Chapter 6: Domination and the system

My spirit was tired, and my bones begged for rest, but I made every effort to move.

The temperature in the cave seemed to drop as my body began to feel cold, and I knew it was my body's reaction to supply more blood and heat to my organs in order for me to survive.

As my mind began to wander and my eyes became heavy, I realized that I was losing the ability to deal with the suffering I was experiencing.

— Doesn't that mean Aiden is a waste?

— As a waste, he should stay away from Theresa.

— His father abandoned him and his mother because of his cheap personality. Who knows how his mother acquired such wealth? You can all speculate about what immoral acts she may have engaged in.

— Please die for me, MY LOVE.

"NO!"

As I sat against the cave wall, recalling the slanders and insults that everyone hurled at me, my eyes, which were about to close, sprang wide open, and I opened my mouth to scream.

However, no sound came out of my mouth—only a little push of my breath.

I was so angry that my blood boiled, my brows furrowed, and I clenched my teeth against my will.

But the question remained the same:

"How should I proceed in such a situation? Is there any way out?"

I was unable to move my legs or my hands to carry out any tasks, and even speaking hurt my mouth.

I was thirsty, drained, and hungry.

Was I really going to die here today?

Such a thought crossed my mind as I looked up at the cave's muddy roof, and once more the darkness began to encroach upon my vision.

For some reason, at that precise moment, my thoughts suddenly drifted off into the mists of a long-ago memory.

…

"Aiden, my son, make a promise to your mother to always take care of yourself and to never give up hope."

A middle-aged woman with long, curly black hair, dark eyes, and a weathered face was comforting a crying 8-year-old boy and bandaging his injured legs in a rundown apartment.

Her words did not end there, as she continued to speak after checking that the boy was paying attention to her.

"You do what you can. For as long as you can. And when you finally can't. You do the next best thing."

"You back up, but you don't give up."

"No matter what happens in life, you must fight till the end."

"Don't forgive anyone who does you harm, and don't forget anyone who makes your heart warm."

…

"MOTHER!!"

In the midst of this hopeless and desperate situation, the words of my mother shone through like a beacon of hope and light in my mind, reminding me once more to not give up hope.

Even if death were my only option, I would reject it regardless of my ability to fight.

Until death actually embraces me, I will crawl like a worm if I must.

"Mother, I promise I'll never give up. You also shouldn't give up hope until then. I will surely find a way to return, and I will kill everyone who dares to stop me. "

The temperature once again began to drop, but this time my body wasn't seeking warmth. Rather, it was embracing the cold.

To stay alive, my top priorities were getting healed somehow and leaving this place.

Judging by the little light seeping in from outside, the sun was still up.

It had only been a short while since I had entered the dungeon, and I knew that this was my only chance.

I only had a limited amount of time left since the horse's noise from earlier would soon draw some unwanted guests to this place.

But the question remains: "How?"

It was then that something clicked in my mind.

"Wait a minute!"

The horse!

"Yes, that's it."

Turning my head around, I quickly found the horse that was lying unconscious on the ground.

Suddenly I had this thought: "Maybe I could use my skill [Domination] to control the horse and get through this ordeal."

As soon as that thought entered my mind, a self deprecating laugh escaped my lips.

"Heh!"

What an irony!

Because I realized that the power, which was the reason for my current predicament, was now the only hope for my survival.

"No, no, no. Wrong!" I shook my head to throw out these negative thoughts.

My power wasn't responsible for my situation.

It was those who betrayed me and those who plotted against me.

Speaking of which, if I recall correctly, the Pope said that there were no monsters in this world,

"But what exactly are monsters?"

"Who defines a monster?"

If I were to assume that the "monsters" here were the same creatures from Earth's mythology, I wouldn't be able to control any of them in my current state.

But if I remember correctly, my skill [Domination] just hinted to me that it could control "monsters and the like."

Which means that aside from those "monsters," there are undoubtedly other beings too that I could control.

Wait!

Suddenly, an absurd idea popped into my head.

'Can I also control intelligent beings like humans?'

Of course, nothing can be said to be for sure at the moment, as it's just a hypothesis for now.

And even if what I think is correct, then there must be some limitations and restrictions to this seemingly bug like power, or else I don't believe that the goddess would be so partial.

"Anyway, at the moment, I don't even know that it was indeed some goddess who gave us these powers, so let's not think about them for now and focus on controlling this horse somehow to get out of this place first."

From what I understood, for the [Domination] skill to work, the monster I want to control must have been defeated by me or be in a weak state of mind and body.

