The Arcadia System

The air was a bit murky. It felt too tangible. Reve could taste it in his mouth.

Nevertheless, it wasn't hot in the cave as one would expect. Examining all these strange occurrences, Reve couldn't understand how a cave could be so weird.

Before coming down, he had prepared for the dark atmosphere of the cave, as any case would be dimly lit. 

Apparently, this cave wasn't!

Cool blue crystals embedded themselves into the thick and firm walls of the cave. They became a source of comfortable light that mesmerized anyone who set their eyes on them.

Looking at them, Reve got feedback from his [Appraisal] Skill.

[ Name: Azure Rocks

  -> rare rocks of varying sizes that form underground. They can be used for multiple purposes including forging, entertainment, medicinal. ]

"I see. They are a rare natural oddity," Reve ruffled his imaginary beards.

He walked past the trail of azure rocks and meowed softly, "Leave it to the Amazon tribe to use azure rocks for lighting purposes."

He suddenly understood what the term extravagant truly meant. 

As his mind began to wonder, Reve walked the only available path, ignoring all sorts of natural oddities that were in his way.

His senses suddenly tingled, sharply ejecting him from his world of thoughts.

"What is it now?" He muttered, his eyes greatly scouring every single thing in his sight.

Still not spotting anything strange, he used his [Sixth Sense], which did its magic.

"Hmmm, it's not here but it's close. I can feel it. A sense of oppression that scares even my [Sixth Sense]," muttered Reve.

His [Sixth Sense] forcefully deactivated, leaving him to comprehend the sheer terror of whatever was in front of him.

It left him empty and terrified. He always relied on his senses but now that it was blocked, he felt naked…..the murky air caressed his fur gently, but all he could feel were cold fingertips.

'Think. I have to think. Could whatever in front of me be Mr.Killer? No, the bloody trail outside suggests Mr.Killer has already left this settlement. Then what is it? Rather, let me correct my question.'

Reve gently tapped his front claw on the cave's ground, a habit he had gradually picked up from thinking too much.

The stinging sound that was produced by him was akin to a beautiful melody that guided his thoughts in the right direction.

He began, 'The real question is is it an "it" or an "it"? Is the thing in question a materialistic object or a being such as a magical beast? Judging by my reactions, I'm leaning towards the former. When my senses picked up on it, it didn't react. Instead, I was the one that reacted.'

His inner thoughts made him review his previous action.

It was all true. Even now, he couldn't hear any feedback from the "thing".

A twinkle sparkled in Reve's eyes as he let out a series of cat-like laughs, hidden in them was a sense of relief, "Hahaha, as expected, I can't be so unlucky. In fact, looking at things from another point of view, the Amazons treasured this cave and wouldn't have kept a magical beast here. "

He allowed himself to recover confidence and continued trodding the viable path, despite his [sixth sense] deactivated.

A minute later, he reached the final parts of the cave, which appeared to be a large open space.

At the center of the open space was a red altar that was neither short or tall.

His instincts flared up as he began hallucinating.

Soft voices rang his ear, telling him to come to the top of the altar. He saw a man in red robes smiling at him.

The man said, "come."

Just one word, but it echoed frantically!

"Come..."

"Come…."

"Come….."

Each echo gave tingle of shocks to Reve's fragile body. It infiltrated his head and settled as his own thoughts.

They were begging him to come up…..and his body obeyed the traitorous thoughts.

His eyes donned the colour of red, mirroring the exact shade the man in the altar wore.

Reve climbed the altar. He jumped when necessary as if time was not on his side.

When he got to the top, he saw a circular basin, big enough to drown an adult man in it, but there was no liquid substance in it.

Reve had to squint his eyes before he could see tiny drops of red liquid situated on the edges of the basin.

The man in red appeared in front of him and tempted, "drink it. It's sweet."

He was right. It smelled sweet, like a fermented red wine that have been kept in the cellar for ages.

It gave a rich scent that was capable of influencing any that had a sense of smell.

Just with its fragrance, it intoxicated Reve.

Reve recklessly jumped in the basin and licked the red liquid.

Once again, the familiar electric shock sparked in his body, this time it was endless.

It was as if a blocked dam had been broken and the water was left to flow abundantly once more. The pleasurable feeling that possessed his body made him jump around to lick any ounce of red liquid that remained in his body.

He lost his sense of self and utterly cleaned the basin.

There was a trace of redness in his body as his mana exploded. It wasn't blue as usual, but instead red, as red as the red liquid.

Some patches of his white fur also transformed red, making him appear as some sort of colour hybrid.

Luckily, it was only a few patches and wasn't noticeable. Also, the shade of red was a bit grey.

The mana in him kept overflowing, creating a sort of mana field that could interfere with the physical world.

Derbies of rocks flew in all directions as the transformation continued.

Meanwhile, the man in red vanished like a speck of dust. The echoes followed him as well.

Reve's intelligence was offline at this moment. He couldn't think or even do anything. He wasn't in control of his body.

Such control belonged to the red liquid which was still transforming his body.

And with that, he blacked out!