It was late morning when I woke, and except for the unusual position I slept in, as I am not used to sleeping upright, I felt pretty good.  Dee was already up and a few more had wandered into the Library in the night or before I woke up, most looking haggard, a few appearing injured.  I spoke with them for a short while, discovering they had made their way from the gym but it took all night to get through the hallway, partly because they were injured and partly because they were exhausted and fell asleep for a while in a corner, very lucky that no nighttime prowlers found them.

I decided that the gym was going to be a good place to grind and raise my level, based on the slimes they identified as being there.  After all, slimes in most games were the easiest.  Dee had gained more stats in Int and Wis as well due to her increased reading, and thus a little more mana, and in addition to raising my Identify to a useful level and would be able to glean valuable combat data, I also gained 1 more Int and 2 Wisdom from my own reading the night prior.

Before we left the Library to do any leveling, I insisted we read a few skill books I had found the night prior among the various library shelves, all of high looked useful.  There was Fireball, an attack spell, Herbalism, a medicine and alchemy related skill, and Slash, an attack skill for use with a bladed weaponry.  We had to read The Fireball book together so we both could get the skill, as if we did it automatically, only one of us would get it.  After 30 minutes of speed-reading with our Bookworm skills, we learned Fireball, but after Dee got bored and went off to do some more reading, I just learned the other two skills quickly.

I couldn't help but have the feeling that in spite of our encounters yesterday that she doesn't understand the nature or severity of our predicament.  I tried to explain but she wasn't really listening, and her response to my suggestion about learning Slash was "I don't like weapons."  Hopefully she will be an excellent Mage, because I can't see her doing anything with Meyer combat.  I guess that would leave me to draw all enemy aggression and attention.

We put on our helmets and I had a bow in hand with quiver on my back, two bats in my inventory. I kept my pocketknife on hand.  To make some more Inventory space I also activated the other 15 or so Language skill books I had on hand, and raised my Languages skill to Level 7 at 14.3%.  It seems that Skill books give about 30-40% experience each, at least at lower levels.  I would have to keep an eye out for more language books as they were a really easy way to raise my Languages skill.

As we walked out of the library I realized we had tons of lockers in front of us, veritable treasure chests, but no way to open them.  I decided that I would have to learn how to pick locks at some point soon.  That, or find a janitor's key or a crowbar.

We turned right toward the gym and discovered that the halls were not only poorly lit, but that mushrooms had started to grow along some of the walls.  I Identified one, and it was somewhat poisonous.  Another identical one next to it was edible, and the next after that was also poisonous.  I picked a few of the edibles and let the rest go.  Until I had a way to heal, trying to see about developing poison resistance would have to wait.  Dee also took a few that I handed to her and ate them, and I snacked on a few before storing the rest.  They tasted a bit spongy, but had good flavor.

The trip down the first part of the hall was uneventful, but as we came upon an open door with significant stench wafting through it, I decided to approach slowly. As I peeked around the corner I saw what looked like a furry mass on the floor.  In actuality it was a swarm of rats, and on identification discovered two things.  First, they were almost all level 1 or 2.  In other words, weak, but then, so was I.  Second, they were crawling all over piles of something I could not see clearly, but from the looks of it I probably didn't want to know.  I suspected it was former schoolmates or teachers, but if so, what killed them?  I didn't figure the rats had, but I was learning I could never be too careful.  Maybe the rats were poisonous or something.

They had not noticed me yet, so I quietly shut the door, which fortunately swung outward.  From there, I looked around to see if I might draw any other attention before continuing.  Seeing nothing, I explained my plan to Dee then we hopped into action.  I took out one of the metal bats, closed my eyes, and swung at the pane of glass in the upper half of the door.  After busting a hole in the glass, Dee and I took turns shooting fireballs into the mass of fur.  I started getting notifications like crazy, but ignored them until I ran out of mana.  Most of the rats in the room were dead and the few that weren't were on fire and half-dead.  We waited for the fire to die down before doing anything else.  Good thing the walls were cinder block and the floor was tile.

We each gained four levels from roasting the rats.  We entered the room and I swiftly shut the door behind us to prevent any remaining rats from escaping.  In surveying the room I found a few rats and some babies in a corner cupboard, and I left them alone.  These animals were such easy prey that given one we might be able to make a small hunting ground, at least until we and everyone else who wanted to use them got a few levels higher.  There were a smattering of almost-dead rats on the floor, so we put them out of their misery.  This pushed me over to the next level, making me Level 7.  I also observed scores of small gray cubes, which we split evenly between us.  I showed Dee how to use one, saying "Expand Inventory."  The cube became fuzzy and disappeared and I received a blue status box.

. Your inventory has expanded by 5. 

We both began using the cubes like crazy, and in a single minute I had gained almost 300 Inventory slots.  It was official:  rats are fantastic to grind, at least for low-levels like us.  I was really happy now; I wouldn't have to worry about running out of inventory space anytime soon!

