NOVEL WEB Chapter 25: So that’s how it works…
And like that, she was back in the real world. She didn't find a projection of herself in the room. And a quick look into the internal feed of the room showed how she has only been away for a few minutes.
Instead of the hours, she felt pass inside her soulscape.
Perhaps it was all the time she wasted with that receptionist...
Either way, she went ahead and did what she had promised herself to do.
[Identify]...
| Inventory: |
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This skill grants the user a subspace where she can store her belongings, for it to work the item in question must be hers or be granted to her. It works by the user's subconscious so it can't be used to steal something even if the user tries to convince herself of ownership of it. It can be tweaked in its presentation and it has personalized options. It can summon objects to any part of her body and can be used to change clothing. At higher levels of masteries, it can be even used to wash and air dry clothes! The current level doesn't allow washing or air drying, since the user must find a way for said effects to work. Note: It doesn't stop the time of the objects nor can store living beings. |
Yep, just like she thought and remembered.
Nothing special about it.
"Here we go..." Said the girl while amping herself...
And in one swift motion, she pointed at one of the leotards(Body Suits) her father had sent for her while saying "[Inventory]".
And...Nothing happened.
"Hmm...." That was...concerning.
"Maybe...?" Thought the blonde girl while grabbing said body suit and thinking again of her skill.
Soon enough another blue box showed in her field of view, this time one with little boxes on it.
She thought of storing it in one and voila!
Her body suit was consumed in shadows that creeped out from her hands into the suit.
It was... Disturbing.
But effective since in a few seconds the leotard was inside one of the little boxes.
"...Neat." Was all the blonde girl could say while admiring her work.
With an idea of how it worked she in one motion extended tendrils from her shadow into all the body suits her father had sent her way.
Soon enough they all were engulfed in shadows and stowed away into her skill.
Navigating that particular skill was more troublesome though.
She could see the information about the suits, materials used, and the manufacturer even.
She could even see how she would look in them.
But nothing else.
She had been told her shift skill could be linked to this thing though.
"Maybe I need to think really hard...?" She was struggling to make ends of how to work it.
She could understand on a deeper level how to work the shadows, but the [Inventory]... That needed a user manual.
"Amm...How did that blonde asshole say it?... [Link Shadow Shift to Inventory Slot]?" mumbled the blonde girl trying to remember the last words the blonde man had said to her before she left the soulscape.
And lo and behold, there was a response!
| Notice: |
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Do you wish to link specific armors to a [Shadow Shift Slot]? Y/N |
"That would be a Yes" Answered the blonde girl to the blue box.
And so a new menu was brought to life!
She now could link the specific armor to a slot in her shadow shift skill.
So she used the sturdier and more resilient body suit for her powered persona. And one of the more normal ones for her magical persona.
With that done she now had to register her powered suit and she would be done with this!
So finding the terminal installed in this room she happily walked that way.
Only to stop at her first great hurdle.
"Please take a photo of the student wearing the powered suit and submit it with a name. Secret Identities will be protected under the ruling #1337 of the new Crusaders Accords." Said a mechanical voice while the whole room shook.
The crafting tables, forge, and even the sewing machines were moving and integrating themselves into the walls. Making room and now she had an empty room.
With a few cameras popping from the ceiling, only the empty boxes of Father's gifts and her backpack were left.
Of course, a few standard school suits were still hanging by the walls. She hadn't tested those...
She wasn't sure the school was very thorough with the washing of those.
Still, she didn't think that she would need to use it that soon.
"Here goes nothing I guess..." Said the blonde girl trying to hype herself.
No success there.
"[Shadow Shift]" Said while invoking her skill, she didn't need the vocal aspect to it, but it helped calm herself. "[Shadow Empress]" And on that note finished intoning the name she had chosen for herself.
The shadows in the room then started moving, almost as if alive.
They all coalesced into the blonde girl and soon enough her whole body was covered in shadows.
They stuck to her body for a few seconds before receding and leaving the girl with her armor standing in place. She looked at her hands and marveled at how different they looked in the armor.
She even touched her hair and looked at it, it was still as silky as she remembered, only now it was black. It almost looked like it was made of a strong and dark material instead of normal hair.
She left it to fall and one could almost see strands of shadowy smoke in the wake of her hair.
Then walking into the middle of the room and turning into the terminal she prepared herself for the photos the school would take.
"Start the photo shot." Said the girl only to give herself a surprise.
Her voice sounded...Different, she hadn't changed anything with her voice.
She had forgotten completely about changing her voice and only changed her eyes and hair.
| Notice, Message Embedded into skill received: |
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Heya girl noticed you forgot a few important things on your [Extra Persona]. Took the liberty of fixing it, no thanks needed.
Just bring souvenirs next time you come around!
I want a good drink for myself... And maybe a [Mango Cake] for Alexa.
Enjoy the changes.
Cheers!
Alex |
So after imputing her powered name [Shadow Empress] and choosing one of the poses for her ID (Not the one where she showed her face).
She canceled her [Shift] and marveled at how she was once again in her uniform as if nothing had happened.
"Test, Test. One two." Said the blonde girl while toucher her throat. No discomfort either.
And her melodic voice was also as if nothing had happened.
"Such a weird thing..." The terminal finished the needed paperwork and spat out a new ID with her face (Face plate included) with her powered name and a basic description.
Mostly showing her as [Elemental user]. No description of the said element being shadow or anything.
She was somewhat relieved by the change in appearance since she couldn't excuse the use of any security node in her powered form.
So those were absent, the blonde asshole had said that no one would detect magic from the [Shift] so long she didn't stick any security node into it.
Since her system detected it as a [Skill].
Just... Don't try to explain it, since most would think it was a subset skill.
And that had more worries for her.
How would she ever explain her skills?
She hadn't seen anyone with more than one yet.
At least in those that didn't had garbled text that is.
And she had...Like what? Six? Seven?
Granted [Identify] felt like a subset skill of [Status]...
And [Mana Manipulation] and [Shadow Shift] felt like something that was more of her magical side...
[Shadow Craft/manipulation] felt like they could be the same or one a subset of the other.
So that left [Inventory] but then again, if we follow that logic wasn't that a subset of [Shadow Shift] who then in turn would make it something of her magic side?
She needed some answers to these questions...
But she hadn't seen Mother...
And she didn't want to speak of this in a call...
She had a feeling that it would be dangerous...But no reason or why.
So for now, she wouldn't think about it!
She would vacate her room and go to her room to sleep a few hours before there was a need for another magic class!
Perhaps she could sleep since Rossie should be in theory classes.
She didn't envy the pink-haired girl. Those classes sounded boring.
But they were needed to build a correct spell or magic circle.
If she didn't have a system skill to build it for her...
She could only shudder at the thought of all the extra classes she would need or all the books she would need to study...
God Bless the system.