Ethan appeared crouched exactly the way he was when he was pulled into the spooky mansion inside him that gave him his Bamboozle power, but now he had a drawer full of coins under his arm. The hollering in the other room had died down so Ethan made a run for it so he could stash his treasures in his room. He didn’t want the Nice Ladies to ask him where he got it from. They always had a way of knowing what things were really Ethans and what ones were other peoples. They would probably all get mind reading powers based on how they always seemed to know what Ethan was thinking.
Ethan got to the door with printed pictures of Pokemon on it and bolted in, closing the door behind himself. He wasn’t allowed a lock on his door anymore so he pushed the dresser in front of the door. He felt like a rapstar gangster with his scanny gun in his waistband so he left it there, but emptied the container of ‘Demon Tokens’ and his alien Ipad onto the bed. The coins shined with just the faintest amount of red light, Ethan only noticing now due to the setting sun and shadowed part of his room.
“Shit dude. They are glowy.” Ethan put a blanket over them then sat on the blanket. His alien IPad slightly buzzed in response. Confused, He pulled it from under his butt and looked, it was messages from that guy’s friends. Unfortunately Ethan couldn’t read or type,He was a calls only kinda guy he just remembered the messages screen had faces. He knew he would have to Bamboozle another person if he wanted to REALLY play with his new Ipad. He pulled the scanny gun out to see if it required reading. He pointed it at shoes
[Pre-integration Attire: Shoe] (Mundane Relic)
A Shoe from Earth of the Milky-Way Galaxy, Pre-integration.
Once again Ethan was flooded with temporary knowledge and understanding of the words. He read them over and over again. Then even more times, not wanting the feeling of being able to read to go away. He said the words aloud while he read them, and pondered each word individually. For the first time in his life he was lost in time, not checking his watch at all. Just contemplating every word on the screen. He was completely transfixed, then he was interrupted. It was the brain pop-up, and not one from his scanny gun.
[You have pondered and developed The Dao of Reading] (Root Stage)
Breaking past the limits of your intelligence you have pondered words and resonated your spirit with the Dao of Reading. You no longer require your brain or memory to comprehend written language, as you can use your spirit and soul to ponder written words
Wisdom +50
[World Quest Complete!] (Hidden)
First Dao
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
You are the first person on your planet to develop a Dao root.
Reward: Title, 10,000 Nexus Coins, 10,000 Essence
Title: Vanguard of The Dao
First Human to develop a Dao Root
(+100 Free Attribute Points)
His neck was stiff and it was dark outside, a ruckus down the hall could be heard from his pitch black room. His belly ached and his mouth was dry. He checked the time, it was three thirty in the morning. Who else was up at this time? His brain was still fuzzy like when he wasn’t reading his scanny gun or when he had bamboozled the alien guy, but now he felt more. Aware. He wasn’t even sure what he was aware of. Like he knew to take his shirt off when he drank out of the bathroom sink so he wouldn't get his shirt wet, and that's exactly what he did. Without putting his shirt back on he had a feeling he should go check on everyone else and see why they are still up.
The common room was full of people talking over each other, nice ladies and ‘residents’ alike. All of the Nice Ladies turned to Ethan at once. But it was his favorite Cindy who was the first to speak.
“Ethan! It’s Ethan everyone! Have you seen the others? Anyone who’s not in this room?” Ethan saw Brett was here and he was the only person he had seen before he went to the spooky place.
“No, I was in my room.”
“I thought we checked all of the room, Denise, Taylor, can you girls do another sweep to resident rooms to make sure we didn’t miss anyone?” Ethan panicked, would they find his coins? No he didn’t need to worry they wouldn’t look under his blanket they just saw him. Why was he so sure of that? Usually he would worry himself to death about his sneaky plans. Was it those words he had read before? Problem was he couldn’t remember what they said even though he had comprehended them at the time.
“I'm going to go get a snack.”
“Go ahead honey, microwave only.” Ethan waved a dismissive hand at her and walked away. He knew to only use the microwave. He knew that he would likely create a disaster if he tried to use the oven. He couldn’t recall a time he had messed up with the oven, but he was certain in his feeling that he could burn the place down if he wasn’t careful. Something was off, he felt different in a good way but also in a very different way. Ever since he sat on his bed. Maybe he would use his scanny gun some more later and see if it keeps making him feel different.
Ethan opened the freezer and almost screamed. He could read the labels of everything in there. He knew what box bagel bites, even before today. And with his new gut feeling he was certain what one it was, without even double checking. But when he looked at the label he could put meaning behind every letter.
Bagel Bites
One of the yummiest snacks in the world, and conveniently microwaveable. Some of the words he could sound out, but didn’t know what they actually meant. Especially the little small ones by the numbers. But any word he knew he could read and any one he didn’t he could sound out, and he had a feeling that with time he could probably learn to write them out too- though he had a feeling that was still beyond him. These feelings were getting weird. Even weirder than being able to read. Playing with his scanny gun had proved to be very helpful. He would remember to play with it some more.
This time when he made his delicious treat he put the time to 99:99 like normal, but instead of guessing when to pull them out he instinctively knew, it was the weird gut feeling again. He went with it and pulled them out. He let them rest for a bit while he drank some water out of the sink, instead of his usual eat them until they stop burning your mouth then keep eating them tactic, and they were the best bagel bites he ever had. Even better than when the nice ladies make them as they always come just a bit too crispy. It was time to go play with the scanny gun some more.