Figuring it out - Part 3
The school might not be far away from the apartment but that doesn't mean it is particularly close either. Since it is already around 1:30PM as we arrive. It might not seem that late to most people for lunch. But if you haven't had a proper meal since breakfast the day before. Then that feels like it is 3PM already. Which is incredibly late but of course, it is worse since I haven't eaten anything in twenty-four hours. Also, if I am correct, I do think that Eleanor and Liam should've eaten lunch already. I think lunch at school is usually around noon maybe 12:30 at the latest. So, it being 1:30PM means that they are probably hungry too. Well, I don't know they probably packed a snack to eat during the break too. But then again, I am not sure when they were told about my supposed death. I still can't believe someone made that mistake. "I'm assuming that you two had brought lunches to school this morning. It is probably the easiest thing a quick bite to eat." I say to both of them as I search for my keys to open the apartment door. It takes about a minute or two to actually find them since they managed to get out of the usual pocket in my bag. As I walk inside the apartment, I notice that it is a tad bit messy inside but not more than usual. I quickly walk towards the kitchen counter to be able to get everything out of my bag properly. I grab the bags I didn't manage to fill on the country. But honestly, it just shows visibly how this delve was a failure on all fronts. The bag with the flowers I am keeping inside my backpack though. Since I do need to bring that bag to the science centre though.
"You don't have to worry about that. I think Liam would have a fit if I were to waste any of the spring rolls he made. He is claiming that they are pretty difficult to make." Eleanor says all the while rolling her eyes. But Liam is absolutely right, spring rolls are pretty tedious to make. However, I can't help but notice the sound of someone plopping down on the sofa. Without looking I know it is probably Eleanor since she does have a habit of eating on the sofa. Which in general I don't mind them doing. I even do it myself but there are some rules I like them to follow, which might sound strict but it helps to keep this messy place just a tad bit cleaner. Those rules are that they have to use a plate and have to have a towel with them. "So, could you please tell us what happened? Since it is weird to assume that people die inside a portal that you would enter." Eleanor asks me as I feel her and Liam staring at me. I know I'll have to answer that question but that doesn't mean I want to answer it. Yet I know if I avoid answering I am sure will have to tell at some point because they probably won't stop asking questions about it.
"I don't know what I am allowed to tell and what I am not allowed to say at all. But I would like you two to eat lunch now but do keep in mind the rule." I say as I look around and see her already eating one of the spring rolls. I can't help but sigh about that since I do see that she also has dipping sauces for it. "Please have a towel with you." I say as I grab one of the towels that are laying on the kitchen counter. As I throw it at her so she at least won't get any sauce stains on the couch. I don't mind them using their lunchboxes as plates since they still keep food from falling on the couch. I know I shouldn't expect there to be much if anything left of what I could use to make some spring rolls for myself. Since I rather eat a spring roll than have to make a sandwich for myself. I quickly look through the cupboards to see if there's something left for me to use. But of course, there is barely anything for that left which means I will have to buy some stuff for that. But while I am thinking about what I should put on the list I make a sandwich with chocolate paste for myself.
"Rolling those things are quite hard. But please tell us what happened. If you are not allowed to tell anyone about it. Please still tell us about it I won't tell." Liam says as he walks up and gives me another hug. I pat his head again as he is making it pretty hard for me not to tell them about it. But if I tell them about it, I still don't know what to really say about the temple. Only me, Lake, and Kiara know about that. They don't need to know about that yet it feels wrong to not tell them about it. But it would probably scare them more if I did tell them about my experience with that monster which is not something I want to do. Liam keeps the hug going for a couple more seconds but breaks it off to grab a towel and a plate. It seems like Liam is going to eat off a plate and not out of his lunchbox, unlike Eleanor who just eats from her lunchbox. Wish I could've had some too but I want to eat quickly having a sandwich is a quicker bite than a spring roll. If you need to make one with what's in the house.
