《Adventure of Adventures》 1 – Going with the Flow Coming from the euphoric experience of self-unawareness, I woke up into a brilliant light. Slowly becoming more and more accustomed to my self, I squinted my eyes to discover that I was in a cathedral. It was the most magnificent cathedral I had ever seen ¨C and the first. I was prone on what seemed to be a marble altar in the center of four equally sized naves with a crystal chandelier hanging from the frescoed dome above me. Beneath the altar was a granite compass rose, with each cardinal point aimed through a nave. In the dome above the northern nave, the northern star hung above a permafrost tundra, which despite being a painting, still gave one chills upon viewing. To the east there was a lightning bolt illuminating a muddy river that rushed through a water-soaked field. To the south, a sun gazed upon scorched desert. Lastly, to the west, a crescent moon rested in the twilight above a wilting forest. I then turned my gaze to myself. I wore a dark green hunter¡¯s outfit with leather boots and belt. On my left hip hung a dagger and a buckler while an empty quiver was slung across my back. I was also holding an unstrung longbow in my left hand. In each of the naves, there were dozens of pews but only a few people in total. Some of them had apparently just noticed me as if I had not been lying there before I awoke. They lifted their heads to see me but quickly put the back down as if expecting someone else. Stepping off the altar with wobbly legs, I walked towards the eastern nave when I noticed that someone else had appeared on the altar I just left wearing light armor that was not lightly damaged. Soon someone, who was waiting on the pews, sprung up to welcome him with tears. It was not until now that I realized that I had forgot something very important, namely everything from before I awoke. Picking a pew near the back, I began to ponder over my situation. Firstly, I listed the things I did know. (A) I knew several languages fluently, idiomatically, and lexically. (B) I knew every scientific law and mathematical formula/axiom/theorem I knew of with no gaps. ? I knew human anatomy in detail and basic biology. (D) I knew the thermodynamic properties of most common fluids and the mechanical properties of most common materials. (E) I knew that I had a HUD. The last concerned me the most at the time because I knew (per A) that HUD belong in video games and fighter jet cockpits, not irl. As for my HUD, it seemed like a combination of both: it had the HP, MP, etc. bars of a video game and the gauges of an aircraft. It also had a topographic mini-map and a menu. Opening the menu with a thought, four tabs popped up: a Status tab, a Skills tab, an Inventory tab, and a Help tab. Selecting the latter, I was disappointed with its contents: help tab Help Basically, it said nothing. Moving past the Skills tab, which said with no d¨¦cor, ¡°You have no skills,¡± and the Inventory tab, which similarly said, ¡°You have no inventory,¡± I came to my Status tab that had more data than I could use at one time: status tab Status The Status tab continued with increasingly specific data, going even so far as genetic anomalies. I skipped this and began to walk out of the cathedral.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Hey miss, I see you are low on arrows. I can give you twenty for twenty.¡± ¡°Could the pretty lady spare this old man a penny?¡± The things that assaulted me as I left the cathedral were, in order, brilliant afternoon sunlight, atrocious smells, street vendors, and beggars ¨C each its own kind of annoying. Ignoring my way through the busy avenue, I stopped in an uncrowded side street where I shortly thereafter found another problem. ¡°Little girl, are you lost? Come with us big brothers, and we can help you out.¡± Three rather burly men approached me with lecherous gazes. I curtly replied, ¡°Yes, could you please take me to the nearest police station?¡± ¡°What?¡± Apparently, they had never heard of police stations. ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s just take her by force.¡± Suddenly, they each drew a short sword, and I followed with trumps by flipping up my skirt. Like a charm, the three men became impotent upon seeing my panties and awkwardly and confusedly left. After this incident, I wandered through the city until I came to a building that seemed to be plagued by traffic. Its sign board identified it as the ¡°Adventurer¡¯s Guild di Firenze,¡± and although I did not know what qualifies one as an adventurer, the comers and goers appeared quite adventurous looking purely at their outfits. Seeing children among their ranks, I figured that I should not face any trouble exploring the insides. Now it needs to be mentioned that between locating the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and entering, the hands of almost a dozen pickpockets tried and failed to find any coin on me, which is reasonable considering I had nothing to be found. In the guild¡¯s main hall in addition to chaos, there happened to be a desk with the sign ¡°¡ý New Members Apply Here ¡ý.¡± Really, everything around here is so convenient. Walking up to the desk, I asked the clerk, ¡°Is this where I go to become an adventurer?¡± At this point, you are probably wondering why and how I decided to become an adventurer when I have no idea where I am and so on and so forth. Well, the answer is simple: I assumed I was trapped in a game, and what do you do in games that have adventurers? Adventure. It¡¯s as simple as that. The clerk at first startled, replied, ¡°Sorry miss but in order to join you must be at least combat level 5.¡± I quickly responded, ¡°Then how do I raise my level?¡± ¡°By learning skills, of course.¡± ¡°And how do I do that?¡± ¡°You really know nothing, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I know nothing, but that I know nothing practical.¡± ¡°So you admit it?¡± ¡°Why would I not?¡± The clerk sighed, ¡°Here¡¯s how it goes: one¡¯s overall level is the total number of skills one has. This is then divided into combat level for combat skills and civil level for civil skills. One¡¯s rank is the arithmetic mean of your nine primary stats. Lastly, one¡¯s tier is a rough gauge of one¡¯s overall ability. Looking at your stats, I can tell you are suited to being a magician, so ¨C¡± ¡°Wait,¡± I interrupted. ¡°You can see my stats?¡± ¡°Yes, I have the skill ¡®Examine¡¯ that allows me to get a vague understanding of your summary statistics.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a skill?¡± ¡°Yes, why do you ask?¡± ¡°Because I can tell that your overall level is between 45 and 65, and I don¡¯t have that skill.¡± [You have earned the skills ¡®Examine II¡¯ and ¡®Analyze III¡¯. Civil level increases to 5.] ¡°Oh? Never mind: I just got it and another skill called ¡®Analyze¡¯.¡± Whoever whitewashed the clerk¡¯s face, I don¡¯t know; but when he came to, he acted as if the past fifteen seconds had never happened: ¡°¡­You are suited to being a magician, so I¡¯m going to recommend you to the local magic academy. Take this business card to the office of the registrar and tell them I recommended you and you should be able to get into the beginner¡¯s class.