The sun had set by the time my father and I managed to scare off the wolves. He came back with a tired smile on his face. He must have gained something.
My mother kept apologizing to us. She had seen it all play out from the second floor window. I knew she would feel bad about it and would blame herself but I told her not to be too hard on herself. Times have suddenly changed and it would take a while to get used to this new way of living in the apocalypse.
After a cold meal, I told them a few more rules to follow now. No fires at night. No cooked food during evening times. Don't follow any voices if you can't see who's talking even if it sounds like someone you know. Don't share your status page with others if you don't trust them. Don't leave any bodies unburied or unburned, especially if it's a human body. If you hear tapping from a window or door, don't open it.
Everyone took it seriously. No one wanted a catastrophe to happen on their account. As it was late, everyone retired to bed early.
I went to see Lylia and asked her how she felt.
“Daddy, I feel great. You were so cool killing those nasty wolves. Will you teach me how to use that big axe? I bet if you taught me to use it I can kill those wolves too,”
“What about your bow? Don't you want to use it instead? That way you can help me from a distance,”
“Oh yea, why didn't I think of that? But I think I want to use the axe instead. Can you let me try please? Oh please??”
I smiled at her enthusiasm. “Ill let you use it if you can lift it.”
She then made a strongman pose, trying to show me her muscles, “Okay, its a deal!”
It took a while to get her to sleep. I was glad that she felt pumped up about slaying nasty beasties. I'd rather that than a scared child that was withdrawn. Once she was asleep, I casted [Greater Inspection] on her:
—
Name: Lylia Delcia
Mana core: ??
Level: 1-2
Exp: ??
Bloodline: ArchAngel
Status: Healthy…Asleep
Stats:
Strength: Normal
Dexterity: Normal
Vitality: Healthy
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Perception: Normal
Cognition: Bright
Inflection: Normal
Innate Ability: ??
Abilities: ??
Misc Abilities: Eater (Level 2), Quick Learner (Level 1),
—-
I selected the bloodline of ArchAngel and a popup appeared. It said ‘Descendants of the ArchAngel are strong in both body and mind and have talents geared towards the elements of light and fire. They have special abilities that can manifest Holy Fire. This bloodline will cause the descendant to grow in wonderful and unexpected ways’
The description sounded amazing. I tried to think if I ran into anything like this in my past life and struggled to give an example. More importantly, her attributes seem to have risen significantly. Although everything was termed as normal, which I suspect is between 3-5, this was in the body of an 8 year old. It also made me curious about her heritage. I guess I was going to leave that conversation to another day.
With the house in pitch darkness and everyone asleep, I sat in the upper floor landing and got ready to meditate. I started to draw the ambient mana in, directing them towards the golden core in my centre. Once it got going, I readily directed my attention outwards. My perception score of 6 allowed me to hear the sound of every breath my family took, it also allowed me to feel the slightest vibrations from the wooden floor. At this moment, it was all stillness.
—
Name: Thorwin Delcia
Mana core: Destiny (52%)
Level: 0
Exp: -/-
Stats:
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 6
Vitality: 4
Perception: 6
Cognition: 6
Inflection: 6
Innate Ability: Enhance (Level 2)
Abilities: Iron Will (Level 1), Marksmanship (Level 3)
Skills: Archery (Level 3), Close Weapon Mastery (Level 2), Shield Proficiency (Level 1)
Misc Abilities: Mercantilism (Level 1), Mana Manipulation (Level 1), Tracking (Level 1), Athleticism (Level 1)
Spells: Greater Inspect (Level 2)
Techniques: Yin-Yang Universal Equilibrium (45% to Level 1)
—-
Only minor changes could be seen in my window. The slight increase in [Close Weapon Mastery] increased my strength by 1. Ah well, guess it was better than nothing.
I settled in and continued filling my core with mana.
Hour after hour passed and everything was still. Occasionally the distant howl or shriek could be heard but thankfully there was nothing from the farmstead.
I would be near dawn before I felt my core become full. Alright it was time for myself to get a bloodline. Was I going to get a unique one like my daughter? How about something even more glorious?
[Destiny core at maximum capacity]
Like clockwork, I selected [Enhance] and targeted myself. Come on baby!
[Failed, Destiny core to be at two stars and Enhance to be level 4 before able to Enhance host’s body]
….
Another disappointment. Shit.
Nevermind, let's go [Enhance] my father’s body next. He was going to be the shield of this house because I knew I had to leave soon to go on short excursions either to forage or raid a dungeon. Let’s get him something good!