John is Bad at Stuff

Before anything else, the first thing John had to process was the achievement window floating in front of him.

-
<Achievement Unlocked!>
A Brush With ****
You survived a hostile encounter with an opponent over 20x your level.
Seriously, she can fuck you up. Watch your ass.
+2 END
+150 EXP
1 Rare Item
-

20 times!? Holy shitballs, this game has serious balance issues!

At the very least, the achievement was right. He did survive, something he thought was quite nice. John trudged off towards the cafeteria for lunch. He could worry about everything that happened over a rubbery hamburger and soggy fries.

John decided to check out what item (a ring) the achievement had given him while he waited in line, but the letter from Wentworth loomed ominously above it in his inventory. He couldn’t risk taking it out, but he could at least read the description.

-
Letter of Introduction
Item - Misc
-From Victoria Wentworth to Moira Brighton. Don’t even think about opening it.
-

No shit.

Curiosity sated (more or less), he examined the ring. It was pretty mundane looking, a silver band with one solid inset of black stone running around the entire length.

-
Ring of Mana Suppression
Equipment - Ring
-Masks the wearer’s mana signature, making it more difficult to detect their power.
-Drains 1mp/min while active.
-Negates natural mana regeneration while active.
-

“Ring of Keeping Me out of Trouble” is more like it. Neat.

As much as he would love to keep it on constantly to avoid further predicaments, the mana regeneration restriction suggested that the ring was only intended to be used short term.

Then again, it does specify only negating natural mana regen. If I can find another way to get mana back, I might be able to hide all the time.

To test whether or not it was active while worn, John placed his hands in his pockets and equipped it. The ring immediately appeared on his left hand to no other effect. He didn’t feel different, and a quick check of his character sheet didn’t show any status effects or MP drain. After a little fiddling with the ring, John found he could spin the stone 90 degrees. The black stone turned ever so slightly smokey, and he could feel a gentle pressure on his whole body. Even the ring itself felt heavier. Sure enough, another check of his sheet listed Mana Suppression as a status effect.

John was at the front of the line by the time that he was done and deactivated the ring. He paid his paltry sum for the D-Grade food and headed off for an isolated corner to think in peace. Thankfully, Frank did not share lunch period with him, but it also turned out that neither did Liam. He answered a few texts from his friend about new classes and how June was still the hottest woman in the known universe while eating. He was otherwise left alone to think.

The Abyss, whatever it was, was obviously dangerous. He might have seen his new powers as purely a blessing this morning, but even one glimpse at the bigger picture told him that the more he learned, the more troubling his world would become. If Wentworth wasn’t exaggerating, which she never did, she earnestly believed John’s life was at immediate risk. Whether from her or someone else, he couldn’t say. John already knew there were more ‘Mages’ at school, but there was no telling how powerful or malevolent they might be without using Observe first. And yet, if someone could detect him using the skill, it would be like wearing a flag with ‘I Have Powers’ written on it. John resolved to activate his suppression ring before Observing anyone in the future, just in case.

Mages aside, John still didn’t know if there were monsters secretly prowling the world around him. It seemed reasonable to him; wherever there was magic, there were monsters. More than that, wherever there were monsters, there were people trying to use them as weapons. These were pretty basic rules of fantasy worlds, so John had no reason to expect the Abyss didn’t follow those same rules. But if so, where were they? Maybe Moira, or Wentworth, or whoever else around here that had powers, were keeping them out. Another question for Moira later.

Who, John remembered with a sudden nervousness, he would have to approach some time by the end of the day. He fidgeted. Deliberately initiating a conversation with someone was hard enough; John barely exchanged more than a few words with anyone besides Liam since arriving at Ashcroft. He never knew what to say. It was like he missed the ‘How to Interact With People’ handout the day it was given out, and no one wanted to share. It didn’t help that he’d been burned in the past, either.

