Jin, page 15

At home – Earth

Jin felt at ease. His parents were making his favorite, hotdog spaghetti noodle dish. Although you could say he was picky about his meals. Hotdog spaghetti noodle dish however, he was a gourmet when it came to these things. A little too much ketchup and he would deny it outright, too much and his mom would have hell to pay. It wasn’t easy for him, having such a lousy chef, but he would make do.

Jin loved his parents, even with these small imperfections. He liked them a lot, and not just for what they did for him. They made him feel safe and appreciated. They even made him feel like a superhero sometimes. Not because of the Wisps, as he was yet to tell them about those cool beings, as he felt they might get him in trouble. No, they would make him feel like a great explorer for something as trivial as finding a worm outdoors. They made him feel like Picasso, for drawing some lines and circles on paper. Even when he fell out of a tree, they made him feel like the toughest soldier coming out of a warzone. It was amazing to be Jin, at home.

School wasn’t too great, but it wasn’t that bad either. I mean, you could say Jin wasn’t popular. He would always feel a little different than the other kids. He couldn’t describe what it was either. They didn’t make fun of him or anything, but there just wasn’t any connection between them. Jin would later find out what made him so different, after all.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Jin, page 17

Treehouse “Fort Stranger” – Earth

Jin couldn’t handle it anymore. He needed to cast his spell again. He felt alone, and he wanted to stop feeling the isolation that his peers put him through. Not that the kids at school could even be called anything other than tiny ants next to Jin, but that was beside the point.

“Summon Cool Wisp!”

The small aura of light that Jin had seen, radiating around his hands, was no small no more.

A flash as bright as the sun at noon illuminated the entire interior of his treehouse. It was as if there was a strong flashlight pointed directly into his eyes.

*ding*

Resistances Unlocked! [Tiny Light Resistance], …, [Major Light Resistance]

Major Light Resistance – Excess Light no longer reaches to harm you. No damage or stun from Light Magic and Light Mana.

Titles Unlocked!

[Light Touched] – Have a Tiny resistance to Light Magic – You have been touched by light. Consider this a major boon to your development

[Light Made] – Have a Basic resistance to Light Mana – You feel the way Light Mana touches you and you refuse to be touched by it.

[Light Pawn] – Have a Minor resistance to Light Magic – You can call upon Light Magic to leave you alone, and even move through the most suppressing waves of Light Magic.

[Light Creature] – Have a Major resistance to Light Magic and Light Mana – You are no longer under the control of The Light, as you move independent.

Unique Ability Unlocked due to Titles! [Light Calling]

Light Calling – Call upon The Light for guidance and support. Cost: 0.01 Mana | Duration: 10 seconds | Cooldown: 1 minute (Earth Time)

Jin laid on the floor of his treehouse, hands over his eyes. This was the most pain he had ever been in, and he even broke his pinky once! “This is no good...” Jin groaned. As Jin tried to gather his thoughts, he felt different. He tried to open his eyes, but there was nothing there. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t see! “I can’t see!”, Jin wailed.

What could this be? He tried to rub his eyes in a panic, but this hurt even more than the initial flash that caused him this darkness. As he writhed on the floor, he couldn’t even think straight. Jin tried to scream but he stopped himself. He knew his parents would punish him really bad for doing all these experiments and he would get grounded for who knows how long! It really is curious how young children think about punishment.

Jin needed to get himself out of this situation. But it was dark. Darker than it had ever been in his entire life. Jin couldn’t fathom how anything could be darker than his bedroom at night.

Jin came to his senses, little by little. As for the new Titles, Resistances and Ability, these effects and descriptions came to him as it always would. They instilled themselves into his soul and brain, like it was repeated to him every day since he was born. A bit like a “Goodnight” his mother said to him before putting him to bed, he did not need to think about it, he knew what it meant.

The resistances and new ability he learned were really ironic, Jin would think, if he even knew about the concept of irony. But it didn’t matter, as Jin would definitely get out of this situation with that ironic ability.

Jin thought it over and he had decided he hated the dark. He absolutely despised this murky, abyssal, void of nothingness. He wasn’t bored just yet, but he knew it wasn’t good to be in the dark. Even less all by himself.

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What do I need to get out of this pickle?

He really needed light. Light! “Light!! That is the answer!” As Jin already knew to use the new Ability bestowed on him through this accident.

“Light Calling.”, Jin said solemnly as he instinctively knew how to use the Ability. Jin knew how to use the Ability, but he did not know why or what it would cause. He just wanted anything other than darkness, because he despised this darkness. Absolutely hated it. Did he mention he didn’t like darkness?

“What do you need?” A warm soft voice, not much unlike his mothers, said.

This voice startled Jin, but the tone, together with the familiarity to his mothers, the voice put Jin at ease. Jin needed answers, so he asked.

“I don’t like this darkness, my eyes hurt, and I really hate this darkness.” Jin said sadly.

“Child, focus your concentration on your eyes, and try to see.” The voice spoke.

Jin cocked his head ever so slightly to the side and tried to understand what the voice told him.

He had already tried to see, he opened his eyes, that should be enough.