So the question remained: Was the horse considered a monster, and if so, was it a monster that I had defeated?

For all I knew, the horse was now lying unconscious, which means it was indeed in a weak state of mind and body, and the pope had also mentioned something about controlling the animals.

So all I could do at this moment was hope for the best and try.

Making up my mind, I didn't waste any more time, and after wriggling my body like a worm again, I approached the horse's unconscious body.

"But how do I control it?"

I had no idea how to use my abilities.

"Let's try something from those novels and comics."

"ARISE!"

....

"..."

Unfortunately, my command had no effect on the horse.

The first attempt was a failure.

Well, I wasn't expecting much to begin with, so the disappointment was only mildly embarrassing.

But I knew now was not the time to think about things like embarrassment.

"My life is more important than some worthless embarrassment. Maybe I should try touching it."

Following my thoughts, I pushed my shoulders forward to let my hand fall on the horse and struggled to speak in a broken, raspy voice.

"Domination"

...

"..."

"Be My Slave"

...

"..."

"No, what am I doing? Think Aiden think."

The [Domination] skill allowed me to have absolute authority over any monster that I controlled.

So, was it similar to the soul imprint or slave imprint depicted in those anime?

I didn't know.

Nevertheless, it was indeed a good path to follow.

'Perhaps I should focus on dominating the horse.'

With that in mind, I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on connecting with the horse by focusing on the sensation in my hands and making a tight fist while also not making a fist at the same time.

Just with the body's ideas and reactions, which, I discovered, was now very easy to do because my hands weren't working anyway, making it simple to imagine and focus my senses in that area without actually moving my hands.

A few seconds passed with nothing happening, and then, just as I was about to stop, something wriggled.

I had no idea what it was.

But a warm current began to flow steadily through my arm and into my fingertips.

For some reason, I had the feeling that this thing was a part of my soul, but since this was the only opportunity I had, I expressed my intentions of "dominating" it without getting distracted.

Then, I closed my eyes and concentrated on my "soul" while I attempted to make a connection with the horse.

It took me a little longer than I had anticipated, but I eventually succeeded, as I felt that an invisible tendril sprang from my hand and entered the horse's body.

As soon as it touched the horse's body, it went right into its soul without being stopped.

After which, it continued until it reached the center of the horse's soul, where the tendril divided a portion of the horse's soul before withdrawing back into my body.

This time, it carried a portion of the horse's soul with it.

After coming back into my body, the tendril of my soul placed the new component into the center of my soul, which caused my body to tremble as a cold sensation spread throughout my entire being.

[Target successfully controlled]

[Dominated targets: 1/2]

It was then that, suddenly, two white, translucent notifications, like a rectangular screen panel with golden borders and a red-black theme, appeared in the corner of my view.

"WHAT!?"

And I exclaimed loudly with my eyes wide open in disbelief.

Which caused my throat to hurt again from the rapid change. I coughed uncontrollably.

Cough! Cough! Cough!

After coughing for a few seconds, I finally got myself under control.

I blinked a few times and turned my head left and right, but the notification panel stayed in the corner of my vision for at least two more seconds before fading away.

"Just like an augmented reality game." I was certain it wasn't a dream.

Because I was a person from 20th century modern Earth, I was aware of the concept of "systems" from all the novels I read back on Earth.

Perhaps I didn't need that holographic equipment to check my status panel.

So, with excitement and anticipation, I called out in my mind.

'Status'

"..."

But I suffered a failure once again.

'Perhaps I should attempt to incorporate an intention to see my status via my soul rather than merely thinking about it, just like I did with the horse.'

"Indeed."

Suddenly feeling enlightened, I focused my mind once again and called out in my head with great vigor.

'STATUS'

Ding!

This time, my attempt was successful, as with an electronic ding sound, under my eager eyes, the same white, translucent screen panel with golden borders and a red-black theme appeared in front of me.

It was like a video game character's profile screen.

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[Name: Aiden Rivera]

[Age: 17] [Level: 1]

[Job Class: Unknown Lord]

[Health: 20%] [Mana: 60%]

[Physique: F-/E] [Mana: G/E] [Spirit: F+/E]

[Skill: Domination, Shadow Blend]

**The prowess of skills increases in proportion to the amount of work put into them, and every ten levels, either a new skill is unlocked or an existing one is upgraded.**

** Select the option to view in detail **

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[Congratulations to the host for being the first hero of this era to awaken the system without any external influence or knowledge.]

[Please choose a reward from one of the following options.]