Decisions, decisions

Blair felt something, wait, this something was against her lips, soft, warm, and sweet. Her eyes opened to see Izohra had come back, her eyes widened while moving back, a new exclamation was flashing that she ignored. Izohra had kissed her? Wait, what, why? Many questions ran through her mind as Izohra spoke. "I'm so very sorry, but I was sent to bring you to the library. I found you sitting still. You weren't listening, moving, or paying attention. I wasn't sure if you were even breathing and well. I just couldn't help myself. Please, don't tell Nora." Blair's mind frantically trying to make sense of it, had he really tried to alert her sooner? She shook her head after a moment. "It-it's fine Izohra, if this happens again just try to tickle my sides instead." Izohra nodded, blushing, his score ticked up to 60. "I must say before this matter is fully closed, you have very sweet lips, Blair." She blushed, looking slightly away. "Thank you, um, where is this library?" He smiled. "Please, follow me." He turned to head to the door, she sighed as she got up. They headed out and down the stairs, taking a left at the bottom, the first door on their right was where Izohra stopped. "This is where we part. If you would excuse me." He quickly walked away. She smiled, thinking on how cute he was, but still, trying to smooth things over like that and kissing her. She knew she would need to be more careful around him. Izohra was more daring than she had previously thought. Speaking of being careful, she decided to let that exclamation from earlier pop up.

New skill gained!

Cuteness lvl 1 - Toggled

Cost: 10 Mp plus 1 Mp per hit taken.

Turns your cuteness up to max, causing those who strike you to unconsciously hold back, reducing damage dealt to you by 20%.

Oo, that was a nice ability, but wait, cuteness? Did this have to do with Izohra? Hmm, she had been thinking of cuteness before meditating. This would definitely be worth investigating later, but for now she had people waiting on her. She knocked on the door before opening it, though it wasn't much of a surprise, she saw Zane, Nora, and Vralius standing around a table, she could see twelve items on it. Upon closer inspection while she approached, she could see three of each type of item she had requested, fist weapons, martial arts books, healing spell books, and pieces of armor. After brief pleasantries, Vralius spoke first, "These are the weapons and items you have requested that we feel would be best suited for your needs. I am here to help with the selection and appraisal process. If you have any questions or desire anything else, both Zane and I would be happy to assist." Nora leaned over and whispered into Blair's ear. "I am here as support and to help as well. Love you." She smiled hearing that. "Love you too." She whispered back before starting with the weapons, giving them all an Observe.

Observe:

Jaded Gauntlets of Greater Impact: Rare Quality. 15 damage + Strength Modifier. Deals double damage when striking the same spot consecutively, but normalizes if a new area is struck. Left and right fist strikes are isolated from each other. Material: Jade, Elemental stone, and Manticore leather. Durability 200/200.

Nature's Embrace of Truesilver: Rare Quality. 20 damage + Strength Modifier. Deals double damage against undead, demons, and abominations. If the user drops below 25% health, a Dryad will be summoned, restoring 50% health and mana, this effect cannot occur more than once every 5 minutes. Material: Truesilver and Livingwood blessed by a Dryad. Durability 100/100.

Dark Iron Fists: Rare Quality. 30 damage + Strength Modifier, 25% chance to set the target on fire for 25 damage over 5 seconds, stacking up to 4 times. Material: Dark Iron, Imbued Dark Iron Ingots, and Cerberus leather. Durability Unbreakable.

These Jaded Gauntlets of Greater Impact would be excellent. Well, if she could strike multiple times in the same spot, but she doubted that would be possible most of the time. They were pretty though, these large gray stone gauntlets had jade stones embedded in the knuckles and the back of the hand. She couldn't really see inside, but figured they were lined with Manticore leather to make them easier on the user. Oh wow, Nature's Embrace of Truesilver was quite impressive, and its automatic effect was very nice. Hmm, but its shininess would be a problem, it was even more shiny than normal silver, they would give away her position easily. If she picked them, she would need to do something about that. Those Dark Iron Fists had very impressive damage, but its materials were troubling and she wasn't sure what to make of the runes along the sides. She couldn't imagine Cerberus leather was something easily obtained. Every one of these fist weapons were impressive, but one really caught her eye. The Nature's Embrace of Truesilver would be a very good starting weapon, and with her crafting skill, she could improve and alter them later. She looked to Vralius. "I am curious, is there something that can be done to reduce the shininess of these gauntlets?" She asked while pointing to the Nature's Embrace of Truesilver. He tilted his head slightly. "Hmm, they would be a hindrance if they gave away your position. We could put a plating on it to change it's profile. Is there any color you'd prefer?" She thought a moment before nodding. "If you could get them to match my hair color, that would be nice." Zane chimed in. "That would be easy enough to do. Are these the ones you'd like then?" She nodded slightly. "I feel they would be the best choice for me." Zane smirked, replying. "You certainly have impressive intuition. I no longer have any doubts about that." She smiled before looking to the martial arts books, running a hand over each of them, opening them to make it look like she was reading some of their contents. She made a mental list of each one.

Listed Books:

Way of the Tide: When Learned will grant the following skill.

(Passive) Way of the Tide lvl 1

Allows your movements to become more fluid, reducing damage taken while moving by 10% from all sources.

Your body becomes like a tidal wave, every 10th strike does 2 times damage.

Every consecutive 10th strike against the same target increases damage by an additional 2 times, this effect can increase up to 6 times.

(Example: Damage x 2 up to x 12)

Street Brawler: When learned will grant the following skill.

