Your [Meditation] Skill has improved! 26 → 27
Malwine shook herself awake—she’d been meditating, not sleeping, but it felt equally abrupt to open her eyes, blinking repeatedly. The door to the room she supposedly shared with Adelheid wasn’t the type to have a key, so she wondered what the noise outside was, considering how it was unlikely to be the jangling of keys.
When it opened, it was pushed so far she was somewhat surprised to see it didn’t fall off its hinges. As Bernie walked closer and scooped her up, it took Malwine’s brain a moment to catch up. Huh?
“Has she had a meal yet?”
“No, mistress.”
Malwine didn’t see which maid had spoken—she really needed to figure out how to learn all of these people’s names—but she thought the voice was one of the usual ones as far as the hallway beyond the room was concerned.
Bernie unceremoniously dumped her on her chair, motioned for another staffer, and… left. Her guardian looked frazzled, and seemingly in a rush to be elsewhere. At most, a minute had passed between her being taken from her room and finding herself awaiting a meal, alone at the table, and Malwine just kept staring forward.
It’d happened so uncharacteristically fast—by the standards of events in this home, anyway—that she was beyond confused.
Her earlier, idle concerns came back in force—Bernie was never frazzled. No, she was the type of person who probably made sure not a single hair was out of place before going to sleep, let alone before walking around.
Something was probably wrong.
Bummer.
Selfish as it was, Malwine couldn't help but be a little annoyed by the implication that her tests on her new Skill might have to wait even more. Still, this took priority. The sooner whatever the issue was got resolved, the sooner she could stop worrying about whether it'd be a problem in the long term.
Unfortunately for her, just what was she supposed to do?
Oh. There was no need to wait. If nothing else, proceeding with her testing would be incredibly justified.
It would probably take some time to get used to the fact that she did, indeed, now have quite the tool at her disposal. Already, she could think of various ways to go about it, and it’d likely take some trial and error.
Granted, she probably wouldn’t be outright spying on her family anytime soon. While [Earthless Glory] did say her form would be customizable, Malwine didn’t quite have the stones to try anything other than a humanoid form… though the idea of just pretending to be Adelheid did cross her mind. It wouldn’t even be out of character for her little half-aunt to show up in random places!
Though I should probably hold off on getting her in trouble unnecessarily… Malwine had yet to even practice using the Skill.
Naturally, the most tempting option would be the widow, or at least the mental image she had of the widow. A part of her wondered whether her own recollection of, well, herself would be accurate enough, especially when she wouldn’t be able to take her new mirror with her to check.
From what she understood of the Skill, she could manifest her double anywhere so long as she knew the place well enough. Would simply having visited it be enough? That would be something to test, though it wouldn’t hurt if she made sure to pay attention to locations while she was out from now on.
For the first test, Malwine had settled on the shed where she’d first appeared in this world. It was clearly isolated enough for people to rarely frequent it, and should provide enough cover for testing, assuming no one had torn it down.
When she’d tried to use the Skill earlier, she’d gotten an error message over her [Toll]. This time, Malwine got the impression of… a force. Something made of formless light, not unlike that which she’d felt on the transition to the trial for OBeryl. She could give this any shape she wanted, that much she understood.
Imagining her past self was somehow both easy and grueling. She’d been taller than any of her current relatives, that was for sure. Even Kristian. A lanky figure, further thinned by age. She wasn’t as wrinkled as someone her age would have been before all those advancements in life extension, but it was still quite noticeable. Olive skin, on the light side of brown, framed dark eyes and their accompanying sparse eyebrows.
She let the widow’s hair be as long as it had been a few weeks before her death, before she had the edges trimmed after the hairdresser gave her a speech on how it would help future growth. They always said that, and they always managed to convince her. Her first instinct was to be confused as to why she remembered that so well, of all things, before she shrugged the entire thing off to avoid thinking of how oddly fond she suddenly felt of the memory.
Strands moved without wind, some light gray and others so dark they seemed to be stubbornly clinging to the memory of the black hair she’d once had.
And as much as she wished she could take some inspiration from Lady Margreth, she went with a simple raglan knee-high dress, its high neck quite wide as the fabric folded in on itself to shroud a large bow. The entire piece appeared knitted, and she finished off the look with a pair of moccasins before allowing the double’s image to settle.
Certainly, she had tastes to rival Lady Margreth.
As for a Skill… [Shieldwork], as a first? It would be the easiest Skill to test, at least.
[Toll] 0 → 12
Your [Earthless Glory] Skill has improved! 0 → 1
For the Malwine at the table, the world blurred, her eyes fluttering shut.
The next thing she saw was that same wooden room that had once greeted her. The ceiling looked quite distressed from this angle, and it took Malwine a moment to realize the widow was on the floor.
