The tattoo throbbed with almost unbearable heat. She snatched her hand back. It reminded Tanya of the warmth of touching someone's sunburn but turned up to eleven. The room was flooded with an overwhelming, piercing light that ridded any shadow in the room but the boy. She saw his mouth open into a wide "O" in the moment before her eyes stung too much and she needed to close them. The air buzzed with an electric hum and Tanya grappled with the tattoo button over and over before realising that the hum wasn't coming from her tattoo gun anymore, it was everywhere.

"What's going on?" Ishita asked.

Tanya didn't know how to respond.

Then, the screeching began—an ear-splitting, soul-rending wail that sent shockwaves through her skull. She clamped her hands over her ears, but it did nothing to stop the sound. It wasn't just noise; it was alive, a clawing, writhing force that rattled through her bones.

And then—something shifted.

A strange clarity flooded her senses. The darkness wasn't just emptiness anymore; she could feel it, like a living thing, twisting, recoiling. The shadows bled away from Fahad, peeling back as if some unseen force had pried them loose, their howls sharp with rage and agony. They weren't just being banished. They were being torn away.

The lantern broke free of Fahad's skin. She could hear the clanging of metal from unfurling whips of chain. Her eyelids were no longer a bright red so she tentatively opened one eye. It was still bright but not unbearable. Fahad was sticking out of the wall, falling through the solid wallpaper slowly like he was escaping quicksand. Hovering above his hand was the lantern.

Nothing could mask the strange feeling of seeing her creation come to life. It reminded her of "The Walking Dead", the way the textures were richly covered but the corners were covered in sketchy lines and hatching. The spell seemed to have decided that the lantern itself was the same bright silver metal as the chain and that the glass was all transparent. She hadn't thought about it in her design, assuming that like the snake it would be an inky blackness outside of the light.

White spots danced in her vision and she just caught Fahad falling in time to catch him as his feet came through the wall. One of his slippers was still there inside it, a two-dimensional sideways slipper boot still flat against the wall. Tanya gently took the lantern and held it up to the wall until the slipper fell through too, then she passed it back.

"I...I leveled up a lot," Fahad said. He was completely blank-faced, staring into space. Then all of his features broke at once and he sobbed, running into his mother's arms and wailing.

Tanya could tell from Ishita's face that it was a very very relieving sound.

She backed away towards the door with a small smile creeping onto her face. They knew where to find her, she could give them some time. The room spun slightly when she got back into the little corridor. She felt empty in a way she hadn't before. It was a mix of the full-body weakness of going back to the gym for the first time in months and the eyestrain and headache of hunching over a PC all day. Reaching for the door handle to shut it behind her, she almost missed it and had to adjust her trajectory. Not that shutting the door did much, there were whole panels shattered out. Through one of the missing panels, Tanya could see them perfectly framed in their embrace.

Ishita's eye caught hers, tears were streaming into her open smile. Her face was flushed, tension gone, and she looked a decade younger. 'Thank you' she mouthed, over and over and over like a stuck record.

Tanya continued her slow backing towards the door, waving whilst she did.

The moment the front door to Ishita's apartment closed and Tanya let out the air she was holding, there was a rush of notifications.

* * *

Alert!

Through your efforts, you have increased the following Attributes:

Dexterity +1

Vitality +1

* * *

Achievement: Holler at the Gods

You have made a demand of The System without an Ability or comparable Attributes. It agreed anyway.

You have received 3 Restricted Questions from The System.

Note: This is not a reward for you, it is The System's punishment.

* * *

Level Up!

You have leveled Tattoo Summoner to Level 2.

Congratulations!

You have unlocked an Ability Crossroads. These are Abilities you choose rather than just unlock.

Would you like to see your choices?

* * *

Level Up!

You have leveled up More than Meets the Eye to Level 2.

You now have the Ability to see the starting stats of all tattoos you have created since unlocking your Class, regardless of the Wielder.

See the 'Tattoos' menu in your interface for more details.

* * *

Tanya stared at the words like they'd somehow make sense. The System helping her then gave her unrestricted questions? It sounded exploitable but she doubted it. The punishment was there to dissuade The System from helping people. Was helping people that much of a problem for it?

