Chapter 4: ~The Other Woman~

Sydney rushed back home to get ready for school, thankfully mom or dad had left breakfast sitting for her. Modest portions of scrambled eggs, hashbrowns and mozzarella cheese took less than three minutes to scarf down. A cold shower took less than five minutes, cold showers are for days when time is sparse. Syd always ends up lounging around in hot water, it's too damn comfy.

Getting dressed hasn't been a problem since last summer. Meeting Riley had changed that too. Syd just didn't care as much anymore, she wasn't dressing to attract people, she was wearing clothes that made her comfortable.

Namely, no more tight shirts and short skirts, no more low cut dresses. She'd stuffed most of her risque clothing in boxes and brought out the comfort wear. Jeans that don't squeeze her buns and t-shirts that refrain from putting her melons on display. The stuff meant to impress was being worn underneath, no need to show that off for strangers.

Surprisingly enough, her newfound attitude had gone over well with the 'boys'. Sydney had no idea what the hell they were thinking, they made no sense. It was pure luck that girl's also started noticing her 'unique' attitude.

You know how they say women mature faster than men? They were lying, women mature a lot faster than men. That, or she was just such a huge lesbian that their immaturity didn't bother her like it did back when she was hunting boys. Syd wasn't sure which it was, and she didn't care.

So here they were, Syd and Riley, heading to high school.

"You're not gonna sit outside my school all day are you?" Syd asked.

Riley looked contemplative for a moment. "I'll leave the party when we get there, just invite again when schools almost over and I'll come pick you up."

Syd was fine with that. "You know, I've been thinking about that time..."

*Daa-da-da-dun!*

You have encountered Goblin x 4!

Even as she remained calm again, Syd couldn't help but glare, the battle music was back.

"Battle music! Really!?" Riley shouted in righteous indignation.

Syd may have forgotten to mention the battle music, selective memory works that way.

"That was my exact reaction..." Syd pulled out her crowbar and waited for the goblins to show up. As soon as she saw something coming around a corner Syd hit it with a grav ring. She hadn't been expecting all four of the goblins to faceplant as soon as her spell hit them. Although, after the initial trip, they began to crawl forward.

Goblin Thug Lv.14

HP: 1120 MP: 0Strange gas masks and large backpacks are the trademarks of this tiny beastman race, the Goblins. Many are gatherers or crafters, and they helped support the economy of many black markets.

"Huh," Syd remarked, "I probably should've tested whether or not I can walk around in there with them."

Riley just shrugged and whipped out a glock. Syd had all of half a second to gape at the pistol before four solid shots were fired. Looking back at the goblins, each one of them had a new smoking hole in their gas masks.

"That's one way to do it..."

Riley was now rubbing the bridge of her nose. She quickly holstered her weapon and stared at the dissolving goblins. "Did the music just go from battle music to reward screen music?"

"Yes, I believe it did." Now that her thirty second spell was over, Syd made her way into the area that the goblins had been at. The drops nearly made her faint. "Riley, are those fat wads of cash!?" Riley nodded dumbly, she'd heard of the rats dropping a few bucks, but this was a little out there. "Is that a piece of zinc ore?" Once again, Riley nodded dumbly.

Syd snagged all of it and, rather than counting, just stuffed the money into her status screen.

Name: Syndra Shyael

Class: The Gamer

Level: 13Health 190/190

Mana 2354/2354Strength: 15

Vitality: 15

Dexterity: 15

Intellect: 101

Wisdom: 55

Luck: 16Points: 14

Money: $3572

"$800 a pop..." Syd glanced at the still stunned C.I.A. agent. "... do I still have to go to school?"

"Just a few more months Syd, then you can take a break. If you end up making money like this, you'll have plenty of time to choose where you want to go to college."

Sydney agreed with that assessment, may as well finish high school. While Syd gingerly placed the green piece of zinc ore into her inventory, the magecraft scroll caught her eye. As soon as it was in her hand there was another familiar message window.

You've examined the spell scroll, [Structural Analysis]

Would you like to learn the spell?

ConfirmDecline

*Ding!*

A new Spell has been generated: Structural Analysis!

