Chapter 4: The System Has a Sense of Humor
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Two nights before the Combat Evaluation, I woke up to my system having a breakdown.
<blockquote>
[SYSTEM ALERT: UNSTABLE MUTATION DETECTED.]
[ABYSSAL OVERRIDE RECONFIGURING...]
[NEW ENTITY FORMING...]
</blockquote>
My eyes snapped open, instincts kicking in.
I reached for Nyx—my living weapon, my cursed blade—but she was silent, as if watching cautiously from within.
Then—
A pulse of energy rippled through the room.
And something hatched at the foot of my bed.
I froze.
In the dim moonlight, I saw it—a small, writhing mass of shifting black metal, pulsing like a heartbeat. Tiny tendrils curled and uncurled, and then, with a wet pop, it blinked up at me.
A pair of glowing violet eyes stared, wide and unblinking.
Then—
It squeaked.
Like an excited puppy.
I stared.
It wiggled its little metal body, shifting awkwardly on tiny bladed limbs.
Then—
It jumped onto my chest.
"GRAAH!" I flinched, catching it mid-air, expecting a painful stab to the heart.
Instead… it nuzzled me.
Like a cat made of liquid metal.
"Master!" it chirped inside my head, voice high-pitched and eager. "I’m here! I’m here! I’M HERE!"
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I blinked. Slowly.
"What."
"You summoned me!" the tiny thing declared, wiggling excitedly in my hands. "I’m your weapon! I’m your friend! I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE FAN!"
I had no idea what was happening.
"Nyx?" I called mentally.
For once, my normally smug sword sounded equally baffled.
"This is… unexpected."
I looked down at the tiny, twitchy metal blob.
"What are you?" I asked.
It puffed up proudly, forming a stubby little tail.
"I’m Umbra!" it squeaked. "Your Living Armament! The system made me just for you!"
<blockquote>
[NEW ENTITY FORMED: UMBRA (LIVING WEAPON PET)]
[CLASS: EVOLVING ARMAMENT]
[CURRENT FORM: INFANT]
</blockquote>
I exhaled very slowly.
I had expected many things when my system decided to evolve.
A new skill? Sure.
A new weapon? Maybe.
A tiny metal gremlin that acted like an overexcited pet?
Not on the list.
"Master!" Umbra wiggled again, clinging to my sleeve. "Are we gonna fight bad guys? Are we gonna get stronger? Are you gonna feed me?"
"Feed you?"
"I EAT STUFF!" Umbra declared, as if this was a normal conversation. "Swords! Daggers! Armor! Magic crystals! AND SOON I’LL BE BIG AND STRONG AND DESTROY YOUR ENEMIES FOR YOU, MASTER! GRAAH!"
…This thing was going to be a problem.
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Learning to Handle a Metal Gremlin
For the next few hours, I tried to figure out what the hell I was supposed to do with a sentient baby weapon.
Umbra had two modes:
<ol>
<li>Liquid Metal Blob Form – Which it used to crawl, bounce, and attach itself to me like a clingy parasite.</li>
<li>Miniature Dagger Form – Which it couldn’t stop wiggling in.</li>
</ol>
"LOOK, MASTER, I’M A STABBY!"
"Stop moving while you’re a blade, you’ll cut something!"
"ISN’T THAT THE POINT?!"
Dear gods.
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Nyx Is Not Amused
At some point, Nyx finally spoke again, voice dripping with displeasure.
"This… thing. What is it?"
"I have no idea," I muttered mentally, watching as Umbra tried to bite a wooden chair leg.
"It’s loud."
"Yeah."
"And useless."
"I’m hoping that changes."
"I CAN HEAR YOU!" Umbra whined, twitching dramatically. "I’M GONNA BE THE STRONGEST WEAPON EVER, JUST WATCH!"
I sighed.
This was my life now.
<hr>
A New Companion, A New Challenge
By the time dawn broke, I had begrudgingly accepted that I now had a pet weapon.
Umbra was… strange. But there was potential.
And with the Combat Evaluation tomorrow, I had a chance to test exactly what it could do.
Nyx hummed in my mind. "Are you ready, my master?"
I exhaled slowly.
No.
But that had never stopped me before.
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