There are two kinds of sleep. The kind that still leaves you dead tired after waking up because you didn’t get enough and the kind that makes you forget what century it is because you slept too much. There are no in-betweens. I was in the middle of trying to puzzle out whose couch I managed to pass out on and what party I must have gotten drugged at when my memory booted back up. Ah right. Other world. Back to back near death experiences. Casting spells so utterly backwards I broke my own brain. It must be Tuesday.
Groaning, I forced myself up to sit on the couch. Cringing from the light coming in through the living room’s window like an unsparkly vampire. Rubbing the wakefulness back into my eyes and face I looked around. The smell of cooked food slowly bringing me back to life.
“Oh good!” A sweet feminine voice called to me. “You’re just in time to eat.”
Girl? My brain spluttered in disbelief. As it began to sound the alarm and shake me awake. Girl! Quick, get up! Start being interesting!
Springing to my feet I managed to forget that my ankle had been sprained. Almost toppling over I managed to recover with some frantic arm waving before snapping off my best comeback. “I ah, um… Hi.” I said waving.
Nailed it.
She was in the apartment’s kitchen. Blonde hair tied back in a bun as she worked over a pot of deliciously smelling something. Her arms were some of the most densely covered I’d seen so far. Elegant shimmering lines tracing from her fingers all the way up to her elbows. She turned towards me with a smile. Her face patterned with delicate lines around her eyes, no not just around her eyes. Through her eyes. I’m not exaggerating when I say this but they literally sparkled. And somehow all those changes came together and enhanced her features. Oh wow was she smiling at me? That’s never happened before.
“Hey there.” She said stirring the pot before grabbing some bowls from a cupboard. “You’re just in time for lunch. Are you alright with stew?”
My mouth gobbed for a second before I could come up with a witty reply. “Stew is great thank you. I love stew.” I cringed internally. Was that too much? Who says they love stew? Wait, its lunchtime?
“It’s lunchtime?” I said dumbly.
“Well, lunch was a few hours ago. But I’ve only just gotten back from the University. I hope you don’t mind. This was all I could whip up with what we had on hand. I’ll have to make a trip to the market soon. Father does his best but with his schedule he doesn’t have time to do things like that.” She poured out the stew into the bowls and placed them both on the kitchen table.
She turned to look at me with a small smile and slightly raised brows. “There’s a change of clothes for you right over there.” She said gesturing to a small squat coffee table. “There might even be a shirt in there.” She said clearly hiding her amusement.
My eyes went down towards my bare and bandaged chest. Staring in horror at my exposed abs, desperately wishing that I could force them to be covered by a shirt through sheer force of will. I failed.
Moving very deliberately, and keeping my face as expressionless as possible I moved to pick up the small pile of clothes. Pressing the pile against my chest like they could protect me from any further embarrassment.
“Can you point me to the bathroom please.” I managed to say in a somewhat muted voice. It wasn’t much but it was so much better than my brain’s internalized screaming. Even in another world, trying to appear normal to girls was just beyond me apparently.
After furiously changing my clothes and a small pep talk in front of the mirror I left the bathroom and hobbled my way over to the kitchen table and the girl winced as she looked at me. “Oh damnit, I’m sorry. Should you be walking on that leg? I should have just brought it to you.” She said. Just noticing my slight limp. I didn’t blame her for not catching it earlier, with my Dexterity I was getting around way too well for a guy with a sprain.
“Oh no, it’s no problem.” I said waving her concerns away with my good arm. I still had my sling on for my other one. Sitting down at the table I couldn’t help a smile at the food. Gosh that looked like good stew. “I’ve got Dexterity as a stat, it’s been helping me get around a lot lately.” Even saying that felt like it was underselling it. Starting out with three Dexterity had already made me into an instant gymnast. I’d pulled off stunts that were straight out of an action movie. Holding myself aloft with my flimsy arms inside of a crate to not get spotted. Squeezing into a gap only a plank wide successfully. Now that I had five Dex. Well, I mean damn. Was there a level above gymnast? Because it felt like I was about there.
I was going to dig into the stew but having her in front of me was making me self conscious. Is it weird I’m holding my spoon like this? People do that right? There isn’t a proper way to hold a spoon right?
“Thanks a bunch for the food. Ah, miss?”
