[Welcome Gamer]
"What the fuck?" Penny bolted upright, hitting her head with a meaty smack upon the edge of their old coffee table. "Son of a bitch"
[-2HP]
"That is not normal. What the hell is happening to me?" The pain receded much quicker than it should have, before she could even touch her forehead to assess the damage "ok, ok, don't panic, baby steps"
She slowly made her way to her feet. Pulling out her phone and checking the time, 08:32. "that puts me out of it for about ten minutes"
Speed walking into the house, she went to check her forehead for any bumps in the bathroom mirror, only to reel back and hide behind the door as a line of text appeared above her head.
[Lv1][N/A]
"Why is this happening?"
"What are you doing?"
Jolting backward, Penny jerked towards Macy, her mouth hung open like a fish, searching for an answer that didn't make her sound like a total head case.
"When you're done being weird, I really need to pee"
"I saw a spider"
"Oh. I can hold it" She joined her sister in hiding behind the door, waiting patiently for all of three seconds, "well, aren't you going to smush it?"
"Why would I?"
"You're the oldest"
"That doesn't mean I should smush it. Spiders eat all the nasty things that bite, although terrifying they are our friends"
"You're just saying what dad does"
"Well, he's right"
"Well, I still want it dead"
"Well, I want never gets"
"Well, I'm telling mom you put it there on purpose to scare me"
"Well... Alright fine. I'll take it outside."
"That isn't smushed"
"Learn to compromise" Penny stated with a sigh, beginning her search for the imaginary spider. "Uh-oh"
"Uh-oh? What's with the uh-oh?"
"I can't find it. Must have got away whilst we were arguing"
"What?" Macy whined "I can't be in the same room as that thing"
Penny shrugged "then I guess you're gonna be waiting a long time. Don't think of a dripping tap"
Stamping her foot, Macy barged past her sister with a long suffering growl "you're the worst" slamming the bathroom door behind her.
Waiting until she was safe in her room, and out of earshot Penny slumped onto her bed letting out an unladylike snort. Placing her hand over her eyes she forced her muscles to relax, breathing deeply as she let her mind wander, slowly becoming silent, and for the briefest of moments, all was right in the world.
[New skill[[Meditation][LV1]
"Oh, fuck you"
"You said a bad word" drifted in a muffled voice.
"Shut up. Or the spiders going in your bed"
"Mom!"
"Mom isn't even here, she had to work early" Pinching the bridge of the bridge of her nose tightly as Macy's footsteps thundered down the hall, the house becoming silent save for ticking from the ugly cuckoo clock. It had been passed onto them by a distant relative who didn't want it.
I understand dad's a hoarder who can't throw anything away, but did he really have to put it up right outside my room?
As the tension in her body began to relax, she listened beyond its metronome, picking up on the tapping of mobile buttons followed by a dial tone "Wait, Macy, are you actually calling mom?" She huffed to herself silently, unable to find her previous peace of mind "Unbelievable"
Miffed, Penny swung her Legs over the purple duvet, leaning over the bedside to grab her makeup box that resided under it. Placing it next to her and pulling out a mirror.
[LV1][N/A]
She hummed, tilting her head and bobbing it like an owl as the line of text followed her about. There hasn't been recorded gamer for over two centuries I probably shouldn't mention this... Ever. Putting the box away she flopped back down with a sigh. Some of the people from those stories are ridiculous. If I'm truly a gamer I need to be careful, probably end up as some sort of military experiment otherwise. No fancy magic bulshit.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"Please don't be a hallucination"
Making her way to the bathroom, since it was the only room in the house with an inside lock, penny bolted the door and began running the shower. She didn't climb in, instead leaning on the rim of the porcelain sink, staring at her reflection, or rather the text above it while she whispered a series of commands.
"Inventory? Options? Menu? Status?"
Name: Penny connells
Title: None
Level 10/100
HP: 23/25
MP: 25/25
VIT: 5
STR: 5
DEX: 5
PER: 5
INT: 5
WIS: 5
CHA: 5
LUK: 5
Unspent Points: 0
Status effects: N/A
"Skills?"
[Meditation][LV1][Restores 5% of MP per minute][Requires to be still and focused]
"Is that seriously it...?" She whisper yelled "That's bullshit, so stingy"
Macy banged on the door, a whiny edge in her tone as she fought to be heard over the running water "Mom wants to talk with you"
Quickly stripping to dodge a bullet Penny clambered into the tub, closing the shower curtain with a plethora of noise. "I'm in the shower!"
Determined to use up all the hot water, and ignoring her sisters demands, Penny waited a solid ten minutes under the water, until a thick steam clouded the room before lathering her hair with apple scented shampoo. The slight pain that came with being a little too forceful on her scalp was comforting. The mutterings about "pain in the ass siblings" although drowned out by the shower, were cathartic.
