After Coranne put everyone to bed, Ione laid awake long after. The conversation between her and the woman had her thinking. She was being truthful. Every word of it. Yet, she still received a new skill. Deception, at that.
It made her think of how hard it was to acquire skills. [Homemaker] and [Child Carer] were acquired after about a year of constant work under Sannie’s strict rule. However, the rest of the girls received theirs much later. Ione concluded that her Arcane Skill of [Increased Experience Acquisition] had a marvelous helping hand in that. What made deception different?
I didn't receive the skill when I had talked to Tervail. And even after all this time when I've been masquerading as an 8-year old. Was it the intention I had when I told Coranne who I really was?
She revealed herself with the aim to secure Coranne’s loyalty, and it seemed to have worked. The little girl would mold the nun into a confidant by creating a special bond built on sharing secrets, and then hopefully establish the woman as a figurehead in the orphanage. Although Coranne’s reactions and feelings elicited surprise and insecurity in the white-haired girl, they only added to the immense trust the kind woman developed for her.
Coranne has no idea of the importance of that trust. It wasn't just for Ione, it was also for the sake of the orphanage. She just had manipulative means of acquiring it.
The spiders were looking at her, again. She felt like they silently judged her, as though they knew what happened in that bathroom.
“Stop looking at me,” she whispered.
They stopped. She let out a breath. Then slowly got up, made sure no one was watching her, then quickly donned her cloak and brought a sharpened stick out of its hole beneath the floorboards, tucking it in her belt. Just in case.
Then she turned on all of her skills, except for [Pain Resistance], and then made her way to the nun quarters.
It was almost immediately confirmed that that boy, Kine, had something to do with Sister Neve’s death, on account that his tracks were left all over the dead woman’s door.
Surprisingly, it wasn't locked. Unfortunately, Ione nearly regretted it. The pungent smell of decaying blood invaded her nostrils. She gagged. His tracks were everywhere.
Well, that wasn't much of an investigation.
The ceiling, the bed, the floors, the walls. At least her kill was cleaner. One shot to the ear and a swipe across the neck. She bled out on the bed. Although she didn't stick around that long to find out if it went through the bedding. Minimal mess as far as she was concerned.
This was… horrific. This was a murder of passion, of rage. She could almost imagine the scene if she squinted hard enough.
He lockpicked the door, and crept in, slowly. Had a knife that he took from the kitchen. Saw her sleeping in bed and stood over her. His breathing became heavier, in anticipation of the kill. Adrenaline fueled his body as he sliced her neck first, to prevent her screaming. She scrambled up and tried to run for the door. He kept swinging. Each slash painted a picture of crimson on the walls and on her skin.
Ione turned around and looked at the door.
She ran to the only exit she could think of. She clutched the handle, aiming to turn it, but he stabbed her in the back, and kept going. The force of pulling the blade out caused blood to splatter on the ceiling. She fell against the closed door. Slowly sliding down.
Down.
Down.
Until her body hit the blood-soaked floorboards. He doesn't stop. Neve’s body in tattered ribbons. Eventually, he ceased his stabbing spree and looked around. Admiring. Then pushed her body off the door and stepped into the pristine hallway. He takes his shoes off and goes to the boys' bathroom.
She followed.
He cleaned up, scrubbing the blood with renewed vigor as he replayed the murder in his head. Kept the cloak, the shoes and the knife. Hid them. He grabbed a new pair of each and made his way back to the bedroom.
The room was an exact mirror image of her own dorm room. She was startled to find him sleeping peacefully in a bed that was in the same location as hers, right in the corner. Without further preamble, she leaves; not wanting to get caught. It was almost surreal how she could see the exact steps he took- from entry to exit, to bathroom, to bed, she had a pretty clear idea of what happened and she judged him. Heavily.
Dangerous.
He will kill again, Ione knows this, with the way she caught him eyeing Coranne she hoped her slight against him shifted his attention in some way. It had to. If she was who she thought he was, then he couldn't resist. Wouldn’t.
