Chapter 5: Jane's Failed Training Plan

Sunday morning saw Jane stretching after another Meditation session, confirming her suspicion that Stat gains did indeed become harder as they rose. After an hour the previous night and another this morning, she gained 2 Intelligence, 1 Wisdom, and surprisingly 1 Luck. If this trend continued, she'd be spending 2-3 hours per Stat increase after level 21.

She made sure to think of this in a purely analytical fashion. She didn't want to risk any Administrator or Council member who may be watching to think she was ungrateful. She didn't want risk them changing some calculation and forcing her to spend a day per gain. At least not before her stats were above 50.

Though, hopefully they'd stay hourly increases and not exponential ones. It'd be nice to only need to spend 5-6 hours to gain a stat after 50. Because at that level, she was likely to be 5x stronger than the average person. Which would mean if someone at base of 10 Strength could lift 50lbs. with one arm, she could do 250lbs.

Jane grinned at the thought of her lifting up a jock by the back of his shirt and moving him out of her way in the hall at school with ease.

~*~

Entering the Gym was a unique experience for Jane. She had carefully avoided any form of exercise all of her life, so finding out that their village had one that was open 24 hours a day was a surprise. Granted, the Gym wasn't too large, but did have multiple sets of exercise equipment of all types. Enough for five people each on the stationary bikes, ellipticals, and treadmills alone. Altogether, Jane calculated that the building could hold nearly 50 people exercising continuously if people rotated around the weight benches, machines, and free-weights.

At this time of morning and day-of-the-week, only the dedicated seemed to be present. Jane counted those without a supernatural affiliation to be in the minority. Normal people would likely funnel in later in the day. Jane made a note to not venture out during the night or early morning, because between the ladies yesterday and seeing those here today she suspected that supernaturals worked outside the light of day.

Granted, her village was likely safe if she didn't draw attention. Everyone seemed to be friendly with her mother, after all. But she kept it in mind for when she left for university.

"Mom, this isn't going to be like yesterday, right?" Jane asked, concerned. "I was near death during that run, and I am quite certain that wasn't Yoga."

"Honey, ladies don't whine. I told you, you're my daughter. Look at you, first run and you kept up just fine. I'm sure we can start you out small, 20lb. Dumbbells."

"I was wrong, you're not a masochist. You're a sadist." Jane muttered as she followed her mother to an open bench near the free-weights.

"What's that, honey? Ladies don't mumble." Olivia said as she picked out two matching dumbbells from the rack.

"I was saying that I'd like to start out with something smaller. The girls at school always talked about using low-weight and high-rep to work out with. So they don't get bulky muscles." Jane sighed, taking the weights.

"Do I look bulky to you?" Olivia said, eying her daughter carefully.

"No."

"That's right. No woman in my family gets bulky muscles. Well, except your Aunt Maurine. But she ate like a pig." Olivia replied.

"I have an Aunt?" Jane jumped at this piece of information.

"Of course not, sweetie. Have you ever met one?" Her mother said, avoiding the question.

"But you just said--"

"I said no woman in my family gets bulky muscles."

"And then you mentioned an Aunt Maurine."

"Don't stall, you're going to use these." With this said as an end to the discussion, Jane could only comply. She would get answers, but decided to do it in a place that wouldn't require her to suffer from passive-aggression in the form of additional weight.

Her mother directed her through a series of exercises with the dumbbells that mimicked stretching her arms and body in various poses and holding them for a minute before moving fluidly to the next. Jane watched as her mother did the same with a 50lb. set. After the end of the series, Jane decided that it was using the weights as she moved her body in the stretches that prevented bulky muscles.

"Mom, wouldn't this be more effective if we had weighted clothing? Like pants and shirts with little pockets to add tiny weights all around the limbs, chest, and back so that it gets distributed evenly?" Jane asked.

"That's a great idea, honey. A 20lb. top and bottom would go great with the dumbbells. I'll talk to the owner of the gym and have him order several sizes. I'm sure the other members will thank you." Her mother enthused. "We should have bonded like this ages ago! You have great ideas."

Jane cried inside. "Don't forget gloves and boots, then." Jane muttered.

"That's the spirit!"

