Requirements (System Universe #7)

by SunriseCV

Thomas stepped forward with his team and waited for the other two teams to get into their respective positions. He looked around at his team members and was happy that Eric was selected alongside him. Eric was an elven earth mage who Thomas had been paired up with once before, and they worked well together that time. The elf wasn’t much of a talker, but when it came to battle, he was great. The other three members were students that he’d never been paired with during his exams, but he’d watched them fight plenty. Their healer, Sandra, wasn’t the best healer in his class, but she was at least above average—at least compared to the rest of them. Then there was Mark, the support mage. He wasn’t as good as most of the others—he had a knack for panicking and even missing casts occasionally. That was a shame, because, in Thomas’s opinion, he had some of the better skills from his class. Finally, he was happy that Syd was selected as their tank. He’d proven himself time and time again to be one of the best tanks in the class. So long as Thomas paid attention to his output at the beginning of the fight and let Eric do his thing, Syd would have no problem keeping whatever beast was chosen for them to fight at bay.

Derek sent out another wave—this time to a few cries and grunts. Two of the students who were having trouble before fell to one knee. Derek inwardly shook his head in disappointment. They had plenty of stats to withstand the current level—they just needed a little willpower to reinforce themselves. Other than those two, many others were struggling, but at least they were all still standing. If a student remained standing at his next increase, then he would consider them passing…barely. “Here comes an aura from your average level 200 warrior. At your levels, you may be hindered, but you should at least be able to keep yourself steady and maybe even move a little at this level. If you can keep yourself upright here, and not sprawled out on the ground, then in my eyes, you would at least be considered passing. Though, as academy students, I expect more than just passing.” Hehe, Derek snickered to himself. He was getting into playing the wise professor. He was correct in thinking that it would be entertaining. Maybe I could do something like this once I retire…he looked out over the kids. Nah…too much work. I’d rather just drop by randomly and take over a class here and there. That’s much more fun.

“Syd,” the boy said, then caught himself. “Sydney Ibarra.” “Ibarra?” Derek asked with raised eyebrows. “Any relation to Cain?” “He is my uncle,” the boy answered. Derek looked Syd up and down before shrugging. “A tank, huh?” he asked. “Not an elementalist or some other kind of mage?” Cain Ibarra, the capital’s Adventurer’s guild master who went on the raid with Derek and the others, was a high rank elementalist. Usually, it seemed that most children of noble houses followed the path as the elders—with some slight alterations as no two classes were the same. Maybe Cain is the odd one? Derek thought. “I…” Syd looked around at everyone and hesitated. “You don’t have to tell me anything,” Derek said. “Whatever secrets you have aren’t for me or anyone else to know. If you don’t feel like sharing, nobody’s going to think any lesser of you.” Derek still had some of his own secrets that he hadn’t shared yet, so he would be a hypocrite if he forced the kid to do so. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been one before, but this was something he really didn’t care much about. He just had a slight curiosity, and Cain had left a decent enough impression on him. “I just didn’t take to magic very well,” Syd finally answered. “Turned out that I was well suited for defense over everything else.”

Derek felt a light tug at his mind, but nothing more. That must have been an aggro skill. I always wondered how they worked on humans and others with the Great System here. It was nothing compared to Alanah or Lyra—especially if Alanah was just speaking normally, but in her siren form. “That’s not going to work.” Derek laughed, then appeared directly in front of the tank with a shift. “Here I am.” With an open palm, he struck forward. His palm hit the tank directly where his armor covered his stomach. Let’s see how that does. He didn’t want to hit a vital part or use Multi-Strike with his current amount of intelligence. He didn’t know how much the instructors would be able to take. He’d tried using Identify on them, but the skill was pretty much useless against anyone close to the mid-200s and with their own Identify skill leveled. Still, he doubted the academy would employ instructors that were lower than level 230 or so unless they had a high rarity class or had somehow stumbled upon a great deal of stat points, so they should all have decent endurance. The delayed reaction that his channeled void was always fun for Derek to watch. As an icicle and an arrow crashed into his shoulder and side—both splintering upon impact and causing nothing more than a couple of white marks—he saw the tank clutch at his stomach and grunt. His knees shook a little, too. I see…Derek thought. He had just about figured how much strength he should use for the fight. With another flash from Act...

