章 2: Chapter 2 - Recognized Danger

He paused and his mocking demeanor turned serious:

"Well then, would you like to explain to me - no, why you created this body as a 'Half-Beast'? In detail if possible."

Being a half-beast was not unbearable for him. It was hard, but his body was still human. His background was not so important. But he needed to know why, and more importantly... He had a feeling that this would not be the end of it.

And there was silence again. The silence caused James' seriousness to give way to impatience and irritation. "This isn't going to be a secret, is it? You're not going to keep information about my body a secret, are you?" he said in a voice that grew angry towards the end.

Finally, unable to stand it, Novice Fox said in a hurry:

[There's been an accident. A totally one-in-a-million accident! Who would have guessed that your memories would be shattered on the way in?]

Hearing all this, James's anger deflated like a balloon. In a confused voice he said, "What do you mean, you mean I asked for it?"

James' question remained unanswered. The Novice Fox's silence was approving. At least that's how James interpreted it.

'This has to be a joke.'

He paused with that thought. Then he laughed as he looked up at the sky.

"Pft! Hahahaha! I wanted to be a beast? Good joke. A very funny joke. Haha!"

There was no reply. As his laughter became less and less, his smiling expression slowly fell, becoming anxious and disbelieving.

"Isn't it a joke?"

There was no answer for a short while. Then Novice Fox replied in a regretful tone:

[Unfortunately].

James didn't know what to say, so he fell silent. After his silence, Novice Fox felt the need to speak and continued:

[This... It didn't happen by choice. The soul of those who make it here must be perfect and pure. Otherwise, they will not be chosen by Heaven and will stray in the Cycle of Reincarnation. Those whose soul is intact and pure will have complete memories. At least until they reincarnate. But you...]

He stopped. James said nothing. He listened in silence. He wanted to understand thoroughly the situation he was in, but his silence alarmed Novice Fox. He could clearly feel the guilt in her voice as she spoke even more urgently.

[In your case, your memories were completely shattered. It was hard to even understand what you were talking about. So I didn't pay attention to you in order to give you a quick pass, and in the end I took your every answer as true and... I unintentionally put you in this situation].

Novice Fox was trying to express her regret in the most sincere way.

[I apologize! You're in this state because of my carelessness.]

James stopped. He took deep breaths in and out. This was... hard to digest.

He could accept being some kind of Half-Beast. The fact that it was all the result of an accident was something he could accept, albeit with difficulty. But he was in this state, albeit unconsciously, because of "his own choice" and "the negligence of the wish-fulfiller".

An anger rose inside him, both at himself and at Fox. His body trembled, his eyes glowed, and he stood up and started laughing furiously!

"Pft! Hahaha! Your carelessness and my choice... resulted in the birth of some kind of creature? Is that so? Hahaha! Haha!"

His laughter was an intense expression of his anger. Such nonsense was too much to bear.

Being a Bakugan was in itself full of danger and uncertainty. In their own memories there were many questions about their biology and lifespan. Even discounting all that, if he were fully Bakugan he would have to run from battle to battle and constantly evolve, but he was not even fully Bakugan. It was a hybrid that should not exist, that could not be created by mating or any other means!

Who knew how much nonsense or how great a catastrophe it would bring if the impossible became possible?

He had walked for weeks in New Westoria. Although he did not feel hungry or thirsty, he did not even know who he was. He remembered details of his identity as he walked, and then at some point he stopped.

Even when he started to pick up the pieces of his memory, it was incomplete. Was God playing a game with him?

Her laughter lessened the intensity of her anger as she unloaded weeks of anger and despair on Fox:

"Do you know how many weeks I've been here, Fox, without even knowing who I am? How many weeks? Just when I've learned a few things about myself, you show up and tell me I'm a beast, not the person I remember."

Desperation and anger increased the white glint in his eyes. A carefully observant person would have seen a silver light, hard to see, enveloping James's bronze body. Towards the end, his voice sounded more like a beast than a human being.

In his last sentences, his beast-like anger was even more pronounced. Towards the end, he roared, "What do you expect me to say, just accept your apology? Fuck off! Why should I ask for help from someone who put me in this situation?"

After venting his anger in this way, he began to take deep breaths. Anger... It was the emotion he was feeling the most right now. He couldn't control his anger and his thoughts were becoming more erratic.

He knew he had to calm down. Even though the possibilities frightened him now, he had to face them calmly. The sound of deep breaths was all that could be heard in the silence. Novice Fox could understand that he needed some time. So she just waited for him to calm down. When enough time had passed, she spoke in a sincere voice:

[I'm so sorry, James. I really am... But I can't leave you. You probably feel lost, helpless. Let me help you. Let me make up for my mistake and guide you.]

James didn't respond to what he heard until he was sure he had calmed down. The unstable white glow in his eyes lost its sparkle and faded, but the little sparkle was still there. "If you've done something like that, you know how to fix it, right?" he asked in a much calmer tone than before.

Hearing him finally calm down, Fox spoke with relief:

[Of course, but for that you need to use the system. I have to teach you the system first].

James immediately asked incredulously,"Isn't the system the window on the side that keeps popping up and giving me tasks? How can it help me when it can't help itself?"

He didn't think he could trust a window whose only function was to give quests and try to sell things.

