The coolbox Raph had spoken of turned out to be something like a mix between a cooler and a fridge. She could tell there was ice magic, which apparently was just a subcategory of water magic, which was keeping it cold. She figured they’d based the amount on what she’d eaten in front of them before because it seemed just about right.
Smiling happily, she’d tucked the coolbox under the table and snuck back to her room for another nap. The sun would be up in a few hours, and there was still so much to do!
When the sound of people moving around finally woke her up again, she smiled, stretched, and just laid on her bed, enjoying the fact that she could do so without having to worry about pulling any wires or needles out. She could get up and go pee, eat, walk, whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. She didn’t have to call anyone to help her with every little thing. It was liberating, and she still could barely believe it was real.
With a smile, she pulled up her profile, wanting to see what she’d managed to Siphon during the night.
Name: Jade Winward
Age: 18
Strength: 9.27
Dexterity: 10.05
Constitution: 9.23
Intelligence: 16.58
Magic: 12.24
Charisma: 10.39
Luck: 14.21
Special Abilities: Siphon
Skills: Acrobatics, Appraisal, Archery, Athletics, Blood Magic, Bluff, Dark Magic, Deception, Diplomacy, Dodge, Eating, Haggle, Healing Magic, Heat Resistance, Information Gathering, Insight, Intimidate, Light Armor, Light Magic, Mathematics, Mental Fortitude, Metal Magic, Modeling, Navigation, Perception, Perseverance, Persuasion, Running, Sense Motive, Singing, Sleight of Hand, Small Blades, Speed Reading, Stealth, Unarmed Combat, Walking, Water Magic, Wind Magic
Acrobatics
Beginner 4
65%
Appraisal
Beginner 7
67%
Archery
Beginner 4
28%
Athletics
Intermediate 1
85%
Blood Magic
Beginner 3
60%
Bluff
Intermediate 1
23%
Dark Magic
Beginner 3
7%
Deception
Beginner 8
66%
Diplomacy
Beginner 10
74%
Dodge
Beginner 4
10%
Eating
Beginner 8
70%
Haggle
Beginner 10
6%
Healing Magic
Beginner 9
72%
Heat Resistance
Beginner 2
20%
Information Gathering
Intermediate 6
70%
Insight
Beginner 9
37%
Intimidate
Beginner 5
86%
Light Armor
Beginner 2
50%
Light Magic
Intermediate 4
51%
Mathematics
Beginner 5
62%
Mental Fortitude
Intermediate 1
5%
Metal Magic
Beginner 4
65%
Modeling
Beginner 4
63%
Navigation
Beginner 6
77%
Perception
Intermediate 2
70%
Perseverance
Intermediate 1
13%
Persuasion
Beginner 10
52%
Running
Beginner 3
40%
Sense Motive
Beginner 8
96%
Singing
Beginner 3
0%
Sleight of Hand
Beginner 9
30%
Small Blades
Beginner 2
60%
Speed Reading
Intermediate 6
48%
Stealth
Beginner 4
25%
Unarmed Combat
Beginner 3
34%
Walking
Intermediate 4
24%
Water Magic
Beginner 9
24%
Wind Magic
Beginner 5
22%
She stared blankly at the ceiling. This wasn’t right, was it? She hadn’t checked anything since yesterday morning, and granted, she’d siphoned more than yesterday too, but still; she had nine intermediates now, and she’d only siphoned athletics, perception, and perseverance, but only one person each for the last two. Athletics she’d procured from four people, but she didn’t think that would have been enough to bump her up past the beginner levels. She had figured it’d be more like the archery level.
I wonder if me climbing all over the room to light up the ceiling was the cause? She pondered. It was the only logical explanation in her mind. Blood magic had even gone up, and she hadn’t touched it yesterday. It and water really were connected. She wasn’t going to tell anyone that, though—at least, not if she could help it. In her reading yesterday, she’d figured out that though it didn’t carry the stigma of being evil, a lot of the blood mages had, in fact, turned evil. She wasn’t about to create a little army of blood mages that someone could subvert for their own nefarious purposes.
Mental fortitude and perseverance… She’d gotten those to intermediate pretty much alone, and she figured it was probably because she was draining her hypothetical mana and stamina bars over and over again yesterday. Or was it just one bar? Maybe those were a hidden stat? It would have been nice to see the numbers, but she had to give up on it. That sick feeling when she overextended herself would have to be enough, as long as she didn’t accidentally kill herself in the process.
She grinned as she hopped up from the bed at last. She’d achieved half of her first goal, at least! Two of her four deadweight stats were finally up to basic normal human status! Giggling, she twirled in the sunlight coming through the window, surprised when she didn’t trip and fall on her butt.
She laughed, singing at the top of her lungs. “Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ey! I'm on top of the world, 'ey! Waiting on this for a while now, paying my dues to the dirt!” She jumped on her bed to try and bounce, but there was no spring, so she just sank in and fell. She lay there, giggling happily as an acapella chorus of Peters went through her head.
There was a short knock at the door, and she heard Kaylee’s voice coming through, “Jade, are you okay?”
Grinning, she hopped out of bed again and ran to the door, unlocking it to throw it open as she crowed cheerfully, “I am fantastic! How’re you doing today?”
Kaylee looked really confused as she gazed at her. “I’m...well?” She was just staring, and Jade was smiling innocently. Finally, she shook her head as if to chase away whatever thoughts she’d been having and explained, “We’re about to close up breakfast if you want some.”
“Ahhhh, no, wait for me! I’ll be down in two minutes, I swear!” She closed the door on Kaylee hurriedly, turning around to go and change as she heard Kaylee laugh at her through the door and walk away.
She wanted to freshen up before she changed, but apparently she’d wasted too much time staring at and analyzing her stats, so she’d lost that opportunity. Changing her clothes as quickly as she could, she stopped for only a moment to do a little happy jig when she changed her shirt. The mosquito bites had grown again! She wasn’t sure which stat was making a difference, or if it was a combination. All she cared about was that they grew! She could look like a normal girl for once!
Fully changed, she began her descent downstairs, grinning like a madwoman. The common room was more filled than she’d seen it since she arrived. Around twenty different people who were around what she associated as ‘college age’ were sitting at various tables around the room. She waved at Kaylee, who upon noticing her, waved back and immediately departed for the kitchen, hopefully to grab her food.
She studied the students briefly, trying to size them up. There were a few loners sitting on the edges who looked a little nervous. They were probably the talent recruits. She guessed that the students grouped up together were the nobility kids who had already split into cliques. Did they call them cliques? Factions, maybe?