¡± Taking the card from his shaking hand and smiling brightly, I beamed, ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± and turning around, I skipped through the busy hall to the exit. By the way, skipping through a large crowd like this is apparently a combat skill named ¡®Skip Step Evasion I¡¯. After an hour of wandering about and asking for directions, I found what I was looking for, and ended up getting caught up in politics. ¡°I absolutely refuse to sleep in the same room as this, this street rat!¡± My new roommate is a spoiled princess with amazing talent for magic who has lived in a personal mansion up until now, but in an effort to get her to sympathize more with the commoners, she ended up rooming with me. ¡°If you do anything to my little sister, I will make sure that you never see the sky again.¡± Oh yeah, her older brother is a siscon. My life is going to be hell for a while, but at least it will be a hell with free food and lodging. 2 – My First Day in Kindergarten Having memorized the school¡¯s layout (and thereby earning ¡®Cartography I¡¯), I walked to my first class of my first day: Elementary Concepts. ¡°Okay class, I would like to introduce a new student who will be joining us today,¡± the teacher Miss Violet introduced me. ¡°Her name is Robin. Please take care of her as she is suffering from severe amnesia.¡± This is the excuse I am going with. It explains both my lack of practical knowledge and my ability to learnrecall skills so easily. ¡°My name is Robin. Please take care of me,¡± I said while bowing to the class. At least three fourths of my classmates were no more than half my age and the rest were only rather younger than me, but all of them looked at me with displeasure as if I was a simpleton. Seeing this displeasure, I figured there was nothing I could say to get rid of it, so I decided to culture it: ¡°Since I am older than you all, you can call be Big Sis Robin.¡± It takes skill to make a kindergarten teacher displeased on the first day, but unfortunately, I didn¡¯t level up. After I sat down in the empty seat, Miss Violet began teaching: ¡°Continuing from yesterday, we will be learning about lightning magic. As I said last time, of all eight primary elements, lightning has the fastest attack spells. An expert lightning mage will almost always win in a magic tournament even against earth mages who naturally counter lightning. However, it has many problems. Firstly, orthodox lightning magic has no defensive or recovery spells, so pure lightning mages must use Thunder Step to dodge enemy attacks, or stay on the offensive to prevent the enemy from attacking back. Secondly, lightning magic requires large amounts of mana, which prevents lightning mages from fighting for extended periods of time. ¡°Are there any questions?¡± A young boy raised his hand with sparkling eyes. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Can you show us an example, please Miss Violet? Please. Please!¡± ¡°I am sorry, but I do not know any lightning magic.¡± ¡°Are there any unorthodox defensive lightning spells?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, but only dark mages learn those.¡± And so, the lesson continued, but I did not pay attention and instead read the textbook ¨C although it had far more pictures than text ¨C as it contained just as much information as Miss Violet and even held information from previous class days. The same situation happened with addition, magic history, nap time, and a moralistic fairy tale that deceptively taught magic theory too. Then came recess, except I was bumped up a grade or two to magic practice. The youngest was half my age and the oldest, a little older so I fit in as well as any newcomer. This class was for kids who had not cast a spell yet. After a brief tutorial on a spell called Candlelight, I joined the others in the poorly lit half of the gymnasium in trying feel our mana pools or move them about, emphasis on trying. This being the last class of the day, it did not matter if one stayed late, so a few of us took advantage of the time to try a little more. We all didn¡¯t bother each other, until a nine-year-old boy and I lasted until sunset. ¡°Hey, Big Sis Robin,¡± he addressed me as I stood up. ¡°How come you are so old and can¡¯t use magic?¡± ¡°I lost my memories, so I guess I forgot. By the way I don¡¯t think I heard your name.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m Benny, just Benny.¡± ¡°Well glad to make your acquaintance, Benny. I¡¯m off to go get some food. Have a nice day.¡± In the cafeteria I sat across from stuck-up princess roommate and her wingman best friend, who everyone else avoided out of deference. ¡°Hey Roomie, how has your day?¡± I politely hailed. ¡°Shut up, urchin, and don¡¯t talk to us ever again!¡± was the friend¡¯s response. ¡°It has yet to be determined if I¡¯m an urchin or not. For all anyone knows I could be the queen of a foreign kingdom captured by dark magicians for their experiments before respawning in the nearest cathedral,¡± I retorted. ¡°If that was the case, your job would show it but its blank,¡± spoke up the princess. ¡°Either way, we are living together for at least a month, so acknowledging each other¡¯s existence can¡¯t be a bad thing.¡± ¡°Very well, I am Cassiopeia Firenze, fifth princess of the Kingdom of Flowers and student at the Capital Magic Academy. This is Isabella Sforza, first daughter of Duke Sforza and student at the Capital Magic Academy.¡± Isabella was sour at this concession but stayed quiet. ¡°I am Robin, a penniless amnesiac with two sets of clothes and student at the Capital Magic Academy.¡± We then ate in silence, and not wanting to be outdone, I copied the way they ate and learned Court Etiquette I as a bonus and decided to check my skills and status. menu Skills Status After supper, I returned to the dorm and meditated as they taught us again until close to midnight when I finally sensed my mana. [You have earned the skill ¡®Mana Detection I¡¯. Civil level increases to 14.] It felt like a nightlight inside my chess. Focusing on it, I tried to will it about. At first it struggled, but after a few minutes it was flowing about smoothly. Lastly, I formed the Candlelight spell on my palm. I opened my eyes and immediately jumped back from the dimly underlit face less than a foot from mine. The light in my hand went out, followed by someone shuffling about in the until the room¡¯s overhead light lit up. ¡°Why were you staring at me in the dark?¡± I asked my roommate, who looked as startled as I felt. She explained, ¡°You weren¡¯t moving at all for several hours ¨C not that I care if you die.¡± ¡°Thank you for your concern.¡± ¡°So, um, today was your first day trying to cast magic, right?¡± ¡°As far as I know, yes.¡± ¡°You know it takes geniuses weeks, right?¡± ¡°I did not know that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re weird.¡± ¡°That I did know.