Chapter 13 [Accidental Awakening | Leah | Maeve]

Leah swung her club at a tiny red Slime, killing it instantly despite it being her first attack on the creature. She was pleased with herself. Not from the instant kill—though that was a big deal—no, what had her satisfied was the trail of putrid scum that had covered the ground in a ‘V’ shape behind where the monster had been. It had taken some getting used to, but she was now able to kill the smallest ones without getting much of the filth on her at least three out of five times.

There was no avoiding the mess caused by the bigger ones, but she was content with slaughtering the small ones, despite the drop in experience. She found that she could farm Essence Cores for her children much more efficiently that way, without risking her Health. Besides… it looks like Kyle’s handling the bigger ones just fine.

She looked up and quickly spotted Kyle pummeling a Slime almost as tall as her, ignoring the tiny Slimes crawling around him and the acidic sludge that splattered all over him with every hit. He was almost a quarter of the way through the valley, bulldozing his way toward the center. That man… If he doesn’t get himself killed I’ll do it for him when he gets back. Well, it’s not like I can blame him. This iskind of fun, and we are in a hurry. He better follow his own damned rules and come straight back here if he falls under half Health. Speaking of…

[Leah | Stage 1]

[Exp | 688/700 | 6/cycle]

[Health | 162/175 | 16/cycle]

[Energy | 228/245 | 16/cycle]

[Mana | 120/220 | 10/cycle]

Just a few more little ones or… Leah looked around and spotted another Slime that had broken free from the pack. It was a gray one. Definitely not one that she could one shot, she knew, but it also couldn’t hurt her as long as she watched for the rocks. After her first few encounters with the gray and brown ones, she found that if their membranes jiggled constantly, they were searching for her. If they only jiggled once, they’d homed in and were preparing to launch an attack.

At least it’s a gray. They aren’t as messy as the others. She took two steps forward, bent, and slammed her weapon at a downward angle into what she hoped was its face. Goo splattered, but mostly down toward the grass, where it sizzled harmlessly. A few drops landed on her arm, but it wasn’t enough to cost her any Health. She hit it once more before backing off and waiting for it to make its move.

As expected, the constant jiggling stopped, it gave one, swift pulse, and a small rock no bigger than her thumb nail followed hardly half a second after. Before it had even left the monster, she’d already sidestepped and moved in to give it another thrashing. It never had the chance to spit another stone.

Alright! Silver, did that do it? Silver. As in, Long John Silver—the cyborg from her all-time favorite children’s movie. When she’d appeared in her Core—Leah was extremely grateful to her husband for warning her ahead of time—she’d found herself on the deck of a pirate ship, with stars all around her. Well, it was a partial pirate ship, since her Core was only large enough to host a portion of the deck and siderails. The ridiculously life-like Silver was leaning against the rails, looking right at her.

[Aye, that it did, lass. Would ya like I assign yer points like we discussed?]

Yes, please. No need to ask me each time. For the Semi-Stages, two in Force and alternate the third between Vigor and Vitality. For the Stages, two in Force and one in Vigor, Vitality, and Intuition. We’ll keep it that way until we see the skills.

[It’ll be done as ye say.]

She picked up the two Essence Cores and placed them in a small pile behind her. At first, she was just hording them to give to Kyle for storing, but after she’d gathered a few, she found that the Slimes seemed to be drawn toward the gathered Cores. Using them as bait, she didn’t have to stray to far from her children, and she was plenty close enough for Maeve to call out if she needed.

Leah looked up the slope, where the little girl was sitting dutifully by her brother’s side. Maeve smiled and waved, then began to crawl toward the top for what had to be the dozenth time. Rowan, however, was still fast asleep. She was getting worried, since it had been almost an hour since they’d reached the hills and he still hadn’t shown any signs of waking.

Iroh said he’d be fine, so he’ll be fine. The magic books know a lot more about this place than you do. Leah took a deep breath, forced herself to relax, and turned back toward the threat. Three more of the smallest variety of Slime had broken from the crowd and were crawling toward her pile. She proceeded carefully, taking them out from left to right. The splattered goo trailing behind them created a foul-smelling path, which she knew would prompt more of the things to move in her direction.