Jane could only hope that Berta didn't hear of the idea. Of course, Jane couldn't be so lucky.

~*~

The entire morning was spent moving from one series of exercises to another. Occasionally, Jane would be greeted with a prompt for Strength or Vitality. After using a heavy medicine ball, Jane was greeted by an unexpected prompt.

[table=white]Dexterity +1[/table]

With all of the weighted stretches and having to hold her body's balance, Jane had expected to see it before now. When it didn't show, she just assumed that the exercises were ineffective for raising it. I guess it only appeared now because it was higher leveled than my Strength and Vitality, Jane surmised to herself.

So far, the trip to the Gym had netted Jane 2 Strength, 1 Vitality, and 1 Dexterity. This was good, because despite what her mother assured her, Jane did not want to have higher Strength than Dexterity. Her Stat descriptions clearly stated that there was an inverse ration between the two that governed her body's proportions.

By 11, Jane had been at the Gym for six hours. She had not gotten any further stat increases and was completely exhausted. "Mom, I'm done."

Olivia looked up from her crunches with a large rubber ball at her daughter, "Are you sure, sweetie? If you stick around until lunch, your father's going to bring use some pork sandwiches."

"That doesn't sound healthy."

"Protein is important to maintaining and building muscle." Her mother instructed. "I only come to the gym a single time per week, but I work everything heavily. Then, the rest of the week is spent refining those worked muscles by running and Yoga. This, together, gave me this body and makes sure your father doesn't have wondering eyes for someone like that hussie at the deli."

Jane coughed. "So, where is he getting our lunch?"

~*~

Back in another bath to ease her tormented body, Jane stared at her stats again to plan.

[table=white]Player Information:Name: Jane BlackthorneClass: PlayerHP: 120/120MP: 210/210Title: NoneAffiliation: NoneStats:Strength: 12Vitality: 12Dexterity: 15Intelligence: 21Wisdom: 22Luck: 20 (+10 System Access Bonus)[/table]

With the way her gains were progressing, and the various ages and body types she had seen among the supernaturals at the gym, she was starting to suspect that her stats did not reflect her level. Currently her stats were 70% greater than someone with all of them at the base of 10. She didn't really feel stronger now with 4 additional levels since yesterday, but she suspected it would take her time to get use to the increases.

Still, thinking back it would be impractical for her Player level to increase if she averaged all stats to 20. Early on, this would be fine. However, that would mean her Chemistry teacher would average her stats at 120. She didn't give off the aura of someone 12x stronger than her.

Also, Jane didn't have the ability to Inspect and see people's stats to check, but she had a feeling that they wouldn't be higher than 99. While they are called supernatural, the physical body most likely couldn't support someone lifting 1,000 lbs. with one arm. At least not and be human. Though she wouldn't know for certain until she reached that level. She was modeled after a game character, so maybe her body could transcend those limits.

For now, she was going to conclude that a person's level represented their combat prowess. Her mother seemed to favor physical attributes, so her level likely indicated physical combat and her skills were probably high in those areas. She only did 30lbs. more for the dumbbells, so her stats shouldn't be too much more than hers. Her overall level must take into account the dedication she had in increasing her skills.

The same is likely true for her teacher. A witch would primarily favor Intelligence and Wisdom. A normal genius is unlikely to have their Intelligence exceed 20-30. So for her teacher to be 12 then she would have to have focused on perfecting her magical techniques.

This is all assuming that they didn't dumb down their efforts in public, however.

[table=white]Wisdom +1[/table]

Really? Couldn't you have given me the increase earlier in the analysis so I know if my mom did or didn't hide her strength at the gym? Jane argued in her head.

Jane, frustrated, decided that she'd plan around her Player level being determined by skill proficiency. Mainly for her own peace of mind until she had more information. So, for now she would focus on working only her stats and keeping combat potential skills out of her training plan. This way, supernaturals would be less likely to pick up on her becoming a threat. After all, someone who trains to fight is suppose to give off an aura that is sensed by others.

By keeping her level low and raising her stats, she would grow stronger first. Then, once her stats are above 30 or 40, she will start. They should start to slow down noticeably by then anyway.

~*~

One month later, Jane was lamenting in her room after the weekly trip to the gym. Her mother ruined it all.

