastery

He was floating on the edge where an endless void waited.

Behind him was a purple light pulsating softly, beckoning him.

In front of him was the mad and ungodly infinite.

Out there in the limitless beyond was hunger. It contained a ceaseless fact. The crushing truth that all existence was destined to lead to the inevitable erasure of everything.

The future called him to face his doom and be unmade.

 Indiscriminate like always. Unchanged since the Togetherness became unbound.

He should turn away and face the purple light. It was best to ignore the abyss. It was an eventuality, not an imminent threat. Let it be the concern of someone else.

But that wasn’t his style. Instead, he floated into the abyss. He pulled the purple light along with him. Hell, it might make for a fun trip.

A smile crossed his face, and the darkness shuddered in disgust.

The black fabric expanding everywhere thinned and faded into dim lighting.

Jay stirred awake, his eyes fluttering open as he resurfaced from unconsciousness. He woke to the sight and sensation of putrid and oily gunk that covered him from head to toe. Chunky bile slathered his tongue, filling his mouth to the roof. Blood oozed out of his nostrils. And something worse laid splattered under him.

Every reason to panic was there. Somehow, Jay kept his cool by sheer willpower plus the weight of his Conviction.

He leaned forward and let out the vomit. He blinked at the horrid, fleshy bits that weren’t food from the government mobile cafeteria truck. It looked like pieces of clumped together meat. Each piece was the width of a quarter. He couldn’t believe this ripped out from inside of him somehow.

Then there was the stuff that covered him entirely, plus what came out on the other end. It was as horrible as it could get. With shaky hands, Jay reached forward and turned the knob for the shower. The water came down in a warm spray. The disgusting gunk slid off, forming a brown sludge swirling around the drain in slow, tiny lumps.

Ever so carefully, Jay lifted so the shower could get everything. By the time he felt less wretched and more human-like, he realized this was the worst getting dirty experience yet. The weird toy blood and flesh chunks under wood or plastic were gross, but they got easier to look past after enough exposure. 

This rank-up experience was new.

He was standing now and wholly exposed to Kleo.

A part of him didn’t care anymore.

“That was horrible,” Jay said.

“Purification,” Kleo said. “The impurities of the mortal body being expunged to give way to something more enlightened. And less mortal.”

“Sorry for the lack of modesty,” he said.

“I don’t care,” Kleo said. “I’ll tease you and have fun, but I’m comfortable with you regardless of modesty. It falls on your intent, Master.”

“Cool, can you get behind my back? Just in case?” Jay asked, leaving nothing to chance.

“And risk touching your impurities? The smell alone was gross; it almost felt like I was releasing my impurities with you. So disgusting,” Kleo complained.

Jay looked up and gave the ceiling a wan smile. “Truly, I have the best familiar.”

“Can’t find better when the other competition doesn’t exist,” Kleo said.

Jay ensured his cleanliness. He soaped and washed three times everywhere to make sure he didn’t miss anything. Then he dried off, waited for Kleo to bathe like a bird in the sink, then they returned to his room.

“I don’t have spare clothes!” Kleo complained.

Jay tossed a set of toy-sized clothing. “Some of the girls there have changeable outfits. I usually pick the one I like and save the others just in case.”

Dressed up in comfy house clothes, Kleo looked up at him oddly. “I can feel the change. I don’t want to access the System without looking together this time.”

Jay flopped into his gaming seat, feeling extra clean and somewhat changed, as Kleo had mentioned. Once Kleo settled into his lap, he absentmindedly petted her. She leaned into his gentle strokes as he pulled up the latest string of System Messages.

Congrats! You’ve evolved Lesser Freak (You) to Rank 2! Your experiences from Rank 1 shape your rank-up gains! You’ve acquired +2 Resilience, +2 Poise, +2 Strength, +2 Agility, +2 Perception, +2 Intellect, +2 Conviction, +2 Discovery.

Congrats! Lesser Freak leveled up to 11! +8 Free AP.

New Skill Acquired! [Sling Assist, Level 1]!

