"Okay, I've picked my skills."
Bushra sat with her legs pulled up on the couch, looking at her laptop. The fading sunlight of a winter afternoon shone though the blinds. We'd returned from our late lunch shortly after I'd spoken with Kris. I could tell from her tone of voice that Kris was confused and worried, but she'd agreed to come over after work.
Bushra had been quiet all during the walk home, whether giving me some space or dealing with her own concerns I couldn't tell. Probably both. But after we made it back, she started grilling me about attributes and skills. I tried to answer with the information I had. Eventually, I shared with her the online doc and simple spreadsheet I'd put together for myself. She had been perusing it and asking clarifying questions ever since.
I had my own laptop out, updating the docs in real-time. I incorporated the additional info from my last level up as I tried to answer her questions. 'I'm not sure' or 'I need to ask Iter' were the most common responses. The size of the docs were growing rapidly, but so were the blank areas. Sometimes I was able to try something out with our abilities to test out our suppositions. Often that led to more questions.
For instance, Bushra was interested in the range and details about our inventory swapping. We moved around to different rooms in the apartment, and she even went outside at one point to see if we could figure out a range or any other limitations. It seemed that it didn't matter where we were in relation to each other, if there were walls or other obstacles in the way, as long as the item was in her inventory and I had an open inventory 'slot', I could move it back and forth between us. Out of curiosity I peeked into Kris' inventory and saw a pen she was unlikely to miss, and tried moving it to my bag. It worked. I showed Bushra. The shock on her face was likely a mirror of my own. I quickly put the pen back in Kris's bag, and we sat together in silence as we pondered the implications of instantaneous transportation. If I had a big enough bag, how much could I move? I pondered briefly the pros and cons of creating a freight transportation company. Hell, we could be an orbital delivery system if one of us was on the International Space Station. It was mind boggling.
I shook my head, and focused on my Status again. Like my last level up, I'd received 10 more attribute points. But I was back down to one additional skill point. It seemed Bushra had the same as me this time. I guess it was because she went up two levels last time and only one now. A quick look at Kris' leveling options confirmed she'd also reached level 4 to match us, and she had 30 attribute points and 4 skill points to spend. Leveling seemed tied to the hero rather than party members individually. That makes sense for a video game where the NPCs and enemies stayed close to the player's level for balancing gameplay. But why would that be the case in 'reality'? And why were the skill points distributed each time different? And why was I putting quotes around 'reality' now? I didn't understand the leveling, or quests, or any of the backend mechanics going on. Maybe with two other people to compare it would make more sense. The problem was the small sample sizes and no way to experiment, since as far as I could tell skill selection was permanent.
"So what did you choose?" I replied belatedly, giving up on that train of thought and bending over my laptop to pick up a lukewarm mug of coffee and take a sip. I made a face and considered refreshing it with a new cup.
"Well, since my skills so far seem to revolve around using Health, I'm going with that Swift Regeneration you mentioned." She paused, a slight furrow to her brow. "It was either that or the healing one."
"Healing Touch? Yeah that makes sense," I agreed.
"You said you didn't know how that one worked, whether I could heal myself or not, or how much," she looked over to me for confirmation, and I nodded. It would probably work on whoever she selected, including herself, but I had no way to know for sure. "Slow and steady recovery works me." She grimaced, and I thought about how she looked last night. If running out of Focus made me pass out, running out of Health sounded worse.
"Okay," I nodded again in confirmation. "What about your attribute points?"
"Honestly, I think I'm going to throw those all in Body, too. Nothing wrong with being strong." She grinned broadly, bringing up her arms to flex her biceps.
I chuckled. "Sounds good." I opened her Status, and looked back over at her. "You sure? You don't have to decide right away."
"Let's do it!" She beamed, obviously excited.
I made the selections, and turned back to her. "Done," I saw her gaze turn inward, a slight frown appearing. "Everything alright?"
