Chapter 6

A trickle of light peaked between the maze of roots and ferns as Marcie got settled into a crevice between them. She took deep breaths in order to calm herself and pushed moss and dirt into the path she took to get there in hopes of hiding herself some more. 

Heavily soil-stained hands fumbled with the tie of her bag and she felt about for her defensive tools. When she felt the familiar shape of her taser, she sighed and pulled it out of her bag. 

She must have been too busy checking it over and preparing it for use because she didn't hear the sounds of one of the beasts returning from their hunt. The one that was previously sniffing her out was back to try to find one last chance of a morsel of food. 

A low growl and the slight gust of hot breath shooting down the roots onto her face snapped Marcie out of her daze. The movement of the beast began in haste when it realized that it had found another potential meal. Marcie let out a muffled cry and twisted about to try to find her way deeper into the root system. 

She pushed more and more roots and debris between her and the creature who was now digging towards her with a rabid thirst. Combinations of massive claws and jabs of its toothy snout ravaged the base of the tree. This thing was shredding up the wood like it was nothing! 

Marcie had no idea if the other creatures were nearby or if it was just the one but it wasn't like she was in a position to check. Instead, she grabbed whatever she could to throw or stab at the creature praying that it would give up. 

Just like a dog hunting for a burrowed rodent, it periodically would stop to try another way. Marcie's options to remain out of reach of the beast were rapidly dwindling as it thrashed away at her cover. 

She had to use it. Marcie cracked open the cover of her taser and just as she was about to turn to aim it at the beast, she felt a sudden jerk from her side. The beast had somehow managed to hook its claw in the strap of her bag just barely and pulled her closer towards the opening it had been making. 

Marcie let out a yelp as she dropped the taser and it fell just slightly out of reach when she panicked to grab onto some roots to stop the creature from dragging her out further. The tug-o-war continued for what felt like a long time until Marcie caught a glance at a jagged rock next to her. 

She let out the kind of shout one does when mustering the willpower to exert effort past their normal limits and clenched the roots as tight as she could to keep her in place while she reached for the rock. 

Smashing the creature's paw that had a hold of her with the stone was enough to make it let go. The moment she felt the slack of the release, she pulled herself deeper into the roots and grabbed a hold of the taser once again. When she was fiddling with it earlier, she had released its safety and turned the taser up to the highest strength setting it could go. 

It wasn't a moment too soon when she whipped the taser around to find the monster's face inches away from her with its mouth wide open. Marcie let out a scream and her fingers squeezed the trigger.

The two prongs launched from the device and lodged straight into the back of the creature's throat. It was instantaneous for the taser to do its job as it sent hundreds of volts of electricity into its body. 

The monster launched backwards out of the roots and for a few moments, thrashing about in violent convulsions until its body fell lifeless to the ground. A subtle smell reminiscent of burnt pork emanates from it. 

Marcie panted wildly, still tightly grasping the taser. She was about to get out of her hole when a flash of blue light interrupted her. 

~Ding!

*Congratulations! By slaying the E-Rank monster Vorpal, you have awakened your body to be able to utilize mana. Calculating skill aptitude…*

A screen reminiscent of a video game or those cliché webcomic genres appeared before her. Is this what the awakened would see?

Just as fast as the screen disappeared, another one took its place in the air. 

~Ding!

*Error! Abnormal state detected. Bringing users' health back to full…*

~Ding!

*Error! Abnormal state detected…*

~Ding!

*Error! Abnormal state detected…*

~Ding!

*Error! Abnormal st….*

~Ding!

*Error!...*

~Ding!

*Error!...*

The screens had filled up her field of view which had made her both nervous and agitated. 

~Ding!

*Initializing complete body examination…*

~Ding!

*Abnormal state identified. User does not meet system requirements for conventional awakening. Permanent spinal trauma is preventing the user from being able to perform basic mobility tasks.*

~Ding!

*Searching for alternative system pathways…*

~Ding!

*Results found. Applying new skills…*

~Ding!

*User skills:

Absolute Shield. (SS-Rank)(Active) In the event that the user is pulled into a dangerous situation, they can shield themselves from all forms of damage for a certain amount of time. Growth-type. Active time: 5 minutes. Cool-down time: 1 hour.

Dimensional Inventory. (X-Rank)(Active) "Carrying things is going to be incredibly difficult for you so there is an infinite dimension in your pocket." 

Magic Class: Lightning. (D-Rank)(Active) You can now cast lightning magic (no more tasers needed) and will be immune to all lightning-based damage, medical devices will still work, however.*

~Ding!

*Bonus Skills:

Gift of Providence: (SS-Rank)(Active/Passive - please choose) You can now auto-collect/harvest any unclaimed resources within a 10m radius of you and any monster you kill from any distance with an increased chance of collecting rare items. "Collecting is hard for you to do so I will be an extension of your hand."

Eyes That See Beyond (X-Rank)(Active) This gives the user the ability to view additional information not privy to normal users. Growth-type.

Magic Class: Creation. (A-Rank)(Active) You can use any material or ingredient from dungeons and Earth to make new items as long as they are in your inventory.*

~Ding!

*You gained 100 XP from slaying an E-rank monster. Your level has gone up to level 2. You now have 3 skill points to spend. Would you like to use them now, or wait?*

Marcie tried to wave the windows away but the two which she had to make a selection remained. This was no time to ponder systems. She selected Gift of Providence as passive and chose to wait on spending experience points. 

This was all starting to feel ridiculous. Does this mean that this is a game to someone? Marcie shuttered at the thought. What a sickening game…