“Oh, right.” She held out a hand. “My name’s Maybelline. But you can call me May.”
I shook her hand. And the lines over her palms felt weird. Not bad, just like they were charged with static electricity. “Toby, my full name is Tobias. But I’d rather everyone just call me Toby.”
Getting back into the stew. I was only a few bites in before May spoke up again.
“So… kill anyone recently?”
My mouthful of stew immediately went down the wrong pipe as I started hacking up my lung. My thoughts started racing. How did she know? How the hell did she know? I tried coming up with any kind of answer I could that wouldn’t make me sound like a murderer. After a few seconds of pure panic I realized that May was actually laughing. Hysterically even. Was she crazy? Was she-?
Realization cut through the fear like a knife. She was joking. She didn’t know what I’d done. My secret was still safe.
“Sorry sorry! Aha that was just too easy.” She said smiling with mirth. “Not every day we let a Rogue sleep on the couch.” She pointed to a paper lying on the counter. “Father left a note before he went back on patrol. Even if you are a Rogue I know he wouldn’t have brought you here unless he truly believed in you. I don’t actually know what your situation is completely but I promise not to pry.”
I’d finally managed to clear enough of my throat of stew to manage a few words. “Okay, you got me.” I said sputtering. “I think I just breathed in half your stew.”
“It was still good though right? Getting some stew in the lungs must have enhanced the flavor” She said smirking. Brows raised.
“Now that you mention it. As an implement of torture your stew is just about perfect for choking your victims.” I said smiling back. Making clear that I was joking too.
“Only torture? I’ll have you know my killer stew was specifically designed to slay mouthy Rogues.”
“Well I hate to ruin your reputation but I am, most regretfully. Still alive.”
“Oho? And what greater punishment is there than to live to eat my cooking again?” She said triumphantly.
I reeled back in my chair. Raising a my good hand to my head in mock horror. “You monster!”
“That’s monster chef to you!” She said dramatically pointing a finger at me.
There was a pause as we held our poses. And then we both burst out laughing. The kind that fed off of seeing other people laughing just as hard as you were. It felt good. I can’t even remember the last time I’d laughed this hard. Even on Earth.
Eventually we settled down and started acting like normal people again. I’d just made my way through my second bowl of stew as May was just finishing her first. The silence was broken a few times by some idle chat that I had to pretend I’d understood but we focused on the food for the most part. When I’d finished May was picking at a splinter at the table. Seeming a little nervous for the first time I’d seen her.
“Say Toby.” She began. Her expression unreadable to me. “You don’t have any Sigmata at all do you?”
“I'm afraid not.” I said. Hoping she was talking about the tattoos I'd seen on everyone. That was a good assumption to make right?
The silence came back again as May kept avoiding eye contact. “Do you…want one?” She said tensely.
I frowned a bit. My experience with magic as of late has been a bit biased. Considering the little bit I'd tried using had done…things to me. Magic was cool and it always would be, but waking up in a room full of bodies had done wonders to temper my excitement for any future magical forays.
“I swear there’s no tricks!” She said defensively. Seeing my expression and getting the wrong idea. “I’m actually a student at the University of High Water, studying to become a Sigmatist for the Army. To help with the war and all…” Her face flushed a shade of red as she stammered. “I just thought- If you want.” She said before her face became downcast. "Well its alright. I doubt you'd want one from me anyway."
My hesitation for all things magical took a backseat to my guilt at inadvertently making May feel down. The disappointment was so clear on her face, you’d think I’d told her Santa wasn’t real. Dammit Toby the girl just made you breakfast-er brunch, and you’re already gonna put her down? Say something!
“Well actually-” I said slowly. Trying to sound like I knew what I was talking about. “I’ve been thinking about getting a-” My brain fished around for the word for half a second. Careful to pronounce it right. “Sigmata. To um, help with the day to day you know?” I said smiling. “So I wouldn’t mind-”
“Great!” May yelled as her chair scraped back on the floor. She was out the kitchen and disappearing into a doorway faster than I could think. Leaving me blinking at where she’d gone. Staring back and forth between her seat and exit. There was a bit of a commotion behind the door as the sounds of frantic searching made their way through. The kind of sounds I’d associate with a college student going through the piles of junk lying around their dorm room. There was even the sounds of muffled cursing I’d expected too.
