[https://i.imgur.com/YtP5bXZ.jpg]
The village was celebrating. One of their own had survived the ghost fever, an extremely rare and nearly always fatal disease. The hunters had sought out the finest prey. Fruits, vegetables, and grains from the gardens and surrounding jungle had been harvested. And the village cooks had outdone themselves with dishes as elaborate as they were delicious.
Low tables surrounded by soft rugs and cushions were dotted around the village square. A bonfire burned brightly at the center, casting exaggerated shadows on the surrounding buildings. A group had pulled out a variety of instruments and had started an improvised jam session. People were dancing to the catchy tunes.
And the reason for this festival?
Me, the guest of honor, Liscura.
A Dark Elf girl fourteen seasons old, about twenty in human years, apprenticed to one of the village's druids.
It had been two days since I woke up in the body of Liscura. She had been bedridden for many days, the ghost fever slowly shutting down her body. From what she had overheard when the village healer had visited, catching the disease at her age was not common and her chances were slim. The earlier it was caught, the easier it was to survive.
Then one day, I woke up here, in her place. Her memories of the event were fuzzy and my own were not better. Besides that, I had all of her memories and I knew her life as if I had lived it myself. After a few days, I had recovered quickly which was expected if you survived the worst part of the disease.
My parents had been ecstatic that their only child had survived. From there, the celebration had spontaneously arranged itself. Despite the small population, the celebration was almost suffocating. Everyone had passed by and given me their well wishes.
Velatha, my childhood friend, dragged me into the center and pulled me into a dance. The smile on her face was almost brighter than the fire. I struggled to keep pace with her until the music slowed down and she pulled me closer into a slow and intimate dance.
She gently pulled us away from the bustling crowd and into a small alcove between two houses. There, in the shadows, she planted a kiss on my lips. It was over in a flash but my heart skipped a beat and my brain stalled. I knew from her memories that Liscura had a crush on her best friend. When the disease had struck, she had wanted to confess her feelings but she had stayed her hand, both from the fear of rejection and not wanting to hurt Velatha.
"Idiot," her best friend said as she punched my side. "I thought I'd lost you forever," Velatha embraced me and started to quietly sob with her head in the crook of my neck.
"Looks like I'm not that easy to put down," I returned the embrace and gently stroked her hair.
"You idiot," she chuckled in between her sobs.
I kept consoling her for a few more minutes until a patroling guard appeared nearby. He looked at the two of us with a smile and signed a question. Everything alright?
Everything alright! I signed back.
He winked and disapeared again.
"We got caught?" Vel asked quietly.
"Totally," I said and she started to laugh.
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The mana stones on the ceiling of the cavern glittered like stars. Their faint light gave the jungle foliage a dark green color with the occasional dash of orange and purple color here and there from the occasional exotic tree. Large fireflies were flying outside the village barrier in their intricate mating dance. Hunter owls prowled about, only noticeable by the pinpricks of light they obscured.
I was lying on the roof of the highest building in the village, Liscura's favorite spot to go and relax and I could see why she liked it, everything was distant. The music and noise from the festival were muted, background noise. We had retreated there to get a bit of quiet away from everyone else. Velatha was snuggled to my left, her head resting on my shoulder. She was holding my hand, perhaps a bit too hard but it was understandable.
"So ... are we ... together now?" I asked.
"I guess we are, uh," Vel said, "I didn't really think things past the first step to be honest."
I laughed softly. It was so very ... her. I ran my hand through her silver hair and she snuggled a bit closer. We stayed there simply baskin in each other's presence for a while. I hadn't really thought I would take being thrown into a new world altogether to finally get into a long term relationship. Velathia was totally worth the trip however.
For the first time since I woke up in this world, I pulled up my status screen. The previous days had been such a rollercoaster of new things that it had gone by the wayside. Now that I had some quiet time, I took the plunge.
The system interface appeared inside of my mind's eye, in some sort of vision-adjacent space. My vision and other senses became muted, as if I had pushed them into the background. It was difficult to concentrate on both accessing the system and interacting with the outside world.
