System Change

“Surely it is not as bad as you make it seem,” Darvin said to Kelvin.

“Darvin, if Derek Hunt is a part of that system, and whatever is happening requires us to face off with users of said system, then we are in trouble,” Kelvin said. “The man used maybe four skills to beat me… maybe… and he probably only needed two… if any. He is able to shift his body in a way that I was unable to notice… even while I had a grasp on his wrist.

“Then, it looked like he was able to move his aura—a sort of channeling skill—to his fist, and while the blow was very strong in and of itself, I believe it was likely a blow using nothing more than his strength stat. The channeling of the void into the strike did not activate until a few moments later. With that single combination of attack, he was able to defeat me.

“And, on top of all of that, he used a certain skill that could only remind me of Trischa’s nullify abilities. Except, instead of taking away certain abilities from the user, it pulls in and absorbs any magic—making any magic projectiles against the man practically useless,” Kelvin finished his short retelling of the battle between him and Derek.

“Then, when you mention Trischa…” Darvin muttered.

“She will be the key to successfully defeating that man if it is something that must be done,” Kelvin said. “However, if there is any way to avoid a fight with him, we must do so.” Kelvin inwardly gulped as he thought about something else the man had said to him.

He said that if we ever meet again, he’s not going to be nice, he thought. Does that mean… that he knows that our system may be hunting his own? Kelvin frowned and couldn’t keep the anxiety off his face.

“What is it?” Darvin asked.

“That man… he said that if we meet again, we will be enemies… you don’t think that he knows about our system hunting his, do you?” Kelvin asked. “It could just be a coincidence, though.”

“That’s true,” Kelvin said. “If that’s the case, then he’ll be prepared. He’ll be even more of a problem.”

“I see…” Darvin said. “Then… we must create a strategy to use against the man. If everything is like you say, we must make proper preparations, too… just in case.”

“Sure…” Kelvin said. “But…” he hesitated.

“But what?” Darvin asked.

“What are we going to do about the other one?”

“Remember?” Kelvin said. “There were two warning notifications on the screen, were there not?”

“There… was,” Darvin said. “So…”

“Yes,” Kelvin said with a nod. “Derek Hunt was not traveling alone. He had a companion with him—one who seemed to be just as strong as he was… possibly.”

“Possibly?” Darvin asked.

“Yes, possibly,” Kelvin said. “As I said before, I was defeated quite handily by Derek alone. His companion did not have to enter the fight. In fact… she… did nothing more than float around on the battlefield. She seemed… overly obsessed with food. She also had a pair of cleavers—like the kind one would use in cooking. In fact, when Derek Hunt… introduced her, he said that she was a chef.”

“A chef?” Darvin asked. “And you are… scared of a chef? Of a person who specializes in a life skill?”

“A… about that,” Kelvin muttered.

“Kelvin,” Darvin said. “You are trying my patience.”

“Well,” Kelvin said as he took in a deep breath and let it out, “the thing is, that chef was able to completely overwhelm my aura with her own the instant it leaked out. It felt very similar, almost identical to Derek’s own void aura. So, she may be a chef, but she is one of the void, and the void is not an element that we know much about.”

“That is true,” Darvin said. “Is there anything else you can tell me about this chef?”

“Uh…” Kelvin stuttered. Then, with a flick of his wrist, a very, very small meal on a very small dish appeared in his hand. It looked to be a couple of slices of meat, a small scoop of mashed potatoes, and a piece of bread. It honestly didn’t look like anything special, but the aroma it gave off was divine. “She slighted me by accident and apologized by giving me this dish.”

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“Really?” Darvin was looking at the meal suspiciously.

“Yes…” Kelvin said as he gulped. Finally, he couldn’t help himself, and he reached out with his free hand to pick up a slice of the meat.

“What are you doing?” Darvin’s eyes went wide. “That may be poison.”

“He wouldn’t let me live just to kill me with poison right after,” Kelvin said. “He didn’t seem to be a cruel man.” Finally, he picked up the meat and placed it in his mouth. A savory mix of flavors exploded in his mouth. The next instant, he scooped some of the potatoes up with another slice of meat, then he mopped up the rest of the plate with the piece of bread. “Oh… wow,” he said once he was finished, then his eyes widened in shock. “I… just received a new Title.”

“What!?”

“She… really was sorry,” Kelvin said. “It’s not an amazing Title, but it is one that I did not have. It increases any food buffs I may receive by three percent.”

“Just… what kind of person is it that can hand out foods that give Titles?” Darvin shook his head in astonishment, then he said, “Did she only give you the one dish?” He looked on hopefully.

“She did not…” Kelvin said. “And about the whole… person thing…” he hesitated, then said, “Derek Hunt’s companion… uh… she’s… she’s a Horned Bunny.”

