Status

POV: Kaycee

Kaycee looked at her stats page one more time before deciding how to spend her AP.

"Okay, EDS, let's spend my AP like this," she said.

Available AP:

0

Stats:

Vitality: 17

Absorption: 17

Strength: 17

Agility: 22

Resistance: 12 + 8 = 20

Stamina: 22 + 5 = 27

Luck: 12 + 4 = 16

Stealth: 32 + 3 = 35

"Resistance? Are you sure?" EDS questioned. "That's not something I would expect either of your Specializations to spend many points on."

"Well, I figure it can't hurt to be tougher, right?" Kaycee replied.

"I suppose that is correct. Okay, the Advancement Points have been applied."

"Wonderful, thank you!" Kaycee said cheerfully.

It was hard for her to describe how adding those advancement points made her feel, other than... good. She felt good. Better than she did before, for sure.

Kaycee closed that window but left the other two open. One displayed her inventory and the new weapon she had received, the Knight's Armament. The bow was sleek and simple, and the fact that it was unbreakable was a huge plus. The upper and lower limbs of the bow were both a beautiful sky blue, while the grip and arrow rest were black on three sides and the same color of blue on the side facing the string. Immediately above and below the grip, the limbs were a vivid green—the color of life, to her.

What stood out even more to Kaycee was the arrow that came with it. Its shaft was mostly a blackish-blue, except for a small part a couple of inches below the arrowhead, which was a deep green. The fletching was black, and the nock, from the top of the fletching down, was the same bright blue as the upper and lower limbs of the bow. The arrowhead itself seemed unique to her. It was sort of rounded but extremely sharp at the tip, as it should be. However, it didn't look like a typical arrowhead; instead, it looked like a leaf—which, honestly, she thought was pretty cool.

Even more than the unique design of the arrow, Kaycee couldn't get over the ability she now had to duplicate that arrow as many times as needed. Well, it depended on the amount of POWER she had absorbed, but still, it was pretty cool. This ability didn't come from her Specializations or her Title; it came from having chosen the ranged version of the Knight's Armament.

EDS had even told her that she could change the bow into other types of ranged weapons if she wished and that the arrow would change to whichever ammo she needed. The same rule applied: if she transformed the bow into a gun, she just needed to put the arrow-turned-bullet into its magazine, and then she could duplicate that bullet until she could no longer absorb POWER.

The other window displayed her overall stats and abilities, with updated stats now that she had spent her available Advancement Points:

Kaycee Ellis

-Level: 5

Title:

-Blossom Knight - Lv. 2

Specializations:

-Scout

-Healer

Available AP:

-0

Stats:

-Vitality: 17

-Absorption: 17

-Strength: 17

-Agility: 22

-Resistance: 20

-Stamina: 27

-Luck: 16

-Stealth: 35

Scout Skills & Abilities:

-Weapons Mastery - Passive

--You can master any weapon. Proficiency with each weapon increases with use. As a Scout, your proficiency with ranged weapons will increase 100% faster than melee weapon proficiency

-Made for Recon - Passive

--Increases Stealth by 20

--Increases Agility and Stamina by 10

--Increases Strength by 5

-Absorb - Active

--You can absorb ambient energy and use it to enhance your physical abilities

-Imbue - Active

--You can imbue your weapons with absorbed ambient energy, strengthening them and causing them to do more damage

Healer Skills & Abilities:

-Healing Aura - Passive

--Heals everyone in your party, as well as yourself, for 1% of maximum health every second

-Mending Touch

--Heals the target. Length of time and strength of healing is dependent upon Absorption and Luck.

Blossom Knight Skills & Abilities:

-Abundant Life - Passive

--Allows the Blossom Knight to rapidly increase the growth rate and manipulate the movement of all nearby plant life

Kaycee closed both windows and looked around. She was still walking around the campus. She stopped at a bench in the grass and took a seat. The sky was full of huge, fluffy white clouds, and the air was cool and refreshing. A breeze floated calmly through the campus, ever so slightly ruffling her hair. The warmth of the sunshine on her face felt rejuvenating. Not having slept last night should have made her doze off, but she didn't feel tired at all. She felt alive.

Maybe it was because of the energy she could feel all around her. She sensed it in every tree and every blade of grass—in every flower, too, which were steadily becoming more numerous the longer she sat there. Kaycee wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to that. Flowers had been sprouting everywhere she'd walked so far, in a large area around her. She had already taken off her shoes awhile ago and had been quite enjoying the feel of the grass on her bare feet. She couldn't imagine what other people in the area must think, seeing flowers randomly and rapidly sprouting up out of the ground.

She guessed this must be part of her Abundant Life ability. She hadn't thought this would happen, but she actually kind of loved it. So much had happened; it was unbelievable.

Kaycee wasn't really sure what to do next. Her finals were over, and she no longer had classes. Soon, she'd be out of the sorority house and living on her own somewhere, working some job. The thought of working a regular job made her cringe. How could she do that now, with all these abilities? Surely, there must be something she could do, something special, that would earn her money to live on.

"Are you okay? Your heart rate is rising," EDS observed.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Kaycee replied. "I was just thinking about what I'm going to do now that school is over. I hate the idea of going back to normal life and just working like the world didn't just completely change..."

"Is it income that you're worried about?" EDS asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. I gotta be able to eat, you know?"

"I must have failed to tell you, but income shouldn't be an issue for any of the Knights of the Great King," EDS explained.

"Huh? Why?" Kaycee asked, curious.

"Once you reach Level 10, two things will happen related to potential income. First, you'll be able to obtain treasures and valuable items from the breaches you enter. Second, if you choose to, you can accept World Quests—quests that other people post," EDS elaborated.

"No one really knows about it yet, but soon enough, the world will learn about me. Regular people will be able to access the World Quest portal via the internet. Once I receive a request for aid, I will post it to any Knights in the area. If you accept one of the quests and complete it, you will receive whatever reward the quest offers."

"Again, this isn't going to happen today," EDS continued. "I can tell you that the news about the breaches and the Knights is now beginning to spread across the world, but it'll still be a short while before people calm down."

"So, are you like, some super powerful AI?" Kaycee wondered.

"I would appreciate it if you don't compare me to such base things as human-created artificial intelligence. I was created by the Great King Himself, and there is nothing artificial about me," EDS replied, somewhat indignant.

"Oh, I'm sorry, EDS. I didn't mean to offend you," Kaycee apologized.

"That's quite alright. I can see how you might make that connection. I was created for the sole purpose of being the Earth Defense System, and I am that system. However, I am also alive, and I have my own thoughts and feelings. My existence is not tied to a physical body like yours. Instead, I am present with every single Knight of the Great King. And I am honored to be trusted with such a role as this."

"Wow. Well, thanks for telling me all that," Kaycee said with a smile. She didn't know if EDS could actually see her, but it couldn't hurt.

"Actually... EDS, can you see me and the other Knights?" she asked.

"In a manner of speaking. I can't see like you do, but I am aware of where you are and what you're doing unless you intentionally keep me from knowing those things. I also have complete access to everything that is connected to a network, such as computers and other devices," EDS replied.

"You can access other people's devices?" Kaycee asked, surprised.

"I can access anything that is connected to the internet," EDS confirmed.

"Well, that's... kind of crazy. I'm glad you're one of the good guys, EDS," Kaycee admitted.

"Of course. This position would never have been trusted to anyone untrustworthy. The Great King is very wise," EDS assured her.