She sat in thought for a moment. For the first time, The System's eyes on her didn't feel like such a bad thing. It wasn't a nice feeling, sure. Somehow it was crushing and weightless at the same time. Every hair on the back of her neck would stand up and the air was forced out of her lungs. It's how she always imagined being in space would feel, or meeting a biblically accurate angel. But, maybe it cared about her, in whatever way omnipotent gods of magic could care for "Number 10056."

The thought swirled around her head until it couldn't fit anymore.

What are my Ability choices?

* * *

Please select from the following three choices.

Fugue State

Level 1-3

While performing a tattoo without interruptions or external stimuli, your Concentration is added to all other Attributes utilized in the tattooing process.

The level of Fugue State depends on the environment's stimulus.

Level 1: Quiet area with minimal visual distractions.

Level 2: Silent area with no visual distractions.

Level 3: Silent area with no visuals.

Note: This skill's levels are determined by external factors and do not increase through traditional levelling.

Amped Up

Unique

(Consumable)

Temporarily supercharge your Vitality to 300% for the duration of one Tattoo Summon's creation. Due to your current lack of mastery in channeling this Vitality as mana, it is instead stored directly within the tattoo, accelerating the Summon's growth speed, power, and precision.

First Wield Bonus: If used on your first wielded tattoo, you will also receive a Minor Summon Boon upon activation.

Ink Affinity

Level 1

(Fragment Power)

The development of adjacent Ability paths is typically reserved for subclasses. This Ability grants you immediate access to elements of the Ink Master class at 10% of its full power.

For each level gained in Ink Affinity, the power of this Ability increases by 10%, potentially unlocking a subclass option before reaching Level 10 in your Class.

* * *

Tanya stared at the words with wide eyes. She didn't think it was possible, but for the first time in this godforsaken apocalypse, she was a bit excited.

Can I think 'bout it and come back?

Yes. It will stay on your interface until you make a decision.

She let out a long shaking breath, intending to wait until she was back at her flat to look at anything else, then a rush filled her chest and she couldn't hide the smile anymore. She pressed her back against the wall of the corridor and slid down to sit with her arms round her knees. The front door had a lock so she knew she was safe enough.

System, can you show me, me new Tattoos menu?

* * *

Tattoo 1

Name: The Death Adder

Wielder: Adder (Joseph Patterson)

Type: Sentient

Attributes

Strength: 6

Dexterity: 18

Vitality: 16

Concentration: 10

Will: 17

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Abilities

Venomous Bite

Applies Severe Poison Condition upon a successful bite. Can cause dizziness, delirium, and death within minutes of constant exposure.

Super-Serpent Reflexes

Can double its Dexterity for brief periods using its Vitality as a mana substitute.

Ink Reformation

Can self-heal injuries using the ink in its body. There are Dexterity debuffs as ink is reduced.

* * *

Tattoo 2

Name: Chandeluma

Wielder: Fahad Sharma

Type: Tool, Weapon

Abilities

Illuminate!

Can be lit and dimmed at the Wielder's will.

Absorber!

Absorbs light when available to reduce mana strain on the Wielder.

Bonk!

Can be used like a kusari-fundo using the momentum to do damage.

* * *

Tanya didn't even know what a kusari-fundo was. That's when she noticed how different the Ability names were between Fahad and Adder.

Was that intentional?

Yes. Systems and effects are created and worded for the wielder.

For the first time Tanya hadn't meant for The System to reply, she was glad it had. It took a second of her staring at Chandeluma to realise it was a cross between a Chandelure Pokemon and Luma from Mario. She wasn't sure how she knew that so she stared at it again. It was like the name just told her when she stared at it long enough, although more of a vibe than words. For her that felt like the two images hazing over each other in her mind's eye. She focused on the words Kusari Fundo and an anime poster from Fahad's room filled her mind.

Huh, so its that weapon 'cause of a show he likes.

The words The System said hit her.

Wait, so this Interface was made for me?

Yes

Does that mean I can change it?

Yes. Would you like to reformat your interface?

No—well yeah, but not right now.

She needed to get back to the shop. Tanya's head was buzzing with ideas. She fought the pit in her stomach. Right now she was going to enjoy feeling like she was in a video game.

She got up and ran down the stairs two at a time. This time the street looked empty and she dashed across.

She'd almost made her way to the metal shutters and her brain was reeling with ideas.

What other information could I see in me Interface?

Could I ever decide exactly what me tattoos do?