At least they’re predictable. I may not be good with numbers like Kyle, but patterns and repetition..? That, I can do. Notes.

She flipped to the extra page she’d had Silver make. Kyle’s plan to fill his Grimoire with extra sheets was ludicrous, with each one costing fifty Mana, but it was hard to miss the benefit in having one or two. For Leah, the notes weren’t necessarily for her to study, like her husband’s were, but she needed to write down her thoughts so she wouldn’t forget. There were already nearly half a dozen questions for Kyle that she knew she’d forget if she didn’t write them down.

[1 | What are we going to do for sustenance if this cave doesn’t work out?

2 | Are we taking the kids into the Domain with us if it’s really like a dungeon in a game? Wouldn’t that be worse than staying out here or heading to the woods for shelter?

3 | What are we going to do about Greyson? His mom’s neighborhood was only around 7 miles away, but that’s 70 now! We can make that in a day, can’t we?

4 | What are all of the Semi-Stage xp requirements? I’d like to write them down.

5 | Tease him now that my damage is almost as high as his with the weapon! He’ll probably be more interested than flustered. If I can get to Stage Three before he gets back, my damage will be higher than his. ^.^

6 | Ask what these white Slimes are.]

Leah had added in number six after fighting her second one, if it could even be called a fight. The thing seemed more interested in bumping up against other Slimes or trying to get to her Core pile than it did in eating her. It was also the only one she’d seen that didn’t kill any fresh grass it wandered over. If it weren’t for her kids being behind here, she’d be willing to let one roam around to see what happened.

“Mommy!” She heard Maeve’s call, then snapped around, ready to sprint up the slope. “There are people moving over there! They look like ants!”

Leah’s body loosened, and she was surprised by how tense she’d been. She yelled up the hill, “Are any coming this way?”

“They’re too little!” Maeve said in response. “Don’t worry, mommy. I’ll watch!”

“Haha. Okay, baby. Just be careful.”

The little girl gave her two thumbs up and turned to stare off in the distance. Do our neighbors worry me that much? Hell, we should be asking for their help. It’s going to take forever clearing this field.

I’ll need to move the pile back, soon, she thought as she watched as another pair of Slimes break the line to crawl toward her. The entire wave was a foot or two closer than it had been just minutes before. She smashed the two intruders and scooped up her pile, picking a new place not far away. Well, I am baiting them, and they do eat the corpses. Hmm… looks like Kyle reached the center.

From her vantage, she could see her husband stomping his bare on several different colored Slimes that looked to be swarming around him. As for the few massive ones she’d seen in that same place, they were nowhere in sight. She giggled. If he keeps going like that, there won’t be any monsters left to help with. As for our neighbors it’s hard not to want to help them… Some of them have kids the same as we do. What’s worse is that I know he’s right. We have no idea how any of the will react to… this.

Once we can protect ourselves, we’ll worry about them. Leah sighed and adjusted her Grimoire so that she could see it at a glance, then dove into the mass of weaker Slimes. She couldn’t afford to take her time.

…

Maeve stared at the distant figures, running this way and that like little ants. She knew they were her friends’ mommies and daddies, but from here, they were all just tiny black sticks. For a while, she pretended that they were characters from her favorite movie, running around searching for the runaway queen so they could end the winter storm.

It didn’t take long to get bored of her game, and seeing as most of the sticks were walking toward the giant trees, she decided to go back to watching her mommy. When she turned around, however, she saw that her mommy was farther away, and had killed a bunch of the bad monsters.

Mommy’s so strong! She moved closer, staring as her mother would make one of the tiny jellies fall with every swing. Her father, too, was standing in the midst of the jiggly army. A huge space had been cleared behind him, and he was finally coming back. Daddy’s strong, too! Just like a superhero!

Her attention wasn’t held for very long, and she quickly noticed something else. Something bad.

