Chapter 10: Jane's Peeping Holiday

"I wouldn't say I have a problem, per se. It's perfectly normal to be watching this and not looking away." Jane assured herself while lifting up a sandwich to her lips, unable to take her eyes away from the sight before her.

Jane was crouched behind a cluster of bushes, munching on her lunch. Seven meters away from her was a mountain stream that happened to be a favorite fishing spot of one of the people she was stalking who was in the contact list of Phillip Browning. The man would be the last of the local contacts, and Jane was having a hard time getting access to his secure phone. So, she was going to wait until he removed it to prevent it getting wet.

It was a great plan, a foolproof plan, she had told herself while waiting. She'd followed him the past two weekends and seen his habit. He'd put his supplies on the bank and wade into the center of the stream. He never deviated or turned to check on the supplies until he had caught a fish. So, all Jane had to do was be in the bushes and carefully extend her aura in a thin rope and have it crawl along the ground to the phone and she'd be set. Ten meters was her limit, and she had been practicing on preventing leaks.

The plan was going great, until she arrived and saw that it wasn't Old Man Carrow at the fishing spot. The man wasn't even fishing. He was skinny dipping.

Jane wasn't one to have racy thoughts of the opposite sex. She blamed it on her lunches with Trish. The woman had been having hot sex since the night Jane broke into her house and often mentioned some of their exploits. At first, Jane just smiled and nodded. After the first week, though, Jane was wondering what it would be like to feel that passionate about something.

Something to look into in the future, because she hadn't felt any strong desire to explore those thoughts with the people in her school. Male or female.

That is, until she saw the man swimming in the stream before her.

She hadn't seen this brawny man around the village before, so he was likely a tourist. Or maybe a new resident that decided to hide away from the world. However, a quick check of his information revealed otherwise.

Jake Morris

>

No Titles, Affiliations, or Class meant he was the normal of the normal. She watched him while eating and even tossed an Observation request at him while he backstroked to reveal his rippling torso to her. The only helpful information she got was that he was 18 and likely a jock. Well played, System. She mocked herself in her head.

Jane was fascinated at what this young man meant to her morning plans. She idly monitored the time while observing Jake and smiled. She mentally counted down 5...4...3...2...1...Now.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, boy?" An old voice croaked in both surprise and indignation as its owner trudged through the brush to the water's edge.

Old Man Carrow stood before her, mostly blocking her view of the naked form in front getting out of the water. His fishing rod was pressed firmly into the soil along the bank and the basket of supplies was resting at his feet.

"What does it look like?" The male youth smiled up at the man who was clearly decades his senior. "I'm relaxing in the water. You should try it. I hear it's great for your health."

"Boy, get out of the water right now! It's still early, so if the waters still I may be able to salvage my morning with whatever fish your bare ass hasn't ran off." Old Man Carrow spat out while lifting up the rod and swinging it towards Jake's head.

Dodging a loose hook, the young man scuttled on his hands out of the water. Jane could hide and laugh at the scene before her. Definitely worth the two weeks following this old man. She snickered to herself.

After Jake had made it to shore and went to grab his clothes on some nearby rocks, Jane use the distraction to send her aura into the elderly man's basket. He didn't seem to notice while he was busy glaring a few meters away after having chased him off with his rod.

~*~

An hour later, Jane joined her mother for their normal Saturday run and 'yoga' session with the ladies. Since the beginning of her winter break, aside from the first week, she had started up her physical training again. Much to her mother's delight.

The training was like before, since her mother wanted to get her back into shape before teaching her any skill. Jane was fine with this, because it allowed her to monitor a suspicion she was developing for why her stats had taken a leave of absence in welcoming new points to join them. She still gained new stat points, sure, but only in physical stats and only rarely.

For the past week, the physical stats had seemed to stop on 34 for all three. She was beginning to think that this was her limit in pure physical improvement without adding in the world's energy to her training. This was because any additional gains had happened only after she went back to using weighted clothing. Before, she had reached a near stand-still using Yoga and her gym sessions. She might get to 35, but it'd be a ceiling just like with her Intelligence and Wisdom stats.

She was partly right.

After the following day's gym session, she received two system prompts on her way home.

[table=white]Strength +1

Vitality +1

Dexterity +1[/table]

Convenient, she thought as she dismissed the prompt to see another.

[table=white]System Notification:Congratulations on reaching the peak fitness level for your age and body type. Through a sound body comes a sound mind. Mental stat increase is again possible to level 55.

Future enhancement in stats will be halted without a catalyst to push your body beyond normal limits.[/table]

"So it's like that," Jane muttered. "Normally, no one would ever notice the ceiling the System places on people and they'd only focus on a few attributes anyway when training. With my profile as a Player, I don't have those bottlenecks until I reach an artificial limit."