¡± 3 – The Pyramid After a week, I had been bumped up in all my subjects except magic history. Apparently, this school has no concept of grades, but instead once one reaches a certain level of proficiency in a class on moves on to the next class regardless of the time of year. Cassiopeia said that changes once one reaches the advanced courses, but neither of us are there yet. Right now, I am reading about jobs in the library. Once one gets enough skills in a certain field, your status automatically updates to the corresponding job. Then the job can evolve or even change completely depending on the skills you get and/or level later. The book I have open details the known requirements for common jobs. For example, [Novice Magician] requires [Mana Detection I] and eight spells from no more than three elements. However, [Novice Fire Magician], which is more advanced, only requires five spells, but they must all be fire spells. I for one am now a [Novice Light Magician] and can thus become an adventurer anytime now, but this school is good for building my foundations. After reading my fill, I close the book and walk out into the hallway. I make my way to the dormitory. Today is an off day so I plan to get some arrows for my bow and maybe a piece of wood I can carve into a wand. Slinging the quiver over my shoulder, I walk out of my dorm room only to realize I have no money. Thinking for a bit I devise a plan. The city is crowded today as always. Street vendors vend things at the top of their lungs. Passersby pass by, occasionally giving me strange looks. I wonder why; I mean, I¡¯m fully dressed today, and I see other people in school uniforms and other people with bows and quivers. Is it because I am skipping around? I don¡¯t think so. Whatever, I found my target. He looks like he is passing by like everyone else, but if I look closely, I can see that instead of a passerby, he is a pickpocket. When he walks into an alley I follow after him. As he counts the money, I walk up to him and tapping him on the shoulder, call out, ¡°Hey.¡± He whips around, shrieks, and runs. ¡°Wait!¡± I cry as I give chase. Ignoring the skill notifications as we round three corners, I use my only lightning spell [Lightning Dash I] to close in and tackle him when the alley straightens out enough. ¡°Wait, I just want to ask a few questions.¡± He doesn¡¯t seem to like being pinned beneath me, but I can¡¯t really risk him running away again. ¡°Get off me, you washboard!¡± he shouts, but there aren¡¯t any washboards nearby, much less on top of him. Unless he¡¯s talking to me. ¡°I¡¯m not a washboard: I¡¯m clearly a girl.¡± ¡°Lies!¡± he struggles. ¡°You are as flat as a mirror!¡± Let¡¯s just ignore his confusing talk. ¡°Just answer my question: can you teach me how to pick pockets, too?¡± Huh, he stopped squirming and started staring at be blankly. Let¡¯s just stare back. This is taking a while. Ah! he blinked. That means I won right? ¡°What?¡± he asks. ¡°Can you teach me how to pick pockets?¡± I repeat. ¡°If I do, will you get off of me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay, fine.¡± I step up and stand to the side as he squirms up. ¡°Follow me: I¡¯ll take you to my boss,¡± he says as he walks in the direction we were running. After five minutes, we arrive at the decrepit cellar of a decrepit inn. He gives a rhythmic knock and waits as sliding sounds resound within until another boy opens the doors from inside. ¡°Van, whach¡¯you doin¡¯ here?¡± the inside boy asks my guide. ¡°This flat bitch here assaulted me then asked to learn the trade.¡± As the inside boy turns my way, I rebut, ¡°I¡¯m human, not canine.¡± Van or whoever he is must really be blind since he keeps misidentifying me. ¡°Couldn¡¯t shake ¡®er?¡± the other boy, whose name I still don¡¯t know, asks. ¡°See the uniform? She has movement magic. Just let us meet the boss so I can go back to getting my fill.¡± ¡°Oh. Well, I¡¯m not supposed to let strangers in, period. I might could ask the boss to let ¡®er in, but you¡¯ll have to wait.¡± ¡°That¡¯s acceptable,¡± I comply. This boss will likely be able to teach me what I want to know better than these kids, and forceful entry seems to have negative connotations in the dictionaries. By the time I return my thoughts to the real world, the not-Van boy returned with a young adult in tow. He had black or dark brown greased and slicked back into some kind of promontory just above his forehead as well as male pattern resting bitch face. The most noticeable feature of this thug, however, was that the thumb and index finger on his right hand were missing.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°This the broad?¡± the presumed boss speaks while facing me. ¡°Y-yessir,¡± replied his guide. ¡°You want to learn how to pickpocket?¡± the boss asks. ¡°Yessir,¡± I imitate the boy. The boss looks me up and down. I shiver a little as I felt his gaze. It feels like a drop of ice water ran down my spine, but after some thought I conclud it was some spell. ¡°Very well, I will teach you the skills of a thief, and in return, you will give me a third your profits and take part in missions I give you. Also, the guild has certain rules: no robbing people who paid the protection money; keep the names and locations of members secret including your own; no killing; and lastly, you can hire anyone under you as long as they pay you a third. Are we clear?¡± ¡°I believe so, yes,¡± I reply before continuing. ¡°Does the one third tax go all the way to the top?¡± He pauses before sighing, ¡°Yes. Well, come inside. Van, return to work. Tony, as you were.¡± The inside of the cellar looks like the inside of a cellar with foods and drinks stored about, but beneath one of the barrels was a trapdoor and ladder leading to a small room with a table and two chairs. On the table was a ledger with a quill and a small jar of some transparent fluid. Beside one of the chairs, was a locked strong box where the boss apparently stored their earnings. All four walls had thick wooden doors though only one was open and another swung the wrong way, outwards not in, and lacked the door bars of the other three. ¡°Behind the open door are bunk rooms where Tony, Van, and the others sleep. You don¡¯t have to stay here, but if you ever need a place to lay low there¡¯s a bed for you. My room and personal stuff are behind the locked door. Never enter there unless you are ready to leave this world. The other two doors lead to some storage rooms and the rest of the underground. I won¡¯t bother you if you decide to try your luck with them but something else will. Wait here while get you your gear.¡± I wait as he disappears behind one of the doors and later reappears with a bundle in his hands. ¡°This is your guild badge: it has an enchantment that notifies the wearer of guild members and clients which expires in thirty days. Come to me for a refill when it does. It also is designed to completely disintegrate if you cast an [Ignite] upon it. Do so if you are captured or otherwise compromised. Here is a basic cloak for hiding in the dark. Don¡¯t wear I broad daylight or you might get pulled in for questioning by the city guard. This is a special dagger for thieves. This notch is for cutting the strings holding up coin pouches and tendons if you¡¯re good at it; these are for catching and breaking swords ¨C you shouldn¡¯t try that yet; unscrewing the pommel opens up a compartment with a lockpicking set and a lethal poison tablet. Under no circumstances are you to let anyone see you with this dagger. ¡°Lastly this scroll has a forbidden spell described on it that you will find helpful. Read it now and give it back immediately.¡± Storing everything but the scroll in my inventory, I open it to read as instructed but am interrupted. ¡°Also, don¡¯t reveal that you have an item box or whatever. I can count on my bad hand the item box wielders who were discovered and not burnt at the stake by the church.¡± That sounds bad. I decide to process that sudden bombshell after reading the scroll which explained an efficient but only mildly effective concealment spell called [Fade]. I read and returned it to the boss before retreating back to the dorm before realizing I didn¡¯t learn how to pick pockets. I guess there will always be a next time.
