Charlie had never seen the sea before. In fact she had never even been out of her [District] let alone the city walls. It was simply too dangerous to venture beyond your station. And the sea on Kentron was vast and untamed. Standing here on the beach, Charlie was struck by the size of things. She was so small. Insignificant even. But the sea here, while incredibly open and unrestricted, somehow at the same time seemed tame. Perhaps it was because she knew there were no monsters lurking just out of sight. Perhaps it was that the tides were so regular and predictable. There was no way even a high level adventurer would simply wander to the water's edge and contemplate the sheer majesty of the ocean.

No. That would get them chomped.

Or swept away.

Apparently this was where she had been found. Just beyond the high tide line. Dry as a bone. She kicked at the water, marvelling at the feeling of sand between her toes. There was something calming about the rhythmic lapping of the waves. Charlie luxuriated. It was awesome. Never had she felt this peace before. Instead of an all pervading tension that even invaded her dreams, there was just the constant sound of the water. She could get used to this.

She was at a loose end.

There was nothing trying to eat her, beat her, or enslave her. She was fed, clothed and had a place that was hers. She even had a job.

Her boss, Fiona, was an ex police officer, now running a cafe with her husband. It was so much easier than running down criminals, drunks and druggies. Meeting her husband; Wade, Charlie had figured he must have been all three, he certainly had that shady vibe that had raised her hackles. But he seemed harmless enough now that she knew him a bit more and Fiona was a real gem.

Charlie had started off in the dishwash area. It was easy work. Way less dangerous than the job she had back on Kentron. She was now tasked with clearing tables as well and soon she was going to serve and eventually take orders as well. It was a nice clear progression. Unfortunately the [System] did not acknowledge it, which was somewhat weird seeing it acknowledged all sorts of jobs and occupations back home. Perhaps she should manually adjust her PSI and hide her [Arbiter] class behind [Dishwasher] or [Waitress]. It was something to mull on.

Charlie’s thoughts turned to Glen and Jay. They had both abandoned their previous plans for the year and had dived into the [System]. She didn’t blame them at all, getting the [System] was a major milestone in your life. The fact that it was so unexpectedly new to them just hyped it up even more. No doubt Jay would be quizzing her more on [Werewolves]. He was captivated by the concept.

She was apprehensive.

Full moon was due in three days. But there was only one moon here. This was a ray of hope. Perhaps it would only be half as bad. Turning into a ravening monster was not something she aspired to. Already the nights were feeling a little more edgier. And thus the peace of the sea was all the more precious.

She stared at her hands. She remembered the snarling teeth and hate maddened eyes. Was that to be her fate? What would this soft world think of such a monster? Somehow, they had idealised it, romanticised it. She sighed. That was it. Jay was a hopeless romantic. But there was nothing romantic about slavering death. Even now, the memory of her attacker, the desperate smell of rank fur and a fouled body, turned her stomach. She needed control. To lose herself into a monster was simply unacceptable. While she was stuck with the curse, she also had her class. Her cheat of a [Class]. Charlie shook her head. She had never heard of a class which could simply look up skills. That wasn’t how it was supposed to work. You had to unlock skills. Either directly through your class or earn them through your actions. Or you could be taught them from a [Master] or learn them from a [Skill Stone], though both those options were more hearsay than fact. Simply dialing them up was completely broken. And she had a huge number of empty [Skill Slots] as well.

But everyone knew that even as you built your [Personal System Interface], it built you in return. Charlie was wary of losing herself. Not only to her monstrous side, but also in her overpowered class. The temptation to stack skills and power was almost overwhelming. But only almost. Charlie blew out a long breath, deliberately breathing through her mouth. As she had counselled the lads, it was better to take it slowly and be sure of the direction rather than rush in without forethought. But still she had to act.

She pulled up her [Were] traits.

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TRAIT: MINOR REGENERATION

Grade F

Your body will slowly renew itself over time, returning to full health after injury as a normal bodily process.

TRAIT: LYCANTHROPHY

Grade F- (Cursed)

A mutation of the [Regeneration] trait when infected with trace elements of [Monster Symbiont] causing involuntary transformation during coinciding lunar cycles .

