Chapter 87: Effortless…

Activate the fucking ability! BDSysteM hollered at me.

I skimmed through the glitched panel—something was clearly wrong—glows, weird borders, a scrollbar, the only thing normal was the safe word ability itself. My eyes settled on the description reading "Melody is safe" and I let out a breath. So why the fuck couldn’t you tell me?

ACTIVATE SAFE WORD! BDSysteM demanded, again.

Fine! I willed the ability to activate and—it didn't? A second passed. Still nothing. My heart stuttered. What's happening?

No response. My palms grew sweaty, dirt clung to my bare soles shivering on the cold tile flooring. Bangs continued outside. The floor was vibrating under me. It was still near pitch black. I can fix that. I reached—

Pink dust flickered around me. The familiar—well, kinda. I'd only used it once, but that's not important right now—translucent pink barrier finally slammed into place with a wave of pressure, popping my ears. The dark stall instantly illuminated under a subtle neon hue. BDSysteM's voice called out. Thank fuck.

My trembling hand fell back to my side as BDSysteM returned. What is happening? Why was that so slow?!

I don't know much more than you—

My mind roared. Then how the hell did you know Melody was safe? I swear if you lied to keep me safe, this ability is going down right now.

Because otherwise I would change, in many, many ways. I'm bound to Melody almost as much as I'm bound to you.

I… okay. I guess that makes sense. Something would change without Melody. Sure. That doesn’t mean she’s safe though.

She’s alive and unhurt. BDSysteM replied. Now let’s figure out what’s going on. Leave the stall.

Under the tinted ambient light reflecting off the stall walls, I took a deep breath and reached out, unlatching the stall door, before taking a cautious step forward.

“Hey!” A voice shouted the instant the door swung open.

I spun towards it, in the corner, beside the sinks. A person. Black suit and tie. Short brown hair. Male.

My barrier had pinned them into the corner, leaving him with literal centimeters of space between his chest and the shield.

Wait... Male? Fucking pervert. Unless they ran in here to escape? I guess. Still. Rude.

At that thought, a small fireball erupted from his palm, splattering harmlessly against my shield. A distant, echoey whump. The sparks slowly twinkled down to the floor as a puff of smoke rose to the ceiling. I think he hurt himself more than he hurt me.

The guy let out a mumbled, “Shit.”

He tried to wriggle his way out, but the barrier refused to budge. His suit was getting wrinkled as he scraped against the wall. “Drop the barrier now. Make things easy, Scarlet.”

Given that he was clearly not an innocent victim, I shifted priorities. “Who are you?”

Scarlet, take another step forward.

The guy squinted through the pink glare. “Just surrender and no one gets hurt.”

Won't that kill him? I asked BDSysteM, my heart pounding against my ribs. If I stepped, it would crush him. Against the wall. Splat.

That’s the goal.

What? Why? I can’t just kill someone. Why would I ever—

Because otherwise they’ll kill your friends until you do.

You don’t know that. I pleaded. My stomach churned. Pictures—theoretical pictures—filled my mind. “W-What do you want?”

“You.” Shit.

Given that they want you, and Melody hasn’t charged in here yet, no one has, they’re clearly capable. I see no alternative. Step.

I can’t just kill him! Won’t he be crushed against the wall? Like, gah, I can’t even picture it that’s disgusting! I'm not a murderer!

Please! You must. It's self defense.

I… Why? Is it really self defense if I have an impenetrable barrier?

Yes. It is. You're protecting everyone else—

Everyone else isn't me! It's not—

He clearly just tried to attack you! He's doing it again!

Right on cue, another fireball hissed and died against the shield. The floor vibrated. It wasn't from him. The fireball was quickly followed by another. Desperate. And another. I stared at him. He stared back, an intense, desperate stare, hands shaking, coalescing red flames.

I can't let them hurt anyone else. I have to do what I can but this? He's so fucking pathetic.

No. One attack would obliterate you.

Not with my barrier—

Which you still had to activate, and it wasn't instant in case you somehow didn't notice. He could have killed you.

I doubt he ever intended—

Does that matter? Are you trying to die? Take a step forward.

I watched as the guy continued. Another fireball desperately hurled forward.

Suddenly, the sound of the heavy wooden bathroom door banging open spun me around. Someone rushed in.

My heart skipped a beat. I locked eyes with the intruder. They looked scarily similar to the guy in the corner. They looked scarily calm. I took a step back.

A sickening, wet, crunch echoed behind me.

My eyes grew wide.

No. That. Fuck. I shouldn't have spun around. Shit. I shouldn't have looked.

Behind me, a body. Crammed into a space half the size it needed. My instinctual step had slammed the barrier straight into the corner, too fast for him to blast his way out, to escape, to do anything. Disgust and horror filled me, and yet I couldn't look away.