Status Skills Status Inventory 4 – Girl Talk Two week have past since joining the Thieves'' Guild. Right now, I am heading to the practice range on campus. As expected of a royally funded academy, the facilities include a large field where the students can try hitting targets as far away as five hundred meters. There are even arrays to help improve mana recovery between spells. However, I am going there not to practice, but to vent my frustrations. Apparently, for every element at every mastery level, there are eight spells: one for attack, defense, maneuvering, buffing, debuffing, manipulation, enchanting, and special purposes each. There are some spells that are still undiscovered, of course, such as the novice metal attack spell, but the magic academies and guilds have apparently stifled all research towards certain spells such as my [Fade I] that they deem to dangerous. Like giving eight-year-olds the ability to set anything on fire at will isn¡¯t dangerous, too. Seriously, the magic history teacher said that three hundred years ago, entire armies would march out in asbestos armor to circumvent [Ignite], the most basic fire spell. I don¡¯t actually care what the school does and doesn¡¯t teach me ¨C I¡¯m here for free after all ¨C but did they really have to literally rip out every page that mentions those spells out of every book and call it ¡°natural wear and tear¡±? They actually have the gall to call some light spells black magic, because some thief can use them to sneak around easier. I am proud of my [Novice Light Thief] job, thank you very much. My [Light Beam III] repeatedly hits the training dummy in the eyes and groin. The dapper lightning magician in the range stall beside me keeps glancing over nervously, as if he is a target dummy, too. I figure now is a good time to stop anyways as my rage at the system has faded. Boss Eight, the thief with that many fingers, has a mission for me tonight, and I don¡¯t want to be to low on mana beforehand. After about twenty minutes of meditation in the mana recovery array, I am back to full capacity and leave back to the dorm room to get ready. The hall is as typical as usual for off days: girls are gossiping in flocks of two to four every now and then; the younger students are excitedly talking to their parents who stopped by for the day; and three boys standing in my way staring down at me. No, that last one is atypical. The one in the middle speaks up when I get close, ¡°You are Robin, right?¡± ¡°You are Leo, right?¡± I reply. That stumped him. The [Analyze III] has some interesting effects when used as a spell. The most interesting is that the data appear as a flashy table instead of the markup list of my own menu. After some hesitation he continues, ¡°Do you know what we want?¡± ¡°No.¡± How could I? Ah, perhaps [Analyze] or [Examine] can tell me that at higher levels. ¡°I¡¯m not there, yet,¡± I finish. ¡°Well, we want you to quit the school.¡± ¡°No,¡± I snap back. ¡°You see, if you stay at this academy, those of us who don¡¯t take kindly to some uncultured orphan hanging around will make your life here a living hell,¡± he responds while narrowing his eyes. ¡°Is that a threat?¡± I ask. ¡°Uh, yes,¡± he says, a little unsure, and it is at the moment he finishes saying the ¡®s¡¯ that I release [Blind I] and jab him in the throat. His two wingmen get kicks to the back of the knees as I pass by, disappearing around a corner before they all regain their bearings. I hear a ¡°You Bitch!¡± back from whence I came followed by some heavy steps, but none of them are at the level that they can track me if I don¡¯t what to be found. Why do people keep calling me a dog, anyways? Walking into our shared room, I see Cassiopeia studying at her desk and ask, ¡°Hey Cassy, do I look like a dog?¡± Disgruntled at the interruption, she turns to me with a sour look on her face and responds, ¡°Not really, why do you ask?¡± I answer honestly, ¡°People keep calling me a bitch and I was wondering why.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said, ¡®People keep c-¡¯¡± ¡°No, I mean do you seriously not know?¡± ¡°Yes.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. She sighs, ¡°They are not mistaking you for a dog, but saying you are no better than a dog. It is supposed to be an insult.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I respond. ¡°Is it a common insult?¡± ¡°For someone like you, yes.¡± By this time, I have already undressed and taken my huntress outfit out of my ¡®dresser;¡¯ in fact, I pulled out of my inventory while reaching inside the drawer ¨C a technique Boss Eight recommended once. ¡°Is that your only pair of underwear?¡± she changes the subject. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Does it not get dirty?¡± ¡°No, they¡¯re self-cleaning.¡± The princess exclaims in alarm, ¡°Where¡¯d you get enchanted underwear?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I reply. ¡°I had them on when I woke up in the cathedral without memories.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she pauses. ¡°Do they have any other enchantments?¡± ¡°Yes, they are both indestructible and impossible to remove without my consent, and they both have some anti-pervert enchantment, too.¡± ¡°W-what are they called?¡± ¡°[The Divine Panties of Chastity] and [The Divine Sports Bra of Chastity].¡± ¡°You have divine artifacts?¡± she almost shouts. ¡°Other than yours, there are only five in the entire kingdom!¡± ¡°I guess I shouldn¡¯t go around undressed then, lest someone tries to steal my underwear.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be going around undressed anyways!¡± ¡°Why not?¡± I inquire. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard of modesty?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s being moderate in one¡¯s estimation of oneself, or unostentatiousness, but I have no need to estimate myself when I know exactly my capabilities.¡± ¡°More importantly, it means wearing clothes that don¡¯t reveal a lot of skin.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± I comment. ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°You need it: it is a necessary virtue for every proper young lady to have.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t show a lot of skin, got it,¡± I add to my mental checklist. ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to be late, so see you later.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± she asks as I open the door. ¡°A girl¡¯s got to have her secrets,¡± I say with a wink. The baffled look on her face gives away that she did not expect that, so I take advantage of the break in her defense to close the door and retreat down the hall. After a few minutes of running and jogging, I arrive outside the tavern above Boss Eight¡¯s cellar. Walking in, I take a seat at the empty table in a corner. The waitress knows me and my tastes, so without asking she brings a mug of apple juice in front of me. Sipping at it, I decide to check my menu while I wait: menu Skills Status Inventory 5 – Some Action It took Boss Eight five minutes to come in from the back door and sit across from me in the otherwise full tavern; although, he was still four minutes early. Fortunately, I had already finished my juice, because he immediately slipped a folder into my lap. After storing it in my inventory, standing up, and paying my thirty-cent bill; I walked out of the establishment and into a dead-end alley three blocks away, all while completely ignoring his presence. When I have ensured there is no one watching, I pull the file out of the folder and read the contents:
Mission File 452-36 E6t m4 t0rp3d0 n00bs. [r2dZ in th9 ho6q] naiquilz hot7? nolo anabelsn 134+790=8265, n66ny narlwal\ nrp4k y0l0o FLAZ 6banananana9nut on MIqKU nnnn 0123 n3xt_n6ht i6th1s 432qu7 at my29t P5WND squiv towny33 quinnoa 21-pnlot butt s6n napzrul3 spun 7 fun F w(0vO)w raken ze5n UrlRap nice73 utonia TMZ 09in
Typical of guild documents, it is encrypted into senseless garbage, but that doesn¡¯t stop me from reading its message. I pull out the small jar of quicklime and the polishing cloth from the bottom of the folder, then I replace the file and [Ignite] the papers, turning them into a wisp of smoke in a small flash. I then trade my bow and quiver for my black cloak and thieves¡¯ dagger, fully ready for any sort of sneaking and thieving. Casting [Fade], I run up the walls and across the rooftops to a general store that for some reason stays open only at nighttime. The owner is another member of the guild, so he doesn¡¯t comment on my attire when I buy a small flask of water. Detours out of the way I head off to the viscount¡¯s mansion. The four guards patrolling the perimeter don¡¯t notice me when I jump into the garden, but after a few minutes, a maid walks out of the servants¡¯ quarters and sits on the bench I am hiding behind. ¡°Why?¡± she whispers. I whisper back, ¡°Signet ring.¡± ¡°Fifty guards,¡± she adds. ¡°fifteen on duty.¡± ¡°And the safe?¡± I ask. ¡°Disk tumbler lock with a silent alarm to milord even with the right key.¡± ¡°Thanks, and unlock the library window,¡± I say as I disappear over the wall again. Meeting with a guild member from the inside has given me a lot of helpful information, but I still need some supplies if I am going to get out with NETOS, no evidence, traces, or sightings. Back in the garden after a ten minute ¡®grocery run,¡¯ I slowly sneak my way to a tree near a second story balcony. I can¡¯t jump that high nor is there any footholds to climb up with, but that¡¯s what trees are for. I wait twenty-three seconds for the two guards to walk far enough away before jumping up to grab the lowest limb. Hauling the rest of myself up the remaining twelve feet during the lapses of security, I check my footing one last time before leaping across to a small ledge marking the change in floor number, and then I scurry over to the balcony as quickly as I can without making any loud noises. The glass doors leading to the master bedroom are open, the viscount¡¯s wife being fond of night breezes to sleep by. The two have been asleep for thirty minutes now, and at least one of the is snoring loudly. Creeping to the bedside, I remove a small perfume bottle from my inventory. This cost me twenty-five Fleurs, a twentieth my pre-deducted pay for this job, and is worth every penny. It is a mild sleeping drug, just strong enough to keep the viscount sleeping sweetly through whatever alarm that would otherwise wake him at this ungodly hour. I spray his face three times. He sniffles a little but stays asleep. I, however, am already on the balcony, ready to go as soon as I confirm his undisturbed rest. The ledge takes me to a circular room occupying one corner of the mansion. This is part of the library and where the maid left a convenient entrance. I slip though the small gap and quickly head to the third floor with the library¡¯s spiral staircase. Putting my ear to the door, I listen for any guards in the hallway. There are none, so I gradually open the door and step out; however, before I can close the door back, I here footsteps and see torchlight around the corner to my right. I quickly flow back in and barely close the door enough to not be noticed when they round the corner. Patiently, I wait until they round the next Heading back out in the ten-minute gap, I scamper to the right and am distraught: the fifteenth guard is outside the office, not the master bedroom as expected. There are two at front gate, four who circle the complex, two each for the three floors, two who patrol the grounds outside, and one who stands outside whatever room the viscount is in, not the office. There are no other ways into that room, and I don¡¯t have the ability to sneak past him yet. Sighing as silently as I can, I turn back towards the library, leaving a weak Ferrokinetic mark on the window latch, and retreat to my dorm room. I have three more off days between now and the mission deadline, so it¡¯s not game over yet.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. That is what I think as I walk into a trap. As soon as I close the door behind me, Cassiopeia turns on the lights, catching me in with a black cloak on sneaking in most of the way through the third watch. To feign ignorance, I decide to play it casual: ¡°Good evening. The night air is particularly fresh right now.¡± ¡°Look,¡± she says. ¡°I know you¡¯re a part of the Thieves¡¯ Guild, and I know that earring does more than boost your mana pool a measly five points. My father¡¯s spies would not let someone so close to me go unmonitored, after all.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± I reply, taking off my cloak and folding it. ¡°Why are you bringing this up?¡± ¡°The spies say you are safe, but I cannot believe them.¡± She stares me straight in the eyes and says, ¡°So tell me: you will not kill anyone needlessly, you will not force anyone into slavery or prostitution; and, most important to me, you will not betray my trust in you as a friend.¡± That last word surprises me more than everything else that¡¯s happened tonight. ¡°You consider me your friend?¡± I ask incredulously. ¡°We¡¯ve haven¡¯t known each other for a month. Your best friend and brother both hate me. We¡¯ve barely talked outside of you stopping me from doing stupid things out of ignorance. What have we done to become friends, again?