Amidst the growing bustle of the magical city in Niagara falls, a 14-year-old apprentice of apothecary was suffering from empathetic and sensory feedback in the early morning hours of a new day.

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“Aaaaaagh!!”

I released a despairing cry into my pillow, bunching it up around my ears and head in a futile attempt to mute the sensory overload.

Everything around me was too loud!

Despite the relatively effective sound proofing between my room flooring and Victoria’s shop below, I could still sense the movements and emotions of various customers who perused through her wares. Those merely a couple meters away based on directional distance were the worst!

It was not sound which troubled me, as such could only travel a little through the cracks in my door and window pane. No, it was the veritable existence of all living and non-living things around me, pressing upon my senses with various degrees of intensity.

Last night, I had nearly passed out from overexposure on the streets until I made it to the safety of the shop and my master’s home. It seemed that being around her and the familiar surroundings of the shop, had barely affected me at all.

I recalled what she had said upon my return, about how higher-level assimilations allows for an individual to maintain an improved level of self-control over their power and emotions, or at least in masking them from the senses of others. Her level of control, had resulted in me only experiencing a vague sense of her presence outside of physical sight. It was like the sensation of a light feather brushing gently against my arm, creating little to no extra strain on my psyche. Additionally, I believe that the sheer familiarity I had with the store, had softened the blow of its highlighted existence within my mind’s eye.

Now, it was early in the morning and several new variables were introduced to the equation. The chaotic and constant flow of new patrons, along with all their gear and accessories, shattered the previously tranquility of my recuperating sleep.

Spacial awareness and an empathetic sense.

These were the primary culprits resulting from my foray into those incredibly rare and heavily controlled disciplines of magic. The spacial stone was likely the greatest contributor, but I certainly wouldn’t cross off the life and death stones regarding their induced changes. All three of those elements left a sense of their flavoring behind with each stimulation, almost as if they were taunting me as I struggled with the changes wrought within me.

Only the element of time was quiet. It simply gave off the feeling of an inert seed laying deep within my core or consciousness.

None of my prior assimilation and adaptation periods were as bad as this one!

I was forced to confine myself to my bedroom to escape from the bustle of the city. *Husss!* I winced again as a new patron, particularly lethal with their emotions, entered the general space below my room. This new disruption to my precariously maintained sanity sent me into another daze of mental pains as I fought to separate my own emotions from those of the newest customer.

Raw sensations of lust emanated from them as they hovered in a certain area.

I knew based on the layout of my room and the shop below, that I mostly took up the space above the front counter where my master primarily resided when assisting a customer. I could only vaguely register her presence at this distance. Given the opportunity, I would place a heavy bet that this new customer was eying up my master.

Over time and frequent exposure, I had grown somewhat desensitized to or inoculated against her stimulating presence. Certainly, I was not blind. Given no other factors, save for her sheer beauty and delectably mixed personality, I would gladly engage her if she displayed enough promising signs that she reciprocated my interest.

Despite her appearance of a great beauty in her mid-30’s, I had learned at one point that she was about 200 years old. Her seemingly contradictory vibe of an icy elven enchantress and an outdoorsy girl-next-door rendered her age moot. Her natural charms set afire the raging desires of many native residents and Travelers who frequented her shop. Many came simply for the opportunity to drink in the sight of her as they perused her wares. It certainly didn’t hurt that her self-made products were all a tier above the local and somewhat distant competitors.

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Although the secret was slowly getting out, I was one of the growing few who knew that she had only eyes for a single, immaculately dressed, and silver haired elven councilman. I believe since the event at the falls, that they had indulged in various levels of intimacy while they made up for lost time. This was reinforced by her many recent departures from the store while leaving it in my hands to monitor and regulate.

Too many times I had seen the bright eyes of expectant customers enter the shop, only to fall into a grimace seeing only me as I manned the front desk. They tended to make a token gesture of perusing the wares before either making a single small purchase or acting unsatisfied or wistful at their inability to buy anything. Without Victoria’s more frequent presence, the sales of the shop plummeted.

During my occasional rehashing of the day’s events to her, she appeared fully unconcerned at the decrease in revenue.

With her unexpected return to the front desk due to my being indisposed, all those prior customers who had bided their time and finances in hopes of her eventual return, appeared with a vengeance!

With my newly acquired senses and currently addled mind, their reinvigorated return in mass felt like it was revenge for the many times I had kept their wet dream goddess from their sights.

“Ugh!” I muffled my cry again as two more Travelers entered the store making me reflexively clasp and hug my pillow around my head with more intensity despite the futility. I strongly contemplated logging out and returning to reality in order to escape this torture.

Were it not for many changes I felt growing within me since I began my adventures through this new world, I would not have even entertained the thought of remaining here to suffer.