Novice Fox was briefly taken aback by James's statement. It was the first time she had ever heard someone call a system dysfunctional, but she quickly recovered and said, [A system is a guide, but every system has a different path and method. Especially since your system is a bit more complicated, its path requires you to learn more through your experiences and trial and error.]

James remained silent in response. Was he supposed to learn everything on his own? What kind of nonsense was the point of this so-called system? Just as he was about to ask about this, the partly cheerful voice of Novice Fox filled his mind:

[But luckily you have me! Trust me to make up for what I've done and please let me guide you.]

His face took on a strange expression when he heard Novice Fox's words. A few times he felt like saying something, but finally he gave up and said:

"Alright... Let's see what you've got."

Immediately, however, he heard Novice Fox's voice, full of excitement like a child's:

[Great! So now can you please say status first to find out what your status is?]

James took a deep breath and muttered in a low voice:

"Status."

In front of his eyes, a gold-framed window with a large white background opened. On the left side of this window was his name and information. It was written in a column. On the right side was a slot of eights. Just above the eight slot was a two slot.

Before he could ask what this was, Novice Fox satisfied his curiosity:

[This is your status window. Think of it like a game. You can see all your stats here].

With that, he recalled an incomplete game in a memory fragment, but soon shook his head from side to side and returned his focus to the window. First he paid attention to the pillar.

<James>

<Level: 0>

<G-Power: 150

Strength: 15

Stamina: 20

Agility: 15>

Then he looked at the text in the upper right corner.

<Capacity: 4/4>

He examined it thoroughly. As the window was almost empty except for these, he asked:

"What is G-Power and Capacity? Can you explain?"

Immediately after his question, James heard Novice Fox's gentle cough in his mind:

[Ahem, ahem. I'll explain right now!]

[What you see on the left side are your stats. As you can see, the race section says unstable. That's because you're a hybrid that shouldn't be. The one right below it represents your power from the Bakugan side. It won't do you any good unless you undergo a complete transformation].

[Under G-Power are respectively strength: your physical strength, stamina: your fitness and also your body's resistance to any damage, and finally agility: your speed in general, including your reaction speed].

With Fox's words, he became convinced that G-Power was completely irrelevant. He nodded his head in agreement and asked:

"What about the space on the right side and that capacity?"

Novice Fox answered immediately:

[That's exactly what I was about to talk about, the module screen on the right and taking up most of the screen. As you can see, it's empty! You can load the various modules you can get there. And what you see on the top right is the module capacity. I'd say the module capacity is the limit of what your body can handle.]

With the bombardment of information coming one after the other, James paused. Although he didn't know if she could see it or not, he involuntarily raised his hand to stop her and asked in a troubled voice, "Stop, stop, stop. First of all, tell me what the module is. Also, what are the pros and cons of this unstable status? Can you inform me about that?"

There was a short silence in response. James's eyebrows raised slightly as the sound of papers shattering filled his ears. He was about to ask what she was doing when Novice Fox beat him to it and answered one of his questions:

[You can think of modules as special cards that allow you to build yourself up, like building a character, with special powers, attribute enhancements, and so on. You place it in the slot you see and you can use the special power/ability described].

James was surprised and said, "It's that simple? There's no pain, no need for some kind of adaptation for my body?" he asked, only to hear Novice Fox's answer, which briefly left him speechless:

[Of course it is that simple. You did not go through a reincarnation process. Your body was created by us, so it is perfectly compatible with the system you were given before. The moment you add it, you will be able to use it freely. Of course, it's up to you to master it.]

[If you were reincarnated, you would have to suffer a great deal of pain several times during the activation of the system, as there would be a change affecting your entire body].

James was speechless at the answer he received. His body that 'shouldn't' be like this, which he considered a nuisance, was obviously a great blessing. If he understood the modules, it gave him access to various powers and augmentations. Although he had more questions about this, he didn't feel the need to ask them now.

Instead, he decided to address the question he hadn't gotten an answer to earlier and asked curiously, "So can you please tell me what problems the unstable in the race section will cause?" The fact that she didn't answer his question probably meant that she was afraid to answer it. So he didn't think it was a good thing.

As he expected, there was no answer. The usual awkward silence greeted him. There was no expression on his face, as if he was patiently waiting for his answer, but anyone paying attention could see that the veins near his right temple had become prominent. The small glow in his eyes flickered slightly.

Finally he heard a timid voice:

[First... First of all b-this is a fixable problem. So don't worry about it, okay? You just need to buy an {Upgrader}. Although it's expensive, I'm sure you'll be able to get away with a few tasks].

James said five words in a heavy voice:

"Tell me what's wrong, Fox."

The weight of each word betrayed a hidden anger. Novice Fox spoke hurriedly as she panicked:

[W-well... Like I said, calm down first, sit down, take a breath].

Hearing that Novice Fox still didn't answer, the brightness of the flickering sparkles began to increase. The white sparkles emanating from around his body in the middle of the night naturally attracted attention. These white sparkles emanating from his body gave off an ominous feeling. He asked angrily:

"Are you gonna tell me what the fucking problem is!?"

Then, realizing that she couldn't hide it any longer, Novice Fox answered with fear and panic:

[Your problem is... YOU CAN TRANSFORM INTO A BAKUGAN AT ANY MOMENT!]