How am I gonna do one on meself?

Which Ability should I pick?

Error: Query limit exceeded. Please reduce input complexity.

Tanya laughed out loud.

"You," Tanya heard. She almost fell over, then she widened her stance into a fighting pose and held up her fists.

Should've grabbed a weapon from Ishita's place. How'd I manage this again?

"Upstairs," the voice came again.

Tanya looked around wildly, before settling on a small gap between the blinds above the abandoned shop next door. It had layers of signs hastily torn down over and over, the latest being some pink beautician sign. She'd recognise that bright red lipstick and judgy expression anywhere: Mrs Eceer, or as she had taken to naming her on bitchy FaceTime calls, Mrs. Sneer.

"You," Tanya replied.

The blinds twitched further angrily. She had enough confrontations with the eye through the blinds to know an angry twitch from a curious one.

"What d'you want?" Tanya said. She looked around over her shoulder.

If I gotta scrap with someone out here because of Mrs. Sneer, I swear—

"I hope you realise a display like that is not only unnecessary but reckless," Mrs Eceer hissed.

"Yeah, yeah," Tanya dismissed. She started pulling up the metal shutters to get into her shop.

"Shhhh!" Mrs Eceer said, even angrier.

"Nice to know some things don't change, even in the bleedin' apocalypse," Tanya snapped back.

"You shouldn't have shutters that loud when noise is such a concern—" was the last Tanya heard before she clanged the metal loud enough that she couldn't hear her anymore.

Fuckin' Mrs. Sneer.

When she'd first moved into The Wyrm and Needle a couple of years ago, back when it was the recently closed down 'The Grooming Room', she'd been fresh-faced and keen to get on with her neighbours. She'd changed her signs when Mrs Eceer said they were 'too demonic' and taken her bins in at the crack of dawn even though no one else on the street did. She'd even offered her all the makeup freebies she got from the beauty salon that might suit her just as a goodwill gesture.

"I'd never use such poor-quality products on my face," Mrs Eceer had declared with her eponymous sneer.

If there was anything redeemable about her, Tanya hoped she'd have found it in the two months she catered to Mrs Eceer's whims. There wasn't.

The lock finally unlocked. The rusty lock was annoying at the best of times but all it took was a little tension and she'd be stuck there for what felt like forever trying to jiggle the key in just the right way. Tanya let out a breath, rolling her shoulders back and trying to relax.

She isn't worth it.

Then she opened the door and truly took in the mess that was in front of her. How did she forget this from earlier? The entire shop reeked of rot. She avoided eye contact with the body on the floor. Last night hit all at once and between the smell and the memories she felt like she was going to throw up.

Images flooded her mind; Adder tied with the snapped landline wire, the sound of the wire snapping, the snake launching itself at her, the feeling of poison dripping into her arm, the crunch as her shattered lamp cleaved into it.

She grabbed the metal shutter with both hands and lugged it down to the floor in a single motion. With her hands shaking this much she was lucky that closing the lock was easier than opening it.

The blinds twitched again. "Shhh!"

Tanya didn't have the energy to respond. She opened her flat's door and ran upstairs, jumping straight in the shower to try and wash off the smell of rotting flesh that was lingering in her nostrils. She didn't bother to take off the clothes, convinced they smelt too. Tears and water ran down her body until her shirt was stuck to her skin and her jeans were multiple shades darker. She'd never been so glad the water was warm.

Half an hour later and enjoying half-stale cookies, Tanya tried to forget about the shop. She knew she'd have to deal with it sometime soon, but right now she was desperate to bring back any of the excitement she had earlier. With floral-smelling hair cascading down her back and a fluffy bathrobe, she was starting to feel the flicker of joy return.

* * *

Fugue State

Level 1-3

While performing a tattoo without interruptions or external stimuli, your Concentration is added to all other Attributes utilized in the tattooing process.

The level of Fugue State depends on the environment's stimulus.

Level 1: Quiet area with minimal visual distractions.

Level 2: Silent area with no visual distractions.

Level 3: Silent area with no visuals.

Note: This skill's levels are determined by external factors and do not increase through traditional levelling.

* * *

Fugue State is probably a no.

Tanya decided. She could definitely see the appeal but she had a theory. She focused on the different levels. It popped out more information like a website, showing her all the specifics in a convenient summary.

