Selene sat down on the floor, as the water streamed onto her, and wrapped her arms around her knees. She rested her head as she went through her recent experiences.
She’d shiver, and break out in goosebumps occasionally, but she didn’t move, except to raise her head and rest it against the wall behind her.
“My life has taken a drastic turn. I might even be able to improve the conditions of my people in the future, but I have to survive and grow strong enough first. I feel that defeating the attacker was enough to let me reach level 10. Now, only the trial remains… Oh, right. I also need to reach a certain level of proficiency in my skills. It should all be clear once I reach the gates and level up. I might also want to improve the bridge a bit more. Who knows if that’ll provide some benefit.”
She sat, pondering and planning for a while before she turned off the shower, dried up, got dressed, and left the bathroom.
Meelara was lying on her bed and looked up as Selene entered the room.
“Good shower?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah,” Selene nodded as she sat down on her bed. “I needed to think.”
“Makes sense,” Meelara nodded with a crooked smile. “Anything I can do?”
“Uhh, well,” Selene recalled the questions she had. “I was wondering about prices and stuff. How much is 700 credits?”
“Oh,” Meelara smirked. “That’s almost nothing, I’m afraid. It’ll buy you a few decent meals, that’s it.”
“Oh,” Selene said. “Ok, then, what’s the best way to increase skill proficiency? I’ve been using my skills a lot, but they’re still at novice proficiency.”
“Right,” Meelara sat up and her expression grew serious. “You’re about to reach the first advancement. Skills will improve naturally as you use them. If you focus, study the skills, and actively try to improve them, it might be faster, but it depends on how well you do.”
“I see,” Selene nodded with a thoughtful look on her face. “Any ideas about what I can expect for a trial?”
“Depends on the next Stage,” Meelara explained. “The stronger the Stage, the harsher the Trial. They’ll be related to your Path, so I’d guess it would be Ice, Shadow or Death. You’ll see each Stage you meet the requirements for after you’ve improved your skills sufficiently.”
“Oh,” Selene frowned. “I won’t be able to see the Trials before?”
“No, ‘cause the skills will affect the possible Stages,” Meelara said. “If you improve your Shadow skill to a higher level, you’ll have stronger options related to Shadow, for instance.”
“Huh,” Selene nodded. “Makes sense.”
Selene lapsed into thoughtful silence after that.
“So, I can influence the Stage advancement somewhat. I’ll have to think about how I want to do this. For now, I’ll focus on other matters.”
“How did that man get to me?” she asked suddenly.
“Uhm,” Meelara grimaced and clenched her fists. “We don’t know.”
“How did he know to find me?” Selene continued asking. “Did he know that I’m the one who killed Lon Thrast?”
“We don’t know;” Meelara shook her head and sighed. “I’m sorry, but we haven’t learned anything, yet. He likely is, or knows, a strong tracker. They probably know, or suspect, that you’re the killer. There are ways to find traces and review the past events of a location, but those are high-tier skills.”
They sat in silence for a while, Selene pondering over her troubled future, and Meelara unsure how to raise the mood.
After a few minutes of silence, Meelara spoke up.
“Oh, right!” she walked over toward the door before she came back holding the fedora. “You forgot this. Here!”
Selene caught the hat and held it in her hands.
“Heh,” she smiled. “Not used to wearing hats. I completely forgot.”
“What do you want to do?” Meelara asked.
“Uhh,” Selene frowned. “I’m not sure. I think I’ll get some food, and then I might work on levelling up. I think I can reach level ten now. I should also start working on my skills.”
“You need to learn to enjoy life, as well,” Meelara said. “You can’t always work.”
“I can start enjoying life when I start to feel secure,” Selene argued quietly. “Until then, I can’t help but be tense.”
“It sounded like you enjoyed the meal yesterday,” Meelara sat down on the bed again, facing Selene.
“Yeah,” Selene nodded, smiling crookedly. “Then I was attacked and barely won. If that fight had gone on for a second more, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat him.”
“But,” Meelara frowned. “I was right around the corner, and he didn’t seem to want to kill you. I’d have made it there.”
Selene looked at Meelara with weary eyes.
“At the time, it felt like I was about to die,” Selene sighed and shook her head. “It felt like I was going to be killed, and I didn’t hear you coming before I had defeated him. Maybe he had a way to leave quickly, and avoid detection.”
Meelara frowned, and looked at the floor, but said nothing.
“I need to get stronger,” Selene said as she fiddled with the brim of the fedora. “I can’t- I have to be stronger.”
“Right,” Meelara nodded. “I get it. Let’s get some food then, and I’ll keep watch over you while you level up.”
“Thanks,” Selene smiled slightly, stood up, and started walking toward the door. She stopped and looked at the hat in her hands, before she snickered softly, and placed it on her head. She stopped by a mirror near the door and adjusted the hat. Once she was happy, she nodded and opened the door.
Meelara led the way toward a diner, and they had a nice meal.
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Meelara sat in a chair, keeping her eyes and ears peeled, as Selene rested on the bed, deep in meditation. They had returned from the diner, and Selene had immediately begun the process of levelling up.
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Within Selene’s Inner Space, she saw the fog had drawn further back and unveiled the massive gates ahead.
They were impossibly tall, and wide; Dark grey, almost black, with strange, unfamiliar symbols carved into them. There was no being in front of the gates, but near the bottom, there was a carving of a huge wolf, dripping blood.