Charlie reread them for the umpteenth dozen time. They had overridden her human [Flexibility] trait. She wasn’t really that cut up about that. Minor regen was a pretty good trait. It was the curse that bothered her. According to street lore, mages were trying to splice monster regeneration into a skill. She could have told them that it wasn’t a good idea. Anything monstrous was to be avoided. Yet they had. And they did. But they were unable to isolate the regeneration and rather than tying it into a tidy skill, it escaped as a highly contagious trait.

In fact, now that she thought about it, she had an extremely lucky and unlikely escape.

There had been two full moons the night she was attacked. And she had been bitten. Two full moons were exceedingly rare. The monster that attacked her had probably only just been bitten himself. And transformed straightaway. No wonder he was so weak that she was able to defeat him. There had probably been screeds of newly turned werewolves running amok that night. If she had somehow escaped without killing him and triggering her premature System enrollment, she would have joined them in mindless terror. And if she had already joined the [System] and then been bitten, then it would have been a race between her vitality and resistance and the insidious curse. That was why [Weres] were so dangerous. Getting a [System] cleanse, if you could afford it would strip you right back to a Level 1 newbie. If you couldn’t afford it, well, sucks to be you. You may come to your senses, once the moons had passed, if you survived. But even then you would be surely tainted by your mindless rampage while a monster. It would alter who you were on a fundamental level. And the XP gain from dealing death was massive so levels and power could corrupt even the most upright and moral of citizens.

But there were two words which really stood out to her in the description. ‘Involuntary’ and ‘coinciding’. If there was only one moon it couldn’t coincide without another. This was real good. Charlie was somewhat calmed by this. But she hated the word involuntary. She was her own person. Nothing and no one had the right to tell her what to do. They could make her. Force her, compel or intimidate her. That was fine, she would fight every step of the way and with all she had. But if it was involuntary, then she couldn’t fight it. However it also stood to reason there was involuntary there was also voluntary. Though why someone would volunteer to transform if they lost their sanity was beyond her. Perhaps higher levels of [Weres] were able to maintain their minds while transformed. Or perhaps it was only when under the influence of both moons that they went crazy. Yes, that felt right.

She sighed and stretched.

She had her skill [Sanctuary of Self]. That should maintain her reason while she was transformed. Even without the conflux of the moons driving sanity out the window, she did not want to lose herself as a monster. But it was part of who she was now. She was a [Were]. She needed to own it. Hiding it away, pretending it didn’t exist, was silly. Short sighted. Trying to fool yourself was an exercise in futility. The last thing she wanted was to transform in a moment of desperation. It would be a complete disaster if she discovered that she would transform under extreme stress. Well, she paused, of course she could just kill everyone who witnessed it. They would probably be bad guys if they were trying to kill her after all. But there might be innocent witnesses as well. Kids. She would be a real monster if she had to kill kids. No, Charlie shook her head, it was better not even to go there. She needed to take ownership. Control.

Focusing her mind, she reached into herself. Her senses were sharper, her reactions quicker. These were effects of her trait. She was more sensitive to the position of the moon and the imminent full moon gave her a deepening frisson in her bones and an ache in her muscles, like she had gone for a run without stretching. Charlie rolled her head and flexed her shoulders. She bore down on the frisson. She was getting there. She felt a tingle in her fingertips. Looking at her hands again, she flexed them, slowly opening and stretching her fingers. All of a sudden they spasmed and cramped up. Her nails thickened into claws, even as her fingers muscled up, turning monstrous. Ohh! With a sudden gasp, she lost her focus and her hands reverted to normal.

She was drenched. And shaking with adrenaline. She had nearly done it. She hadn’t expected such success so soon. She looked around. The beach was deserted. But still, she felt exposed. Vulnerable. No it would not do to transform fully here. So close to the city and where any passerby might witness. She had taken that first step. And without turning to her broken class. A sense of accomplishment swept over her. This was all her. Charlie still had to prove that she could maintain her sanity while fully transformed but she had made massive strides. Her trait no longer felt like a [Executioner’s Blade] hanging over her head.

She looked at the setting sun. Jay and Glen would be swinging by for their daily catch-up.

And Jay wanted to take her clubbing.

Charlie shrugged. This world was weird as. It was probably good XP but.

She would still take her dagger though. Clubs were messy and imprecise. Daggers required finesse.

With a skip in her step Charlie set out for the park.