Worse than that, Moira was a girl. Even worse, a beautiful one! He’d have to contend with both social anxiety and the fear of popping a surprise boner at any moment. That would be the end of him. If Moira didn’t kill him, he’d do it himself.

Oh yeah, she was also 14 levels above him. That would absolutely make things less intimidating.

I changed my mind. I hate this game.

-
<Skill Level Up!>
Observe Lv. 6
Observing a target will now also display their current status effects.

<Spell Level Up!>
Alter Body Lv. 4
Mana cost reduced by 10
-

John spent the following classes continuing to balance out the minor upgrades to his musculature. Still no change in his stats, but he felt great. A quick check in a bathroom mirror showed him a John that was not so different, yet at the same time overall better. He looked healthier, like an actual teen should. He was still skinny, but he no longer looked like someone draped skin over a skeleton and called it a person. There was actually a hint of form and tone to his body for once in his life, and even though an experimental flex of his bicep yielded pathetic results, it did little to dent his burgeoning confidence.

“Okay, John, you got this,” he said to the empty room. “You’ve talked to dozens of 2D girls before. One extra dimension isn’t going to make a difference.”

“Gaaaaaaay,” came a voice from a far stall. Apparently the bathroom was less empty than John thought.

“God damn it,” he sighed and rushed out of the bathroom before whoever was inside could see him.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for John to find Moira in the rush between classes. She was speaking with a blonde girl who was handing her a few sheets of paper, probably student council business. John hesitated to interrupt, but the girl left, leaving John the perfect opportunity to walk up as Moira reviewed whatever it was she had been handed.

He stepped forward, or rather, he would have liked to step forward had his feet not been made of lead. Tension crept from his chest like a slowly spreading fire, and suddenly John had a deeper appreciation for the phrase ‘deer in headlights.’ He **** himself to move one foot forward with significant effort but backtracked immediately when Moira suddenly locked eyes with him. Her gaze was equal parts hot and cold, and whatever words John might have attempted were blocked by the panic clogging his throat. He did the only thing he could do, he turned tail and hurried around the corner in retreat.

Next time. I’ll talk to her after next class, yeah. This was just bad timing. You have to have proper timing. Next time will be better. Better timing, definitely.

Roughly one hour later, John was at the corner of the same hallway hoping to catch Moira leaving whatever class she was outside of last break. He was flushed and out of breath as he peeked around the wall. He’d bolted out the door the moment the bell rang and booked it to this hallway as fast as his spindly legs could carry him. He hadn’t caught sight of her yet, but the layout of the building meant that she would have to come this way if she was heading to another wing. To John’s surprise, his attempts were rewarded with a pop-up.

-
<New Skill!>
Stealth Lv. 1
Passive
Ability to conceal one’s presence and avoid notice. Best used with natural cover.
-

Nice. I’m going to have fun leveling this one up.

John mused about how to level Stealth and where to go. The Girl’s locker room, naturally, but he knew he could afford to dream bigger. The problem would be testing how effective it was as the skill leveled up without putting himself at risk. Trying something above what the skill could handle was a sure way to put himself in serious danger.

With that thought, a throat cleared behind John. He jumped, literally, and spun around to meet the foreboding glare of Moira Brighton.

I’m in danger!

“You were looking for me, John Newman?” Moira all but growled. It was not a question, it was an accusation, judgement, and sentence rolled into one.

“Moira! Hi!” John squeaked. He avoided stuttering at least, a small blessing. “I was! I mean, I wasn’t, but I was. I was just hoping to run into you, you see!” he sputtered. Moira was unimpressed.

The Brighton heiress was standing uncomfortably close to John with hands on her hips in a proud posture. Moira maintained an air of authority over John in defiance of the fact that he was significantly taller than her. If anything, that feat made her all the more intimidating.

Beneath the fear, John was also acutely aware of the fact that, this close, with her chest pushed out as it was, Moira’s perky breasts were centimeters away from his body. He desperately tried to suppress that thought.

