She had slept well, even exhausted and drained, Carissa had always slept well when she had achieved a self-set goal. Part of what made her a winner according to her ex-husband.
Mike had been right when he had told her that time flowed differently inside the wooden structure. The knock at the door alerted her and the familiar voice called out, this time it was Sherry, asking her to wake up and have breakfast.
‘I’ll be back in around thirty minutes, enough time for you to wake up and get dressed. Hope you had a decent night’s sleep though; we’re going to have breakfast before another training tutorial. This one will be a whole lot more fun though. I promise, no fighting or endless talking.’ said Sherry through the door.
‘Thanks…Sherry.’ said Carissa. Her voice loud enough to carry through the wood.
She had decided to sleep naked or she had simply been so exhausted after her own training efforts. Either way, she had slept well and preserved the use of the suit for longer than necessary.
The full capabilities of the suit needed to be used sparingly. Or until she found an alternative. It was though; the goods inside the wooden storage area that had made for a pleasant surprise when she completed her own personal training.
A description of each item had appeared in her mind’s eye rather than in her own vision, the words appeared the same, made out of water, bone or wood, it entirely depended on the material of the object in question.
The bone weapon was both basic and unique, perfect for someone who had no real clue on how to fight with weapons. Carissa wanted the tutorial today, which was meant to be fun to include basic weapons training.
Being beaten around when she was trying out her hand-to-hand combat skills had been an experience certainly but also a strong reminder of her own lack of ability to handle fights in this place.
When she had picked up the bone item, the same basic message appeared in her mind’s eye.
[Candidate Designate: Carissa.
Tool Received from Ocean Gateway System
-Bone Toothed Blade/Club
-Inflicts physical damage.
-Item cannot be transferred or sold to other players.
-Presently bound to Player Candidate Carissa.
A simple weapon grown from a piece of bone, teeth and sheath included.
-Growth Potential]
‘A weapon. I have a weapon at last. A piece of bone with sharp edges. In short better than nothing.’ said Carissa as she rested the blade in its wooden sheath.
The characteristics of it failed to impress her but her mind concentrated on the last sentence of the description. The fact that the weapon hadn’t been built but had been grown. The last two words interested her mildly.
Touching the edges they failed to pierce through her own bare skin but if applied with more force they drew blood. At least she wouldn’t be at risk of cutting herself each time she used it.
The wooden sheath and attached strap were far more useful in her own opinion. She could strap the blade to her back and practice withdrawing it or tie it around her waist. Once she dressed herself she would.
‘No magic or special abilities, just a standard weapon designed to be used as a club or to block attacks.’ said Carissa.
Given with what had happened when she had tried to forcefully examine the grey suit, she decided that it would be a better option not to try and force it further for any hidden abilities or traits linked with the weapon.
She put aside the other two items that were related to her as a candidate and grabbed the clothes that had been inside the chest, those had been useful enough but none of them could be examined in the same way that the weapon or other two items had been.
Carissa had only taken a brief glance at them before closing her eyes and trying to use the Ocean Gateway System to gain further messages without success.
The first item had been a diving suit, a swimming suit rather than exposed her arms and legs but kept her chest and body mostly covered. The scars from her self-surgery were evident on her form but it didn’t mean that Carissa wanted to show them off.
Not unless she chose to do so.
A deep blue, shiny with a hint of mermaid scales attached. No, Carissa knew this suit. The style of it at least, it had been what she used to wear as a girl when swimming during her parents were busy with their own work as marine biologists on the family house boat.
‘A copy. No, a replica of my own suit.’ Carissa murmured as she put it over her own body.
The grey suit needed to be kept secure as long as possible, not unless she had found an alternative and it could be stored in one of the candidate or player items she had received.
The suit fit perfectly, exactly her height, width and body type when she slipped it on. Mike had earlier made no mention of clothing that was suited to her, he had only mentioned clothes in passing. The wooden statue bracelet on her hand simply slipped off and on easily enough when she had changed her clothing.
