I woke up the next 'morning' very confused, stiff, freezing, and needing to take a piss. It also took me a moment of panic to piece together where I was and how I had got there.

I was in the process of getting my phone out and turning it on when I noticed a very pale glow coming from several spots in the pitch black room. For a moment I thought they were eyes and didn't move a muscle. I could feel my heart racing in panic as I imagined some Eldridge horror just feet away from me.

If it was a bunch of creatures or something then maybe the bright flashlight could blind them. I slowly reached into my pocket and turned on my phone. I then pulled it out of my pocket with the light set to max. My own eyes stung from the sudden bright light source. I didn't hear any scrabbling or breathing or any other noise I would contribute to a creature.

I eventually realized what I had seen glowing were the gems in the lamp cage things. I turned off my phone again to conserve the battery and to let my eyes adjust to the dark again. I was sore, on edge and needed to pee but I was also curious about the lights.

I was at least able to solve one of my problems. I removed a drawer from one of the desks and relieved myself in that… it was gross to even think about but if I could not find any water very soon I would have to consider more drastic measures.

After several more minutes of letting my sight adjust I was able to make out the gems again. It did nothing to illuminate anything but if I could somehow use them it would help immensely. I did discover that the light got just a tiny bit brighter as my hand was very close or touched the gem.

“Are you really a lamp or something else? Why the candles then?” I quietly asked myself.

I took the time to light a candle in the complete dark. It took me over 20 minutes and I cut 2 of my fingers but I eventually got it. I the. Got to practice first aid used some of the ‘paper’ as a makeshift bandage.

I then took some time to more closely inspect each of the lamp things. Other than what appeared to be minor differences in craftsmanship I couldn't determine much else.

Ding!

For doing a Special Action in line with your Class, you have unlocked the skill: Eyedentify

I jumped due to the unexpected notification, read, then reread the prompt. After the third time I let out a frustrated grone.

"Fuck me… this place has a sense of humor and it likes puns… This is forking terrible." I said out loud then after a moment I said "What too spoon?" Then I eyed all the chairs almost expecting to hear a chuckle.

After a moment to collect myself I focused on the name ‘Eyedentify’ then a new prompt appeared in my vision.

Eyedentify

Rank F - 20%

The ability to glean information from sight. As this skill rises in level your ability to Identify will improve!

Talking to myself “Ok… this world or system or whatever appears to react to my mind in some ways. That could be very interesting if I can understand it better.”

I then looked at the desk lamp like object then thought about getting more information from it. It took more mental effort then I expected but I was given a new notification.

Magical Desk Light, Fine Quality

“Ok so I was on the right track with the lamp idea.” I mumbled to myself.

Looking at my slippers I attempted to use my Eyedentify skill.

Slightly Dirty Comfy Slippers, Masterworks

“Masterworks?! … That's interesting” I said to myself, then I examined the rest of my clothes.

Rumpled Lounge pants, Masterworks Quality

Rumpled Sweater with a hood, Masterworks Quality

Rumpled Tee Shirt, Masterworks Quality

I then looked at the desk I was using as a makeshift barrier.

Gnomish Desk, Fine Quality

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Gnomish Chair, Fine Quality

Ding!

Congratulations! Through repeated actions your Eyedentify skill has improved and is now eligible for rank up!

Rank E is a free rank!

Eyedentify

Rank F - 100%

As I was expecting prompts anyway I didn't jump this time but I was surprised by the notification.

“Ok… use the skill, grow the skill… easy enough concept.” I said to myself.

I then thought about my skills and was given a new prompt.

Skills Rank

Class Skills

Eyedentify E - 12%General Skills

N/A

“Hmm wonder what my cell phone reports as.” I said to myself.

Calendar Device, Voice Communications Device, Video Communications Device, Text Communications Device, Image Communications Device, Data Information System Node, Light Source, Electrochemical Explosive, … , Masterworks

…

Modular Communication Device, Masterworks

I initially started to see a massive ‘string’ of text in my field of few but after a few seconds I then felt a wave of nausea before ‘Modular Communication Device’ was communicated to me.

“Alright… safe bet no one has had ‘you’ try to identify what a cell phone is… whatever ‘you’ is…” I muttered to myself.

I thought about my ‘Eyedentify’ Skill again, or well just its current status.

Eyedentify E - 68%

“Right… the better quality the item the more of a boost most likely.”

I looked at the magic desk lamp again and identified it.

Magical Desk Light, Fine Quality, consumes mana to generate a light source.

Ok now I could get more information from objects and I seemed to be on the right track with the desk lamp which was a good sign. Now if I could power it I might have something. I checked my skill again but didn't see any change in its percentage. So no abusing the system and looking at the same object to gain a skill, that didn't feel all that surprising.

I then thought about my Mana, Stamina, and Health and was presented with another prompt.

Health: 110/110

Stamina: 105/105

Mana: 105/105

Health and Stamina made sense if a bit odd to see both quantified. As a test I jumped several times and moved around to try and waste some Stamina, I then checked my stats again.

Health: 110/110

Stamina: 98/105

Mana: 105/105

That worked more or less as I expected it to. As for health I had an idea of what that would be like but didn’t want to experiment with that. I wanted to figure out how to use mana, if I could then I might be able to use a lamp as a light source.

I could feel my stamina coming back which felt completely normal. I could imagine what my health feels like easily enough as well. I then took several minutes of concentrating before I finally found another pool of energy in my body. It felt similar to Stamina but different as well, it still seemed to be centered in my body. In my mind if stamina had a color than mana has more of a smell, related in some ways but not.

“Found you!… I think.” I said to myself in somewhat questioning exaltation. “Now I just need to figure out how to manipulate it…”

I spent what felt like over an hour attempting to work the mana in my body. In the end I found that if I concentrated hard enough I could kind of move it around my body. The best way I could describe it was that excited energy I used to feel when I was younger, that feeling of wanting to move your limbs and jump around but ‘centered’ elsewhere, part of my body but different. I even discovered after several minutes of experimenting that I could have a tiny warling mote hover above my hand.

Ding!

For repeating a Special Action a sufficient number of times you have unlocked the general skill: Mana Manipulation!

“Fuck yes… that sounds useful.” I said to myself in a quiet shout.

Checking my stats

Health: 110/110

Stamina: 105/105

Mana: 94/105

Based on that I imagined I was slowly draining my mana as I worked with it. I then spent the next several minutes experimenting with moving mana around my body then to a small mote hovering above my hand. It certainly felt easier than before if not much. I was able to determine that I generated one Mana per minute which was crazy slow, I did notice that I only lost mana when it left my body however.

I then attempted to push some mana into one of the lights, it took even more effort then to create a floating mote but it eventually started to glow with a bright white light.

Checking my stats yet again I found that pressing mana into the magical desk lamp seemed to eat up quite a bit of my mana, I could even feel the loss within my body.

Mana: 73/105

I then pressed more mana into another lamp, I needed to explore and at the very least find water. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was until I noticed the drawer with my bodily waste in it and found it didn't seem to be as revolting of an idea as earlier.

I sighed then I started to break one of the small chairs to use its legs as a makeshift club. I managed to also pull out one of the stones from another lamp and added that to my pocket inventory. I left one of the lighted lamps back at what I was now calling my basecamp. Then headed out on my new quest to find water.