Walking Disasters and Me-Future Plans and Changing Numbers – Ch 28
Ios suggests we take a break before continuing, since I've been up for over an hour now between getting ready and all this talking about fancy writing skills. I agree readily as my stomach rumbles slightly at the thought of food. Huh, I don't think I've eaten since we got to the cave now that I think about it... I'm surprised I'm not more of a hangry bitch considering all I had at that time was a survival bar. Maybe it was chock full of calories or something, like the military food Dad always talked shit on.
I make my way over to the table and pull out a couple more of the Shop bars before sitting down all proper like. The couch is beyond comfy but I'm not trying to be a slob in someone else's house. At least, not yet. I'm about to dig in when I notice Ios giving me a questioning, but still amused smirk from her projection that follows me to the table and 'sits down' across from me. I sigh lightly, putting my snack and hunger aside for a moment to ask what's on the agent of chaos' brain.
"Alright, I'll bite. Why are you looking at me like I'm being an idiot right now?" I say flatly, my eyes flick briefly to my still in range food.
She laughs a bit in her classic high-pitched tone, before resting her chin on the bridge of two of her hands that are supported by her sharp elbows on the table. Her amused gaze never changes, and neither does her grin, as she fills me in on what's so funny. "Aims, sweetheart. I'm
very
sure that there is a kitchen here. You can have like,
actual
food you know? Sure, technically you only need one of those little bars a day if you're not going through some hellish training or something, but they're not meant to be eaten as a first resort. There's a reason they're called
survival rations
, hun~." She giggles once more as she wraps up, the embarrassment of realizing that she is indeed right brings a frustrated blush to my face.
"Aright! Between teasing me almost nonstop since I woke up and then making fun of my apparently still asleep brain, you're being so mean to me today! I'm definitely filing a complaint when Ilya wakes up!" To make sure I get the seriousness of the threat across to this cheeky being, I end my declarations with a mighty Hmph! and cross of my arms. That'll show her I mean business!
Unfortunately, or should I say unsurprisingly, it seems to have the opposite effect, as Ios laughs once more while wiping a fake projection tear from the corner of her eye with one of the top pair of hands. "Oh my gosh, you are beyond adorable Amelia~ I'm glad I decided to record all of our conversations after that whole incident with the sleeping pill. Ilya and Sandra are going to riot when they watch all of- I mean catch up on all of our progress and research~."
"You so better be joking you troll! Whatever let's just see if Akiko is here and if she can show us the kitchen or something!" By this point in time, its full-on tomato season for my blush. Thankfully its just from being embarrassed this time, so I'll count it as a win. I ignore Ios' too insightful smile and look to her eyes as I get up from the table to abandon my granola bar treats and then tap on the big Qi crystal in the bathroom twice like before.
It doesn't take long at all before we are graced by the presence of Akiko once again, this time in a very flattering purple kimono with silvery trim and floral etchings. Huh, seems she really likes the floral styles. Or is that just a kimono thing? I was more interested in the architecture of places than the fashion trends to know one way or the other, sadly. Her snow white, ice tipped hair is un-styled today, letting it flow freely down her back, like a fresh sheet of wintery powder on a cold December day, while her tails fan out behind her as she slides the door closed and then turns to greet us. My thoughts are brought to a stop as the heavenly soft voice of the subject in question fills the room.
"Hello again, dear Amelia and spirit Ios! I trust that you both have had a pleasant afternoon so far, and that you had enough rest." She pointedly looks at me as she ends the statement, to which I give a big smile and nod my head in affirmation. She returns my grin with her own, softer version, before moving on, "Excellent, I am glad to see that the medicine was most beneficial to you, my dear. I shall leave it here, in case you need further assistance until you get accustomed to your new living arrangements. Now then, what have you two been discussing? Or has this bundle of chaotic sleeping patterns only just awoken from her tossing and turning~?"
Her teasing voice hits my ears and immediately causes me to flush, but before I can give out any kind of question or ask what she means, Ios pops in after her own giggles stop. "It was extremely funny hun, as soon as you knocked out and were tucked in by Akiko here, you somehow instantly wrapped up both the sheet and the blanket in various ways until you basically self bondaged yourself. With your new speed, it was impressively quick, and Akiko and I were too stunned to really do or say anything about it, not that you would have been awake enough to hear us anyway. We both laughed for a good, oh what was it foxy? 5 minutes? At least that long, before we came to an agreement. I would get to tease you about the cute as hell question you tried to get out, and she gets to tease you about your apparently intimate sleeping habits~!"
Is it too late to want to call all of this off and just go live in a hole, 1st night of Minecraft style? I am seriously starting to doubt my survivability here if these two are going to start working together!!