“Child, focus. Try to see, and I will assist you.” The voice spoke without judgement, as a teacher, with enough patience to last an eternity.

So Jin did just that, he tried to concentrate on seeing. Not merely opening his eyes but trying to focus, on something, just anything in the dark abyss.

As he truly focused, he began to see a tiny speck of light in the darkness.

The speck grew into pin needle width. He grew exhausted at the mere concentration he had to put towards seeing. The presence of the voice faded, and he was once more in the void, al be it with a tiny bit of light where he focused.

*ding*

Hidden Resource Pool unlocked: Focus Pool

Focus Pool 6/6 – Regen 0.01/s

Ability Unlocked through Unique Ability: [Light Calling]! [Regeneration]

Regeneration lvl 1 – Using Focus, one may very slowly regenerate any part of its being. 1 Focus/s

Jin saw this as an absolute win! He didn’t exactly know what was wrong with his vision. But surely, he could get out of this darkness. Because he really didn’t like it. Not one bit. He may even sue the darkness when he gets older.

He immediately tried to use the Ability so easily bestowed on it.

As he put all his concentration on the tiny pin needle of light in his vision, he felt it was growing ever so slightly. The more effort he put into this the faster his vision grew. Just when he could make out the wood in front of him, he suddenly felt very loopy. He nearly passed out as he tried so hard. His sudden feeling of vertigo was interrupted by a sound.

*ding*

Ability Rank Up! Resource Pool Increased! Resource Pool Regen Increased!

Due to complete mastery of [Regeneration] the Ability becomes [Basic Regeneration]!

Basic Regeneration lvl 1 – Using Focus, one may slowly regenerate any part of its being. 10 Focus/s

Resource Pool: Focus Pool 60/60 - Regen 0.1/s

The sudden increase of Focus gave Jin a massive headache. Even worse than the morning after when he drank 8 Capri-Sun on a dare. The sugar rushed keeled him over completely and he felt like complete garbage the day after. This feeling was nothing like that headache. He grasped his head and tried to calm himself down. As Jin became more calm, his headache started to ebb away. He felt a concentration unrivaled by when he was playing his favorite computer games. Even by just breathing he could feel every ounce of air going in and out of his lungs. When he was completely calm he would hear another weird sound.

*ding*

New Skill obtained! [Meditation]

Meditation lvl 1 – Doubles all Resource Regen and calms the user – requires concentration

Jin felt at ease after the sound and felt relieved that his vision was now at a level where he could perceive the wood in front of him. He was not done. He still hated every ounce of darkness and swore he would never sleep again. He also swore he was going to let his mom get him a light for his bedroom.

He used his Basic Regeneration skill, and used every little bit of Focus he had, to be able to see again. He also felt it necessary to use Meditation as it would probably help him even more. The process of expanding his vision went faster this time but as the seconds passed, he felt the same vertigo coming up and as he fell on the ground, he heard another sound.

*ding*

Ability Rank Up! Resource Pool Increased! Resource Pool Regen Increased!

Due to complete mastery of [Basic Regeneration] the Ability becomes [Advanced Regeneration]!

Advanced Regeneration lvl 1 – Using Focus, one may swiftly regenerate any part of its being. 20 Focus/s

Resource Pool: Focus Pool 600/600 - Regen 10/s

Titles Unlocked!

[Focus Trainee] – Have a Focus Pool of over 100 – You know how to concentrate like a scholar, and with this you can learn more than others in a small amount of time – Learning speed doubled

[Focus Novice] – You have a Focus Pool of over 250 – Your concentration is the envy of all your peers, you know how to think, and think fast – Learning speed tripled, mental fatigue is halved.

[Focus Apprentice] – You have a Focus Pool of over 500 – Your Focus is stronger than most, you have what many call, Perfect Concentration – Learning speed x10, mental fatigue x0.01

Skill Evolution!

[Meditation] becomes [Skilled Meditation] through Title: [Focus Novice]

Skilled Meditation lvl 1 – Triples all Resource Regen and soothes the user – requires a little concentration

Jin was a little overwhelmed by the new titles and skills but strangely, he immediately felt fine. His mind was sharper than the kitchen knives mom put high up, just so I wouldn’t play with them. He immediately put all his focus on the ability Advanced Regeneration together with Skilled Meditation activated. Not only did his eyesight come back to him in a split second, he felt all the little cuts and bruises he had from playing outside clear up. And another sound went off.

*ding*

Ability Level Up x49! Skill Level Up x49!

Advanced Regeneration lvl 50 – Using Focus, one may swiftly regenerate any part of its being. 10 Focus/s

Skilled Meditation lvl 50 – Triples all Resource Regen and soothes the user – requires a little concentration

This was great, the vertigo hadn’t come up, and he even leveled up his Ability and Skill. Whatever that meant. He could sense that he didn’t have to use as much focus as he had for Advanced Regeneration, but that was about it.

Jin thought about his skills and titles and being so deep in thought he didn’t notice he could see again. Not a little like the last times he tried, but he could truly see. At this, Jin cried. He could’ve been blind. The thought only struck him just now. He went running to his parents, crying the whole way home.