Synthesis

by Leto Spirit Blackman

  Congratulations! You have learned the Unique Skill:

  Blood-Shadow (Novice, Lvl 1)

  Damn, this skill sounds scary. This skill allows the user to teleport behind the opponent and strike with both daggers to inflict critical damage plus add the bleeding affliction. Dexterity is increased by 1 every five levels of this skill.

  Requirement: Twin Daggers of Blood-Shadow must be equipped.

  Health Cost: 25%

  Damage: 25 bleeding X Critical Damage Multiplier.

  Bleeding: 2 per second for 5 seconds.

  Range: 15 feet

  Experience awarded: 50

  Jill's daggers materialize into sheaths on her hips. They are deep black blades that curve with blood-red leather grips. She holds one in her hand and flips it in the air to catch it nimbly. She shakes her head in disbelief at her dexterity.

  Jill seems to be on a real-life role-playing game planet. The gamer in her is ecstatic, yet part of her is scared to death. She wonders if whoever brought her here knew that she played a rogue/thief class in the games on Earth? And what is up with that lockbox that was conveniently waiting for her? No level one player finds gear like that right off the bat. Someone left it for her. Where are they and what do they want? She needs to find answers. Next Jill opens her User Sheet.

  Name: Jill Stone

  Age: 18

  Gender: Female

  Level: 1

  Experience: 15%

  Synthesis: 72%

  Race: Human

  Focus: Undermined

  Fame: 0

  Health: 120/70

  Mental Energy: 150/100

  Stamina: 180/80

  Health Regen/sec: .2 (.3)

  Mental Regen/sec: .3 (.45)

  Stamina Regen/sec: .2 (.5)

  Strength: 6 (11)

  Constitution: 7 (12)

  Endurance: 8 (18)

  Dexterity: 14 (24)

  Agility: 14 (24)

  Intelligence: 10 (15)

  Wisdom: 7 (12)

  Luck: 15 (22)

  Base Melee Damage: 5-8

  Weapon Damage: 35-45

  Base Ranged Damage: 0

  Base Mind Power: 10

  Base Armor: 0 (35)

  Afflictions Resist Chance: Physical (5%) Mental (10%)

  Critical Hit Chance: 27.75%

  Critical Hit Damage: 150%

  Traits:

  Blessing of the Watcher: You have been blessed by The Watcher.

  Effect 1: Luck is permanently increased by 5.

  Effect 2: Movement speed is increased by 15%.

  Reward: Lock Box of the Progenitors.

  Skills:

  Analyze: Level 1

  Meditation: Level 1

  Incapacitation: Level 1

  Blood-Shadow: Level 1

  "Huh, I guess I now know who my mysterious benefactor is, it's this Watcher dude." Jill looks around, "Um, hello, Mr. Watcher? You around?" She asks.

  "Are you addressing me, Human Jill?" Jill's gauntlet asks.

  "No, I'm not." Jill sighs. "Alright gauntlet, what's your name? I will use it when I'm talking to you, so there's no confusion." Jill asks.

  "You may name me, Human Jill." It says.

  "Okay. First off, just call me Jill. Secondly, can we change how your voice sounds? Your robotic voice is a bit creepy."

  "When I scanned your language database I encountered many saved voice patterns and regional accents. Shall I use one of these?" It asks Jill.

  "My language database? You mean my brain? The saved voice patterns are memories. Oh! I know, can you find a male British accent?" Jill says with a grin.

  "Yes, Jill, I have found such a pattern. Do you wish to update my voice pattern?" It asks.

  "Yes, please. I will name you Alfred." Jill studies her talking gauntlet. "So, Alfred, do you know what I'm supposed to do now? Where do I go? Are there other people around?" She says to her new butler.

  "Am not detecting any other people within our vicinity. Shall I display a map for you, ma'am? It may provide you with the needed information." He says.

  "Wow, you are full of surprises, Alfred. You can detect lifeforms, and you have a map? Yes, please pull up the map." Jill says.

  The map pops up in front of Jill. It's mostly grayed out, which is typical. It only shows the area she has traveled, which is nowhere yet. She zooms out all the way. There is a flashing red dot way off to the east. "Alfred, what is that flashing red dot on the map?" She asks. As soon as Jill speaks the words a pop-up appears.