She went back to bed.
The spiders were staring again.
~~~~~
Ione woke up only to find that all the beds were empty. Not a soul in sight. That was fine with her, she hadn't taken a look at her status page in a while and wanted to see how much has changed without any interruptions.
Status page
HP: 1,185 | ST: 2,105 | MP: 1,780
Name: Ione G’alatria
Race: Human-Elf Halfling
Birthday: 06/01/700 RY (Renewal Year)
Age: 8.7
Class: locked [EXP bank: 1,000 EXP]
Class skills
Passive: locked
Active: locked
Class aptitude skills: Locked
Attributes (40 points available)
Constitution: 237
Wisdom: 356
Stamina: 421
Strength: 398
Dexterity: 400
Intelligence: 487
Status afflictions (none):
General Skills (23):
[Focus to expand]
Arcane perks (2):
[Focus to expand]
Resistances (22):
[Focus to expand]
Quests (3):
[Focus to expand]
Gear (none):
After months of deliberately ignoring all the “dings’ in her mind, this monstrosity of a page awaited her.
Ione found it interesting that for every point in Constitution, Stamina, and Wisdom, she received an increase of 5 in the HP, ST, and MP portion of her screen. It was something she had noticed earlier, but with every attribute increase she progressively wanted to test out her strength and dexterity; to really feel the effects of those increases.
She focused on her general skills.
General Skills (23):
* Davlin Standard Tier 1 LVL 1
* Water Breathing Tier 4 LVL 5
* Peaceful Aura Tier 4 LVL 1
* Multitasking Tier 3 LVL 5
* Prey Sense Tier 5 LVL 2
* Predator Sense Tier 4 LVL 3
* Sun Absorption Tier 4 LVL 3
* Spatial Awareness Tier 4 LVL 1
* Camouflage Tier 3 LVL 3
* Climbing Tier 5 LVL 2
* Running Tier 6 LVL 1
* Escape Tier 2 LVL 8
* Survival Tier 6 LVL 2
* Stealth Tier 3 LVL 5
* Tracking Tier 4 LVL 2
* Homemaker Tier 2 LV 3
* Child Carer Tier 2 LVL 5
* Swimming Tier 5 LVL 6
* Intimidation Tier 4 LVL 6
* Leadership Tier 1 LVL 5
* Jumping Tier 4 LVL 4
* Danger Sense Tier 3 LVL 4
* Deception Tier 1 LVL 3
Some of the skills had a very high tier, and she was eager to see where she stood in comparison to others-not the kids, but adventurers who have been honing their skills. She noticed that the higher the tier became, the less levels she would receive. She wasn't ignoring the idea that it was because the dream reenactment was lessening in intensity, or that she was running out of reincarnated dreams, but she hoped that she was reaching the pinnacles of these skills.
She looked at the descriptions, ignoring [Davlin Standard], [Escape], and [Leadership] as they did not progress to the next tier.
Water Breathing Tier 1: You can breathe underwater for a total of 3 minutes.
Tier 2: You can breathe underwater for 6 minutes
Tier 3: You can breathe underwater for 12 minutes
Tier 4: You can breathe underwater for 24 minutes
Peaceful Aura Tier 1: You emit an aura that calms and soothes beings around you in a radius of 15m. This does not affect beings 30 levels above your own.
Tier 2: This does not affect beings 40 levels above your own. Radius increased to 20m
Tier 3: This does not affect beings 50 levels above your own. Radius increased to 25m
Tier 4: This does not affect beings 60 levels above your own Radius increased to 30m
Multitasking Tier 1: You may concentrate on multiple trains of thought at once. This does not drain you.
Tier 2: Additionally, now you may perform multiple actions at once- however this is only limited by the number of appendages you have
Tier 3: Your processing speed is increased. +15 intelligence points
Prey Sense Tier 1: You have an innate sense of when you’re being watched.
