Teleporting had so many drawbacks that I’d almost preferred the coaches. Almost. First, you are out cold for a few hours after the teleport, which made me far too vulnerable for my liking. The second was that it left a bad taste in your mouth. Not metaphorically. It was like I’d swallowed two cloves of garlic and then had my mouth stuffed with a boy’s dirty gym sock for the time I was unconscious. I was pretty sure that a small dog might have urinated on that imaginary gym sock too. The last downside of quick travel was that you appeared in your new location completely naked. I looked around for a Ferengi, but I didn’t see one.

I woke in a cell. It was a cross between a very cheap dorm room and a dirty dog kennel, in that it smelled like the dog kennel even though it looked like a dorm room. If I wanted to be fair, it was really much more like a cheap motel room. I wasn’t in the mood to be fair, especially after finding myself naked and hung over. I’d liked that outfit. I dug around in my inventory, trying not to pull very much out of it in case they got the brilliant idea of getting me to empty my “pockets.”

Perception +1

There was a cot in the corner, a small table next to it, and an outhouse-style elimination station. There wasn’t any running water, but there was a small basin with a pitcher beside it. I did have to go badly enough that I used that excuse for a toilet, quickly, even as I pulled on a simple peasant outfit. I didn’t want to look powerful yet. I wanted to look pitiful and helpless.

I almost cast a clean spell at the whole place but reconsidered. Whatever spell I cast now would be written in my spell book, which would be used to bind my powers. They’d done this part before which is why I’d been so persistent about learning how to make my own magic. I tried to think about what I could live without, and my clean and repair spells were things I wasn’t giving up. I washed my hands in the basin, using the water from the pitcher. It wasn’t my level of sanitary, but it would have to do until I could get past the trial.

Will +1

Constitution +1

To be honest, there wasn’t a single spell that I wanted to give up, but I had very little time to put something in the spell book. I needed to put at least three spells in there. At least, that was what I figured. Three spells that would let them think I’d learned magic in another realm, but that it wasn’t strong magic. I’d gone in powerful last time and they’d responded by brutally locking away every spell in my book. They weren’t as smart as I made them out to be, but I played the game like they were. I quickly cast the smallest version of heal I had, followed by the smallest version of my buff. Thinking that they wouldn’t believe I was just a support class, I reluctantly cast Spark.

I told myself that I’d get them back. I had scrolls for the spells deep in my inventory. I knew Spark on an atomic level. If all else failed, Dom could teach them to me again. I can see you getting annoyed that I didn’t put my clean or mend spell in there instead. Thing is, I needed Bleach more than I needed Fireball. And mend? I was going to be doing some serious breaking and entering and mend could hide anything I broke. It was time to go from powerhouse to the subtle game. UNLV had power and rules. I needed stealth and a way to undermine those rules.

Intelligence +1

I’d been planning in my mind since Dom had chosen his class. I just hadn’t dared to think about it. If they were going to brand me as a criminal, figuratively speaking, then I would embrace the label. I’d reached the Capital by my own volition before, but I’d ended up in this cell within a day of arriving in the Capital.

I dried my hands on my skirt, thinking that if this worked, I’d clean it later. Officious things are never quick, but I’d gotten what I needed done, so I sat on that cot and waited. I pulled out one of Fizzbarren’s books, and finally had the time to read one of them. Could I have Fireballed my way out of this place and burned it half down before they caught me? Yep. Been there, done that. However, it wouldn’t work in my favor.

By the time I heard a key rattle in the door, I had a headache from reading Fizzbarren’s work. It was the story of a country mouse that swapped houses with a city mouse. The city mouse retired happily, while the country mouse was run over by a bus. I was more than happy to put the book down and face the person entering my little room.

Will +1

“I see you are awake,” the gruff man barely looked at me. I was used that here. It wasn’t that they were afraid to look at me, though they should be, it was that they considered me one of their pathetic little sheep. “Good.”

Fillibuster Burnt – Level 30 (Health 1920/1920) (Mana 3480/3480)

Identify +1

Exp +10 (1,330/788,209)

“It isn’t polite to identify people without their consent,” he waggled a gnarled finger at me. Fillibuster was tall, but lanky, his hair short and balding. “This is why you need to be licensed. Your gauche behavior sullies the reputation of mages everywhere.”

Perception +1

“Feel free to identify me,” I shrugged. “I’ve nothing to hide.” Flanking the most officious ass of the whole college were two flunkies that I didn’t bother to identify.

Charm +1

“You’ll be assessed in good time,” he brushed off my invitation like it was of no matter and to him I was indeed a bug, filth that may or may not bring in enough money to pay for his lavish house near the palace. “You’ve been brought to the Capital for assessment and judgment. I’m taking you to your assessment procedure.”

“Do I get an advocate?” I knew the answer, but I wanted him to have to say the answer out loud.

Charm +1

“This is not an official investigation,” he frowned at me with a miniscule curl of his thin lips. “If it was an official investigation of your behavior, we would be having a very different discussion. You would do well to allow this to remain informal.”