"Well, I got to be honest. I don't know what went down in that cave. Since I was not inside the cave, I was above ground, collecting things. But the reason why they even thought people were dead was that people did die. But me and two others had separated for collecting. And we arrived at the portal way later and considering what happened, people were pretty on edge. The news probably has more information about it than I do." I explain to them as I also try to steer them away from worrying about me. But as I take another bite from my sandwich, I hear that the news was just put on. As I look over, I see that Eleanor was the one to put it on. On one hand, I want to know what the association wants the public to know and what they want to hide. Although Lake kind of made the decision that we were going to hide stuff from the portal we saw and all. On one hand, they have to explain what killed those delvers but on the other hand. There would be some chaos if they knew about monsters that scary.
Right now we have enough low-level delver in our country. There are more people who could do the job but chose not to. But there are enough people right now for everything to flow rather smoothly. Honestly, no the flow is never been truly gone that smoothly. Because there are few stages of delver amounts. You can have too little low-ranking delvers which causes a lot of overwork. People don't get healed enough because they need to do another portal. This causes accidents to happen more quickly which causes even less people to be able to work. But having too many delvers isn't that good either. It causes a lot of inexperienced people to pop up who are unable to gain a lot of experience because there aren't enough portals. It is quite a tricky situation and let's just say that knowledge about a dangerous monster, can bring that number up or down. Don't know what causes it to go up or down but I know that it happens when a dangerous monster appears.
"Well, it is good to know that it was a mistake. But still confused about how that mistake was even made. Because from what you just said it sounds like they did it for a couple of people. And it seems like we have to wait for the evening news to see what happened. Since the news seems to be nearly done already." Eleanor comments as they seem to be talking about sports already. Which I honestly am not that interested in, and never have been. So my attention which I just focused on watching tv was again away from it.
"Well, I will still have to go out today. I have some flowers to bring to the science centre. Since I did manage to find those inside the portal and they will probably wilt and be unusable if they aren't brought in today." I sigh as I go to sit next to them. I immediately see Eleanor shaking her head so I don't go and talk about what they could do. I wasn't planning on explaining everything about it, but she is just not in the mood to hear me talk about it. "I also still have to train a bit today. You two are welcome to join me." I add as start to think about what else I could do today. Moreover, I start to think about how I could try and train this new ability of mine. I could probably copy someone's ability around the science centre but I think I will have to train it right afterward since I doubt it will be able to be used forever.
"I am not joining for the run. I am kind of tired from today in general. But can we please install a new rule?" Liam asks as he looks at me his eyes still beat red from all the crying. I am usually the one who has to set rules since I need to take care of two teenagers. But I have a feeling that I know what rule he wants to put into place. And I honestly have no problem agreeing with this rule either. Since I wouldn't go on a job without letting them know either way. It is the least I can do. "Please, let us know beforehand when you go back inside a portal. I want to know when I have to worry and when I don't have to worry. Also, if you can please do the shorter ones instead of the ones you're gone for days." Liam asks for me to put it in as a rule. And honestly, I have no problem with this rule at all.
"I have no problem following that rule at all. But to go on for a more light-hearted topic. Do I need to put something on the list?" I ask both of them since I haven't been home since last night. And honestly, I don't want to talk about nearly dying or the fact that I barely made it out of the portal. And I need to know when things need to be restocked. Fresh produce doesn't land on the list usually since those get bought throughout the week for the dishes we need to make. However, some things like rice, pasta, flour even things that I don't use in the kitchen like shampoo and soap are on the list. Since those aren't things, you want to realise that you don't have enough of when you actually need it.
"We need some rice, and honestly, I would say the strawberry jam you bought last time. As it will be enough for all of us to eat tomorrow but yeah after that we would need to eat the chocolate spread too." Eleanor says as I stand up to write it down on the list. The list hangs up on the kitchen board so you have to walk past it a lot. Which makes it harder and harder to forget when I have to go to the store. But she is right we probably do need some rice. It is also good to know that the strawberry jam I bought seems to be a hit, so I will probably buy two jars instead of one since it seemed to be in promotion a lot lately. But I go to stand up and quickly add it to the list. I add all the things Eleanor has said which makes the list now two items long. I often ask Eleanor and Liam to put things we need on there if they notice that we need something. But they of course don't do that which has caused some awkward moments. Like being in the shower and you want to wash your hair but noticing that the shampoo bottle is empty. I have had it happen in the past which was quite annoying.
