A School Bulletin, 'Bird' Watching, and Biology 101

Moving through the halls, I used Observe on several students, grinding away at it like a madman, when I noticed a slight clamor at the school's announcement board. Checking it real quick, since I was going in that direction anyway, I noticed a flyer on it that immediately got my attention. One that was issued to the school as a safety reminder from the cops, making me recall the news lately around town.

"...someone...went missing...last night."

"Again?...fifth time....month..."

Ignoring the whispered murmurs of the other students, but looking at the notice, it mentioned how the school was not allowing certain after school clubs and activities, but the sports clubs and team practice was still on, so long as the students went home in groups and never alone. It was a flyer from the Springfield Police Department stating that a student from Ashcroft Academy went missing and has not been seen in almost a week. There's been a lot of missing persons cases lately, but this? I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this...

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New Passive Skill: Danger Sense Lvl 1/50

Some call it a sixth sense. Others call it intuition. A lot refer to it as mere paranoia. Those of the third category tend to be the first to die. Regardless of which name you call it, this skill gives you the chance to sense danger just before it strikes. When triggered, it can give you an early warning of imminent danger (Skill Lvl x3) seconds before it strikes.

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...dammit, Gaia. I really didn't need you confirming my paranoia here. Now I KNOW why I needed to get to Lvl 15 for that quest, but now I'm definitely aiming for Lvl 20, just for a guaranteed margin of safety.

After said cheery thought, I immediately moved along to my next class and settled in as I forgo immediately training my Meditation or Stealth this time. Time for biology class. This one is actually one of the ones I was average at. I wasn't exactly the top student, but I wasn't the absolute bottom either. I was about 'meh' in this subject in particular. The big reason I even took part in it was to have a better understanding of some of the artwork and stories I did to make it realistically plausible.

Sitting in my seat to wait to start class, I start glancing around as Mr. Stone hasn't come out of his office yet and still had a couple of minutes before the bell. Looking at the storeroom door, I noticed Mr. Stone was rummaging through some things for today's lessons, most likely. He's actually one of the fun teachers for both chemistry and biology, as Mr. Stone likes using some fun chem lab experiments for the science classes, like making hydrogen bubbles and setting them on fire as a demonstration, while also explaining it in a manner that even FRANK could understand by dumbing it down enough for the layman's among us to get the lesson.

The only shame is that he can't do the same for biology as easily, but every so often he creates an experiment related to the topic of the day. Sadly, from what I could see, he was just shuffling some boxes to get at the new textbooks for this year. Bummer. The few times he actually managed to teach one of his lab experiments for biology it was always a fun and memorable experience.

Waiting for the class to start, I noticed a girl named Anna Klein sitting a few feet away from me at a neighboring desk. I took notice because her REP with me is actually -20 and she wasn't on the bus with me this morning. So far, that's the highest REP any girl's had for me that wasn't my mom. Might need to look into that for the future.

Anna is a slight girl with some minor pudge around her body, but it didn't detract from her appearance. If anything, it made her rather cute in my eyes. Her glasses were slightly hidden behind her bangs of dark brown hair in a short shoulder-length librarian's cut and she was a bit plain, to be honest, but in a cute sort of way. Deciding my curiosity had been peaked, I used Observe, only to get a message that made me dismiss her window to recast the skill. Leveled up to 5. Alright, now let's see what the...

[Character Inspiration basis found here: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8a/55/e7/8a55e7182e417fb08f31236d182fbb72.jpg]

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Anna Klein

Lvl 10 Student

Shy Nerdette

Age: 18 Years Old

REP: -20

HP: 145/145

MP: 40/40

SP: 60/60

Strength: 8

Agility: 10

Endurance: 7

Intellect: 23

Wisdom: 10

Charisma: 15

Libido: 30

Thoughts about you: Finds you rather cute and doesn't take the rumors spread about you as seriously as most of everyone else at Ashcroft tends to do. Feels like she'd get along with you as a fellow nerd, but is too shy to approach you herself, and isn't sure what to say as she doesn't really know you outside of said rumors. She still takes them with a grain of salt, though.