“I’ve been kidnapped, detained, and am now accused of something that requires assessment, and I don’t get an advocate?” I lowered my eyes to maybe hide my anger. It still burned. “Do I at least get to know the charges against me?”

“There are no official charges,” Fillibuster asserted as if he was talking to a child. I suppose I looked like one, but it grated on my nerves. “We are assessing your magical ability and whether to bind you, for your own good, or admit you to the Universal Neophyte Leveling Venue. If you are good, you could become a student of magic here.”

“And if I’m bad?” my temper slipped out. I truly hated this man. I’d spent three years at his mercy and his incredible ability to turn outrageous accusations into language that made it seem like I was being a petty child no matter how I said things.

Will +1

“There’s no need to blow things out of proportion,” Fillibuster turned bland eyes to me. “Consider this an entrance exam to a prestigious school.” There hadn’t been colleges here before Fizzbarren had come up with the ingenious idea to make the school itself my nemesis. I hated my old college from home. I’d hated this man most. And it was the official from my old college back in my old world. It was the very same man, only somehow Fizzbarren had given him the memories of having always been here. The college and all the faculty and staff were brought from home and had memories that solidly remembered this Universal Neophyte Leveling Venue as having been here for hundreds of years.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“That would be great, if I’d been given a choice to apply, instead of being kidnapped, jailed, and soon to be judged.” I put down Fizzbarren’s book, and contrary to my words, meekly made to follow the detestable ass to my trial. Nothing I said would penetrate this man’s officious superiority.

Charm +1

Will +1

“I fail to see how you’ve been harmed in this process,” Fillibuster put a hand on my arm, and I barely resisted slapping it away.

“I’d rather not be touched,” I told him, looking past permanently raised eyebrows and down into eyes that oozed disgust even as he said nice words. It made me want to throw up. “Do I still have the right to that?”

Will +1

“Of course,” he drew his hand back, a small smile on his face. There is nothing worse in any world than people who claim to be helping or protecting the innocent as they subdue them with mental self-doubt. It’s that superior attitude that those in power slip on like a pair of shiny shoes. It’s that thing that makes a normal, rational person feel small, worthless, and worse, helpless. It’s a subtle part of my old world that breaks the lower class down so that they don’t dare to ascend in societal ranks. No matter what I did or didn’t do, this man was dead set on vilifying me. He wasn’t the only one, but he was the worst of them.

Will +1

“I’ll take you to the assessment chamber,” he led, unconcerned that I might attack him from behind. I followed, calculating how many Fireballs it would take to leave him a smoldering pile of ashes that clean would then irradicate beyond their priests abilities to resurrect them. It would take exactly 48 Fireballs. Exactly 43 percent of my mana.

Intelligence +1

I should say that I’m normally a pretty laid back person. I let anger flow off me, and I try not to hold grudges. It’s just that Kat and I had both been battling mental and physical disabilities. It took every ounce of our energy to get the grades we did; grades that got us accepted into medical school. When we asked for accommodations, the college had grudgingly and barely put things in place that didn’t really help, and if we complained or asked for more, we were slapped with Code of Conduct violation warnings from this man.

Do you want to know what a Code of Conduct violation can do? It can take a student with a 4.0 gpa and expel them from the college. It can also just be filed away in some drawer. The process is that you get a letter in your email that states that clearly and then you wait to see what one man decides to do with that complaint. If they decide you are not properly subservient, they send you to a trial like the one I was walking toward right now. A student who is kissing up to the legal department, a faculty member, and a Code of Conduct official then judge your actions and determine your punishment. A student is not allowed an advocate, attorney, or even help. They can have a silent witness at their side, but that person cannot interfere in the process.

I walked into a little room and was pressed into a chair by Fillibuster’s hand on my shoulder. It was his way of saying that he would not be told what to do. I looked down at his hand on my shoulder and then back at him with hooded eyes. He left his hand there just a moment too long. It sounds innocent enough, or like this slight power play, but it isn’t. If anyone ever does this to you, run away. Or, if you find someone like that in this fantasy world, kill them. That’s what I was going to do. For touching me when I said not to? Yep.

Will +1

The room consisted of a raised dais upon which sat a long wooden table and three comfortable chairs. On my side of the room was a single wooden chair with splinters that made me ache to repair it. Watch for this little crap. This is how they get you. It isn’t one big thing, it’s a bunch of little slights. It’s how they wear down your ego and crush you.

Intelligence +1

Will +1

Fillibuster left his flunkies standing at the exit behind me and seated himself on one the chairs at the raised table in front of me. He didn’t look at me. He fluttered through a batch of paperwork. This wait was the next little thing that was designed to make you feel insignificant. I defied that by using my woodworking skill on the chair to get out that splinter. I pulled out a fine file and started to work.

Woodworking +1

Exp +10 (1,340/788,209)

“Stop that,” Fillibuster called out from behind his papers.

“The chair is broken and should be fixed,” I said simply. Yes, I knew I was being a punk, but I did it anyway. “I have woodworking tools and the skill and time to fix it while I wait for your fellows. Why shouldn’t I fix something that’s broken?”