Structural Analysis Lv.1 ~ 0%A basic spell developed as the first step in projection magecraft. Allows the user to grasp the inner structure of anything.-Cooldown = 0 Seconds

-Range = Touch

-Od cost = Very Low

-Mana cost = 2

Syd had honestly forgotten that some magecraft wouldn't run off mana. In fact, if memory serves, almost all magecraft is initiated using odic source, then maintained through mana, the greater source. Magic circuits were used in the nasuverse to convert odic source into mana, and replenish the body's odic source. The better your circuits, the more units of magical energy you've got.

As soon as that thought hit her Sydney's eyes went wide. So much so that Riley felt the need to interrupt her train of thought. "What's wrong?"

Syd laughed a bit awkwardly. "Well, I thought my calculations for mana regen were just a bit off. Then I remembered that magic circuits actually turn odic source into mana, so that's where the little boost has been coming from. Thing is, the average magus has twenty-five units of magical energy, I've already got over two-thousand..."

Riley, having been dragged into the whole fate stay/night thing by Syd, could only gape. "You've got to be kidding me." Riley's shock turned to panic the second Syd threw her own shirt off and craned her neck over. "What are you doing!? We're in the middle of a street!"

Syd scoffed while continuing to glare at her own rear. "We're in an instance, give me a second here."

The [Blank Crest] was visible for some reason, even when not in use, so she had little to no problem examining it with [Observe].

Blank CrestA custom crafted magical crest by the goddess, Lithriel. This perfect crest is highly adaptable and able to absorb knowledge of magecraft instantly. As with all magic crests, pieces of it can be transplanted to others.-Blank, zero compatibility issues.

-Circuits = 40

-Pristine Circuits = 10

"Welp, I've got fifty circuits to store and manage odic source. That'll definitely make me a beast if I can get my hands on more magecraft." Syd shook her head to ward off thoughts of summoning a servant, she definitely had the mana to sustain one. "My gamer instincts are telling me start physical training and crafting, the fact that zinc showed up as a [Crafting Material] means I could do it."

"We can worry what to do later," Riley interrupted. "For now, get to school."

They had split up just before reaching the front gates. The local high school wasn't anything too out of the ordinary, at least, she hadn't thought it was. Now that her eyes had been opened to the outer world, full of supernatural beings and what not, this school was anything but normal.

Rather than normal, it was too ordinary to be an average high school. Syd realized that her school was exactly that, made to look as average as possible. Don't draw scrutiny in any way, shape, or form. Everything, from the auditorium to the gymnasium, was utterly boring.

Even the bench she was sitting on was a textbook bench, assembled for use, not looks. At least she was entertaining herself at the moment, watching people. No wonder she'd always found herself staring at other students, they were the only things interesting in this school, doubly so now that she could see what species they were.

Just like Riley had warned her, one out of three students was something else. Lycanthropes, vampires, ghouls, and ghosts, what the hell. How had she not noticed something weird was going on here. Not that it bothered her, on the contrary, Syd just found this all terribly amusing. Riley wouldn't have let her come here if they were violent, human eating, suck your brains out of a straw monsters.

Syd was about to head into class when she spotted a familiar face. Said face made her do a spit take. Flowing rose gold strands of hair floated behind the delicate beauty known as Moira Valentine, her sharp porcelain features were, as usual, absent of any emotion. Sydney gave herself a mental high five while wiping chocolate milk off her chin. She'd totally went down on a vampire princess last week. Who'd have thought?

Sitting in class was a bit surreal. Instead of listening to her teachers during class, she was multi-tasking. Half of her mind was on reading through the textbook, which she could recite verbatim after a single reading now, and the other half was spying on people.

The average level of human students was three to four, supernaturals were closer to level twenty. The ones that really stood out though, were what she liked to call 'Alphas'. Students like the vampire Moira, and lycanthrope Lucia. Yeah, she'd totally been right about Lucia.

Anyways, their levels were at least double of the other supernaturals. They'd obviously been through some sort of training, and each race seemed to have a few of them hanging around. Every time Sydney spotted one, she made a note to get to know them better. It goes without saying that she ignored the male ones...

So another small tidbit had slipped Syd's mind. In the middle of history she'd decided to try out 'Structural Analysis' on her desk. There was something about using magecraft that causes pain because it's unnatural, and is in opposition to the will of the root, or Gaia, or something like that. The problem was that in this reality, there is no root, no Gaia, no Akasha.

As soon as Syd instinctively lit up her magic circuits to pour od into the spell, it hit her. Maybe if she'd just activated a single circuit, she would've been fine, but no, she lit them all up. So there they were, listening to some boring history shit, and she moaned, like really moaned. It felt good to turn those circuits on, without the will of the world pushing against her using od, there was just the nice sweet hum of her circuits. That would've been fine, if the damn goddess hadn't stuck it on her tail bone.