¡± The princess sighs deeply, and I get the sudden feeling that I did a stupid thing out of ignorance. ¡°Friendship cannot be quantified by some sterile formula, of if it can, it should not be. You are my friend because when we talk and when we interact at all, you do not expect anything from me. You do not try to curry favor; you do not put me on a pedestal like the other commoners; you treat me like a normal person, and to me that means more than whatever criteria you prefer. So yes, you are my friend, whether you like it or not.¡± Cassy takes a deep breath, and I am at a lost for words. Eventually, I squeak out, ¡°Thanks? And I promise not to do any of those things.¡± She suddenly lunges out and hugs me. I pause briefly before returning the action, then she whispers in my ear, ¡°You know, now that it is official, you have to go shopping and do other friend things with me.¡± ¡°I am in need of more outfits,¡± I reply, not knowing entirely what I just signed up for. After breaking apart, we each head to our beds for the night; although, I don¡¯t go to sleep just yet. Instead I spend the next two hours training [Fade] and [Stealth] and brainstorming a way to get past that last guard.
menu Skills Status Inventory 6 – The Rest of the Action Tonight, after a week of classes, I am back in the viscount¡¯s third floor hallway. I spent the last week grinding my [Fade] level and learning the apprentice light enchantment [Conceal]. When the two are used in tandem, I can hide in daylight and be unseen by anyone not using detection spells actively. And that is exactly what I am doing: a few feet below where I am clinging to the ceiling, the fifteenth guard is guarding his post in front of the office door. I already unlocked the door with [Ferrokinesis III], but I won¡¯t be able to open and sneak through it until he lapses in his duty. After thirty minutes, he finally yawns without the circling guards nearby to cover the blind spot such an activity creates. Making my way through the door, I enter the office. It is completely dark in here, so I walk around the perimeter keeping a gloved finger on the wall until I find the picture frame. I don¡¯t actually know what it is a picture of nor do I care, so I take it off its hook to reveal the safe. There are faintly glowing magic runes on its surface that barely provide enough light to illuminate the safe¡¯s other features. The runes seem to be emitting a hashed OTP stream, which will be cut when the safe is opened, to some other runes that aren¡¯t currently visible; but once again, it is none of my concern. Retrieving my lockpicking set from my dagger, I examine the lock. I quickly discern that this lock will be much harder to pick: the other one was iron whereas this one is enchanted glass with a lower tolerance, meaning my ferrokinesis will be ineffective. It¡¯s a disk tumbler lock, however, so it is still easy to pick with conventional methods. I separate the full diamond pick and torsion wrench from the rest of the set and remove the quicklime, water, and polishing cloth from my inventory to have at the ready. I only have at least twenty minutes until the R-20 wears off, after all. I spend the first three of those moving the six disks into place and turning the plug. As soon as I open the door, the alarm circuit activates. I quickly remove the ring from its shelf with the cloth while mixing the quicklime and water with the other. When the mixture sets enough, I press the ring into it for about six minutes until it sets completely. Running out of buffer time, I remove the ring from the mold and clean off the residue before replacing it and closing the safe door. Once I confirm that the alarm has stopped, I release the breath I has unintentionally holding in a sigh of intense relief. I make my way back to the office door and putting my ear to it, I listen to the guard¡¯s breathing waiting for any indication of escape hole. It came fourteen minutes after I began waiting and three after the change of the watch, when the freshly awoken guard yawned to the heavens. I then make my way to the library after relocking the door. It was in front of my egress window that I stopped. I stand up from my crouch, discretely store my student ID and thieves¡¯ badge and dagger, draw my hunting dagger and buckler, and address the poorly hidden man in front of me with my best death metal growl, ¡°I¡¯m surrounded, aren¡¯t I?¡± The silhouette flinches before signaling to someone else. ¡°Yes,¡± the viscount says as the lights turn on, revealing him and most of the guards from the previous shift. ¡°Do you mind surrendering? I doubt you can escape easily.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± I say noncommittally. ¡°How did you find me?¡± ¡°Do you think I wound not notice one of my maids acting suspiciously?¡± he sounds insulted. ¡°Well, even though she did not reveal anything, that was enough to put us on alert and find the tampered-with window.¡± I shrug. ¡°How did you get past my guards with such a low level?¡± Since he answered my question honestly and rhetorically, I do the same, ¡°Have you ever heard of black magic? Well even if you haven¡¯t, it can be very practical.¡± ¡°So, back to my first question,¡± he segues; ¡°Are you surrendering?¡± ¡°I guess so,¡± I reply, dropping the dagger; however, before it can hit the ground, I accelerate it towards one of the younger looking guards. He blocks it with a combination of luck and armor, but I am already chasing it with [Lightning Rush I] and bashing at the guard to his left. This guard deflects the blow with his main-gauche and prepares to counter with his saber, however I am already spinning around with the hunting dagger back in my hand. I land a dangerous hit on the first guard¡¯s arm while kicking the second¡¯s shin, which the makes for a decent foot to dodge away from the arrow that then flies by my ear. Noticing Viscount Scarlatti¡¯s displeasure at the arrow landing in a tome beside me, I rotate clockwise to the other side of the encirclement, casting a [Flame Wave] at their foreheads. Two notice my real intention, but the other three duck, letting it crash into the shelves behind them.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Most of my would-be captors are briefly distracted as the magician on the upper floor redirects his water spell to quench the flames. I [Light Beam] the other two in the eyes and [Lightning Rush] through the outside window. There are a few guards waiting out here but are too startled to give immediate chase. It isn¡¯t until I reach the compound wall that I once again stop. This time there are three guards in front of me, the furthest back holding a knife to the neck of the maid who gave me information earlier. In the momentary pause, she blinks a message at me, unnoticed by the guards. I blink three times back as I cast [Blind] and run around the four. One of the guards manages to barely cut my hip with a blind swing, but I keep going and scale up the wall. Just as I am about to make my way over, an arrow lodges itself into my hand. That hurts, like, really bad. I fall to the ground, my vision going blurry with the impact to the back of my head; however, that is not enough to stop me from seeing the mace crashing down at my face. It doesn¡¯t hit hard enough to kill or even incapacitate me, though both are more desirable than this pain. I barely feel my limbs being tied before being dragged off somewhere. Out of the corner of my eye in one of the clearer moments, I see the maid lying on the ground. So, the plan failed. Another bought of pain brings me back from my thoughts, before my consciousness fades. When I come to, I am still being dragged along. Suddenly, someone pulls my head up by my ponytail. Soon, I am face to face with the viscount who says, ¡°¨Cld have sur---dered.¡± I respond by using the last of my mana to [Ignite] his eyebrows before passing out completely.