Tier 2: You can pinpoint the direction of who’s watching you
Tier 3: You can smell those who are watching you
Tier 4: When someone is looking at you, your hearing is heightened
Tier 5: If you are sleeping, you will wake up if you are being watched for more than 15 seconds.
Predator Sense Tier 1: You can stalk your chosen prey with ease. +20 dexterity
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Tier 2: You have acute sight, your eyes can follow your prey without distraction.
Tier 3: No movement is wasted, your muscles are maximized for small bursts of power
Tier 4: You can hear your chosen prey's heartbeat.
Sun Absorption Tier 1: You are rejuvenated as long as the sun's rays are on you. Mana, stamina, and health are recovered 5% faster.
Tier 2: Mana, stamina, and health are recovered 10% faster
Tier 3: Mana, stamina and health are recovered 15% faster
Tier 4: Mana, stamina and health are recovered 20% faster
Spatial Awareness Tier 1: In a radius of 15m, you can tell if there are objects, people, beasts or beings around you.
Tier 2: Radius increased to 20m
Tier 3: Radius increased to 25m
Tier 4: Radius Increased to 30m
Camouflage Tier 1: Whether it be social or environmental, you have the ability to match your surroundings.
Tier 2: You have the ability to adapt to social situations with ease, easing anxiety and fear of judgment
Tier 3: You have a 5% chance of not being spotted when you are looked at
Climbing Tier 1: You have gained the ability to move effortlessly up or down vertical surfaces- utilizing hand-holds no matter how small
Tier 2: Gravity has less of an effect, you are 5% faster when climbing and may give yourself a running start
Tier 3: Gravity has less of an effect, you are 10% faster when climbing
Tier 4: Gravity has less of an effect, you are 15% faster when climbing
Tier 5: Gravity has less of an effect, you are 20% faster when climbing
Running Tier 1: You have gained the ability to run at speeds that surpass what you normally could. +20% movement speed
Tier 2: +25% movement speed. +20 Stamina points
Tier 3: +30% movement speed. +20 Stamina points
Tier 4: +35% movement speed. +20 Stamina points
Tier 5: +40% movement speed. +20 Stamina points
Tier 6: +50% movement speed. +20 Stamina points. The more you run, the more speed you gain. Effect is lost when you slow momentum
Survival Tier 1: You have gained the ability to survive even in extreme odds
Tier 2: You have developed the foresight to prepare for emergencies
Tier 3: You can construct shelters
Tier 4: You can adapt to any environment
Tier 5: Your mind is stronger- tragedies that befall you will only increase your
mental resilience. +30 intelligence points every time a tragedy befalls you.
Tier 6: When you are at 1 point of health, you go into a state of survivability for 10 minutes. You receive all the knowledge that pertains to your survivability, and you receive 1 second flashes of the future of death-causing events.
Stealth Tier 1: You have gained the ability for covert operations. You are 5% harder to spot, and may go unnoticed in a crowd of people
Tier 2: You are 10% harder to spot. You can hide behind things smaller than yourself
Tier 3: You are 15% harder to spot. If you stand still you have an added 5% chance to not be spotted
Tracking Tier 1: You have gained the ability to track others and objects using your given and enhanced senses
Tier 2: You can trace footprints with ease, even if they are covered by foliage or debris
Tier 3: You can track scents and prints that are 3 days old
Tier 4: Different environments are not a deterrent
Swimming Tier 1: You have gained the ability to move effortlessly underwater with precision, control, balance and traction with varying speeds.
