Temporarily ignoring Kaylee and Jessica, Jade stared at the screen in front of her while they smiled knowingly and waited for her to return her attention to them. She frowned a little as she looked at her stats, then glanced questioningly at the two of them. “Quick question… Am I right in thinking the average stat for a normal person is around, oh say…ten?”

Kaylee looked surprised while Jessica smiled brightly. “That’s right! How’d you know?”

“Oh… It was just a guess…” Well, it was that and years of watching DnD podcasts. An average human had a 10 in all stats, and she…she had four stats that were 1-2 points below that. Out of seven stats, she had 3 that were considered ‘above average.’ Granted, she was pretty happy with her intelligence stat. However, given that it was one of the few things that seemed unchanged from her old world, well… It was the only thing she’d really had a chance to develop. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of the luck stat though. Was it luck that she’d been bedridden for most of her life? But then again… She was here with a new body, wasn’t she? Maybe her luck had changed.

She didn’t know what to think of her lacking skills section. Maybe every traveler started with a blank slate? She hoped so. It would be embarrassing to have such a low starting point, considering she already felt like she was behind the human race as it was because of her stats. That left just one thing, her special ability. Looking at it intently, she wondered, just what the heck does Siphon mean? She knew what the word meant, of course. She just had no idea why it would appear on her special abilities list. There was no context support for it.

As soon as she focused on it, a new explanation popped up.

Siphon: Using skin to skin contact, you may permanently absorb 1% of one chosen attribute and skill experience of your target. The target will regenerate their attribute and skill experience after a period of time, as well as gaining a .5% increase in those areas in return.

What the what? She could steal someone’s attributes and skills? She was mildly comforted by the fact that they would get something out of it too, but it seemed…strange. It also felt like the system wasn’t telling her everything, but she supposed that was part of the whole trial and error process.

Coming back to herself, she realized she’d been seemingly staring into space for at least two minutes. Jessica and Kaylee were having a whispered conversation that she wished she could hear, but unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be one of her strengths. Maybe she could develop it? How did that work?

“Sorry about that. Can you tell me how skill experience works?” She quietly interrupted their whispers.

Jessica and Kaylee smiled, and it was Kaylee who answered this time. “Yes, miss. Of course. Skill experience is gained by…well, doing just about anything. Your skills will be formed as you practice, and then you’ll gain experience by doing it. It’s pretty straightforward.”

I guess that makes sense. I mean, I didn’t do a whole lot in my last life. Unless peeing in a catheter counts as a skill. Do they even have catheters here? I guess there’s no such thing as browsing the internet either. Maybe I could have gotten a reading skill at least… Oh well.

She mused to herself as she nodded, trying to get a grip and organize her thoughts. What she really needed to know was the situation of the world. With all the weapons she’d seen, it didn’t seem like this was a particularly peaceful place. She also needed to figure out what she would do to get by, and maybe see if there was a library or something so she could just look up the information herself. Fortunately, Jessica saved her from her musings by trying to explain things simply to her.

“So, now that you’ve seen your profile, there’s a few things you should know. You’re in the capital of Caoi, which is Abala. The kingdom is ruled by King Derrick and Queen Ashanna. More specifically, this is The Green Dragon, one of the dormitories for students of Dracona Academy.” They looked a little guilty at this, and she could pretty much figure out why. She wasn’t supposed to be here, and they’d have to tell whoever was over them. Still, she was determined to get as much information out of them that she could before that.

“This academy… What do they do there?”

Kaylee looked a little starstruck when she responded. “It’s sponsored by the King. They accept the most talented people from all over the kingdom to train them!”

Jessica cut in at that point, looking a bit more down to earth. “They’re usually the sons and daughters of the aristocrats. There’s a few truly talented people who get chosen every year through the selection process, but most of them get in through recommendation. The king pays for their training and lodging, since he said ‘they are the future of the kingdom.’” She glanced at Kaylee and sighed at her wishful looks. It was obvious that Jessica was the more down to earth one, and Kaylee had all sorts of fantasies going on inside her head at the moment.

Jade ignored the daydreaming Kaylee and focused on the pertinent information. “So, what you’re saying is I could stay here if I get accepted to the academy through this selection process?”

This seemed to snap Kaylee out of her reverie, and she laughed. “Yeah, but you’ll never make it…” She clapped a hand over her mouth, looking panicked as Jade laughed inwardly. She couldn’t really blame her… I mean, look at me. I’m just a waif compared to normal people, even Kaylee herself, who’s probably considered skinny. Why would she have any reason to think I’d make it into what’s basically the noble faction?

Outwardly, Jade just smiled at her. She wasn’t going to scold her for making a perfectly reasonable judgement call. What she really needed to know was if they took people in for things other than brawn. She figured she might be able to get that eventually, depending on how her special ability actually worked, but for now, she needed to use her brains.

Jessica came to Kaylee’s rescue, as well as Jade’s. “Actually, you might have a chance. They tend to let most travelers in if they have a special ability. Do you?”