With a bang that made me flinch. May reappeared. Foot outstretched where it had kicked the door open. Her arms filled with a medium sized chest with a wrapped bundle on top. Her face and triumphant smile peeking over top of it all as she made her way back to the kitchen table. My bowl bounced an inch or two into the air as she dropped the whole pile in front of me. With practiced ease she started laying out her things across the table. Opening up a small chest to reveal tiers of out folding shelves inside. All of them filled to the brim with differently colored crystals and doodads. The bundle unraveled to reveal some small iron rods that May began connecting together. Once she finished with it she placed it on the edge of the table and readjusted it slightly. It looked like a cradle I could lay my arm on.
“Okay! Almost ready!” May said beaming. Dragging her chair over to my side of the table, she sat and got to work. Picking out some blue crystals from her toolbox until she had five in the palm of her hand. I was about to ask if we could put this off until my arm healed. May had been great to me so far but now she gave off the feel of a mad scientist being given a new test subject.
Then the words died in my throat as the crystals in her hand started floating. The design on her hand shimmering with an inner azure light as she turned her hand over, palm down. Extending her fingers as each crystal locked into place behind the first knuckle on each of her fingers. With the crystals in place the design on her whole arm seemed to come to life. All the way down to her elbow. With a casual swipe of her other hand over the design, the lines of the Sigmata flowed down her arm and onto her hand. Weaving itself into complex spirals and patterns as they moved over her palm, up her fingers, and… off her fingers?
The ends of the Sigmata hovered in the air just beyond her fingertips. Each finger holding a differently shaped design. One had the look of the point of a quill pen, the other a flat edged eraser, and the others I had no idea about.
“Anything specific you were thinking of getting?” She said innocently. As I stared at her hand, only turning my eyes away and back to her face once I realized I was being weird. “Uh. Something…simple?” I said making it sound more like a question than I’d like.
May held her normal hand to her chin as she stared at my good arm. As if she were trying to puzzle out what would look best on it. It made me feel mildly uncomfortable.
“Hmm… Well simple is good but it covers quite a lot. There’s Lamp. But that’s a bit too plain. Plus I always prefer just adding night vision to people’s ocular Sigs instead. Quill is always handy. There’s never a quill around when you need one. But Quill is always best paired with Notepad on the other hand. And even then you only see Scribes with that combination. “ She said to herself. Brow slightly furrowed as she tried working through the problem. Then she turned to me. “Can you be a bit more specific?”
My lips pursed together as I realized better or worse there wouldn’t be any backing out now. At least not without hurting May’s feelings. I racked my brain for something that was relatively normal that wouldn’t be immediately lethal to me but was still useful. That’s what it sounded like May wanted to do. The only caveat being that it would be attached to my arm. Which was, all things considered, kinda awesome. But still, it was my arm. I deserved to be picky.
Maybe a normal watch? Nah, that was just too basic. Plus it would go on my right wrist and not my left with the sling and all. A knife? An Arm Blade! Absolutely not. No matter how much I would actually want that I had to be realistic. Until I had more experience with everything I had to hold off on any dangerous magic. Besides, I’d totally cut myself playing around with the thing. I know myself well enough to know without a doubt I would immediately start swinging the thing around like a kid on Christmas.
Maybe a lighter? Was that even an option? I used to have a beat up zippo lighter that I’d carry around and flick open and closed until I annoyed the people around me. I’d gotten the most use out of it back when I’d still been smoking weed, but threw it away when I tried kicking the habit. I knew how to handle a lighter at least, that was probably a safe bet. Plus, I kinda missed having one.
“How about a lighter?” I asked.
May turned her head quizzically. “A lighter? You mean a Lamp?”
“Well no, it’s a little flame.” I said dumbly. Why had I thought someone in a fantasy world would know what a lighter was?
“Oh!” May said clapping her hands together. “A Match would be perfect to start! Handy too. Alright, just lay your right arm in the cradle and I’ll get started.”
Feeling more than a little trepidation I followed May’s instructions, letting my arm relax as she scooted her chair a bit closer. She tapped her temple twice and the air in front of her right eye twisted. The edges of it marked by the same glowing blue that had shone in her eyes. It took me a second focusing on it to register what it was. A little magnifying glass.