While going through the usual weighted stretches, Jane was reflecting on how the poses she was doing and the Yoga that she did with her mother's friends seemed to be more related to martial arts than the Yoga stretches in the book. As soon as she made that realization, she was greeted with a new prompt.

[table=white]New Skill: Unarmed Combat – Intermediate 4By incorporating your knowledge of the body's movements and its weight distribution through a variety of poses and exercises, you can see how it would be used to effectively be used in combat.

Each level, physical attacks given and damage negated is 1% more effective.[/table]

Stunned, she had stared at it and was suddenly greeted by a new prompt.

[table=white]Level Up!Congratulations! Through your diligent training, your knowledge of combat has made you more effective at survival.

You are now level 5 and have 20 stat points to spend.[/table]

Immediately following this, the supernaturals in the gym turned to look in her direction and her mother smiled. This is not good, she thought at the time.

It wasn't. Her mother led her through the workout like normal and everyone went on with their own. Jane made sure to not cause a scene, because with luck people would just assume it was her mother that they sensed. It was after they got home that her mother confirmed her worries.

Sitting her down in the kitchen while being served a glass of water, her mother said with a smile, "My baby finally awakened her potential. I'm so proud."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked, still trying to downplay the situation.

"Don't deflect, honey. Everyone sensed a change. Sure, most might have thought it was me but a few are astute enough to sense it was you. Besides, all those exercises we've been doing and knowing you're my daughter, it wasn't hard to guess the goal behind it." Olivia stated.

"I still doing get what you're talking about. What potential? All I did was compare the exercises that we've been doing at the gym and the Yoga with the ladies against the listed Yoga poses in the books I got from the library and realized that they weren't really meant for stretching and were more like martial arts." Jane said.

"Exactly! And when you realized it, you gave off an aura. It told others that you were a threat."

"How does realizing some movements can be used for something make me a threat?" Jane asked. Still hoping that she can cover this up.

"It has to do with how you were born." Her mother said, slowly. "You were born special."

"All parents think that about their kids." Jane joked.

"I'm serious." Olivia said firmly. She held up a finger and a blue glow suddenly appeared at the tip.

"What is that!" Jane cried.

"This is me manipulating the energy in world. It could be called Qi or Mana, it's all the same. Just applied differently." She replied.

"Magic! You're talking about magic." Jane clarified. She knew where this was going, but she hadn't expected her mother to come right out and do something. "Does that mean there are wizards and spells?"

"This isn't like Harry Potter, dear. It's all based on rigorous training and focusing your will on a clear intent. There's not magical words. Besides, I'm more of a weapon's master and use the energy around my immediate body than over long distances. I couldn't throw a fireball if I tried."

"Wow. So what does this have to do with the gym?" Jane said, trying to get her mother back on track. No one picked up on her being special until she gained a combat level. So she was sure her mother did something to encourage that. I should have never agreed to join my mother to exercise and went off on my own, instead! She screamed in her mind.

"Right, you awakened your potential. We have a rule in the world. Those with the ability to transcend human limits do not involve those who haven't awakened their potential. It's hard to enforce, but it does largely keep the world in the dark about our existence. There are much more normal people, and disgruntled and afraid people are dangerous." Her mother clarified. "Those with the genes, after meeting certain criteria, will gain the ability to transcend limits and be able to work with the world's energy to do interesting things."

"And this relates to the exercises?" Jane asked for what she was sure was the fourth time. She suspected her mother had been waiting for this day for awhile due to her complete disregard of answering the question directly.

"Pay attention, dear. You are special. You can work with the world's energy. Someone with your genes understanding how certain movements could be used in combat without ever being told that was what you were learning, how is that not a threat? When you realized this, your awakening pulled in energy to modify your position in the world. Others awakened can sense this. To some extent, non-awakened people can as well but they just sense that you are intimidating." Olivia clarified. "Also, by being able to access energy, you will have the ability to use them to strengthen anything you do. Martial arts are done by are more effective than normal people's.

Jane nodded, realizing that it was likely the percentage increase in her skill's description. At 10 levels per tier, her Intermediate 4 would put her attacks at 14% more effective than a normal person's. This likely meant that to be level 5, she gained a combat level for every 3.5 levels in a combat-related skill. This might changed as she learned others, as they might contribute more to her overall effectiveness. Unarmed Combat was an all-encompassing skill, after all.