“If you need a more comfortable chair, one can be brought for you,” Fillibuster waved at one of his flunkies. “Now sit and show a bit of composure.”

I returned my file to a pocket in my dress but sat in a seat that now had no splinters. After several minutes, the flunky returned with another chair in worse condition than the one beneath me. The flunky set the chair beside me. Without rising, I took out my file and began to work on the new chair.

Woodworking +1

Exp +10 (1,350/788,209)

“What are you doing now?” Fillibuster ruffled more important papers.

“Fixing this chair as well,” I frowned, my eyebrows low but my eyes feigning confusion. “It would seem that your illustrious college has trouble with woodworking maintenance. I’m happy to help.”

Charm +1

Skill Learned: Subtlety

Exp +20 (1,370/788,209)

This is the subtle game. They are better at it than I am at this point in the story, but that’s only because they have the power and I do not. Pop some popcorn and sit back to enjoy this show. I know someone’s done this to you. It’s rampant in your world. No one had the power to stop people like this. Hell, half the time you can’t even explain how wrong it all makes you feel. You just know somewhere in your soul that these people are an insidious evil.

I know, reader, that we haven’t talked in a while. Not since my husband came into my world. It isn’t that I’m not still in awe of the fact that you turn another page every day. I am. I need you, and you know that now. You don’t know why yet, but that’s part of the fun, right? But it’s more than that. You live in a world where power flows between people you don’t even have access to most of the time. I’m not supposed to put that in here, but I just feel like you’re more than the typical reader. You can handle it. This little break into truth.

With your help, we’re going to win. We have to. You’re going to win so that you can get to a place where crap like this doesn’t happen, or at least if it does happen, it is defeated. As you read, you’ll see that we can win, not only here, but out there in your world, if that’s where you want to use it. It’s just that I didn’t want you to think less of me for the anger I have at these people. When it’s all over, I’ll put that whole disgusting college right back where Fizzbarren took it from, hopefully with the memory of a lesson in humanity. But here, in this world, I’m going to ruthlessly tear it apart by making them look at their hypocrisy, like rubbing dogs’ noses in poop on the carpet. This is the subtle game, and the worst thing I can do to another soul in any world is turn their hypocrisy like a mirror into their own faces. Most people turn away from my kind of honesty, but not you. You’re going to turn that page. Not because I told you that you were, but because you get it.

“We have people who repair things,” Fillibuster sneered at me through a smile. It was an eerie look to see on the stark lines of his lean face.

“They are obviously overworked to not have gotten to these poor chairs,” I argued, a tiny flit of light in my eyes as I noticed Fillibuster finally fidget in his chair. It was the only victory that was worth it at this stage of the game.

Perception +1

Subtlety +1

Exp +10 (1,380/788,209)

“Take those out of here and to whomever repairs them,” Fillibuster ordered his flunkies. “And take that file from her.”

“So now you’re stealing my things,” I got up from the chair that one of the flunkies was lifting. “On top of kidnapping, detainment, and harassment, we can add stealing to the charges against you, and yet I’m the one on trial.”

Charm +1

Subtlety +1

Exp +10 (1,390/788,209)

Name: Karma

Class: Mage-ish

Level: 20 (1,390/788,209)

Profession: Cook (Level 8: 3,330/6,075), Teacher (Level 7: 350/4,050), Alchemist (Level 6: 500/2,700), Blacksmith (Level 6: 350/2,700), Carpenter (Level 6: 220/2,700), Leatherworker (Level 6: 100/2,700), Mercenary (Level 6: 100/2,700), Merchant (Level 5: 800/1,800), Storyteller (Level 5: 200/1,800), Maid (Level 4: 450/1,200), Seamstress (Level 4: 300/1,200), Singer (Level 4: 240/1,200), Tanner (Level 4: 200/1,200), Bartender (Level 3: 350/800), Stablehand (Level 3: 200/800), Waitress (Level 3: 100/800), Woodsman (Level 3: 20/800), Butcher (Level 2: 20/500), Dancer (Level 1: 50/300)

Health: 18,762/18,762

Mana: 18,868/18,868

Intelligence: 90

Will: 88

Strength: 87

Constitution: 90

Charm: 85

Beauty: 14

Perception: 97

Dexterity: 99

Luck: 87

Skills: Identify (90), Dodge (83), Knife Fighting (83), Blacksmithing (70), Duel Wielding (66), Cooking (65), Grapple (62), Piercing (61), Disarm (50), Meditation (50), Multiple Foe Combat (50), Leatherworking (47), Flirting (45), Kick (43), Sneak (42), Bartering (40), Woodworking (40), Mana Manipulation (35), Barricade (32), Poison Resistance (32), Storytelling (32), Alcohol Tolerance (28), Backstab (26), Bashing (26), Intimidation (26), Hide (26), Slashing (26), Sewing (25), Singing (25), Teaching (25), Unarmed Combat (25), Comedy (21), Dancing (20), Duel Spell Wielding (20), Manic Charge (13), Swordplay (11), Tanning (7), Skinning (6), Mana Infusion (5), Disarm Traps (3), Milking (3), Subtlety (3),

Spells: Summon Familiar (49)