Chapter 8: Interface With the Interface (Part 1)

Scarlet stood in the still clearing, the echo of a bullet shot still ringing in her ears. Lingering proof of the battle they’d just won. That and the bodies scattered across the ground.

The largest of them lay closest to the bunker entrance, its neck savaged by Maus’s teeth. A few feet beyond it, the others formed a loose, uneven circle around her. The world had changed.

Maus scurried back toward her. He climbed her good leg without hesitation, making his way up her body and leaving bloody paw prints in his wake before settling once more onto her shoulder as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

Scarlet adjusted her grip on the cane and drew in a slow, steady breath, letting the air fill her lungs before releasing it just as deliberately. Her gaze moved across the tree line. Nothing moving. She then reached out with that new, familiar sense and tried to ‘feel’ the area around her. Still nothing.

Scarlet let out a slow breath, her gaze sweeping the clearing one final time before she allowed herself to lower the gun.

“Right,” she said, “let us hope this isn’t a recurring issue, though we should prepare countermeasures just in case.”

Maus shifted on her shoulder, entirely unconcerned with the broader implications of their situation. He was coated in blood, they both were. Her suit was ruined, there were bodies on the ground, her yard was a mess of dirt and viscera, and it occurred to her that she didn’t even know what time it was.

Reflexively, she made to scan the timer that had been a constant companion for so many days. Of course, it wasn’t there.

She must have been conveying her intention to the Interface because before she could brush off her mistake a new screen flickered into view.

[16:18 (LT)]

LT? She focused on the strange meridian indicator, and to her astonishment and delight the text expanded.

[16:18 (Local Time)]

Well now, she thought.

“Well now,” she repeated aloud. At least one good thing came out of this.

Scarlet glanced once more at the bodies, then beyond them, into the woods. She needed to deal with them. Bodies tended to attract scavengers. However, more than that she needed information. She took a step, and pain shot up her leg. With the adrenalin running out, the pain was coming back with interest.

She’d been bitten by the post-system equivalent of a raccoon, and that meant rabies risk. She’d been vaccinated, but that didn’t mean she should be lax. Common wisdom was to seek emergency intervention, but something told her that wasn’t a good idea right now.

Before anything else, she needed to dress her wounds, then she needed information, and to clean up this mess. In that order.

Making her way back inside, she pulled the door closed behind her with a solid, reassuring thud before reengaging the locks.

Scarlet leaned back against the door for a moment. She could feel the cool surface through the fabric of her suit. She stayed there until her breathing had steadied, her pulse had settled, and her legs felt sturdy once more.

Maus apparently had no need to recover from the mortal terror of being attacked and mauled by vicious, mutated, wild animals. He immediately dropped lightly to the floor, scampering off without hesitation. Scarlet watched him go.

“You’re making a mess,” she said but her voice was weak, and she couldn’t bring herself to care.

She pushed herself upright then moved down the stairs and into the main area. She pulled off her pants as she made her way into the bathroom. She’d be stuck rinsing her leg with soap and water for 15 mins. Might as well get some information while she was at it. She focused on the idea of seeing her Status.

Name: Scarlet Bourne
Level: 3
Tier: 0
Stats Per Level (SPL): 10

Free Stats (FS): 18

Titles:

• Early Adopter (+3 SPL)
• First Bond (+2 SPL)
• First Kill (+2 SPL)

Traits:

• Anomalous Soul
• Primordial Psion
• Psionic Shroud
• System Guide

Stats:

• Strength: 4 -> 5
• Dexterity: 6 -> 7
• Vitality: 3 -> 4
• Perception: 11
• Intelligence: 9
• Willpower: 9
• Mana: 6

Skills:

• Empathy (T1)
• Bond Communication (T1)

Bond:

• Maus

“Interesting,” she said quietly, reading through the changes. If she had started with two titles that gave her 5 SPL, and yet the Status had clearly shown 8 SPL, she would have to assume her baseline was 3 SPL. Now she had 10 SPL and a new title that granted her +2. Unfortunately, without context the number itself meant little. Ten could be exceptional, or entirely average, or even below average for all she knew. What mattered right now was that it had changed.

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She narrowed her focus on the line in question, her thoughts focused on querying, the same way she had with the clock. The Interface responded.

Stats Per Level (SPL):

• Base 3
• Titles 7

She queried again.

[Stats Per Level (SPL): Indicates the number of free status points awarded per level gained]

Her gaze landed on the list of Titles and she couldn’t help wondering what Titles actually were. Up to this point, there was no evidence indicating that anything bad would happen to her if she just asked.

What is a title? She thought at the interface. Shock and delight overwhelmed her when she received a response.

[Titles: Provided by the System for actions worthy of recognition]

“Recognition,” she repeated. Knowingly or unknowingly, she’d done things worthy of recognition. A small spark of ambition bloomed to life in her chest.

She moved on.

[Early Adopter: Granted for meaningful action taken prior to full system integration. +3 SPL]

Scarlet’s lips curved faintly at that as she remembered fighting the wave and seeing something flashing in front of her before she was pulled under. The memory felt more like a fever dream than anything but here was the irrefutable evidence that something significant had happened. She moved on.