Preparations
-Ring. Ring.
-Ring. Ring.
---
[ 05:00 AM ]
Drag to Stop Drag to Snooze
[Stop] [Snooze]
---
'Ugh...damn alarm...'
Hitting the stop button I got up and out from under the blanket, and went to the bathroom to clean myself up, brushing my teeth and taking a hot shower. Once I was done, I changed out of my pajamas and into the sportswear that I had slipped into the suitcase at the last moment.
'I've got a few hours before the sun comes up. I should move on to the next step of my plan.'
The first part of my preparation for the plan I had sketched out, which had been to examine the lake, could be said to be successful and I had also been able to slightly befriend the protagonist. Now, I needed to head to the lake again for the next part. But before that, I had another place I had to go.
Walking down the stairs, grabbing a few bottles of water and a plastic bag from the cupboard, I left the cottage, leaving a message behind on the countertop for Jacob that I would be back by 7:30 at the latest, if not 7. Last night when I had checked, he had still been asleep, and he still was, so I didn't want to disrupt him.
It was decided that we would leave for our next destination, the ski resort, which was a few hours' drive away, at around 8. That left me with just barely enough time according to my calculations.
Walking over the path across to the cottages on the other side I headed towards one in particular, which seemed to not be welcoming any guests if it wasn't obvious by the fact that it was the one that was still under construction.
Making my way around to the entrance at the back with hushed footsteps I began searching for a specific thing in the snow-covered lands around the backyard of the cottage.
'Ah...there it is...'
It didn't take me long to find what I was searching for with my now enhanced sight, which was a side effect of Resilience- that helped me retain a certain level of sight even in the pitch black of the night. Holding the bottles with one hand, I crouched down and yanked the metal handle that was extending from the ground with the other hand.
-Creak.
Although it took some effort due to its weight, I was able to pull open the hatch within seconds.
Glancing down, I discovered a fleet of steps descending down into eerie darkness that even my eyes had a hard time piercing into. Without a shred of hesitation, I stepped onto the steps and continued downward while closing the hatch behind me.
-Creak. Thud.
-Gulp. Gulp.
As I proceeded down I kept my ears open. Often I would hear the sounds of what seemed like gulps.
After what seemed like a considerable time had passed since I began my descent and all details around me had blurred out to such a degree that I almost lost all sense of direction, the steps abruptly came to an end and a wide space spread out in front of me.
The air was humid and there was little to no movement, that be of the wind or of any lifeforms other than mine.
Standing still for a few seconds I tried to hear if there was any noise. Once I had made sure that there really was complete pin drop silence, I brought out my phone with steady hands and turned on the torch, only daring to do so now that I knew that I had passed into the safe area.
Shifting my line of vision around the place where there were only four concrete walls, stalactites as the roof, and the ice sculpture of a shriveled old man wearing a cloak with a bow and an empty quiver at his back- standing erect with its head pointing towards the largest stalactite above- in the center of the 'room', I opened the cap of one of the five bottles I had brought.
With the phone held in my left hand along with the plastic bag containing the rest of the water bottles, I headed towards the sculpture. Standing beside it- which was about the same height as me, I raised the water bottle and emptied its contents directly onto the outstretched tongue of the half-open mouth.
Surprisingly, all the water began getting absorbed- seeping into the pores of the crystalline tongue, not even a single drop reflecting off the surface.
-Whoo.
Seeing that it was going as I had visioned, a certain weight I didn't know resided on my heart was lifted with a deep exhale from my mouth.
When the last drop of the water rolled onto the sculpture, I went on to repeat my actions with the rest of the bottles. And when over half of the contents of the last bottle had been poured onto the sculpture, steam billowed out from the sculpture towards me, and the sculpture melted at an astonishing rate.
-Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.
Accompanying it, a series of mind-numbing gulps resounded from the passage behind.
The biting winds receded within moments, leaving behind the pedestal the sculpture previously stood upon. And in the middle of the pedestal lay a grotesque object.
A half-decayed dried-up and cracked tongue, encased in a transparent orb emanating a red hue.