Setting up her glowing crystal powered hand above the back of my hand she slowly but steadily traced out a design on the back of my hand with one outstretched finger. Leaving behind a hazy blueish outline that felt cool against my skin. Some of the lines she drew sunk into my skin and disappeared. While the thicker lines kept their design.
“This first part is just to help out in the future.” May said softly. Obviously absorbed in her work. “It would be faster to just sketch out the Match Sig and leave it at that, but any future Sigmatas on your hand would be less mana efficient and might affect their usability. If I start by making a five way relay over the central mana circuit that all your Sigmata can draw from it’ll be easier on your mana reserves. That way you're only feeding one central outlet with mana instead of five separate Sigs.”
I nodded at her explanation, despite getting lost almost immediately. But I knew she was doing me a favor on top of her favor by going above and beyond with her work. I’d have to pay her back somehow. Once I have some money. After I figure out a way to make said money.
“Finish up here around the bend and…” She breathed out. Lingering on the last word until she sat up straight, drawing her hand away. “Done!” She said with pride.
Lifting my arm out of the cradle I stared at the markings on the back of my hand that traced to the back of my thumb. It was made up of thick solid lines all the other ones I’d seen earlier having sunk into my skin. I’d never been one much for tattoos but this was actually a pretty cool design.
“Well?” May said expectantly. And I hurried to offer my thoughts.
“It looks great! You did an awesome job.” I said as I turned to her fully.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Uh-huh…” She said nodding even more expectantly. “You…just going to stare at it?”
“No, no of course not!” I said scoffing. I really wanted to use it actually. So I pushed my mana down my arm. Felt the patterns of the Sigmata take hold as they guided it through the rest of the design and…
I frowned. No flame. Nada. And I just stared at my thumb like it had betrayed me. I definitely felt the mana there so why wasn’t it working?
“It’s a Match Sig. You know what to do for a Match Sigmata right?” She said eyebrow raised. The way she’d said it made it sound like it was basic information she was expecting me to know.
There were many things I didn’t know that I probably should have, but even I knew how to strike a match. How hard could it be to strike a magic one? Granted it was also a match that was attached to your body but that’s besides the point.
Smiling away the nervousness I put my thumb against the table and tried striking it the same way I would a match. Grimacing slightly at the pain.
“Just hold on a sec.” I said striking my thumb a few more times. Ow. Ow. Ow. “I think I almost got it.”
May hadn’t said anything because her mouth had fallen open as she stared at me smack my thumb against the table. I stopped when I finally caught sight of her, making the iconic so-that’s what-an-idiot-looks-like face. With furrowed brows, pained expression and all. She raised up one hand and made a snapping motion with her thumb and middle finger. Temporarily speechless and unable to correct me verbally.
I felt a bit of red creep into my cheeks as I tried to bury my embarrassment. “I’m from a really small town.” I muttered as I snapped my fingers. And to my surprise it worked.
A little flame immediately snapped to life above my thumb as my mana fed the flame. It was a little smaller than a flame you’d expect from a regular zippo. It didn’t burn my thumb thank God but I could still feel the heat of it, though to a lessened extent. After all the bullshit I’d had to deal with in regards to magic in this world this tiny little flame brought me almost as much enjoyment as my skills did. I hadn’t even noticed I’d been grinning as I stared at the thing. My own Sigmata softly glowing blue as it was powered with mana.
May smiled herself seeing the result of her work come to life. And filled the silence as I was mesmerized by my magic powered match. “It’s a small thing. But always handy to have. Priests use it to light incense during prayer, and it can always be counted on to light a camp fire in the wilderness.” She said before addressing me. “So you’re satisfied with it?”
“Satisfied?” I said. “This is amazing!“ I said moving my hand around and watching the little flame flicker and wave. I accidentally let my other fingers get too close to it and cursed as they flared with pain. The flame cutting out as I stopped feeding mana into the Sigmata.
May laughed at my antics and I found myself laughing with her. Even as I stuck my burnt finger in my mouth.
“I’m glad you like it so much!” May said happily. “It’s not much experience for me with simple Sigs like that but I’m grateful for every bit that pushes me to the next level.”
Oh right! I was so caught up in the fantastical side of this world’s magic I’d forgotten about the other part. The whole System thing.