"I see. So this means that there are other awakened people in the village." Jane mused.

"A good portion of the village is what we call supernatural. It's a haven for our kind. Those of us who don't want to get involved with politics." Her mother confirmed. "We don't advertise, though. A good rule of thumb is to act oblivious. If you start discussing supernatural-related topics with someone who you know is supernatural in public, then you're bound to be overheard by someone who shouldn't know. Even if this village has plenty of normal people in-the-know due to growing up around family who let the truth slip out or by stumbling into a situation where it was exposed and not being killed to keep quiet."

"What? Why would they be killed to keep quiet if this place is a safe-haven?" Jane asked. She had hoped this village was safe to train in.

"This village largely is. However, there are some people here who are escaping from various lifestyles or situations that lean more towards being better-dead so someone can't let their secret out."

"Is that why you and dad are here?" Jane decided to finally ask her suspicions, since her mother was discussing all of this. "I always wondered if you and dad were kidnappers that took me away from my real parents, friends of my parents who sent me away to be safe, or had disguised yourselves. Because I remember being born and you don't look like my mother then."

Olivia blinked a few times. "How long have you thought this?" She whispered.

"Always. I'd always suspected something was strange, but you two never did anything out of the ordinary."

"Huh, I guess that's why you always pulled away. It made it hard to see if you could be awakened so we could have this discussion. Thankfully, you joined me for exercise to see if I could push you." She thought aloud. "There was no nefarious plot, John and I really are your parents. We did have a witch alter our appearance, though. And yes, we were escaping politics as well. I won't get into that now. Maybe when you graduate and leave the village."

My parents really don't overreact to anything. They're fine with me ignoring them and fine with me thinking that I thought they'd kidnapped me from my real parents. Jane morned silently in her head.

"So what now? More exercise? Am I going to be like a superhero that can jump buildings?" Jane said sarcastically.

"Ladies don't sass, Jane. You're supernatural, not superhuman. Even the strongest can't jump a building. If you dedicated your life to infusing the world's energy into your muscles and training in gymnastic techniques then you could probably jump to the roof of a 2-3 floor building after a few decades. Around 10-12 meters straight up."

Jane was shocked. "That's not superhuman?"

"No, there's a difference. You can augment and exceed human limits by interacting with energy of the world. However, you still are limited by your physical body. You can use Mana to perform feats that would make you appear superhuman, however. Such as using it to direct air currents to help you fly over a building." Olivia said sagely.

Jane wasn't so sure now that she had actually leveled up. From what her mother was saying, they didn't get stat increases for each level. They had to grind their strengths and would likely only reach a stat cap of 60-99 after decades of work by integrating the world's Mana with their body.

She, on the other hand would get stat points for each level in addition to what she'd gain grinding. She wondered if those 5 stat points per level represented Mana modifying their body as they trained. Someone focused on physical combat skills would have those points distribute to Strength, Vitality, or Dexterity based on their chosen skills while someone like her teacher would have them spent in Intelligence, Wisdom, or Luck.

If this is the case, then she didn't have a limit and would already be stronger than someone her level. Even if she was slightly off in her calculations and someone could increase stats in addition to benefit of 5 points per level, those increases through hard work to their body was limited and slower than hers.

[table=white]Intelligence +1

Wisdom +1[/table]

Thank you System. She thought. It'd been awhile since it responded to her mental musings. At least she knew she was on the right track.

Her mother carried on while she was thinking. "As I said, we try and keep our existence away from normal people. History books give hints of what happens when the public is scared of the supernatural. Witch hunts are one example." Jane sighed when she thought about Ms. Winters. "So, we've developed special areas to train and develop ourselves away from their view."

"Like underground rooms?" Jane asked.

"In some cases. In others, we use the world's energy to create separate spaces. In that game you wasted time on a couple of months ago, I think you might consider them a dungeon or an instance." Jane raised and eyebrow in question. "Don't look at me like that, your father was looking through the book that came with the headset."

Jane decided not to press. She wouldn't be surprised now if they all got together with their friends in the village and had gaming sessions of their own. After all, she didn't really see her parents at home outside the mornings and evenings.