“I go see them every weekend when we get our free time. And they are very happy. Grandma won’t stop fussing over my uniform. I like how happy it makes her, so I always make sure to wear it when I go out,” Thomas replied with a big smile. “Grandpa can’t believe the type of food he gets to eat every day. Every time I visit, he tells me about what dish he had each day of the week.”

realized

“According to this.” Alanah pulled out the map again. “The completion reward is potions. Potions are very common rewards for dungeons,” she explained. “Looking at the map, I’d say that at least thirty percent of the dungeons reward potions.”

Cheap rewards

“Well, like I said, the system came and started sending us notifications,” Derek continued. “I guess I was lucky, but I had been in the process of killing a fish just as the system came, so, I was hit with the system and its notifications just as I was plunging a knife into the fish’s skull, and when I did, I received a Title—which is what that system had instead of Achievements—about being one of the first people on my planet to obtain a kill. It was called ‘First of Many’ and it gave a huge boost in stats—a ten percent boost, in fact.”

Derek pointed at himself and said, “Not only was I an Earthling, but I was an American—one of the countries on the planet—and a man. That’s a triple whammy when it comes to following instructions.”

‘Great! Can level skill and cook at same time!’ she sent back. ‘Will still cook in home kitchen some. Someone needs to protect mani…Brandi and beautiful delicious cookie stealing lady.’

“I do have some basic leather armor if you want to use that,” Derek replied. “No.” Alanah shook her head. “I would rather get a little attention and be perceived as powerful than have to deal with people thinking we are weak. It is a hassle having to deal with all the idiots trying to get my attention. At least this way, I will only have to worry about the high-level idiots hitting on me.” “Ah…” Derek muttered with a no. “The disadvantages of being beautiful and handsome like us.” He clicked his tongue. “It truly is a hard life we live.” “Let’s go,” Alanah said as she rolled her eyes at Derek’s antics. Then she shot higher and higher into the sky.

accustomed

“Look closely,” Alanah said. “It’s a happy face.” “Huh?” Derek squinted. He could vaguely see that the missing chunks formed something that may have resembled a happy face—but that was only if he were looking specifically for it. It wasn’t something he would ever come across and think of a happy face. “If you say so…” he said. “I was young,” Alanah said. “I was young and alone. I was only thirteen when I was chased and fell down here. Of course, I would seek something that made the horror just a little…less.” “Oh…” Derek muttered. “I’m sorry…” “It’s fine,” Alanah said. “Now…if this is the wall I’m thinking it is, then my cave should be this way.” With that, Alanah took off once again, and Derek followed behind. This time, the duo didn’t run very far. “Here it is!” Alanah said.

“I think the old man would be the only earth mage I know who I would trust not to go crazy because of the willow,” Alanah replied. “And I would rather all this be kept between the two of us. I wasn’t exactly at my best when I lived here.” “Well…if we did bring Marrick, I think he would have been able to fit in the hole and crawl all the way. He wouldn’t even need to use his earth or sand or whatever it is that he’s good with,” Derek said. “But I get it. This is all very personal and probably bringing back some memories that you would rather others not know.”

“Thank you for coming with me,” she said. “Allowing me to retrieve this.” “You’re welcome,” Derek said. “You only had to ask.” “This…” She held the doll closer to Derek, but kept it very close to herself, like she didn’t want to lose it. “This is the only thing left of my mother’s. It was the only thing I had with me when the village was raided. I cherished it the entire time I was stuck down here in the abyss. I never left the cave without hiding it. Escaping the Echoing Abyss was unplanned, so it was still in here when I left.” “I’m glad you were able to find it,” Derek said. “I had almost forgotten what she looked like,” Alanah said as she held the doll out and looked it up and down—another tear streaking down her face. “She made it for me, so I’d always have her by my side.” “She was very good at her craft,” Derek said. “I can easily see the resemblance between the doll and you, even in its current state. The fact that she could portray that in a doll is amazing.” He tilted his head and got a slightly better view of the doll. “Your mother was beautiful.” “Mhm.” Alanah nodded. “She was,” she said. “But it was her downfall,” Alanah continued. “If not for her beauty, I would have never been born, and she would have never been treated so poorly. Maybe she would have even moved from the village to one of the big cities and she wouldn’t have been there when they raided it. She was that good—she would have been appreciated anywhere she went if she wouldn’t have had me…or if s...

