The Lost Vampire System Chapter 11 - The Hidden Message

  Back in the elevator, Jareth and Mia were standing in the elevator as it descended to floor 11, where the siblings had left their new friends.

  “So, would you like to tell me what you meant by the computer was not left at our apartment?” Mia asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “I… I figured out the password,” Jareth stuttered. He didn’t know how to explain the situation that he was in.

  “You did?” She asked with surprise on her face.

  “Remember that windstorm that was in our room?”

  Mia nodded.

  “When…when I cut my hand, my blood fell onto the computer. It activated and I absorbed it, gaining a computer like system in my head.”

  Mia looked at him with doubt, but she couldn’t deny the fact that there was a windstorm, and the computer wasn’t seen again. If Jareth was telling the truth, that would explain why Robert was prying into their lives. Before she could ask anything else, Jareth moved in front of her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and looked her directly in the eyes.

  “Promise me that if anyone comes poking around about the computer that you will stick to the story that we left the computer at the apartment and that we know nothing about what it does. I promise that I will fill you in once I figured out what was going on.”

  Mia had her eyes locked directly with her brother and he could see the worry in his eyes. She trusted her brother and decided to trust him again with this now family secret. “I promise.”

  “Good,” Jareth said as he let go of her shoulders just as the elevator doors opened.

  Standing there was Damion, Henry, Emma, Madison, and Keira. They were happy that they were back, but were worried on why Robert had abruptly taken them away.

  “Why did Robert take you, Mia?” Keira asked before the others could.

  “Ooo, just some things that our dad had left behind for us, just in case he wouldn’t make it,” Mia said as she shook the letter before putting it in her back pocket.

  Jareth raised his right arm showing the grey bracelet that was on his wrist. Damion’s eyes widened for a moment, but instantly went away before anyone could’ve noticed.

  “Let’s go and explore!” Keira said happily as she grabbed both Mia and Emma dragging them along to an elevator that had opened. “Maybe we can find cute guys to hang out with.”

  A blush crept up both Mia’s and Emma’s cheeks as the elevator closed leaving Damion Henry, Madison, and Jareth there alone since everyone else had long since left.

  “So, what do you want to do now?” Henry asked.

  “I don’t really care,” Damion said. “Whatever these two want to do.” Damion then glared at Madison like she didn’t belong in the group.

  Madison noticed this and decided to just leave to not anger Jareth’s new overprotective friend.

  “I’m going to go and look for something.” Madison announced. “See you Jareth. Madison opened the door to the stairwell and started to walk down it.

  “A secret encoded message is within the artifact. Would you like to hear it? Yes/No. Pairing “The Bracelet of Dominion” to the Draven System. 10% completed.”

  This made Jareth curious, so he decided that he wanted to hear the message. He needed to make up an excuse so that his two friends wouldn’t get suspicious.

  “I’m kind of tired so I’m just going to go and take a rest in my room. I’ll be down for dinner though.”

  “I understand,” Damion said. “I think I’ll just show Henry what the gaming boxes are.”

  Henry’s face lit up with excitement. Jareth pressed the down button since his room was 6-11 which was floor sixth room 11. Damion hit the up arrow and they both got in their corresponding elevators. The number on the elevator kept getting smaller until it said floor six. Jareth stepped out when the elevator opened. He looked around to see a sign that showed 1-100 to the right. Once he walked over to the right, he saw another sign that showed 1-50 to the right and 51-100 to the left.

  The dormitory floor was just a Capital letter H and Jareth’s room was the bottom right part of the H.

  Jareth took a right and he didn’t get far before he saw room 11 next to a door with a scan like lock. He placed his Forwatch over the scanner. A moment passed before a green light shown along with a soft click of the door unlocking. He went in and looked around, making sure the door was properly closed behind him. There was a bed on the left side of the room, the back middle along with one on the right. He found his bag next to the right bed so he decided that it would be his bed. The was a drawer and a desk next to each of the beds. Besides those things there was nothing else in the room.

  “Well, this looks sad,” Jareth muttered but before he could say anything else he got two messages from the System.

