Chapter One: Gaining Powers
Sep 12th, 2017
Elsie Wright, a plain-looking girl born to a pair of plain-looking parents, leading an average, plain life in the city of Miami, Florida. Her entire life was nothing extraordinary – simply school life, simple upbringing by simple parents, everything about it was lacklustre.
Her features were unremarkable as well; plain features and a more tomboyish figure that many American boys shunned in favour of the popular bimbo or pornstar-type bodies they often fantasise about.
And it was something Elsie had come to reluctantly accept as her fate.
As a form of temporary escapism, Elsie took to playing video games, always fantasising about being whisked away to a faraway land, performing extraordinary tasks as part of a greater extraordinary journey as she gained fame and recognition as a hero of the people, slayer of evil tyrants and eventually getting a handsome boyfriend as her potential husband.
Such fantasies would always come to an abrupt end as she awoke from her dreams.
Though her parents were nowhere near rich, they were relatively wealthy, allowing them to afford their own bungalow an hour’s drive away from her current school, Foxtrot Academy, where she was currently studying for her second year of High School.
Dressed in a black jacket, white shirt and blue pants – a School uniform for boys, the plain-looking uniform complimented her plain features: Long, brown hair reaching to her shoulders, brown eyes and beige skin.
She had just finished packing up her backpack when all of a sudden, in true gamer fashion, a series of pop-ups materialised in front of her face.
Elsie Wright
Age: 17
Title: The Gamer
Level: 3
EXP: 0/600
HP: 45/45
MP: 90/90
Strength: 8
Agility: 10
Endurance: 6
Intellect: 30
Wisdom: 15
Charisma: 5
Libido: 10
Skills:
Gamer’s Body: Allows the user to live the world like a real game; prevents mortal wounds as attacks drain HP instead.
Gamer’s Mind: Allows for the user to calmly and logically think things through, grants a peaceful state of mind and immunity to psychological status effects.
What the hell..? Elsie thought in surprise, This is new.
As if to punctuate her statement, there was a new pop-up.
Skill gained: Observe, Lvl 1
Tells the target’s max HP, MP and information.
Now that’s convenient, Thought Elsie, But let’s see if it does what it does first.
Using her newfound Observe skill, she then used it on her computer, and another pop-up was shown in her vision.
The Gamer’s Computer
A high-grade Asus gaming computer manufactured in collaboration with Garena for hardcore gamers. Costs a pretty penny, but performs as intended.
“Holy shit… so it is real,” Said Elsie, “I honestly don’t know if this is a dream or a nightmare in disguise. Oh well, I’ll have time to think about it later; better get to school first.”
As she went down, she noticed her mother busy in the kitchen as always, washing the dishes. Despite her plain features, her body could only be described as matronly; wide hips, C-cup breasts and a thick ass, all perfectly accentuated by her modest unisex clothing. Her auburn hair was tied in a ponytail, her gentle brown eyes gazing upon Elsie with motherly love.
“Hey dear, your allowance is on the desk right over there,” Said Elsie’s mother.
“Thanks mom,” Said Elsie, even as she pocketed her allowance and used Observe on her mother.
Stella Wright
Lvl 8, Housewife
MILF
34 years old
The Gamer’s Mother
Works like a charm, Thought Elsie, And I’ve never been more glad to have a wonderful mother like her.
Having bade her mother goodbye, Elsie went to the bus stop where she awaited the school bus to take her to school.
With still a few minutes before the bus’s arrival, Elsie used the time to practice her Observe skill, one she quickly found handy as names of people within her vision were revealed to her. Most of the information she found was rather useless, but to her, it was fun.
Every two or three times she used the skill, however, her mp would drop by one point. Bringing up her stat sheet with a mental command, she found her mana regeneration operating at a rate of 1mp/minute, doubled by her Gamer’s Body skill.
Even with my current mana regen, using Observe too many times at once does tax my MP, faster than it can replenish, Thought Elsie, And I don’t even want to know what happens if my MP’s depleted.
Achievement gained: Think Carefully!
Think carefully about the possible consequences of your actions.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Reward: +1 Wisdom, +1 Intellect
…Okay, I’m not going to ask where that came from, Thought Elsie in surprise, But the bonus to my stats is kinda nice.
Before long, the bus arrived, and by then Elsie had managed to level up her Observe skill.
Observe Lvl 1 -> Lvl 2
Observe now reveals target’s remaining HP and weaknesses.
Great to know, Thought Elsie, Though I don’t think I’ll be encountering any enemies any time soon.
As she ascended the bus, her eyes fell upon familiar sights as she went to the back of the bus: the old bus driver, snorting his nose at the obnoxious and snotty (in his opinion) brats in school uniforms; Aleksei Yaroslavovich, President of the Student Council and Honour Student of Foxtrot Academy, a Russian expat with an athletic body toned from years of exercise; Riley Davis, infamous bully and leader of the Jock team; and Leslie Turner, infamous Bitch Queen and leader of the Cheerleading Team.
No one paid her any attention as she went to her seat – bully and Bitch Queen included – and Elsie practiced her Observe in private. Her first targets? The popular personas of Foxtrot.
Riley Davis
Lvl 8, Jock Bully
Title: Alpha Male
18 years old
Leslie Turner
Lvl 6, Cheerleader
Title: Bitch Queen
18 years old
The Bitch Queen feels inadequate? That’s new, Thought Elsie, Then again, we often have a habit of trying to hide our weaknesses.