Aware of time, Carissa put on one of the other two items, one was a bright pink t-shirt with yet another mermaid on the front, this time in a more cartoonish style. Slightly baggy over her body it allowed her relative ease of movement and was large enough to go down to her waist, allowing her legs to show.
The last was a pair of women’s water shoes. Coverings for her feet which she could wear when fully submerged in water. She held these close to her, despite the lack of examination from the Ocean Gateway System, Carissa knew that these needed to be checked for hidden any hidden qualities.
The outside of the shoes and the tips were an exact copy of her own feet and toes, the style was a mixture of pinks and purples with two single names embossed into the inside of each shoe. Near impossible to remove without destroying the shoes themselves. Two names.
Despite the shoes themselves appearing nearly pristine as though they had been freshly produces, they should have shown signs of wear and tear. The names inside confirmed it for her, these were no copies, not even a replica. She had been there when they had put them inside, her and Liam. Two names. Hers and that of her ex-husbands.
He had custom-built these shoes for her birthday, by his own hand under the watchful eye of an expert shoe crafter. Carissa had watched the entire process on video as part of her twenty-third birthday from Liam.
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‘These are my shoes. I wore them.’ said Carissa as she cradled them gently in her hands and rubbed them with her fingers.
The same indents, the same marks and scuffs were there as though protected but in pristine condition.
It didn’t make sense to her but then not much else in this world did. Not unless she was chosen as a candidate, or it this was meant to be an apology to her for trying to force system messages on the grey suit.
A knock at the door startled her then. The voice of Sherry again.
‘Um, are you OK in there? I knocked on the door ten minutes ago and had no answer. Mike and Chas have prepared breakfast for everyone. If you’re dressed, we need to head to the community dining room. Carissa? Everything OK?’ said Sherry.
Slipping both the shoes on her feet, Carissa, grabbed the last two items in the wooden box before she examined both of them in her mind’s eye before making sure her equipment was secure.
One was a torch on an adjustable necklace which she slipped around her neck. The bottom part of it was removable and contained a space to insert a smaller item. A good place to store a hidden note but Carissa was disappointed to find it empty. No clues for her so easily given, she’d need to find her own answers then.
[Candidate Designate: Carissa.
Tool Received from Ocean Gateway System
-Water Powered Torch
-Item cannot be transferred or sold to other players.
Torch recharges when submerged in water.]
‘I’m getting dressed. Give me a few more minutes to prepare myself.’ said Carissa, louder to ensure that Sherry heard her through the door.
The last item she had examined but not explored, it had puzzled her a little and was another sign of the fact that magic or special abilities were fairly common in this place. But it was hers and to her alone it would stay, the basic survival instinct of any human was to keep their belongings safe and this would be far more useful to her than the torch.
Her water shoes were comfortable on her feet, even more so than when Carissa had been wearing the skin tight grey suit. That was a given item, these were hers and she had worn them for years. A familiar part of her, they had been almost moulded to the exact shape of her own feet. These she would not part with.
The shoes could be examined later when she was back in her room or in a position of relative safety, such that it was.
[Player-Candidate Designate: Carissa.
Tool Received from Ocean Gateway System
-Dry Bag, Spatial Container
-Item cannot be transferred or sold to other players.
Can only be opened by Owner.]
Two straps on the back to slide her arms into and another one that could be fixed around her chest it was grey and large enough to comfortably fit on her back without restriction her movements. It was only when Carissa had opened it, she had been surprised, a bag like this would usually contain emergency equipment but when she put her hand inside it only felt a material that she hadn’t been expecting.
‘Uh, we need to get a move on. Sorry for the rush but we have a schedule to stick to. I promise today will be better than yesterday, at least with training. I told you last night that it’d be fun. Do you need any help with your equipment? Carissa?’ said Sherry as she knocked on the door.
‘Almost. Just one minute. Thanks Sherry!’. said Carissa as she willed the bag to fully open, slinging it onto one shoulder with her hand inside she pulled out a magazine. The cover showed a man and woman smiling in front of a company logo, she didn’t recognise the title or the location but the contents talked about business. Boring enough to her mind she stuck her hand in and pulled out a larger stack of them, all different types of magazines ranging from beauty tips to holiday travel, technology and nature.