Jade nodded gratefully. “Yeah, I actually do. So where do I go to find this selection thingy?”

Kaylee, as if trying to make up for her earlier faux pas, immediately turned helpful. “It’s not too far from here. You just need to go to the upper city hall and register for their tests and the interview. It’s still going on for the next two days.”

She smiled at Kaylee, trying to communicate that she didn’t hold a grudge without bringing it up specifically. “Thanks. I know you’re busy and I’m grateful for your help. Is there a library I can go to?”

“You can read?” Jessica stared wide eyed at her.

Jade winced. Apparently, the demarcation between the rich and the poor was more stringent than she had hoped. She shrugged helplessly. “I could before. Here, I’m not so sure. I guess I won’t know unless I try?”

Kaylee nodded thoughtfully as she replied, “I guess that makes sense. There’s a library, but it’s not easy to get access. It’s close to The Red Wyrm, one of the other dormitories, about five blocks north of here.”

“Thanks. I think I’ll try and start there, maybe look around a little before I go for the test. You guys have been so helpful…so I guess I should probably go with you to meet your boss? You know, to see if I can stay here for a few days until I get on my feet and join the academy?”

They both looked a little skeptical at her unconcious tone of certainty that she would make it into the academy, but well…she was a traveler, so they didn’t call her on it. What if she really made it into the academy? They would much rather be on her good side. Finally seeming to reach a conclusion to their unspoken argument, Jessica nodded. “Yes, I think that would be for the best. But uhm… Do you have anything else to wear? For instance...shoes?”

Jade stared blankly at them before saying honestly, “I have no idea. Let me check.” I really hope whatever god sent me here at least gave me some normal clothes… She awkwardly stumbled her way to the dresser, silently reveling in the fact that she could WALK! It didn’t really matter how awkward she was, the fact that she could do it on her own was amazing! Therefore, she ignored the concerned looks Jessica and Kaylee were sending her way as she started opening the drawers and rifling through them.

To her relief, there were several pairs of pants and undergarments in the various drawers. Though she had no idea what they were made of--her previous practical experience had mostly taught her about jeans, scrubs, and hospital gowns--they looked comfortable enough. However, not seeing any shirts, she remembered the other door in the room. Stumbling her way over while Jessica and Kaylee looked to be visibly restraining themselves from jumping up to try and catch her when she wobbled, she opened the door victoriously.

Jackpot! In the closet were several shirts or tunicy things hung up, as well as a freaking awesome cape, a simple flowy dress, and something else which was drapey and she didn’t know the name for. There were also some wicked looking boots on the floor. Triumphantly, she turned back to them and announced, “I do have other stuff!”

Smiling politely, Jessica suggested, “Perhaps you’d like to change then.” Jade nodded, and she continued a little more hesitantly, “Do you...need help?”

The smile fell from Jade’s face. She had been doing so well...and people were still trying to dress her. She recovered almost instantly, but Jessica and Kaylee could tell they’d hit a sore point as she put on a wooden smile. “I’ll be okay, but thank you. It’ll just take a moment.”

Jessica nodded, but not wanting to offend her more, ushered Kaylee out of the room while saying over her shoulder, “We’ll just wait outside.”

Nodding stiffly, Jade quickly selected a shirt, the cape, some boots, and then tottered back to the dresser to grab the other necessities. She flopped unceremoniously on the bed in order to shove things on and off as quickly as she could, despite her jerky movements. It took around a minute, but she was fully dressed and yanking on her sweet new boots. She stood up, feeling way more confident than before. Really, she hadn’t realized how much being in pajamas in front of the two immaculate girls had made her feel...incompetent? Or maybe it was just finally being able to don something other than the attire of an invalid that gave her courage. Either way, it was time to go.

She rummaged through the desk for a moment, finding a key in the top drawer. Assuming it was to the room and not wanting to lose the sweet swag she’d just figured out she had, she grabbed it and opened the door, giving a now much brighter smile to the two girls. “I’m ready!”

They both looked relieved that she was okay and smiling normally again. Kaylee noticed the key in her hand and nodded approvingly as she shut the door behind her and locked it. Since they figured out ‘her stuff’ was in there, it was better to keep it locked until they figured out what to do. Jade smiled and reached out, touching their arms briefly as she said quietly, “Thank you for all you’ve told me. It really helped.” Even if they had only barely touched the surface.

Jessica smiled sweetly. “It’s no problem. So, let’s go meet Raphael, and then you can begin your adventure!”

Grinning back at her, Jade nodded. “That sounds amazing!” As they turned, her grin grew a little wider as she mentally clicked on the two glowing notification dots that had appeared at the side of her vision after she touched the girls, eagerly reading the notifications as she wobbled after them.

You have touched Jessica Dorney, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...

Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.

Choose a skill to siphon: Appraisal, Cleaning, Cooking, Herbology, or Perception.

You have touched Kaylee Ivers, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...

Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.

Choose a skill to siphon: Cleaning, Diplomacy, Dodging, Perception, or Tailoring.