Chapter Two: Practice

I blinked, and it was still dark. No noise, no light, and an extremely cold floor that I want to break right now. I have so much frustration that I could perhaps build a wall with it, maybe enough to cover the entirety of New York. 

Remembering the previous noise, I spoke out, taking an enormous risk since if this is some supernatural situation I might die. Yet, I couldn't handle this anymore, and a gamble was needed.

"[Status]", I spoke in a disgruntled and dry voice.

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[Status]: Injured

[Race: Human/(?)

[Health: 60/60]

[Mana: 55/55]

[Strength: 8]

[Stamina: 7]

[Agility: 7]

[Dexterity: 8]

[Intelligence: 11]

[Will: 15]

[Skills: Instinct(B), Madness(C+), Swordsmanship(Locked)]

[Talents: Ice Control(E+), Locked]

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There was a blue screen next to my face, translucent enough for me not to see past it, but enough to not be invisible. It was light. It was something I could finally see–happiness and relief overwhelmed me. It brought me back to normal, temporarily…

Whoever made this must be one hell of an architect or artisan. Also, congratulations to myself for not dying instantly! Damn I wish I had some of those celebration cannons that those guys keep firing on New Years. 

Also, could I speak now? I'm pretty sure I'm becoming a schizophrenic so I might as well right? Better to be sane than insane, and better to die normally than insane.

"Test, test, test, test! Is my vocal cords working?"I spoke in a voice that had absolutely no tone control. It was akin to hearing someone speak in the exact same voice, but sillier each time. 

However, there was something that was missing, but I couldn't find out what that was. 

Regardless, It felt nice speaking, and my throat didn't feel like dying from dryness anymore. My arms were also healed considering the damage I had caused earlier. There were no scars or scabs, though a considerable amount of blood was left on my fingers and my clothing. If I could see myself right now I'd call the police, probably. 

But there were more things I had to consider right now, especially the stats listed out on the "[Status]".

The more I thought about the name, the more frustration and rage swelled up within me. Was this a game?

Was this kind of sick joke? 

Was I separated from my HOME because of this crappy joke? What was going on here? Why was this in a game-like setup? Maybe my friends will pop up any second now and surprise me. My birthday is a month away though…

Who was I again…? 

–A headache flashed as memories flashed before my eyes, but they were something I could not see as they were too blurry. 

Removing myself from those distracting thoughts, I became reckless and attempted something I would have not normally done.

[Ice Control]

"Ooah", I yelped as I noticed that the blood that was on my fingers began to freeze and turn solid. I would have staggered backwards if I were standing up, but I was sitting down.

Holy hell, could I use magic? Am I a magician now? But, I'm not even 30 yet… Ehem, putting that aside this is so COOL. Pun-intended by the way, and why am I speaking to myself already? I thought it would take me weeks to create a Wilson. 

Though, I would've preferred to be a swordsman instead… Swords are cool afterall.

Wait… could I become [Redacted] and summon a bunch of swords made of ice? Holy hell if I did get isekai'd then there's so much I could DO! Ice powers are underrated as hell! Wait no, should that be purgatory or hell? Is hell cold in this or is it purgatory? Questions for later. 

The ice blood was beginning to make my skin crawl so I attempted to telepathically move it off my fingers, and holy crap it worked. Does [Ice Control] come with telepathy? Can I make people explode? 

I began to experiment with this power, leaving my other thoughts behind as I buried them as deep as I could. I couldn't let these thoughts distract me, not now. 

Man I wish I could hear the numbers go up right now, that'd actually be amazing. Though it doesn't stop me from determining the key points of my new power. There were several points to consider. First, there was actually a numerical value since each time I attempted to use it there would be a number added next to the skill. 

[Ice Control (E+) [3/200]

Yet, at the same time it seemed that it consumed mana proportional to how much was moved or manipulated.

[Mana: 53/55]

Am I a gamer? Could I grind this skill and become an Aeon of ice? That'd be so cool, and cold. Very cold actually–since I could start to see my own breath in the air. Does that mean the current room temperature is below normal, but why do I not feel as cold? Could this skill also provide me with cold resistance? 

…

After one day or so of experimenting there were several other factors I could determine.

 First, my ice does melt, but only after several minutes.

 This also depends on the second factor, how much mana and concentration there is in the ice. I could control it and change it, but keeping it in that form takes a certain amount of mana to maintain. 

Third, I could actually make it extremely sharp, but it's currently not worth it since there isn't enough available liquid. 

Fourth, blood and saliva from myself works as a conduit of my power and it's pretty efficient. 

Thankfully, I can use my power to move the blood from within my clothes outside.

It's like water bending, but with extra steps since I must make it ice first. Meaning that it should have been cold…

Though I do have some grips with how the [Status] is showing up, as I have tried creating a dagger, which was extremely tiny, and throwing it at the wall. There were no skills like throwing or dagger toss gained. Perhaps becoming a munchkin would be a lot harder than I thought. 

[Ice Control (E+) [183/200]

It also seems that by continuously using my skill I could become stronger. Although I want to grind my skill continuously, my mana is beginning to dip into the lower spheres. I don't know if this is one of those worlds in which by exhausting mana I could experience a mana down or anything similar. Better to be safe than sorry. 

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[Status]:

[Race: Human/(?)

[Health: 66/66]

[Mana: 16/55 + 10]

[Strength: 8+1]

[Stamina: 7]

[Agility: 7]

[Dexterity: 8]

[Intelligence: 11+2]

[Will: 15]

[Skills: Instinct(B), Madness(C+), Swordsmanship(D+)]

[Talents: Ice Control(E+) [183/200], Locked]

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