Waiting until long after she could no longer hear Macy, she finally stepped out, towel drying her hair, only to stop stock still when another message popped into her vision.
[New skill][Hygiene LV1]
Scrutinizing the pop up in her mind's eye brought up more information.
[5% increase speed to self hygiene]
The frown didn't leave her face even as the text faded from her vision, and she returned to roughly drying her hair. "Looks like we're starting with the absolute basics then" wrapping it up in a towel turbine before returning to her room, getting dressed in her usual house attire. An oversized shirt and leggings in earthy colours. Double looping her hair in a band, she grinned to herself as a jittery anticipation settled in her stomach. Bolting down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Quickly washing her hands, Penny bounced on her toes as she looked into the fridge, pulling out draws rapidly. Her grin starting to slip as she landed on the balls of her feet with a sigh. Her father was on another one of his health kicks. "Chicken salad it is then?"
Grabbing a bit of everything and placing it on the counter with more force than necessary, she retrieved all the needed tools, organising them in a way that made sense in her head, before she began hacking away at the chicken breast.
[New tab unlocked][Crafting][New crafting skill][Cooking: Food preparation LV1][5% increased accuracy while preparing food]
She jumped, an odd pressure in her head as if someone had just poked it, taking her off guard. She rubbed at the spot, stepping back to stare at her knife and then the cutting board. "It suddenly occurred to me I should be using a plastic, not wooden chopping board for meat"
Transfering the chicken onto said plastic board she left the wooden one to soak in hot water and washing up liquid, then continued her task. Cooking, once a loathsome chore, especially when she didn't like what she was making, was suddenly all she could think about.
So she chopped, enough for herself, Macy, her parents and then some. Heating up the wok and putting in more oil than was probably necessary. Scraping the chicken in she gave it a quick stir.
[New crafting skill][Cooking: Stir frying LV1][5% improve taste]
Before turning to the sink with a groan that quickly grew contemplating.
[New crafting skill] [Dovetailing LV1][5% better time management]
[New skill][Cleaning: Washing up][5% increased speed]
"How am I going to keep track of everything?" Biting her lip Penny kept her eyes on the washing bowl, refusing to acknowledge anything but the task that was currently on hand.
Returning to the chicken to keep it even, removing the plastic coating on the salad items, before she began chopping, throwing chunks of cucumber, lettuce and tomatoes into the largest bowl they owned. Halfway through with her last item,
[Skill up][Cooking: Food preparation Lv2][10% increased accuracy while prepairing food]
Penny sighed heavily, face palming and hitting nearly herself with the knife. "I should have rinsed it first. Shit. Too late now"
Returning to the chicken, stirring it a little before spearing one of the larger chunks, looking for anything pink. Once satisfied she at least wasn't going to make anyone sick she transferred it to tupperware, allowing it to cool.
[Skill up][Cooking: Stir frying Lv2][10% improved taste]
"Why didn't I flavour this? There's garlic right there" scowling as she busied herself with cleaning up. At least in this task she wasn't making any silly mistakes.
[Skill up][Cleaning: Washing up Lv2][ 10% increased speed]
"Wait, stacking everything like that causes water marks."
Five minutes later found her sitting at the kitchen table, drawing circles into the wooden surface with her index finger. Sipping a cup of tea. Trying to figure out why everything had gone so wrong.
The cuckoo clock chimed mid day, causing Penny to grit her teeth and prompting Macy to trot into the kitchen for lunch. Deciding food was more important than her ire for her sister, Macy scanned the fridge in a similar fashion to what Penny had early. Deflating, she shut the door and noticed the countertop.
"Can I have some of this?"
"Knock yourself out"
Plating herself some salad she sat opposite to Penny before taking a hesitant bite. "Hu."
"Hu?" Her eyes previous glued to the table now scrutinizing Macy's expression.
"This isn't actually that bad, way better than your last try"
Biting the inside of her cheek, Penny searched for any signs of mocking before finally slipping a smile, "thanks" tension falling from her shoulders as she stood up from the chair, it's legs screeching unpleasantly against the tiles.
Finally mixing in the cooled chicken, spearing a bite from the bowl. she's right it's better.
[New crafting recipe unlocked] [Chicken salad][Recipe complete][Quality:Poor][Made by: Penny Connells]
Just how bad was I before? "you want any more of this before I put it away?"
"I'm good"
Slowly Penny got to work, pacing herself so that by the time she had finished cling filming her work and clearing the countertop Macy would be finished so she could wash the plate.
[Skill up][Dovetailing Lv2][10% better time management]
"I might do this more often. I want to get good at it"
[New tab: Missions unlocked][New Mission: Get Good][Get any cooking skill to Lv10][Reward: 50xp][Failure: None]
Macy, oblivious to the message merely nodded her head before heading back upstairs "sounds like a plan" Pausing halfway up to shout down "before I forget, mom told me to ask you to help out at the cafe. Joe called in sick and she's getting swamped"