“The old world is said to contain many items and concepts that made mundane life bearable. The latest known ones we have are the likes of the steam engine and the discovery of gravity– some say it was an invention, gravity. A lucky few, however, have made their way into the new world. These items are known as relics and, of course, have their uses changed. Take, for example, the firearm. A common weapon used by many at the early levels. The only issue is the absurd price that doesn’t shoot up if it’s a magical item. It’s too costly for most people. But what is the firearm? What was it originally made of? Was it used for anything other than killing? The only thing we can go off of for it is the relic that made it all happen: Magnum Opus.
Even the strongest are still looking for where it ran off to.”
-A Philosopher’s Musings from Skiatali the Heretic
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I stared at the blue screens for what felt like an eternity. In reality, it was only about thirty seconds. I was in awe; flabbergasted; gobbledyshmooked, if that’s even a word. English can’t help me describe how I feel right now in terms of positivity. But for the negative, I feel… fear. I can’t take my eyes away from the words that darted into view after I grabbed the head of a once-thought fictional creature. Apparently. Eventually though I had to break away and continue like nothing happened. I put it away under the counter and sealed it into some airtight tupperware in hopes that nobody comes behind and sees the disgusting purple octopus thing. After that, I tried to get it out of my head. I leaned back into my chair, the blue screens following my vision. “Can’t these things just close already?” As though they heard me, the blue screens detailing my ‘class’ and whatnot simply vanished. It was like pushing a button. “That’s, uh, convenient. Any other things you wanna show me, blue screens?”
If the blue screens were listening, they didn’t respond.
“Well, that’s a shame,” I said to myself. I leaned forward again to the counter and took in the same sights I’ve seen everyday and hoped beyond hope that this was all just some hallucination I was having. The glance of the head through the plastic keeps me second-guessing. “Hmm…” I put my fingers to my chin in thought. If… If I’m a ‘psychokinetic,’ does that mean I can move stuff with my mind? Like in that korean Netflix movie, Psychokinesis? I had to try. I stood up with a scooch of my seat and walked into the break room. All the employees would go here if they just didn’t want to deal with whatever is going on out here or if they wanted to smoke. I was more the former. Smoking kills, after all. I grabbed a nearby pen, placed it on a communal table, and sat in a chair.
I stared daggers at the pen, expecting it to move. Of course, nothing happened. “Maybe I gotta put more… I dunno, effort into it?” With that thought in mind, I put my hands over the pen. I tensed up hard, like real hard. I shut my eyes and had only one goal in mind. “Move, pen… Move! I command you! Move! MOVE!”
Tap!
“Gah!” I stopped focusing on the pen after hearing a tap on the table. I was sweating bullets but, when I opened my eyes, I saw a duo of blue screens fill my vision.
Congratulations!
Through sheer effort and force of will, you have learned the class skill [Weak Telekinesis] at the (Basic) level!
Maybe get a tutor next time, hm?
[Weak Telekinesis], (Basic)
Using mental strength, you can lift and move small, simple objects from a distance. Without moving, you can lift objects with a weight of up to 2 grams. Using your hands, you multiply the weight you can lift by five.
The number of objects you can lift at once scales with level. Currently, at (Basic) level, you can lift 1 object.
I smiled with glee and shot out of my seat with a celebratory “Hoorah!” I laughed somewhat at my accomplishment, ignoring the snarky remark. “Now, for the real test.” I put my hands above the pen again and, with a lot less effort, I watched in splendor as the pen lifted from the table. It was like actually grabbing it, but not. As though a third hand was extending from my head and picking it up. I say it’s easier, though it is quite disorienting. I dropped the pen and sat in my seat again, my body sweaty from something so simple. Yet, it wasn’t simple– it was other-fucking-worldly because who the hell lifts things with their mind?
I grabbed an ice pack from the mini fridge. We don’t keep anything edible in there because the boss gets upset whenever somebody puts a perishable in it as though it wasn’t used for it. Instead, it just keeps the ice cold. I quickly wiped myself down a little and went back to the front counter to greet any more customers. Thankfully, there were only fifteen minutes before midnight; the time where I can finally go home. I practiced a little with my newfound telekinesis a little but found it to be tiring on the mind. I’m already tired, and don't want to put in more effort than I already have today. Maybe in the morning.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The bells over the door rung, indicating another customer has arrived. I didn’t bother looking at them as I simply continued to play on my phone. Though I did get a little nervous with how loud they stomped over–
Click!
I looked up and stared into the barrel of a handgun. “Take out all of the money in the cash register, or else!” the man said. He has a ski mask over his head and is wearing a lot of clothing. I can’t even determine his skin color. But that hardly matters because he has a gun to my forehead. My hands shot up at his words.