A blushing Syd, now the center of attention, couldn't very well say, 'I got a very nice feeling on the spot where my lover enjoys dripping hot wax sometimes, and it gave me a few micro-orgasms.' So she teared up, and claimed that she wasn't feeling very well. Ah, 'women problems', they get you out of just about anything.

Of course, as Syd left with a clinic pass, she totally saw Lucia smirking at her. Thrice be damned werewolf could probably smell her arousal. Dammit...

When said werewolf showed up and dragged her off for 'lunch', Syd knew she'd been caught. At least Lucia didn't seem the type to gossip... and she had a nice bum. Maybe it would be in her best interest to get to know Lucia more. After all, Syd glanced up at Lucia's player I.D.

Lv. 72 Lucia Vulpanthorp

This wolf is probably the highest level student around...

After her exhausting lunch Syd had taken refuge in the library. She was way too embarrassed to go near any other students without a shower. Damned heightened senses, how many werewolves had she hit on before? At least they never got mixed signals.

In the library, instead of heading for her usual choice of literature — fantasy, supernatural, and romance — Syd dug out all of her textbooks. That's right, she had an inventory screen now, so all she had to do was reach into her empty backpack, and whip em' out when no ones looking. No more rushing to her locker during five minute breaks.

By the time she heard the final bell ring, Syd had finished all of her books, thousands of pages gone, just like that. Not to mention six points in intellect and single wisdom point. She could definitely get used to this.

On the way home with Riley there were two more random encounters. As it turns out, bullets are not almighty. Their first encounter was with more goblins, and a few of them didn't actually die in one head shot, one more surreal thing to add to the list.

The second encounter started with buzzing, very loud, very unnerving buzzing. Within a minute there were nine swarms of wasps heading right for a fleeing Syd and Riley. The pair weren't sure if they could actually flee from encounters without some sort of skill, but it turned out to be a moot point. On reflex Syd had dropped a grav ring right behind them as they fled.

For future reference, wasps + gravity = splat. End of story. The vicious little buggers actually dropped wings, stingers, and honeycombs. Syd couldn't help herself and bit down on one, it was nasty...

In hindsight, she did get more money and level up.

"Quick question," Syd started, once they'd made it home, "are we an item now? Mutually exclusive?"

Riley was desperately trying to think of a way to broach this rather sensitive subject. She failed, and blurted it out. "I'm married." Syd just blinked, twice. "That's why I asked if you wanted to be my mistress, you know?"

"Oh," Syd put it eloquently. So many things, making so much more sense. "Guy?"

"Yeah, we have an understanding," she began, "I get lonely on long assignments, and he can't always visit. I'm not allowed to sleep with other men, but..."

"Women are fine," Syd finished for her. "Son of a bitch... I'm a mistress, I'm the other woman. Oh god I can see it now, 'Mom, dad, I want to date a married woman,' they'd freak."

"I'd actually be relieved, sad, but relieved if you turned me down," Riley interjected. "You kind of became work all of a sudden. I'm still wrapping my head around it."

First love, dead, burned, pissed on, and buried.

"Work?"

"Giving an introduction to new power users, telling them who to seek out for help, teaching them a few basics, i.e. how to not get yourself killed. Other than that I get called in as a neutral party for negotiations between factions, and report back to my boss."

Syd mulled that over for a moment, her wisdom sense was tingling. "You're not supposed to have any interactions with me after this, are you?"

Riley was the one looking guilty for once. "I could get in a lot of trouble if we keep meeting. I'm not supposed to influence the situation here in any way, and you're not the sort to keep your nose out of a whole new world."

Syd looked properly miffed. "I'm not that bad..."

Riley raised one eyebrow at her and asked, "what did you do at school today?"

"I started a mental list of the sexiest non-human plus clan member girls I could find, and accidentally got myself shagged by a werewolf." Syd buried her face to hide the blush she was getting.

"What was the first thing you thought after realizing how much money you could make with this power?"

"... I could afford to get my own place, seduce girls, bring em' there, and have my wicked way with them," Syd admitted truthfully. "I'm so fuckin' bad."