“Are you close to another level in your skills?” I said bluntly. And immediately it seemed like I’d said something wrong. May’s mouth shut in a thin line as her eyes found something else to look at. Was that something too personal? I thought back to when Gregor had asked to see my own status screen and it hit me that the way he’d done it made it sound like he was asking for something that he wasn’t expecting to get. Like it was too personal a thing to ask for. It must have been some kind of cultural taboo.
Way to ruin a good thing Tobes. I thought to myself. As I tried to salvage the situation.
“Hey, I’m sorry. That was a bit over the line.” I said honestly. Racking my brain to try and think of anything else I could add to my apology. I even opened my status screen and tried to find an answer there. And then I found the messages I’d pushed aside yesterday.
[You have 1 attribute point available]
[Attribute Ability Available: Please select a Common rarity Attribute Ability from the list below]
[Dexterity Attribute Abilities]
[Fast Hands]
[Acrobatics]
[Mobile]
[Uncanny Dodge]
[Light Step]
“Oh.” I said to myself. I’d completely forgotten about the notifications in the aftermath of- I tensed slightly at the thought. My body reacting to a threat that was no longer there. As I forced myself to relax and think on what options I had before me. I had an attribute point available. Maybe asking for advice on how to spend it could be my olive branch? Offer a bit of class info about myself to smooth things over?
“I’ve got a free attribute point.” I said hoping that would somehow fix the awkward silence.
May’s head snapped up immediately. “And you haven’t used it already!” She said shock plain on her face before her face flushed red. “Oh I’m sorry I shouldn’t be saying anything about your attribute choices.”
“No it’s alright, really.” I said placatingly. “I don’t really have anyone I can talk to about this and I’d really appreciate a second opinion.”
“Well…” She said crossing her arms. “If you’re alright with it. I suppose we could talk about it.” She said a bit reluctantly. “But this is just advice alright? I’m not making any choices for you.” She said resolutely. Was there some kind of cultural taboo on making class choices for other people? That made sense I guess. I know I’d hate having my choices made for me by someone else.
“So I have this free attribute point. But I have two attributes and it just feels like it makes more sense use it on one than the other. But I need a second opinion to make sure.”
“You have a class with two attributes?” May said clearly surprised. “As a Rogue? I thought Dexterity was all you had. That’s why I was surprised you hadn’t used it already.”
“Dexterity is my highest stat but my other stat is Wisdom. And honestly I don’t know how useful it’s gonna be in the long run.” I shrugged. “Dexterity is just too useful. It’s kept me alive as long as I’ve had it.”
May leaned back in her chair as she looked me over again. “You have Wisdom as your second stat? That’s…hmm.” she said holding a hand under her chin as she thought. “Typically most people receive classes with a single attribute. That way they don’t have to choose between multiple attributes when they get attribute points. The only people who get two attributes are people who need the flexibility and can supplement that with Attribute crystals. Like my Father. As a Shieldguard he has Strength and Agility to better help him keep the peace as well as the Attribute crystal he’s provided with by the Shieldguard itself.”
“I can’t speak on how well Dexterity helps. You would know more about that than I would. But my class’s stat as a Sigmatist is Wisdom. And it offers a wealth of benefits in my opinion.”
I nodded. Listening carefully to her explanation.
“Wisdom is… oh how best would I describe it? It’s presence and focus of mind.” May said gesturing with her hands. “It’s… clarity if that makes sense. Whenever I put points into Wisdom things just feel clearer. I still think the same way as I did before but when I’m working on new Sigmata some parts of the design just come to me. I see connections in places I’d previously been stuck on and can intuit how best to modify a design to match what I need. There are some Intelligence based Sigmatists who memorize dozens of books on design and theory and can work off of what they know. But I can take a single design and modify it where I need to. Like your own Sigmata there.” She said pointing to my hand.
“Usually there is no need to include any additional design other than what you’d need for Match. But I could sense a little how much faster your mana circulates than I’m used to so I added the extra relay on the back of your hand to regulate any future imbalances.” She smiled as she finished her explanation. “Does that help at all?”
I nodded emphatically. “Yes, thank you! I feel a lot better about putting my point there now.” I said honestly a bit relieved. I’d been a bit worried that a mental stat like Wisdom might affect my personality. But hearing May talk about it, Wisdom was actually kinda cool. I was about to add my point to Wisdom when I realized I had something else to ask about.
“Is it alright if we talk about attribute abilities?” I said hesitantly. Not wanting to offend her again.
