SWNOVELXO Chapter 22: New Skill Options
Kim was beside herself. First Patricia said that she only cared for those with that extra organ between their legs, but then offers herself to Kim as a payment for what she feels she owes Kim. Whatever Kim has done in the past, whatever views and opinions she has, she would not either make herself a prostitute, nor would she solicit one. Aside from the fact that she doesn't need to do anything like that in order to get someone in her bed, she personally didn't care for the taste even the idea of doing that left in her mouth.
Patricia somehow just knew what buttons of hers to push, when, and how to get a rise out of her. She couldn't say how Patricia knew that, but had to acknowledge that she was. However, she couldn't dismiss Patricia saying that she owed Kim a favor. In this world, there's no telling when they might need something like that. Especially with how they didn't know what they might encounter later.
Yet, at the same time, she didn't want to see Patricia again. She couldn't say why, but she would be fine if their paths never crossed again.
Even though they'd left those two a while ago by going up the stairs and both Pats took the way they'd entered that room, she just couldn't seem to get her off of her mind and out of her head. All she could hope for at the moment was that they would come across something she'd be able to take her pent up emotions out on. However, the hallways were deserted. There wasn't even a kobold for her to make a bloody smear with.
They walked through the hallways, encountered various rooms and decided as a group which path to take, but there wasn't anything they'd found that would either help them or that they could fight.
After a while, Jonas had them rest. Apparently they'd been walking so much that Jonas was almost out of stamina, which meant that Kim was probably low on it as well. So, she accepted that they needed to take a break from their searching.
However, as she watched Jonas, she could tell that they both had different ideas of what constituted 'taking a break' with how Jonas was examining a wall closely, occasionally tapping a stone block with the hilt of his dagger. She couldn't fathom what Jonas was up to, so she settled herself down to try and get some rest. She knew that she needed to be well rested if they came across any creatures that would attack them or were just a threat to them.
However, it seemed like the rest of her team weren't as interested in resting. Elin and Elmo were busy talking about something Kim couldn't quite make out with how quiet they were, but could still hear them talking. Then the tapping of the stone blocks also disrupted Kim's attempts at resting. Which she found the bigger irritation, because with Elmo and Elin, that could become background noise and eventually she could just ignore it, but Jonas' tapping was irregular and was much louder than Elmo or Elin.
Finally after what felt like around half an hour or so, she had enough of that tapping.
"What the hell are you doing?" she snapped.
"I hear an airflow on the other side of this wall, so I'm checking to see if there might be a secret door or something," Jonas replied, tapping another block.
"What's with the tapping then?" she asked, standing up so she could walk over to him, as if she couldn't rest, she might as well talk with him about what he was doing. If nothing else, it should help her get her mind off of Patricia and what really annoyed her about that girl.
"I tap the blocks to see if there's nothing behind the block. If there isn't, then that means I should be by the secret door. However, each time I tap the wall, the sound comes back as a solid ring. When I find what I'm looking for, then it'll be a hollow sound. I'm moving as quickly as I can, but I still have to go slowly, otherwise I might miss where it is," Jonas explained.
"No chance to do it quieter, is there?" Kim asked, confident he was going to be a while.
"Sorry, this is the best I can do," Jonas said, tapping another block.
Growling, Kim stalked back to where she had been. As long as he was doing that, she knew she wasn't going to get much rest. However, she though she could at least examine her stats and see if anything came to mind for her to ask the tutorial about.
Though, she didn't care to let any of the others know what she was doing, so she tried seeing if she had to speak in order to communicate with the 'tutorial' since it did reply directly in her mind anyway.
[Status] she thought to herself, not sure what to expect, although she had at least expected something, so when nothing came up, she couldn't help but feel more annoyed.
[Tutorial?] she asked, hoping she doesn't feel stupid after this if it doesn't work as well.
[Is there any other way of checking my stats without saying 'status' verbally?]
Kim waited for the tutorial to continue, but when it was clear to her that it wasn't going to say anything more, she knew she'd have to say something herself.
[So, what is the other way?] Kim asked.
Kim wished the tutorial was a physical being, because she'd like to wring its neck right then. Especially because while it didn't really sound like a male or female voice, with how unhelpful it was, she was certain it was male. She could just imagine the satisfaction she'd get from squeezing the life out of it if she could.
[Can you show me my status?] Kim asked, after letting herself fantasize for a minute. After all, she still had things she needed to take a look at.
Kim's system – Fighter system
HP 75/75
Stamina 32
Level 2
EXP 57/300
Str 20
Dex 19
Vit 18
Con 15
Int 15
Wis 10
Agi 20
Endurance 18
Physical Resistance 15%
Magical Resistance 5%
Skills:
Weapon Proficiency
Bastard Sword 73/100
Shield Proficiency
Armor Proficiency
Plate Armor II 75/300
Leather Armor II 75/300
Metal/stone/wood Expertise
Unarmed Combat III 145/300
Abilities:
Shield Bash – 4 stamina 0/100
Charge – 3 stamina/10 feet 0/100
Reversal Cut – 7 stamina 60/100
Iai Cut -10 stamina 10/100
You can learn a new unarmed combat skill. Would you like to choose or see the options?
Kim was a little surprised. She hadn't expected to see a potential new skill at this point. [What are the options?] Kim thought at her status screen.
She waited, but nothing happened again. Wishing that there was at least someone or something to squeeze the life out of in front of her right then, she was barely able to hold in a scream of frustration. Though, she was sure she probably needed to calm down or her blood pressure might cause some problems right then. Besides, it would affect Elin, and she didn't want to be a bother to Elin. At least right now, she added with a grin.
Shaking her head, she decided to see if the tutorial would have to be the go between. Although, it did make the whole process aggravating for her.
[Tutorial show me the options for the new skills I can learn?] Kim asked, suddenly feeling a lot calmer. Though, she wondered if she might be like an ocean current right then. Calm on the surface, but very dangerous underneath, where the current was churning anything caught in its grip.
While the options seemed interesting, Kim knew she had to know what the details of the skills were, since she might not have in mind what the skill could actually turn out to be like.
[What are the details of the skills?] Kim asked.
Kim hesitated. Combat Dance would have been nice against the skeletons, but at the same time, the Unarmed Disarm had her interest. After all, the weapons she has could potentially be broken during a fight or something, and this would allow her to potentially gain a new weapon without having to make one herself or hope to find one just laying around somewhere.
Kim was about to chose, when a thought came to her mind. [Can I combine my skills with other skills I have?]
As the cheerful voice said that, another thought came to Kim, one that was inspired of what happened with Elin.
[What will happen if I exceed my total stamina amount?] Kim asked, hoping that it wouldn't be as bad as it had been for Elin with her exceeding her MP.