Netherborne [An OP Monster Isekai]

You are the first System user to make contact with a creature from the void and survive more than twenty-four hours.

You are the first System user to converse with a creature from the void.

A creature from the void has taken an interest in you.

You have been granted a Legendary class.

[Servant of the Void]

Evolution commenced.

***

Alice felt cold.

Not the coldness she felt on those frosty winter mornings back in Eshnar, where the chill phased through her skin and dug deep into her bones, gnawing away at her joints until they ached in dull pain. No. This was a new type of cold, the empty kind that comes from within.

She felt hollow, an endless void eating away from the inside. And that was odd. What had changed? She had been filled with excitement only moments ago! Heck, she had just unlocked a legendary class, for gods’ sake! Although the threats were mighty, she felt on the road to success.

She opened her eyes, and it was dark, but not. She could pierce the night just fine. “Ow, ow, ow.” A severe headache forced her to lay back on the hard, cold surface. Everything felt wrong, but her parched mouth and grumbling stomach forced her to soldier on. She shuddered as she forced herself to somewhat sit up.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

Alice clutched her head with one hand while propping herself up with the other. Then, with great effort, she turned to the voice and saw a familiar shadowy man with a top hat. But the voice sounded different. It was less ancient and more pleasant sounding. She could also tell which direction the lord’s voice originated from, instead of it coming from everywhere.

She looked up. A new skill, Void Eye, subconsciously activated, and she could see him. It was a mere outline, like a shadow behind an apple tree on a summer day, but she could see him. He was huge, looming over her like a guardian angel. Actually more like a devil. So is that the lord’s true form or a mere imitation of it?

“I am awake… Where are we?” Alice shook her head and decided to pretend she couldn’t see the lord’s shadow and posed her question to the avatar.

“Twenty-third floor of the Grand Dungeon. You were asleep for a few days.” The avatar awkwardly took off its top hat and held it in its shadowy hands. Alice tried her best to focus on the avatar and ignore the looming thing above her. “So what happened?” it asked in a weird tone as its featureless face looked her up and down.

“Water first,” Alice croaked out. Her throat felt drier than a desert, and her stomach was trying to eat her alive. Perhaps that was the reason for the hollow feeling?

“Right, right…stupid mortal flesh,” the avatar said, even though the voice came from above her and sent shivers down her spine. Alice felt a mana pulse, but it was twisted…and wrong. If not for her raging headache, she might have been able to discern the cause with her Mana Sight, but sitting up was the best she could do for now.

The air rapidly cooled as magical ice coated a nearby boulder. Only now did Alice take in her surroundings. The twenty-third floor appeared a bit more hospitable but still not great. Gray sand encircled them with enormous obsidian boulders jutting out from dunes. Streams of bubbling lava slowly meandered between these dunes, originating from the many active volcanos dominating the land.

With her Void Eye, Alice saw the shadow move across the sky, and for a brief second, the lord materialized. Then, with a swish of his claw, the boulder’s tip was shaved off, and he vanished again. His avatar moved and collected the shaved-off piece in its shadowy hands, then returned to her and placed it on the black dragon’s scale beside her. Oh, I am lying on the black dragon still. No wonder my back aches so much. Alice’s lungs burned with every breath she took due to the heat, yet the cone of ice stayed pristine and didn’t melt.

“Melt it for water with your fireball spell,” the avatar commanded as it wandered off. “I will go find you something to eat…but it won’t be pretty, that’s for sure.”

Alice obliged and summoned a Fireball and Mana Shield. “Holy shit.” Her jaw dropped open, and her eyes couldn’t believe what they saw. Before, her empowered Fireball had been black with a purplish hue, but it was still fire, just a different color. Now it was just a ball of…nothing. Pure blackness that absorbed all light. It had a glossy finish as if it were a glass ball and was perfectly spherical. The Mana Shield followed a similar theme. It was so dense she couldn’t see a hint of her pale skin below; it was as if the void had wrapped around her and formed solid armor.

“I see… I had no idea mortals could wield the void,” the lord remarked, and Alice stiffened. He’s going to kill me, isn’t he? She braced to meet a fate similar to that boulder and all those dragons. But her death never came. To her surprise, he didn’t do anything and continued on his way in search of food for her.

She let out a deep breath and dispelled the spells. Then, despite her headache worsening, she squinted her eyes and summoned her status screen. I need to know what the hell happened to me.

[Evolution Complete]

[Void Affinity Acquired]

[Name: Alice]

[Race: ???]

[Level: 51] (level up!)

[STR: 69, DEX: 81, CON: 88, INT: 150, WIS: 142]

[Unspent points: 2]

(Slave) (Dulled Emotions)

[Blessing: Darkness / Void]

[Class: Servant of the Void]

[Sub Class: Apprentice Merchant]

[Divine Mission: None]

“Okay, that is odd.” Alice prodded the screen. Her race showed question marks, but the System, as usual, refused to elaborate. Her brows furrowed in annoyance. What did her race mean if it was three question marks? Was she no longer human? She looked down at her body; everything seemed somewhat normal. Her skin had become paler, almost anemic, and her nails had turned black and were sharp like claws. She reached up to her head and confirmed there weren’t any horns, nor were there any wings sprouting from her back. So I haven’t become a demon, but I have changed a bit. How weird. Also, since when did I have the blessing from the void? Did that come with my new class? Does the void even have spirits or a goddess? How can I be blessed by it?

Alice concentrated on her status page once more. Her level had increased by one to fifty-one. Ah. Party exp over the last few days must have leveled me up. She nodded to herself as if everything made sense. She was sitting upon a zombie dragon, having a void creature fetch her food, and now the System couldn’t even confirm if she was human or not. Okay, so my class has changed to Servant of the Void. I wasn’t sure before, but now I’m confident the lord is a creature from the void. So am I his servant? I wanted to aid him, so I suppose that’s fine for now. Did I gain any new skills with my new class? She opened up her skill list.

[Skills]

[…]

[Class Skills]

[Stealth II]

[Fireball VII]

[Ice Bolt V]

[Mana Shield V]

[Float III]

[Mana Sight II]

[Telekinesis I]

[Void Eye I] (New!)

[Sub Class Skills]

[Fast Counting I]

[Identify I]

“Void Eye?” Alice cautiously activated the skill. Her pretty pink eyes were replaced with a swirling abyss. She looked around, but nothing looked different. I think this skill let me see the lord before, but he isn’t around anymore. I’ll try it out again when he returns…

“But for now…I need a drink.”