The kitchen was loud in all the small ways Bella had learned to anticipate.
A cabinet door creaked open too far. The toaster leaned slightly to the left, with crumbs falling across the counter. Renee hummed as she searched for something she'd just set down, drifting from room to room in a pattern Bella could predict without thinking.
Bella stood on her stool and stirred her oatmeal carefully.
She could fix this.
The thought arrived fully formed—and just as quickly, she set it aside.
People were not problems to be solved.
The system pulsed softly at the edge of her vision.
[System Notification: Minor household instability detected.]
Bella exhaled, slow and steady, and focused on the room instead of the person in it.
[Mission #3: Stabilize a domestic environment using non-sentient targets.
Reward: 1,000 SC]
She adjusted the world, not her mother.
The toaster's balance was nudged microscopically, its internal alignment corrected until it sat flat and steady. The cabinet hinge tightened itself with a soft, almost imperceptible click. The rug's edge flattened so it wouldn't catch a careless foot.
Bella moved carefully adjusting traits here and there deliberately, making sure every adjustment was reversible, gentle, and non-invasive.
[Mission #3 Completed: +1,000 SC]
Renee poured cereal without spilling. She smiled, distracted but content, and Bella felt a quiet satisfaction settle in her chest.
That was better.
---
Back in her room, Bella sat cross-legged on the floor. Watson watched her from the bed, tail flicking lazily. The stuffed rabbit still leaned a little to the side. The fern on the windowsill curled faintly toward the light.
These were safe.
These couldn't be harmed by curiosity.
She opened her CAS interface and made small, precise adjustments:
* Stuffed rabbit > structural symmetry +1
* Fern > vitality +2, growth rate +1
* Dust motes in the sunlight > airflow pattern stabilized
Each change felt like sliding a dimmer switch rather than flipping a lever.
Watson blinked at her, then yawned. Bella smiled but didn't touch his traits.
Animals couldn't consent either.
Later, curiosity tugged at her again.
A new icon pulsed faintly in her Legacy Ability menu.
[Occult Library – View Only]
Bella hesitated for half a second, then opened it.
The interface unfolded like a book made of light.
Vampires. Werewolves. Shapeshifters.
She recognized those immediately—canon knowledge slotting neatly into place. Strength. Speed. Immortality. Pack bonds. Familiar. Expected.
Then her eyes caught on the others.
Unknown entries.
* Gloam-Fae
* Elementalists
* Nature-Based Mages
* Merpeople
Her breath caught.
Hovering over each revealed traits, sliders, and power structures she had never seen before. Shadow affinity (for Gloam-Fae). Environmental manipulation (Elementalists and Mages). Aquatic adaptation (Merpeople).
'So this world has more secrets than I remember.'
The system chimed gently.
[System Notice: Editing of sentient beings requires valid consent. Simulation Mode recommended.]
Bella relaxed.
"Good," she whispered.
She wouldn't do it without consent anyway.
She selected [Simulation Mode].
A holographic figure formed in front of her—clearly labeled Non-Physical Model.
First: Gloam-Fae (Simulation)
She adjusted:
* Stealth +1
* Mischief -1
The shadow around the figure tightened, movements becoming quieter, more deliberate.
Next: Elementalist (Simulation)
She nudged:
* Elemental focus +1
* Mana stability +2
The projected energy steadied, no longer flaring wildly and they began to glow brighter after mana was adjusted.
Bella leaned back, heart pounding.
She wasn't meant to dominate this world.
She was meant to understand it.
A soft notification followed her experiments.
[Suggested Tools Available]
She bought the Field Observation Kit (Disney Dreamlight Valley; -2,500 SC)
[SC Balance: 94,000 SC]
---
That evening, Bella sat in her window nook, Watson curled against her leg.
She opened her Infinity Nikki Observation journal and wrote her first rule, carefully and in ink.
Rule One:
I do not change people who did not ask.
I change environments.
I simulate before I act.
Consent matters.
The shadows in the corner of the room stretched, then receded.
Bella noticed.
She always noticed.
She closed the journal with a quiet sense of certainty.
If the world needed to change, it would be because someone chose it.
And Bella Swan would be ready.