“She was a good person,” Derek said. “That’s obvious.” He didn’t say anything about the circumstances that led to Alanah being born. Instead, he said, “It’s also obvious that she loved and cared for you deeply. She would be very proud of you—of what you have become. Of the person you have become.” “I hope,” Alanah said. “I wasn’t always the person I am now. There were times that I feel she would have been disappointed in me.” “Look what you survived, though,” Derek said, motioning to the cavern surrounding them, then to his ears where a light vibration coming from the willow tree so far away from them still tried to seize control of his thoughts and actions—tried and failed miserably. “I’m sure she would have understood anything that you had to do after what you went through. She would have still loved and understood you, even if you wouldn’t have turned everything around and become the person you are today.” “Mhm…” Alanah lowered her head, then brought it up and flashed Derek a genuine smile. “Thank you.” “Just telling you what I guarantee is true,” Derek said. “I need to get this to Cydaria’s best seamstress. I won’t let them out of my sight until it’s repaired.” Alanah said, turning the doll over and frowning at some of the damage to it. “I’m surprised it’s still in as good of a condition as it is.”

“I don’t know how much copper, silver, and gold she had saved for me,” Alanah continued. “We lived very frugally my whole life, and even though it was hard for her to find work, I know that she never spent everything she made. I also saw her putting some copper away once. For decades, I have been thinking about these things,” Alanah explained. “If we would have left sooner, if my birthday had been earlier, if she would have gotten a few more jobs…all the ‘ifs’ that I’ll never know. It’s useless thinking about them, but I can’t help myself.” “It’s only natural,” Derek said. “We all have those ‘ifs.’ And even though there’s nothing we can change, we can’t help but think about it…over and over.”

“Oh…right,” Alanah said as she looked at Derek. “I’m sorry…I wasn’t thinking…” “Don’t worry about it,” Derek said. “It’s all those experiences that made us who we are today, and I have to say, we’re pretty badass.” “We are, aren’t we?” Alanah chuckled. “Yes, yes we are,” Derek said. “I mean…you’re a living legend in this kingdom. A very horrifying, bogeyman, but a legend, nonetheless. I’m pretty sure this entire continent is terrified of you. And then, if you go back to the other one, you are one of the most well-known and respected people of all the kingdoms—especially Cydaria. Like I said, pretty badass.” “Mhm.” Alanah nodded. “And you…well…you are you.”

That was when it all started. The gravitational pull of the attack began sucking in all loose leaves and even pulling a lot off the vines. The outside bark around the attack also started peeling off and disappearing into the orb. The roots and vines that were prodding it before were sucked into it like a bowl of ramen. It was a sight to see. After that, the second part of the attack began. This was the part that Derek was excited about. He’d only seen it once, but it seemed to be the perfect attack against such a monster. The small stars began circling in a ring around the black ball of space. Then they expanded. Derek’s mouth formed into a big smile as he watched the circling stars begin to cut into the tree like a giant chainsaw. In the grand scheme of things, he didn’t think the ability was doing all that much damage because of the size difference between it and the tree, but the attack was at least going to give his team a good idea of how to go about everything.

Silvi dodged another one of the pesky leaves that kept trying to chase after her, then changed her direction. She wanted to fly out of the tree’s canopy to get a better look at the battle. Since she was smart, she should do smart things. She was no longer the small bunny who liked to head-butt everything—no, that skill was reserved for the hardest of opponents.

Once the leaves were finally within range, and one even made a cut in her cloak, Silvi acted. She went all in on her Chop, Mince, and Julienne skills. The salad thought it was trapping her but, in reality, she had trapped the salad. Once she filled an entire storage ring with greens, Silvi used Active Void Shift and left the rest of the angry leaves behind. After all, she wasn’t the biggest fan of non-meat dishes, but others liked them. Plus, sometimes, the vegetables could be used as garnish and make the tasty dishes look even tastier. She found that, for some reason, a dish that looked delicious tasted even better than the same dish that didn’t look as good. It was a mystery, but since it was like that, she made sure to make her delicious dishes look pretty whenever she could.

With a sigh, the siren stood from her bed. After that, Alanah went to her bathroom and took a very pleasant shower. She, too, was happy that Derek had brought the idea of showers to their world. In fact, one of her storage rings had a few different showers—some temporary, and some permanent. She also made sure that Natalie and Geoffrey didn’t give her any of those damned things that broke after so many uses and had to be repaired.