* * *

Level 1 Fugue State

Requires: Quiet Area with Minimal Visual Distractions

Concentration added to all steps.

Level 2 Fugue State

Requires: Silent Area with No Visual Distractions

Concentration

added to all steps

25% faster completion time

5% chance of the tattoo being created at Level 2 or with an extra Ability

Level 3 Fugue State

Requires: Silent Area with No Visuals

Double Concentration added to all steps

50% faster completion time

10% chance of the tattoo being created at Level 2 or with an extra Ability

5% chance of a synergy Ability between it and another tattoo by the same Wielder or an ally

* * *

After seeing the Abilities given to Death Adder she could see how an extra level or Ability could massively impact its strength, but she asked the question she'd been theorising about.

What level would this room allow?

Error: you do not meet any level requirements.

How close?

Quiet Area is at 95%

Minimal Visual Distraction is at 23%

Thought so.

If her house was so far away from Level 1, she'd not be able to get beyond it by simply decluttering, it would probably require some kind of magic or extra tattoos and be a complete ballache to set up. Not to mention so far she'd done two magical tattoos and both of them had been in very tense situations. She hoped that wouldn't continue to be the case forever but she doubted she could always rely on doing them in one magically silent space.

Ink Master's the obvious choice, surely.

It was the one that had caught her attention in Ishita's corridor. Tanya read through it again.

* * *

Ink Affinity

Level 1

(Fragment Power)

The development of adjacent Ability paths is typically reserved for subclasses. This Ability grants you immediate access to elements of the Ink Master class at 10% of its full power.

For each level gained in Ink Affinity, the power of this Ability increases by 10%, potentially unlocking a subclass option before reaching Level 10 in your Class.

* * *

It allowed her to level faster, and if power was her focus then the opportunity to gain something she assumed was so important was unmissable. It also solved her offence issue. Her Interface had sorted the tattoos into Sentient, Tool, and Weapon. Considering she had no weapon training and she knew anything sentient and dangerous enough to be useful could turn on her, an ink bending power was very appealing.

She almost chose Ink Affinity before pausing.

System, what other subclasses might I get at level 10?

Error: Restricted information.

How many options do I get?

Error: Restricted information.

She sighed. Getting locked into something so soon when she hadn't even tried all her powers might take away some much better options.

Well, all that's left is…

* * *

Amped Up

Unique

(Consumable)

Temporarily supercharge your Vitality to 300% for the duration of one Tattoo Summon's creation. Due to your current lack of mastery in channeling this Vitality as Mana, it is instead stored directly within the tattoo, accelerating the Summon's growth speed, power, and precision.

First Wield Bonus: If used on your first wielded tattoo, you will also receive a Minor Summon Boon upon activation.

* * *

She'd not considered it much so far. The word 'consumable' really threw her off. Regardless of how powerful a single-use potion or item in a video game was, it was usually worse than a less powerful item that was permanent.

But this sorta is permanent. I can only use the bonus once but I get to keep the buffed tattoo.

Tanya sat up straighter in her seat. It would be a tricky one to make sure she used fully, but if she could come up with the perfect tattoo to use Amped Up on, she could get an easy-to-level something.

That's when the doubt crept in. She could learn to use a weapon she supposed, but she'd only ever tried a gun out a couple times paintballing and knives—

She was pulled into the feel of the knife against her back, the stinging of the blade, and the coolness of the metal.

She didn't want a knife.

That left a tool or something sentient. She could make a tattoo gun maybe, that was the obvious tool, but she wasn't sure what extra she'd want it to do that her regular one couldn't and it wouldn't solve her lack of offense problem. Sentience was terrifying, she'd already experienced that once with Death Adder—

Her mind drifted.

I wonder who names me tattoos…

I do.

The voice being so sudden made her jump.

Unless a name is chosen for it, I name it inspired by the Wielder.

Huh, interestin'

Tanya made a mental note to return to her Interface later and rearrange it. That would be a whole different conversation and she'd need to ask some more questions about that first—something that her 3 restricted questions could massively help with. The idea of getting answers to things The System would usually deny almost made her mouth water.

Back to the topic at hand. Tool, Weapon, Sentient.

Tanya looped through the options a few times.

I suppose what I really need is all three…

Then it hit her. The perfect design had been right in front of her the whole time, literally.

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