She fits the stereotype of 'beware the quiet ones', as her perversion is quite high for a young woman. She has never had a boyfriend, never had a date, and most certainly never had a kiss before. Her own reserved nature has prevented her from even getting any pleasure outside of her own self-comfort, though she wishes she could change that. She has a minor complex about her own body, specifically about how she perceives herself to be overweight, even if only just slightly chubby.

Kinks: Bi-curious, Large Dicks, Marathon Sex, Creampie Sex, Group Sex

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......holy. Fucking. Shit.

Looks like I found possibly one of the first girls I'll be aiming for trying to get into the pants of, at least as far as my age group goes. And if what I read is accurate, might not be opposed to the whole 'harem' thing I am required to build. First things first, though, I need to get to know her first, then try to shoot my shot with her. And carefully as to not completely spook her off.

As I made my decision with a mental nod, Mr. Stone finally made his way out of his class storage room. He's a somewhat older man in his middle-aged years. Around his fifties, with graying hair almost a dark silver in tone, wearing thick-rimmed black glasses over chocolate brown eyes upon his face with a skinny and lanky build wearing a tie and a white lab coat on top of his sky blue dress shirt and maroon tie. Mr. Stone is a black man who has a bit of a rep, and not the bad kind. The opposite, in fact. He's a verified genius. The man has a masters and PhD. in multiple branches of science, including robotics, biology, and chemistry. He actually is the club advisor for the mechatronics club and is very well liked by the students for his fairness.

He makes it clear from the start he favors academics more than athletes among his students, but he also makes it equally clear that he's professional enough to not let his bias color his judgement. Even Frank knows and acknowledges he's one of the better eggheads among the faculty, and he absolutely makes it a point to make their lives hell. The big reason why he doesn't is because Mr. Stone could work anywhere he wanted to. He doesn't need Ashcroft; Ashcroft is the one who needs him. By hiring him, they get an expert in three different branches of science classes he can teach all in one person. Does he get a bit of a bigger paycheck for that? Yes. Does he mind too much? Not really, he says every time anybody asks the man.

Checking the REP section of my menu real quick, I noticed that all the faculty at Ashcroft's academics divisions have nothing but positive opinions of me in general. The athletics courses, however, doesn't have a very good one towards me. Not surprising, given the fact that Frank's daddy funds most of them and the history between me and the neanderthal knock-off. Focusing back on Mr. Stone, I cast an Observe and...

[Basis for Character image here: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/youngjustice/images/3/3e/Silas_Stone.png/revision/latest?cb=20190730203408]

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Professor Silas Stone

Lvl ??? Teacher/Researcher

Arcadian Survivor

Age: 150

HP: ???/???

MP: ???/???

SP: ???/???

Strength: ?

Agility: ?

Endurance: ?

Intellect: ?

Wisdom: ?

Charisma: ?

Libido: ?

Kinks: Sapiosexual(formerly), Celibate(due to losing his wife, the love of his life)

Background: Silas Stone was in his youth one of the most brilliant minds of the Arcadian Kingdom's scientific community, during of which in his college days he met and later married the woman who would become the love of his life during his student days. In the years prior to Arcadia's fall, Silas was a certified professor of countless R&D projects under the royal family as a department head of both the medical and robotics divisions, creating countless innovative breakthroughs in medical cybernetics. When the Kingdom was deemed lost, he was among the first of those who helped the 27th Primarch carry out a mass exodus to flee the dying kingdom before its destruction. Of the near one thousand ships they had commandeered to escape, each holding hundreds if not thousands of lives, only a few dozen safely made it out before the collapse. Among those countless who died, Silas' wife was ferried among those ships destroyed.