Oh no! Mommy’s not picking up the marbles! Daddy said if the Slimes eat them, they’ll get big and hurt us. She was a good girl, and she listened to everything her daddy had told them during their walk. Maeve jogged down the hill, checking on Rowan first before running toward the closest group of marbles. No monsters here.

She looked in every direction, making sure it was safe before gathering a small armful and carrying them up to where Rowan was sleeping. Trip after trip, she picked up all the stones she could without getting too close to any of the Slimes. Eventually, all that was left was her mommy’s pile. There were more farther away, but she didn’t think it was safe to go out there, and she’d probably get in trouble.

Almost done! Maeve made a bucket with her arms and—after several failed attempts—managed to get the whole pile to stay. So many.

She struggled with her burden, wobbling slightly under the weight but taking careful steps as she walked up the slope. Right there! Just a few more st—

Her eyes widened as one of the marbles on top fell off, and she leaned forward to try and catch it but leaned too far—Maeve missed her step. She tried to correct her footing, but instead stepped on the marble she’d dropped. Maeve fell forward, right on top of the pile she was holding. Many of the glass balls were scattered, but just as many were crushed by her weight.

"Congratulations Human, for reaching Stage 1!"

“Maeve!”

“Nnnngh…” The voice surprised her, but instead of a scream, she only managed a low groan. Somewhere, far away, she could also hear her mother calling her. Before she could try and make sense of either voice, the loud one spoke again.

"Congratulations Human, for being one of the first one million Humans to reach Stage 1!"

"Human. Please use your Grimoire to select a reward."

Grimoire? I’ve heard that bef—oh! Book! That’s what daddy called the books!

Maeve rolled over… and then she saw it. Floating above her head like it had always been there was an old, torn-up book. The cover was open, showing the first page.

[Name?]

I’m Maeve! What’s your name?

[Anomaly detected. Host deemed too young to make appropriate choices to ensure survivability. Checking protocol. Initiating System Contingency Protocol 14. Searching memories and local sources for suitable caretaker. Search complete. Two potential caretakers found. Per System Contingency Protocol 14, supervision has been passed to the higher Stage individual. Per System Contingency Protocol 14, Grimoire customization to be powered by System Essence. Revising speech patterns. Revisions complete.]

Maeve tried to keep up with the words that were rapidly appearing on the page, but she didn’t understand what half of them meant. Still, she was smiling. I got one. I got a magic book!

[Hi there, Maeve. It’s very nice to meet you. I’m sorry, I don’t have a name to tell you. I won’t know my name until you come and meet me later, then you get to give me a name! Isn’t that exciting!]

I get to pick your name? Before she could read the response, she felt herself being lifted from the ground. The book floated to the side, and she found herself crushed into her mother’s chest.

“Maeve! Oh my gods, Maeve, are you alright? What happened? Are you hurt?” her mommy asked a lot of questions, then sat her down and started spinning her around, looking over her.

“I’m fine, mommy,” she said quickly. Then, more excitedly, she pointed. “Look, I got a book, too!”

“I—uhh…” Her mother looked at her funny, then sighed. “That’s great, baby. Now, if you’re alright, how about we clean up this mess so you don’t fall again. After that, I’ve got to finish helping daddy.”

“Okay!” Maeve bent and started picking up the fallen marbles while watching her book. The pages had been flipping back and forth rapidly while her mommy was talking, and she hadn’t been able to read them. Now, it looked like the book was wanting her to pick something.

[Achievement: Host, Maeve, is one of the first one million Humans to Awaken]

[First Reward | 1 AAP. 1 IAP.]

[Second Reward, Option 1 | Random Tier 0, Stage 1 Weapon—Small]

[Second Reward, Option 2 | Random Tier 0, Stage 1 Garment—Small]

[Note | Acting Overseer must approve choice before Host can obtain Rewards.]

“Mommy, what does guh-are-men-tuh mean?” Maeve asked.

“Guharmentuh?” her mother asked, obviously confused.

