Chapter 2: Damsel in Target

Stepping inside the library once again was an interesting experience. For the last three years, I have spent almost all of my awake time in here, the the library of the Silver Tower. But for the first time, I had the ability to soak in its impressive sight, to understand the significance of the mass that was here. Endless lines of shelves, each filled with thick, leather-bound tomes, representing the biggest repository of information known to mankind.

And it wasn’t just magical knowledge that it contained. It supposedly kept at least a copy of each book in existence, representing humanity’s collective wisdom. Ironically, only my own spark of wisdom allowed me to fully comprehend the treasures that I had been carrying for the last three years. With my abysmal stats, previously stuck to one, I failed to realize the importance of it, though even if I did, not like I would have been able to benefit. With an intelligence score of 1, learning how to tie my shoes was a miracle. Recognizing the individual letters, I was able to learn only after years of private lessons.

But, having a better understanding of everything wasn’t always positive. For example, I also realized the true importance of the Silver Library. The state of our world had made it a necessity. When losing towns and villages to the monster hordes wasn’t worthy of anything other than marketplace gossip, ensuring the safety of information was good thinking.

Luckily, protected by the walls of the biggest magical school in the world, I didn’t have a reason to worry about the dangers of the wild, at least not in the short term.

I took a deep breath before walking forward towards the main desk, while trying to copy my unbalanced shambling, thanking the deities that I had the chance to select subterfuge as my first skill. It was the only edge I had to keep my new status under wraps until I could understand the limits and the impacts. The first years of my life were filled with experiments, and I had no intention to restart them. The experience had been harrowing enough for my idiot past, and I had no intention to risk it once again.

When I arrived at my destination, I was happy to note that the head librarian was away. The head librarian was a sharp woman in her forties, a battlefield veteran to the boot, and I wasn’t sure that my new acting skills would be enough to avoid her sharp attention. Even with my spotty recollection, I could remember her as a dangerous woman, and it was impossible to guess how she would react if she noticed my expanded capabilities.

One of her senior assistants manning the main desk instead. A shortish, brown-haired guy that I failed to remember. Luckily it was just expected of me. I stood in front of him silently until I caught his attention.

“What are you waiting for, you log, go collect the discarded books,” he murmured in annoyance, not bothering to give me anything other than a glance, which suited me just fine. Until I could maximize my subterfuge skills, the fewer interactions I had with people, the better. Well, fewer interactions, discounting the one unique context that gave me my first experience points. I still wasn’t completely sure that was the only way I could gain experience, but that was one experiment I had no complications to run.

I grabbed the nearest empty cart and drove it towards the back of the library, to a section where the discarded copies of the less valuable books held, well-away from the majority of students and other employees. And while I hoped that I would come across a scene similar to one that gave me the first taste of power, I also knew that it wasn’t very likely, especially in the middle of the day, when the library was in its most crowded.

I was searching for a small alcove where I could read undisturbed, discovering more about my new status. Luckily, working for years in the library, netted me a few spots where I could hide to read a book or two. And I knew that no one would be looking for me thanks to my reputation.

Reading a book with my enhanced stats was an unbelievable experience. Previously, each letter was a puzzle that I struggle to decipher, and any sentence longer than eight words might as well be a mountain in terms of the challenge it represented. Now, words jumped from the page, sentences forming easily digestible sections that I could decipher with a glance. Truly a magical experience.

I had used my obscure location and newly enhanced reading skills, trying to discover more about my new condition and my power levels. Apparently, I managed to luck myself into a set of respectable stats. From what I have read, it seemed that the stat increase could be only driven by Achievements, and everyone had their own unique set of achievements, meaning stat increase was inherently driven by luck.

Moreover, my stats, with a minimum of six for each, was below average compared to the general population, but still workable in terms of usual standards, while my wisdom score was quite a bit above average. It seemed that a score of five was what an Abnormal had on average, and ten was what they could reach ultimately. And while there was no limit for the Melius, most didn’t surpass the twenties, meaning sixteen for Wisdom was quite respectable.

“Finally something going right in my fucking life,” I murmured when I realized that. After twenty years of torture, I was long due for some good news. That didn’t mean that I wouldn’t focus on enhancing my stats, but the real priority was my Level, which would unlock more skills. Yes, it was possible to learn things without skill, but only through extended practice that would take weeks and months, something skills that not only shortened significantly, but also allowed to break limits that would otherwise limit those.