Syd landed on the gym's floor again. It god damn hurt, and Riley wasn't holding back because of 'A Gamer's Body'. Syd was really glad there were mats all around, otherwise, she would've quit by now. Riley was laying a serious beat down on her ass, the woman had nearly twice her physical stats, and years of experience.

It would seem that her mentor hadn't taught anyone jack shit before, because this was just painful. She'd throw a punch, and end up flying over Riley's shoulder. Try a tackle, and end up kissing the floor. How about a kick, nope, you just got swept off your other foot and ended up on your ass again.

It was frustrating to say the least, realizing how outclassed she was. That frustration only turned to depression when Riley openly admitted that she'd always been more of a marksman than a fighter. God damn, she couldn't even land a hit on a casual fighter.

At some point Riley must have realized that Syd was about to give up, because the woman changed the game. Every so often the fighting would get dirty, tit punching was just enough to piss Syd off so that she'd keep coming back for more.

[Endurance], [Second Wind], and [Stamina] were all getting a workout. She'd also picked up [Judo] at some point, and that was rising fast. It didn't actually seem to be doing much, but as soon as she got a hold of Riley's ass...

"Stop Syd, what is judo?" Riley asked.

"Judo is a Japanese martial arts style focused on grappling, joint locks, and throws."

"So why, when it's your turn to counter punches and kicks... are you throwing punches and kicks?"

"My brain isn't working at the moment. Too many rising stats," she lied with a straight face.

Riley wasn't buying it. "Syd, I'm teaching you how to fight. I have to throw you around..."

"Yes, that would explain why you keep punching me in the tits," she snarked.

Riley bellowed with laughter and began slapping her knees, she had been doing that on purpose. If Riley hadn't been giggling so much, she may have seen the frying pan that Syd yanked out of her inventory. With a practiced motion that comes from playing softball, Syd revved up, aimed at Riley's rear, and swung.

*Ka-pow!*

Riley screamed in shock as soon as smooth cold metal met tender flesh. Hot pants do not offer much protection. She was laying face down on the mats trying to rub the stinging sensation out of her own buns when Syd spoke up.

"I'm gonna pay for that, aren't I?"

Riley didn't bother looking up. "Yup."

"Don't suppose I can kiss it better?"

"Nope."

"Massage?" she tried.

Riley glared at the mats in front of her face. "You just want to touch me, and raise your skill level."

Syd shrugged, sometimes there is nothing you can do. "How bad will it be if I run away for a few days?"

"Worse, and don't run. That could get you killed since I haven't told you where you can't go yet."

"Balls," Syd cursed at her lack of foresight.

Riley rolled over and swept Syd's feet out from under her. She landed with the usual dull thud of a full body flop. "I'm thinking of breaking out the little trunk."

Syd's eyes shot wide open. "I thought we agreed that the little trunk is forbidden?"

"I'm going to make an exception." Riley grabbed Syd's ankles and started to drag her towards the door. "We should see how well you handle the big toys with your gamer's body after all."

Syd groaned painfully as she was dragged over a threshold. "I love to watch you walk away..."

Riley glanced back at the young woman leering in her direction. "If you don't quit trying to get out of this, excalibur will have a new sheathe tonight."

The color drained from Syd's face, excalibur was huge!

It was sunset when Syd finally caught a break. Her new power was making it impossible to pass out from exhaustion. Every time she was ready to throw in the towel, Riley would give her a break, then, just like a game character, she'd fully recover. Syd was tempted to just leave, but something about Riley was desperate today.

"I guess we won't be seeing each other as much, will we?" she asked, damn her wisdom stat.

Riley continued to slowly trace the lines of Syd's [Blank Crest]. "It's for the best," she explained candidly. "Being associated with my people won't earn you any favors around here."

Syd huffed in annoyance. "So you just teach me a bunch of things and kick me out?"

"No, I teach you how to live on the other side. Make sweet, hot, passionate love to you one more time, and ask you to leave." By now they were gazing into each other's eyes again. "Okay?"

"I can live with that," Syd replied bitterly. "I don't like it though, I'm still gonna show up on your doorstep whenever it rains..."

"...and I'll make the rain go away." Riley answered, understanding exactly what Syd meant by rain.

'Fucking first love...'

Name: Syndra Shyael

Class: The Gamer

Level: 14Health 190/190

Mana 2354/2354Strength: 17

Vitality: 19

Dexterity: 18

Intellect: 107

Wisdom: 56

Luck: 16Points: 19

Money: $7202

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