"Okay, so we need to get some more rice and some more jam. Anything else that needs to be added to the list?" I ask out loud this time asking it more for Liam to answer since he might have noticed something that needed to be added that Eleanor didn't. But both of them shake their heads which makes it clear that they didn't notice anything else that needed to be brought in. But I do start to think about what I should do today with Liam's new rule and all. I am probably going to do another F ranked portal tomorrow, since I came all right out of this one. I will let them know when I actually found one, which I can do. Otherwise, I might cause stress that isn't even needed. And honestly, I might be able to use that time to train a bit more for this "Copycat" ability.
As I look over to the tv I notice that the sports news has finally ended and it seems like they are actually talking about what happened during the delve. I however don't recognise who is getting interviewed here. But from the attire, I have to say it is someone who is part of the association. I have to say though, the guy doesn't look like a standard low-ranking suit though. In fact, he looks kind of strong well he could probably beat me up without much trouble. But just from seeing him, I can't really tell who he is though. He is probably above C rank so stronger than other people who work at the association. Since apparently for portal observing you have to be at least C rank in case of emergencies. But considering this dude looks pretty strong I doubt that he has gone to any lower-ranking portals lately. I walk closer to the tv since I can't really read the subtitles that pop up nor can I read the boxes of who is speaking. As I look closer, I am finally able to read who the guy is. And I actually recognise his name, it's Alexander Nosteada. He is the one in charge of all the portal measurements and such. But I missed a huge part of the conversation so I am not really sure how he explained away what happened. It would probably cause a panic if it came out that we weren't able to properly measure portals anymore.
But I may not recognise his face but I do recognise the face of the next guest. Well, I guess you don't have to be a delver to recognise her. It of course also helps if they introduce her with the title "The dragon slayer from hell". I don't think there is anyone above the age of ten who doesn't know who she is. She is well known to be very good at the hunting aspect of delving. Well, you could say more than good by the fact that she was able to kill a dragon on her own. Most S ranked delvers like her are unable to kill a dragon all by themselves. Yet she did and I am pretty sure with that achievement she became at least an S+ ranked delver. "Welcome, Miss Delilah Stone, I am glad you could join us for today." The interviewer says as he introduces her to the audience.
"Wow, I don't know how she does it. She even managed to get her intimidating aura through the screen. Like if that feeling is this strong right now, imagine being in that room right now." Eleanor comments as she takes another bite from the spring roll. I don't want to know how many Liam made for today. Liam however stays quiet probably a bit intimidated about what is going on. I have to say she does feel intimidating just from a screen. But honestly, the interview doesn't really explain anything about what happened during the delve. But honestly seeing her sitting next to the interviewer and mister Nosteada she seems way taller than both of them. She must be at least a foot taller than the both of them and they don't seem particularly short either.
"Well, it doesn't seem like she is here to announce an S ranked portal. But let's be honest if that happened that would have been the only news topic." I comment as I stand up to wash my hands a bit since I do think I got some chocolate paste on them. "Well, I am going to change real quick. You two are still welcome to join me on my run and other training. But I go to do that before everything get's stuck." I say as I kind of hope neither of them joins me today. Since it would interfere with the ability training, I want to try. And honestly, it is best if I keep that under wraps still till I know more about it and am better at using it. And if I am completely honest I think it might just be a fluke still.
And it seems like neither of them seem to be joining me at all. Which I would consider not that surprising since they barely join any of my runs lately. And with how today was for them I am not too surprised they didn't want to join either. At least Liam shows a sign that he doesn't want to join. Eleanor on the other hand barely looks up from her phone. "If any of you goes out today. Please send me a text when you leave and where you are going. I would prefer that I even got a message when you arrive there but I am not going to ask that. I just want to know if any of you are going out of the apartment." I request to the both of them. I really don't want to arrive at an empty apartment not knowing if any of them went out. But I have to get into my sports clothes now since I like to keep certain things separate. For the science centre, this attire is not great. But it is better than when I arrived there with bloody clothes. But it does help with training although that training hasn't helped me once but in four years now.
I quickly change into my sports clothes to finally start going. I quickly try to go out of the apartment after I changed only stopping to tell Eleanor and Liam that they should probably do their homework now. But I know better than to expect them to do that. It is just advice after all. The only thing I really need is my bag which isn't all that heavy since it only has flowers in it. As I walk out I see both of them on their phones seemingly typing stuff. Honestly, I hope they talk to their friends. It is a healthy way to cope with certain things happening.