With my newfound attraction towards reading, I barely realized the passage of time until the library became too dark to read. Only then I realized that it was pushing close to the sunset, and the section I was currently in wasn’t important enough to have a lot of lamps, and using one of those risked to give my position. With a sigh, I grabbed my cart, pulled several books from the shelves to give the impression that I had been working, and slowly drove back towards the main desk. It was for the best if I didn’t disappear completely from the view of my coworker. The less attention I got, the better.

I had been planning to drop the books on the usual desk, letting the others sort the stuff, but a sharp hiss derailed me from my plans. I barely kept myself from turning towards the source, recognizing her from the last night. Marianne of the Blue, the most accomplished student of healing arts in the Silver Tower. Her focus on the gentler side of the magic was the only reason I was still alive. If it wasn’t for her last-minute intervention, I would have ended up dead due to my pitiful amount of HP at that point in time. And most importantly, she was part of the reason I unlocked the first lock on the road to true power.

Still, just because she saved my life and unlocked true potential didn’t mean that she would get away without a consequence for her involvement in my near-death experience. After everything that happened to me, I wasn’t feeling particularly generous. But my current position wasn’t conductive for that particular payback, so I continued my trek. Common sense told me to take a turn towards the more crowded parts of the library.

Instead, I took a left turn, taking a path leading to another rarely-visited part of the library. If it had been Cornelia who was behind me, I wouldn’t dare to take such a risk, but considering Marianne was the one who saved my life, risks were more manageable.

Her footsteps following me after my turn made me certain that our encounter was not accidental. Still, dashing away was not an option. I needed to make sure about my status, and she was an excellent target for it. So, I continued walking, acting like I wasn’t hearing her footsteps. My old self definitely wouldn’t have noticed, after all.

Only when Marianne was directly behind me when I decided to stop. But she failed to notice my sudden movement in time, and collided with my back before she could react. It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but the line of writing in front of me went a long way to mollify that mistake.

[+10 Experience]

I was rather certain that the experience wasn’t about the accident itself, as they weren’t exactly rare in my history. No, I had a feeling that the sudden gain was about the pair of firm globes, pressing against my back rather distinctively. She really had an amazing chest.

The best thing to do would be pulling back, and act stupid until Marianne could walk away. But I needed to validate my assumptions about experience gain. Luckily, there was no one around, leaving me free to act creatively. I have turned back rapidly, so that before she could react, I was face to face with my stalker. She opened her mouth in shock, trying to pull back, but I was quicker. I faked yelping in panic as I waved my arms, and my hands accidentally ended up on her chest! Such misfortune!

[+50 Experience]

I had been expecting her to pull back rather rapidly, but I hadn’t been expecting her feet to tangle into her robe, destroying her balance. She started falling back, and panic rose in my heart. Even in my idiot state -mostly due to sheer experience- I had known about the dangers of head-first falling. I tried to grab her as quick as I could, not wanting to injure one of the most important students of the school.

Since my hands were already there, grabbing her robe was purely reflex.

Her robe was probably made from magically-enhanced silk or similar material, strong enough to resist the sudden pull. But the same couldn’t be said for the fancy lace ties on the front. I watched with a detached fascination as the front of her robe ripped, giving me a glimpse of what was underneath. A lacy corset that gently wrapped her curves, ending low enough to create a rather impressive cleavage.

[+50 Experience]

The smart thing to do was to gently help her stand up while marking the experiment as a success. After all, the experience I had gained was nothing to scoff at, considering the others had to risk their lives in the wilderness against the monsters to make the similar gains, where the smallest mistake might result in death. And, in a school filled with female students and servants, I would no doubt have other opportunities.

But riding in the exaltation of another experience burst, I was more willing to take risks. So, when her arms reached towards the front of her robe in a blind panic, trying to cover her body, I decided to push for more. “Sorry,” I murmured in panic as I let go of her robe, leaning to my recently-maximized subterfuge skill to make it seem like I was an idiot, panicking against what had just happened.

Thanks to the angle of her body, she started falling once more. And, her hands were too far away to reach back to soften her fall. “Help, you idiot,” she yelped in panic. Who I was to disregard the heartful cry of a beautiful maiden -guessing- asking for my help. So, my right hand darted towards her chest, and grabbed the edge of her corset.

She let out a gasp as the corset cut into her back due to sudden spot, but I really welcomed the next noise. A certain ripping sound, proving that her corset was weaker than her robe. This time, I reacted before she could react, leaning forward to wrap my hand around her waist. I was quick enough to prevent her from falling, but wasn’t quick enough to save her corset. As a result, the ripped remains of her corset was in my right hand while I lowered her on the ground with my left.