Liscura Van-Niu
[Dark Elf]
Rank 1 | Level 18/20
15 SP | 3 AP | 1 CP
Status
Health
1'855/1'855
+60%/h
Stamina
2'290/2'290
+70%/h
Mana
2'770/2'770
+85%/h
Focus
112/112
Attributes
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Strength
38
E
Intelligence
64
A
Agility
58
C
Wisdom
58
B
Vitality
41
D
Spirit
62
B
Endurance
52
C
Mind
56
B
Perks
[Blessing of Gaia]
[Multiclass]
[Magic Affinity]
[Improved Senses]
[Mana Sense]
[Night Vision]
Classes (0/∞)
[Locked: Requires Level 20]
General Skills (20/32)
[Daggers (I, 15/20)]
[Light Bow (II, 5/40)]
[Light Armor (II, 23/40)]
[Dodge (II, 3/40)]
[Niu Blade Style (I, 6/20)]
[Niu Archery Style (I, 14/20)]
[Anatomy (I, 15/20)]
[Diagnosis (I, 11/20)]
[Medicine (I, 13/20)]
[Surgery (I, 3/20)]
[Herbalism (II, 19/40)]
[Alchemy (III, 14/60)]
[Tracking (II, 2/40)]
[Stealth (II, 4/40)]
[Parkour (I, 16/20]
[Foraging (II, 12/40)]
[Identify (I, 7/20)]
[Niu Sign Language (II, 14/40)]
[Elven Language (IV, 12/80)]
[English Language (V, 6/100)]
Resistances
[Poison Resistance (I, 13/20)]
[Disease Resistance (II, 3/40)]
I raised an eyebrow. There were several new things that shouldn't be there from Liscura's memory. Three new perks, very high level ones at that. The Disease Resistance skill was probably what had allowed me to survive the ghost fever. As for the rest …
"Something on your mind?" Velatha asked.
"I gained disease resistance," I said, "it's at rank two."
"Well, I'm glad you got it," she said.
"And I also gained a legendary perk called Blessing of Gaia," I said.
"A legendary perk?" She whispered. "That's ... I'm not sure even Breknir has a legendary perk."
"Oh, I'm sure he has more than one," I chuckled, "he's three hundred and a former adventurer. He must've picked up some interesting ones."
"You say that because he's your mentor," she said as poked my ribs.
I wriggled and tried not to laugh from the tickling.
"If you continue, I won't tell you what it does," I threatened.
"No, you can't!" She immediately stopped and gave me her best puppy eyes.
"So, what did the goddess give you? Is it good? It has to be, it's legendary."
I opened the list of perks on a second screen.
Blessing of Gaia
Grants the [Multiclass] and [Magic Affinity] perks
Lowers the experience requirements for levels
Lowers the level requirements for ranks
Lowers or removes requirements for perks, skills, and classes
General Skills and Resistances are more easily acquired
Multiclass
Allows the selection of any number of classes
Magic Affinity
Grants affinity to all types of magic
Improved Senses
Improves all senses (Vision, Smell & Taste, Hearing)
Mana Sense
Grants the ability to sense mana as an additional sense
Dark Vision
Grants the ability to see clearly in darkness
"It's ... good alright," I said, at a loss for better words, "I get affinity for all magic types, the ability to multiclass, I get skills or resistances more easily, and I gain levels and ranks faster."
The Dark Elves considered Gaia to be their patron goddess and the fact that I had her blessing gave me a pretty strong hint as to who had brought me here.
"Looks like she really took a liking to you," Vel said.
"Looks like she did."
"But … why are you checking your status instead of me," Vel threw her leg around my waist and pushed herself on top of me. Her amber eyes were glowing slightly in the dim light, her smile was mischievous.
"How could I forget the goddess in front of me," I said as I pushed myself up and kissed her. A quick move of my hips and I had reversed our positions. Her breath quickened and I dove in for another one. The festivities were just starting.