"In these places, only another person who can direct Mana and will access can enter an Instance. This lets us have certain areas of cities where we can do business. Some of these areas do take on a life of their own, and this is where politics enter. Factions and groups of people form to control the resources gained in these mutated places." Olivia finished.

"What kinds of resources?" Jane asked.

"Mythical creatures, I guess you could say. They're really just creatures from alternate dimensions and worlds from different galaxies that have found an unstable Instance to pass through or be pulled through against their will. Alchemists use their bodies for various things, and there's sometimes technology that shows up." She answered.

"Interesting. Do we have a place like that here?" Jane inquired, interested.

"No. That's why this is a safe haven. It's a stable area where the world's energy remains undisturbed and can't create these unstable instances that'd bring things in. The mountains keep it that way. We do have the ability to create our own Instances, however. So if you do want to learn various skills we can go to one." Olivia stated.

"You aren't going to force me into training like you've done this past month? From how excited you were when I awakened, you made me feel like that's what you were going to do." Jane said in disbelief.

"Right now, you're only barely noticeable to other supernaturals. You could even conceal that with some effort and live a normal life. We push our kids to awaken and those that do learn what you have so that they can make an informed decision." Her mother said seriously. "If you start training in skills and using the world's energy, that aura gets stronger and is much harder to conceal."

"Will I be hunted?" Jane asked. She wasn't under any illusions that power draws attention. Landless Wonders was the perfect example. Once she was known and people saw her achievements, they wanted to use or destroy her when she wasn't interested. History was also a good example from all the books she's read.

Olivia thought for a moment. "It depends. Most people don't care about other supernaturals as long as they aren't bothered by their actions. Most people live peaceful lives this way, and some even live in areas with very little activity. However, there are others who will see your potential and try to draw you in. Those as well may shrug off your denial and move on to others. Not all, though. Those will remove you as a potential threat for accepting an offer with their rivals, even if you have no desire to."

She looked at Jane and continued. "It's like the Mob. It was created for protecting the people from corruption and became corrupted itself so that you're forced to join in order to not be pressured by others. Any area you choose to live or activity that you perform that has some kind of value to supernaturals will run the risk of exposing you to this element."

Jane thought about this and decided that she was going to continue with her plan. "I've always been good at going unnoticed. So I think I'll first learn how to conceal my aura and then train from there based on how well I can conceal it."

Olivia looked at her daughter in disbelief. "It's quite hard to do that, but if you're going to learn concealment first, then at least you can do that without having to train in an Instance. This would keep people thinking you're normal or choosing to remain detached from the supernatural world. Though once you start learning combat skills you'll be revealing yourself."

Jane smiled. "So I guess that means I'll have to start working out by myself from now on since those exercises were no Yoga at all and continuing would only increase my aura until I can conceal it."

Her mother glared. "You're not giving up our runs. You're already doing Yoga in the backyard during the week, so keeping that up is fine. As for the gym, I guess you can start doing normal exercises with the weights like you wanted to initially."

~*~

This was how Jane ended up mourning the loss of her plans in her room. For a whole month she had been leveling up her stats gradually. The returns got slower as the level increased. Especially over 21 with her physical stats. She did a good bit better with Intelligence and Wisdom because she could do those for two hours a day for the first two weeks and eventually succeeded in partially maintaining it in place of sleep before actually sleeping.

So, over the course of the month she had raised her Strength to 26, Vitality to 28, Dexterity to 32, Intelligence to 38, Wisdom to 41, and Luck to 26. All without anyone picking up that she wasn't a normal level 1.

Jane had a feeling that The Council decided she had sandbagged enough and wanted to push her into the supernatural world, since she was likely equivalent to someone at level 25 or higher.

Lamenting enough, Jane looked at the book in her hand. After hunting around for a couple of hours, her Mother found a book that discussed how to manipulate a person's aura. Jane found it quite useful to her plans if she could completely suppress it or even have it imitate someone else's.

[table=white]New Skill: Aura Manipulation – Beginner 1By acknowledging how your emotions and will affect the world around you, you gain the ability to control your Aura. True Masters who are at peace with their actions and memories and accept their place in the world can maintain a tranquil state and pass through life without affecting the lives of others.