  Pairing “The Bracelet of Dominion” to the Draven System. 15% completed. A secret encoded message is within the artifact. Would you like to hear it? Yes/No.”

  If he said that he wasn’t nervous about the message he would be lying. Jareth wanted to know the message that was detected by his System. Maybe it could explain what type of situation he was in. Jareth took a deep breath before selecting yes.

  Right after that, the bracelet flew off of his right wrist onto his bed. That’s when a hologram shot out of The Bracelet of Dominion startling Jareth. The hologram formed a handsome man in his forties with a short black beard with a mustache. He had curly black hair with blue eyes, the same features as he had. It’s been a while, but Jareth recognized him as his father. Light shined out of the bracelet scanning Jareth’s body. Once the scan was over, the hologram flickered for a moment, showing Jareth’s smiling father.

  “Hello, my dear Jareth,” his father’s hologram said. “Just in case you forgot, or this message took way too long to get to you, my name is William Nightshade, your father. I hope that you are in possession of the computer,” William said this while tapping his head. “Otherwise, what I will give you will be hard to learn.” His father smiled at him before the hologram flickered again showing his father now with no beard. “Before I give you the gifts, I will have to tell you what you have. You are in possession of what is known as a System. The only other recorded time in History of someone having a System was an ancient god named Draven.”

  Well, Jareth thought, I guess the name Draven and the Draven written on the computer before I absorbed it meant the same person.

  “The one that you possess was an upgraded version of the one that he had.” The hologram zoomed in so that only his father’s face was visible. “There are dangerous and powerful people looking for that laptop, Jareth.” William said with a serious face. “Be careful, his people will stop at nothing to acquire the laptop. No matter what happens you need to pretend that you don’t know what the tablet is.” The hologram became fuzzy then showed his father once more with a beard with dark lines under his eyes. “I will now give you the gifts. I suggest to you that you put your hand out.”

  Jareth obediently put his hand out. Once he did, light shot out from the bracelet landing in his hands. Once the light vanished, what looked like a small computer drive appeared. Jareth looked at it with a curious gaze, wondering what he can do with it before his system gave a notification.

  “External computer drive detected. Able to be absorbed. Would you like to absorb the drive? Yes/No?”

  “If you are getting a notification to absorb it, then you should,” William said. “I’ll wait for the process to complete.”

  Jareth hesitated, but since it was his father that was telling him to absorb it, so he ultimately decided to and selected yes. Right after that, he felt a euphoric sensation wash over his body, causing him to collapse on the bed. Three minutes later the sensation disappeared so that Jareth was able to stand up again. He looked at the hologram noticing that William was just staring in the space in front of him, like he was looking at something in the distance. A Draven System notification interrupted his thoughts.

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  “External computer drive successfully absorbed. New System skill fully integrated and unlocked. New System skill: Appraisal. The user may look at anything and activate the Appraisal skill. If the knowledge was in the drive, learned through interacting with the area, or been in the area for long enough to naturally learn about the environment then it will identify what you are scanning. Appraisal skill at level 1. Current range: 10 feet.”

  Jareth blinked once than twice as he was reading the information that had popped up on his notification screen. Having the ability to identify anything was a really useful skill. Does that mean I can find out someone’s name without even asking, Jareth wondered? Could I identify objects as well?

  He heard William give a slight cough. That’s when Jareth looked at his father who was looking at his watch. He looked up and continued.

  “I think you should be done now, so I will continue,” Jareth’s father smiled. “Now, I hope you don't have an Evolved power yet, because you'll eventually like this one.” William chuckled. “Now place your hands out, this is heavy.”

  Like an obedient child, Jareth placed his hands out in a catching position. Ten seconds past and nothing happened. Just when he thought that something was wrong, light shot out from the bracelet and a two-foot-long stone tablet with a curved top materialized in his hands. He almost fell over because of the weight but caught himself just in time. Jareth tried to read what it said but it was in a language that he couldn’t understand.

