"... That doesn't help me... Ugghh... Maybe it helps me a little... But... How... Do... I control my mind..."

Focus... I just have to focus and be calm... Calmer... Calmer... Calmer... Calmer...... That make it less painful but... It will be back... Later...

I stand up while having the book on my hand. I unconsciously turn it small and place it beside my crown.

"... Ugghh... Now... Calm up... I can do this slowly... Uggh..."

While I was walking... Some wolves are here... Two of them.

One of them hit me while the other one bites me leg, I jumped so that it can't bite me and I slashed my sword... It hit one of them, but the wound is shallow and it didn't kill it... I kicked one of them and move sideways to dodge an attack but I was still hit and I stab it with my sword.... Ugghh... I then stab the other one and collected their cores after that...

"Ugghh... Calm... Calm..."

Ugghhh... The pain is just... No matter... I need to get out of here... Ran...

I ran for 6 hour to reach a place close to the exit..l

"I take your core... Sorry."

I took the core of a dead wolf. The wolf is something I fight almost to my death... And I am... Being dirty.

"Uggh... A core... 99 percent I will die if I take it... but... Guess I will... Take this... Gamble..."

I put it on my mouth and eat it... Tch... Not really calming but it tastes like nothing.

"Hmm? Eh?"

I heard a voice from behind me. I looked behind and notice a really familiar girl.

"So why is..."

How can I talk normally? Where is the pain?

"... Am I dea- no... It can't be that... My mind is still okay... No... My mind is already destroyed... Tch... But thankfully there is a way to fix it... By eating a core? I don't understand it but if that is the solution, or maybe it isn't a solution but a temporary solution and will only work for days..."

I dashed away immediately from her.

After that, I am on the road, with my sword outside its sheath.

"Lets review for now the words on that book... 'to use magic, you need to have imagination, focus and knowledge about the magic.', then I do know a single way to use magic... This should be like... That."

I tried to control the air to go to the blade of my sword. Seems like I can actually do magic... But I know I can't do this earlier... Is eating the core of it makes me able to use its power? That is... Highly probable...

"Extend range, that is what the wolf does but I know if I stuck it at the blade... It will get rid of air friction and make the sword much more sharper? That isn't how physics works though... Then the wind will temporary make its edge more sharper? That could be it..."

I slashed at a random direction and it caused the air to move. Okay... Magic is useful but... I don't really have much "knowledge" to be powerful at it... Anyway I need to see my status.

—

Name: Default.

2nd persona: tactical.

3rd persona: Tactically neutral mind.

4th persona: Conflicting persona of mind.

???: temporarily fine.

Strength:54

Defence:50

Speed:53

Intelligence:54

Wisdom:50

Luck:21

—

I see... It is temporary... So eating a core temporarily halts it... Then... This is a really big gamble as... Cores are naturally poison to be eaten.

"Luck... Anyway I need to escape this random place. Because it feels like a maze again and I know it is a maze... But why is it too realistic?"

I said while touching an invisible wall.

"Now I can't go anyway and there are so many pathways that it will took me a while to leave... Good thing is that it probably isn't that big."

I touched the right wall while marking where the wall is by stabbing my sword on the ground and dragging it... After an hour, I finally escape thanks to my use of this seemingly unbreakable sword.

"Finally... After all this... I have to deal with a monster."

I looked at a plant like monster, stuck to a tree. Looks like a girl and probably is... Or... No gender at all and it just looks like a girl.

"How can a human... No it doesn't matter as you will-"

I cutted it off by making my sword range longer with wind magic, and almost stabbing it.

"Now... Why did you call me here?"

I said, changing my act to be a bit more serious.

"I didn't call you here. Someone force you here on my zone."

It said... Huh... You are now saying... Much more things without proof.

"You call it your zone. Why would someone else put me here when you control the zone?"

I said pointing at the fault it made earlier. It definitely shake and I can tell that I made it scared... Now... How do you escape this?

"Look! I don't know about-"

I cutted it off.

"But you already said someone forced me here? Give me some proof."

"I don't-"

I cutted it off again.

"Then you are pointless. Let me leave here and I will spare your life."

It showed the exit out of fear and I left.

Now I should clear my mind first... Calmer... Now I need to gain full control of my mind to stop the pain and while I hadn't do that... It will bring pain to my mind which makes focusing even harder... Tch... How can I even control my mind when I am just 5 percent of it? Do I control every persona in existence to do so?

"Conflicting pain in mind. Maniacally tactical mind. Persona in control mind..."

I said words that maybe works or maybe it doesn't work... And only one of them works.

_know one more third persona. Gain +1 on all status._

Okay... That works. Anyway, I need to enter that city I passed out earlier.

"Maniacally... Hahaha... After being tactical, there is also maniac? The world really is a pain. Now... I need to have all of the persona before myself will kill myself... But the problem is I don't even have such ideas of what it will be."

Calm yourself up... At least I need more cores to eat before I will die... I don't really want to die because if I got deleted... I will be a puppet that follows only one person, or animal... Stop thinking about it.

After 6 hours. Probably enough time to get here.

I entered this city and immediately looked to the people... They dress decent and isn't too sad so I guess this is a normal city.

"Okay... I just need to learn more about persona somehow..."

I enter a nearby library and actively am trying to found books about my system.

This book. Not this book. Maybe this book? Probably one of them. Maybe this one? I can't tell... There are so many books about persona and most of them are about personalities and not the persona system... The word persona is meant for personality after all... And I hate having disadvantages.

[The personality-]

Yep. Not that one. Maybe this book?

[Personality of a person... It-]

Not this one either... Do they even have books about persona itself?

[Persona. It is the representation of your personality-]

Not this one too... This will took a while to find... Maybe this book?

[The personality is some- wait wait wait! Don't close me off!!]

What the hell is wrong with this book? How can it know I will close it?... Calm yourself... It has to be simple at this point, it is the book I needed... I just need to make sure it is.

[That look Into your eyes... I guess you notice I am the one you needed... Now why don't you be my ser- hey!! Why are you looking like you want to close me again?]

Be your servant? I guess I expected too much from this book...... Maybe one more chance.

[Okay. I know, I know. With that look of your eyes I wouldn't bother you. Now make me small and put me beside the book you have.]

The moment you didn't help me after this... I will seriously burn you and slash you to more than three pieces.

I make the book little and put it just beside my other book. And they combined, still the same design of a book but it feels like it could pierce my focus if I look at it for too long... Mustn't look.

[Read me... Read me... Read me... Read me... Read me...]

... Okay you want me to read you? Then I will read you... Like I have a choice to not become a puppet... Actually I do have other choices but this may higher my chance of not becoming a puppet better than some alternatives.

[So to tell the truth... I am the owner of the former persona system user, before you... And he, I won't tell the name as he is a war criminal, only has up to third persona and he also only has 20 attributes on all of his status. This makes the people think it is weak and you can only gain magic by eating cores of monsters which has 99% percent chance of killing the one who eats it in the process.

It isn't the strongest system by far, it is just an average system to be honest... But what I do know is that you are trying to be not a puppet right? Probably obvious by the fact that you search for me here, a library where almost no one comes in as they don't want to read here.]