menus Skills Status Inventory 7 – Questions and Answer I groggily open my eyes, a faint dream leaving behind not even a memory. That¡¯s weird: I haven¡¯t remembered any of my dreams before. Regardless, I begin to examine my surroundings. Firstly, I am stripped down to my underwear, but my inventory looks untouched. Secondly, I am locked up in bronze shackles in an X-shape which seem to be array-inscribed to prevent me from using my mana. Thirdly, I am still heavily injured from the fight two days ago, including some injuries I don¡¯t remember getting. 13 HP does not feel good. The most noticeable thing, however, is the dense white fog blocking all sight beyond a couple meters. I click my tongue down and listen for the echo. So, I¡¯m in a cylindrical stone room with a diameter of about ten meters. There is a dome fifteen meters above my head, and the floor is too far down to get a proper echo through this fog. Now that my situation is assessed, I turn my eyes to look at the mana suppressing shackles on my wrists. The array is sufficiently obfuscated that I cannot determine how it works without a more research on the subject, but I can at least see the three lines I need to sever in order to disable the circuit. I leave them alone for now, though, as cutting them would trigger an alarm. With nothing better to do, I continue to inspect the array. After close to one and a half hours, a rumble resounds through the cell, which lasts for two minutes. Shortly thereafter, a man dressed in all black with only two grey eyes and a patch of pallid nose skin showing emerged from the fog half a meter below me, the fog blocking is legs from the knees down and whatever platform he stood on. ¡°Hello, my name is Robin,¡± I introduce myself. ¡°How can I help you, mister ¨C what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I am Eighteen,¡± the man replies. ¡°What were you doing in Lord Scarlatti¡¯s office?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sixteen, but my birthday¡¯s in a couple months. Um, could you let me out of here? I already missed a day of classes and today¡¯s start in an hour; my teachers aren¡¯t going to be happy at all.¡± He suddenly steps forward and punches me in the stomach before asking again, ¡°What were you doing in Lord Scarlatti¡¯s office?¡± Still coughing, I spit out a reply, ¡°Why did you do, th-that? That wasn¡¯t very, nice.¡± If I had eaten something in the past ten hours, I would have vomited, but I guess starvation has its upsides. He punches me again, this time hard enough to reopen a gash in my side. ¡°What were you doing in Lord Scarlatti¡¯s office?¡± ¡°Can yyou come ba- tomorrar?¡± I say as I am getting dizzier. ¡°I doh fee¡­¡± -l so good today. I pass out from the blood loss. I wake up again from another already forgotten dream. Strength. That is all I can remember. This time, however, I¡¯m not as heavily injured: the only injuries left are the scrapes on my wrists and ankles. Not even any scars are left, so they must have employed a decent healer. My thoughts are interrupted by the same rumbling noise as last time, and when Eighteen emerges from the fog I hail him, ¡°You are back so soon? It¡¯s only been six hours.¡± He ignores me and asks his same old question: ¡°What were you doing in Lord Scarlatti¡¯s office?¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. I likewise ignore him, ¡°Oh! Did you bring me lunch? I¡¯m famished, thirsty too.¡± Suddenly, the chains holding my wrist lower bringing me beneath his eye level. He pulls out a curved dagger, grabs my left wrist, and cuts across the nerves and tendons. Waves of pain shoot up my arm. He speaks up, ¡°What were you doing in Lord Scarlatti¡¯s office?¡± I clench my teeth, unable to answer through the pain even if I wanted to. Eighteen seems to notice this, giving me time to recover. ¡°Sorry, what did you say again?¡± I finally say after ninety-three seconds. ¡°You asked it so long ago I forgot.¡± And there goes my other wrist. The pain compounds with what was left of the first time. The chains slowly draw me back up, bringing me face to face with my interrogator. ¡°What were you doing in Lord Scarlatti¡¯s office?¡± he asks. ¡°Do you want a kiss?¡± I say, before spitting on his face. He slaps me across the cheek, my neck creaking in protest, then he takes the knife and presses it against my throat drawing a few drops of blood. ¡°What were you doing in Lord Scarlatti¡¯s office?¡± ¡°Is this how you treat your girlfriend?¡± I ask playfully. I lean into the blade, turning the occasional drop into a light trickle, then continue, ¡°If you wanted to play rough, you should have asked nicely.¡± It is at this time he begins to pummel me. Every square inch of my body he can reach is kicked, punched, kneed, elbowed, and/or headbutted with a viciousness that quickly leaves me sore and numb. After too long to care, he stops and asks, ¡°What were you doing in Lord Scarlatti¡¯s office?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t your mother ever tell you not to pick on little girls?¡± I whisper weakly, my throat too bruised to do any more. This time he draws out a cat-o¡¯-nine-tails with small glass beads in the knots and uses it to reach the parts of me his fist couldn¡¯t. I gradually lose my ability to breathe out as the backs of my ribs break one by one and the tension in my arms pulls my diaphragm taught. I put all of my focus onto the task of breathing, both to block out the agony and to keep myself from asphyxiating. I fail on both accounts. As my vision darkens, I hear footsteps coming our way. You must become stronger. I wake up an echoed voice stuck in my head. I try to remember whose voice it is but the soreness coating my body prevents that. They left the bruises alone, but at least they healed my bone fractures. I seem to have gained the skill [Pain Resistance II] as well, leaving me with little to complain about; except for the lack of food for three days, being imprisoned above an unfathomed pit, being tortured, and being stripped down to my underwear, which they probably tried to remove, too. I then notice the young woman before me. She is dressed in the same black clothes as Eighteen, but her eyes are a dark yet lively purple and her skin, somewhere between the color of charcoal and molten iron. Noticing that I¡¯m awake, she breaks of a piece of the loaf of bread in her hands and presents it to my mouth. I happily take a bite, barely chewing it before swallowing. This continues until I have eaten the whole thing. After we repeat the process with a liter of water, I speak to her, ¡°Thank you; I¡¯m Robin by the way. What¡¯s your name?