As I go out, I immediately head towards the science centre. So I at least can get the flowers to the place where they are actually needed. At that place, I can also try and copy someone's ability. Well, I want to see what this ability can actually do. As I continue to walk towards the science centre I start to realise what might have happened. I might have gotten a reactivation, it is rare but it does happen. However, it is not known to happen with anyone who has gotten an F rank. The other reason seems even more unlikely. It could've been from that stone I touched inside the temple. But I am still not sure what I should think about that. I honestly feel ridiculous even considering that option right now.
As I walk inside the science centre I can't help but notice how quiet it actually is. Like it tends to be pretty quiet around here usually but today it seems even more abandoned than usual. I guess that some portal delves were pushed back for today since the incident. Well, it isn't like I would see any professional collectors here anyway. The people from the science apparently go to the portals to collect the stuff there. I guess that's an advantage of being in a professional guild. However, I don't really like it being that empty in here. It means I might not be able to copy someone after all. Which would flush down any attempt of me being able to train this "Copycat" ability of mine. However, it is good that I don't need to wait in line. "Excuse me, I am here to bring flowers which I collected from a D+ ranked portal today." I tell the lady behind the counter as I start to grab the bag of flowers which don't look to smashed yet.
"Oh, I assume these flowers are for the treatment of the slime burn wounds. We were starting to run low on that so it is good that you brought some more in. Since those monsters seem to have been popping up a lot lately. Here fill this since I do need some information." The lady says pretty nervously, I have to assume that she is new here. The papers are however more than easy to fill in. I have done it more than ten dozen times by now. Which is good since what I know from other people working here, they dislike waiting. I probably pissed off some people when I first started to do collecting. "Voila, the counting is done. The money should be deposited in your account shortly." She says as she takes the now filled-out forms. I don't even have to look to know that it will appear in my bank account in a matter of hours.
As I turn around to walk away, I can't help but notice this weird aura coming closer. I guess this is someone who does have an ability. As I look up and see this slight aura coming off from the person which seems cold to me. I honestly dislike seeing it around this person. But as soon as I think that the aura around him seemed to disappear yet I still feel it. I however have this feeling about how I can copy it. As I pass the person I see my chance. "Copy" I whisper as quietly as I can. In the hope the dude didn't notice me whispering it. Even though I copied it I can't see what I copied exactly right now but my instinct says it has to do with ice. I however know where I might be able to train this ability. The forest behind the centre.
It takes me at least five minutes to get deep enough in the forest so that I am not seen from the street. But I do know I have to see if this all isn't just some weird fluke. "Open stats" I say out loud not too afraid that anyone might hear me. I just hope people don't see me here. I probably look like an idiot here.
Stats:
Health: 50/50 Current Status: Perfect health
Mana: 10/10
Strength: 4 Intelligence: 7
Agility: 4 Stamina: 4
Mana level: 2
They don't seem to have changed which isn't that much of a surprise. But I need to check my abilities page to see what I can do training-wise.
"Copycat": This ability allows the user to copy either the ability of a monster or that of a human. Based on your current stats any ability will be weaker. Once you observe an ability you can say "Copy" to copy this ability. Level: 1 You are currently copying the ability: "Ice magic" This ability is not unique. You are able to use a weaker version of "Ice magic" With the current version of "Ice magic" you are unable to use spells.
You do not have the ability to store copied abilities. Abilities stored: 0/0
The ability "Copycat" Also gives you the chance to see what other beings abilities are. Stats effect which abilities you can see and thus copy.
I can't use actual ice spells which is not that surprising but somehow still disappointing. I probably won't be able to use it in combat any time soon. I just need to find a way on how I can start to train this ability. I just hope I am not actually wasting time here.
End Figuring it out - Part 3
Complete
You got a character card
Name: Liam Nguyen
Ability: None
Class: None
Date of birth: 13/02/2007
Age: 16 years old
Nationality: American
Hair style: Short black hair side parted
Eye colour: green
Likes: Helping people, Herbal Tea, Video games
Dislikes: Assholes, Stress, Crying