Yet, surprisingly, not a single thought, nor emotion, ran through my mind as I bent over to pick it up.
Feeling the tingling sensation of the sphere as a layer of frost spread across my bare hands, which would have instantaneously turned the hands of any ordinary man into a block of ice, I poured the remaining water onto it, thawing the outer layer- leaving behind the repulsive sight in all its horror.
A nauseating rotten stench wafted out as soon as the exterior drifted off into smoke.
Not sparing another glance at the object in my hand, I chucked it into my mouth before swallowing hard. The tongue melted as soon as it touched the back of my mouth and with an abhorrently bitter metallic taste, it streamed down my throat.
A chilling sensation crawled down my esophagus, across my stomach into my intestines, and finally spread out through my blood vessels. My senses dulled as the functions of my body started going haywire.
-Fuu.
However, whether it be due to Resilience, it only felt like a calming cold rather than the excruciatingly painful experience I had written in my novel, and only after a few seconds, all my senses returned to normal, and a turbid mist seeped out through the pores in my skin.
'Status'
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Name: Keith Savant
[The Magician](Unawakened)
Disposition: Mortal Body
{Aperture} <H> (Nebula) |Stable|
Level: 0 (Tier 0) [Exp 0/10]
Origin: Root 7
Rank: F-
> Force: F-
Strength 7
Agility 8
Endurance 25
> Energy: F-
Vitality 21
Intuition 10
> Psyche: G+
Flux 0
Intelligence 13
> Spirit: F-
Charm 10
Luck 27
Free Attribute Points: 0
Skills:
[1. Frost]
-----
Just as I expected, I had obtained the skill. My Endurance also went up slightly, though not as much as it would have gone up if I hadn't had 'The Magician'.
As I thought of the skill, a detailed panel appeared in front of me.
-----
[Frost
Can lower the temperature of fluids to and below their freezing points. Can control frozen matter to a certain degree.
Proficiency: 0.00%(Novice)]
-----
-Haa....
I found it exhausting how I had racked my brain for hours on end into making the status panel, yet had barely put in any effort to do so for skills, just inputting the minimum required, and explaining that I had done so for the freedom of usage by the characters.
Now that I had gotten what I'd come here for I began my return, whilst turning the torch off again.
-Creak. Thud.
Closing the hatch after I had walked out, I was greeted with a pale blue sky. Although the sun hadn't come up yet, it wouldn't be too long till it did.
Wiping the sweat that had gathered on my forehead, I felt the need to pick up my pace and jogged towards the cleared path. Following the wide road winding up the side mountain, I trudged through the trail in the direction of the lake.
Walking out of the knee-level bushes that surrounded the area around the lake, I began thinking of the next few steps of the preparation needed to execute my plan.
Moving forward I reached the edge of the lake and hunched over, placing my left hand on the frozen surface.
'Frost'
I thought in my head, forming an image in my mind whilst closing my eyes. When I opened them again, just like what I had desired, cracks had spread out across its surface originating from my palm in the shape of a spiderweb.
Applying a subtle amount of force, I broke the pieces off, and a hole around 1 meter in diameter had been made in the thick ice layer covering the lake.
'Frost'
Peering into the waters below, I extended both my arms and closed my eyes again. Another image quickly formed in the void of my head, and soon enough I heard ripples being made in the lake's waters.
Looking down, I now held a large shard of ice the size of a laptop in my arms that gave off a dull white hue, clearly distinguishing itself from the others around it. Despite the fact that I couldn't obtain its details due to not having complete access to the system or an observation skill, I knew straight away that it was what I was aiming to get.
'Two down, one to go.'
Smiling as I held the piece of ice, I placed it in the plastic bag, before using Frost to freeze the lake over again.
Stepping back, I made sure that the surface appeared about even, and that it would be difficult to spot any difference between the area I had broken off compared to the rest of the lake.
Shifting my head around to ensure that there was no one else around, I made my way back to the cottage since I had a very little amount of time before everyone woke up.