There's definitely magic, of a sort...

Breathing deeply, I placed a hand on the skillbook, bringing up the item description with a mental nudge. I’d stacked the odds as much as I could in my favour by picking the book that gave me the greatest chance of picking up magic, and now it was all up to a roll of the dice.

Focusing, I selected the mental prompt to use the skillbook, holding my breath for what came next. Only, nothing happened.

“Well? Did it work?” Asked Cameron, looking hopefully between the book and I.

Withdrawing my hand as I looked back up towards her, I was about to respond when her sudden wide-eyed look of disbelief drew my attention back to the skillbook, my expression almost perfectly matching hers when I saw how it floated off the surface of the desk.

We watched, our mouths agape, as the book floated up to eye level, shifting around to my right and the pages rustling as the book opened at the midpoint. The open book tilted forwards, and instead of lines of text, within the boundary of the pages I was instead met with a shimmering black distortion.

Feeling no threat from the book, I tentatively reached forwards, Cameron letting out a little gasp as my arm sunk up to the elbow inside the glimmering portal. Felling something form in my hand, I withdrew my arm and looked down at the object, a die. More accurately, it was an honest to god D100, a surprisingly weighty golf ball-like orb with 100 flat sides, each with a number from 1 to 100.

Sharing a look with Cameron, who looked utterly fascinated by the whole thing, I then tilted my hand, letting the die spill onto the table. Both of us watched like hawks as the die clattered against the wooden desktop, rolling across the surface until it finally came to a stop, the number ‘38’ displayed on the top.

The die rested inert for a moment, then shook, dissolving into a billowing cloud of smoke. I recoiled in reflex as the smoke shot towards me, my gasp of surprise dragging the substance deep inside my mouth.

An icy cold sensation began to spread throughout my lungs and into my chest, moving steadily upwards until it reached my brain. There was the briefest moment of intense pain, and then I suddenly knew a whole bunch about chemicals.

New skill unlocked: Knowledge (Chemistry) Lvl 1.

This skill acts as a cheat sheet of sorts for information in a certain field of study (in this case, chemistry). By gaining this skill, your mind has been filled with knowledge equivalent to that of a B grade in chemistry at A-Level(*).

As you have studied up to this level in this subject previously, we have benevolently upgraded this skill to the next level, equivalent to that of a 2.1 bachelor’s degree!

You are welcome!

Current Skill level: Lvl 2.

Blinking, I rubbed my eyes, groaning a little. “Chemistry? Am I gunna throw acid at the monsters or something? And did it really have to hurt so much?” I grumbled, looking up in surprise as I heard Cameron swear softly. The poor woman looked dejected, and was eyeing to door with an increasing level of nervousness.

Reaching out, I took her hand, stroking the smooth skin of the back of her hand with my thumb. “Hey, it’s ok,” I said soothingly, a reassuring smile on my face, “we have another shot at this.”

Cameron nodded, letting out a sigh and giving my hand a squeeze before letting it go. Scooting forward in her chair, she nervously nibbled on her lip as she waited for me to try again.

Pushing away the highly distracting thoughts such an image conjured in my mind, I reached out, retrieving the second D100 from inside the book. Pulling my hand back, I couldn’t help the tiny yelp that escaped my lips as the book slammed shut with a sense of finality the moment my fingers were clear.

Seemingly finished in its task, the book dropped to the ground with a thunk, splaying open to reveal totally blank pages.

Looking back at the second die that sat on my palm, I reached forward, intending to roll it once again on the table, only to pause as the memory of a certain superstition came to mind. Looking into Cameron’s eyes, I raised the die slightly.

“A kiss for luck?” I asked, winning smile in place.

Cameron huffed, rolling her eyes as her cheeks pinked. “Fine,” she mumbled, “but only because this is important.”

Wetting her lips, Cameron’s eyes flicked from me to the die in my hand as she slowly leaned forward. A notification tried then of all times to open, attempting to tell me something about a threshold reached, but I was having none of it, not wanting to miss what was bound to be a glorious moment.

Watching her approach with a grin on my face, I was entirely unprepared as her hand shot out and grabbed my tie, her eyes fluttering closed as I was yanked towards her.

Soft, plump lips pressed against my own, her kiss tender yet a little tentative despite the aggressive manner she’d dragged me closer. Getting over my momentary shock, I let my eyes drift closed, hand reaching to cup the side of Cameron’s face as I lightly kissed her back.

She whimpered softly, the press of our lips gaining in heat as she responded to my touch. Letting go of my tie, she ran her hand down my chest, fingertips exploring the hint of muscle under my shirt.

My body tingled as my heart thundered in my chest. My entire world reduced the sensation of her fingertips running against my skin through my shirt, the subtle yet intoxicating scent of her perfume, and the slightest hint of cherry lip gloss I could taste, all making me want more.

My mouth opened, the tip of my tongue brushing against her lower lip as I gave into my desires. Cameron moaned, her fingers bunching the front of my shirt and pulling me closer as her lips eagerly parted, just as **** to deepen the kiss.

Our tongues danced in fiery passion, the collective spark of desire building into a great conflagration of mutual need. What was once soft and tender transformed into something ardent, but just as beautiful.

We were both wrenched out of our collective bout of passionate insanity as something loudly clattered onto the table, the die having slipped from my hand whilst we’d been otherwise occupied.

Springing away from each other, we sat back in our seats, faces burning as we looked anywhere other than at each other.

My eyes found the die where it rested on the surface of the desk, an ‘82’ proudly displayed on its uppermost face. I blinked dumbly, something inside my frazzled mind recognising the significance of the high roll and yet totally unable to pass the message higher up, my brain having shut down for a well needed reboot after what had been one hell of a kiss.

I breathed in deeply, the scent of passing storms filling my nose as a seemingly impossible breeze ruffled my hair, the sides of the die splitting into 100 flat pieces, drifting away like leaves carried on the wind.

And then I knew.

(*): Equivalent of the US 12th grade… I think.