“Cut the act, Newman.” Her eyes narrowed. “I saw you watching me in the hall earlier, and you still reek of the Witch’s presence.”

To John’s knowledge, he smelled perfectly nice, thank you very much.

“The Witch?” John asked. “Oh! Mrs. Wentworth! Yes, we, uh, spoke earlier. What to you mean by I ‘reek?’ Is this like, a magic thing?”

“Don’t discuss the Abyss in public!” Moira reprimanded, hushed and harsh. Her eyes flicked to the passing crowds of students and back. For the most part they were politely averting their gazes while Moira delivered a scolding to yet another student, but John understood they were still very much in a public space. He nodded.

“Sorry,” John whispered. He gave a meek smile and decided not to remind Moira that she brought it up first.

“You will come with me,” was Moira’s blunt command. John hadn’t planned on resisting, but the redhead didn’t give him a choice anyway. She grabbed the front of his shirt with a tight fist and dragged him across the hall with more strength than John would expect from someone of her size. She opened the door to an empty classroom, practically threw John inside, and slammed the door shut after following him in.

“Look, I don’t really know what’s going on!” John shouted as he stumbled to regain his footing. By the time he turned around to face Moira again, she was standing guard in front of the door, arms crossed. John raised his hands defensively.

“First I wake up with magic powers, then I find out the student council president is a Paladin, then I get interrogated by my history teacher, who as it turns out is a crazy powerful psycho witch, and now I’m here, with you, the Paladin who is several times my level. I give up, okay? I’m way out of my league and I know it.”

John was breathless while he spat out his rapid-fire explanation. Moira’s expression looked only marginally softer, but seeing as she made no move to hit him, John relaxed enough to collapse into a nearby chair.

“Can we just please skip the whole threatening my life part? I got plenty enough of that from Wentworth already,” he asked between breaths. Moira was silent for a short while, observing while she processed John’s words.

“Why do you think I’m going to threaten your life?” Moira finally asked. Her tone was no longer quite so accusatory, but it was as sharp as ever.

“I mean, you cornered me in the hallway, threw me into an empty room, you’re blocking the door, and your eyes are on fire. Also the whole way over my level thing,” John answered. As mentally and physically exhausted as he was, he still had his wits.

“My… eyes?” Moira blinked, and for a wavering second her expression was swapped with one of confusion. The ice thawed and the flames sputtered in that moment, and only that moment.
“Never mind that,” She snapped. “You presented yourself as a threat and I responded accordingly.”

“A threat?” John put a hand on his chest. “Me? Are you serious? Have you seen me? I can barely do a single pull-up, you could snap me in half!”

“Things are not always as they appear in the Abyss, and until today you were not known to be a part of it,” Moira answered. “That makes you dangerous.”

“I’m not, I promise. My powers can barely do anything right now,” John said. As ever, Moira was not assuaged.

“Worse still, your supposed first contact was with the Witch. That alone is suspect, regardless of your behavior,” she said.

“Listen, I’m not her minion or anything. The only reason I was even speaking to her is because I was asking about you.” John shook his head. “Apparently that was a mistake.”

“Me?” Moira quirked a brow. “Why would you asked Wentworth about me?”

“I told you I found out you were a Paladin right? Warden of the Golden Rose?” John began, but he faltered when Moira’s demeanor stiffened at mention of the Order.

“Yes,” she responded, frigid and dry. “Something civilians are not supposed to be aware of.”

“I know, I know.” John closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. Who knew having supernatural powers would involve so much explaining? If this was going to keep happening, he might as well print up pamphlets.
“The first thing I learned to do was to look at people and learn things about them. It’s a skill called Observe. I used it on you this morning on a whim.”

John answered her next question before Moira could ask it. He Observed her again, and read the results out loud.

“Moira Brighton, Level 17 Human Paladin. Warden of the Golden Rose,” he repeated. He opted not to read out her litany of various holy sounding status effects, nor that her Reputation score had dropped to -78.