  “You won’t understand it,” William said like he knew what Jareth was trying to do, “It’s in a made-up language that I along with a couple other people created so that no one could understand anything that we were talking about. Just use your new skill.”

  With nothing to lose he opened up his system screen selecting the Appraisal skill.

  System result. “Tampered Evolved stone tablet containing the Evolved power known as the “Jack of all Trades.” This “Jack of all Trades” tablet was created by mysterious means. The Jack of all trades is known for being the master of none because it never focuses on a single ability, which is why it is often referred to as being better than a master of one.” The system finished giving its result.

  Jareth looked at his screen noticing that there were several question marks below it. There was a message next to it that said level up Appraisal skill to show more.

  Well, that sucks, Jareth thought. I wonder if I can absorb it? That’s when he received a notification.

  “An Evolved artifact is in your possession. Evolved artifact contains the “Jack of all Trades” ability. You have one Evolved power slot available. Would you like to absorb the artifact and gain the Jack of all Trades power. Yes/No?”

  Jareth knew the concept of the Jack of all Trades skill and knew that it can be very useful, so he decided to gain the skill before something happened. So, he selected yes.

  The tablet glowed and random colors shot out of the tablet entering into his chest. The tablet's stone structure slowly converted into particles of light that aggressively entered his body, as if afraid Jareth might change his mind and reject it.

  “You should definitely absorb it,” William said unaware that Jareth was already doing so.

  As the final particles of light entered his body, he heard a ding sound as the system began speaking.

  “New Evolved Power unlocked: Jack of all trades. Congratulations, you are now the master of none. Just know that someone will always be better than you in any trade. Two known features unlocked. The first feature is: Trade classes. This is where you acquire “Trades” that you can learn in whatever order you like. It is not limited to Evolved powers but can be simple things like cooking and dancing. The user of the Jack of all trades Evolved power would possess the ability to access and utilized any trade at will. The user could seamlessly switch between trades depending on the situation, making them incredibly versatile and adaptable. At the first stages of the Jack of all trades, the user only has one slot, so you can only use one trade at a time and must switch if the user wishes to use a different trade. The user must be aware that if one trade is strong does not mean that the other trades have the same strength. The user must gain experience and power separately from the other trades. Error no trades acquired. Second known feature will be revealed after you have acquired one trade.”

  Wow! Jareth thought this as he read the information that the system had provided for him. This Evolved power is a lot better than the options that the military was offering. I wonder though, how I can acquire a trade. Maybe I can…

  Error. Error. Error. Evolved power Jack of all Trades artifact has been tampered with. Please stand by while the system assesses the problem.”

  “Aagghh what?” Jareth blurted out. “What do you mean by Error? It better not be that bad or I should’ve just taken the plant Evolved book.”

  Jareth’s heart started to beat wildly inside his chest. Please be not that bad, Jareth thought. Please be not that bad he desperately thought.

  “The ability has been assessed. New addition to the Jack of all Trades Evolved power has been added. The first trade that the user acquires will become a permanent power that the user can use anytime. This ability cannot be switched and like normal the user has a second slot that can be switched with any trade that the user has acquired.”

  Jareth took three deep breaths to calm his fast heartbeat. He was so glad to hear that the power was an upgrade and not a hindrance to his newly acquired Jack of all Trades power. Two minutes passed before William began again.

  “If you are getting an error at this time or...just something, don’t worry it’ll make the power better. Well, I think you should since the system should work like a computer.”

  The hologram was slightly behind since Jareth decided to acquire the Evolved power right away. This would’ve been helpful back when Jareth was freaking out. Thanks a lot, Jareth thought sarcastically. Another minute passed.

  “William, I will now give you the last two gifts. For the first, just put in your pocket, and the second one be very gentle with it. Hands out.”

  Jareth put his hand out, and the same light shot from the bracelet on his bed into his hand. A small shiny black rock materialized there. The bracelet shot another beam of light toward him. A little shiny rock appeared in his hand. Before he could get a good look at it, the hologram shot out another beam of light. Jareth shoved the little shiny rock into his pocket as he placed his hands out for a seven-inch-long by four-inch white, somewhat translucent egg.

