As she stared at the stat menu, her mind wandered. Today was awful. From the system upturning her life to getting assaulted by a gang of rabbits, it was terrible, yet it was just as thrilling. The rush of combat was intoxicating, and it filled Octavia with some shame to have felt that. All her life, she spent working, from maintaining her near four point zero average to climbing her way up the corporate food chain. The next step naturally was always going to be making her own business. But now that the system upturned that, a different path lay bared before her, one where she was no longer the office worker, but the rogue.

One where life wasn’t locked behind academic greatness. Where her future could be wrought with her own two hands instead of having to rely on the graciousness of employers, or luck. Not that she even believed in luck. Life wasn’t fair, especially corporate life. But now, everything was truly in her own hands. It was her in control now, and she would make her future great.

Octavia’s eyes drifted from the screen, and towards the sky. The sun had passed the halfway point on the horizon, and distant starts now shone. Distant galaxies painted the empty blackness of space. Colors that she had never seen before opened her eyes to what existed beyond her reach. There was a whole multiverse out there now, and while the size of it all it didn’t make sense, the idea was clear. No longer was she bound to Earth. No longer was she bound by the jobs she worked. Now, she could reach out and take power. As the night sky twinkled in her eyes, she slowly fell asleep next to Julie. Her breaths came in small waves as exhaustion claimed her and her mind.

As the rogue fell asleep, Derrick sat near the edge of the rock, looking into the forest that surrounded them. His brown eyes flicked across the treeline, waiting for any kind of movement to come. The forest was as quiet when they got there, offering them a small reprieve. A smile touched his lips upon seeing two girls lying unconscious behind him. “Silly girls.” He murmured under his breath as he took off his mage robe and threw it over the two of them.

The man reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone and pressed the power button only for the screen to refuse to turn on. He looked around again, a frown creasing his features. “I hope that mom and dad are okay.” His voice carried softly on the whispering wind as he took guard over the sleeping women.

“Hey Octavia, wake up. It’s your turn to stand guard.” Derrick’s voice tore her from her sleep, startling her awake. She remained momentarily disoriented, surveying her surroundings. The weight of clothing pressing into her felt different, and her wandering hands discovered it was a robe.

“Yeah, I’m coming. Give me one second.” Her mouth felt a little dry, and the familiar pangs of hunger twisted in her stomach. As much as part of her wished the earlier events were a dream, waking up to that same night sky reminded her none of it was.

She sat up and glanced to the side, seeing that Julia was passed out, snoring softly. “Thanks for that robe, by the way. It’s getting chilly out here.” She whispered as she carefully stood up.

“No problem. It’s been a long day, so I figured you guys needed some rest. Anyway, I’m going to crash for a few hours. Need anything before I try to get some sleep?” He asked as he looked around. The exhaustion clinging to him and shining through his eyes.

“Yeah, I’ll take some water. The hunger I can deal with for right now.” She whispered back. While the hunger was annoying, it was bearable. Water, on the other hand, was a different animal. Previous bouts of dehydration, from forgetting to drink water, always led to a terrible headache. Thankfully, that point had yet to come, but a crippling migraine now wouldn’t do anybody any favors.

“I’m not sure how we are going to do that right now. I’ve yet to figure out how to control my output, and I doubt you want to take a small water jet to the face.” The mage yawned as he pulled out his wand. “But we can still try.”

“Yeah, I don’t care if we have to carve a hole in the ground. We just need something.” A yawn split Octavia’s lips as she stretched her aching body. There wasn’t a single part of Octavia’s body that escaped the torturous activities of yesterday. From the scratches that covered her heels, to her wrist, which felt heavy and bruised, from swinging her chakram around as much as she had.

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Derrick hummed thoughtfully as he looked around. “You can try to find some decent sized logs, and craft some bowls out of them? While I can’t directly spray water into it, If I point my wand in the air and cast the spell, we can gather some water like rain.”

