At long st… (123 days ter.)
On the hard surface of the cobblestone alley, Nox stared up at the dark night sky, studying the purple moon—or perhaps it was vender—that bestrode that sky. It was a bit rger than the other moons she’d seen since she'd arrived in this world, and there was something ominous about it. She was pretty sure if whatever had isekaied her had dropped her on that moon, it would’ve killed her instantly. She tried to tell herself that was the case for any moon in the Earth’s sor system as well… but that moon still gave her the chills.
The girl sighed. By her estimates it’d been around 330 or so days since she’d arrived in this world, and her only cuisine had been the rat bread that was so cheap. Sure, she’d been tempted a few times to squander some of her precious coppers on something different, but she knew if she did that there would be no going back, and her stash of coinage would quickly dwindle.
Ice cream, the girl quietly sighed to herself.
Potato chips, she thought, licking her lips.
The ambrosia of all junk foods… mint chocote, Nox mused with a silly grin on her face.
Grape soda, the nectar that goes with the ambrosia, she sighed, craving the treats she knew to be forever beyond her reach. Now the only taste her taste buds knew well was that of rat bread, and sewage from the time she’d dived into the sewage after a silver coin.
Knowing to remained focused on food would drive her crazy, Nox shook head, trying to clear it. Instead she focused on something more concrete, and thought of her Blessing.
Worldly Prostitute
Name: Nox Walker
Race: Human
Level: 0/100
Subrace: Pneswalker
Exp: 1992/2000
Str: 100
Con: 100
Int: 100
Wis: 100
Cha: 100
Luc: 100
Mana: 100/100
Stamina: 73/100
Regen: 1 Per Hour
Regen: 1 Per Hour
The one thing she could be sure of was that—leveling was slow! Agonizingly so!
Sighing again, she focused on her Pneswalker title.
Pneswalker
In a world void of magic, without aid you not only forged a teleportation circle that took you between worlds, but more importantly—you survived the trip. This will have sting repercussions for you!
alters physical structure, changing subrace.
changes to structure increases immunity to all types of damage by 30 percent.
changes to structure gives a bonus of +1 to each primary stat per level.
changes to structure allows you to exceed stat limit. (+200 cap limit per world.)
changes to structure allows you to exceed title limit. (+2 cap limit per world.)
allows for one evolution of your Blessing.
Supposedly the title allowed for an evolution of her Blessing, and while she’d pondered that quite a bit, she had no way of knowing just how one went about evolving a Blessing. Her guess was that one needed to reach level 100 in a Blessing, and then evolve it. But that was only a guess. As for reaching level 100 in her Blessing… well, she’d been here for close to an Earth year now, and was only just on the cusp of getting a level. At this rate she would die of old age before reaching level 100.
With another sigh, she focused on her skills.
Skill
Level
Effect
Cost
Calcute
Worldly
Max
Max
Evaluate Expression
Generate Income
0 Mana
1 Stamina
With her expecting to make a level, and be able to buy a new skill—albeit she didn’t yet know which one she would get—she’d made the effort to level up her calcute skill. As with her worldly skill, once she’d gotten it to the maximum level its cost had dropped by 1 mana, leaving it with a cost of 0 mana to use. With practice, she’d discovered she could write down an expression and evaluate it. She’d also found she could use a maximum of twenty numbers in the expression, and that her limit was numbers that had twenty digits in them. Which was nice, but hardly useful.
Okay, enough deying, Nox told herself. I should be excited for this, but I’m not. I know when I finally make that first level—and I think of how far it is to the next one—it’ll break me. Not that I have enough coinage to keep going into a dungeon like this, … so there won’t be a next level for me.
Sighing, the girl got to her feet and slowly made her way to the alley entrance where she got a slice of bread from Si. As usual, she then asked for a silver coin for the dungeon.
“Luck,” the woman told her as she handed over the coin, and Nox gave a cheerful fake grin in reply.
“You’re te,” Ginger fumed when she finally arrived at the dungeon. “Today, of all days, you’re so bloody te.”
Nox shrugged, and walked past the beastkin girl to hand the guard a silver coin.
“Finally,” Ginger seethed and, holding a pnk and a chunk of wood, she went rushing into the next room.
Nox slowly followed and stepped into a room with seven snails that came up to her waist. The creatures were insidiously slow, but with their hard shells the beastkin girl’s backstab was useless against them. They’d missed a few days of experience before Nox had suggested an idea.
Frowning, she watched as Ginger dropped the chunk of wood, rammed the pnk under one of the snails, and, using the chunk of wood as a fulcrum, jumped on the other end of the pnk. The snail flipped over. The snail then quickly died as the beastkin girl tore into its soft underbelly, leaving Nox one dead monster closer to her first level. But she still felt no joy.
One snail turned its head to peer at Nox, and the girl hastily stepped out of the way just as what appeared to be a blob of snot came hurtling towards her. It missed her by inches and spttered on the stone wall behind her.