[+100 Experience]

[Achievement: Manufactured Mishap. Proactively create an accident that ends up in a visual feast. +200 Experience, +1 Manipulation]

I didn’t exactly know why a smile popped into my face. My guess was it was a close call between another stat increase, and the amazing sight in front of my eyes. The outrage grew in her face as she opened her mouth to cry, but a sudden comprehension stopped her. She must have realized that a cry would pull the others to our location, increasing the number of people who had captured the amazing sight of her voluptuous breasts.

I spent a second to commit the amazing view of her curvy body on my memory while trying to guess just what portion I could cover by my hand. At most half, I was guessing.

Another inspiration struck at that moment. Did I have to keep that question on a theoretical level?

For a moment, I was shocked by my own decision. I was tangled in a very interesting situation with Marianne, with her clothes destroyed by the earlier situation I had engineered. With my left arm trapped under her, I was the perfect excuse, so I pushed a silly expression to my face, and started falling forward with an exaggerated movement. Her panic was positively delicious.

I let my knee to hit first, receiving a sudden spike of pain thanks to the stone floor. Then, when I tried to put my right hand on the ground, it accidentally ended up on her chest, my fingers sinking deep into her chest. It was a miracle I managed to keep myself from laughing against her shocked expression.

[+200 Experience]

I didn’t blame her when she pushed my right arm away with a strength that was boosted by her panic, but that move left me without support once again, and I started falling towards her once more, her panic growing stronger as our faces got closer. She tried to reach to my chest before the contact, but she was too slow, which made me guess that Agility wasn’t one of her best stats. But her stat distribution wasn’t as important as my lips pressing against hers.

[+400 Experience]

The experience boost was almost as welcome as the sensation I got from her beautiful lips, though I didn’t have much to savor the sensation, as I felt two hands on my chest, followed by a rather painful push on my chest, too strong to be just physical.

[HP 52/62]

It wasn’t too deadly thanks to my recent power boost, but just a day ago, it would have pushed me near death. So, once again I relied on my subterfuge skill, gasping pathetically like I was on the edge of the underworld. “Oh for god’s sake,” she exclaimed, her panic tinged with exasperation as she stood up. A second later, she was leaning towards me, her hands glowing blue as a healing spell spread through my body. Meanwhile, I was enjoying the spectacular view of her breasts, hanging freely.

[HP 62/62]

[+100 Experience]

[Achievement: False Flag. Garner the sympathy of a woman you recently angered. +500 Experience, +2 Charisma]

“Pain, gone,” I murmured, trying to sound surprised.

“Idiot,” she murmured in exasperation as she stood up. She glanced to her corset for a moment before giving it up as a lost cause, and focused on closing her robe despite its ripped state. I continued lying on the ground in fake pain, enjoying the accidental flashes as she tried to fix her robe. A minute later, she sighed in desperation and murmured a small chant, and her robe repaired itself. Not enough to pass a detailed examination, cluing me that it wasn’t one of the areas she was strong in. She sent one last glare towards me, she stuffed the remains of her corset into her robe and dashed away, leaving me alone.

I just lay on the ground, amused by the fact that she didn’t have the time to mention why she was following me in the first place. I wondered whether I would be able to set up a similar accident the next time.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

I spent the next hour after my encounter with Marianne to cart books around, trying to be visible while acting like my usual bumbling self. I was very aware of the fragility of my position, and the less attention I had on my actions, the better. After the earlier risk I had taken, it was only prudent.

But there was one important detail that was tickling my mind.

[Experience 2810/3000]

Just a dash more experience points, and I would have another level. And while patience was a virtue, after spending twenty years of my life in a static condition, stuck in a rut, waiting for another day sounded like torture. Which was why I kept my eyes open, looking for another opportunity to gain some experience points.

Of course, that wasn’t all I had done. Seeing Marianne’s spell raised another ambition in me, casting magic. So, as I walked around the library, I had been also doing my best to pull my mana to the surface. I wasn’t expecting to start coughing fireballs and spitting tornados without a corresponding skill, but simpler things should be a possibility. So whenever there was no one around, I reached for my mana, trying to do something.

Probably thanks to my extremely high wisdom stat, and an overall respectable level of my other mental aspects, after a couple of hours of dedicated practice, I was able to create a weak telekinesis effect. From what I had read, such an achievement would have taken weeks for the others, but also it was usually done by children who were yet to reach their puberty, so, whether it was a success was arguable.

The effect was stronger than I was expecting, enough to throw away a book violently, but on the negative side, I had learned that fact because of my limited control, actually slamming a book to a wall, hard enough to destroy it. Luckily, there was no one around to see it.

