Sellas jerked into wakefulness. She blinked from her place on the bed-pallet, then broke into a smile. Rolling off to the side, she bounced her way to her feet.

She'd leveled during the night — now a Level 6 [Barkeep].

That was good! And a Skill coming with it? Fantastic! The last few days seemed to have pushed her Class over the edge, an increasingly rare occurrence. Though it may not have been the end all be all, the small conveniences having the Class provided were still greatly appreciated.

Pushing away her bedroll, Sellas walked around to the front of the bar. There, she peered down at the gouges that remained on the floor. They were less than half the size they'd started as the day before; it'd probably be another before they disappeared entirely. She nodded to herself and looked around the room.

The chairs and tables were back. Everything that'd been tossed outside overnight had been replaced and put back in their rightful positions. There was also — she noticed — a rather distinct pile of wood shavings accompanying the splinters that still remained on the floor.

Sellas made a face at that. She'd spent the majority of the previous day whittling to pass the time. They were just a couple of small bits and bobs, but a collection of very roughly made figurines now lined the edges of the table. Hard-wooded oak wasn't the easiest material to start practicing on, but she'd done the best she could.

What Sellas hadn't done, however, was clean it all up before heading to bed. She made a mental note to grab a bucket and a rag later, then continued towards the door.

Confirming that the area outside really was clear of yesterday's debris, Sellas stepped through the frame. She grimaced at the transition, then made a bee-line for the berry bushes. A mere half-dozen of the palm-sized fruits remained in the group of them. She picked two and jumped back inside, shaking herself loose on re-entry.

Level-ups made her peckish.

"Alright— a new day, a new Skill, and a change to the routine. Let's try and see what this one does." Taking a bite from one of the fruits, Sellas plopped the other onto the table. From there, she focused on her new ability.

[Assisted cleaning] had been an easy one to learn to use, the passive Skill making any efforts at cleaning things around the bar just a bit more effective than they probably should've been so long as she focused. [Minor Endurance] had followed and was, if anything, even less to think about, slipping in to ease the days' strain without any real notice.

Sellas frowned. This one was a bit odd, though. It was a bundle of both passive and active effects that she was having trouble pinning down.

"[Minor relocation]..." Taking another bite from her lumpy fruit, she leaned forwards against the table and squinted. "What, can I move stuff now?"

Sellas held out a hand and imagined moving the second, still-untouched berry a foot to the side. Her hand dropped after a minute of nothing happening, though; the Skill didn't even blip. Considering how easily the other Skills had activated in their appropriate scenarios, it likely meant teleportation wasn't the answer.

Leaning back in her chair, she crossed her arms and let out a sigh. What else might it be then? [Minor relocation]. Relocation, as in...

Her head snapped up. Surely not— but she had to try.

Jumping out from her chair, Sellas exited the bar again. She gagged, paling, then transitioned into a half-stumbling jog as she made her way over to the edge of the clearing. Pushing through the branches and vines that hung in her way, she stopped before the tree that marked her boundary. Then she reached out a hand, whispering the name of her new Skill.

Something twitched in the back of her mind, and her hand continued forwards. Forwards, further, past the trunk, past the branch, and—

It disappeared as it crossed the boundary line. The location was the same as it'd always been.

Disappointed, Sellas drew back her hand again, releasing a stream of air. The Skill wasn't for the boundary, then. She turned and scuffed the heel of her foot against a root. It'd been close — she could feel that much — this just wasn't quite it.

"But what else then? It's not the barrier, but it is something related. Something similar, or something connected to the..." She looked up and paused. "The door?"

Navigating her way back through the mess of trees, Sellas stepped around the entrance to her bar. The frame was sunk deeply into the trunk of oak it rested in, a dark and pitted wooden edge. She grabbed hold of the knocker and pushed the door shut. Her arm shook in nervous anticipation.

She raised her hand again.

[Minor relocation]

This time, the Skill did something.

The frame crunched, and the pressure Sellas typically associated with overusing her Skills hit her like a bag of bricks. She grunted and fell to one knee, but the Skill didn't falter. It neither slowed nor stopped. Inch by painful inch, the door began folding in on itself. The space around it warped, pressing the wood inward and towards a central point. Where the door and its frame peeled away from the trunk, the tree's bark emerged, pushing out to reclaim the missing space.

Sellas felt sick. Woozy. Each movement sent her body's blood roaring in her ears.

The sphere of wood that had been the door began to shake, floating in the middle of space it had occupied. It shifted, pulling away from the tree's trunk as its form stabilized. Then, when the changes had mostly stopped, it shot forwards and slammed into Sellas's chest.

She was launched from her feet, hitting the ground a good half-dozen meters away, and sent rolling. There was a pause as she wheezed. Then, groaning, Sellas pushed her way back upright. The sphere fell off her as she moved, impacting the grass with a heavy thud.

Looking warily down as it rolled on the ground, Sellas bent over and—

Puked. Her gut roiled with the motion, and her early-morning breakfast hit the earth with a splatter. It was as if someone had pulled out her stomach and stomped on it, lancing nausea and pain through her body. Her hands felt clammy, and her head burned under a continuous strain.

Stumbling forwards, Sellas grabbed at the wooden orb, nearly falling with the action. She willed it to open back up— to put back the door. This Skill was not something she could handle right now. She needed to get back inside— she needed to enter the bar.

But the sphere remained inert, sitting in her palm like some cheaply carved toy. She clenched her hand in a white-knuckled grip and suppressed another heave. Spots danced in her vision as she stumbled to one side. What else did it need? If the Skill could take the door, then surely it could put it back— what else did she need to do to make it work?

A surface? Did it need a surface to expand onto?

Sellas fell forwards and slammed the wooden ball into the tree it'd just been removed from, repeating the activation for her Skill. Instantly, a large portion of the pressure was removed from her chest. She gasped, then gagged again, taking in a deep breath of air as the orb began to unfold before her eyes.

It sunk backward, diving a few inches into the wood before flattening into an expanding disk. The bark shrunk away once more, and the shape of a door began to make itself known. The frame followed soon after, the darker, spotted wood taking over the leading edges of the still-growing form.

And then it was done. Six seconds after the sphere's activation against the tree, the door was fully re-installed. Its location was nearly unchanged, shifted just a few scant inches to the left of its former position.

Sellas yanked open the door and dove inside.

Instantly, she was hit with a wave of relief. Her head still ached, but the nausea and incessant pounding fled as she passed through the entryway to the bar. Panting, she collapsed into a heap on the floor. Then she rolled, pointing her head up to stare at the ceiling.

That... had been horrible.

Tilting her head back to face the forest, Sellas wiped at the corner of her mouth.

She'd have to try it again after a few hours' rest.