To her eyes, the contents were odd. Similar but odd. She didn’t recognise the fashions that the people were wearing nor the locations, it was as though they had been manufactured in a reality that she didn’t know which was likely enough.
‘Carissa! We need to go. Mike is going to give me punishment detail for this and I don’t need that. You’re cute but there are limits. You need to open this door and we need to eat breakfast. I don’t like giving warnings but I’ll override the door if I need to.’ said Sherry, her voice hardening from its usual cheerful tone.
The small wooden statue bracelet vibrated as Carissa hurriedly stuffed all the magazines back into the dry bag, smoothing down her t-shirt and running her fingers through her hair trying to make it as tidy as possible. She stuffed the bone toothed club in the bag as it fit without filling up the space inside easily, the grey suit and the necklace torch.
It had been disappointing that she hadn’t even been provided with basic survival supplies or emergency food and drink rations but the magazines had been provided for a clear reason.
Likely a joke from the Ocean Gateway System in her mind. Or a punishment gift. Too many questions and still too few answers.
She had entirely forgotten to ask for a comb, if there was time during breakfast, she’d make a point of asking Sherry. She doubted that Mike had one with his lack of hair and Chas was a total mess.
‘Coming!’ Carissa nearly shouted and she half-leapt to the door, unlocking it and removing the bolt, yanking it open to reveal a surprised young woman with a blush on her face.
Sherry wore a red life jacket on this time, matching her tinted goggles with the standard grey suit.
‘Hi. Sorry about the wait, I needed to run through everything. Breakfast sounds great. How are you? I love your new life-jacket, red is your colour. So is green actually, you carry them both off so well.’ said Carissa with a bright toothless smile and her head tilted to the side, both hands holding onto the straps of her newly acquired dry bag.
Although she didn’t feel that she needed to be sociable, Carissa was going to try another approach today. Hostility yesterday had earned her a beating, dropped into a pool of water and strapped into a chair.
Despite the answers, she needed more than this to survive. Not openly holding a weapon as Mike did, along with a decent hot shower and a change of clothes would make her more presentable.
Carissa often forgot how good looking and young she actually was. Appearance was a small part of her life and Liam had told her that when she wanted to be sociable and turn on the charm, she could work wonders.
Attempting her best at being mild coy and overly friendly she grabbed onto Sherry’s arm, surprising her.
‘Breakfast. And you said that Mike and Chas made it? That’s so sweet. I’m so sorry about yesterday, I had this whole shock to my body and well…it was a lot to take in. Would you forgive me for not talking to you much?’ said Carissa.
She had a bit of equipment to her name; a weapon and her training had stopped her body betraying her each time she had a message from a system created by bored ocean gods.
Being a little more easy-going would work for her, even it was going to be temporary.
She had a strong instinct after a sleep and an acceptance of her new reality that the three main members of this small community were players. But it begged the question in her mind, that if each of them was powerful enough then why were they stuck inside a driftwood boat structure helping three newborn candidates.
‘Never mind. Breakfast will be great; do you mind if I sit next to you this time? I’d prefer not to make any more bad blood between me and... what was her name again…?’ asked Carissa.
Sherry’s face had transformed from a blush into a bright red.
‘Bonnie. Oh, thanks for noticing. I like mix and match my equipment. I love your t-shirt, and you’re not wearing your suit. I mean, you don’t need to but it does help. Look at you! Equipment at last! You’re going to be a player. Wait, I don’t mean it that way. Yeah, we should get breakfast, Chas makes the best pancakes. Do you have those where you come from? Mike told me you’re from a place called Terrus…’
Inwardly Carissa stiffened as she faked her way through the conversation, her tongue latched onto one of her teeth and she pushed hard enough to draw a drop of blood as she kept the smile on her face.
She held tightly onto Sherry’s arm as they walked, Carissa nodding and smiling as she heard the other woman’s face light up with chatting.
Liam was right. I need to use my looks to my own advantages.
True beauty within and without.