Some experience from noteworthy and incredible encounters from peak Rank 1 have rolled over into your new rank!

Congrats! Lesser Freak leveled up to 12! +8 Free AP.

Congrats! Lesser Freak leveled up to 13! +8 Free AP.

Congrats Lesser Freak leveled up to 14! +8 Free AP.

“Okay, no freaking way,” Jay said. “Pun not intended, that’s gotta be the most levels I’ve gained in one sitting so far.”

“You’ve done something, Master Jay,” Kleo said. “Something big that leveled you up ridiculously fast. What did you do? What led to me taking on this form and making you the center of my universe?”

“Other than my charms and good looks doing the heavy lifting?” Jay asked.

Kleo snorted.

“Time to check the profile,” Jay said before Kleo opened her mouth to say whatever came to mind.

The profile was the part Jay anticipated the most. Last he checked, he was at [166 Applied AP] at Level 8. That was back when Team FAAHI defeated the stupid bird with the huge magic resistance and overcame the floating platform room. It felt like days had passed since then.

Jay waved his hand dramatically. “Show me the profile.”

 

Name: Jay Luckrun, Rank 2 Class: [Lesser Freak, Level 14] Race: Inhuman Allegiance: Multiverse Protectorate Pantheon. Affinity: Gravity Familiar: Creepy Kleo, Rank 1 Type: [Teeny Faerie, Level 1]   Attributes: [182 Applied AP]; 15 Resilience, 15 Poise, 14 Strength, 28 Agility, You are reading story The Gravity Freak of Dungeons and Monsters: System Portal Fantasy at novel35.com 46 Perception, 14 Intellect, 27 Conviction, 23 Discovery; [58 Free AP]. Skills: [Moonwalker, Level 10], [Dance Floor Relativity, Level 10], [Grav Kick, Level 10], [One Heavy Step, Level 10], [Horizondancer (Super), Level 10], [Orbital Mastery (Familiar), Level 1], [Sling Assist, Level 1]. Talents: [Identify], [Guiding Light], [Obscurification], [Monkey Boon], [Faerie Master], [Mana Weaver (Familiar)]. Titles: [YoAnne’s Champion of Challenge and Change], [Omen Bearer of the Apocalypse], [Precursor of the System], [Slayer of Tyranny (Familiar)], [Successor of the Dungeon (Familiar)]. …

 

Jay sat upright. Kleo whistled sharply. The soft beats of Jay’s Lo-Fi music played in the background when they fell into silence.

“If I add my Free AP to everything, my Applied AP will be three times more than when I started.” Jay made some quick mental comparisons to the other crawlers based on past conversations. “My Strength is on par with Dennis when he first started. So, does that mean I can push people around way bigger than me?”

“Yes,” Kleo said plainly. “If Dennis was strong for a Systemless before he could level, now you’re nearly comparable to Systemless Dennis. But not exactly, I believe.”

“Why not exactly like a… uh… one to one ratio?” Jay asked, putting his new points in Intellect to work. It would’ve been harder to remember that tiny bit of math without the additions from his rank evolution.

“Master, the well of information I know comes from a new source,” Kleo explained. “So, what I say might be best explained by others with a deeper knowledge of the System. But for this question, I believe Dennis’s dedication to Systemless strength edges out your gained System Strength. Why? I can’t explain. But this matters when the AP in an Attribute between two System users are nearly similar, even if they aren’t exact. So, be sure of your advantage in Attributes before throwing your weight around.”

Jay nodded along. This was good information. He was keeping a better track of it all without drifting like usual.

“Can I see your Attributes?” he asked.

“You are seeing them,” Kleo explained. “My power belongs to you. In exchange, my existence is siphoned from you. It’s weird. I still level and rank separately, but the AP I gain will go to you, Master.”

Jay looked at [Teeny Faerie, Level 1] and tried to use his [Identify] talent. For this occasion, it worked.

