Selene looked at the food on her plate. A seared steak, soaked in sauce, with an assortment of vegetables. A glass of weak ale stood next to the plate. Her mouth watered at the sight, and her hand trembled slightly as she brought the fork and knife to cut into it.

Selene closed her eyes in contentment as an explosion of flavour filled her mouth.

“Oh my…,” Selene thought as she chewed slowly. “This is incredible… I’d forgotten how good a proper meal could taste.”

A few tears appeared in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Cheela looked on with slightly furrowed brows.

Selene said nothing as she ate, entirely focused on the plate of food. She took her time, forgetting the world around her. People came and went around her until she finally sat back with a content smile.

“Haah,” she sighed and looked at Cheela. She had a crooked smile on her face as she stood. “That was great.”

“Good,” Cheela said. “Now, I think Meelara’s been waiting for a while, so let’s go.”

“Oh,” Selene’s eyes widened and she rose quickly. “Right… Damn, I forgot. Uhm, thank you!”

She thanked the staff of the diner, and walked through the door, ignoring the strange looks.

They found Meelara sitting on the steps of the largest building in the square, head supported by her right hand with her elbow on a knee. Her eyes were half-lidded as if she was about to fall asleep.

“I’m so sorry,” Selene burst out as she approached. “I lost track of time.”

“It’s my fault,” Cheela interjected. “I took her to Olai’s Diner. She got lost in the food.”

“Oh,” Meelara stretched her arms as she stood. “I see. Makes sense that she’d react to good food, I guess. I would have appreciated a word, though.”

“Right,” Selene nodded, looking at her feet as she grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Meelara waved her off with a smirk. “Nice hat, by the way. Cheela’s idea?”

“Yeah,” Selene responded, looking sideways at Cheela, frowning. “Why?”

“Oh, she’s always trying to get people to wear hats,” Meelara smiled crookedly, ignoring the glare from Cheela. “You’re the first to agree in a while, though.”

“Oh…,” Selene mumbled. “So, it’s not… Is it just a prank? Or, what?”

“No,” Cheela waved her arms, crossing them as she shook her head. “I promise! It’s as I said. It’s a part of my Path, although… It’s not something about yours… It looks good on you, though.”

Selene fidgeted with the hat for a few seconds, before she decided to keep it on.

“Fine,” she shrugged. “By the way, is the fact that my hair has grown so much due to my ascension?”

“Oh, yeah,” Meelara nodded. “The increase in Vitality leads to quicker growth. I suspect that if it wasn’t for your particular, uhm… Talent, it would have grown a lot more.”

Cheela nodded, but frowned when Meelara hesitated, but shrugged it off.

“Indeed,” Cheela continued the explanation. “As your stats settle, and the majority of the changes that result from the ascension are finished, you’ll see an increase as well. For now, the energies are making minute alterations to your body, so it can handle them and not be overwhelmed. There is a limit to how much energy you can take in every day, after all, so long as you don’t eat all day.”

“Hm,” Selene frowned. “Is there no way to keep my hair short? Except for cutting it often, I mean?”

“I’m afraid not,” Meelara frowned and sighed. “It’s a common complaint from women who’ve ascended.”

“Yeah,” Cheela nodded. “I don’t think anyone knows why it is. Whether it’s the System, cultivation itself, or maybe one of the Gods, it follows a standard of beauty or something. Women’s hair generally grows until it reaches the middle of your back, and then stops. It’s really annoying, but it’s best you get used to it.”

“Uhh,” Selene groaned. “Fine.”

“Anyway,” Meelara smiled crookedly. “Let’s go. I’ve set us up with a couple of rooms at a motel. It’s not much b… It’s a lot better than what you’re used to, Selene. Come on.”

“Lead the way,” Selene nodded.

“I’ll head back to Beren,” Cheela said as she turned. “See you around.”

“Goodbye,” Selene waved after her. “And thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, sweetie,” Cheela shouted over her shoulder as she turned the corner.

Selene turned and followed after Meelara. She led them to a three-story building closer to the outskirts of town and headed up the stairs.

“This is your room,” Meelara said and handed Selene a key. “I’m in the room next door, so if you need anything, just come over. Take today to relax, destress, and stuff. Tomorrow we’ll head out. We’ll try to get you to level 10, or at least raise your potential so you can reach it. I’ll help out with the trial if needed.”

“Alright,” she nodded and took the keys. She inserted them into the door, twisted them, and entered the room. It contained a small wardrobe, a desk, a bed with a nightstand, and on the floor was a worn rug. Another door led into a small bathroom which contained a toilet and a sink.

Selene looked around with a smile on her face. Meelara knocked on the doorframe behind her.

“There’s a communal shower on the first floor if you need to wash up,” Meelara mentioned. “I’d recommend it. We both stink of travel.”

“Alright,” Selene smiled at her. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Meelara returned the smile. “There should be some towels in the wardrobe. See you later, girl.”

Selene quickly dug out a large towel from the wardrobe and headed downstairs to the shower. It was empty, fortunately, so she quickly cleaned herself, and returned to her room.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“I wish I could have spent some more time in the shower,” Selene thought as she fell onto the bed. “But, I’ve never been comfortable with those situations.”

