8 Anomaly

"System?"

[Yes, Master?]

"The next time you surprise me like that, I'm just gonna give up and jump off a bridge."

[My apologies, Master, but since all constructed bridges within the Federation contains a 'suicide prevention' force field, even if you wanted to, you wouldn't be able to fall to your death through jumping off a bridge.]

"Why the f**k do I have to kill an innocent person! Weren't you the one who said that we can put off dealing with them until we've captured all the other fragments absorbed by the Earth?" Daniel did not expect for the system to retort to his cynical joke at the very beginning, which simply added onto his initial anger, making him vent all his questions mentally upon the system.

[I'm sorry, Master. It seems that the energy depletion as a result of my continuous operation have made it impossible for you not to act within 24 hours. If we were to pass the 24 hour mark, I would not have enough energy to remain attached to your soul anymore, and I would be forced to detach from you. Therefore, please replenish my energy as soon as possible.]

Daniel scratched his head in frustration before finally giving out a resigned sigh. "Fine, is this adamantine thingy your energy source or something? What the heck is it? What does it even look like? You haven't even described to me such crucial details! Are you trying to send me into a wild goose chase?"

[Ah! I'm sorry, Master. The usage of adamantine is common knowledge where I came from, so I had neglected to tell you about it, thinking that you would have already known about such basic information.]

Being basically called a stupid peasant, Daniel rolled his eyes, but allowed the system to continue with its narration.

[Adamantine is a rare material used to store soul energy. They are also sometimes called soul crystals. Any biological organism can absorb adamantine to their bodies through contact, so it's become a rather crucial commodity within the universe.]

"Doesn't that mean that the other 'binded' hosts might have already absorbed all of the soul energy from the adamantine and transferred them to fuel your other system fragments? If that were the case, it would simply be futile to attack another 'binded' person since the soul energy we want from them would already be used up." Daniel retorted.

[It's true that all the adamantine had already been absorbed the second it touches a person. Normally, I would not be able to retrieve its soul energy anymore. However, since the thing that is absorbing all the soul energy is another part of myself, I can simply absorb my other fragment the second they are forcefully detached from the hosts' body due to their death, thus allowing me to also absorb their energy while increasing the number of abilities I can give to Master through absorbing all the information from my other fragments.]

"So the first quest is to help regain some of your energy, while the second quest is to help glue your shattered incorporeal body back together." Daniel contemplated by himself for a moment before simplifying the system's explanation with his own words.

"Okay, fine." Daniel sneered as he continued to mentally communicate with the system. "Let's say I'll actually be able to complete your mission in a day's time. What the heck is XP and what can I do with it?"

[Just like the RPG video games that you've played; XP are experience points that you gain from completing one of the assigned missions of the Assassin System. The XP gained will allow you to level up, giving you a certain number of base points to upgrade your stats.]

"Okay, so what are my stats?"

[Ting! Activating personal status menu.

Name: Daniel07777

Age: 16

Level: 1/?

XP: 0/10

HP: 100/100

SP: 100/100

STR: 5

AGI: 5

Skills: Psychokinesis (Lvl 1)

Note: With below average strength and agility, while also lacking in skills, host will barely be able to kill a 10-year-old child. If you want to survive, please start learning some self-defence skills and maybe work out a little more.]

"Did you really have to add a note in?" Daniel complained when he saw the evaluation at the bottom of his status menu.

[I'm sorry master, but the note was added in order to advice and encourage you, so you won't try and slack off while your fellow 'awakened' peers continue to train in their abilities.]

"Fine, I'll tolerate it for now." Daniel gritted his teeth and replied. "Also, I get the rest of the stats, but what the f**k is SP? Is it mana?"

[SP is short for soul points, Master, which is the amount of soul energy you can use from within your soul before it is completely depleted.]

"And what does 5 STR and AGI represent? Can I at least have a scale so I would actually know what the numbers mean?"

[To make a comparison, a normal healthy adult would have an average STR and AGI of 7.5, while a special forces agent would have about 10 in both categories. Biomechanical units created by the Federation should have a STR and AGI of about 15, while a full mechanical unit should have around 20.]

"So I'm even weaker than a normal adult?!" Daniel shouted within his mind with dismay. "I thought I was a normal healthy teenager! How am I that weak?!"

[From your lack of exercise, your constant overnights working on your homework and slight malnutrition due to lack of natural food, it is natural for you to be weaker than a normal adult, Master.]

"Tch!" Daniel clicked his tongue with annoyance. "Well, since I'm so weak, I won't even have a chance of beating Ms. Jackson in a fight, much less kill her, so Mission 2 is a bust. The only chance I have to finish this mission is if I were to complete Mission 1 in time."

[You can also try and kill an 'Awakened', Master! I have faith in you!]

"Do you think that I'm a suicidal maniac! Who in their right mind would actually wanna find someone who is almost definitely stronger than him and try and kill the other person when I don't even know what sort of abilities the other person has!" Daniel retorted, rolling his eyes again as he grumbled under his breath.

As he wasn't able to recover from the shock of potentially dying within 24 hours if he doesn't do something fast, Daniel's mood became gloomy again, giving off a dark aura that anyone within a close distance could feel.

After afternoon class have ended, Jake felt slightly concerned for Daniel's mood swings, so he walked over to the latter's desk as he was packing his bag and said, "Don't be depressed! Even if Ms. Jackson is totally out of your league, you can still dream about it at night. Maybe your fantasies will come true in the future."

"I told you a million times that I'm not interested in Ms. Jackson!" Daniel fumed. "I just feel slightly tired, that's all. Running up and down half a mountain completely exhausted me last night."

"Well, you were the one who decided to go there, so you can only reap what you sew." Jake shrugged and replied nonchalantly. "At least you were lucky enough not to get hit by the meteor strike."

Daniel wanted to say that he really did got hit by the meteor strike, but since it was a secret, he could only keep silent while glaring at the other with a look of anger, making Jake feel slightly confused as to what he had said that made the other react this way.

"Oh, right. Do you wanna come over to my house? My parents are gonna be home, so they're gonna force me to do my homework if I were alone in my room."

"Wouldn't they force you to do homework anyways even if I'm there?" Daniel asked.

"Well with you here, you can guard by the door and tell me whenever they're approaching so I can have the chance to quit the game whenever they come by to check on us." Jake grinned mischievously.

"Why can't you just study properly instead." Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Nope! Don't wanna! Not gonna!" Jake threw a childish tantrum in front of Daniel, making the latter speechless at his behavior.

Giving out a sigh, Daniel could only deny Jake by saying that he has something else to do for the afternoon. When Jake asked why, he simply gave out a random excuse. Obviously, Daniel can't say that the reason he wanted to be alone is because he needs to find a special rock or else he's gonna die, right?

After the both of them headed towards the bus station, Jake got on the first bus that arrived and waved the other goodbye as Daniel continued to wait for his bus ride back home. However, the second Jake left, Daniel walked off the bus platform and headed off in another direction instead.