Cypher

[Profile]

[Name: Exo - short for: Elixir Oliviander]

[Age: 17]

[Occupation: Student]

[Evolution points: 50]

[Danger Level: Null] 

I rubbed the throbbing pain at the back of my skull as I hopped off the bus that took me to Harrith High. 

Waving a hand to dismiss the information which Fifi presented I turned my focus to the school grounds.

The campus was even more magnificent in person compared to the photos in the brochure. That took me off from thinking about the nagging feeling at the back of my head.

"Whoa," I expressed, my eyes admiring the big building across the short path lined with several trees and plants.

Boys and girls wearing the prescribed uniform walked to and fro. Some came in pairs and others in groups.

All of a sudden, I felt left out.

[What's wrong?]

Fifi hovered close, her face showing concern. The yellowish slant of her eyes reminded me of emojis.

Pulling some earplugs out, I inserted them in my ears, pretending to be taking a call. Talking to Fifi in public wasn't safe. I need to take precautions.

"Nothing," I replied, focusing on something else. "Could you tell me what the Evolution Points mean? And danger level? Why is it important for me to know that?"

Fifi perched on my shoulders. She dangled her tiny feet and giggled like an excited little kid before turning to me.

[Evolution points need to increase. The higher your evolution points, you will have better access to Nirvana's energy. This will help you greatly in battles. The danger level will help Exo learn and strategize how to tackle enemy monsters]

I stopped in my tracks, perplexed and suddenly nervous. 

"Whoa, whoa. Back up a bit," my eyes found Fifi's. She left my shoulders and hovered right before me. Her tiny figure was suspended in the air. "Tackle enemy monsters? I don't remember signing myself up to do such a thing."

[...]

Fifi blinked at me. She put on a blank expression.

[Ehem! If you have any questions regarding that agreement, you can talk to Master Nichen]

I scoffed.

"Connect me to him then. He and I need to have a word. This is ridiculous."

[...]

[I—Fifi was joking]

"Well, I'm dead serious."

Fifi's face got drained of color. Her eyes went back to being a plain straight line while her lips pouted.

[Fine]

She scoffed.

[I'll request an audience with Master Nichen]

She paused, turning to me and narrowed her pixelated eyes in my direction.

[But no promises]

I smirked and nodded. I was going to shoo her away and pull the earplugs off. The entrance to the campus building was coming close.

But then Fifi's usually yellowish eyes turned red, and two big Xs replaced the flat lines.

[DANGER! DANGER! Enemy Monster detected!]

I could feel and hear the panic in her voice.

[Evolution initiated]

A faint golden glow emanated from my hands.

[Evolution ready]

"Hold up!" I hissed, my eyes wandering around. I wouldn't want to be branded as crazy by shouting in the middle of the school grounds.

"What's going on? What evolution? Could you please explain first before you try to pull another stunt?"

I had to warn her before she initiated anything I wasn't prepared for. It took me a few minutes to recover from the rest mode she had put me into. Priscilla, my esteemed mother in this life, became worried sick when I suddenly passed out.

She almost called the emergency hotline to bring me to a medical facility. 

I gasped awake, almost giving her a heart attack before she whacked me in the head and pushed me out of bed to get ready for school.

There was no way I'd want the same thing to happen for the second time. We need to set boundaries and rules if we were to make this partnership work.

[Ninety degrees North. Danger detected]

I was going to claim that I didn't understand what Fifi was talking about. However, my head had turned in the direction she indicated before I could protest.

My eyes tried to search for the danger she had mentioned but all I could see were the trees and their leaves slowly swaying to the gentle breeze.

I narrowed my gaze at the same place, gradually noticing some movement.

"On Nirvana's name…."

Eventually, a strange shape became visible to my naked eye. The shape I was seeing resembled a reptile. It had a long scaly tail and short but wide legs.

From my standpoint, I could guess that it was a crocodile. But upon closer inspection, I think it was more of an upgraded version. It had horns protruding on top of its head, and it was twice larger than an ordinary crocodile.

[Beast: Cypher]

[Danger level: Medium]

[Evolution points granted: 1500]

"Okay," my eyes were widening upon seeing the Cypher move its tail, its mouth beginning to open.

"Uh, Fifi?"

[The Cyphers are known for their ability to camouflage. They release electrically charged bullets the size of a regular basketball]

The said monster had its mouth half-opened already. Sparks of the electrical energy it was readying to release were visible from it.

A brief glimpse of something reminded me of my uncalled for death.

"Where did this monster come from? This looked so much different from the one that killed me. What am I supposed to do?"

[...]

[Each monster is different from one another]

"Right. What about my last question?"

[You will finally understand the essence of the Evolution Points, Exo]

Fifi perked up. So this subject excites her for some reason. I have a bad feeling about this.

"What's this, a practice run?"

Fifi nodded. She bobbed up and down, circling me while I muttered unintelligible curses, curling my hands into fists. 

"Fine," I muttered. "Let's get on with that evolution trick you initiated earlier. If I end up dying for the second time though, I'm going to put the blame on you."

[...]

[Why is that my fault?]

Fifi's pixelated eyes showed a question mark. 

"Do you want me to explain that right now or are we going to save our asses before we get electrically toasted?"

I felt like I was scolding a whining little girl right now. And the comparison could even be taken literally.

[...]

Fifi harrumphed, folding her arms over her chest.

[Initiating Evolution]

[Evolving in 3…]

[2…]

[1…]

Heat burned from my chest. It pricked my skin but not to the point that I could imagine myself being set on fire.

Still, the warmth forced me to close my eyes. They were beginning to become watery.

[Evolution complete]

I slowly reopened my eyes, a puff of smoke emitting from my lips.

[Fire Dragon Evolution success!]

'Eh?!' I exclaimed. 'A dragon?!'