“G-A-R-M-E-N-T,” she spelled it out.

“Oh, garment.” Her mother giggled. “Garment is another word for a piece of clothing. Like a shirt, or a pair of pants. Wh—oh, do you have to make a choice?”

Maeve nodded. “I can pick a small weapon or a small garment. I want both.”

“You don’t need a weapon,” her mother said harshly. Then, she looked at the stick in her hand. “Well… I can’t say you don’t need one, but you need to learn how to respect something like that, first. Especially if it’s something sharp.”

“Are shoes a garment?” Maeve asked.

Her momma nodded. “Yes, shoes should count as a garment. There’s no telling with all this mess. Your father thought he was getting a bag and got a squirrel.”

“I like daddy’s squirrel!” She protested after hearing her mother’s tone. Then, more confidently, she said, “You need shoes, mommy. So, I want number two.”

[Awaiting Overseer approval.]

Maeve carried her handful of marbles to the pile she’d been stacking beside Rowan. Her mother followed not long after, dumping an armful of the glass balls before smiling down at Maeve. It was a weird smile, both happy and sad at the same time. She didn’t understand why her momma looked that way.

“Maeve,” her mother said, her voice cracking slightly. “Thank you for caring about me, but what would really make me happy is to see you with what you need. Don’t worry about me. Now… I have to go back and help your daddy now. You need to stay here, and only get up to see if someone’s coming. Alright?”

“Yes ma’am.” Maeve pouted. “But you have to pick up the marbles. If you don’t the Slimes will get really big and eat us! Daddy said so.”

Her mother clicked her tongue. “That talkative—Okay, baby. I’ll pick up all the Cores. You just follow the rules, and we’ll be done in a little while. I love you sooo much, and we’ll be done soon. Make sure to yell if someone’s coming or your brother wakes up.”

“Okay!” Maeve gave her mother a thumbs up, then when she was by herself again—aside from her slumbering brother—she started looking over her new Grimoire. Soooo cool! It follows my eyes! How do I turn the page—oh!

[Maeve | Stage 1]

[Race | Humanoid]

[Genus | Human]

[Tier | 3]

[Exp | 241/300 | 3/cycle]

[Health | 130/130 | 5/cycle]

[Energy | 127/130 | 5/cycle]

[Mana | 130/130 | 5/cycle]

[Resilience | 5+]

[Vigor | 5+]

[Vitality | 5+]

[Force | 5+]

[Intuition | 5+]

[Acuity | 5+]

[AP | 11 (Attribute Points)]

[AAP | 1 (Active Ability Points)]

[IAP | 1 (Innate Ability Points)]

[Note: Attributes are not a direct representation of Host's capabilities. One Attribute Point in any Attribute equates to a two percent increase in Host's corresponding traits. It is up to Host to determine which Attributes influence which bodily or mental functions. Attributes chosen may heavily influence Host's available options in the future. Choose wisely, as there is no going back once a decision is made.]

[For the first 48 hours after the transition, the amount of experience earned from slaying hostiles is increased by a multiplier of two. Time remaining: 33h 51m 29s.]

[After a 24 hour transition period, all surviving Hosts shall receive a summarized description of the state of the world. During the transition period, Grimoire has limited access to System information. Time remaining: 9h 51m 29s.]

[Overseer detected, Kyle. Host may distribute points, but Overseer must approve before Points can be applied.]

Maeve tried to read and understand everything, but there was just too much. She couldn’t pronounce a lot of the words, and she remembered how important her daddy said the numbers were. The last thing she wanted to do was mess up.

I’ll ask daddy when he’s all done fighting monsters. Umm… Miss Book…She thought awkwardly. In response, it turned back to the blank first page. Will you talk to me? It’s boring with Rowan sleeping.

[How about a game?]

Oh! What kind of game? Maeve thought excitedly, then grinned broadly as small lines appeared on the paper, forming a big square with nine smaller ones inside. An X was penned into one of the squares. I know this one! Put an O there!