Curse the Mainframe! 4 Societype, Magitype!

Alec couldn't understand. Six pure months of boredom and inactivity. With all that time, he could only think. What he understood about the Mainframe seemed to have been overturned with the decision to send him here as a punishment.

At first, he thought that he woke up in this body because the Mainframe had screwed up, causing him to be born in the Main Character's body instead of just being an attached System to 'help' the Main Character, but it looked like this wasn't the case at all!

There had been something about the Mainframe's words that sounded a little off. Integrated with a device that will allow the System to identify the Main Character? If that wasn't alluding to the fact that he had to find the Main Character in the first place, he didn't know what was.

Then again, this was supposed to be a punishment, which meant that it was never meant to be easy. If he thought about it like this, then it was barely within the acceptable boundary.

Alec absentmindedly fended off his mother's pokes, lost in thought.

As he thought hard, his mind slowly drifted, the sleepiness working against his body. Curses. Alec 0, Sleep 914… he would remember this.

He snapped back awake but maintained his closed eyes. He could feel his mother still there, and he would not like any more pokes to his unwilling body.

How was he going to find the Main Character? Would he have to tour the world? Create his own information network? He was essentially floundering in the dark here.

Alec furrowed his brows. Seeing him unhappy in sleep, his mother finally stopped poking his admittedly chubby cheeks.

As she left him alone, he breathed in, and out. In, and out. All problems were relative in the face of time.

As his mind slipped into a zen-like state, he became aware of a sensation that lingered lightly in the air. It was the same thing that he could feel from every living being in the planet. The water, the grass, humans, animals. Everyone had it.

Some had more, some had less.

As he breathed, Alec drew in the slightest amount, testing the waters. The cool, refreshing feeling gushed into his body, rushing towards something…

As it leaked into his body, he felt energised all of a sudden. So lost in the feeling, his eyes popped open, startling his mother.

She gasped, a hand on her mouth. She felt the little surge in the air as he opened his eyes. "Alec… you did it! You've obtained the ability to use magic!"

Ah. He should've waited until she had left him alone for the night before doing anything. However, he supposed it didn't matter in the long run. He simply had no exposure to anything in the world and had no way to gauge his progress.

Absolutely elated, Annalise picked him up from the crib, whirling him around. Her obvious elation showed in the way that her eyes gleamed, wet with a sheen of tears. However, hidden deep in her eyes was worry that would not have been visible to anyone else, but Alec was used to reading this woman's variety of expressions.

He didn't know if it was because he was only a baby, or if it was precisely because he was *her* baby that made her less guarded, that he saw the whole range of micro expressions that played out on her face.

"I… this has all happened too fast! You're only six months old for goodness' sake," she murmured, bopping his nose. Needless to say, she was not prepared at all. She thought she was still safe for a year or two at least.

Annalise looked at her son hesitantly. "Well, I'm not supposed to do this, but I suppose it won't hurt if no one knows about it."

With that said, she patted her son's head, quickly leaving the room.

Alec stared after her with a confused expression. Not supposed to do what? Was this some sort of rite of passage or something?

Alec inwardly shrugged as he took in more magic from the air. As far as he could tell, his body's perimeters were increasing the slightest bit as more magic gathered into his system.

It trickled in ever so slowly, like a small water droplet dripping against a rock, trying to erode it over time. There was little no to visible effects. For now, that was.

Alec was not deterred.

Before long, his mother entered the room very quietly, which was rather uncharacteristic for the gentle woman. Though she was not loud by any means, it was not like she was particularly silent either.

This time, however, she seemed to be nervous and wary.

Of what, he didn't know.

Alec couldn't help but feel his caution arise as well. Where was the threat? He was helpless in this body, unable to even run or move much.

At this moment, he couldn't help but sorely miss his old body, and felt the urge to grow quicker. Faster. Stronger.

Annalise shut the door behind her without a sound, pressing twice quickly on the doorknob. This caused a silencing barrier to activate in the room, something that was equipped in every room.

Annalise didn't know which of ancestor had made such a design a prominent feature, but she was thankful for it.

Ensured that no one else was within the room, she started up the fist-sized crystal that she had managed to procure for a short period of time. Her heart was beating a steady staccato in her chest.

She walked closer and whispered to her son, her face serious. "Alec, I can only hope… no. It doesn't matter. We'll see what the results are first."

Alec stared at the transparent crystal in his mother's hands. It glistened under the pale light of the room, but strangely enough, there was no reflection of light. By all accounts, it seemed like a normal crystal, and should not be anything special, but that would not have warranted such a reaction from his mother.

She walked over to him and pricked his fourth finger, allowing it to drip onto the crystal. What she saw confirmed the reality of her fears.

The hands on the crystal turned white, a sign that she was gripping it too hard.

She never said another word, leaving the room after deactivating the barrier, carrying the crystal that she had manged to procure with her.

Alec was left in the silence of the room, when the Mainframe's voice helpfully filled him in.

[Alecris Aeden Neil]

[Societype: Sin]

[Magitype: Awakening]

The terms meant nothing to him, but it couldn't be anything good if one looked at the way his mother reacted so obviously.

Alec inwardly swore, feeling like somehow, this was part of the Mainframe's punishment as well. After swearing for close to ten minutes, he felt like it wasn't enough to express the displeasure he was feeling inside him.

"-wuck! Uck! Dam!" the more he swore, the more comfortable Alec felt. It felt like all his steadily building up stress was obliterated in a single moment. "Fuck!"

Then, he heard a gasping sound. His mother stood before him with both hands on her mouth, her eyes wide with shock.

Oh, shit.

"Alec! No! Bad word!" she said, her eyes burning with a startling intensity.

Alec didn't shrink back. Not at all. Why would he be scared of a frail, gentle woman?

"Mm."

Alright. The best thing to do now was fake ignorance. Ignorance. He was a baby. Alec hypnotised himself.

"-have a word with those maids," his mother said darkly, under her breath.

Alec pretended not to hear it, closing his eyes. He tried very hard to slip into sleep for once. For now, he would sleep. Then, he would find out about these so-called Societypes and Magitypes.

Chapter end

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