Aida made her way back to her room without incident. Plopping onto her bed, she contemplated her path forward.
She had a year to try to bring up Aida’s skills to something respectable enough for her to actually be able to get a job. The unfortunate reality was that since Aida had already cemented her reputation as the bottom of the class, she would be fighting an uphill battle - instead of merely acquiring the skills, she had to prove to others that her skills weren’t a fluke.
With the time limit, that sounded like an insurmountable ordeal.
Was there a way she could go back to her world? This life was putting Annie right back at the beginning of her real-life struggles, and she was only willing to restart her life if she could correct her mistakes…
Annie paused. She might be a complete novice when it came to actually wielding magic, but human psychology and behaviors were all the same - and thanks to her two front-facing jobs, she had the luxury of observing how people acted towards others they perceived as less-than, in both (relatively) more sophisticated and primal environments. After having lived several years longer than the rest of her peers, Annie was confident she understood politics and social structures a lot more than the rest of the students - and while merit was based on magical ability, which she didn’t have (yet), she could likely leverage her efforts into what really made the world turn: connections.
Cheered by having a plan forward, Aida sat up on her bed, and inadvertently activated all the notifications she had been ignoring in the courtyard.
Character Profile: Aida Loreh
Elemental Affinity: Water
Class Rank: 30/30
RP: 5
Congratulations! You have learned Mana Cycling (Lv1). +5 RP
Congratulations! You have enough RP to learn a new Skill. Please select from the following:
1. Water Blast (Lv1) - Costs 5 RP to learn.
2. Heal (Lv1) - Costs 5 RP to learn.
Pleased by the second notification box, Aida selected the Water Blast skill to read its description. Utilizing Water Manipulation and Mana Blast, you can now shoot a watery projectile at an opponent. Aida tapped her lip. It sounded like a basic elemental attack, which could be useful in fending off Pritchard & Co if they ever came for her again. Heal, the second skill offered, might not be very useful in protecting herself. However…
Heal (Lv1): Utilizing Water Manipulation and Mana Cycling, you can now assist the body with minor recovery. 50% more effective on self than others.
Aida sat back. What she learned in the real world was that if a fight were ever to occur, the best self-defense move is always to run, especially if your opponent is stronger than you. Thanks to the Character Attribute charts, Aida knew she was definitely on the bottom of the totem pole—so even if she learned Water Blast, it very well might only be as effective as squirting someone with a spray bottle. If she took Heal, on the other hand, she might be able to sustain herself for long enough to make it to safety.
Aida resolutely selected Heal. Tiny fireworks appeared on the edges of Aida’s vision, bringing a small smile to her face. Even if she was going to be screwed in this world, at least there were cute effects celebrating her miniscule milestones.
As an experiment, Aida focused on her legs, which had grown steadily more purple. Heal? A small voice in the back of her mind bubbled up. At Aida’s acquiescence, she felt her mana—initially circulating in her system languidly—begin to speed up, and within seconds she saw her skin lighten back to its original color. Her mana stopped circulating, returning to its placid rate.
Cautiously, Aida stood on her feet, feeling the muscles flex as it accepted her weight. There was no pain or soreness—Aida did a couple jumping jacks, with no further pain. Grinning, Aida moved on to the next phase of her experiment: burpees. She had read somewhere that burpees were the best exercise if you were short on time and equipment, so she tended to rely on burpees back in her real life as her main form of exercise.
After just a few burpees, Aida was breathing hard, a testament to how weak her body was. She pushed through the pain in her lungs and heaviness in her limbs until she managed to complete ten burpees, then rolled onto her back, panting. She could barely lift her arms, and her core was burning.
Heal? Aida closed her eyes, breathing deeply and feeling her mana begin circulating in her body again. After a few moments, she sat back up, marveling at how completely refreshed she felt. She toggled on the notifications that were blinking in the background. There wasn’t anything visually informing her they were blinking, but the more time she spent observing her body and surroundings, the more obvious it was that there was an entire system working in the background to try to offer up pieces of information to her.
You used Heal (Lv1) on self. You have repaired minor damage. You have earned 10 EXP in Heal (Lv1). You need 90 more EXP to reach the next level.
You have completed one set of ten burpees.
You have earned 20 EXP in STR. You need 80 more EXP to reach the next level.
You have earned 20 EXP in VIT. You need 80 more EXP to reach the next level.
You used Heal (Lv1) on self. You have repaired minor sustained damage. You have earned 10 EXP in Heal (Lv1). You need 80 more EXP to reach the next level.
Aida felt a genuine smile spread across her face. She had a chance—she could improve her stats, and she could learn new magical abilities. She wouldn’t be trapped with stats that made it so even she couldn’t take herself seriously. She might not be able to catch up to Sue or the male leads by the time graduation rolled around, but she would at least be able to cultivate skills that allowed her to survive. And, it looked like her decision to choose Heal as the first skill to learn was the right one. By healing herself whenever she got too sore she could easily gain a level for STR and VIT before the day was over—if the leveling system was like other games, Aida expected the number of experience points needed for higher skill points would begin exponentially increasing.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Another notification appeared, this time accompanied by a progress bar.