She stood and almost immediately lost balance, the difference in size far more disconcerting than she expected it to be. This form was… light, all things considered, and she found it almost difficult to directly think of the differences between her selves.
Malwine swayed on her feet for a few more seconds before settling. She took a tentative step forward. Light was coming from somewhere, though she could not tell where. It was frankly too dim to work with as well.
A problem presented itself immediately—she could not grip the door handle. It was neither unmoving nor did her hand pass through it, but when she tried to turn it, it just sort of slipped from her grasp.
With a frown, Malwine reached for it again, this time forcing her hand to remain in place as she turned the handle. The door opened, but a panel popped up in tandem.
[Toll] 12 → 15
Oh, fuck. So touching stuff costs me?
That would not hinder her exploration attempts directly, but she’d have to be careful if or when she decided to pretend to be a real person.
This form also seemed to lack… consistency. Worried about touching the door and having to accrue even more [Toll], Malwine made her best impression of a cat fitting through the gap between the newly-opened door and the frame, and it worked far better than it should have.
I guess, since this is just a double of sorts, maybe it works like a projection to some extent.
Once outside, Malwine regarded the outside of the shed. The rocks on the path here were larger than the ones closer to the estate, and she found she wasn’t even sure how it connected to the other path. She didn’t recall the one she’d used the day prior ever branching off, though the estate was huge.
And now what?
Malwine stared at her double’s hands, uncannily reminiscent of the widow’s yet missing something. It was strange, everything feeling numb and distant. She could hardly process that it was real. This Skill was proving to be everything she wanted, but actually seeing it in action was bittersweet.
The widow was dead and gone.
Shaking her head, Malwine reached for [Shieldwork]. The Skill felt distant as it responded, following her command to form a bubble around herself with a delay, as if it’d actually had to traverse the distance between herself and the double.
The shield formed with a pop, shrouding her in light. The bubble was brighter and larger than it had ever been, and though Malwine covered her double’s eyes with her forearm even after closing them, it was still blinding.
[Toll] 15 → 59
You’ve got to be kidding me.
It made sense, she supposed—the double was far larger than her current real self.
This did, however, mean that [Shieldwork] would probably get harder to manage as she grew. Perhaps improving her [Toll] capacity would have to be a priority.
Again, she shook her head. Just being here was strange. Malwine struggled to adjust fully, flexing her fingers again and again. Well over half her [Toll] capacity was taken up now and she’d yet to figure out how much it would cost her to keep this double in existence.
With a sigh, she dismissed it.
A staffer was staring at her real self, bowl in hand.
Malwine waved at her. “Good morning.”
The staffer placed the bowl in front of Malwine and left without a word.
That’s it, you’ll be the last on the census when I finally make one.
Pretending these mushy oats didn’t exist even as she ate them, Malwine called up her Skills panel. Other than [Shieldwork], what could she benefit from using?
Skills
Locked
Unused Skill Slot (x2)
Locked
Locked
Unused Skill Slot (x2)
Locked
Locked
Unused Skill Slot
Locked
UNUSED
Mental Defense
15
Undeveloped Aspect
UNUSED
Earthless Glory
1
Undeveloped Aspect
UNUSED
Multitasking
8
Undeveloped Aspect
UNUSED
Shieldwork
7
Undeveloped Aspect
UNUSED
The Plurilingual Psyche
28
Understanding
UNUSED
Home Sweet Home
50
Homeward Roads
Identify
Cool Head on Your Shoulders
50
Expressed Reversal
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
UNUSED
Unpacifiable
50
Implacable
UNUSED
Learning By Reading
50
Remote Reading
Curator of Fallen Branches {Legacy}: 13/35
Locked
Unused Skill Slot (x2)
Locked
Locked
Unused Skill Slot (x2)
Locked
UNUSED
Enforced Longevity
11
Undeveloped Aspect
Locked
Unused Skill Slot
Locked
UNUSED
The Things We Do For Family
1
Undeveloped Aspect
Locked
Unused Skill Slot
Locked
UNUSED
Meditation
27
Undeveloped Aspect
Blank Panel
Write Anywhere
26
Undeveloped Aspect
UNUSED
Once and Forever
50
Mana Reclaimer
UNUSED
Situational Autopilot
50
True Autopilot
UNUSED
Nosy Old Lady
50
Purpose
UNUSED
Close to my Chest
50
Reveal Nothing
Malwine drew a blank. For one, why would she meditate as her double when she could do it just fine as herself? [Shieldwork] had been a bust, and though [Homeward Roads] could theoretically be of some use for orientating herself as she explored, the [Home Sweet Home] Skill itself would do little for a double that could be dismissed.