Tier 2: Swimming speed increased by 20%
Tier 3: Swimming speed increased by 40%
Tier 4: Swimming speed increased by 60%
Tier 5: Swimming speed increased by 80% and you can now swim up waterfalls or through liquid matter
Intimidation Tier 1: You have developed the art of intimidation, commanding respect, fear or awe in those you choose to do so. +30 Strength points
Tier 2: +20 Strength. Intimidation comes intuitively and most effectively to get your desired outcome
Tier 3: You are 50% harder to intimidate
Tier 4: You can emit a physical pressure that you may tune at will on the being you wish to intimidate. Scales with your strength attribute
Jumping Tier 1: You can now jump higher than you could before- 5m. +20 Dexterity points
Tier 2: Range is increased to 10m. +20 Dexterity points
Tier 3: Range is increased to 15m. +20 Dexterity points
Tier 4: Range is increased to 20m. +20 Dexterity points
Danger sense Tier 1: You can now sense nearing danger
Tier 2: You can sense if the danger is life-threatening or not. Not applicable when asleep
Tier 3: You can now sense threats made about you. Not applicable when asleep
Deception Tier 1: You have developed the ability to deceive people, either through manipulation or influence utilizing speech and body language
Ione’s eyes bugged out of her head. Those Tier 6 skills were incredibly useful. [Running] had a 10% increase rather than the incremental 5%. She would always welcome an increase no matter how big or small, yet, she again wished to test this skill out. She decided to do some power testing in the forest soon, away from prying eyes. [Survival] was a daunting thought, she figured with where her goals aligned- getting stronger- that she would come into scenarios where she would be beaten to a pulp. This skill would come in handy. The irony of wanting to keep this life, and yet, being completely okay with going into situations where death could occur, was not lost on her.
She looked at her resistances.
Resistances (22):
* Water Magic Resistance Tier 4 LVL 9
* Mind Control Resistance Tier 2 LVL 4
* Fire Magic Resistance Tier 4 LVL 2
* Resistance to Disease, Virus, and Infection Tier 3 LVL 7
* Piercing Resistance Tier 3 LVL 1
* Plant Magic Resistance Tier 5 LVL 9
* Crush Damage Resistance Tier 3 LVL 5
* Sun Resistance Tier 3 LVL 7
* Slashing Resistance Tier 5 LVL 3
* Fear Resistance Tier 3 LVL 9
* Drowning Resistance Tier 3 LVL 6
* Mind Reading Resistance Tier 2 LVL 6
* Blast Resistance Tier 2 LVL 1
* Hunger Resistance Tier 3 LVL 4
* Thirst Resistance Tier 3 LVL 3
* Lightning Magic Resistance Tier 1 LVL 7
* Wind Magic Resistance Tier 3 LVL 1
* Ice Magic Resistance Tier 3 LVL 9
* Cold Resistance Tier 2 LVL 8
* Heat Resistance Tier 3 LVL 9
* Pain Resistance Tier 7 LVL 7
* Poison Resistance Tier 1 LVL 8
Pleasantly surprised, Ione eyed [Poison Resistance], not realizing that she had gained a new resistance in her sleep. She was also astounded at seeing [Pain Resistance] at tier 7.
This time she ignored [Mind Control Resistance], [Fear Resistance], [Mind Reading Resistance], [Ice Magic Resistance], [Cold Resistance], [Heat Resistance] and [Lightning Magic Resistance] as they did not reach the next tier.
Water Magic Resistance Tier 1: Damage from water magic is negated by 20%
Tier 2: Damage is negated by 30%
Tier 3: Damage is negated by 40%. You may deflect a portion of the damage from these attacks to a target of your choice
Tier 4: Damage is negated by 50%
Fire Magic Resistance Tier 1: Damage from fire magic is negated by 20%
Tier 2: Damage is negated by 30%
Tier 3: Damage is negated by 40%. You may deflect a portion of the damage from these attacks to a target of your choice.
