Aftermath

The thought crosses my mind to ‘loot’ his body, but I chase it away. I might have video game themed powers, but something about the idea of digging through the pockets of a dead man doesn’t agree with me. It doesn’t feel right.

If I was in a dire situation, in need of any and all supplies I could get my hands on, I’d have to swallow the nasty feeling and just do it. As it is, there’s no immediate danger. From the shock and confusion on the gang members' faces, I could see that they weren’t planning on attacking us again, at least not right now.

I now face the problem of what to do with my low HP. It’s not a problem I’ve had to worry about before, since I’ve always levelled up near the end of fights, which restores my HP fully. With 51HP missing and 0.28 per hour regen, it would take over a week for my HP to restore naturally. I’ll need to figure a way around that.

Possibly getting some kind of a healing spell like in Skyrim, befriending a healer or buying some health potions. Are health potions even a thing in the abyss? As the game flashes by my mind, I decide to try eating food. My powers are video game themed after all, and in Skyrim, eating restores chunks of health.

I take some of the food out of my bag and start eating. This brings up a window that I’m extremely happy to see.

Food eaten

HP regen buff: HP regen increased to 1HP per minute for 60 minutes

Perfect! This will help me regain all of my lost health. The buff isn’t too overpowered, but it’s still worth considering eating before a fight to gain the buff. Every little bit helps, especially at my low level. Considering the buff multiplied my effective HP regen by over 200, it’s definitely going to be useful in future. It’s not exactly fight winning but it is potentially life saving.

My attention turns to my shirt. It still has holes in it from where the fireball struck me before. I’m once again thankful that my jacket is unharmed. I spent a lot of time on that jacket, and I’d be upset if something happened to it that I couldn’t repair.

It would be in my best interest to find some proper armour to wear sometime, so I don’t have to risk damaging the jacket every time I fight something. Still, I have no better options at the moment, and I’d rather damage my jacket than die. I ponder for a few moments what to do about my shirt. I then decide to use the craft skill to see what happens. When I use the skill, a new window pops up.

Craft skill can also repair items.

Repair cost: 7MP

Repair? Yes/No

I click the yes button and am happy to see that the damage is fully repaired. Even the burning smell is gone. I spray some perfume on myself, just to be sure. Exiting the illusion barrier, I walk to my first class. I check the time and I’m going to be a little late, but given what just happened, being late is far preferable to the alternative of being sold as a ****.

The two classes pass by in a blur as I focus on my schoolwork to try to drown out the memory of what just happened. I’m still not completely comfortable with having killed those two men, which is probably for the best. I’d rather not get comfortable with killing, even despite how dangerous the abyss seems to be.

My HP fully regenerates during class time thanks to buff, and my mana regenerates on its own. During class, observe levels up to level 5. The changes are minuscule, with an extra small piece of information describing the relationship score I have with people.

I’m back at full strength by the time the bell rings for first break and I head outside, texting Mia to tell her where I am. She responds, telling me that she’s already sat down and lets me know where. I go to find her.

When I spot Mia after a few minutes, I’m interested to see that she’s sat down and talking to Skylar. I approach the table and take my seat, greeting them both. “Dude, are you okay?” Mia asks, obviously having heard what happened from Skylar. I nod. “Skylar and I managed to fight them off. My HP was a little low but I’m good now. Still a little shaken from killing those guys though.”

“You killed some guys?” She asks. I nod again. “We couldn’t have got away if we didn’t. They would’ve captured us both.” Skylar adds. I’m grateful that she seems to see the whole fight as a team effort, the same way I do. I might be able to get her to join our guild.

“So you’re a shadow mage?” Mia asks. Skylar nods. I’ve started to notice that she seems to have a resting **** face. She keeps her cards close to her chest, and the more I talk to her, the more I’m interested in her. “I fight mostly using solid shadows. The darkness element helps with stealth too. I haven’t learnt all that much about that part yet.” She says.