With my face as beet red as it ever has been, I turn to my sometimes allies, most of the time enemies apparently, "Look, I'm beyond overjoyed that you two have patched things up so quickly, but if I knew it meant I was going to get double teamed all the damn time I would have just kept my mouth shut! It's hard enough to not turn into a mess and hide my face with my hands when
one
of you are going on the attack, two of you at the same time is just too much for me!!" I groan out with my face still flush, breathing heavily after my admonishing to these two powerful women before me.
Akiko and Ios both do a couple of slow blinks as they seem to process my words, which at first makes me happy! Maybe they'll listen to me and tone it down a bit, even if the teasing is kind of fun sometimes. But to my horror and dismay, after they get done with their synchronized blinking, they turn to each other and then both adopt the same devilishly teasing smirk on their lips. Some kind of unknown conversation happens between them, as they both turn to look back at me slowly, with Ios breaking the tension first.
"Oh my Aims~ You really should work on your phrasing honey~ If someone were outside that door, who
knows
what thoughts they would have after your sudden, honest admission! Hehe~!" The ghost lit projection says out, loudly too, as if she is trying to make that scenario come true!
Akiko follows up directly afterwards with her own form of light torture, "Indeed young Amelia~ I did not know that our combined affections troubled you so, or that you were so receptive to them~! I shall have to strive to further my friendship with dear spirit Ios to make sure we pamper you properly~." The demon fox says with a seductive wink and sway to her hips as she moves to the table to sit down on a cushioned chair in a slow, deliberate manner.
I, however, decide that enough is enough and in order to maintain the last bit of pride and sanity I have left perform a tactical retreat. To the bed. Where I can shove my face under several pillows and comfy blankets and pretend that the burning heat coming from it is merely a figment of my imagination. Before I fully turtle myself in protective coverings, I hear both of my torturers laugh loudly and then begin going over what we're supposed to be talking about.
As I'm deciding if I want this new, incredibly convenient way to live to be my lifestyle going forward, I hear Akiko call out from the table with her non teasing soft voice piercing through my fluffy defenses. "Amelia, dear, we're sorry for teasing you so but you make it incredibly difficult not to with how utterly adorable and cute you act. We promise to be on our best behavior until we finish discussing matters at hand, come and join us please?"
I gather all of my acting skills from my previous life to give the longest, most dramatic, obviously despondent heavy sigh, before slightly worming my way out of my bedding cocoon. I know my face is still redder than sin, so I only poke about half of my head out of the impromptu pillow bunker as I glaringly address my summons in the most eloquent way I can, "You're both mean and you should both feel bad. Hmph!"
I can see both of them doing their best to suppress their laughter, or maybe their comebacks, before I finally give in and fully emerge from my freshly constructed safety net and make my way to a chair across from this stupid, sexy fox woman. The look of utter delight and mischief never leaves either of their faces as I trudge my way over, so I'm glad this sudden teasing armistice is in effect. We have things to do damn it, and we're never going to get anywhere if these two monsters keep harassing me like this!
Akiko is the first to recover, her face still holding a bit of amusement to it even if her voice comes out silky smooth as always, "Thank you for joining us, my dear~. Spirit Ios just finished informing me that you and she had gone over the basics for the writing crafts, and that you have already begun practicing and perfecting your initial internal Qi flow model. I commend you for taking initiative, young Amelia, and her recommendation to see it perform under stress is also wise counsel. I think, before we go over any more crafts or talks of training, however, we should first study your collected gains from breaking through into cultivation. Congratulations again, by the way my dear!" She says as she gives a happy little clap at the end, which does make my heart get all warm and fuzzy even if I'm still acting pouty right now.
I nod once before turning to Ios' form, "Well, you heard the lady. Let's take a look at all those new numbers and stuff. I'm also pretty curious myself since the jump in stats was a lot bigger than I was expecting!"
Ios smiles back with a wink before her form shimmers away and reveals my updated status page.