Warning: You are below 50% mana, which is influenced by your VIT stat. Increase your VIT stat to increase your mana pool size, or level up your skills to improve mana efficiency.
Well, that knocked Aida’s plan off its tracks. She should save her remaining mana for now, since she didn’t know how long it would take to regenerate. Another notification helpfully popped up.
In order to recuperate your mana, proper rest and nutrition is key. The base rate at which your mana regenerates depends on your VIT and overall health. Skills like Mana Cycling will also tonify your mana pool, and incrementally improve your mana flow and efficiency, allowing you to eke out more skills without having to expand your pool!
Aida was irrationally touched. Even if her mana pool was limited for now (what kind of a healer could only heal minor aches and pains three times a day?), with effort and practice she would be able to increase her mana pool and increase the number of skills she could use in a day.
Aida was interrupted by a hesitant knock, followed by a muffled call. Startled, Aida glanced out the window, noticing that the sun was now high in the sky. Apparently, Aida’s sulking and subsequent experiments had taken up the rest of the morning.
Opening the door, Aida was greeted by Sue, who was holding a tray of food in her hands, followed by Levi, who was balancing two trays in his much larger hands. Sue gave Aida a tentative smile.
“We brought you lunch.”
Stepping back to let the two into her room, Aida felt her insides twist. It was clearly lunch break, so there wasn’t a convenient excuse to cut the conversation short if it started straying into dangerous territories.
“Since you seemed out of sorts today, Sue decided to bring you a menu of all your favorite foods, so you could choose what you would like yourself,” Levi said courteously, laying the trays on the ground. Sue joined him. They were clearly planning on picnicking in her room.
Mindful of decorum, Aida sat demurely on the ground, smoothing her skirt over her thighs. She looked over the feast Sue and Levi brought.
Notification boxes hovered over all the food items, providing the explanations she would have sorely appreciated during breakfast.
A small dish of curry was labeled as Flamin' Hot Curry. A short blurb described it as helpful for replenishing one’s pool of Fire.
Another dish containing a variety of stir-fried mushrooms was labeled Mushless Mushroom Mash Up, great for supporting one’s Earth pool.
The third dish was Flat-Ironed Steak, and looked and smelled like grilled beef.
The fourth dish was Brinestrone, and was a hearty soup with colorful vegetables.
The last dish was Nut Mix, looking very much like roasted trail mix.
Sue handed chopsticks and a bowl of steamed rice to Aida, which was simply labeled as Steamed Rice: simple fare that increases all elements’ levels equally, albeit in small quantities.
Another box with several status bars popped up, depicting Aida’s Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood levels, along with her overall mana. Her Earth bar looked to be pitifully low, nearly empty. A small box popped up to cheerfully inform her of their purpose.
These are your elemental pools. They are your first line of defense against other elements, and will erode with time if you do not replenish them. When your elemental pools run out, you will see detrimental effects in your thinking, endurance, vitality, spirit, and overall health.
You can maintain - and increase! - healthy levels of your elemental pools by eating the appropriate foods, engaging in activities that correspond to the elements, and avoiding performing any specific activity for too long in a short period of time.
That made sense - Pritchard had used an Earth attack on her, so her Earth pool must have taken the brunt of the damage, getting nearly wiped out.
Reaching towards the spread of food on the floor, Aida selected the mushroom dish, heaping a generous serving onto her rice bowl. Her first bite - savory, with the slightest crunch on the outside of the cap, blending neatly into the steamed rice - reminded Aida that she essentially skipped breakfast.
Eating with abandon, Aida fished at the other dishes on the floor, pairing every delicacy with a bite of rice. She didn’t notice that Sue and Levi weren’t eating until a notification popped up alerting her that her elemental pools had reached a healthy level, and that continuing to eat would become detrimental and start draining her pools. Regretfully, she set her chopsticks down.
“Is something wrong?”
Sue blinked and shook her perfect head, her tresses shimmering around her, smiling. “Oh no, I’ve just never seen you eat with so much enthusiasm before.” Sue took a small bite of beef, chewing carefully. “So…how are you feeling?”
“Um…much better than before,” Aida responded, picking at the grains of rice left in her bowl. “I’m sorry I ran away from you earlier. I wanted to be alone.”
“That’s okay! Our first day back has been a bit hectic…but how are you feeling about…you know?” Sue pressed, her chopsticks hovering in the air.
Aida bit her lip, trying to contain her frustration. Clearly, game-Aida was a sensitive person, with how gingerly Sue kept treating her. Annie could appreciate a friend being thoughtful, but having to guess at meanings and context was a huge mental drain. Aida tried to be direct, but still nice. “I’m sorry, can you be more specific?”
“Well…” Sue twirled her chopsticks in the air, then looked to Levi helplessly.
“Given your history with Pritchard, we were worried that today’s incident may have unsettled you,” Levi supplied delicately.
Aida pursed her lips. She didn’t want to make assumptions, but based on their attitudes and Pritchard’s response to her taunt, she could imagine the kind of history they were implying.
“It doesn’t matter. Pritchard’s behavior is a sign of immaturity, and no one needs that kind of pestering in their lives.”
Sue’s eyes widened. “But Aida! You even kissed!”