> Name: Bushra Patel
> Race: Human
> Class: Software Engineer, Paladin
> Level: 4
> Condition: Normal
> Disposition: Loyal
>
> Core Attributes
> Body: 70
> Spirit: 30
> Mind: 75
> Luck: 10
>
> Derived Attributes
> Health: 70
> Magic: 0 [max 30]
> Focus: 75
> Charm: 50
> Intuition: 72
> Will: 52
> Fate: ???
>
> Skills
> Divine Translation (Party), Inventory (Party), Righteous Resistance, Unarmed Proficiency, Radiant Strike, Swift Regeneration
"I don't really feel any different," she answered, a bit of disappointment in her voice. "It's a bit anticlimactic."
"I know what you mean," I looked around. "Maybe we can test your new strength, see how it compares." Other than furniture, I didn't really have a lot of heavy objects in the house. Then I looked through the doorway and into the kitchen. "Come with me," I said, setting my laptop on the table. She followed suit and we both moved into the kitchen.
"What now?" She asked, looking around.
"Try lifting that," I said, and pointed to the refrigerator.
"What?!" She squeaked, and I smirked.
"With your Body at 70, that should be a good test. Numerically, you're almost twice as strong now as you were last week." She was looking at me with incredulity, and I resisted the urge to laugh. "Don't worry about it, just try to move it a little. No need to juggle it," I couldn't resist adding, "yet."
"Hmm," Bushra pursed her lips in thought, ignoring me, as she regarded the bulky appliance. "I wonder if I can get a good enough handhold," she murmured, moving forward.
"Lift with your legs," I offered, grinning. She raised a middle digit my direction without looking, then moved to the side of the appliance and squatted down, grabbing the sides. She readied herself, muttered, "This is stupid," and attempted to lift the refrigerator.
The refrigerator catapulted off the floor easily, smacking into the bottom of an overhanging set of built-in cabinets with an audible crunch.
"Fuck!" Eyes wide in surprise, Bushra let go, and the refrigerator fell the half-a-foot back to the ground with a crash. Glass and metal rattled inside, and I was inwardly relieved the appliance was mostly empty. I feared for the cleanup job in my future. Stepping back and looking up, there was a visible dent and cracked paint in the underside of the wooden cabinets. A crack in the glass pane of one of the cabinet doors was visible.
"Shit. My bad, my bad," I was quick to assure Bushra, who's eyes were wide in shock and horror at the damage. "I'd forgotten about the cabinets there." Being above the refrigerator, I couldn't reach the cabinets without a stepladder. They may as well have not existed – except if someone were trying to lift the refrigerator up, for example.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
"Imsorry Imsorry shit Imsorry!" Bushra incanted in desperate apology as she backed away, hands clenched in front of her as if to physically hold back her new strength.
"Seriously, my fault. I should have warned you," I tried to console her. "But still," I went on, shaking my head, "looks like a successful test. Damn girl!" I smiled widely.
Bushra was silent, staring at the refrigerator, and then at her hands. "Woah."
✦ ✦ ✦
After that, Bushra was amped up for a bit, trying to lift everything in the apartment. She also appeared to have much greater dexterity and bodily control, as she demonstrated by balancing various objects, doing flips, and generally acting like a cross between a circus performer and a two-year old. I was worried the noise might bring Mrs. Klein over to complain. But I let her get it out of her system, as long as she promised to avoid further damage. I went back to the lounge chair in the front room and considered my own options for leveling up.
My skill list was roughly the same as last time. Interestingly, the magic skills were still grayed out. That they appeared at all seemed to indicate they could be selected, if conditions were right. Maybe. I wasn't sure if that was comforting or frustrating. I now knew there was someone else in this world with magic who was willing to use it against me. Having some of my own would be a good defense.