[Faerie]: Flutter your wings and cross the boundaries holding mortals bound. Sip magic from the secrets and old things that were once forgotten and gone. Be a gift, bringing power and prominence to those you cherish. Be a curse, bringing weakness and calamity to those you despise. Your course is magical, whimsical, powerful–a treasure and danger to all, especially to the Master who claims you. For they will become your home for good and ill. Every Even Level Up delivers +1 Poise, +1 Agility to your Master. Every Odd Level Up delivers +1 Perception, +1 Discovery to your Master.

“Geez, Kleo, can you get any more dramatic?” Jay asked.

“I probably could, but I’ll still be half as dramatic as you,” Kleo said.

“One, you stole that from Mike. Two, it still burns, so bravo.”

Kleo smiled.

“Do you like my Familiar Type, Master?” she asked.

“Oh, for sure, it puts me front and center while I get hella good magical and whimsical support,” Jay answered. “This is going to make me even more broken.”

“Really?”

“It seems small,” Jay said. “Only +2 Attribute Points each time you level. But that’s extra AP I’m getting that, I guess, doesn’t normally happen. Then there are the Skills you’ll gain that’ll add to my whacky gravity-manipulating and freaky build.”

“Your special snowflake status grows larger, Master,” Kleo said.

“Ha, don’t start rubbing that in. You’re going to make me think I’m an anime protagonist like these guys,” Jay said, waving his hand at the wall of prominent heroes of animated pop culture.

“They’re the leads of their stories, correct? Or, um, shows?” Kleo asked hesitantly.

Jay felt there was something curious about those questions. The way Kleo had asked stood out. Ugh. If Mike were here, he would’ve pointed out the curious thing bugging Jay. It was tempting to dump more AP than necessary into Intellect.

“Yeah, they’re the leads,” Jay said. “Some of them don’t even rely on friends. They’re so strong that they handle most problems on their own. In a way, we kind of worship that in this world. The one to rise above the rest and stand as the most special snowflake.”

“Ah. Do you want to be like that?” Kleo asked.

“Yeah, I do,” Jay said honestly, which terrified him. “Damn, I do want to be the most special snowflake. Ugh, that’s so narcissistic I feel dirty.”

Kleo chuckled. “It is hard to deny one’s desire.”

“By the way, I dig this wise fairy supportive role you’re going for right now. I give it a 9/10 on the role-playing scale since it differs from your bratty fairy side. Keep it up.”

Jay gave her two thumbs up and a big grin.

“You’re deflecting to avoid touching something very personal for you,” Kleo said like a knife to the heart. “Tsk, tsk, Master Jay. You are my home now. There will be few things you can hide from me when I start looking around. It’s the price for the extra power I’ll give you.”

Jay squirmed, searching for a way to throw Kleo off the trail. He wasn’t ready for this.

“Stop,” Kleo said. “Tell me to stop.”

“Stop digging out the benign skeletons in my closet,” Jay ordered, spreading a tiny gravitational force that made the air ripple.

Kleo lowered her head in deference. “As you command, Master.”

Jay shuddered. “Were you pushing me on purpose? Just to make me act like a master?”

“Not really,” Kleo said with a shrug. “I just realized I was being a pain and thought it’ll be easier if you order me to stop. It also gave me an example of being commanded under your power.”

“Is it permanent?” Jay asked.

Kleo shook her head. “It’s powerful but not permanent, I think. To resist right now will hurt me and possibly you. If I wait for the command to fade, then I can return to examining your skeletons again. Or you can cancel the command now, and I’ll try to control myself.”

“Before I do, can you tell me if my commands have to be exact in wording?” Jay asked.

“I’m not a devil,” Kleo said. “I have devilish tendencies. All that matters is your intent. I’ll feel that clearly when words won’t do.”

“Well, that makes things easier on me. So, here it goes, I cancel my last command,” Jay said, sending out another gravitational ripple.

Kleo nodded. “I’ll explore you sooner or later.”

“That,” Jay said, “is way too much innuendo.”

“How much is too much?”

“All of it.”

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