However, a transformation unlike any I had undergone before, had been wrought over me. Many times I had stumbled, suffered, and grown from adversity amid the trials of this too-real seeming virtual-world.

Starting from that first moment, in which I had seen my unique avatar with its potently dangerous eyes and confident demeanor in the character creation mirror, I had experienced a series of reinforcing events which made that version of me a closer reality. Here, in this world, I was someone I could only dream of becoming.

With small, seemingly inconsequential actions and behaviors, I felt many of those personal changes which had been derived from the lessons I learned here, trickling over into reality. Although it was a delayed effect, I felt my 22-year-old real self, changing for the better as this 14-year-old me underwent impossible and transformative moments.

In the now, I refused to bow down to the pressure of the mind and heart under which I suffered. Despite my inability to gauge its duration, unlike that of the prior elemental trials, I would not flee this world and latest opportunity.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t leave the shop though. . .

“I have to get out of here.” I mumbled to myself with delirious conviction.

Wasting little time, I gathered up my belongings which would likely be helpful for a day of exploring the wilds beside the outer walls. I hesitated about bringing my staff as my current state might make survival problematic if certain troubles arose. I did not wish to risk losing it in my potential death and subsequent resurrection sans the staff and other equipment.

After weighing the pros and the cons and with a heavy sigh, I gripped the sturdy metal rod and carried it with me down the stairs. “Master.” I called out to my teacher. She was currently engaged with two of the customers in the shop, but she would appreciate being informed, especially considering my current situation. So, I interrupted her.

“I’m going to head out to the outer woods to see if such aids my recovery. I’ll be sure to bring back the latest batch of herbs you requested as well.”

Meeting my gaze, concern and understanding could be seen in her hazel eyes as she quietly nodded and returned to her original conversation with her patrons.

I cared not for the many goofy grins of adolescent teenagers as they roamed about the shop. Weaving through the denser than average clientele, I swayed at the rush of various emotions.

Outside of the few who had strong urgings of lust, many of the others had more respectable emotions flavored with longing and general appreciation for my master’s presence and beauty. Some, particularly the former, exuded more than a tinge of disgruntlement and jealousy when I passed.

Not wasting the time to mentally defend my position, I left the shop and hailed the fastest looking carriage whose driver did not leak their emotional state all over me. Unfortunately, rules regarding the safety of pedestrians and other carriages denied me the haste which I desired.

Despite the rules, we made good time. The trip to the edge of the city took less than 15 minutes this time. I was grateful for the shortened duration as I was still hit with occasional mental strains, triggered by the sporadic close proximity of fellow travelers and younger natives on the shared road.

We finally reached the gate!

Disembarking the carriage, I showed proof of my permission to depart the city with my master’s symbol. The two gate guards stepped back with an added bow of respect which I hastily returned. This was done before dashing off into the deeper foliage off the cobbled path.

I did not dawdle, as the nearby surroundings were still quite full of enterprising Travelers. Each of them appeared engrossed in various fetch quests for the day as they dug about for their own local herbs. Setting out to put as much distance as I could between them and myself, I began traveling in earnest.

It took me a good 45 minutes to finally escape the last of the hunters for herbs as well as those that decided to tail me on a whim.

Stopping to explain my situation might have done more harm than good in convincing them to leave me be. It was almost a regret, as from past excursions; I had already made quite a name for myself as being the one to follow to get good herbs.

Prior to this time, I had never actually traveled this far out to where I couldn’t see any signs of civilization. Not even from the vantage points in the rare opening of the brush I encountered could I catch any traces. Only the green of more distant trees could be seen as they obscured the walls and towers of the distant city. I was still very grateful for the change, as my previously strained mind was already feeling relief with exposure to the relatively empty surroundings.

I still got an occasional taste of emotion as I sensed a horned rabbit, little muskrat, or other creatures hidden nearby in the underbrush. To be honest, since I couldn’t see the animals, I couldn’t say for certain what they were, but the emotions that came off of them, were mild and carnal. It was like watching a hungry fly buzzing off in the distance as it landed on a piece of leftover food on the counter. It was annoying to see it there, but, if your heart wasn’t set on eating the food later, then it was something you could phase out and ignore.

As I traveled, the growing sound of rushing water entered my senses. Additionally, the faint smell of wood smoke snaked into my nose. A smile flashed across my face as I was excited to see what there was to explore. I was admittedly a little concerned that the smoke likely meant people which included risks especially this far out in the wild. However, with the ability to come back from the dead as all Travelers could, I decided it was worth the chance.

Glancing at my staff, I felt dread at the thought of losing it. Something inside of me, however, gave me a sense that somehow, it would not be lost for long. Renewed with confidence I pressed on.

Walking down the unofficial path made up of faded animal tracks, I came to see a river at the bottom of a small valley. That wasn’t the only interesting thing that I found, as I was quite surprised by what I heard next!