  New Quest Alert:

  The Progenitor

  You have found a marker on your map that shows the location of The Progenitor. Meet with this being and become awakened.

  Quest Type: Legendary

  Difficulty: Torment

  Rewards: Immortality

  Do you accept this quest? Y/N

  "The flashing red dot on your map is a marker that shows the location of The Progenitor. Calculating the average speed by foot, it would take you thirty-two days to arrive at the marker." He tells Jill.

  "Thanks, Alfred. I guess this is what I'm supposed to do." Jill looks over the quest again. Immortality? Is this serious? "Alfred, do you have access to my quest logs?" She asks him.

  "Yes, ma'am, I am synced to all of your menus and logs." He replies.

  "Do you know what The Progenitor is? I mean, you must know. You came from a Progenitor loot box and you are named Progenitor Attendant Gauntlet. And do you know what it means when it says to become awakened? And how can I become immortal?" Jill asks.

  "I do not have sufficient data to answer your questions." He says.

  Jill stares at the gauntlet and then growls at it in frustration.

  "Well, what happens if I die? Do I respawn?" Jill wonders.

  "No, ma'am, if you die you will remain dead." He says.

  "Damn, this game is hardcore. Will you please let me know if any hostile creatures or players are within range?" Jill asks looking around, feeling paranoid.

  "No, ma'am, I am unable to determine the intent of lifeforms. You must use your Analyze skill to determine if there is any hostile intent. However, I can inform you of any lifeforms in the area. I must inform you that some lifeforms can deploy stealth that will prevent detection." He says. A pop appears listing all lifeforms in the immediate area, it gives their size and range, but does not tell what they are. Jill notices a drop-down menu that allows her to filter out insects and anything smaller than a kitten.

  Jill starts walking in the direction of the map marker. She takes in her surroundings. "Man, the fat cats on Earth would kill for this world." She says to herself. The air is fresh, and everything is green and so full of life. Only the one percent of Earth got to experience views like this. She laughs out loud thinking of that rich brat Adam that had been making her life a living hell because she wouldn't fuck him. He even offered to take her to one of the restricted nature reserves that are surrounded by fifty-foot walls and turrets. The rich do whatever and take whatever, they want on Earth. Jill rubs her daggers as she thinks about that little douche bag.

  Jill felt like her looks were a curse on Earth. She pulls up a menu showing a 3D image of herself. It shows Jill in her stealth suit with her daggers equipped. "I look so freaking cool." She hits the button that unequips the items from her body. She is 5'5, one-hundred and thirty-three pounds with pale skin and raven black hair that has a natural wave that flows to her shoulders. Jill knows she is stunning, but she wishes she wasn't. Jill knows many women on Earth would kill to look like her. She knows rationally that she is not to blame for any hardship she experienced from how she looks. But, Jill grew to hate her body. She just wanted to be left alone. Jill was always judged first, by her pretty face and 'sensual' body. She would love to say that Earth had moved past sexualizing women, but some things never change. Jill stares into her own piercing green eyes and looks down at her full breasts. She looks like a god damn male fantasy. Jill makes a sound of disgust and waves the image away. Her looks brought n
othing but pain on Earth.

  Jill's thoughts turn to the last time she saw Adam. He had followed her into a bathroom at school and locked the door behind himself. He then pushed Jill against the wall. Adam then put his face next to Jill's ear, his hot foul breath breathing on her face. He whispered in her ear, "You shouldn't have turned me down. Now I'm going to fuck you, and if you make a sound, I will kill you." He then grabbed her breasts with one hand and tried to pull her pants down with the other. That's when Jill kneed him in the balls. Hard. After he fell to the floor, Jill screamed at him and then kicked him in the face with a satisfying crunch, and she thinks she broke his nose.