Looking in my inventory I discovered very rat-like items--bits of cheese and other scraps of food and cloth.  I found a pair of earrings in one slot that raised total mana by 30, but even though my ears were pierced at the love and my cartilage, they were really girly, so I gave them to Dee.  I found a few rats who were dead but not badly mangled or burned, and I put them in my inventory as well, but not before Identifying one.

[Olef Faction Rat Forager corpse:  this dead rat is slightly burned.  He is a low level rat and will not be missed by the Faction.

Rat forager?  Olef Faction? I thought to myself.  I recalled my conversation with Bardon and the World Evolution message saying about this world being a prime location for other Users to live, and that almost any living creature could become a user.  Since they had all teleported from somewhere else, I wondered if they were still coming and appearing, or if all of them had arrived.  Only time would tell, although I hadn't seen anything red pawn like in games.  Not yet anyway.

Not knowing anything about Alchemy or Alchemy ingredients, which the Warden's Kitchen notification had mentioned, I also cut off about twenty rat's tails and put them in my inventory.  They stacked, meaning that the inventory showed rat tails and listed a number next to them, although each one used up an inventory slot.  This was somewhat convenient, as I could store 200 of the same item without having to hunt through the entire inventory to get them.

The prized item that I found in my Inventory was a fixed-blade knife, complete with sheath, and I was surprised the rats even had one.  "Identify."

 Basic Hunting Knife:  this knife is designed for skinning animals.  Watch out, it's sharp!  Attack 4-9    Durability 19/20 

Dee didn't want it, so I affixed it to my belt on the right side.  We rummaged through some more closets and cupboards and such, but all other items were ruined by the rats.  I did find a purse in the teachers' desk which had some cash and a small canister of pepper spray.  I gave Dee the pepper spray and we split the money.  It also had some credit cards and such that we split.  I gained another 20 Credits; I assumed the teacher wouldn't need them.

There was also a scarf in the drawer, which on Identification had no stat benefits, but Dee took it to wear.  I handed each of us a pair of scissors, and I grabbed a letter opener I saw as well.  It had minimal damage and wasn't sharp, but it wouldn't hurt to have another option for a stabbing weapon if needed.

We left the room and made our way further down the hall toward the gym.  We went room by room.  Two rooms were empty and had no items of significance in them except for a few books.  I guessed that these classes must not have been in use during the Evolution, as they were in pristine condition.  The map seemed to indicate they were unclaimed space. I was on the lookout for any other harmful monsters but did not see any at first.  As we passed a stairwell on our right we heard a loud screeching noise, like metal on metal, and loud thumping and banging sounds, like large objects being thrown around.  I realized it might be the Gryphon again, and I hissed at Dee to run back to the Library.  Suddenly a large body fell down from the upper landing and landed on the ground.  We didn't wait to find out what it was, if it was alive, or if whatever was attacking it was going to appear, and we darted toward the nearest open door.  Slipping inside we found ourselves in a small computer lab.  Dee gingerly closed the door and we looked for places to hide.

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Looking around, it seemed to be in a state of disarray, with computers knocked everywhere.  However, any danger in here couldn't be worse than the certain death that waited forbid out there.  Seeing no threats, we hid.  The fighting continued outside, and something was either rammed or thrown into the wall outside the room we were in every few moments.  The building shuddered and I wondered how long the wall would hold up.

There was a closet on the far wall but only had room for one of us.  I told Dee to hide there and I would find somewhere else.  I hid behind a desk on the far end of the room.  It was a horrible hiding place but if something did come into the room I at least would not be immediately visible; it was better than nothing.  Hearing loud shrieks and screams outside, as well as continued tremors, we waited, hoping and praying for safety.

What must have been five minutes later I heard a high pitched noise that was near-deafening, and it continued for a maddening amount of time.  I received a status box when I heard the noise and was suddenly dizzy, nauseous, and had a splitting headache.

 Due to the Shrill Cry you have been afflicted with dizziness, nausea, headache, and disorientation.    All movement has a 60% deficit for 5 minutes and Agility is temporarily reduced by 80%. 

I could barely read the status, but it basically told me what I already knew--I was crazy sick and mostly unable to move.  I waited helplessly for the five minutes to be over, hearing all kinds of carnage outside.  At one point during the torturous waiting period an impact against the classroom wall broke the cinder block inward.  I was very afraid the fight would continue in the classroom but that was about the time the fighting stopped.  Someone must have won.

 Shrill Cry Debuff has ended.  Movement speed and Agility have returned to normal. 

At five minutes the symptoms instantly subsided.  Hearing no further activity outside, I waited another minute, then slowly crept toward the open hole in the wall and peeked out.  I saw the corpse of a hulking beast just outside, but nothing else was visible.

"Identify," I whispered.