“Sure, I love a bit of theory.” She said relaxing a bit. “It’s always fun to speculate on what you’re going to get at Level Five right?”
I glanced at my status again. My current options for an attribute ability that apparently I should not have at Level Two. “Hehe, yeah.” I said.
“What do you get for Dexterity?” She said intrigued, leaning forward a bit. “I only know about the common abilities for Wisdom and some of the uncommon ones at level Ten. But not much any others.”
I leaned on the table as I tried to make it look like I was remembering the abilities instead of reading them off. “Well I know there’s Fast Hands.” I started off. “That sounds to me like it would make it easier for me to pickpocket people and swing a knife around.” I said pondering until I looked at May’s face. “Which is something I would never do of course. That ability isn’t for good people.” I said immediately to please May. But was I really wrong though? The only thing I’d ever stolen in my life was a lollipop from a grocery store I’d accidentally left in my pocket as a kid. And swinging a knife at people was something I’d only do in self defense. Even then I didn’t like the idea of being better at hurting people. Not after what the monster in my head had done to my kidnappers.
If it hadn’t been for that I might have considered Fast Hands more but I just couldn’t bring myself to accept it.
“There’s also Acrobatics.” I went on. “But isn’t that kinda redundant? With my Dexterity I can do a flip just fine.” I said. Thinking back to my midair somersault off the steps of the church. I was still proud of that one.
“I can understand why you’d think that but that isn’t true at all.” May said. “The closer an ability is to reflecting the core strength of your attribute the more benefits you’ll get out of it. Think of it being like a kind of resonance. The more your ability syncs up with what your attribute does the more effective it is. I’d imagine Acrobatics on top of your Dexterity would be more akin to a force multiplier than a simple addition to your attribute. So that’s one to definitely keep in mind when you get there.”
I nodded. Bumping up Acrobatics in my internal hierarchy of best ability to get. Next up was Mobile.
“I know there’s one I heard of called Mobile. Is that like a speed boost?” I said. It sounded kinda plain honestly.
May seemed to consider it for a moment before speaking. “Hmm, I think I’ve heard of that one before. It’s basically like you said, it’s also one of the few abilities that appears for multiple stats at level five. Stats like Agility and Celerity. I know those are more speed focused stats than Dexterity would be. So while it might be nice to have but you wouldn’t get as much out of it if you had Agility instead.”
I nodded. So abilities weren’t entirely locked to certain attributes, got it. Last up were Uncanny Dodge and Light Step.
I made a show of tapping my temple before speaking, careful to keep my eyes from reading off my options for abilities. “I’m racking my brain for more but I can only remember Uncanny Dodge and Light Step.”
“Oh I’ve heard of Uncanny Dodge!” May said excitedly. “It’s one of the Blighted Bandit’s abilities! You know, from the Tales of the Sword’s Apprentice series! Oh, wow now it’s coming back to me.” May said with a wistful smile. “Those were some of my favorite stories growing up. You’ve read them too right?” May said as I blanched. I had no idea what she was talking about.
“I ah…” I smiled apologetically. “It’s been a long time since I’ve read those. My memory’s a bit hazy. Honestly, that was part of the reason I picked up Wisdom as a stat. To help me remember stuff at school. I’d take all the help I could get there.” I said with a laugh before a though struck me. Had I just admitted to a girl that I was stupid?
My laugh turned into a cough as I tried bringing the conversation back on course. “So Uncanny Dodge is good right? It must be if the Blighted Bandit used it?”
May looked at me quizzically. “You do remember that the Blighted Bandit was only a small time villain right? When Sir Artur fought him he was only able to last a small while before he figured out he was relying too much on Uncanny Dodge and used that to beat him.”
“Relying too much? If it’s an ability that’s part of you how can you rely on it too much?” I said confused. If you had something it only made sense to use it. Otherwise you wouldn’t be performing at your best when you needed it.
“It depends on the ability.” May said. “Compare Uncanny Dodge to Acrobatics for a moment. You can certainly dodge attacks with Acrobatics but that’s classified as a Passive Ability while Uncanny Dodge is an Active Ability. Meaning that if you were attacked and you had Uncanny Dodge, you’d activate the ability or it would trigger on its own and move you out of the way of the attack. Whereas Acrobatics would just have you dodging the attack as normal but with the inherent boost of having Acrobatics as an ability.”