  Then she ran all the way home. Jax was there when Jill came crashing in crying. He made her tell him what happened. When she told him about kicking Adam's face, he chuckled lightly and said, "The bigger the asshole, the harder they fall." From that day on it was what they would say about almost anything. When Jill would drop a spoon, Jax would say, "The bigger the asshole, the harder they fall.". It was their inside joke against the world. That same day Jax booked passage on the spaceship heading for a new world. Jill had to drop out of school and keep her head down until the day that they left Earth. That was a very long few months, always looking over her shoulder, thinking Adam would get his revenge. But, it never came, and a huge weight was lifted from her as they put Jill into stasis.

  That's her brother, always protecting his little sister. Since their parents died, when Jill was ten, and Jax was eighteen, Jax has raised Jill. She was a mess that first year. Always getting in trouble. Then Jax made her enroll in the Sun Martial Arts Academy. Master Sun changed Jill's life, taught her discipline. She would spend her days at school, the dojo, and then escape to virtual reality MMORPG's.

  That is until men started noticing her. The first guy to try to force himself on Jill was a twenty-four-year-old guy, and she was fourteen. Jill broke his wrist. Even after I transferred to a different school, the story followed Jill around, like a chronic headache. New guys thought it was a joke and would slap Jill's ass and say disgusting things to her. The girls were not any better. They would call Jill slut and shun her. Jill withdrew into herself, didn't wear makeup, didn't smile. But the guys still came. Adam was the last in a long line of tormentors. All because she was considered attractive.

  Jill stops in a field of purple flowers and unequips her suit and daggers. She stands there naked and then screams as loud as she can, until her throat sore. "Fuck you! Never again." She yells at everyone and no one. She realizes that she is crying. "This isn't Earth, and I will not be the victim anymore. The assholes of the world will not touch me. This is a wild, untamed planet, and I will destroy anyone or thing that seeks to hurt me." A warm breeze hugs Jill and the sun looks down upon her without judgment; they are my friends now. Jill smiles and takes a bow to give thanks to this beautiful new world. "Man, Alfred... I needed that." Jill says as she wipes the tears away.

  "Yes, ma'am. However, may I draw your attention to the creatures approaching. I believe your yelling drew them. May I suggest equipping yourself?" He says.

  "Well shit." Jill presses the equip button on her menu, and the suit and daggers materialize. Jill sees four large creatures running towards her. They look like a wolf, and a tiger had a baby. "Let's teach these assholes a lesson, Alfred." She says with a big grin on her face.

  "Yes ma'am, shall I pull up rudimentary lesson planning?"

  Jill groans, "Alfred, we need to talk after this."

  Jill pulls her hood up, then runs and flips into the middle of the beasts. She spins with her daggers and slashes the throats of two of the creatures, ending their lives. Jill feels teeth clamp onto her leg and she screams out in pain. Activating Incapacitation the one that is biting her is stunned, it releases its teeth and falls to the ground. Jill does a backflip and land a few feet away from the remaining two creatures. "Well, might as well try out my other skill." She says to herself and activates Blood-Shadow.

  Jill's skin feels like a million needles strike her at once, and then a mist of blood envelops her, and she disappears. Next thing Jill knows is she is standing behind the beasts, power surges in her compelling her to strike out with incredible speed and force. Jill hits each creature rapidly, and they explode in a torrent of blood and gore. Dire Wiger (Lvl 5) has died X4. You receive 240 experience points. Congratulations! You have leveled up X3; you have 30 attribute points to allocate.

  Looking at the notification, Jill begins to giggle, "Dire Wiger? Really?" She laughs and then slips in blood and fall on her ass. She laughs even harder, "Who came up with that name? It's so stupid." Jill is now laughing so hard her side hurts.

  "Ma'am, are you okay?" Jill looks down at her gauntlet and then giggles again.

  "Oh Alfred, I should call you Dire Wiger from now on. Who's the prettiest little Dire Wiger?" She says in a baby voice and pets Alfred.

  "Do you wish to update my name, ma'am?"

  Jill looks around at the dead creatures and realizes this is real. She just killed living beings. It's the first time she has ever ended the life of something, well besides spiders. She fucking hates spiders. Her adrenaline crashes, her body starts to shake. She tries to get away from the death and gore only to slip again. But this time it's not funny. Jill crawls out onto a clean patch of ground and the vomit up bile. "Ugh, god. I know they were trying to kill me, right? Like, they weren't going to give me hugs and kisses I would imagine?" She says to herself.