Silas never blamed the 27th Primarch, nor did any of the other survivors he managed to save that day, yet it did nothing to stop the last known Primarch from choosing to go into a self-imposed exile after abdicating any further claims of leadership for his self-perceived failure and disgrace to his people. Silas himself was greatly saddened upon hearing the last known rightful ruler of his people had been killed, and he grieved greatly for the loss of an old and dear friend. He and his son, Victor, were actually the inspiration for the characters for the DC comic serialization, Cyborg, and his scientist father, both of whom were named after them, albeit with some slight alterations to keep the Abyss a secret from the mundane masses. He is currently feeling a confused nostalgia, as he was unaware of any Arcadians in his class, much less any who could perform the proper Arcadian scanning spell and not the bastardized form slavers cobbled together from stolen fragments of the now mostly lost spell. He won't pry, however, as not all Arcadians wish to let their presence be known to local Abyssals for good reasons. After all, it's not paranoia if someone is actually after you.

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I completely blue-screened when I read this.

...whut?

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Alert! Observe attempt detected and partially blocked!

One Abyssal currently alerted to your presence...

One Abyssal currently confused, curious, and nostalgic.

Zero Abyssals currently seeking you out.

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Hidden Achievement Unlocked: An Old Friend

You found an old family friend hiding in plain sight where you least expected it. (Now this is certainly a shocker even to me. Never expected you to find this one here. Even I had to acknowledge this man's genius for managing to conceal his presence even from me until now. Try to contact him discretely if you can and want info from someone who probably knows more about the threats you'll be facing later. Take these. You earned them.)

Rewards: A potential pair of mentors to assist in your training, Access to an information network of the remaining Arcadians in hiding, + 2 Levels to Gamer's Luck, New Skill: Identity Concealment, A Unique Arcadian Cybernetic Implant(I recommend waiting to get his help before trying to integrate this into your body, as he can help to stabilize it like he did for so many other Arcadians as the former Arcadian Royal Physician)

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Identity Concealment

This is both a Passive and Active Skill that can be toggled on and off at will. It can block others attempts to cast analysis and identification type spells, similar to The Gamer's own Observe spell, from targeting The Gamer. As a Passive Skill, it conceals all attempts to identify you unless you allow them to. As an Active Skill, you can selectively choose what others see and who can see what. However, this skill is not perfect. It's Concealment, not Blocking. Any significantly stronger enemies or individuals can and will be able to overpower this Skill's protections with a slight bit of exertion through brute forcing The Gamer's true status sheet to their eyes.

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Arcadian Experimental Prototype Bio-synthesis Implant(Currently Unstable)

Unique Grade Experimental Cybernetic Implant(Incomplete)

This is a Cybernetic Implant of Arcadian origin that was developed, but lost in the days just before Arcadia's fall, one that blurs the line between cyberware and bioware. This implant allows those implanted with it to analyze any organic matter, map out the biological structures and feasibility of replication, and then perform a biological modification to the body of the implanted to help strengthen their body by using the tissue samples to produce biologically feasible modifications to the body, without needlessly mutating them on the genetic level and blurring the line between man and machine in a manner similar to the Primarch's own physiology does naturally. It also synergizes immensely for those who practice Biomancy or Technomancy, doubly so for those who practice both, which were common practices among Arcadia's people who were involved in medicine or cybernetics.

However, this Implant was never finished, and was the only single functioning prototype to have ever been created by Professor Silas Stone, who was forced to leave it behind in his lab during the Arcadian Mass Exodus. As such, it is somewhat unstable in its current state, thus it would be beneficial to find an expert to assist in stabilizing it before attempting to implant this in any subject. (I'd recommend using this as a way to get into Silas' good graces, as he's been trying and falling to recreate this to assist his son, Victor, who had been forced to undergo extreme Cybernetic implantation procedures to save his life after nearly dying during the Exodus. Both father and son would appreciate the assist.)