Each level reduces the chance of unintentional leaks of personal aura by 2%.[/table]

This skill was different than others in that it hinted at the ability of reaching 100%. From what she gleaned, as the skills seemed to be ranked similar to Landless Wonders, there were 5 tiers. Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, and Grandmaster. Each had 10 levels, for a total of 50 levels.

Aura Manipulation's description also hinted that aura leaks were influenced by emotional fluctuations and personal will. So, if she strongly desired to remain unnoticed and kept to emotional stoicism she was fine. The skill was basically a safety net. Since Jane was always good at going unnoticed, she was confident in leveling this skill. Besides, it was likely that her aura was only picked up by the shock of Unarmed Combat appearing and her leveling up coupled with the physical exertion.

She'd only confirm this when she went back to school tomorrow, though.

For now, she decided that she had to place those 20 free stat points. The physical stats would likely increase quickly if she took her mother up on her offer. The other two have slowed down recently and have been coming in at a rate of one per every other day for the past week.

Later in life, I'll likely be fighting at a distance, so Intelligence and Wisdom would be important to maintain control and exert my will. She thought to herself while considering her options. She decided to place the bulk in Intelligence since Wisdom seemed to benefit at a slightly higher rate in Meditation and random boosts from the System. It'd catch up quicker.

The result was 50 in Intelligence and 49 in Wisdom.

[table=white]Wisdom +1[/table]

Glad you agree. She said in her mind in reply to the System's action.

Sighing, Jane got into bed and went to sleep. She didn't even care to meditate for the first time in a month.

Updated list of Stats and Skills in Spoiler

Spoiler :

[table=white]Player Information:Name: Jane BlackthorneClass: PlayerHP: 280/280MP: 500/500Title: NoneAffiliation: NoneStats:Strength: 26Vitality: 28Dexterity: 32Intelligence: 50Wisdom: 50Luck: 26 (+10 System Access Bonus)[/table]

[table=white]Acting - Beginner 5Through the use of emotional manipulation, body language, and tone of voice you have shown you have what it takes to sway hearts and minds. With each level increase your lies become 1% more believable, even if they are poorly constructed.[/table]

[table=white]Aura Manipulation – Beginner 1By acknowledging how your emotions and will affect the world around you, you gain the ability to control your Aura. True Masters who are at peace with their actions and memories and accept their place in the world can maintain a tranquil state and pass through life without affecting the lives of others.

Each level reduces the chance of unintentional leaks of personal aura by 2%.[/table]

[table=white]Cooking – Beginner 1You have decided to join the lovers of domesticity and gastronomy in this age-old art. True masters of Cooking understand that food is as much an art as it is a science splashed with a dab of magic and love. Meals you prepare have a 1% chance of being edible per level, regardless of your effort.[/table]

[table=white]Meditation – Intermediate 2Through calming your mind and centering yourself, you've found the benefits of self-reflection and introspection. Stillness brings oneness with the Universe and all life within it. True masters of Meditation can sustain themselves solely on the energy of the Universe.

Each level increase in Meditation brings a 1% quicker recovery rate of Mana per minute while meditating.

Gains towards Intelligence, Wisdom, and Luck have a chance to slightly increase while meditating.[/table]

[table=white]Observation – Beginner 1By watching the world around you suspiciously, you have learned how to glean information out of the most innocuous of details. With each level, your insights reveal more information about your surroundings.[/table]

[table=white]Unarmed Combat – Intermediate 4By incorporating your knowledge of the body's movements and its weight distribution through a variety of poses and exercises, you can see how it would be used to effectively be used in combat.

Each level, physical attacks given and damage negated is 1% more effective.[/table]

[table=white]Yoga – Beginner 8By understanding that the body is an extension of the soul, you have found that through Yoga you can strengthen the body. True masters of Yoga have gained spiritual awakening and insights as they incorporate Meditation in their practice.

Each level increase in Yoga brings a 1% quicker recovery rate of Mana per minute while performing the skill.

Gains towards Strength, Vitality, Dexterity, and Luck have a chance to slightly increase while performing Yoga at rates of 0.3%, 0.3%, 0.8%, and 0.1% respectively.[/table]