6 Codex

Yep, 'SilverMoon Eatery'.

Our family eatery.

Though I don't know why there is 'Moon' in the name, the 'Silver' is probably due to the silver hair both Mom and I have.

If it wasn't for the illness that had been ruining her health, my mom would be no less than a beauty queen!

As I entered, a familiar feeling swept over me.

This body…

This body remembered this place and since I was in a hurry the last time I entered this place, I didn't notice this peculiarity.

As I climbed the flight of stairs, my thoughts were paused by the exotic aroma which also caused my tummy to rumble.

I sped up and quickly approached the kitchen in the right corner of the floor, where a beautiful lady with a grey apron and silver hair, that reached down to her waist, was standing.

"Go and wash your hands first." She said, not even bothering to glance behind her.

"Yes, Mom!" I replied and moved towards the wash basin to wash my hands.

"What's on the menu, Mom?" I asked as I tried taking a peek at the bowl, already salivating.

"The usual, Rice with herbal soup." Mom said with an apologetic smile.

"Come on, Mom! Cheer up! I want to eat rice today!"

"Alright. Enough waiting. Get the plates ready."

"Yeah, Mom."

I was eagerly looking forward to the first meal Mom had cooked in years.

Just thinking about it made my eyes glossy with happiness. Though I made sure to hide it from Mom.

Setting the rice bowl and two plates on the table near the kitchen shelf, I proceeded to pour some of it onto both plates as mom brought the spoons to the table.

And like that, we started eating dinner in silence. Yeah, we are pretty much forbidden to talk while having food. I don't know who made such a sh*tty rule, but they sure did a sh*tty thing!

I mean I had a lot of things to talk about, sure I can't talk about my previous life, but I still wanted to talk to her!

As I kept cursing the one who made such a rule, we finished our dinner, silently.

*Burp*

"Pfft! Hahaha!"

That was until I burped and mom laughed. I don't remember for how long.

"Mom, you shouldn't laugh at me!" I said as I made a tactical retreat into the kitchen, bringing the used dishes with me.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw mom covering her mouth with the palms of her hands to prevent herself from laughing, but... her slightly shivering body gave her away.

Seeing this, a mischievous smirk appeared on my face.

Approaching from behind her silently, I crouched down, placed my hands under her armpit and… 

"HAHAHA! STO-HAHA! STOP IT-HAHA...!"

Operation counterattack went on for an hour during which the roles of the tickler and the one being tickled switched multiple times.

***

After all the fun died down, I brought out the Seal I got from Mr. Artisan.

"A Seal?" asked mom curiously.

"Yea, it'll keep the potion from corrosion, probably." After twirling the Seal in my hands a bit I went downstairs and searched for something that might resemble a cover big enough to close the bucket.

In the corner of the Eatery kitchen, there were a couple of wooden barrels used to store water. Covering them were two round wooden boards.

'This should be good enough for now.' After picking up the wooden piece used to cover the water barrel, I went back upstairs.

Then I made my way to the bucket filled to the brim with the bright pink-ish liquid.

After covering the bucket and making sure that no space was left, I placed the Seal right in the centre of the round wooden board.

What happened next was awe-inspiring.

The paper on which Seal was inscribed, started burning until not even the ashes were left, but the Seal that had been painted with black ink was now printed on the wooden board.

Suddenly, it started glowing green and tendrils of green light started to extend outward. Soon enough, the whole plank was covered in a glow of intricate green patterns. 

Just after a second, the glow receded until only the green coloured pattern was left carved in the wooden board.

'Now that was easy enough' I thought as I turned to face Mom, who was looking at the plank intently.

"Uh... Mom... how much money do we currently have?" I asked hesitatingly, much to my surprise mom smiled.

"How much do you want? We have plenty for anything."

'Well that is complicated.' I thought as I nervously scratched the back of my head.

'Ugh! I don't want to ask for more money than I have to!' I screamed inside my head. Of course, I didn't say anything aloud.

Though I was feeling guilty for taking money when we were short of it. That guilt only served to fuel the fire burning inside me.

"Yawn~"

Mom's long and exhausted yawn broke me out of my thoughts.

"Let's sleep now, Mom."

Well, I can only use that money now anyway. So there's no use asking for it right now.

Since we only had a single room for all purposes, the bed consisted of a doubled up blanket over a mattress and pillows on the ground near the balcony, opposite the couch.

Grinning widely I climbed into the blanket and slept with mom after so many years, ah the irony...

***

"Mom, I am going to take a stroll! I'll be back in time for breakfast."

"Come back soon!"

"Sure thing!"

Since it was my habit from my previous life and I wasn't that tired, not enough for this body at least, I automatically woke up early in the morning.

I also had some work to do with the nano-chip in my head that was not supposed to be here, and most importantly...

[Master, I am hungry.]

*Sigh*

'Do I have to hunt again?' Since most of the animals in the forest were mutated and strong, it was almost impossible for someone weak like me to hunt out there.

Not like I was going to go deep like last time, I was not interested in getting another earful from Mom!

Well, there were bound to be exceptions like some dying beast or some weak one.

"That's just wishful thinking on my part…" I sighed to myself.

Well, it wasn't like I was going to just throw my life away.

Not after I finally found a family!

With such renewed vigour, I stepped out of the village's boundary and entered the forest.

'Knife, check. Bandage, check. Extra cloth pouch, check, and ready to go!' I mumbled to myself as I proceeded to meander about at the entrance of the forest.

Now onto the important part, with a serious expression I called out in my mind...

'So, what should I call you? I don't think you are either ENAMAL or GHOST'

[Ryan, you can call me whatever you like.]

Again, A message rang out in my mind, in my father's voice.

On Earth, every person above a designated age, is given his or her own A.I. assistant. That A.I. was in a nano-chip inserted into their right hand wrists.

Through that chip in people's wrists, the global government got their live health reports, but that's beside the point. The main point was that I had my own personal A.I. assistant. And it was transferred to the nano-chip in my head. So there's no doubt of it being there with me.

'Since you are in my head, you should have access to my memories and you should be able to tell that I don't trust systems. So, what gives you the idea that I'll trust you?' I said inside my head.

[You don't have to trust me nor do I want you to, my only job is to guide you to whatever you want to do.]

'Oh, that's interesting. So, who appointed you for that job?' I scoffed as my eyes narrowed down to slits, though I had a hunch, I wanted it to say it by itself.

[Your father, Robert Willson did. I, as a matter of fact, am the amalgamation of ENAMAL, GHOST, your family necklace, and lastly your father's leftover soul. Before you protest let me tell you that it was done of his own volition.]

'Ok, so back to square one, why do I trust you?' This was the most pressing matter for me right now as, in my last life, I had read a novel regarding systems being parasites that nest inside the intelligent races of the cosmos and feed upon them.

And I certainly didn't have any desire to be someone's food, let alone a parasite's.

[I said it before and I'll say it again, You do not have to trust me nor do I want you to, I will just continue to do my job and die alongside you, if you do.]

'I don't trust you, I will observe you from now on, and don't you dare try to mess with my mind!'

[Affirmative.]

'As for your name, let's go with Codex.'

"Well since you are a system, you should be able to tell me my status, right? Let's see... Status."

[It is built by using a part of GHOST's main program. It's not like it was me who created it.]

Suddenly a thin sheet of see-through nanochips formed over my irises. It was the same as the one that projected Dad's figure into the air last time.

[Status:

Name: Ryan Willson

Race: Half-Spirit (-)

Strength: 5

Speed: 8

Endurance: 4

Mana: 1

End]

E-eh...? Half S-spirit...!?