Still, however weak and unwieldy, I had access to magic, and it would doubtlessly come useful. That spell devoured a significant portion of my remaining mana, but I didn’t let it bother me. The benefits were too important to ignore.

That opportunity came soon after, in the form of a student with a distinctive pale blond hair, cut in shoulder-length student, sitting alone in a concealed desk, her attention firmly on the book in front of her. Helga, I recognized her. Disjointed memories of other students insulting and bullying her came soon after, because she was not only a foreigner, but also she belonged to a merchant family, and not a particularly rich one either. The only reason she was able to gain admission to Silver Tower was because of her prodigious talent, passing many of the noble students.

Of course, that fact hadn’t been noted with good humor by the other students, who weren’t very happy about being shown-off by a foreign commoner. And, to her unluckiness, her strength lied more on the research and other academic topics than combat, preventing her from responding effectively to her bullies. The other thing I remembered was she never treated me badly, though she had been dismissive enough.

If I was a nice man, I would have let her, a fellow bullying victim who had been suffering like I had been, to study in peace. Unfortunately for her, I was not a nice person.

I stood far away, making sure to put two large bookshelves between us, enough to catch a glimpse of her while making sure I wouldn’t be observed. It wasn’t ideal, considering my telekinesis ability was highly sensitive to distance, but keeping hidden was more important than accurate spellcasting in my situation.

My heartbeat picked up speed, only partially about the danger I was in. The rest was the anticipation about what I would find. Helga was a beautiful girl, but her body was a total mystery due to her habit of wearing loose clothing. Most students had thought that it was because she was quite fat, expressed by their regular insults. But there was a voice inside suggesting me that it might not be as accurate. And I couldn’t wait to see if it was true…

A deep breath later, I used my nascent arcane abilities to reach towards her, trying to focus on the top button that was holding her robe in place. With that, I hit my first snag, namely her aura, interfering with my spell. The books had warned me about that, but I had been hoping that her lack of alertness would blunt its effects enough to give me a movement area. Unfortunately, that didn’t work as much as I had hoped, or maybe my magical power was worse than I had been hoping for, or maybe, due to constant bullying, she had a stronger resistance active subconsciously.

Regardless of the reason, it was a barrier that I needed to overcome, so I focused on my spell, putting extra power behind it. And it worked… In a fashion…

My aim was to unlatch a few of her buttons, which I succeed. What I wasn’t planning for was the violent speed of my success, only parting her robe violently, making her buttons fly around, but also managed to achieve a similar effect on the blouse she was wearing underneath, though this time, only up to halfway.

Still, it was enough to reveal the corset she was wearing underneath, confirming my suspicions. The body she was hiding underneath was truly beautiful, enough to send my heart overdrive. Though my elation wasn’t only about that.

[+50 Experience]

[Achievement: Malfunctioning Magic. Use an uncontrolled magic spell for your personal benefit. +200 Experience, +1 Precision]

[Level Up!]

I wasn’t expecting her to react as quickly as she did, though. Her first reflex was to crouch behind the table while her eyes roamed the room rapidly. Trying to use the situation to my advantage before I retreated, I tried to push her once more, but this time, my spell fizzled long before it even neared her body. Either she was even stronger than I had been expecting, or I vastly overestimated my fledging strength.

Regardless of the situation, it was the time to pull back. The last thing before I pulled back from my vantage point was her buttons, attaching them back to her robe with a bare wave of her hand, showing just how much I still needed to improve.

I was driving my cart in my usual idiot disguise when I heard rapid footsteps closing to my direction, making me panic slightly. I knew that she hadn’t seen me, meaning she probably felt the direction the spell was coming from. Yet another complication to take care in my future actions.

I couldn’t help but feel intimidated when she suddenly appeared in front of me, her expression bleak. “Have you seen anyone here,” she barked, and I raised a trembling finger towards distance while using my recently maximized basic acting skills to a maximum degree. Luckily, she didn’t have a reason to suspect me, and followed my direction with anger sharp on her face.

I let out a relaxed sigh before smiling. I had just gained another level! And from the skill selection, the decision was almost trivial to pick Basic Arcana Magic. For most, it was a tool that was underused due to its limited combat applications, but in my situation, it was too useful to miss…

—————

[Level: 3 Experience: 3010 / 6000

Strength: 6 Charisma: 8

Precision: 7 Perception: 7

Agility: 6 Manipulation: 7

Speed: 6 Intelligence: 6

Endurance: 7 Wisdom: 16

HP: 96 / 96 Mana: 20 / 135 ]

SKILLS

[Basic Subterfuge (25/25)

Basic Arcana [1/25 ]