image [https://cdn.midjourney.com/766e6f7c-7a08-4cd9-8fdb-91e987012379/0_2.png]
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The morning arrived with several unexpected gifts. An SMS from Regina, asking if it was OK to meet at five in the afternoon for tea, and go for a walk before dinner. He replied with a kiss emoji. A notification on his bank account app, a thousand dollars transfer. Payment for the guns, from Ariana.
Last but not least, a letter from the other Peter, slid under the door.
I draw a few maps on the back, directions to secret passages between floors 1-3. This time, DON'T burn the letter or you'll destroy the maps.
U from 2
"You think I'm stupid?" Peter sighed, reading the last line.
He dressed, ate breakfast in the Cafeteria, and went to pick up Shredder. The pup was at the shelter triage, but there was no trace of Ariana, aka Shadow, it was an elderly lady who delivered the pet. The System was absent from his mind too.
All morning, he walked and played outside with the warg, because he had nothing else to do. The pup was a natural at frisbees, jumping six feet in the air. During the night, his size had grown by half, and Peter wondered if his pet had leveled up.
While walking back to his dorm, to leave the warg inside and go back for lunch, a hand grabbed Peter by the arm, pulling him behind a building, an isolated place. It was Jack. Convinced the jock wanted to give him a beating for dating Regina, Peter took a boxing stance. He didn't intend to reveal his powers, but neither getting a trashing. Resist a few hits, then run, that was the plan.
"I'm sorry," Jack said. Peter slackjawed, petrified. "I'm a jerk."
"You are," Peter said, relaxing his body. It was the truth. "What do you want from me?"
"To apologize."
"You're feeling all right?" Peter's instinct made him forward his hand to feel Jack's forehead, to see if he had a fever.
"Not really… I lost a wonderful girl because of my stupidity… You're lucky… Regina's amazing. But…" the jock's face frowned, and he leaned forward menacingly, "treat her wrong, and I'll break your balls! You've been warned."
Looking at Jack's back while the jock left, Peter remembered the other Jack, from Two, said something similar… Maybe he was only a half-jerk after all, not a total one.
His attempt at a siesta failed. Surescitation and impatience filled his mind… and the System was still off. In the end, he chased more monsters, to fill his time. Going south-east this time, he found a crazed tiger. How the mutated animal appeared was a mystery, but an escape from a zoo was the most probable explanation. The important part was that he got a notification after dispatching the monster with some fancy footwork and some electricity.
You have reached level 21. Evaluation concluded. Stats expanded.
Peter Hillden, age: 21, Class: Impulse, Lvl. 21
Your class gains 3 free attributes per level
Body Stats
Strength: 56 / Dexterity: 70 / Constitution: 32
Mind Stats
Intelligence: 27 / Will: 39 / Concentration: 19
Spirit Stats
Charisma: 30 / Luck: Audaces Fortuna Juvat * (dice roll: 1-100) / Magic Power: 25
Skills: Impulse (Kinetic, Warp, Electric, Tectonic, Physical) Influence, Sneak, Stealth, Loot, Inspect
* Luck is Luck, as such, it can't be quantified. Nevertheless, your personality and class influence this stat. Your Luck increases when engaging in high-risk, high-reward scenarios.
What the heck?
"STOP!" Peter yelled. "Cut the nerdish! Where have you been, and what's that shit about my Luck?"
"I don’t care. What about the LUCK?"
In Peter's heart, the biggest fear was his weird luck would destroy his chances with Regina.
"I'm cursed!"
"Wait! What was that shit about lovarithms?"
"What did I say?"
There was an audible sigh from the AI.
"But… isn't the boiling point related to air pre—>
"Around the corner."