The combat skills were also now more attractive. If Bushra hadn't been around I may not have survived the events of last night. But I also experienced how quickly my Focus dropped after using skills back to back. Aura of Inspiration was particularly draining. I looked over the new skills, hoping there was a a better option:
Improved Inner Eye
Improved Adept of Ages
Improved Fortune's Favor
All upgrade versions of passive skills for Spirit, Mind, and Luck. Strangely, there was no 'Improved Champion of Light' upgrade. Maybe I hadn't used Body much, so I didn't unlock it? Or was I locked into a support class template now? Who knows.
The benefits of improving Spirit or Luck were interesting, but also less likely to have an immediate benefit. Improved Appraisal was still available and still as tempting as when I saw it last time. I decide to leave it alone for the same reasons as before – too much risk of being useless, especially in a fight. So I could either improve my fighting ability with Unarmed Combat, or upgrade Mind and all the associated attributes and skills. Or I could wait, and see if I could use the new skill point situationally. I have to say, I was hoping for something more useful this time around. But sometimes you have to build for the future.
I ended up choosing Improved Adept of Ages as my skill. What finally made my decision was how I was able to use Focus to resist the effects of the Ring of Paralysis. It appeared to be my best defense right now against magical attacks, so it seemed like a good idea to develop that strength.
As for my attribute points, I dropped them all in Mind for the same reason. That, and seeing Bushra lift a refrigerator with a Body of 70 made me curious to see what impressive things I could do with Mind in that range.
> Name: Mai Carrigan
> Race: Human
> Class: Hero
> Level: 4
> Condition: Normal
>
> Core Attributes
> Body: 40 (x1.25 = 50)
> Spirit: 70 (x1.25 = 87)
> Mind: 70 (x1.5 = 105)
> Luck: 50 (x1.25 = 62)
>
> Derived Attributes
> Health: 50 (+)
> Magic: 0 [max 87] (+)
> Focus: 105 (+)
> Charm: 68
> Intuition: 77
> Will: 96
> Fate: ??? (+)
>
> Skills
> Communion of the Soul, Appraisal, Inventory, Divine Translation, Hero's Journey, Champion of Light, Inner Eye, Adept of Ages, Fortune's Favor, Swift Regeneration, Spiritual Harmony, Still Mind, Destiny's Chosen, Inner Alchemy, Follow the Leader, Augur's Insight, Aura of Inspiration, Improved Adept of Ages
Holy shit! With the combination of increased attribute points and the improved version of Adept of Ages my Focus was now at 105! Like Bushra, I didn't feel any different, but it was good to see my Focus pool in the triple digits now.
Bushra bounced back into my field of view. It seems Body improved not just strength and agility, but stamina and energy as well. I made a mental note to stock up on decaf or herbal tea.
"This rocks!" She leaned in toward me, a hand on each arm of my chair. She had a huge grin on her face, excited by the capabilities of her new body.
"Yeah, yeah, you're amazing," I grinned back, poking her lightly in the forehead to get some space. "If you're done lifting everything in sight, how 'bout we put some of that energy into work?"
✦ ✦ ✦
By the time the doorbell rang, it was well into evening. The sunlight from earlier had dimmed with the coming of evening and the accumulation of clouds that promised an overnight rain. From time to time a gust of wind caused the branches of the rhododendron outside to scrape noisily against the window glass, but other than that it was silent except for the tapping of keyboards. Bushra was sitting on the couch again, legs folded up and brow furrowed in concentration. She hadn't looked up from her laptop at the sound, deep into some coding challenge. I checked with Location, and saw the yellow dot of Kris at my door. Better than a video doorbell, I thought, and went to let her in.
"So what's the urgency?" Kris was in her conservative work attire, with a bulky and unfitted olive anorak on top. She had a green and grey messenger bag worn across her chest, and her face was flushed slightly from the cold. I wondered in drifting digression if the pen I'd 'borrowed' briefly was still there.
"Hey Kris," I began awkwardly, and ushered her in. "Yeah, I have something to tell you."