I blinked as I processed that. Imagining a big red button in my brain I’d push to Matrix dodge incoming arrows. Could I actually do that if I got Uncanny Dodge? That would be awesome… and also terrifying. I was already having enough trouble with things in my head ‘taking over’. My Skills were one thing. I was used to those even if they were a bit annoying at times. Small Blades was still a constant itch in the back of my skull, begging me to start digging through the drawers in the kitchen until I found a knife. Meditation was still insisting that I needed to focus so completely on what I’d learned during this conversation that I should push my chair aside and sit on the floor in a lotus position. And Sneak was being unhelpful as ever by pestering me into moving outside of May’s cone of vision.
But having the aforementioned big red button in my brain to spam dodge over and over just didn’t sit right with me. I had a dedicated dodge button in most games I’d played back home and I still got my ass handed to me by most bosses. The fact that the ability would essentially take me over to move me out of the way of attacks was the icing on the cake. Moving Acrobatics to the top of my ability wish list.
“So Light Step is just what it says. It helps you step lightly?” I questioned.
May shrugged. “Most abilities are simple like that. Especially the common rarity ones.”
“Huh.” I said. Immediately kicking Light Step into the bottom of my tier list. Maybe if I hadn’t had Sneak as a Skill it would be useful, but I do.
“Well thanks for the talk May. I really appreciate it. I uh, haven’t really been able to talk to anyone about this stuff so it means a lot to me.” I said as I rubbed the back of my head.
“It’s no problem.” May said easily. “Thanks for being so willing to accept a Sigmata from a stranger.”
“Stranger? Pah!” I waved my hand. “We’re thick as stew you and I.” I said smiling.
“So… friends?” May said holding out her hand.
I hesitated for only a second before I took her hand in mine and shook it. “Friends.” I said. Feeling a bit of warmth in my chest that I hadn’t felt for a long time. When was the last time I’d really had friends? High School? Did I really have to come to another world to make a new friend? Regardless of what I felt about that I felt at ease for the first time in forever. No guard chases, no kidnappers. Just a pleasant conversation.
The sound of a key turning in a lock followed by the creak of the front door. Caught both me and May by surprise as Gregor made his way inside. First smiling at May and nodding to me. May was out of her chair in a heartbeat as she wrapped Gregor in a hug. ”Welcome home Father!” She said releasing him. “Would you like some stew? There’s still more than enough left if you want some.”
“Maybe a bit later.” He promised before turning to me. “You seem to be doing better than I hoped. How are your injuries?”
“Doing pretty good.” I said honestly. That healing potion yesterday did some good work. “Though it’s gonna be a while before I’m at a hundred percent again.” I said holding up my left arm in its sling.
“Excellent.” Gregor smiled. “Once you’re fully healed I’d like to talk to you about-” Gregor stopped abruptly. His eyes on my right hand and the equipment May still had on the table. “Maybelline…” he said pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why does he have a Sigmata?”
“Ah…” May said with a hint of panic on her face. “It’s just a simple one! Truly!” She said with her hands raised. “It’s as safe as can be.”
“Safe?” I said bewildered.
“He’s still recovering Maybelline.” Gregor said sounding tired all of a sudden. “I thought you’d at least wait until he healed first before you started pestering him.”
“He said he wanted one.” She said throwing out the excuse. “The man’s skin is as barren as un-inked parchment! It’s clear he’s too destitute to afford any kind of Sigmatist. No offense Toby.” She quickly said to me.
“Safe?” I tried again. But it was clear I’d stumbled into ‘Old Family Argument’ territory. And I was just a bystander.
“The University specifically requested that you didn’t use any of your designs again. Not after that last fiasco.”
“It’s just a simple Match I gave him. And besides, my last design was perfect! It’s not my fault that student lied about what his stats could handle!”
“It dislocated his shoulder Maybelline” Gregor said pleading. “And left him hanging off the side of a building.”
“I specifically told him it was a Fishing hook, not a Grappling hook!”
“Maybelline…” Gregor said sounding like a parent who’d lost hope for their child. Sighing as he lost the strength to continue arguing. He turned to me as a defeated man. “Did she at least ask you first?”
“Father! I didn’t force him at all!” May said affronted.
