System Changes

Endyr and Sia walked back together, side by side. Occasionally, Sia would glance over at Endyr and look away again. He ignored this however, and made no move to make conversation. As the silence stretched, frustration began to become visible on Sia's face. Eventually, she stopped and spun her head around to face her brother.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" she asked angrily. Endyr looked to her in confusion, ignorant of why she would be upset. Seeing this, Sia only grew more frustrated and stomped her foot. "Why aren't you talking about my Status or anything? You haven't even congratulated me!"

At her childish remarks, displeasure surged within Endyr before he quelled it. He spoke coolly to his angry sister, not putting any motion into his words. "You haven't congratulated me on Ascending either." Sia looked strangely perplexed at his anger, before she let out a small growl. "That's not the same! You might be ignorant of what Ascending truly entails, but its a massive event for me! You are meant to be impressed!"

'Ah, so she is discontented by the lack of attention I am giving her. How pitiful, truly. Who is the real child' Endyr thought. He did not see why Sia was so invested in her Ascension, as it was only a natural process from Endyr's view. As the child of a powerful Noble, who is an Ascender herself, Sia would obviously Ascend some day, and she should have had ample time to have it set in. Yet here she was, begging for praise like she just did something surprising.

These harsh thoughts were the result of Endyr's ignorance on the matter of Ascension. As Sia had said, he actually knew very little about the phenomenon and how it occurs. For instance, there is never a 100% chance for the children of Ascenders to Bloom too. While all beings have a Seed since birth, some are stunted or deformed, crippling them and stranding them and mortals. And with a Rank less than D (the official mark for Ascenders), they will likely never reach Master Tier in their life. Such a fate is feared by all sentient beings across the Infinite Universe, and has occurred in even the most prominent of families.

Endyr would find this out eventually, and fell bad about his reaction at the time. But for now, he simply gave an indifferent "congratulations" and moved on. Sia felt tears threaten to burst out, but she forcefully kept them back. She refused to cry because of her kid brother's cold attitude. Seeing her state, the slightest pangs of regret bubbled in Endyr's stomach, but he stayed silent. This continued until the two siblings went their separate ways, each to their own rooms. 'I'll make it up to her later, I guess' Endyr half-heartedly promised to himself.

Once Endyr was alone in his room, he went over to a bookshelf and proceeded to start reading. He was in the midst of learning about the various Archons and Evil Gods when a sudden notification from has System rang out. *Ding!*

[Greetings, Host. I am here to inform you that your Beginner Period is now over, and all Bonuses will now be withdrawn. If you have any questions, please ask now.]

"What the fuck?!" Endyr blurted out, dropping his book in surprise. "What Bonuses? And what the hell is a Beginner Period?!" To say Endyr was shocked was an understatement, as he felt like he couldn't breath. From what he could grasp, his System was either about to leave or shut down or something similar awful. Perhaps reading his mind, the System responded.

[Do not worry Host, your System will stay active. It will simply be altered now that you have officially been recorded as an Ascender on the Akashic Records. A list of what entails is attached:

1) The Host will no longer receive answers for questions asked. Unless Host has sufficient Authority, the answers remain locked.

2.A) The Host can now buy Skills, Techniques and Rank Potions using Authority Points

2.B) The Host can permanently exchange Authority Points for answers and Skills. However, the Authority Points will be lost forever.

3) The Host will find it harder to gain Titles, just like all other beings in the Infinite Universe

4) The Host will now be able to see details about their Skills and Titles

5) Host will no longer be shielded by the System from the gazes of others]

Endyr felt a bitter taste swell in his mouth s he read the list. In truth, he had already become accustomed to the help the System provided, to the point he forgot just what the System was: an impartial overseer for the Universe. Obviously, his special treatment had to end eventually, but Endyr was highly reluctant to just let it go. But these changes to his System didn't seem all bad: he could apparently buy Skills and Techniques from the System now.

"What's all that about System?" he asked.

[Host can now buy Skills from any Rank, though they will be unable to sue them until they meet the requirements, The same goes for Techniques, but Rank Potions can be bought at any time. A Potion forcefully causes an Ascender's Rank to increase and is used in breakthroughs. However, rapid or constant use can leave the Core strained and defective, so most Ascenders only use them several times in their lives, with no more than six Potions being able to be consumed safely.]

[Authority Points are used to exchange for these items, but Host should spend them wisely as obtaining Points after the System updates will be much harder. Once spent, points cannot be refunded, so make no mistakes in your decisions. Furthermore, gaining new Skills and Titles naturally will be harder. The time before now was a "growing stage" where you were receiving a boost from the System to accommodate heightened growth.]

"And what does the fifth notice mean? Something about the gazes of others?"

[If Gods or anyone with an Appraisal Skill scans the Host, their Status will be revealed and the System will not interfere. Those with a higher Level may also be able to gleam information about the Host upon contact. Any Divinations will no longer be automatically obstructed, so Host should take extreme care before attracting attention in the future.]

Endyr sucked in his breath after reading the System's warning. The last thing he wanted was to be the subject of interest for a God, since he only possessed bad experiences with them. After all, when Endyr was a Denizen of Infinity, he was absolutely what would be called an "Evil God" on Orvonia. As an ex-God himself, he was clearly aware of how cruel divine beings could be to those under them.

[The System will now begin its installations. Please note Host will be unable to access the System nor their Status during this period,. As one last favour to the Host, they will receive 5 extra Authority Points. Good luck, and may Host continue to prosper!]

*Ding!*

[5 Authority Points received!]

[System is currently updating and offline...]

Endyr chewed his lips as he read the notifications before dismissing them. Now that he thought about it, the new updates in the System may not be as helpful as he thought. Sure, the ability to buy Skills, Techniques and Potions seemed insanely powerful, but Endyr was under no misassumption the price would be equally ridiculous. With the System personally stating Authority would be harder to come by, Endyr knew he would only be making use of such features in either dire or special circumstances.

'That's more like the System I know...I guess the gap between me and the natives has just been shortened quite a bit.'

Being shut off from information would also hurt Endyr, but he wasn't as bothered about it. For one, the act of personally digging up secrets and acquiring knowledge greatly excited Endyr. Everything would now be the result of his own efforts and attempts, just as he liked it. Keeping that in mind, Endyr changed into his pyjamas and tucked himself into bed. "I hope the update will be done when I wake up" he murmured sleepily.