She put the right mirror on her desk before slumping back to her bed in exhaustion. She lay down, falling into a fitful sleep, grateful that the red box had gone away. She’d deal with everything else when she woke up again.
***
You know, most people who got transmigrated did it because they were hit by a truck-kun. Has the universe decided that because I came peacefully, I get to perpetually feel like I got hit by a truck-kun? She mused on the doings of truck-kun as she absorbed the precious rays of sunlight filtering in through her window in an attempt to alleviate the weakness she still felt aching in her bones. She didn’t want to move, instead choosing to bask in the sunshine on her face.
Sense told her yesterday that this was her last siphoning before she left for the hunt and she needed all the help she could get. Sensibility should have told her that trying to siphon almost two hundred and fifty people at the same time was a terrible idea. Or maybe it was the twenty five people who’d had advanced skills. Apparently, the people going through the gate were higher-end prospects. She supposed it made sense that the people who’d lived longer and dedicated their lives to their trades would have higher skill levels.
“She’s awake, but she’s still absorbing light, so I think she’s still recovering.” She heard Kaylee’s voice near her desk. She finally stopped absorbing light, feeling moderately better as the darkness faded around her and she opened her eyes. Sure enough, there was Kaylee, sitting at her desk in front of piles of food while talking into a mirror. She smiled wearily as Kaylee stood, bringing the mirror closer. “Jade, there you are! Countess D’Ard wants to speak with you.”
Nodding, Jade took the mirror gingerly, coming mirror-to-face with a haggard looking Marcelle. The countess looked like she’d barely slept all night, which was a bit how Jade felt herself. She felt her babies alight on her hair as Marcelle’s eyes widened a little, but she shook her head almost imperceptibly and greeted her. “Jade, it’s good to see you’re awake. Thank you for having a message sent to me. Our people are ready, just resting by the gate until you arrive.”
Smiling, Jade nodded again. “Thank you, Marcelle, and I’m sorry for the delay. I bit off a bit more than I could chew last night. I’m going to eat and change, then I’ll head straight there. Maybe you should get a little rest before I arrive?” Her voice was kind as she tried to not so subtly suggest that the woman take a break.
Marcelle laughed softly, shaking her head. “I’ll do that. But I think it might take you a little longer to reach the walls than you’re anticipating. Don’t worry about it; we’ll leave when you’re here. I sent my best trackers out last night, and they’re following the trail as far as they can to give us a direction.” She must have seen the worry on Jade’s face, because she quickly followed up, “They’ve checked in with mirrors, and they’re fine. I’ll see you soon.” Before Jade could say anything else, Marcelle ended the connection.
She started to shake her head ruefully when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. While everything appeared basically the same, she could tell there were minor differences. She played with her hair, noting that, while it was still soft and sleek, it was incredibly strong. Her eyes seemed to almost glow from within, and she was a dentist’s dream. After staring for a moment at the changes, she put the mirror away into her ring with a flick of her hand, glancing up at Kaylee. “Thanks for delivering my message and watching over me.”
Kaylee grinned at her. “It’s a good thing you left that note. We still had to soothe a few ruffled feathers and stop people from barging in here. I think the fact that your little queens were guarding you so fiercely was the final deterrent for most of them.” She giggled a little, shaking her head. “I’ve never seen them like that before. I’d have said they were little old aunties scolding anyone who tried to go near you!”
“We protected.” Ramoth’s tiny voice came to her mind, and Jade was inundated with images of the people who’d come to her door that morning. She tried to hide her grin and failed.
“You did wonderful. Thank you, my loves.” Jade mentally soothed her babies and they took wing around the room. She inspected her dimly-lit chamber, noting that the only light now came from the window. She’d fully depleted the light energy she and Lucas filled the room with the other day. Apparently, violent draining could destroy the permanent connection. Glancing at Kaylee again, she squared her shoulders. “Thank you, for everything. It’s time for me to get ready.”
Kaylee nodded a little sadly. “I understand. Please, come back safe. Also, just so it doesn’t surprise you...there’s a bit of a procession to the gate. I think most of the city is waiting to see you off.” She smiled, then scooted out the door and closed it behind her before Jade could fully process and ask questions. Jade snuck over to her window, peeking out of it only to find that the streets were…half filled. There was a very clear lane down the middle, and people were standing there, talking to their neighbors and...waiting.
Drawing away from the window, she quickly returned to the desk, scarfing down food before grabbing her clothes and heading to the bathroom. Her figure didn’t seem to have changed much, thankfully, though she realized she needed to be careful with her strength again. As she was washing up and plaiting her hair into a side braid, she called up her notifications to see if the pain and risk had been worth it.
The first thing she addressed was the blinking green dot, though she had an idea of what was coming.
Congratulations! Because you have acquired a basic understanding of Appraisal, Diplomacy, Haggle, Information Gathering, Intimidate, Mathematics, Persuasion, Sense Motive, Speed Reading, and Writing, your skills have combined. You will forevermore be known as a Merchant.
Well, that hadn’t been quite what she was expecting, but it was still nice. She mentally noted the different skills so she could tell Eric. She was also a little bit grateful. Her skill list was getting so large, and having it be compacted, even if only a little, helped her to be able to keep track of things. With that in mind, she pulled up her profile next, ignoring the skills section until she could pull up the list separately.
Name: Jade Winward
Age: 18
Strength: 23.63
Dexterity: 22.78
Constitution: 23.77
Intelligence: 24.7
Magic: 27.12
Charisma: 21.38
Luck: 20.83
Special Abilities: Adaptable, Keen Senses, Siphon(2)
She stood there, gaping at the mirror a bit. Sure, she’d prioritized taking the magic stat, but...she hadn’t expected it to jump a full eight points! Strength and constitution were up by five, dexterity and charisma by four, intelligence and luck by three.
She pulled up her skills list, mentally comparing it with yesterday morning. The two new skills on her list were aura manipulation and disguise; aura she’d taken from the doppelganger and then discovered went up after her lesson with Ashanna, and disguise came from her illusions around town. She’d even found two life mages who had aura in their list. Of course, the merged skills were missing now, and merchant had been added, but she didn’t count that as new, merely changed.