Aleksei Yaroslavovich
Lvl 17, Berserker
Title: Knight-Captain of the Red Wolves
18 years old
The hell? I’m looking at a Knight in disguise? Thought Elsie, Am I seeing things right? Is this a joke? Then again, my Observe skill never fed me false information. Maybe he’s somehow maintaining his disguise. And it’s not like I can just straight-up ask him: ‘Hey, you’re actually a Knight, right?’ As if that’d go down well.
Achievement gained: Caution is advised
Be cautious in your evaluation of possible courses of action.
Reward: +1 Wisdom, +1 Intellect
That’s basically the same thing as Think Carefully, but oh well, Thought Elsie.
As she continued practicing her observe skill, however, she quickly felt a headache as a pop-up showed the reason for it.
MP: 0/90
Insufficient mana
Shit, so that’s what happens, Thought Elsie, At least it’s nothing worse, and my mana regen means I can easily regain it in over an hour, but how to manually regen it, though?
And as if her wish was granted, there was another pop-up.
New skill gained!
Soul Trance: Enter a state of rest to recover. Nothing else can be done whilst this skill is active.
Gain:
HP regen x2
MP regen x3
Increased chances of discovering new magical skills.
How remarkably convenient, Elsie dryly thought, But it’s better to not look a gift horse in the mouth.
Using Soul Trance, Elsie easily regained her mana as she saw her MP go back to full, and practicing her Observe some more, she soon gained another pop-up, and it brought a smile to her face.
Skill level up!
Observe Lvl 2 -> Lvl 3 Max
Observe will now reveal additional information, such as background, motives, emotions felt, etc, and a relationship score depending on how target views you. -200 is the lowest, whilst +200 is the highest.
How nice, barely past the morning and I’ve already mastered my skill, Thought Elsie.
Soon, the school bus arrived at its destination, and all disembarked as they made their way to class.
“Oh look, it’s the tomboy nerd,” Riley whispered.
“Yeah, lame-looking as always,” Said Leslie, “Can’t compare to more sexy girls like me.”
“Girl, you’re always sexy,” Said Riley, “Far more than this hobo.”
Riley and Leslie giggled among themselves as Elsie passed by, ignoring them and their snide comments as she exited the bus.
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Foxtrot Academy has the acclaim of being a most prestigious school in the whole of Florida, only students with suitably high grades fitting its exacting criteria being allowed to study there. Housing many expat students from abroad, the ethnicity of the student body heavily comprised of Israelis, Russians, Japanese, Indians and Ethiopians.
In all honesty, Ethiopia was a country hardly most Americans even knew existed – no offense meant, though neither did Elsie show any interest in foreign countries in general. Each day walking down the corridor meant her ears were barraged with smatterings of foreign dialects being uttered in conversation, not unlike a cosmopolitan city.
Yet again, Elsie paid them no mind – they in turn – as she went to her next class.
Politics class was a special class – one of several that Foxtrot offered – which, admittedly, too few people gravitated towards, primarily because too few of the students here were ever interested in such a subject, much less bearing an ambition to make a foray into politics.
It was a lesson Elsie applied for, but only because all the other special classes she wanted were full-up on attendees.
Yet, it was also one of the few fun lessons Elsie could truly enjoy, not just because of the interactive and fun way in which the teacher engaged his students but also because of the teacher himself; a hunk of a handsome man, he was masculine but suitably lean, and his chiselled face bore beautiful green eyes and slicked back brown hair. His spectacles gave him the sharp look of an intelligent man, enhancing his beauty.
Dressed in a white shirt, black slacks and black wingtips, his outward appearance was as professional as he was stylish.
“Good morning class,” Said the man, “I do hope you’ve rested well last night. For today’s lesson, we will perform more of an orientation as we present the new textbooks for this semester. Everyone, please make sure to have a copy of each of them. Do please tell me if anything is wrong with the copies received.”
Elsie was hopelessly lost in the allure of the professor’s blue eyes – a sentiment shared by most other girls in the class.
God, he’s so handsome…. Thought Elsie, If he were years younger, I’d want him to be my boyfriend.
On a whim, she decided to use her observe skill on him.
Ethan Davidson
Lvl 8, Biology Teacher
30 years old
Relationship: 0
Remarkably handsome for his age, Ethan is the subject of many a girl’s admiration and the jealousy of less handsome men. He is pretty much one of few people who does not look down upon you, though neither does he gravitate towards you.
Huh, good to know, You thought.
As you received copies of the new biology textbook, a new pop-up then flashed before your eyes.
The Intricacies of Politics
Do you wish to learn this knowledge?
YES / NO
Not seeing any reason to say no, Elsie clicked yes, and immediately she felt a torrent of knowledge rush into her mind like water from a breaking dam. Knowledge on how to perceive veiled schemes, people’s behaviour towards oneself, and how to read people’s intentions, it all came naturally to her.
And at once Elsie felt a dull headache settle in, though not as bad as when her MP was at 0. Checking the textbook again, she suddenly found it completely empty – all pages were blank white paper, and no fine print was left.
“Excuse me, Mr Davidson,” Elsie said, “My textbook’s completely blank for some reason.”
Ethan went to check, and after seeing the empty textbook, he said, “That’s strange, we made sure we didn’t have any defective copies… nevermind, I’ll get you another one.”
“Thanks, Mr Davidson,” Elsie replied.
Elsie shifted through her memories, just to double-check if what she experienced was real. And true to her expectations, she could remember every scrap of knowledge taken from the textbook, as if she studied it with the aid of photographic memory.
Woah… holy shit, these powers are insane! Thought Elsie, I don’t know just how powerful they are, but I think this is the start of a good semester!
And one thing was for certain: She was performing a lot of experimentation.