  "Ma'am, you may assign your Analyze skill to me. I can auto-cast it and update you in every situation as to the disposition of your opponent, so there will be no doubt. You must allow me access to your mental energy, shall I proceed?" Alfred asks Jill.

  "Yeah, that sounds good, go for it."

  Jill gets up and walks over to the dead wigers. She reaches down and loots each body, and she finds four Brilliant Cores, they are beautiful. They swirl with energy, and she is transfixed for a few minutes just watching them. She also sees four uncommon wiger pelts and a rare scent gland. Jill is not sure what to do with the stuff, so she just puts it all in her inventory. She looks around; there are huge mountains are to the south. Thunder rumbles and the sky is starting to darken. The distant sky looks pregnant with rain and fury, impatient to give birth. "Well damn, however nice it might be to get cleaned off, I'm not sure I want to be stuck in that. Is there any shelter around here Alfred?" Jill asks her butler.

  "I believe there may be a small cave nearby. I will provide you with guidance."

  Flashing arrows appear in her vision, "You are the best, Alfred." Jill says with affection.

  "Thank you, ma'am. It pleases me to serve."

  Jill walks for about fifteen minutes, and then the sky opens up and lets loose its rain baby. The water assaults Jill with a million wet cold kisses. She jogs and makes it to a small opening in a cliff face.

  Enter slowly and cautiously she asks, "Alfred, can you provide illumination? It's pretty dark in here." She says staring into the darkness.

  Jill's gauntlet emits a glow, and she finds herself in a cave, it looks like it goes back maybe sixty feet. She slumps down onto the ground and begins to shiver. "I don't suppose you can make me a fire, Alfred?"

  "I'm sorry, ma'am, that is beyond my current abilities, there are upgrades that I can receive to expand my current uses." He replies.

  Pulling out the wiger pelts, Jill wraps them around her shaking body. She leans back and closes her eyes. A nap sounds marvelous right about now. The rhythmic lullaby of the rain, beckoning her to sleep.

  Waking up, Jill feels the sun shining, and hears water dripping from the mouth of the cave. Looking down, Jill discovers there is a small animal asleep next to her. She almost screams, but it's so cute that she stifles her momentary fear. Hesitantly, Jill reaches down and pets the baby animal. It wakes up and scampers back, and it looks at Jill with confusion. It sniffs the air and then meows at her. "Alfred, why did you not tell me there was something next to me?" Jill whispers.

  "My apologi
es, ma'am, the baby wiger is friendly. I did not think posed a danger."

  Jill looks down at the pelts she is wrapped in and then pull out the scent gland. "Damn, I think I am wearing its family. I must smell like them now." She feels horrible, she knows she was protecting herself, but now there is a baby without its family. The wiger meows again and takes a few steps towards Jill. Slowly, Jill reaches out her hand, the wiger creeps forward and sniffs the offered hand and then licks her fingers.

  Baby Wiger is trying to imprint on you, do wish to continue?*

  Y/N

  *You do not possess the Beast Bond skill, this beast will remain wild and may not follow commands.

  Jill doesn't know what to do. The baby wiger meows again and nips her finger and then chirps. Cocking her head sideways, Jill looks at the baby. The cute little thing sounded like a bird. It comes forward and rubs its head against Jill's leg and then chirps again. Jill selects yes, and she gets a new pop up window saying she has gained an ally. Reaching down, Jill picks up the baby and cradles her to her chest. The little beast begins to chirp and purr, Jill places the wiger on her lap, and the cute animal rolls over onto her back exposing her belly. "Well aren't you the freaking cutest thing I have ever seen. I'm sorry I murdered your parents, but in my defense, I think they were going to eat me." Jill rubs her furry belly.

  She is about the size of a puppy, covered in dark brown fur with light orange stripes. Her head looks both feline and canine, and she has small fangs that protrude from her mouth. Jill rubs the beasts tummy more and speaks baby talk to her. She turns her head and looks up at Jill, and she meows and then her belly growls. "I guess we need to go hunting my cute little dire wiger."