Man, she really is pissed.

“I’m not seventeen,” Moira said, perplexed yet still irritated.

“It’s your level, not your age. It’s…” John gave up. “It’s just a game thing, don’t worry about it.”

Surprisingly, she didn’t.

“Your information is otherwise correct. But if you truly did gain your powers this morning, why would you go to Wentworth about this?” Moira asked, still on guard.

“Because you were the first person I ran into with a class and level actually worth a damn. And, no offense, ‘Order of the Golden Rose’ sounds like some Knights Templar shit, so I asked my history teacher about it,” John said and immediately regretted it. Moira’s face flared bright and angry.

“Do not conflate the Knights Templar with the Order! We are nothing like them!” the Paladin shouted, taking a heavy step forward. Her Observe window, still open, showed her RP drop another 50 points.

Fuuuuuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! I pressed a bad button!

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” John flailed and scooted his chair backwards. “Like I said, I don’t know anything! I didn’t mean to offend, I promise.”

Moira let out a sharp sigh and stood down. In the long silence that followed, only the ring of the bell to resume classes broke the tension.

“I...” She stalled, straightening her skirt. “My outburst was uncalled for and unfitting decorum for someone of my station. My apologies,” Moira said with an earnestness John had never seen from her before. It did not last long before her sharp stare returned, but John noticed that her RP rose back to an even -50.

“I, uh, accept your apology. Don’t worry about it,” John returned. His attempt at manners was rewarded with a further 10 point bump in her RP.

“Back on topic, I may believe you, but why did you not simply ask me directly?” Moira asked, finally walking away from the door to stand near John. He was again made keenly aware of her breasts, now directly at his eye level. All it would take was a sudden grab and John could bury his face in her chest, something his lower brain very much wanted to do. Feeling the oncoming blush, he averted his gaze and crossed his legs to hide his burgeoning erection.

“I didn’t ask you because I was afraid you might do something like throw me in a classroom and impale me on your righteous sword of smiting,” John answered, gesturing to the room and current situation they were in.

“I would not have resorted to this had you been upfront and honest!” Moira shouted, frowning. When John looked back up to meet her eyes, he found they were pointedly staring off to the side.

“Look, it doesn’t matter, okay?” John tried his best to be reassuring. That he was the one doing the soothing in this situation made him groan internally.

“Everything that happened, happened. It’s fine. If you want proof, I have a letter from Wentworth for you. Apparently it’s supposed to explain things. Also apparently she is incapable of using a phone to just call you like a regular human being.”

That last quip actually elicited a smirk from Moira. She pulled up a chair and sat across from John, significantly more relaxed. However, Moira Brighton’s definition of relaxed was leagues more rigid and disciplined than any dictionary’s. Her back was perfectly straight, legs pressed together and hands folded in her lap. Moira would be the picture of modesty and grace if she could drop her ever-present scowl.

“There are old traditions to be followed in the Abyss. Etiquette and diplomacy between factions are of utmost importance, especially regarding the Witch,” Moira explained. “The Order’s relationship with her is tense and fragile. Regardless, let me see this letter.” She held out one hand expectantly.

John pulled the letter from his inventory. Moira raised a brow at its sudden appearance but said nothing about it as she accepted the sealed envelope.

“No wonder I sensed her aura from you,” she said as she inspected the wax seal. “This letter is steeped in her mana.”

“Is that normal?” John asked.

“There is no surer way to let your recipient know that the letter is genuine,” Moira scrunched her nose. “Although the extent to which she has done so was deliberately ****. Either the Witch wanted me to seek you out or intends it to be a reminder of her power. Most likely both, typical.”

Moira’s distaste was plain to see as she broke the seal and read the letter. John had to wonder how severe the animosity between these two was. He reasoned that it couldn’t be that bad if they could both share the same school, but the twitch in Moira’s eye every time Wentworth was mentioned indicated that the hatred ran deep. Plus, if even Moira acknowledged Wentworth as powerful, what was stopping the Witch from doing whatever she pleased with the school? There had to be something keeping both of them in line.