“I remember the last people you didn’t force going to the Shieldguard for protection.” Gregor deadpanned.
“That was completely different!” May said defensively. “Two of those lost a bet and the last one owed me a favor.”
“Oh May.” Gregor sighed. Shaking his head.
Watching the two go back and forth kinda made me recontextualize my whole conversation with May. The stew ready for me when I woke up, being so willing to chat with me, and the eventual offering of a Sig. I wasn’t even mad. That was some serious dedication. But I could remember how much May had seemed to revel in the whole process. She hadn’t forced me at all, even asking me questions about what would work best for me. Isn’t that exactly what people wanted in a Tattoo artist? Even if she was a magic one, I couldn’t really fault her for what she’d done. She’d looked like a kid let loose in a toy store when she’d gotten all her supplies together and it was nice seeing her so happy.
So I decided to give her a hand.
“It’s fine.” I said breaking the tension between the two, as I held up my good hand. “I’m grateful actually. I don’t have any way I can pay her back so giving me this for free is more than I could have hoped for since I didn’t have any in the first place.” I said truthfully. “So thanks May.”
May seemed relived that I’d taken her side and immediately used it to win the argument. “See! He’s perfectly fine with it.” She said nodding her head, the tension leaving her shoulders. “So there shouldn’t be any problems adding the rest then.” She adds beaming at me.
“Sure, ah…” My mouth immediately agreeing before my brain caught up to it. “What?”
Gregor looked at me like and shook his head. He’d given up on saving me.
“I’ll take that stew then.” He said stoically. Going to get a bowl for himself. May turned to me and her eyes sparkled. Literally and figuratively. “So!” She said taking a seat in the chair next to me. “I was going to put off talking about this later but since it’s come up. What do you plan on getting next?” She asked eagerly. “Because I can help you with that.”
I was naturally, put off a bit by how much May clearly wanted to keep drawing magic stuff on me. I can understand an artist being passionate about their work but this was magic art-er uh tattoos, whatever. Same thing. I was getting something that just seemed like way too good of a deal to come without drawbacks.
“Let’s back up a bit.” I said holding up a hand. “I may not have understood the context for that conversation but it was definitely something important. I’m grateful for this.” I said holding up my hand. “But what was that whole thing about?”
May’s smile cracked before she collapsed against the chair with a heavy sigh. Throwing a disgruntled glare at Gregor who effortlessly bore it, unfazed as he sat with his stew and started chowing down. May sounding a bit apologetic said “I…may have gotten into some trouble at the University.” She said with a bit of red showing in her cheeks. “My work is as good as anyone else’s, it’s just that.” She said waving her hands in frustration. “We practice the same designs over and over! To the point where I can trace the things in my sleep. I became a Sigmatist to create things, not just copy the work of people who came before me! So I started working on some designs I made and some people just weren’t, ah, prepared for them.”
“Define ‘weren’t prepared for’.” I said with a chuckle. This had to be good.
“My Sigmatas were perfect you understand.” She said firmly before wavering. “It’s just… I can get a bit too exited and get a bit carried away at times with new designs. The first time I tried out a design I hadn’t really tested yet that was supposed to let the person stick their hands to any surface, to see if it would let them climb up walls. But the person I was doing it for had a date that day. So when she tried doing her hair later she stuck her hand to the side of her head, ripped her hair out, and blamed me.”
“Oof.” I said grimacing. Partly for May and mostly for the girl who ripped her own hair out. That must have sucked.
“Ever since then no one will work with me anymore and I don’t have anyone I can practice on.” May said frustrated. “I’ve tried getting people to let me work on them, but now I just come off as desperate.” May huffed.
I kept the thought to myself that she absolutely did come off as desperate and couldn't help a small feeling of comradery with her situation.
I felt for May. It wasn’t really the same, but I knew what it felt like to be desperate. Desperate for cash, desperate for work. Desperate for things to start going right in life. Or at least for people to stop thinking I'm weird. Plus, I might be able to really help May with her situation. She needed a guinea pig and I needed magic that was actually safe for me to use. God only knows the next time I tried using my own Spell Splinters I’ll probably start seizing in some abandoned alley somewhere. Again.
“I’m alright with that.” I said to May. “So.” I leaned back in my chair. Bracing myself for my next words as a little bit of excitement flared in my heart at the thought of more magic. “What do you have in mind?”