“Y-yes, okay, l-lemme just–” He sticks the barrel to my forehead.
“Now, I said!” I was sweating bullets again at this point. I noticed that he wasn’t alone as a second guy tagged along behind him. He doesn’t seem to have a gun. I’m sure he has a weapon stashed away behind his back or something. Regardless, I took my hands over to the cash register and opened it. Wait… Can’t I just…?
With a thought, I heard a soft click! that appears to have been out of earshot for the robber. I grabbed a good wad of cash and was about to slide it to my right hand on the counter to hand to the man. I watched his eyes as they moved from my left hand to my right. I took this as my opportunity to hoist my left leg onto the counter and slam my left fist into his face!
My action didn’t go unnoticed however as the robber looked at me, gun still on my forehead, but instead of gunfire I heard “H-huh?!”
Pow! The gun with the safety turned on flies into the air as the robber hits the ground. Using my telekinesis, it lands in my left hand as adrenaline floods into my system. I point it to the other guy as the safety clicks back off again. I noticed too late to make an attempt at evasion and had to use my right hand to–
Shikk! “FUCK!” I shouted. I was able to stop the kitchen knife of the other robber with my right hand. The pain was dull, but it still hurt. I pulled the trigger on his face as blood splattered against mine. He fell to the floor. As the first robber was about to get to his feet, I put his own gun on the back of his head and fired again. He fell back on his face with no further movement.
I breathed heavily as I sat down on the floor. I began to take in what I just did as the adrenaline started wearing off. The gun slipped from my grasp and I wiped my face with my hand, red blood from the knife-wielding robber staining my palm and fingers. Shaking, I raised my right hand and noticed the knife protruding through it, bleeding profusely.
Battle Results
Enemies killed: 2
First Time Battle Reward!
Choose a common starting weapon:
{Caster’s Focus, Wand}
{Dagger}
{Crossbow, Light}
I ignored the blue screens. Instead, I screamed at the top of my lungs in pain and in realization that I just killed two people. I was shaking with tears in my eyes. “Fuck! Fuck!” I made an effort to stand up and get back to the break room. A trail of blood was left. I was unsure who’s, but probably a mix of both. I slammed into the break room, feeling a little woozy as I opened a cupboard where we had a first aid kit. Grabbing it, I opened it up and had another stunning realization. “N-no, I… I can’t just… No, I have to remove the knife. Oh, oh god, oh please, I don’t… I don’t want to…” I flinched back when I simply did so much as poke the hilt of the weapon. “O-okay, Dennis… Just think of it as… R-ripping of a band-aid, yeah… A band-aid, that’s all it is, just a teensy, weensy, little, okay, stop fooling yourself. This… This is gonna hurt so fucking much.” I grabbed the knife with my hand and dropped another f-bomb. “Dennis… Count of three, okay? Count of three,” I told myself again. “Everything is going to be okay.”
“One…” I mumbled.
“T-two…” I tensed.
“Three!” I pulled.
I screamed again as a pool of blood began to pour out of the open wound.
Nice!
Through a will of steel, your Courage ability has gone up by 1!
“Not now, blue screen!” Quickly, I snatched some disinfectant wipes from the kit and wiped away at my wound, swearing another few times. After that, I swiped up some bandages and wrapped up my hand as well as I thought I could until it was okay. Probably.
Nice!
Through the successful bandaging of a wound, your Medicine ability has gone up by 1!
I suppose that means it worked. “Thanks, blue screen. Doesn’t stop the pain, though.” I decided against moving it for now and instead opted to call 911 on my mobile phone.
“911, what’s your emergency?” An operator picked up. She sounds a little nasally but somehow... ready?
“H-hello? Th-there’s been an attempted robbery at 1200 Walter Street, I-I’ve been stabbed through the hand, there’s blood e-everywhere–”
“Okay, we’ll send an officer and an ambulance there immediately. Can you provide any more details?”
“Y-yes, there were two men. One had a knife a-and one had a gun. H-he tried to shoot me b-but, uh, I think his gun’s safety was on. I fought back and…” Gulp. “I-I killed them with the gun…”
“Thank you for providing more details. Do know that you won’t be going to jail or anything– this was a case of self-defense. Do you have any cameras?”
“Y-yeah, there’re a few. C-can you just please get here as fast you can? I just wanna go home…”
“Yes, we’ve already sent help. It will be there shortly. It’s the convenience store, right?”
“That– that’s correct. Thank you so much, I-I don’t know what I would do… Do without…” My head started to feel light, like a large load was taken off of it. I didn’t know what the phone operator said as my vision went black.