Even if I’m not the one doing the fighting, being in a dungeon is dangerous, Nox mused. It’s only a matter of time before I get hurt and I need to spend silver on a healer, or until I die to some monster I can’t hope to fight.
The snails swiftly died to the relentless beastkin girl.
Ding!
You have cleared room 7 a total of 17/20 times!
Base Reward: 10 experience.
Additional Reward: 2 experience.
Whoopee, Nox thought without an ounce of enthusiasm, and focused on her Blessing.
Worldly Prostitute
Name: Nox Walker
Race: Human
Level: 1/100
Subrace: Pneswalker
Exp: 4/2000
Str: 101
Con: 102
Int: 103
Wis: 103
Cha: 102
Luc: 102
Mana: 103/103
Stamina: 102/102
Regen: 1.03 Per Hour
Regen: 1.02 Per Hour
Hmm, Nox mused, it seems the game… I mean Blessing… does keep track of the decimals. Again, whoopee. Oh, and it seems making a level gives you a restore. Again, whoopee. I mean, one freaking restore per year? What’s the fucking point?
She counted them, and noted she got 13 boosts to her stats as opposed to the 2 a person would normally get. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to care.
“What’s wrong,” Ginger demanded, peering at the girl. “I saw you look at your Blessing, meaning you just got a level like I did, didn’t you. So why the heck aren’t you excited?”
Nox shrugged.
“This was the st day for me,” she told the girl who fell over on her butt at the news.
“You can’t,” Ginger hissed from the floor. “If I find another partner, we would start over on the first room. All my progress in conquering the dungeon would be lost.”
“Sorry. But it’s time I gave up on the idea of ever leveling my Blessing. I just can’t afford it, and winter is going to eventfully arrive. It’s going to be tough surviving in an alley when it does, and I want to have something left I can fall back upon when I need it. I can’t afford to waste more coinage on this fool’s errand of mine.”
“Winter is a full season off,” Ginger retorted. “I also know I’ve been keeping whatever coinage we get, but I’m the only one fighting, and I needed to repce my dagger, and I need to get better equipment for when I face the monsters on the higher level floors.”
Nox shrugged. “I’m quite aware of that,” she stated. “But that still doesn’t mean I can keep this up. I just have to accept things as they are. My Blessing won’t ever get leveled.”
“Why? Just what Blessing do you have,” Ginger demanded.
Again, Nox only shrugged. She felt sorry for the girl, but she didn’t have the coinage to make another level, and trying would just leave her broke. There was no way she wanted to end up in the same situation that’d led to her having that disaster of a Blessing—trying to sell herself to make a few coins.
“People now know that you can handle yourself in the dungeon,” Nox told the girl who was still sitting on the floor. “I’m sure you’ll have, um, some offers. It’ll be no time before you’re back here, leveling again. You have someone who can help you fight, and eventually you’ll be gd to be rid of me. Especially when you reach the tougher monsters, and especially when you have to fight the boss monsters.”
“But-”
Nox turned and left the room, and the dungeon. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to level. After all, the extra strength would’ve made her stronger, while the extra wisdom and luck would’ve worked well with her worldly skill. It was just that it wasn’t in the cards for her.
Solemnly she made her way back to the adventuring guild and stepped up to a counter. It was the same counter, with the same man behind it, as when she’d first arrived in the City of Lunk. By now she knew the oldish man’s name was Callo, and that he was one of the very few people who seemed to be friendly with Ginger.
“Yes,” he asked.
“I won’t be going into the dungeon anymore,” Nox told him, and saw his face fall. Comically so. It was as if her words had been literal sps in the man's face.
“B-B-But, if you don’t go, Ginger can’t,” Callo practically sobbed. “She’ll be in here several dozen times a day badgering me for hours on end.”
“Sorry, but I now know I should never have tried this,” Nox stated. She shrugged. “But Ginger is quite capable when it comes to fighting the monsters. A bit, um… Well, never mind. She’s proven herself, and I’m sure someone wanting a good dungeon delving partner will snatch her up. Besides, these dungeons require two people who can fight. It’ll be a lot safer for her if she finds a partner who can learn some fighting skills.”
Callo nodded.
“A lot safer for her, should she ever find another partner,” he agreed. “But it’ll be hell on my sanity until she does.”
“Sorry.”
“I’ll pay your dungeon fee,” a voice pleaded from behind Nox who turned to see the girl there with her face still pale from a state of shock.
“You can’t afford it,” Nox replied. “I’m not sure where you get your coinage, but it’s not enough to pay my way.”
“I hunt for herbs in the woods after dungeon delving,” Ginger expined. “For all that humans love to look down on beastkin, our noses can scent the more pungent herbs. When we look at a clump of grass, even if the more expensive herbs are hidden deep within it where humans can’t see them, we can often smell them.”