Spoiler
Status Screen
Name:
Amelia "Aims" Dufort
Race
Human (Reborn)
Titles:
[Intertwined Soul] [Reincarnator] [Favored by Ios] [Favored by Ilya] [Defier of the Heavens] [Touched by the Void] [Hardened Soul] [Charon's Little Helper] [Otherworldly Beauty] [Pro Athlete] [Alumni] [Survivor]
Level
15
(Exp Gain Multiplier +175% from Titles)
Cultivation Methods
Soul: [Dominating Empress' Soul of the River] 4th Realm of the 1st Rank
Spiritual: [Imperial Spirit of the Unending Void] 4th Realm of the 1st Rank
Body: [Eternally Moonlit Midnight Sovereign's Immortal Body] 4th Realm of the 1st Rank
Health:
12,915 / 12,915
(Base 300 + 10 per CON = 6300) (+ 105% from Titles and Cultivation Ranks)
Recovery Rate: 148.75 pts per hour
(Base 25 + 1 per 10 CON) (+ 75% from Cultivation Ranks)
Stamina:
24,190 / 24,190
(Base 200 + 10 per DEX and CON = 11,800) (+ 105% from Titles and Cultivation Ranks)
Recovery Rate: 246.75 pts per hour
(Base 25+ 1 per 10 CON and + 1 per 10 DEX) (+ 75% from Cultivation Ranks)
Stored Qi
0
(Accumulation Rate Boost +175% from Titles) (Being Absorbed by Active Effects)
Active Effects:
[Soul Storage (Occupied) (Incubating)] [Grief (Processing)] [Embarrassment (Flushed)]
Ability Scores:
Strength (STR)
560
Dexterity (DEX)
560
Constitution (CON)
600
Intelligence (INT)
215
Wisdom (WIS)
367
Charisma (CHA)
100
Luck (LCK)
500
Active Skills:
[Inspect lvl 10 (MAX)] [Appraise lvl 2] [Charm lvl 10 (MAX)] [Steady Breathing lvl 5] [Resolute Mind] [4 Leaf Clover lvl 1, Evolvable (On Cooldown: 29 days)]
[Midnight Empress of the River's Qi Domination Technique]
Passive Skills:
[Allure lvl 10 (MAX) (DISABLED)] [Firearm Mastery (MAX)] [Advanced Learning lvl 5] [Cooking lvl 3] [Budding Nudist]
Available Ability Points:
0
Available Skill Points:
68
Available Shop Points:
3325
[collapse]
Wow~ I remember when I was fighting that I was impressed, but looking over how all of it fits together on my little page here really does things for me... Ahem... It's cool that Intelligence and Wisdom are creeping up too! I was honestly kind of worried about INT being so low compared to the rest of my stats. Also! Look at all those Points! I do a happy little jig in my seat when I get to that part of my status page, causing chuckles to emit from both of my mentors. Or well, from Akiko and the disembodied voice of Ios. Thankfully this time, I'm laughing with them at my own antics and am still too jazzed to care!~
Ios chimes in after recovering to explain some of the differences, "Well, it looks like you got 150 points in every stat aside from CON, which looks like it naturally got 200 added to it, and your base values for health and stamina jumped up a tad too. Makes sense for Constitution I suppose, since its being fed by all three paths. What's more exciting is that your Ranks give a percentage buff to both your pools and their recovery rates, which I had thought would happen but its good to have that be confirmed. As you progress on your paths, that percent bump should also increase to insane levels! Also, its probably wise that you dumped those gained points into STR and DEX during your fight, Aims, as that means you are going to be able to hit well above your weight class even more now for the immediate future~!"
Akiko also finishes her little fit and takes another deep look at the page. I notice her ears and tails do their cute flicking trick that they do when she is deep in thought about something, and I take the time to appreciate how cutely they bob and smack the floor occasionally in her deep thoughts. After a minute or so of perusing, she eventually chimes out in a slightly serious tone, "Spirit Ios, Amelia, these numbers are truly extraordinary if the earlier assessment of spiritual cultivators' peak realms power are still accurate. With these numbers, young Amelia should easily be able to overpower a newly minted 3rd Realm spiritual cultivator just by merit of her overwhelming strength. That's even discounting the inherent multiplier that this Luck stat brings to any field of battle..."
She turns to face me fully with a look of worry and stern authority on her face, like she is about to say something unpleasant but still something that must be said, "Amelia. I think it is in your best interest to remain hidden here at my home until you are at least at the peak of the 3rd Realm in all of your paths. Honestly, I would suggest we sequester you until you breakthrough and master the 4th Realm as well, but I know not how long that would take you and do not want you to think of your time here as that of a prisoner. The sad truth of the matter is, is that if other forces were to learn of your unique and awe-inspiring power despite your young stature, we would bring vast amounts of unwanted attention to you, the estate, and the Village as a whole.
I can and will do everything in my power to protect you and your sister, my dear, but it would be wiser to marshal our strength and have you become a proper cultivator before the outside world is able to view you in all of your glory. I hope you can understand my position and reasoning regarding this, and I also promise to make your stay here as unburdened as possible until such a time as it is safe for you to show yourself to the world at large." Akiko gives me a pleading, almost desperate look as she finishes. I... can't say I'm thrilled about the idea of being locked up in one spot for who knows how long, not even getting to go out and enjoy nature or explore the Village, let alone the world a bit.
