The System I

Half an hour later, she came out of the opening behind the waterfall, into the daylight. It was early in the day, and she felt somewhat safe.

"The other vampires probably went to hide for the day. We should be somewhat safe." She spoke as she came from behind the waterfall and began walking towards the campsite where they were attacked.

'How many were there?' Artium asked.

'At least five more teams of fives.' This time, she communicated through her thoughts. 'Let's get back to campsite, Art. I hope at least some of my companions are still alive.'

'Art?' he asked.

'Yeah, short for Artium.' She answered, 'I can't be bothered to say Atrium all the time. So, I thought a nickname will be better.

He responded with a telepathic grumble, before moving on. 'Who were you travelling with?'

'I was a travelling with a team of adventurers and mages for a guild quest.' She thought as she continued her way along the river, travelling downstream. 'It had a big enough reward that, even split among ten people, it was still a big sum.'

'By the way, why do I feel a continuous drain on my mana reserves?' She asked. At first, she thought the use of mana was likely to heal her body from the previous injuries. Yet it had been almost an hour since her wounds had completely healed and her mana continued to be drained. Although it was small but it was still noticeable.

'You'll have to wait until it ready.' The voice in her head replied. 'I will tell you this, it will help you grow stronger. So be silent for a while and let me focus.'

Her curiosity grew stronger, but she reigned it in. She quickened her pace toward the campsite. The river was a longer path, but it was still better than the surrounding woods. She was a silver rank adventurer and a second circle mage, competent enough to traverse the dangerous forest even at night when the danger grew several folds, but she had only recovered from fatal wounds, just an hour prior. She was not interested in fighting for her life so soon, not to mention the dense canopy made it a perfect hiding place for the vampires chasing her.

It was another hour until she came upon the white sand that bothered a great sea. The river flowed into the sea with a thundering rage. Freya took a left and continued along the beach. She was close to their campsite. She could see the ship they had arrived in, in the distance, along with another strange ship.

When the campsite came into sight, all she saw were ruins. The tents were uprooted and craters of fire. A few bodies littered the area, drained of blood. She was sure that there were a lot more casualties than just these few, but she still hoped there will be a few survivors. She began to look for any clues that may have been left behind.

Freya searched the tents and around the campfire, but if there ever had been any clues left behind, they had been destroyed in the struggle of survival. She had been lucky enough to get away during the early stage of the attack before any of the leaders had recognized her. She had found the river and swam upstream, hoping the water will prevent the vampire from finding her trail with their enhanced senses, but that hadn't worked out, and a team had found her at the waterfall.

The mage sat down beside the ash of the campfire and gazed at the sea. She had no hope of escaping in the ship without a crew, most of whom were dead. In short, she was trapped on an island with almost two dozen vampires that would stop at nothing to capture her.

Freya continued to gaze at the blue sea absentmindedly. It was a few minutes later, until she noticed something in the distance. Black clouds, that had not been there when she arrived, had appeared and were gradually growing larger. A thunderstorm was on its way.

She cursed her luck. The storm would rob her of her only hope, the sunlight. And by the looks of it, it was only a couple of hours away.

"Artium, I hope you are done with your little project because we are running out of time." She voiced with a sign of panic.

'Just a moment' the voice was accompanied by a huge drain of mana, causing her head to hurt.

The winds began to pick up around her as the sand blew in a circle around her. It was not just the air as a moment later she noticed, a large amount mana began to flow from the outside world into her in a rush. Her abdomen began to hurt as well because she had never experienced such a large flow of mana.

"What the hell are you doing?" she growled with clenched teeth.

'Just bear with me for a while.' That was his only reply.

The wind only grew stronger as the mana flow also increased until with a boom, the circling sand was thrown outwards and the mana stopped.

The pain that had only been climbing so far, vanished in a flash. Freya let out a groan as it died out at last. 'I hope what you did was worth it.'

'It definitely was.' Artium replied. 'Take a look.'

His words caused a blue flash of mana sparks followed by a blue sheet of mana appearing before her floating in midair. It was similar to the contract she had signed, yet it contents were completely different.

[Status Window

Player: Freya Einar

Age: 24

Title(s): -

Trait(s): Blessed by Mana

Level: 12

Stats:

Strength: 12 Agility: 17 Stamina: 18

Intelligence: 21 Dexterity: 12 Insight: 08

Skills:

Ranger's Dagger Techniques (LVL 5), Beginners Water Magic (LVL 3), Beginners Wind Magic (LVL 2)… See more.]