"Shit…" "Oh… those logarithms… Now I remember…" Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. There was only an hour left until the date, so Peter went to the dorm, showered, dressed in the same clothes from his first date, considering them lucky, then changed again, dreading she'd think he had only one good set of clothes. He wore jeans and a black shirt but kept the same shoes. Hurrying toward Regina's dorm, he almost bumped into Alchemy. She looked at him with widened eyes, then ran in the opposite direction. "Hi," Regina said, appearing near him out of nowhere. She wore a summer dress, light and flowing. "Hi," he replied, taking her image in. She's gorgeous… How didn't I notice before? "I've heard Alchemy tried to seduce you but failed," Regina said. "Err…" "Naomi told me she saw you entering her place and waited around for a while. You got out after five minutes." There was a clear satisfaction on her face. "What's her deal?" Peter said, looking after Alchemy, who was now just a tiny silhouette in the distance. "She's… strange." "Do you know she's only a few years older than us? Twenty-nine. A wunderkind, a bastard of a tier ten cultivator. The rest of her family hates her, so she took on this job to make herself a reputation… She's a little… on the… free-spirited side." "You know a lot about her." "Ariana knows, they're… involved. Not like committed, but they see each other a lot." "Ah…" "Enough gossip," she clapped to get his attention. "Let's have some tea. I challenge you to find the perfect place. I want to see if you can read my tastes. Reward: a kiss." "I will valiantly fight for the touch of your sweet lips, my liege," he bowed, hand over his heart. That made her giggle, and he was happy. In Peter's mind, the task was simple. He had already scouted places. Ten minutes later, they were in front of a cozy tea house. The reviews said it had the best Earl Gray and muffins in town. "You think I'm eighty?" Regina scoffed. "I'll give you my grandma's phone if you want to take your date here." The System would say: 'The kitten has claws'. "I have failed your quest, princess. What kind of tea do you like?" "Boba tea," she said deadpanned, ignoring the slight annoyance in his voice. Of course. She's what, eighteen? He didn't ask about that, though. "Do you know a place?" "I sure do." Taking him by the arm, she led the way to a crowded place two blocks further. It was full of students, almost all Cultivators. The normies were waitpersons. "Can we sit with you?" Regina asked a pair sitting at a table of four. It was the only place available. "You can sit," The boy looked up. Young, and immature, his eyes were telling of a smug plan, maybe to appear cool in front of his girlfriend by humiliating a normie. Peter stared back blandly, his eyes reflecting a wish to kill. "We were just leaving," the girl said, pulling his date after her. "I'm sorry," Regina whispered while sitting. "I… forgot about the crowd… Did I behave like that too?" "It's OK," he said. "Let's enjoy the tea." They had two each, with different flavors, which he forgot as soon as the glasses were empty, mesmerized by her puckered lips, wishing to kiss them. The conversation was lacking because of that. She paid and then they walked aimlessly on the streets, in silence. Somehow, how hard he tried, Peter couldn't find a proper conversation topic. "One more chance to earn a kiss…" she said after a while, looking him in the eyes. "Choose a place for dinner." "What do you like?" "I want to go somewhere… new. A place where I've never been before… Something to… Blow. Me. Off. My. Feet." She leaned her head forward at each word, her lips stopping an inch from Peter's. Her breath entered his mouth before she retreated, sending a shiver up his spine. I'm screwed… Garcia is a known quantity… and Ari hangs around there. A cold hand gripped his heart. Peter pushed against the sensation with all his will and then something snapped, and he shrugged. "Are you afraid of riding a bike?" "N-no…" she stuttered. "Good." He took her hand and pulled her onward. The Yamaha was parked on the outskirts of the city, in a paid parking lot. Since he could Warp, he had less use for it, but he kept it around for the errands, but out of his spatial storage, to make room for other things. "You take it," he said, offering her the helmet. The engine roared to life and he took off. Riding a motorcycle was now easier for him, and he pushed the speed up to sixty miles an hour. Behind him, Regina let out a little squeal, gluing herself to his back, her arms enveloping his midriff. Reaching the Black Market took no time. It was early for the usual customers, there were only five people inside, relatives and friends of the cook, who was also the owner. "Hey, kid," the cook saluted. "Good evening, miss. I'm Daniel." Regina was hiding behind Peter, peaking behind his shoulder. Clear enough, the bikers' joint wasn't something she'd expected. Peter escorted her to a table and went to speak with the cook. "Do you have something to eat that wouldn't send us to the shitter for a week?" Peter whispered. Daniel frowned. "I feel insulted. If you must know, the food here is spoiled on purpose. Bikers train to be tough, they won't touch fresh stuff." Peter rolled his eyes, not even pretending he believed one word. "Take a look at my date, does she look like a biker to you? Please, for once, cook something nice. And prepare me some bullets for tomorrow. I'm out." "Put the tables together," the cook shouted. "I'll