Systemless

"What... what is this..." Alden could not perceive what was going on. System error? System deactivated? What did all this mean?

a=Alden tried to summon the system interface.

"System! System!" However, nothing happened.

"Human. Has this occurrence perhaps driven you to madness?" Aerith asked him, clearly unamused by his contractor's behaviour.

However, Alden was too confused and worried to respond. He kept trying to summon the system, shouting different words, and even trying to use his skills. However, nothing he tried worked.

"Could you at least explain what has you so distressed?" Aerith said, his tone full of curiosity.

Alden was about to burst out at him, but he stopped himself at the last moment. Now he couldn't be blinded by emotions; he needed to understand what was happening, and perhaps discussing it with the elf knight would give him some clarity on his situation.

Alden sighed, sitting down.

"Aerith, I seemed to have lost my abilities..." He rubbed his throbbing temples. "Any idea why?"

"Your abilities?" Aerith looked at him questioningly. "I still sense your energy, though?"

This confused Alden more.

"You do? Well... I'm not sure what is happening. My system... well, basically, the function that allows me to access and use my abilities seems to have been deactivated or something. It was what allowed me to use my abilities, basically..."

Aerith looked thoughtful before speaking.

"Try to use your energy. Not any skill or technique, just pure energy. "

Alden complied, stretching out his hand and trying to force out some energy. Sure enough, blue sparks of energy gathered before his palm, converging into a ball. Alden dropped his hand, and the energy dissipated.

"Well, now I'm a lot more confused."

"Human. I might understand what is going on. If I am not wrong, this system of yours was a sort of guide which helped you use your abilities, correct?"

Alden nodded.

"Well, I have a theory why your system was deactivated. It may be because your system only works when in your world. However, it probably was not able to work now since you left your planet. That must be why it cannot work."

That made sense. The system did say that he had left the system's range. So that meant that the system was only usable on Earth. Well, that sorta sucked.

"Well, how did you figure all of this out?" Alden raised an eyebrow in question.

"Well, our world once had a similar function. It existed solely to guide and show us how to use our powers. After a hundred years, however, it perished. Our historians and scholars deduced that this function existed simply to guide and show people how to utilize their abilities. Once they had learned their abilities to a certain level, they no longer saw the need to assist."

'Sort of like training wheels.' Thought Alden to himself. So did that mean that after 20 or more years, the system would disappear? It had existed for more than 70 years after all. Maybe the duration was different, maybe it wouldn't disappear at all.

"So, did you guys have a system?"

Aerith shook his head.

"No. We had runes. The runes would tell us what level we were, and what abilities we possessed."

"I see. So then I'm not completely powerless, right? How do I utilize my energy to activate my skills? They can't all be lost, right?"

"Probably not. It should be possible for you to use your old skills and abilities, but you'll have to learn how to access them without a system. To do that, I can teach you the method of our world. Would you be interested?"

"Of course! Yes!" Alden said desperately.

"First, you should familiarize yourself with the structure of our power system. In our world, abilities are divided into elements and traits. Elements are quite self-explanatory. They are abilities generally associated with natural aspects. Elements are structured hierarchically, the highest elements being known as 1st generation elements. There are only 2 1st-generation elements, space and time. These are the highest and most difficult to master and utilize. Next are the 2nd-generation elements. They are divided into 7, namely: fire, water, air, earth, plant, ice, and lightning. As for the 3rd generation elements, the number can keep changing, but some of those elements are glass, sound, metal, magma, magnetism, and clay. Elements of a lower generation are derived from the generation above it." 

"So basically you're saying, for example, clay is derived from earth, and earth from... space or time?"

"Space and time. All 2nd-generation abilities are derived from both space and time. However, some elements do not follow this hierarchy, such as light and darkness. These are called deviant elements."

The information was a lot to take in, but Alden understood it.

"So, how does that help me in retrieving my abilities?"

"This is just to help you understand your abilities better. You will have to see where each of your lost abilities falls within this system, and you will begin to learn them from the beginning. Of course, since you've used them before, it will be far easier than for someone who has never used them before. However, you should note that it is very rare for someone to use more than one 1st or 2nd generation element. "

"Damn... that's a lot to take in..." Alden said with a sigh. "So what are traits, then?"

"Oh, those are abilities specific to individuals or races."

Well, at least that's straightforward.

"So..." Alden said, standing up and stretching his limbs.

"Where the hell do I begin?"