Chapter 8: Tiffany

Chapter 8: Tiffany

[Quest Completed: Met with mysterious stranger +5 Exp]

[System Notification: You leveled up! You are now Level 3! Exp: 0/40]

[System Notification: You have 20 affinity points and 5 ability points available]

Silas's eyes fluttered open, quickly remembering the events of the previous night. The vial of eye drops was on his bedside table. He had to take them before anyone saw his eyes. Keeping his eyes closed, he fumbled for the eyedrops.

He felt the bottle knock against his hand as he accidentally sent it to the floor. He got out of bed, his eyes still closed and felt around on the ground for the bottle.

Jace was already up and about. "Hey, Silas. What are you looking for?"

"I need my eyedrops, Jace. I have really dry eyes. It feels like I have sand in my eyes without them." Silas replied.

"Oh, they're right here. Oh your eyes are closed. Let me put them in your hand," Jace said, as he grabbed one of Silas's hands. "There you go."

"Thanks, Jace." Holding the bottle, Silas turned away from Jace, and opened his eyes. Unscrewing the top of the bottle, he dropped two drops in each eye. He blinked several times and when he was sure the eyedrops had taken effect, he turned around.

"Morning, Silas!" Jace said, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Ready for another day of magic and adventure?"

Silas couldn't help but chuckle at Jace's enthusiasm. "Give me a minute to wake up properly," he said.

As Silas stood and stretched, his gaze fell upon Rowan's sleeping form. The broad-shouldered young man was sprawled across his bed, his familiar curled up contentedly on his chest. The creature's soft snores mingled with Rowan's deep, even breaths, creating a gentle symphony of slumber.

Jace followed Silas's gaze and smirked. "Looks like Rowan's going to need a bit more time to join the land of the living," he quipped.

"Yeah, looks like it." Silas laughed.

Silas pulled a book out of his pack and opened it, pretending to read.

He pulled up the system menu in his head. The familiar interface popped up in front of his eyes.

He pulled up his Skill Trees first. He realized he never even looked at the available skills in Biomancy, and Essomancy.

Biomancy had 2 branches: Physical Enhancement, and Biological Manipulation. Essomancy had 2 branches: Essence Manipulation and Soul Manipulation.

Thinking back, he hadn't noticed if Neuromancy had names for its separate branches cuz he was in such a hurry but it probably did.

Under the Essence Manipulation and Soul Manipulation branches there were the skills [Essence Extraction (cost: 10 ap (Affinity Points)] and [Soul Link (cost: 10 ap)] respectively.

Under the Physical Enhancement and Biological Manipulation branches there were the skills [Regeneration (10 ap)] and [Drain, Venom Synthesis, and Tissue Manipulation [10 ap)].

Below each of the branches was a button that said, "see more." He would look at the other skills another time.

Essence Extraction and Soul Link seemed like the most interesting skills. So he focused and purchased them with his affinity points.

The explanation for Essence Extraction was, "extract the essence of a magical creature or plant."

The explanation for Soul Link was, "create a temporary link between your soul and another's, allowing for shared sensations, emotions, intentions, and thoughts."

Those both sounded like they could be really useful. With essence extraction he assumed he could use essences in alchemy, and soul link in all sorts of ways. Communication, combat, and interrogation were just what he could think of off the top of his head.

Next, he pulled up his stats screen. He hadn't seen it since he became part leviathan.

"This," she said, her voice filled with reverence, "is my personal dragon-scale sword. It was crafted from the core and scales of a fire dragon, and it possesses the ability to channel and amplify my affinity, fire magic.

With a flick of her wrist, Tiffany sent a burst of flames spiraling along the length of the blade. The students gasped as the fire danced and swirled, casting a warm glow across the room.

Silas watched in fascination as the professor demonstrated the sword's power. He glanced down at his own hands, wondering what it would feel like to wield such a weapon.

As the flames subsided, Tiffany sheathed the sword, and surveyed the class once more. "Your first assignment," she said, "is to research the different types of beast weapons and armor that exist in our world. Consider which ones might best suit your individual affinities and fighting styles."

She waved her hand, and a stack of books appeared on each student's desk. "These tomes contain information on various magical creatures and the weapons and armor that can be crafted from their cores. Study them carefully, and be prepared to discuss your findings in our next class."

Looking at Tiffany, he sensed she held great power and strength. Curious to see what an instructor's stats looked like, he ran Essence Revelation on her.

Stats:

Name: Tiffany Umbercrowe

Species: Human

Title: Knight of the Summer Court of the Fae

Status: Immortal

Age: 734 years old.

Maximum Tier: Tier 2

Current Tier: Tier 2

HP: (100/100)

MP: (3000/3000)

Affinities: Fire

Strength: 52 (102 with armor)

Agility: 49

Stamina: 54

Intelligence: 8

Luck: 33

Silas stared at the Stats screen, unblinking. Once he hit the Title line, he froze. He had no idea what to think or what to do. Tiffany was a Fae knight!

Tiffany noticed Silas staring at her with a terrified look on his face. "Boy! What are you looking at? You look like you've seen a ghost." She chuckled, trying to lighten to mood and potentially snap Silas out of shock.

Silas would later come to regret the next words that came out of his mouth, but in the moment he couldn't think to say or do anything else. "Are you a Fae?"

Tiffany gave him a look that could kill a wiser man.

Silas gulped.