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...okay. That just happened. The guy was clearly a damned genius if even Gaia herself is calling him such. Also, he's how old?! I'm going to go out on a limb and just assume the Abyss has methods to extend ones lifespan and simply stop thinking on the topic. My mental health just cannot keep taking this many bombshells one after the other. Though a discrete method of contacting him? I got an idea, though it'll need to wait until lunch to actually implement it, so long as I play my cards right. Though I believe that's enough 'bird' watching for now. The last thing I want or need right now is to accidentally out myself before I'm ready to defend myself if need be.

Also, that skill and item are really useful sounding, even if they aren't perfect. I'm definitely going to give Professor Stone the assist here. If his son needs it, and I didn't even know he HAD a son before now, then I cannot just turn a blind eye to this. Yes, I need more power to ensure my own safety and that of my mom, but not if the cost comes at my own principles. Turning to look at my desk in front of me, I use Observe on the textbook, expecting to just get some useless description of what I already know, only to see something surprising.

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Skill Book: Biomancy 101

This is a Skill Book that will teach the Passive Skill Biomancy, which will grant you access to the magical discipline of biological modification and analysis. It is a field of dual reputations at opposite ends of the moral extremes. On the lighter side of the field, it is an invaluable branch of magic for healers and medical professionals of the Abyss in terms of beneficial medical research. But the darker side of this school of magic is used by those seeking to modify beings into biological horrors and all manner of unwanted changes forced upon unwilling victims. Use the knowledge gained by this skill with care, Gamer, for it can have lasting consequences if misused.

• Grants +45 HP added permanently to your max
• Grants +2 END
• Grants a Passive diagnostic ability of your own biology upon use
• Grants a chance to obtain new Biomancy spells through meditation

Would you like to learn this Skill?

Yes / No

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...is there even a need to ask this question? Honestly, I'd say yes. Carefully reading the window's description and considering the pros and cons for learning this skill, I think about weighing the gains versus losses ratio here. On the loss side, I'd lose a slot for the number of skill books I can currently learn from, but given the fact I already have quite the number of slots available but no skill books to fill them with, it's not much of a loss on that point. I'd also have to very carefully use this skill and any spells gleamed from it to avoid suffering what sounds like a very slippery slope.

But on the gains side, I'd gain access to a skill that could potentially give me something I'd more than likely need. A healing skill. So long as I can meditate long enough to gain such a skill with Biomancy, that would make it an invaluable skill to learn. It would also be useful for studying any animals or plants of Abyssal origin, and potentially replicate their abilities through my own biology, especially if I incorporate the Implant later down the line. I'd also possibly get Professor Stone as a mentor to help teach me how to responsibly use Biomancy without falling down that slippery slope.

So the question now is not if I want to use it, but if I should?

...fuck it. It'll be of use. A magic skill is never going to be truly useless. It'll only be wielded by a useless user. I'll use it.

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New Passive Skill: Biomancy

A School of magic dedicated to the study and modification of biological matter. This is a school essential for any who dabble in healing magic to bolster their effectiveness on patients or strengthening their combat strength through biological modifications, but can also be used to horrifically mutate targets by modifying their bodies in grotesque manners. It all depends on the Biomancer performing the modifications and their moral alignment.

• Grants +45 HP added permanently to your max
• Grants +2 END
• Grants a Passive diagnostic ability of your own biology upon use
• Can passively analyze and determine feasibly compatible modifications to perform upon both yourself and others by studying a biological sample taken from a specimen
• Grants a chance to obtain new Biomancy spells through meditation
• +10% to positive effects on HP
• -10% to negative effects on HP
• +10% HP Regen

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You have gained the New Skill: Augment Body Lvl 1/30

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Augment Body Lvl 1/30

Skill cost: 50 mp per usage

Augment Body is a Biomancy spell that can reinforce permanently by 5% the part of the body targeted with this spell. It can also be used in a pinch for emergency first aid, but is not a perfect solution and can potentially have side effects depending on the extent of the emergency healing performed. This skill has an alteration usage limit of 5% x (skill lvl+1) per target.

