The Scum Emperor's Redemption System

With only a few days left until the grand ceremony that would bind her fate to Fialova's, Argider resolved to turn her attention to other pressing matters. The hours were precious, the demands of life unyielding, and she intended to make every moment count before the vows were spoken.

By the time morning arrived, she was back at her training in the courtyard. The sword was barely steady in her left hand. It was a disaster. It would occassionaly slip, wobble, and felt like it had been replaced with a small anvil for no reason other than spite.

"Why is this so hard?" she grumbled, glaring at the treacherous blade in her left hand. It didn't answer, of course, but it looked smug, as inanimate objects often do when they're not performing as expected.

"I think I can tell you more things," said a voice, smooth and resonant.

Argider startled, spinning around so fast she nearly tripped over her own feet. Her grip on the sword faltered again, the traitorous thing clanging to the ground. "Huh?! Who—oh, it's you."

Perched with all the poise of a king surveying his domain was Alvator. His sleek fur caught the morning light, and his white eyes gleamed with their usual, insufferable calm.

"Must you always sneak up on me?" she snapped, still catching her breath.

"I wouldn't call it sneaking," he said with a flick of his tail. "You're simply inattentive."

She rolled her eyes. A cat with a voice like that—low, authoritative, and disarmingly human—was unsettling enough. The way he insisted on delivering life advice as though she were a wayward squire only made it worse.

"What do you want this time?"

"I'm going to start teaching you," Alvator said, his tone suggesting that this was both a gift and a burden.

Argider blinked. "Teaching me? Teaching me what?"

"Everything," he replied smoothly. "Magic, philosophy, politics, science—everything you'll need to not make an utter mess of your future."

This pronouncement was so grand, so unexpected, that it left her speechless for a moment. "And why are you only now deciding this is worth your effort?"

Alvator sighed the sigh of a creature who'd seen too much and cared too little. "Because I've been watching. Waiting. Hoping, perhaps foolishly, that you'd figure things out on your own. But it's clear you won't, and frankly, I'm tired of sitting by while you fumble your way through life."

She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "You're really selling me on this whole mentorship thing."

"I didn't say I believed you'd succeed," he said with a pointed look. "You're bound to make mistakes—spectacular ones, no doubt. But my faith, fragile as it is, isn't entirely gone. Try not to waste it." Enjoy more content from empire

Argider opened her mouth to reply, but no words came. For a moment, she simply stared at him, caught somewhere between annoyance and awe. Finally, she managed, "I suppose I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"None at all," Alvator said with a satisfied swish of his tail.

She could not defy him. Afterall, Alvator was connected to the Redemption System. Whatever his intentions were, as long as they were bounded to what's supposed to fix her, means it might be worth following.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Argider flung her hands up in exasperation. "Look, I don't even know anything! I've got the Empath Skill, the Empathic Inundation Skill, and Magic Bestowal, but none of them make sense. All they do is make me tired."

Alvator, ever the picture of serenity, tilted his head. "Do you know what mana is?"

"Yeah, sure," Argider replied with a shrug. "It's like... energy or something, right?"

Alvator said nothing, but a peculiar ripple spread across his form. His fur began to shimmer and dissolve like mist under the morning sun, his body elongating and reshaping itself with a fluid grace that seemed to defy logic.

Particles of magic spun in a slow, mesmerizing dance, illuminating his transformation.

In moments, the small, familiar figure Argider knew was gone, replaced by a tall, regal man.

His white hair gleamed like freshly fallen snow, combed neatly to the side, and his translucent diamond-like eyes shimmered with the otherworldly brilliance shared by all of the Valtirium bloodline.

Argider's mouth fell open. "Whoa. So that's where I get my genes."

"Indeed," Alvator said with a faint smile. His voice was smoother, richer, in this form. "This is my original appearance. It's easier to demonstrate magic this way. Though, I should note—" his expression grew faintly wistful—"it is all an illusion. I lost my physical body long ago."

He raised his hand with an elegant flick of his wrist, conjuring a tiny flame from the air. It hovered, a simple spark at first, but soon it grew, roaring to life as he manipulated its size and color.

Red to green to blue, and then white-hot. The fire swirled like a living thing, expanding until it seemed the entire forest might go up in flames.

Yet Argider felt nothing—no heat, no danger.

"As I said," Alvator reminded her, "it is an illusion."

"Yeah, sure. Just a casual illusion of world-ending fire. Totally normal." She crossed her arms, though her wide eyes betrayed her awe.

Alvator chuckled softly. "Mana manipulation is the foundation of magic. Beings who possess Ether Veins can channel and command mana, shaping it into nearly anything."

"Ether Veins?" Argider echoed, intrigued despite herself.

He nodded. "Ether Veins are pathways within magical beings, gifted by the God of Rextaria. They allow mana to flow through the body. Think of them as... tunnels or rivers of energy."

As he spoke, the fire faded, replaced by shimmering diagrams of glowing veins floating in the air, illustrating his words. "While race attributes—like the Peliotus Tribe's ability to tame beasts—grant unique powers tied to your bloodline, magic itself is universal. It allows anyone with the skill or training to manipulate the world's elements: wind, fire, water... even mimic the destructive forces of legendary beings."

"So it's like... magic is a buffet, and race attributes are the VIP pass?" Argider ventured.

Alvator blinked, then smiled. "An apt metaphor, though perhaps less... refined than I might have phrased it."

The Emperor shrugged. "I'll take it," she said, then pausrd. "So... if it's universal... Why is it gone and only a few can have supernatural abilities?"