***

After leaving the battlefield, Derek and Silvi made one last stop at the bar owned by his old acquaintance. Earth Silvi had been very surprised when they showed up unscathed by Kelvin, but seemed to accept it much more readily than she should have. She’d had a day full of surprises after all, so Derek could only assume that she was just too mentally and physically drained to have any energy left for the surprise.

Derek wished her and her companions well one last time, left a few barrels of one of Roman’s earlier brews with her and her team for special occasions. It was the brew that he first drank with Shae at a bar not unlike the one that Silvi owned, and he had quite a bit of it, so it seemed fit to leave some of it there.

It was much easier to obtain different kinds of alcohol through the Universal System’s store than it was on the Davenresh System’s planet, but they appreciated the gesture, nonetheless. Though he thought they were strong enough to drink it without a problem, he did make sure they knew the brew was technically a poison and that they should be careful.

After that, they jumped back into the void and prepared for their long journey home.

However, before they went home, Derek focused his Void Sense on Jace one last time. It didn’t seem like it had moved since the previous time, and he had the urge to go to it, but in the end, he still chose not to. I’ve already created enough of a mess by being here, and I have no clue if the man is inside a dungeon right now or not, and if he is, is he even level 250? I think I would be okay in a level 250 dungeon right now, but I don’t want to take that chance. Kelvin said that the dungeon could have exploded and taken out all of Charlotte, after all.

With that settled, he locked onto an aura that was new to him. It was a crimson red aura and was burning hot. He watched it for several minutes until he saw it jump around. It instantly moved to one place, then to another. Finally, it seemed to settle down.

For the briefest of times, Derek thought about traveling to the aura—to Kelvin—just to put an exclamation mark on his threat, but quickly decided against it. Surely the man had left to report to his leadership, and there was no telling who or what was there that would act if he suddenly appeared. Sure, he didn’t worry about himself or Silvi’s ability to escape, but Kelvin had seemed sincere in his oath, so he decided to trust the man for now.

With all that over, Derek closed his eyes. He said one last goodbye to Earth, as he didn’t expect to ever return again. Then, finally, he said, “Alright, Silvi… let’s go home.”

***

The trip back didn’t take quite as long as before. This time, Derek and Silvi knew what they were getting into and prepared accordingly. After a certain amount of time—pretty much the exact amount as before—the pressure in their heads appeared again, which almost confirmed Derek’s hypothesis that it was caused by their time inside rather than their distance traveled.

Derek made a mental note to go into the void at some point after he got back and just sit in one spot to see if the pressure appeared again. That would completely confirm his theory. It would also make him feel even worse for Asher, who presumably had been inside the same level of void as Derek and Silvi, but for a much, much longer time.

Still, by the time they were closing in on their destination, Derek and Silvi both felt even more drained than they had on their way to Earth. Neither of them had any proper rest in between journeys, and they were both feeling the mental strain. Still, they eventually made it back to the shop safe and sound.

Derek quickly tore the void open and stepped out, closing it behind him. As soon as it disappeared, he fell to the ground, panting. Silvi wasn’t doing any better than he was either. The second she was out, the pot that was holding all of their valuables disappeared, and everything fell to the ground with a clatter.

Silvi was among the things that fell to the ground as well. She slowly pulled herself to the pile of stuff until she reached a storage ring, and her collar with her communication crystals appeared around her neck.

“I… don’t want to do that again,” Silvi said. “Too tired… no new ingredients. Lost slices of smoked wyvern roast. Not worth it.”

“You didn’t have to apologize to the guy,” Derek said with a cough. He was having a very hard time catching his breath. He also knew that Silvi went to her communication crystal because she didn’t like Telepathy, and he figured it was less taxing on her after such a trip. “And even if you wanted to, you didn’t have to give him a meal to do it.”

“Am nice chef,” Silvi said.

“Oh yeah?” Derek asked with a chuckle.

“Mhm,” Silvi confirmed. “My cooking now envied in two systems.”

“Ah…” Derek said. “I see.”

“Kelvin will want more,” Silvi said. “But not be able to get more.”

“Oh…” Derek said. “That’s going to suck.”

“He was rude,” Silvi replied. “Tried to fight. Deserved it.”

“I see,” Derek said. He then checked his system time and saw that it was well into the night already. He was sure that everyone would be in bed… everyone but Brandi, whom he expected to be right outside the door hammering away at something.

Derek tried pushing himself up a couple of times, but he really was mentally out of it. Instead, he reached over to his bracelet and summoned one of his reclining chairs. After that, he pulled himself up and into it before letting the leg rest out and leaning back.

“I was going to go upstairs to my bed, but this is good enough,” he said.

“Mhm,” Silvi replied, and the next second, he felt her weight appear on his lap. “Good enough.”