“I see.” Nox shrugged. “Either way, it’s not enough for you to be making the coinage to pay both our ways. You need to save up enough so that you can get better weapons and armor. Nor am I willing to go into debt.”
“Aarrgghh! Humans are so stupid,” the beastkin girl roared, drawing the attention, and ire, of the whole guild.
Callo sighed and rubbed his face with his hands before looking back up. “So, I’ll post another partner request for you, Ginger,” he told the girl apologetically.
“No!”
“If she refuses, there’s not much I or anyone can do,” the man stated.
“But…” Ginger looked around. She turned back towards, Nox. “Please,” she begged in a whisper, shocking both Nox and Callo.
Nox shook her head.
“Aarrgghh! I don’t get you,” the beastkin girl fumed. “You have a rare Blessing, yet you won’t tell anyone what it is. And you have a very rare and very valuable rare skill that you can only get with a rare Blessing, and you don’t make use of it.”
Callo blinked, and looked at Nox.
“My Blessing is none of your concern,” Nox hissed.
“If you can’t afford the dungeon fee, why not just put up a post with your Blessing, and the skill it gives you,” Ginger demanded, yelling. “Rich people who have super superb equipment would be begging to drag you, and they would be more than happy to pay the dungeon fee for you?”
Cringing, Nox looked around. Apparently everyone in the guild had heard the girl, and as one their ears were now tuned in on the conversation. “My Blessing is none of anyone’s concern,” she restated, growling the words.
“How do you expect to make a living if you don’t make use of your Blessing,” Ginger demanded.
Nox remained quiet. After all, Blessings were given based on what people did, and usually involved something those people loved. That hers just happened to be messed up, and was something she hated, wasn’t something they would accept. As for making a living…
“Aarrgghh,” Ginger again roared, again drawing attention.
Nox wearily turned away.
“You can’t walk away like this,” Ginger bellowed.
Nox took a step.
“At least until room 10,” Ginger begged. “It’s a mini-boss room, and the rewards will be good. Maybe enough to make up for any coinage you spend getting there.”
Sighing, Nox hesitated. She then shrugged and replied with a weary, “Okay.”
That done, she made her way back to the alley where she slumped to the ground. Around her she noted there were no old people. The alley, a pce where food was cheap and which was a safe pce to sleep, was the lowest a person could fall to while they gained a few levels with their Blessing. It wasn’t meant to be permanent.
Sighing, she focused and took a look at the potential skills she could learn. Seeing the utterly pointless whip skill was there, the girl winced.
Dark Vision, she mused, considering how it could be useful.
Dark Vision
A prostitute of the night often works in the dark. This skill alleviates that hardship.
Cost: innate.
Resist All, she noted, and again considered how useful it might be.
Resist All
A prostitute of the night must face all sorts of hazards. This skill will aid them in overcoming their hardships.
The immunities offered by wisdom and constitution are doubled. This bonus can not go above 70 percent.
Cost: innate.
It was interesting that while soldiers and guards, and such, only got a physical resist skill that doubled the immunity provided by constitution from physical damage; and mages got a resist skill that doubled the benefits of wisdom against magical damage; and those with a psi Blessing got a resist skill that doubled the benefits of wisdom again mental damage; it seemed the skill a prostitute got was effective against them all. Well, except for holy damage—but so far she had yet to see a skill that offered resistance to that.
Enhanced Regeneration, the girl noted, considering how useful it might be.
Enhanced Regeneration
A prostitute of the night must face all sorts of hazards. This skill will aid them in overcoming their hardships by enhancing their regeneration. This skill is based on constitution with a constitution of 100 being normal regeneration, and a constitution of 200 being double the normal rate.
Cost: innate.
Sighing, Nox considered the rest of the skills she could learn, and shuddered. They were all reted to things she refused to even think about.
Focusing, she picked resist all, and took a look at her skills.
Skill
Level
Effect
Cost
Calcute
Resist All
Worldly
Max
0000
Max
Evaluate Expression
Provide Immunity
Generate Income
0 Mana
Innate
1 Stamina
Now, how to level up the skill, Nox pondered, already knowing. After all, this was pretty much based on RPG games, right?
Sighing, she smmed her hand against the wall of a building several times, and again checked her Blessing.
Skill
Level
Effect
Cost
Calcute
Resist All
Worldly
Max
0003
Max
Evaluate Expression
Provide Immunity
Generate Income
0 Mana
Innate
1 Stamina
Yeah, each time I take damage, it goes up, Nox confirmed. Hmm. As for the innate part. It simply means once learned, it’s an unalterable part of me. I don’t need to cast it, nor can it be toggled on or off. It’s simply there, working in the background.
Idly she stared up at the sky, pondering when she’d lost all hope. She figured it’d been around the time of her birthday. In her old world there’d never been an adult to pn a party for her, but she’d always had quite a few friends—usually delinquents like her—who would take note. But that was all a part of world she would never see again. And it was tearing at her.