  “Umm,” Jareth said with surprise on his face.”

  “I know that you are probably asking what the egg is, but I want to briefly tell you about the rock.”

  “E… E…Egg!” Jareth stuttered.

  William continued as if he didn't notice Jareth's surprise about the egg. Of course, he didn't, because he was just a hologram.

  “When you are in danger of dying, just smash the black rock, and it will summon someone to save you. The person owes me a favor so that’s what the rock is for. I did notify him that you will have the rock so it’s ok, I think.” William said this with uncertainty which worried Jareth a little. “Anyways, I know you might be confused about the egg, so I will tell you.”

  “Good,” Jareth said with a worried face. “I want to know what my slimy hands are touching.”

  “What you are holding in your hand is a one of a kind. It’s an egg… of an ant queen.”

  “An ant Queen egg?” Jareth asked aloud in confusion.”

  “If you're asking whether you heard me right, then yes, I said it's an ant queen egg. Use your Appraisal skill..” William looked down at his watch then looked at his fingernails as if he was waiting for Jareth to use his skill.

  Before Jareth uses his skill, I would like to explain the rankings known to the world so far. During the war the humans discovered the Becifer galaxy. This galaxy had beasts that wandered on each planet. They just called then Becifer beasts. The Becifer’s varied in rank, so they decided to create a tier list to keep track of them There are currently 8 tiers that the humans use to rank the different Becifer beasts in the world. Simple, Advanced, Superior, King, Legendary, Champion, Unnatural, and Apex. Each rank is around four to ten times stronger than the previous tier. This was to separate the different levels of Becifer’s. They also measured on how strong the Becifer is in each tier by low, mid, and high. Enough for now.

  Jareth looked at the egg activating his Appraisal skill.

  System. “Sovereign Stinger: Empress of the Endless Swarm. Threat level: Simple, low. Able to Evolve. The Sovereign stinger is feared among the Becifer beasts because the ant queen is known to raise an army of her own children. The Sovereign Stinger appears to test the galaxy before a big calamity falls upon the world. Left alone the Sovereign Stinger can overwhelm anyone with sheer numbers. The Sovereign Stinger is able to telepathically communicate with her offspring making her a good commander. Whatever beasts she eats, make it so that her next egg laying will have some characteristics of what she ate. The more she eats, the more characteristics her children will have. It is said that once she dies the calamity falls upon the world.”

  After that information dump, Jareth carefully placed the egg, which was no bigger than half a ruler long, on his bed. He was now aware that what he held was probably the rarest Becifer beast ever to exist. More importantly, he didn't want to damage the egg and kill the queen, releasing a calamity he wasn't sure he believed the system about. Now he wondered how William had gotten the egg, but most importantly, why his father was giving it to him.

  “Yes,” Jareth’s father began. That egg is an ant queen. The favor I got from the rock's person was in exchange for protecting the egg. He seemed pretty desperate, and whenever you use the rock to summon him, you'll know what I mean. Now, I don't know if the military set up the Military Academy as planned when I recorded this, but you'd learn about it soon if you're close to 16 now or just turned 15, Mia.”

  Jareth looked at his hologram father with anticipation, wondering what his father was going to say.

  “Oh, wait. It’s still an egg.” William rubbed his chin. “I guess I can tell you now. So, here is what you will do. Keep the egg on you at all times. I mean at all times. Contrary to what you probably believe, the egg is actually really strong. The egg can be smooshed down when you lightly press on it, but when it gets harder to do so, stop, because that could damage it. It’s low but still a possibility.”

  Wait, what? Jareth thought as his father was talking. Am I supposed to take it to my classes? Now he was figuring out if he brought his backpack as he pulled out his suitcase and opened it.

  “The egg will hatch in 7 to 10 days. It is important that they first thing the ant sees is you. Activate the hologram then.”

  The hologram turned off and the bracelet flew back onto Jareth’s right wrist who was in the middle of pulling out his backpack. This caught him off guard sending him back smacking his head on the ground. His eyes rolled into his head as he went unconscious.

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