“A delight, as always,” Moira scoffed as she continued to read. John’s eyes widened with a sudden idea. He couldn’t read the letter from where he was, or even in his inventory when sealed in the envelope, but If he could Observe the letter itself…

-
Letter of Introduction (Open)
Item - Misc
From Victoria Wentworth to Moira Brighton

Warden,

By the time you read this, you will assuredly be aware that the bearer of this letter, one John Newman, has recently awoken to the Abyss. If you have somehow failed to detect him yourself, allow me to confirm he is a fledgling Late Bloomer of no threat to even the weakest of mages. He is foolish, and I sense strong desire in him. As such, John will almost certainly perish within the week if not provided the proper tutelage. I might ordinarily suppress his power until he could no longer be a nuisance; however, the boy came to me in the pursuit of knowledge and has some degree of potential. These are things I feel ought not be ignored. I am sure you agree.

As I have neither the time nor desire to take on an apprentice as of current, I remand him to the care of your Order. Consider this an act of good will on my part. The untimely **** of a rogue mage would be problematic for both of us, and I fear he may easily disturb the delicate balance of the Academy if left to his own devices. If your Order still prides itself on preventing this sort of thing, keep an eye on him.

Do try not to let this one die.

Most Sincerely,
Victoria Wentworth
-

Thanks for the stunning introduction, Wentworth.

John grimaced. It seemed both the recipient and the subject of the letter found its contents aggravating, as Moira crumpled the paper in a balled fist. John could clearly picture Wentworth at her desk, ever so pleased with herself for the letter having the desired impact. Bitch.

“Stressed as the… relationship between the Witch and the Order is, I would be foolish to ignore her recommendation,” Moira finally said after regaining her composure. She rose and thrust forward her right hand.

“John Newman, consider yourself under the protection of the Order of the Golden Rose.”

John still had no idea what he was getting himself into, but he stood and accepted her hand all the same. He expected a flash of golden light or coalescing energy as some sort of magical seal of the agreement. Instead he received a single, overly firm handshake.

“Meet me at the school gates after the last bell. Your education will begin today,” Moira said. Again, it came off as more of a command than a request.

“Yeah, okay. Awesome.” John nodded and tried to sound more positive than he felt about the prospect.

“Good. Now get to class.” Moira gestured towards the door. She was nice enough to not Wentworth-style launch him out of it, so John headed towards the exit as directed.

“What about you?” he asked, hand on the knob.

“I have a phone call to make,” Moira answered, withdrawing a phone from her small satchel. “Being student council president affords me the luxury of the occasional lateness. Tell your teacher that I needed your assistance relocating some boxes and you’ll be fine. I will corroborate if asked.”

“Thanks,” John said and opened the door.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Moira interrupted.

“Hm?” John stopped.

“I have a hammer, not a sword. Just so you know,” she stated with a smug smile. She returned to her phone immediately after, no longer paying John any heed.

Was that... a joke?

John didn’t risk any response beyond a monosyllabic grunt of ambiguity and left. He fell back against the door as he closed it behind himself. Part of him wanted to give up and take a nap right there, another part of him wanted to try to spy on Moira’s conversation, but the rest of him said to quit while he was ahead and pushed him off the door and down the hall.

That went… well?

-
<Achievement Unlocked!>
First Steps
You talked to a girl! All on your own! Way to go, slugger!
+1 CHA
+1 LIB
+10% semen production
_

“Really?” John was incredulous. “Is more cum really what I need right now?” he sighed and looked up as he asked. He had no idea if the Goddess was ‘up’ there or not, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

_
<Achievement Unlocked!>
Yes
+20% semen production
-

“Shit. Okay, Okay, I get it!” John winced and raised his arms in surrender.

Don’t provoke the Goddess, you fucking idiot.
And why am I suddenly surrounded by bossy women anyway?