prepare something special." The other patrons pushed their tables next to Regina's, creating a larger one. It was square, as the separated items were rectangles. One of Daniel's cousins tried to clean the wood with a sponge even dirtier than the table—the bar had no tablecloths—but his wife shoved him away and took over the job. Returning with a teppanyaki electric grill, the cook rubbed his hands. "I was stationed in Japan while in the army. I learned some kung-fu there… hope I'm not too rusty." After a second trip, Daniel arranged a set of knives and cleavers next to the grill, and a third trip brought a huge plate of raw meat and vegetables. "I'll make some crazed bear meat for you. It's on the house." Regina gasped. Peter smiled. It was not in the plan, but things were going well. A pound was a couple of thousand bucks. "How do you know this place?" she said in a low voice. He decided for a half-truth and whispered back: "I run some errands for him. Contraband medicines for charities and orphanages." "Oh, you're in the R stuff…" she widened her eyes, pumping her fists up like cheering. "Ari is in too… I won't tell anyone, I promise." No one cares about that, actually. Except for the occasional serial killer… "I'm closed," Daniel shouted at a biker who had half-opened the door. "But…" One of the cleavers spun through the air, between Peter's and Regina's heads, planting itself in the wooden panel. "I'll come tomorrow," the biker said and gingerly closed the door. The cook went and turned the key, displaying the CLOSE sign and getting his cleaver back. Daniel's skills were magical, to Peter. He had never eaten in a Japanese restaurant before, but the cook juggled with the blades and the meat faster than his eye could follow, even with his enhanced stats. And the food was fantastic. "Hit me!" Regina asked, forwarding her plate for seconds. Daniel laughed and put her an even larger portion. She was slightly wobbling, albeit she had only one beer. Clenching his teeth, Peter made a discreet sign to the cook, his left index pointing to the beer and his right making a no motion. Biting his lower lip, Daniel nodded, squeezing his eyes in an I'm sorry grimace. They had an apple pie and coffee for dessert, the first good, the second awful, but doing the job of putting Regina in her normal lucid state. The dessert took half an hour to eat because there was a lot of small talk about bikes or just plain subjects. They left at half past eight in the evening, but Peter slowed the pace, to enjoy the sensation of her holding him in his arms. When they arrived a few miles away from the College, a sudden summer rain started, making them squeeze into each other under a bus stop shelter. "Do you like rain?" she asked after a minute. "I guess…" Grabbing his fingers, she went out in the rain, and he followed. "It was a memorable night… and you deserve your prize…" She caressed his neck and they kissed. "I want you… to make love to me," she whispered his years. Her words were a bit awkward, but the next kiss was not. She looked like a siren, with her hair wetted by the rain, and her dress revealing her body, embracing every shape. Taking her in his arms, Peter entered the forest. It was a low-danger area, but whatever monster appeared, he was going to smite it into atoms. The rain was cold, but her body was hot, and they made love under a tree, where the drops barely fell, on moss and leaves, finishing standing, with her back on the tree, legs wrapped around him. There were no words to describe how intense it was, and any conscious thought perished from his mind. They stood there for a few minutes, in each other arms. "Don't worry… Cultivator girls have their period only twice a year," she said at some point. Worried, Peter wasn't, because he knew that. Overwhelmed, for sure, and that translated into a slight phased-out expression. Closing his eyes, he tried to recall the memories of their intermingled bodies. "I know I told you I want to take baby steps, but I decided to rip off the band-aid and move on," she said. "It helps me forget faster—" "You still have feelings for Jack?" he blurted, alarmed. "I don't!" she protested, hugging him. "It's just the habit. We were together for a year. It builds… memories… Forget it, this is not a matter to discuss now." She kissed him with passion, biting his lip. Having powers proved to be a blessing. Regeneration meant many things. They made love again just minutes afterward, slower, taking their time to enjoy each other. "I don't think I can drive just now," he showed her his trembling right hand. It was not the exhaustion, but the emotion. "Let's move under the shelter before you catch a cold," she said. They moved slowly, the adrenaline still hanging on, putting their clothes in order on the way, more or less. They were soaked, with moss, leaves, and dirt all over. A rustling in a bush startled them. Peter prepared to charge his fists with electricity, no matter if he'd revealed his secret, but Regina invoked a qi-bolt first. A scared jackalope darted away, and she dismissed the projectile, staring at her hand, which glowed on for another five or six seconds. That was not normal, Peter knew that much. "Fuck!" she said. "Are you sick?" he asked, ready to Warp her to the nearest Cultivator hospital if needed. "I had a breakthrough!" she yelled, taking his face in her palms and kissing him. "I got a Core!" You have leveled. You are now Lvl. 22 and have 3 points to invest. What the heck? Does love give XP?