System Change

Chapter 336: Dave

Derek drew his glaive and Silvi tensed on his shoulder. There was a voice, but nobody visible. In fact, Derek couldnt feel the presence of anyone or anything. Whos there?

No need to be so anxious, the voice said. Im not here to hurt you.

That didnt help Derek relax at all. He was supposed to be in Cydaria with the rest of his party, but he and Silvi had been what? Intercepted? By someone or something? So no, he wasnt going to relax.

Fine, fine, the voice chuckled. Out of nowhere, a figure began to fade into being.

Derek watched as the figure solidified right before his eyes. Silvi grew even more tense on his shoulder where she was sitting. After a short amount of time, a fully solid figure was standing before them.

How is this? the figure asked.

Derek took in the sight in front of him. The figure seemed to be a young member of the elven race. From his feet to his neck, he was covered in a brown robeon which matched his medium length brown hair and deep brown eyes. The person in front of him had the same trademark pointy ears as all the other elves Derek had met. The elven man was about half a foot shorter than Derek, maybe 56 or 57, and he stared at the two companions with questioning eyes and a half smirk.

Other than that, his features were basic. Derek had seen some elvesactually, all elves that Derek had the pleasure of meeting had been much more beautiful than the one standing in front of him. If anything, he would say that the elf in front of him was more like an elf with human featuresother than the ears. He had a plain face and a slightly pointed nose. Nothing really stood out about the elf.

In fact, nothing at all stood out about the elf. Derek could feel no energy coming from the young looking elven man. Even if he focused hard, if he shut his eyes, it was like there was no one standing there. Forget relaxing. This made Derek even more anxious.

Who are you? Derek cautiously asked.

Who am I? the man asked as he took a step forward, causing Derek to take a step back. Thats not of real importance right now. Were here to talk about youyou and your companion. But, if you need a name, you can call me Dave. Hmm yes, Dave will work. The man smiled as he took another step forward. Now, have a seat. Weve things to discuss and little time to do so.

Derek took another step away from the man, but to his surprise, he tripped over something and fell backinto a recliner. What the!? He couldnt help but look around in awe at the chair he was in. It was thread for thread, identical to some of the reclining chairs Derek had seen or even used back on Earth. This was not something hed seen since arriving in Cydaria. They had some cushioned seats, especially the ones hed gotten for his shop, but never had he seen such a lazy comfortable chair.

Coffee? the man asked, and before Dereks eyes, a coffee table appeared next to him with a steaming cup of coffee sitting directly in the middle. It is a very good beverage, might I add?

Feeling overwhelmed and struggling to keep up, Dereks body reacted on its own as he reached out and took the handle of the coffee cup and brought the drink up to his nose. It was a heavenly aroma of the smoky and earthiness that comes with a perfectly brewed cup of dark roasted coffee.

Hey! Stop it! Silvis words coming from her collar broke Derek out of his thoughts and he sat the cup back down without taking a sip. Derek looked over to his shoulder, thankful to his companion for seeing that he was out of sorts. Wheres mine? then he nearly facepalmed as she requested her own treat.

Of course, I wouldnt leave you out. How rude of me would it be to not offer my other guest refreshments? Instantly, another table appeared on the opposite side of the coffee table. This one, however, had a cushion on one side and a few dishes and bowls of liquid sat out in front of it. The cushion was perfectly sized for the small bunny, and she knew it.

Before Derek could stop her, she was sitting on the cushion and sniffing at the bowl, then, she gently stuck out her tongue and touched it to the liquid inside. She drew back and closed her eyes before opening them and looking at the elven man who had somehow found his own seat while Derek was distracted by Silvi. Yum. Very sweet. Give me the recipe.

For someone who says we dont have much time, you sure are taking your own, Derek said before the man could respond to Silvi.

Discussions are much smoother when everyone is comfortable. The man shrugged.

It means that your body naturally reached an evolution point with its affinity, and assistance had to be requested to help in the evolution. But instead of the assistance I wanted, the damn Origin System came and assisted. For the first time, Dave seemed to get heated about something.

Why is that a bad thing? Derek asked.

In the long run? It isnt at least not for you, Dave replied after calming. In the short term? You can no longer be rewarded internal rewards in this system. That means no direct stats, no direct skill points, no direct upgrade points

Why? Derek asked.

Dave gestured wide at the surroundings. Because your body has evolved past the point of interference from us.

If thats so, why am I still able to obtain experience points or increase my skill levels? Derek asked. And what about my durability? Shouldnt have that increased? That beast didnt have a problem taking my foot off, after all.

Thats gathered essence quantified into something easy to understand, not directly increasing your level and skills. And the evolution has increased the amount of essence your body can absorb to fit with your high affinity. But Dave waved that away. But that is neither here nor there. The problem is that once the Origin System came, it became interested.

And what does that mean? Derek asked. He did have some questions about experience points, but he would let the man finish what he wanted before he asked.

With it there, the Great System Derek didnt miss the man rolling his eyes at the name of the system. Defaulted to its basics and we could no longer interfere.

You interfered before? Derek asked.

Of course I interfered before. I made sure you received the best offensive skill in the reward pool after the second trial. But did you use the Dragon Fire scroll? Nope. You just stored it away. At least it ended up going to someone who can make use of it. The elf looked at Silvi, who was still munching away on her refreshments. But then you evolved.

What about the Achievement from the whale? Derek asked. That was after I evolved.

That wasnt a dungeon reward, Dave replied. It is a universal title or achievement.

Oh Derek thought. Then the Achievement everyone got at the end of the dungeon was specific to the Great System and its dungeons. Avery said that it was for completing a dungeon at the highest difficulty. I guess difficulty is relevant based on the system. Just how many systems are there? Hed finally gotten some system names, though. Theres the Great System, the Universal System, and the Origin System.

Well thats answers that question, Derek said. Now, I somehow got to the point to evolve, but the current system couldnt handle it, so it requested assistance. Then, instead of whoever was supposed to help came, this Origin System decided that I was interesting and decided it would help. What else?

The man sighed. Because part of it was interested, instead of helping you through the evolution and going on its way, it decided to keep an eye on the dungeon. Then, it decided to test you with a little challenge. I admit, I am not thrilled about lives being lost due to the Origin Systems whims. But there is nothing I can do there.

Derek snorted. Hypocrite. You just confessed to doing the same thing with me when I arrived.

The elven man looked amused by Derek. May I continue?

Go ahead.