¡± I wince a little as the pain flares angrily at my perky response. ¡°Um, I am Thirty-Three,¡± she glances away. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just answer his questions?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t look that old,¡± I reply, inspecting the only part of her I can see for wrinkles. ¡°Are you supposed to be the good cop?¡± Her eyes widen a little, but she quickly regains composure and asks, ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°Do you seriously not know about good cop/bad cop?¡± I ask with faux incredulousness. ¡°That¡¯s, like, what you learn the first day in Interrogating 101.¡± She lets out a short sigh at my antics, ¡°Look, depending on how cooperative you are, we are thinking about hiring you as a new member afterwards. You not only managed to almost sneak around guards who are far more experienced than you, when they had you cornered you almost escaped. We could use that kind of talent, so tell us: what were you doing in Lord Scarlatti¡¯s office?¡± ¡°How about this, I will answer your first question,¡± I negotiate. ¡°The reason I won¡¯t tell you is because I was told not to tell you. It is as simple as that.¡± After I finish, she shakes her head in defeat and walks back into the mist. 8 – Escape? After Thirty-Three left and the rumble finished its course, I went back to inspecting the shackles. They seem to use ward locks which I do have a skeleton key for, but unlocking them will activate the same alarm as breaking the array would. I might have a way to get out of these shackles before the numbers ¨C or whatever they¡¯re called ¨C can get to me, but this plan is dependent on what is below me. Taking a penny out of my inventory, I stare at it remorsefully for a few seconds before dropping it. 2.08 seconds later, I hear the coin plop which means I have twenty meters to fall before hitting water of unknown quality and depth. I figure my condition will only deteriorate as they continue to torture me, so I put the plan into action. First, I bring two skeleton keys into my right hand out of the lockpicking set in my dagger and the dagger itself into my left. I position the dagger to cut the array on the left while making my way through the wards on the right. When the shackle unlocks it rips the key from my hand, but I quickly sever the other array and catch it with my newly regained [Ferrokinesis]. I the lower the key to the lock on my right ankle while working on the left wrist with my newly freed right. It is at this point that the rumbling that signals someone coming begins. It is followed by the fog turning hostile, forcing me to close my eyes and summon my school neckerchief to cover my mouth. With the right ankle cuff unlocked, I swing into the stone wall on my left and store my knife and extra skeleton key back in my inventory. The wall is mortared smooth, which prevents me from rock climbing, but I had not planned on that anyways. The chain for my left arm begins to recede upwards; however, I release it before it can make this next part any more painful. It didn¡¯t need to. All my weight is caught by my left ankle after an eight-meter drop. I wallow in self pity just long enough for the rumbling to stop and a couple voices to echo about above me. I pull the skeleton key back out of my inventory and begin to work on the last shackle. As I am working, a detection spell passes through me, but the fog should dissipate it enough for my [Stealth] to render it ineffective. Even if it did work, I quickly undo the last shackle. Holding on to the chain with my free hand, I store my gear away while preparing for the final jump. Planting my feet on the wall, I leap out and flip into a shallow dive into the water eleven meters below me. Not a second too late, too, as a [Water Bullet] crashes into the wall behind me. The water is no more than four meters deep, but the bottom is featureless, leaving me to swim around the perimeter until I find a grated drainage tunnel in the wall under where Eighteen and Thirty-Three would appear before me, where I presumed the entrance to be. I was too big ¨C no ¨C The holes in the grate were to small for me to fit through, and the grate itself was too sturdy for me to break through. Nevertheless, I cast a [Light Barrier] around me and the grate to keep the water off it. I then cast two [Fireballs] on one of the bars to heat it up. Lastly, I push against it with my dagger, distorting it slightly. The gap still isn¡¯t wide enough to fit me, but that is not my plan: I take of my bra and toss it around the bar when I hear something splash behind me, then I swim around to my right while casting [Conceal] and [Fade] on myself and activating [Stealth]. All I can do now is wait and hope they take the bait, quickly too, as I only have enough mana to last thirteen minutes. And thankfully, I don¡¯t have to wait long: almost as soon as I had settled into place, an explosion rings out from the grate. As a side effect, the fog stopped attacking me, the magic within disrupted by the shockwave. After ten minutes, I drop the spells but keep using [Stealth] and begin to meditate while floating. I kept that up for about an hour until my mana was half recharged. During that time, I didn¡¯t hear anyone else coming down or going through the tunnel, so I go ahead any swim over to the entrance. The tunnel is barely large enough for an average human to wade through, with the water coming up to my waist. There is a slight current that is only strong enough to make it troublesome to swim back but not impossible, if one were in good condition unlike me.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Not wanting to make any loud splashes or waste my already low energy reserves, I let the current carry me downstream. I pass a few intersections where more flows come in, but none of them are slow enough for me to make my way up them. Eventually, I come across another grate that has already been blown out. By this time, I am in a proper culverted creek, though by the smell of it, it is used for sewage too. Shortly thereafter, I tee into a tunnel with a walkway on one side. Once I prop myself onto it, I navigate upstream with a [Candlelight] spell to ward of the dark. It takes me a kilometer to find a ladder out of the sewers. I put on my school uniform and begin to climb up. Emerging into an alley from the manhole, I take in my surroundings. The buildings around me seem to be warehouses, which would put me in the port sector of Firenze to the northwest, unless of course they took me to another city entirely. The alley itself is fairly clean with only a single scrap of white clothing in the middle. It seems to be a bra and contrary to my expectations of underwear thrown into alleyways, it is perfectly clean and undamaged. Now that I think about it, it looks familiar. I walk over to give the bra a closer inspection. I pick it up, and when I remember where I last saw it, I place my bra in my inventory shortly before being hit in the back of the head and blacking out.
menus Skills Status Inventory