Selene smiled as she started extending the bridge. Brick after brick, until the last one slotted into place.
A wave of energy blasted from the gates, streaming past Selene and funnelling down the bridge. She heard the trembling, and cracking of the bridge behind her, as she struggled to remain standing, but the bridge held.
Once the wave had passed, Selene turned to look and saw the fractures in the bridge with wide-open eyes.
“If I had made the bridge weaker it would have crumbled,” she muttered. “What would have happened then?
She shook her head and got to work.
“Not worth considering right now,” she said as she channelled her spirituality into the cracked bricks. “I need to reinforce it.”
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In the room, Meelara suddenly sensed the fluctuations in Selene’s Spirituality, before she scrambled back as a wave of darkness, and ice blasted through the room. The window shattered and shards sprayed into the street outside.
Meelara was sent tumbling back from the force, and her body was covered in a layer of ice, but she reacted quickly, and while channelling her Spirituality to increase her body heat. The ice quickly melted, and she stood up.
Meelara looked at Selene and found her sitting still, covered in ice, and rime, like a statue, but her Spirituality was steadily stabilising, and Meelara breathed a sigh of relief.
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All over Ellard’s Cove people turned toward the sound of shattering glass, and crinkling ice. Those closest to the bar had been sent to the ground and were scrambling to their feet, but those further away only had to brush away a slight layer of frost that had formed in the air.
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Reinforcing the bridge took a long time, but while doing it, Selene really got into the swing of things and ended up continuing the improvements she’d started before.
The bridge was now reinforced, with a sidewalk, and extended sections that could hold light sources.
“Right,” Selene muttered as she smiled. “I forgot to ask about that. Perhaps I can experiment on my own?”
She looked at the floating, fiery lights that represented her skills, and had an idea. She grabbed Shadow Strike, and Chill of the Grave, and channelled them toward one of the braziers she’d made.
Her brows furrowed as she experienced some resistance, but as she formed an image in her mind, and pushed her intent into the skills, she was able to power through.
“A cold, black and white flame,” she muttered. “No light, but purely decorative.”
Each brazier lit up with a similar flame, and as she looked, she felt the two skills seemed to grow. The flames remained the same size, but they looked deeper.
“They improved?” Selene’s eyes widened as a grin spread on her face. “They increased in proficiency? Was that the resistance? Haha!”
She laughed and did a little dance, before she calmed herself, and turned to the gates.
“Alright,” she said, in a very good mood. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.”
As the bridge had extended all the way, she could now make out more of the symbols.
“Are these runes?” she muttered. “I don’t understand what they say.”
As she looked, she walked closer. As she passed a certain threshold, her skills flashed forward. They melded into three spots on the gates that she hadn’t seen before, and from them flowed lines of energy.
These lines of energy lit up sets of runes, and Selene could suddenly understand what they meant.
“Etherial Assassin… Shadow Weaver… FrostShade ReaverVitality Nexus…,” Selene muttered as she examined the choices. “They sound good, but I’ll talk to Meelara first. There might be a way to further improve the choices.”
She nodded to herself and left the Inner Space.
Selene found the room in shambles, with a layer of ice covering every surface, and a shattered window. Her widened eyes flitted around as she took in the scene.
“What happened?” she asked.
“You happened,” Meelara grumbled. “I should have known it wouldn’t be a normal level-up with you.”
“Leve-,” Selene was about to ask when she realized.
She focused on the notifications from the System.
[Ding! You have reached level 10!]
[Advancement options available.]
[Ding! Shadow Strike has levelled up!]
[Ding! Chill of the Grave has levelled up!]
Name:
Selene Parson
Race:
Human
Affiliation:
Earth
Stage:
1 - Niflshade Initiate
Level:
10
Credits:
691
Stats:
Strength(STR)
24
Agility(AGI)
16
Vitality(VIT)
22
Intelligence(INT)
13
Wisdom(WIS)
5
Charisma(CHA)
3
Skills:
Shadow Strike
Apprentice
Chill of the Grave
Apprentice
Spirit Echoes
Novice
Spirit Veil
Novice
“My skills did level up! Apprentice. Also, when I approached the gate, it was the skills that slotted in and revealed the advancement options,” Selene smiled as she thought. Meelara stood and watched while shifting her feet.
“Well?” she finally asked. “How did it go?”
“Oh?” Selene shook her head and looked at her friend. “It went well. I was surprised at that blast of energy, but the bridge held, thankfully. Should I choose an advancement now?”
“Well, some believe that waiting is better, but I believe that a certain level of decisiveness, and quick thinking is best,” Meelara immediately entered her teaching mindset before she shook her head. “What do you mean, held? What happened?”
“Well,” Selene began explaining while she frowned. “When I extended the bridge up to the gates, there was a surge of energy that blasted past me. It caused cracks to appear in the bridge, but it didn’t collapse.”
“Huh,” Meelara stood stunned for a second. “That’s unexpected. Never heard of that.”
She stood silently for a few seconds before she smiled.
“Well, in any case, I’d say you should make your choice now,” Meelara advised. “Just follow your instincts, and choose what feels most fitting. Don’t think too hard.”
Selene nodded, and after a deep breath, she did as advised and made a choice.
[FrostShade Reaver chosen!]
[Advancement Trial given: Experience Death.]
Selene’s eyes widened, and she drew a sharp breath.
“Experience Death?!”