Throughout the conversation, Skylar seems to be warming to both Mia and I. It’s really nice to see. Her expression doesn’t change much, but she is opening up a little more. “That’s really cool! You’ll have to show me sometime, I’d love to see!” Mia says, smiling at her.

Skylar returns a small smile of her own. “Yeah, maybe.” She doesn’t sound unsure, more wary and cautious. I decide to throw the question out there.

“Are you part of any guild?” I ask her. She shakes her head. “I haven’t found a guild I like the look of yet. Most people around here don’t seem to be very nice. A lot of slavers and stuff.” She replies. “Would you like to join our guild?” I put the question forward. She looks down at the table and rests her chin on her fist while she thinks. I look at Mia, exchanging a glance with her. She smiles encouragingly. I can’t help but smile back. I enjoy how warm and upbeat she is.

Skylar looks back up at me, looking me straight in the eyes. “I really hope you’re not playing me. You seem alright. Better than the others around here. I’ll join The Centurions. I’ll leave though, if you turn out to be idiots.” She responds firmly, a hardness in her eyes and tone that makes me wonder if she’s been burned before.

The kind of care she exhibits generally comes from people having broken a person’s trust. I don’t want to do that for her. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.” I assure, grinning at her.

New guild member: Skylar

Good on you for recruiting another member. Your guild is growing stronger! Treat this girl wrong though, and I will smite you!

+25xp

The bell rings for our next class. Mia and I exchange numbers with Skylar, before she walks to her next class. I look at Mia once she’s out of earshot. “What do you think of her?” I ask. “I like her. She seems reserved but I think she’s nice under that distant exterior, if you follow.” I nod.

“I was thinking about the same thing. Whoever controls my powers just warned me that ‘if I treat her wrong, she will smite me’, so I guess Skylar is a decent person in their eyes.” “Do you have any idea who does that by the way?” Mia asks. I shake my head. “Nah, no clue. All I know is that she’s a goddess. Presumably an excessively powerful one.”

The rest of the day luckily passes by without a hitch. No more **** attempts or anything. During second break, Skylar seems to be slowly warming to Mia and I. “Girl are you telling me that you have not tried pasta once in your life?” Mia asks incredulously. Skylar nods, a small smile touching the corners of her lips. “I’ve already said yes to that.” She affirms. Mia shakes her head.

“But it’s pasta! It’s like one of the best foods there is!” “Depends who you ask.” I interject. “Me personally, I could go without it pretty happily. In fact, I already do.” “Shh, not the point! You’re coming over to my place after class today and I’m making you pasta. Got it?” Mia asserts. Skylar blinks a few times. “Don’t I get a say in that?” She asks.

“You do, but I bet you’d say yes anyway.” Mia responds with a cheeky grin on her face. She’s silent for a moment then responds. “Alright fine, I’ll come over.” “We’re gonna be training a bit too, if you’re down for that?” I ask. She looks at me and nods. “If today was any indication, we need to get stronger.”

We? We is good.

“Why didn’t you come and help by the way?” I ask Mia, changing the topic. She sighs and her expression changes to one of annoyance. “Besides the fact that I didn’t know what was happening at the time, I got a talking to from my father yesterday after you went home. He has forbidden me from fighting gangs. My family wants to remain impartial to avoid conflict."

"Me helping you fight gangs, even gangs that try to kidnap you, could be seen as taking sides in gang conflicts. I wish I could, but there’s no way to help you without getting disowned by them. They’re really strict about remaining impartial.” She says, looking down and sighing again in frustration. I put my hand on her arm, surprising myself with the instinctive nature of the motion.

“It’s alright. Skylar and I handled ourselves okay. We’ll just have to get stronger.” I say, trying my best to comfort her. Mia looks at me, our eyes meeting. “I’m sorry. I still wish I could help.” She apologises. I give her as warm of a smile as I can muster. “We’ll figure it out.” I promise her.