Sorry for not posting sooner, my time just went all to other stuff today. My FAFSA at the college I've applied to ended up having a problem, which took a few hours to straighten out. Good news on that front. Also, more words of wisdom today.
When you're dealing with my girl, What and Why are kinda pointless to ask. As in,
What are you doing? - me
Making cookies. - her
Why are you making cookies at 2 in the morning? - me
Because you farted. - her
Long story short, you get perfectly legitimate reasons, that still leave you confused.
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After obtaining Life Burn, I stumbled to a stop, managing to keep my feet this time.
"I got a new skill!" I cheered.
"Ooh, what cha get, what cha get?" -Dad
"It's called Life Burn, it lets me trade some Health for more Stamina."
"Excellent, that will make this easier. You should use Life Burn as we're running, it'll hurt like hell, but the pain will increase your Endurance, which will increase your Health. In addition, being able to run further will make your Stamina go up."
I nodded. "It won't let me die, will it?"
He shook his head. "Nah, most skills have limiters. Unless the window SAYS it will let you die, you should be fine."
Well, that makes sense.
We set off again, after my life refilled. At the five minute mark, my Stamina ran out, so I shouted, "Life Burn!"
This skill REALLY REALLY SUCKS!
I could literally FEEL my blood burning, like someone had picked me up and threw me in a huge boiling pot.
"ARRRGGHHHH!!" The pain was so intense I lost my steady pace, and just started sprinting, like someone who doesn't know about Stop Drop and Roll.
I kept running till I ran out of Stamina, screaming the whole way. If I hadn't had sweat dripping from every pore of my body, no doubt I would have seen flocks of birds rising from the trees around me. Finally, I stopped, and dropped. This time on my rear end, rather than my face. In the words of a certain blue immortal lamp dweller, HE CAN BE TAUGHT!
*Ding!* *Dong!*
Skill Generated!
Running: Gained by running!
Increases speed while running by 2.5%
Beginner Level 1
+ 1 Endurance
+ 1 Stamina
+ 1 Agility
Panting, I wiped my forehead. God, that hurt. These rewards though! How sweet victory is.
Dad quickly caught up, he had maintained his steady pace.
"Feeling froggy are we? Let's up the pace from now on then!" With a cheerful grin.
I shuddered. We're going to keep going?
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We ended up turning around about 2 hours into the jog, for a total of 4 hours of running. I kept using Life Burn, and managed to gain a few more points each in Stamina, Endurance, and Agility. Every time I gained a stat, Dad seemed to know, and upped the pace. It was miraculous how the minute your Stamina was full, you weren't even slightly winded.
These were my stats, at the end of training.
Status WindowNameDuoreyTitleAccidental ApocalyptorHealth60Mana100Level1Health Regen/Sec0.1Mana Regen/Sec1.0Strength1 (+4)Agility5Wisdom10Intelligence10Endurance6Stamina5 (+4)Dexterity1 (+4)Luck-8
Look at the gains! My Health has increased sixfold! I can sprint for 9 minutes now! I'm faster than a speeding handicapped shopping cart! Okay so the last one isn't that impressive. What do you want from me?
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Dad, rather than being displeased with my low starting stats, was happy with the speed of my improvement.
"At this rate we'll have you swinging a sword in no time!"
I had high hopes for my magical capabilities, but I kept those to myself. He was was too happy at the thought of me apparently following in his foot steps.
Mom was waiting at the gates for us, tapping her foot impatiently. She was resplendent in an aquamarine gown, low cut, with matching moccasins. Her blonde, slightly wavy hair caught in a passing gust. I looked to my side. Seriously, my mom had bad taste. I was feeling a little like I was what popped out when Beauty met Beast.
"Welcome back Honey!" Mom threw herself into Dad's arms, somehow managing to pat me on the head while hugging him. Ugh, seriously, is your nose broken? Even I can smell wet dog.
We all went inside, deciding to break the day in half with lunch as the divider. My sister was inside, cleaning around the house. I guess she's a bit of a late sleeper?
"Eep!" Sis looked at me, and then blushed and hid behind a sofa. "Wh-who is this?!" She said, peeping around the edge.
"This is your brother?" Dad said, questioningly.
"WHAT! What happened to my cute little brother! Give him back to me!!" She immediately discarded her shyness, rushed at me, and started pounding on my chest with both of her hands.
I did my best to fend off her fists, but her hands blew mine to the side. Curse you low Strength! Luckily, my Endurance had increased, or she probably would have one shot me.
Mom eventually stepped in, before I died. "Darling, you know what happens with Wisdom, right? He hasn't had a chance to adjust his Settings yet, so it really was unavoidable. I forgot myself, yesterday, or I would have told him. He's still younger than you, so let it go. I'm just as sad we missed the cute Duorey myself." Mom truly did look sad, a slight glimmer of tears in her eyes.
I felt a little bad, but not particularly guilty. Being that small had serious disadvantages. Like incontinence. Oh, and meal times. I can honestly say that I won't be missing that. I could feel the revulsion at the thought. I guess it's a genetic thing?
Sis finally calmed down, and we all sat down to eat. For lunch, we had triple-decker reuben sandwiches, with a side of tomato soup. The meat was tender, piping hot, and when you bit into it, would dribble grease down your chin. The bread toasted in a pan, with a slight amount of the oil from breakfast. The sauerkraut was a perfect mix of sweet and sour, and was in big chunks that would break with an audible *crunch* between your teeth. I can't comment on the dressing's ingredients, because honestly I've never know what it is, but it blended the whole meal together perfectly. The tomato soup was thick, and hearty, served in a medium clay bowl, with a sprig of basil on top. Truly divine. At that moment, I decided in my heart that I would do my absolute best to keep from blowing this planet up too.
Sister cleared away the dishes when we were all finished, and Mom beckoned to me. I followed her outside, and we set off down the same path Dad and I had trod earlier. This time I managed to take a look around. It was a beaten dirt path, with long, waving fields of tan grass standing up to waist height surrounding. Not too far through the fields of grass, I could see a forest, trees standing tall, in attendance. The sun shone beautifully, casting everything in it's yellow light. This world had ambiance to the teeth.
After about five minutes of walking, another dirt path tied into the one leading to our house. We traveled down it for a few minutes, and arrived at a large clearing.
"Are you ready to learn about magic, son?" Mom smiled beautifully.
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Narrowly aborted attempts to reunite with the Goddess: 2
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I read all the comments. I really mean that. If you comment, I WILL read it. It really means a lot to me when you guys comment, and thank me. I get a huge, creepy smile on my face and everyone looks at me funny. Some of you even went as far as to leave a review on the main page, and that's awesome. Share the wealth guys. I'm writing this because I'm enjoying the story, as much as you're enjoying reading it. Seriously. I don't know what I'm writing half the time, it just ends up on (virtual) paper.
Oh, and I'm not worthy of -sama, I'd be just as happy with -san, if you feel the need for respect.