“Oh, that’s smart. I have a dagger, so it should be easier to do that. I’m sorry to keep you awake though, Derrick.” She frowned as she grabbed her chakram and jumped off the rock. A hiss escaped from her lips as the cold wet grass touched the still throbbing wounds on her feet.

As Octavia glanced around the area to find some wood that was big enough to use, she ran her fingers through her hair. It was knotting, and all the work she put into it had long since faded. Now it felt like a bird’s nest to her sore fingers. Well, it was time to embrace the fact she was a rogue now, so she pulled the hood of her cloak up, covering her dirty, smudged face and her rat’s nest hair.

As the rogue crossed the clearing, she actually took a moment to feel the environment. The air was pure and tasted clean. The scent of the forest was alien, yet the lizard part of Octavia’s brain enjoyed the sensation of dirt between her toes, and the kiss of wind as it whispered through the trees. This felt like home, more than home ever had.

Carefully, the woman moved across the open clearing, her eyes alert for any movement. It was night time after all, and there were creatures that were only awake during this time. God forbid a nocturnal pack of rabbits paid a visit during the wee hours of the night. At the thought of that, Octavia shuddered. Those rabbits were scary, and they were even called Rabid Wolf Rabbits. Insane!

As she neared the edge of the forest, she swept the ground looking for a decent sized log. Near the treeline there were clusters of strange flowers. Some were blue and purple, while others were yellow and orange. They looked like daisies they had mixed with carnations and had strange woody stems that swayed with the wind.

On instinct, she activated her [Inspect] skill, and words appeared in her vision.

Jovial Nightshade

Gloomy Dayshade

Octavia paused at the names as she looked them over. The one that was bright and colorful was called a Gloomy Dayshade, while the one that was darker was the jovial variant. Out of curiosity, the woman approached them, and ran her fingers across the surface of the Jovial variant. A tingle filled her fingertips as the cool surface of the flower moved across her skin, and the pain that filled her body dimmed somewhat.

That was interesting. Was it perhaps a flower that healed superficial wounds? As the curiosity grew, she decided she wanted to test the Gloomy Dayshade. Once again Octavia reached out and touched the Dayshade. The yellow petal felt hot to the touch and tore at her skin like the surface was covered in thorns.

She pulled her finger away and found that the skin on her pointer finger was shorn away, leaking a small trail of blood. So Dayshades are vicious, while the nightshades are the better version? At the revelation, Octavia wanted to scream in happiness. Ah, the possibilities were truly endless! Not only was this a chance to learn new things, it wasn’t inside the stone prison of a college, or in the structure halls of a corporate job. It was outside and of her own accord!

A dopey grin spread across her face as she reached out to the nightshade and touched it again. The throbbing pain of her finger tip faded, and a softer energy coursed through her blood vessels. Some of the fatigue she felt melted away, leaving Octavia a little more alert, and lively than she was a few minutes ago.

The rogue stood up and glanced around, marking the location of the flowers, as they would come in handy in a few hours when everyone was awake. As she walked away from the small cluster of flowers, she went back to looking for a decent sized piece of wood to carve a bowl out of. While the thought of drinking out it bothered her a fair bit, Octavia recognized it was out of necessity. Though what she wouldn’t do to have her favorite mug. The one with the little pink cat ears on both sides and a stylized version of a cat drawn on its surface. It was a gift nearly ten years ago from her mom before she died in that accident, but to this day, she still used it and cleaned it on the regular. As soon as this damned tutorial was over, Octavia decided she would get home and get that mug before anything bad happened.

As she wandered across the clearing, she eventually stumbled across a log she figured was big enough for what she had in mind. It was easily a meter in width, and equally so in its length, but lay shattered like something broke it apart. She slid the chakram over her shoulder and reached down to grasp the log. The bark, though it looked rough, actually felt smooth, almost like a layer of silk. It was yet another mystery to be chalked up to the system. Well, not just the system. Did this stuff exist before the system? Or did it exist because of it? It was a question that Octavia didn’t know the answer to. What even was the system? What created it? It was these questions that bothered the woman as she dragged the log back with her to the communal rock, excited to get some water, and then focus on her unspent stat points.