Jane considered her options. She had held off on reading the Qi Gong and Tai Chi books until now. That'd probably meet the requirements of acting as a catalyst due to its use of Qi, which is the same as Mana. Her mother and Mrs. Pettigrew would likely give her advice in using the world's energy to enhance her body, mind, and soul. She'd have to see what all of those offered before making a decision. She might even merge them.

~*~

"Are you sure, Mom? This seems more like a game than training." Jane said for the sixth time, looking at one of the Instances reached from the Gym's basement. Before Jane lay a field with hundreds of holes. Holes large enough to fit a grown man.

"Of course, dear. Being able to sense danger and know your surroundings is the basis for any combat training. Those who primarily focus on magic would do it differently, likely in a place that they could sip a latte, but the same principles apply." Her mother said while patting her on the shoulder.

"It's simple. You run forward, hop into a hole. In each hole is a tunnel that connects it to the other holes surrounding it." Olivia said, pointing from one hole to another over Jane's shoulder. "The training comes in multiple stages. The first will be just you crawling around and peeping out of a hole where you don't think I'm going to be shooting you with a paint ball gun. You do this by extending your perception, not to be confused by your aura, and seeing if my focus is above that hole you're coming out of. If you don't feel my focus, poke your head out and get a lay of the land and move on to the next hole."

The woman laughed at the expression on her daughter's face. "Of course, if you're too slow, I might just see and hit you anyway before you can duck back into the hole. The next stage, once you get good at this, is to let some of the other kids come in to train with you. Each of you will be given a paint ball gun and you'll be focusing on them as well as making sure not to be hit when you're peeping out of the hole."

"Lovely." Jane said, clearly not amused.

"It's good fun and trains you in spatial memory of where danger may come as well as perceiving intent. If you get good at this, you'll be much less likely to be running away from danger only to find yourself turning down the wrong alley and find yourself face-to-barrel of a man holding a gun."

Grumbling, Jane dove into a hole and started this madness. Adding one additional training item to the remaining week of Jane's winter break.

Updated list of Stats and Skills in Spoiler

Spoiler :

[table=white]Player Information:Name: Jane BlackthorneClass: PlayerHP: 350/350MP: 510/510Title: NoneAffiliation: NoneStats:Strength: 35Vitality: 35Dexterity: 35Intelligence: 50Wisdom: 50Luck: 27 (+10)[/table]

[table=white]Acting - Intermediate 1Through 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]Advanced Mind - MaxThrough your ever expanding cognitive abilities, you have noticed the benefits of and nurtured amassing information and knowledge. You have surpassed the abilities of an eidetic memory to store, sort, and manipulate information quickly and efficiently. Your mind has truly become a machine.

Effect 1: 50+ Intelligence and Wisdom, all information obtained through the senses is perfectly remembered and can be recalled instantly without conscious effort.

Effect 2: 75+ Intelligence and Wisdom, your thoughts are unnoticed by others. Theirs, however, are communicated to you within a 10m radius.[/table]

[table=white]Alchemy - Beginner 6You have learned to see that all Sciences share a common root. Alchemy is the heart of Science and can unlock the potential in all things. True Masters of Alchemy can take the mundane and transform it into the Divine.

Each level increases the probability of a successful potion by 1%, regardless of preparation.[/table]

[table=white]Aura Manipulation - MaxBy 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]Language Comprehension - Intermediate 1Through your careful study of the parts of text and speech that form to allow beings to communicate, you have learned Language Comprehension. True Masters of language are able to quickly communicate with anyone, regardless of knowledge of the other's language.

Each level, spoken and written communication become 1% more effective, regardless of knowledge and fluency of the language.

Current Languages:

Arabic (Written, Spoken)

English (Written, Spoken)

French (Written, Spoken)

German (Written, Spoken)

Italian (Written, Spoken)

Japanese (Written, Spoken)

Mandarin (Written, Spoken)

Spanish (Written, Spoken)

[/table]

[table=white]Mana Control - Beginner 1Through looking beyond the commonly accepted reasonings for how the Universe works, you realize that Mana behaves in a more unique way. True Masters of Mana use the energy of creation with ease, treating it as an extension of themselves.

Effect 1: Each level reduces Mana consumption by 1%.

Effect 2: MP is boosted by 2% per level.[/table]

[table=white]Meditation - Intermediate 8Through 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]Mental Fortitude - Advanced 3Through sheer resolve and determination, your mind resists being affected by outside influences. True Masters of Mental Fortitude push through even the strongest opposing perspective.

Each level increases Mental and Illusion magic resistance by 2%.[/table]

[table=white]Observation - Advanced 2Through careful study of the world and those that live within it, you have gained insight into being able to assess your surroundings and not be taken by surprise. True Masters of Observation glean hidden insights without prior knowledge.

Each level increases the probability of additional helpful insights by 1%, regardless of prior knowledge or Player level in relation to the target's difficulty.[/table]

[table=white]Singularity - MaxThrough the use of your Aura, the ability to interface with technology in your immediate area becomes available. The System's visual interface can be used to display and interact with the data received.[/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 - Intermediate 7By 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]