She lay in bed for a few minutes, gently kicking her legs, and staring at the roof.

“Haah,” Selened sighed. “What to do?”

She looked around the room, but the bare walls and basic furniture weren’t anything interesting.

“I guess… I guess, I could work on my level. I should keep building the bridge as far as it can go, so I’m ready for when my potential reaches the gate.”

With that, she sat up in the bed, crossed her legs, and closed her eyes. She began by visualizing her pathways, and the circulation of her Spirituality. Then, as she was about to start the process of veiling, she realised she didn’t need to.

“Right! I’ve got the skill active. I don’t need to do it manually anymore.”

As her Spirituality was Veiled, she dove deeper and reached her Inner Space.

The bridge now reached far into the distance, stopping just short of the gates. They stood tall ahead of her, behind a thin layer of fog. She could barely see that there were some symbols on the gates, but couldn’t make out their design.

“I should reach it in a few fights, I think,” she theorized. “Although, it’s taking much longer than I expected. Maybe I need a really tough fight? I’ll find out soon enough.”

Without further ado, she made the triangle with her skills, though she didn’t use Spirit Veil, as she didn’t think it fit with her Path, and according to Meelara, it should be very difficult to use three at her level.

“Four might cause issues. In any case, I’ve used the same three all this time. Adding a fourth could destabilize the entire bridge. I’m not risking that for the off-chance that I might experience some minute improvements.”

Drawing the fog, funnelling it through the three skills, and then compressing it into the bridge to form bricks had become routine. It was no longer as tedious, or straining as it was at first, but each brick made less of a difference for each level.

After a while, she found that she couldn’t place another brick, as the bridge had expanded right up to the fog. It was like the fog was a solid wall. She took a look around, and her eyes stopped after she’d made a one-eighty turn. She looked back at the bridge behind her and felt something was off.

“Hmm… It feels bland. It’s too straight. There’s nothing there but dark bricks and fog. Alright. If I can keep expanding the bridge, I’ll embellish, and decorate.”

She nodded to herself and set into motion. Her first goal was to build some spires or towers at regular intervals.

“I can build up certain sections, but rather than spires, or towers, I can create arches… No, maybe some abstract statues? Bah, no… I think I’ll keep it simple. I’ll just build up sections at regular intervals, just to break up the monotony. I’ll build a ledge along the side walls. Like sidewalks on old-world streets.”

She started with the sidewalks, as that would be the simplest.

“Hmm. I wonder if I can create lights. I can place torches or something on the built-up sections.”

The time passed quickly, and she’d made a lot of progress by the time she ran out of energy. A good third of the bridge now had a sidewalk, and she left the Inner Space feeling satisfied.

“Alright,” Selene thought as she wiped the sweat off her brow. “Thankfully, with Veiling, I don’t have to wake up frozen solid. Hm… What now? Oh, right! Since I can Veil now, that means I have enough control over my Spirituality to draw credit, right?”

She smiled widely and grabbed a pouch she’d made from remnant scraps of her purple dress. Inside, she saw a small collection of clear-white crystals.

“Credits are solidified manifestations of the Paths of those who die. Meelara said I can use my Spirituality to draw them in, and the System would tally them, and add them to my Status. Let’s see.”

She closed her eyes and visualized. She saw the flow of Spirituality, and in a similar fashion to how she learned how to Veil, she tried to force it out around her hand.

“So, if I can expand the Spirituality around my hand, I might be able to draw it back in. Hmm. I’m not sure about the details of how to do this. I could ask Meelara, but I want to try on my own first.”

It took her almost an hour before she managed to selectively form a bubble of spirituality in her palm, encompassing the credits.

“Alright, step one completed.”

She took a deep breath, crossed the fingers of her left hand, and retracted the bubble of Spirituality. She tried to will it to hold onto and take the credit with it, but it didn’t work.

“Am I doing it wrong? Hmmm. I’ll keep trying.”

She kept at it, and twenty minutes later, the credits disappeared from her hand. Selene’s eyes widened and she smiled.

“I did it! Yes! Let’s check how much that was.”

She brought up her status.

Name:

Selene Parson

Race:

Human

Affiliation:

Earth

Stage:

1 - Niflshade Initiate

Level:

9

Credits:

691

Stats:

Strength(STR)

22

Agility(AGI)

15

Vitality(VIT)

20

Intelligence(INT)

12

Wisdom(WIS)

5

Charisma(CHA)

3

Skills:

Shadow Strike

Novice

Chill of the Grave

Novice

Spirit Echoes

Novice

Spirit Veil

Novice

“691 credits! Yes! I actually succeeded.”

Selene sat in the bed and pumped her fists. She couldn’t stop herself from laughing and fell backwards.

“Hahah! Haah! I wonder what I can buy for that amount… I can’t head out and ask a store, or diner. That would be embarrassing, and it would draw attention to the fact that I’m a native, or at least a naive, sheltered girl. Someone would try to take advantage. Meelara said I should be careful, and put up a strong facade. I’ll go ask her.”

Selene got up from her bed and headed for the door. She opened it and came face to face with a lean man, who seemed surprised to see her. His hand was reached out, toward the door handle.