[Ywedd-fyll Weir corpse:  the corpse of a rare beast that has the ability to change its physical form.  Its Mana core can be affixed to items to add magical qualities and the meat, when cooked properly, can permanently raise stats.  I's leathery skin can be used as a crafting item.]

Jackpot!  I thought to myself.  Too bad we nearly died.  I wonder if that other beast is coming back. . .   I hurried over to tell Dee what I was doing.  She decided to remain hiding while I worked.  I crept outside, keeping a watchful eye and trying hard to be quiet.  Once outside I could see just how massive this Ywedd-fyll Weir beast was.  It was probably the size of a large bear but with a bulkier body.

It took some time, but I was able to remove a large sheet of its hide.  It was hairless, had legs and arms with sharp claws that appeared metallic, and its bones were extremely hard.  I couldn't make even a tiny scratch on its bones with the hunting knife.  This made me wonder just how monstrous the beast that killed it was, and I hoped it wasn't the Gryphon I was supposed to set free.  Looking further it had a gaping hole in its abdomen that was dripping with a dark fluid of some kind, most likely blood.  I guessed that is where the mana core must have been.

Harvesting as much meat as I could in a short period of time, I put it all in my inventory, doing my best to copy what I had seen Bardon do.  Next I turned my attention to the claws.  I tried to cut them off but they were too sharp, and I gave myself a cut instead.  I decided to see if I could sever them at a joint, which was successful.  As gruesome as this seemed, it was no worse than the one time my dad took me deer hunting.  Mind you, I felt bad for the deer at the time, but deer aren't crazy beasts from another realm hell-bent on my destruction.  Anyway, it took more time and the knife's durability was at 3/20, but I was able to remove both sets of paws and stored them too.  I stored the knife away in my Inventory as well, as I had no way to repair it.

Finally, I decided to look around the beast a bit more, if for no other reason than to attempt to use my Scavenging skill.  It was too heavy for me to move too much, but since I had removed a significant portion of meat I was able to flip its arm and a leg over and the Weir beast rolled off of a few cinder blocks, where something caught my eye.

Reaching down to pick it up I saw a gray cube, which I immediately activated.  Searching my Inventory, which grew by another 370, I found less than ten slots filled.  The first turned out to be a bunch of stacked pieces of metal of some kind that even on Identification I had never heard of:  beryllium. 

  Beryllium:  a lightweight metal that is extremely durable and is able to withstand high heat.  It mixes well as an alloy with copper and can be missed with Aluminum as a cost-saving measure. This sample of beryllium is non-radioactive. 

I had NO idea how I would ever use this, but it seemed like a high-quality item, so I kept them.  The next item was a sword, conveniently complete with belt and scabbard, which I promptly equipped.

  Steel Ranger's sword:  A sword once owned by an Elven Ranger.

Restrictions:

- Strength 20

- Agility 30

Options

- +3 to Agility

- + 2 to strength

-  +1% chance of causing Bleed status

Durability:  107/120  

My Strength and Agility were both low, so i would need to allocate stat points to use it.  I was curious though, how would stay requirements affect my ability to use the item?  I tried swinging the sword without sufficient strength or agility, and while it was difficult, I was still able to use it.  There must be something else to it.  Maybe it was that the Options didn't apply until you had sufficient stats.  Hmm. . .  I would have to ask Bardon about that later too.  I allocated the minimum stats requires from my level-ups, leaving me nine stat points left.  I kept them in reserve until I got a better picture of what stats I would need more of.

The next number of items were all food or other items that seemed like they might be for Cooking, Alchemy, or other crafting.

The final item was breathtaking and a major find.  I couldn't imagine I could be so lucky!  It was a silver- colored necklace with a pendant.  The pendant was a deep blue sparkling gem about the size of a quarter, cut in the shape of a crescent moon, and bound again in the silver-colored metal.

  Moonrider's Crescent Pendant:  this pendant is one of a series of jewelry designed to give the bearer safe passage through the Umbrian Gate.

Restrictions: 

- must be humanoid

- 80 Intelligence

- 1000 mana one-time requirement to equip.

-soul-bound once equipped, cannot be dropped.

Options:

- +10 to all stats

- 3% resistance to Darkness magic

- able to cast Cure Poison three times a day, mana cost 100 per cast

- immune to chaos magic in the Umbrian Gate

. Identify has reached Beginner level 7. 

As my stats weren't high enough, I stashed the item in my inventory and made my way back inside to get Dee. 

We both agreed that our venture was profitable, but with that unknown powerful beast running around, most likely the charmed gryphon, it was better to play it safe and head back.  At the very least we had set up a possible training ground for the future.  As we left, I closed the fire doors that led to the stairwell, hoping it might discourage the predator from coming downstairs and hoping that I shut it upstairs and not on the main floor.  With that, we quietly walked back to the Library.