Tier 4: Damage is negated by 50%
Resistance to Disease, Virus, and Infection Tier 1: Damage from any of these afflictions is negated by 20%
Tier 2: Damage is negated by 30%
Tier 3: Damage is negated by 40%. You may extend a portion of your resistance to others
Piercing Resistance Tier 1: Damage from Piercing attacks is negated by 20%
Tier 2: Damage is negated by 30%
Tier 3: Damage is negated by 40%. You may deflect a portion of the damage from these attacks to a target of your choice
Plant Magic Resistance Tier 1: Damage from plant magic is negated by 20%
Tier 2: Damage is negated by 30%
Tier 3: Damage is negated by 40%. You may deflect a portion of the damage from these attacks to a target of your choice
Tier 4: Damage is negated by 50%
Tier 5: Damage is negated by 60%. You may absorb some of the mana from these attacks
Crush Damage Resistance Tier 1: Damage from crush attacks is negated by 20%
Tier 2: Damage is negated by 30%
Tier 3: Damage is negated by 40%. You may deflect a portion of the damage from these attacks to a target of your choice
Sun Resistance Tier 1: Damage from the sun or sun-based attacks is negated by 20%
Tier 2: Damage is negated by 30%
Tier 3: Damage is negated by 40%. You may deflect a portion of the damage from these attacks to a target of your choice
Slashing Resistance Tier 1: Damage from slashing-based attacks is negated by 20%
Tier 2: Damage is negated by 30%
Tier 3: Damage is negated by 40%. You may deflect a portion of the damage from these attacks to a target of your choice
Tier 4: Damage is negated by 50%
Tier 5: Damage is negated by 60%
Drowning Resistance Tier 1: Damage from drowning is negated by 20%
Tier 2: Damage is negated by 30%
Tier 3: Damage is negated by 40%. You may deflect a portion of the damage from these attacks to a target of your choice
Blast Resistance Tier 1: Resistance to blast damage is negated by 20%
Tier 2: Damage is negated by 30%
Hunger Resistance Tier 1: You feel the need to eat less and your body functions on less nutrients. The time between eating has significantly increased (every 4 days)
Tier 2: The time between eating has significantly increased (every 12 days)
Tier 3: The time between eating has significantly increased (every 36 days)
Thirst Resistance Tier 1: You feel the need to drink less and your body function on less liquids (every 4 days)
Tier 2: The time between drinking has significantly increased (every 12 days)
Tier 3: The time between drinking has significantly increased (every 36 days)
Wind Magic Resistance Tier 1: Damage from wind-based attacks is negated by 20%
Tier 2: Damage is negated by 30%
Tier 3: Damage is negated by 40%. You may deflect a portion of the damage from these attacks to a target of your choice
Pain Resistance Tier 1: You have developed a resistance to pain. When you are injured it takes 10 minutes for you to feel the pain receptors respond. Has a cool-down rate of 3 minutes. May shut off at will, but then the timer resets.
Tier 3: The time is increased to 30 minutes. It is now toggleable, there are no more timer resets. You may turn it on and off, repeatedly, in this and other time frames.
Tier 4: The time is increased to 40 minutes
Tier 5: You are completely immune to pain and may extend this to others you care about for a brief period of time (10 minutes)
Tier 6: For a brief moment, you can make the pain you’re supposed to feel transpose onto the one attempting to inflict pain onto you. Cannot bypass pain resistances or skills.
Tier 7: You may turn off mental pain
Poison Resistance Tier 1: You have developed a resistance to poison. When you are poisoned you eject the poison 2x faster and develop a resistance to that specific poison
Ione was happy at her gains. All seemed geared towards survival in a harsh world, and since she has no idea what this one will throw at her, the better her resistances, the better she survives.
She was especially intrigued at [Pain Resistance], seeing that she can turn off pain without a count-down and now mental pain. Ione scratched her head. She would keep her pain resistance off until she really needed it in a fight. She needed some pain in order to tell when to take a shit. Yet, the mental pain nagged at her.
What does that mean? Mental pain? A headache?
It was so vague that Ione had to assume that it was vague for a reason. Since it was at Tier 7 she thought it might be powerful.
Could it include mental anguish?
Before Ione could really ruminate on what that could mean, Fellis bounded into the bedroom.
“Ione, It’s time to go eat! Coranne has some good news!”
She groaned, not wanting to leave the comfort of her bed, but swung her legs over nonetheless, “okay, thanks Fellis, I'll be there soon.”
Fellis nodded and skipped away.
Ione got ready, completing her morning routine in record time only to be met with startling news upon entering the cafeteria.
The boys and girls classes were being combined.
Yippie.