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Alright. That's definitely going to be a very useful skill down the line to know, especially since it gives me a minor regeneration as a passive bonus. Checking my Regen rate, and while it's not quite Wolverine or Deadpool levels of regeneration(not yet, at least, if I can find a way to correct that), it'll at least be something. If I can use it the way I think I can, then I already have a few ideas to try and use it on to modify my own body in a safe manner. I can even focus in the spirit of the class by using the passive effect of Biomancy to learn what modifications I can do as I meditate to regain my MP and give myself the least noticeable and more subtle changes without causing a stir when I have enough. Now then, time to meditate...but before that...

I open the textbook to begin class, only to suddenly panic slightly while mentally wincing at the fact the textbook is now blank after all the knowledge I could get from it completely downloaded itself into my mind, I simply stood up and walked up to Professor Stone, while speaking up.

"Mr. Stone? I think there might have been a mix-up with my textbook. It's completely blank." I speak with a straight face, albeit with a slightly strained smile as I mention this in a manner that can be explained as nervousness about the money costs of needing to pay to replace this textbook out of my own pocket if I have to deal with an unreasonable faculty member.

"It is?" the professor takes it, opens the book, then flips through a few blank pages. I noticed a hint of realization as he notices the mana that must have been left behind from me basically eating the book. But rather than call me out on it, he speaks up to cover for me instead, though whether he realizes it was me or not, I've yet to determine.

"...huh. Must have been a misprint that got mixed in by mistake. I'll let the school know to contact the printing company, just in case any other books got delivered like this and check the others after school. Leave this one on my desk after I bring you a replacement, Mr. Newman. We'll be starting class in a minute."

"Yes Mr. Stone." I gave him a thankful and relieved look that wasn't entirely faked. After all, I really would be worried about needing to pay to replace the book out of my own pocket. Those things were expensive, and I don't have the money to pay to replace it on me right now.

After making my way back to my desk and sitting down, class began for the next hour. But just like I suspected, it was mostly a class lecture without any fun experiments to entertain us. So while half-listening to the lecture, I began to meditate again with a focus on feasibly plausible biological modifications to my own body, and occasionally using Augment Body on myself to implement the more subtle and useful ones in the classroom. Suffice to say, the results were very much useful, as they helped bridge the stat gaps between my current stats and the ones I needed to either equip the Ring of the Primarchs or use the Abyssal Kama Sutra Skill Book.

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Augment Body Used!

Muscle Fibers Enhanced!

Gain +2 STR and END, +1 LIB

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Augment Body Used!

Bone Density Strengthened!

Gain +1 STR and END

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Augment Body Used!

Neural Pathways Enhanced

Gain +1 AGI, + 2 INT and WIS

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Augment Body Used!

Facial Structure Enhanced

Gain +2 CHR

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Augment Body Used!

Neural Sensory Receptors Reinforced

Gain +1 AGI and WIS

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There we go. These ought to be subtle enough to not draw needless attention to myself. After doing these and finding how much I liked the increase in stats, I did them a second time. Fun fact: using Augment Body can be used on the same person more than twice, so long as what I'm targeting is a different part of the body that isn't part of what I was enhancing with the other alterations.

I had considered using it on my own dick, but I'm already ten inches long and four thick. I don't think I'll need anymore than that to satisfy whoever I finally end up getting laid with. And besides, with my output, I don't think I even need to enhance my balls either. This skill also is very helpful, though the downsides are twofold: first that I can only use it twice at the current MP cost to cast the spell and second that I can only currently use it twice per targeted modification from it's current skill level.

Although it's not proper healing, if I meditate enough while focusing on how to heal something, maybe I'll get a healing spell from Biomancy? It'll be worth a shot, so I'll give it a go for the rest of class. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite go how I want it to, as I don't get any new skill and Meditation was just shy of leveling up when the bell rang, too. I guess I'll just need to try again later to see if my idea pans out. Now for the next class...