It struck her then that her Skills were a bit… internal, for lack of a better term. They helped her, sure, and for one, Aspects like [Remote Reading] could help her with interacting with the world, but for the most of it, they were just for her.
Only now that she was faced with choosing what to send her double off with on the next attempt did she realize her means for affecting the world around her were incredibly limited, and it wasn’t even a matter of her age, no. Her Skills themselves were sorely lacking in that department.
There was also the fact that, strangely enough, she hadn’t felt any sense of vulnerability upon shifting her focus to the double then.
On a whim, Malwine reshaped her double, seeking to push [Mental Defense] into it now.
It didn’t take, the double remaining unformed. Apparently, some Skills simply couldn’t be granted to the double in the first place.
I guess this does make things easier for me.
Predictably, she couldn’t just add [Earthless Glory] to it—there went all illusions of ever making a recursive army of her alternate selves—which left her with three other Skills under
she could try, and she’d already discarded two.[Unpacifiable] was another flop, which sent Malwine spiraling into a panic entirely of her own making. The Skill wasn’t warning her of anything—the idea of being without it simply triggered a more overt reaction than she’d have ever expected.
What was the pattern? Why were some Skills applicable and others, not so much?
All but one of the Skills on her
[Toll] 59 → 71
Why? She’d started to wonder whether the relatively passive nature of the Skills was what was preventing her from choosing them for her double, but [Learning by Reading] didn’t particularly scream ‘active Skill’. And if [Remote Reading] was filling in on the requirements for its Skills, shouldn’t [Communion] have done the same for [Cool Head on Your Shoulders]?
So it couldn’t be that?
Against her better judgment, she tried [Home Sweet Home]—it worked, taking up more of her precious [Toll] capacity as it did.
[Toll] 71 → 83 Your [Earthless Glory] Skill has improved! 1 → 2
Malwine sighed. She did want to test this as well as she could, even if this meant it’d probably take more than one sitting. At least the Skill had leveled again. One more level there and she’d reach Level 61 overall.
To her surprise, Malwine could at least keep trying even with such high accrued [Toll]. She moved on to her
[Once and Forever] was also pushed away. Malwine sighed. She wasn’t sure just what she was supposed to do with either [Learning by Reading] or [Home Sweet Home] as the selected Skill, but she’d manage. Not to mention, she could still test the rest later on. Depending on whether the upkeep costs turned out to be manageable or not, perhaps even [Shieldwork] could be back on the table.
Fine! Malwine might have forgiven [Nosy Old Lady] for its name and general existence, but she had not forgotten how whichever force in the universe or system had made it had clearly also taken the time to make a description that would get on her nerves.
[Earthless Glory] accepted it.
[Toll] 83 → 95
Seriously? You draw the line at one less than my max? Malwine was perhaps more than a bit miffed, but she figured she shouldn’t push the matter.
It helped that the double collapsed immediately, and the familiar error message popped up again.
(❗) Error: Insufficient available [Toll] capacity.
That’s more like it.
Now, there was little left to do but wait. Again. Malwine swirled her now-empty bowl’s spoon around it, tapping idly at it. After a meal as interesting as that last one, even being in this room felt oddly lackluster.
Though not as anti-climactic as testing the double went…
Malwine knew that was her situational impatience speaking. She’d get her chance to get right back to testing within the day. Still, her thoughts drifted back to how much [Toll] had been accrued for [Shieldwork] to work on her double. She had to improve her [Toll] capacity.
[Integrity]
1011 / 1021
[Toll]
95 / 4667
Strength
5001 (-99%)
Speed
2538 (-99%)
Endurance
5565 (-99%)
Dexterity
2516 (-99%)
Stamina
5473 (-99%)
Resilience
4313 (-99%)
Perception
4626 (-99%)
Charisma
2514 (-99%)
Adaptability
4628 (-99%)
Luck
2549 (-99%)
Circulation
4628 (-99%)
Presence
2513 (-99%)
...
[Integrity]
1011 / 1021
[Toll]
95 / 85
Strength
50
Speed
25
Endurance
55
Dexterity
25
Stamina
54
Resilience
43
Perception
46
Charisma
25
Adaptability
46
Luck
25
Circulation
46
Presence
25
She would very much have preferred to take all attributes to that 5k mark before spending any more on Circulation, but her
It would be worth it, probably. Malwine would only truly know after the fact, but it seemed as good a plan as any for now.
She’d continue to test [Earthless Glory], first to get her desired exploration of this world underway, and second to just start spying on her family. If they weren’t going to explain things that affected her, she’d have to take matters into her own hands.
And for the first time in a long while, it felt like the freedom to do just that was truly within Malwine’s grasp.