"Something about work?" She asked over her shoulder and she began to shed the messenger bag. Then she paused suddenly in the hall, spotting Bushra on the couch. "Oh, hi," she offered after a slight pause. I saw Bushra wave from the couch without looking up. Kris turned back to me, nonplussed.
"Yeaaah, not really." I rubbed the back of my neck, not sure how to start. I'd tried the conversation a number of times in my head, and nothing sounded less than absolutely delusional. I took a deep breath. No way to start than to start.
"I've experienced some weird shit recently. That car accident? I wasn't supposed to wake up from that." I tried to put on a humorously apologetic smile and failed.
Kris frowned deeply. "What do you mean, 'supposed to'?"
"I died, and a god picked me up to be a hero in another world." Not waiting for a reply, I gave Kris a brief summation of events since the accident: being sent back to the hospital, being healed by my skills, Iter's presence, the loot, leveling up, everything. I wrapped it up with the events of last night, and how we had escaped. By this time, Kris had sat heavily in the lounge chair, looking up at me with her mouth open and a dumbfounded expression.
"Wait, you were kidnapped!?" she burst out when I finally stopped talking.
"Yeah, but we're safe. The guy who kidnapped us is dead, and the other guy's in jail." I searched her face, not sure if she was getting it. "My powers and Bushra's saved us."
Kris looked over at Bushra sharply, who had put down her laptop and was watching in silence.
"It sounds totally bonkers, but that's what happened," she nodded solemnly. "I can't explain it."
"There's more," I added hesitantly. "Since you're in my party, you have access to skills and stuff, too. You've leveled up," I smiled, giving a weak double-thumbs up.
Kris fell back into the chair, looking up at me, eyes blinking in incomprehension. "In your what?"
"My party, like an adventuring group. It's a mechanic," I realized I wasn't explaining it well. "Like Bushra. Since you joined my team, I guess that's the company we're working on, you also were added to my party for this Hero business. That means you can level up and stuff, too."
Kris' eyes seemed to dart around inside her head, blinking. I could see her trying to connect any of this to anything sane and reasonable, and failing.
"Mai, she needs to see it," Bushra cut in. Yeah, that's probably true. No way anyone would believe this without experiencing it.
"Okay, uhm, how about this?" Inventory seemed effective with Bushra before. "Why don't you pick something out of your bag and give it to Bushra. Preferably something unique or recognizable. I'll turn my back," I said, quickly turning around and bringing up Status.
"What, like some kind of magician's trick?" I could hear the aggrievement in her voice.
"Nothing so simple. Trust me," I added over my shoulder. It sounded feeble in my ears, but I waited to see what she'd do. I was watching her Inventory closely. After a stretched out moment of oppressive silence, I heard some rustling behind me. One of the items disappeared from the list in her bag. I switched over to Bushra's inventory, and saw that item now listed there.
"Okay, done," Kris said, and I turned around. With a flourish, I held out my hand and willed the item to appear there.
"Is this your card?" I asked cheekily, holding out a small leather case like an ID holder or a thin wallet. Kris' green eyes were wide and staring.
I looked down, examining the item she chose more closely. It was a picture case, meant to hold a 2.5 x 3.5 picture. It was worn with age, the red leather extremely soft with some cracks near the fold. There was a faded design on the outside. I could just barely make it out as the bejeweled, five-pointed star of the Crystal Star compact from Sailor Moon. Feeling a start of recognition, I opened it. Inside was a picture of two gawky teens in t-shirts and jeans, a brunette and a red-head. The brunette had one arm locked around the red-headed girl's neck in a rough hug, and the other girl held out both hands in a 'V' for victory pose. Both girls' eyes were closed tight from the force of their beaming smiles.
"You still have this," I breathed.
"Yeah." I barely heard her whispered reply. "Oh my god, Mai." She was staring at the picture case in my hands, her head shaking from side to side. "How'd you do that?"