(Passive) Street Brawler lvl 1

Increases all damage dealt by 10% while reducing damage taken by 5%.

Balance of Fate : When learned will grant the following skill.

(Passive) Balance of Fate lvl 1

Your damage and healing increases by 5% per foe within 20 yd.

This effect stacks 10 times.

Well, dang. She had hoped this would be an easier choice, but these really had major differences. Way of the Tide would be best against a very challenging foe, but lacked luster against multiple opponents. Street Brawler was a minor buff at best. Balance of Fate would be amazing against groups, but horrible one on one. After weighing her options, she knew, Way of the Tide would be best for her. She hadn't been in the Abyss long, and was already setting her sights against a powerful foe. She would need that kind of power to take down someone like Master Tong. She moved her hand back to Way of the Tide before looking to Zane. "I do not know exactly what I will find out there, but I feel this will be the most helpful to me." Zane tilted his head slightly. "Well, I have seen all of these styles in action, and while difficult to master. I have seen powerful foes taken down with relative ease with this one. Are you sure this is the one you'd like? Many of my guild use Balance of Fate." She looked to Nora and smiled. "I believe I saw the power of it in battle before. My love here made great use of it, but for a front line fighter like myself, it would be unwise for me to use it." Both Nora and Vralius looked slightly puzzled, but Zane chuckled before saying. "Ah, I see. Forgive me for asking. I am just glad you have thought this through." She let out a breath before looking over the healing books. She ran her hand over each of them, making sure to open them and look them over. It didn't take long to make a mental list of each one.

Listed Books:

Divine Circle: When learned will grant the following skill.

Divine Circle lvl 1 - Range 30 yd

Cost: 100 Mp

After 2 seconds, a divine circle will encircle the main target's feet, healing all ally's within the area for 50 health per second for 4 seconds.

Affects a 2 yd radius, where the main target's feet had been when cast.

This effect deals double its healing as damage to undead and demons.

Nature's Will: When learned will grant the following skills.

Nature's Will lvl 1 - Range 10 yd

Cost: 50 Mp

Summons a random elemental to aid you for 1 minute.

Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Arcane, and Void. (Powers vary by level of spell and the user)

Mother Earth's Blessing lvl 1 - Range 40 yd

Cost: 75 Mp

Restores 50 health instantly and another 50 over 5 seconds, each tick has a 50% chance to remove one negative status effect such as wounds, curses, diseases, poisons, and magical debuffs.

Healing Hymn: When learned will grant the following skill.

Healing Hymn lvl 1 - Toggled - Range 15 yd

Cost: 15 Mp per second

While singing causes all ally's that can hear to be healed for 50 health per second.

Blair's eyes widened looking over these options, Divine Circle, Nature's Will, and Healing Hymn. She found her eyes returning to Nature's Will, always having preferred versatile spells and abilities. It was a little on the expensive side, but the benefits were amazing. Nora was the one to chime in this time. "Is everything alright? You are staring at Nature's Will pretty hard." Blair shook her head before looking to Nora. "Oh, um, I was just thinking. I would like to take this one." Nora smiled. "I have heard good things about that one, but I have not seen it. When I was looking over these earlier, I felt Divine Circle was more my style." Blair chuckled. "I agree, Divine Circle looks like one for you." She moved Nature's Will, and Way of the Tide closer to her on that table. Only one type of item left, the pieces of armor. It was kind of a shame, but these weren't any that she really wanted even after having used Observe on them.

Armor Piece's Observed:

Helm of Warding. Uncommon Quality. Adds 10 Intellect. Grants immunity to negative mental and mind altering status effects. Material: Gold and Lead. 100/100 Durability.

Gloves of the Pickpocket. Uncommon Quality. Adds 5 Agility and Wisdom. Adds 5 yd range when using the skill to pickpocket someone or thing. Material: Leather and Magical thread. 50/50 Durability.

Chameleon's Mask. Uncommon Quality. Mask's the users Charisma, allowing them to blend into a crowd. Has no effect against those looking right at you. Material: Wood and Magical dye. 75/75 Durability.

She was unimpressed by these pieces of armor. "I am guessing you couldn't find any chest armor for me?" Zane looked to Vralius, who shook his head. "I made sure to look with Henry, but there weren't any pieces available. Were none of these to your liking?" She shook her head with a sigh. "None of these would be helpful to me." Zane nodded. "In that case, I still owe you quite a bit. I will have the amount transferred to you in an hour after I verify my numbers." Zane tilted his head a little before continuing to speak. "You should expect around five million dollars. I would suggest you look at the Abyss Auction website to get yourself a piece of armor for your torso." Vralius looked over the Nature's Embrace of Truesilver. "These should be altered and ready for you in about two hours." Blair smiled. "That works." She looked to Nora. "I still haven't tried this Abyss Auction, can you help me with that?" Nora chuckled before nodding. "Of course, just follow me." She quickly opened her inventory and put those books inside before following Nora out of the library.

Name: Blair Mitchell

Title: The Gamer

Lvl: 11 XP 1,150/2,200

Hp: 280/280

Hp regen: 3.5 per min

Mp: 240/240

Mp regen: 3 per min

Money: $5,460

Bust size: D cup

Inventory slots 4/20 (Way of the Tide, Nature's Will, panties, and B cup bra)

Unspent skill points: 0

Str: 30 + (5) End: 30 + (5)

Int: 30 + (0) Wis: 30 + (0)

Agi: 35 + (5) Cha: 30 + (0)

Lib: 15 + (18)

(Author's note: I changed Way of the Tide. Its scaling was just too powerful originally. This should make things more interesting and balanced.)