This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Kain read through a long, very long, string of notifications before he finally reached one that said:

*Upgrade Completed. Please enter the System for a detailed tutorial of System Version 4.0*

Seeing the directive of the last notification, Kain promptly did as directed.

'System' He thought like a familiar habit, expecting the interface to appear in front of him like usual, but…

Nothing.

Kain hesitated. The usual System interface should have appeared the moment he called for it, a translucent screen displaying icons signifying all of the different features of the System he had access to—the shop that only refreshed every week, the Planetarium that he still entered nightly to increase his speed of cultivation, the Training Arena that made all the difference in his competitions, his Laboratory. None of that was appearing, making Kain panic.

Instead, there was… nothing. A strange stillness settled over him, heavy and unnatural.

Then, without warning, the world around him warped.

His body lurched—no, his mind lurched—dragged into something vast and incomprehensible. The cavern, the dim glow of the torches, the cold weight of exhaustion—all of it vanished in an instant.

His consciousness was forcibly dragged somewhere else.

An endless void stretched around him, featureless and silent, except for the one thing that dominated the space before him. A planet.

Green and blue, unmistakably. It hung in the void like a jewel, its surface shifting, pulsing with unfamiliar patterns of energy. Pangea.

At least he thought it was…it looked slightly more detailed than he remembered with millions of intricate sigils seeming to appear naturally on the ozone bubble surrounding the planet.

Kain knew instinctively that these sigils were only visible to himself.

Surrounding Pangea were four celestial bodies—each a different colour—orbiting it. His Star Spaces.

But that was all there was.

Kain continued to examine his surroundings with greater and greater focus, hoping as the minutes passed that he was missing something, because…

The laboratory? Gone.

The training arena? Gone.

Every function of the System he had relied on had simply… disappeared.

All that was here, appeared to be only his Star Space—or at least a replica of it made by the System. He wasn't quite sure yet.

Kain's breath came slow and measured, though a cold unease curled in his gut. This wasn't right. This wasn't how the System was supposed to work.

*Ding.*

A voice, mechanical yet oddly smooth, rang out from nowhere and everywhere at once:

*Detailed tutorial commencing. Welcome to System Version 4.0. Because of the Host's continued inability to exercise self-restraint, an emergency upgrade was required to keep you from destroying yourself and everyone around you. You're welcome.*

Kain blinked. Then scowled. "Great. The System's sarcasm seems to have upgraded as well. Out of all the features that seemed to have disappeared, I am sooo glad that that survived."

*Thank you.* The System replied, either not picking up on Kain's sarcasm or choosing to ignore it.

Kain exhaled through his nose, forcing himself to focus. "At least you're taking the initiative for once. Usually, I have to pry every minor detail out of you like I'm negotiating with a stingy merchant."

*Oh, forgive me for assuming a so-called genius could figure things out without a step-by-step guide. My mistake.*

Kain's eye twitched. This thing got even worse.

Shaking off the jab, he turned his attention back to his surroundings. "So? Where exactly are we? My Star Space? Some projection of it? Because I don't see any of the usual System functions."

*Correct. Your previous interface has been discarded. Due to the necessity for immediate, intimate fusion, between your Star Space and the System. You are now operating under the Spatial Conceptualization Model. Instead of crude menus and pop-ups, you now have full environmental immersion. The old System functions still exist, but they are no longer 'icons'—they must be accessed through direct interaction within this space.*

Kain frowned. "And where exactly are those functions? Because I'm seeing a whole lot of empty space."

*That is because you haven't earned them back yet.*

Kain froze. "Excuse me?"

*System functions have been temporarily closed due to all available energy to use those features being consumed during the System Upgrade. Until the energy is replenished, critical features will remain locked.*

Kain took a deep breath, ignoring the flare of irritation creeping up his spine. "So you're telling me that you upgraded yourself, forcibly dragged me here, and now I have to unlock everything all over again?"

*I mean, you could look at it that way… Or you could acknowledge that your reckless overconsumption of Source energy nearly destroyed our entire System framework, yourself, and your star space and that my sacrifice to prioritize your preservation over maintaining System features is the only reason you still exist. Again, you're welcome.*

Kain couldn't help lowering his head at the chastisement.

"Ahem…so how do I earn them back? Do I need to continue hunting spiritual creatures?" Kain asked in trepidation. The majority of his past System features required GP, which were mainly obtained by completing system missions and hunting spiritual creatures.

However, in the current relic he had not seen a single wild spiritual creature. There were those ancient experiments that seemed particularly hostile to Kain—rightfully so, he now realized in dismay—but Kain had not received a single System notification during their deaths.

Kain honestly had no idea when they'd be able to leave this relic, so having to wait until then to even begin the process of restoring his System's features left him worried.

*Good news! Due to the immediate integration between your Star Space and the System in order to stabilize you, the main energy provider of the System's energy has changed slightly. And the sources of this energy have become much more diverse. Hunting spiritual creatures is no longer the sole source of providing energy to the System.*

Kain immediately perks up at that knowledge. "Finally, some good news!"

*Indeed. The new sources of energy are no longer limited to spiritual creatures, but all living things and objects that may contain Source energy.*

Kain flinched. No, he recoiled. A sickening weight settled in his stomach, his breath catching in his throat.

"Source energy…you mean the very thing that almost turned me into a friend-killing monster?"