My hesitance must be obvious, because I feel a soft, strong hand envelope my own and look down from my ruminating expression to see Akiko reaching across the round table to me. Her thumb gently strokes my knuckles as she breathes out another small plea, "Please, my dear. I know it is not ideal and not entirely what we discussed previously, but I do think this is the safest and fastest method to you gaining power and healing your sister. I promise, I shall accompany you anywhere you wish to go, enroll you in any tournaments or contests or secret realms in the future. But for now, we must be smart and safe about how we proceed. You are simply too unique, too smart, and too valuable an asset to have wandering about before you are strong enough."
Her vulpine slitted amethyst eyes bore into me, the same pleading feel echoing from them as I look up to her when she continues her request as her ears are lowered in some kind of emotion I can't parse yet. I can see the slight lines of worry around her brows and eyes, and even her usually cheerfully upturned lips are now creasing slightly downward on her cheeks. It's honestly unfair how attractive she still looks while begging!
I know logically she is right; this world is dangerous and being special is a powerful game changer so long as you're strong enough to use it. Ironically, Akiko is the perfect example of this. If she was weaker but still had such an amazing blood line, I have no doubt that some fucked up cultivator or group would be after her for some reason or another. I sigh mentally, maybe I can ask for some way to at least go out and go hiking or something in the near future.
"Alright Akiko, I understand what you're putting down here. I'm not super thrilled about it, but I can't really sit here and say you're wrong about your fears considering this is your home turf and all. Maybe we can work on like... cloaking talismans or something so that I can go out and at least enjoy nature for a short time in the future. Being stuck in a house, even one as massive as this, for who knows how long isn't something I want to do long term.
And yes, Ios, I know I was a homebody back on Earth, but can you blame me when half of the time basic human interaction was too much for me? I'm in a new world, with nearly all of my brain bullshit dealt with, most of the time, and have awesome new powers and strength that even the craziest comic book writers back home would struggle to even think of! Of course I want to go out and see as much as I can!" I say with an exasperated tone before adding on softly after a sigh, "But Akiko's right. I don't want to do anything that would jeopardize Sandra while she is still inside of me and healing, and me stepping out onto the world stage before I'm ready is a sure-fire way to make sure I do exactly that. Sigh... Like I said, maybe we can work out some kind of system or tool to use so that I can get out once in a while safely, with either you or some of the girls or something. If not, I'll still be a bit miffed, but I'll understand too." My voice coming out small toward the end, the heavy acceptance of my beneficial internment sinking in as I let my face fall to the tabletop.
Ios thankfully remains quiet on this, letting me just express myself in a slight ramble that I'm known to do sometimes as I feel Akiko's hand wrap around mine more as she gives me a small squeeze, making me look back up to regard her. Her characteristic glowing smile is back in full force on her beautiful face, her purple eyes showing relief as her ears are back to being perked up and alert. Even her tails are slowly wagging happily behind her, making her hair also wave periodically from the motions of them brushing against herself.
"I give you my word, dear Amelia, that we will identify some means of allowing you freedom outside of the estate, or by bringing some of the outside world back here for you to enjoy. Like I said, the last thing I wish to do is make your time here a miserable, sordid affair when I care for you deeply and wish to see your happiness bloom anytime it is able. Your trust in me despite your reservations warms my heart, truly, and I vow to ensure that trust is not misplaced in your or spirit Ios' eyes. Thank you, my dear girl." She says with words flowing like honey before she takes the back of my hand and leans over to kiss it softly and for a good couple of seconds, letting me feel every inch of her plush, ruby red lips grace my skin as her violet eyes never leave mine.
My own eyes go wide as I feel the heat blossom onto my face, and some in the pit of my stomach, at the display. My mouth hangs slightly open in a small O shape as I stare at my hand which she has now released into the air. I stay like that for a good few seconds, still getting over the feel of how her platonic, I think, kiss felt before I hear Ios' chirpy laughter echo out into the room.
"Holy
shit
Akiko, I think you broke our girl!~ Hehehe~! Another clip for the family saved!" This damn woman!!
I quickly shoot Ios a glare that is only half heart felt, as I rapidly pull my hand back and rest it in my lap. I cough out to try and prevent any cracks in my voice before turning back to this beyond attractive foxy woman, "Don't mention it Akiko, but thank you for thinking about me so much. For me! For my safety, and Sandra's. Yeah. That.
*Ahem*
So anyway, I'm hungry, can we go get food
please
?"
Once more, the sound of laughter from both of these dumb, sexy, flirty, delightful, helpful, and caring women busts out into the room as I bury my face into my hands, one of them bearing the faint red outline of lipstick on the back of it.
Future Plans and Changing Numbers – Ch 28
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