It was so easy. So effortless. No pressure, just... a step.

Blood dripped down. A puddle grew against the tiles, rolling through the grooves, held just outside my barrier. His face was still locked in a terrified, agonizing expression. It took no effort. The barrier was still full charge.

I took a step back.

The moment the barrier moved back, his ragdoll body fell forward, landing against the pink shield and slowly began sliding downward, leaving a streak of blood behind. From his eye sockets, his bulging eyes lined with streaks of red. Blood from his nose. Blood from his skull.

A sharp, choked gasp cut through my ears. A frantic scramble of shoes. The door swung again behind me. I didn't turn. I didn't look. I couldn't look away.

The blood dripped down, the puddle slowly growing, the puddle still kept out by my barrier.

Another step back. His body fell completely, landing on the ground with a heavy, wet thud.

This is a text-only description of the three status panels shown above.

The first panel is a Combat Summary detailing the results of the recent engagement. It records the defeat of one level 50 A-tier human, yielding a massive experience payout modified by a 290% base value and a further 1.1x multiplier from a training ability. This influx of experience completely fills the requirements for levels 8, 9, and 10, leaving the recipient 52% of the way toward level 11.

This rapid progression triggers a "BDSysteM Level Up!" notification, announcing that reaching level 10 has unlocked two brand-new utility features.

The first is the "X Tier Shop" (or "Point Shop"), an exclusive interface designed for X Tiers that allows accumulated Points to be directly exchanged for a rotating selection of abilities, upgrades, items, and global system updates. This shop features a "Cost" sub-section noting that transactions consume accumulated Points, and that time is dilated while actively browsing the storefront.

The second is the "Daily Reward System," an automated twenty-four-hour routine designed to incentivize consistent progression by delivering daily points and occasional ability upgrades upon opening the Point Shop.

Finally, the updated Status Panel reflects these changes. Scarlet Diamond's System is a unique X Tier currently sitting at level 10 with 52% progress toward level 11. Her credits have risen to 13,540.06, and both her health and mana are fully healed at 1,100/1,100. Her physical attributes have scaled symmetrically, with both strength and agility now at 1,100. She also possesses 45 submission points and a total of 60 Points, with no active status effects currently applied.

I stared at the text. I just killed someone. I just got rewarded for killing someone. 3 fucking levels? That’s fucking insane. Fucking disgusting. What the fuck?

I dropped to my knees. Tears filled my eyes. My ears rang. My breaths grew heavy. The thick metallic stench of blood grew, somehow filtering through the barrier. The blood itself entered too. The pool of blood, which looked more like thick oil under the pink light, continued spreading. I couldn't breathe.

Another bang, the loudest yet, erupted outside of the bathroom.

It’s not the best, this is very much an exceptional experience though. Future human kills will net much, much less. BDSysteM chimed in casually. You should take a look at your new shop. You’ve been waiting for it.

How the fuck can you move on from that?! I screamed internally, grabbing my hair.

You killed a bad person. It’s not terrible.

How do you know that? I sobbed. What if they were blackmailed? What if they have family that has no idea what they do?! I ruined their lives too! We don’t know—

It doesn’t matter. He threatened you. Tried to capture you. He’s complicit. There’s a limit to empathy, Scarlet.

Why? I stared at the crumpled shape of a body, loosely held together by clothes. The opposite of what it should have been. Why shouldn’t I empathize?!

Empathy is fine. BDSysteM corrected. But save it for later. In this moment, you need to hold back empathy.

How?! I just killed someone! I fucking murdered someone!

You didn't murder—

STOP READING MY FUCKING THOUGHTS!

Okay.

I—BDSysteM is right though. There's more of them. They want me. It's not over. I—I... What do I do?

Open your newly unlocked shop. It dilates your experience of time. We can discuss things.

Okay. I choked down a sob and mumbled, "Open shop."

The Point Shop panel displays an available balance of 70 Points and indicates that the active Time Dilation Rate is set to 1:500.

A sub-section for the "Daily Reward" presents a three-day claim track, noting that the Day 1 reward of 10 Points has already been claimed. The Day 2 reward is listed as 3 Points, while Day 3 offers a High-Grade Mana Elixir.

Under "Available Purchases", which notes a daily refresh time of 4:00 AM, five options are cataloged. Two of these options are currently out of stock: a consumable High-Grade Mana Elixir (which restores 50% max mana and boosts mana regeneration by half for an hour) and the Spatial Anchor secondary ability (which coordinates a target's physical lock to prevent movement). Of the items still in stock, an Ability Upgrade Token that increases any core or secondary ability by one level is available for 20 Points, a Notification Audio Mixer system setting that unlocks controls to tweak, mute, or swap notification sounds is listed for 40 Points, and a consumable Random Exchange from the full catalog can be purchased for 50 Points.

What the fuck?