'What is this?' Freya asked in confusion.

'It's a replica of a system that only the most powerful existences in this world possesses.' Artium replied in a serious voice. 'This will help you achieve the strength you need.'

'It's called the 'System of Archana'. It was created at the dawn of time by the beings that created this world to nurture extremely powerful beings for a purpose unknown. With your current mana and power, this is the closest replica I could create. Even this is enough to boost your growth by a factor of ten, but it is still incomplete. We need some material to improve. In the future the as you grow stronger and collect the materials, I will update the system to be better.' As his words finished, a new message flashed before her eyes.

[A new quest has been issued.]

[Quest: Completing the System of Archana (Replica) (part I)

Description: Although the replica of the System of Archana is incomplete, it's still an invaluable tool, but it can be better. Collect the required materials to improve it.

Objectives:

1. Collect 100 hearts of the Blue Fire Salamanders. (0/100)

2. Collect 10 liters of blood from the Troll King. (0/10)

3. Collect 1000 soul gems of Mana-type Great beast. (0/1000)]

Her eyes continued to widen as she looked at the preposterous requirements of this quest.

"Are you mad?" She couldn't help but shout in outrage, "What is with these impossible tasks. It would take a hundred Platinum rank adventurers just to fight a single Salamander, and you expect me to collect a hundred hearts of this Blue Fire Salamander, not to mention these other outrageous requirements."

'For now the current system should be enough until you get strong enough for these tasks.' His voice echoed in her mind. 'Just focus on attaining level 20.'

"And how do I do that?" Freya questioned in a huff.

'Kill a beast, fight a vampire, or just train.' His annoyed voice replied. 'As you grow, the system will provide you with quests depending on the situation that will help you level up. Your levels represent your power. The higher your level, the stronger you will be. At level 20, your body will be strong enough to receive a valuable power. So focus on that for now.'

"That's all fine and good, Genius, but you still forgot to mention how we get out of this mess?" she once more shouted her words, pointing to the thunderstorm that was getting closer by the minute.

'You have been staring at it all this time.' Artium replied patiently. 'You have a ship right in front of your eyes.'

"You blind fool, that ship is not in sailing condition." Freya looked at their ship. The primary mast was broken, and the hull was damaged all over. Honestly, it was a miracle that it was still afloat and not at the bottom of the sea. "Besides, even if it was in suitable condition, a single person is not enough to sail it."

'Good heavens, what fool did I make a contract with.' The ancient being groaned. 'You really are a piece of work. I'm not talking about your ship, but the other one, the black one. Besides, a single person may not be enough to sail it, but for a second circle mage could manage to sail it far enough that we escape the storm and the vampires.'

Her eyes flashed to a black flagship floating some distance away from their damaged ship. It had a peculiar shape. The hull was completely covered by a black tent to prevent daylight from entering. There were even strange contraption to enable changing the sail without the need to leave the tent. It was perfect for a creature that couldn't bear the sunlight.

"There is likely a single team on the ship to protect it." A thought came to her mind. "I was barely able to take half a team and almost died for it. How do you expect me to deal with them without any chance of escape?"

Surprisingly, her voice held no fear. She had seen the terrifying power of the being sealed inside her. But she was still the same girl that was put on death's door by a single low ranking vampire. There was likely at least one higher rank vampire among those protecting the ship. She had no idea how she was going to deal with him, let alone a whole team.

'Do not worry, child. Vampires are unable to use their full power during the day, even if they are not in direct sunlight.' The voice in her head replied. 'You now have the greatest mage to ever exist backing you. Have no fear.'

"That's quite a title. I hope you are able to back it up."

'Why don't you check the trait I gave you?' A smug voice resounded in her head. 'Just think about it and the system will show you the details.'

She focused on the system and a new menu appeared before her eyes.

[Traits:

1. Blessed by Mana:

Description: A trait arising as a result of the deep knowledge of mana possessed by the soul sealed in you. This trait allows you to replace redundant runes in magic circles with more efficient ones, increasing the power of the spell while also reducing it mana cost.

Effects:

i) Mana consumption of fifth circle spell is reduced by 50% and lower circle spells are reduced by 75%.

ii) Increases the power of spells up to fifth circle by 50%.

iii) Reduces damage from fourth circle and lower spell by 15%.

Next Unlock at Level 50.]