Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Skills

I came to my shift at Broken Mug when the inn was already full of people and noise. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Byron ran between the bar and the kitchen while the waitress served the tables.

I stood at the bar and waited for the innkeeper to return from the kitchen.

"Hi, Mr. Byron, am I late?" I asked him before he started tapping another beer.

"Korra. You're just on time. It looks like a busy night tonight," he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

I nodded. "So should I start now or...?"

"Definitely now. Go to the kitchen. I'll be with you in a moment," the innkeeper said.

I didn't want to keep him from working even more, so I walked around the bar and entered the kitchen through the flying door. I have already seen a few restaurant kitchens. After all, I earned extra money in restaurants as a waitress during my studies. This kitchen could not be compared to modern ones. It was old, but it looked homely, and like everything else in the inn, it was tidy. Apart from the dirty dishes in the tub on the ground, there was nothing to show poor hygiene.

Prepared food smelled in the kitchen as a pot of soup was cooked on a magic tool that looked like a hotplate, and meat was baked in something like a large oven. The scent in the room was mouth-watering, stimulating my stomach, which rumbled. That reminded me it had been quite a few hours since I had lunch. After all, it was already evening. Dinner time was approaching.

The kitchen door opened, and the innkeeper entered in a hurry. He quickly stirred and checked the soup and basted the meat in the oven.

"Okay, I should have shown you what to do and how this afternoon when we had more time, but there's nothing we can do now," Mr. Byron said, then pointed at the wooden tub. "There's a tub for dirty dishes. We don't wash it here, but outside. Take the tub and follow me."

If it were on Earth, I would definitely protest. The wooden tub itself was heavy, not to mention full of dishes. But I was in Eleaden now, and during my time here, I grew stronger. The innkeeper, whom I would have once considered loutish and rude, knew very well that carrying something like that would not be a problem for me, even though I was a woman.

From the kitchen, we walked down the hallway through the back door to the backyard. Besides the outhouses, as in the Broken Heart's backyard, was a well of drinking water. Drinkable, according to Byron, I had to trust him in that. However, at least at first glance, the water was clear. My only concern was the three outhouses near it.

The innkeeper did not explain much more to me. I got a rag from him, which they used here instead of a sponge, and a bottle of potion, which they added to the water instead of detergent. That was all. 

In Broken Heart, I forgot to verify Alyson's class, and now I almost forgot to check Byron too.

[Innkeeper: lvl 67]

I couldn't judge how good innkeeper Byron was because I didn't see many people's levels and classes. I had no one to compare him to. My level was high, but my skills were useless or after the exchange at a low level.

Instead of speculating on the innkeeper's capability and his inn's quality, I started washing dishes.

I soon found out how uncomfortable the work was as crouching by the tub and washing dishes in cold water with bare hands was very uncomfortable. I immediately missed my dishwasher, where I just put the dishes away until it was full. Yeah, you don't realize how much you get used to these things until you lose them.

I had to figure out myself that I needed another basket for clean dishes and a dry cloth to wipe it dry. Mr. Byron somehow forgot to tell me about that. When I returned to the kitchen with washed dishes, another pile of dirty dishes was waiting for me on the kitchen counter.

"Nice," the waitress rejoiced when she entered the kitchen and saw the washed dishes. She immediately threw herself at the basket. "Clean cutlery was running out."

After she found it in the basket, she ran out of the kitchen as fast as lightning. I didn't have time to say anything to her, not that I knew what to say. Instead of mumbling, I placed the clean dishes on the kitchen counter and the dirty ones in the tub.

It was not a pleasant evening for me, which the guests of the inn enjoyed. Unlike me, they had money. They had good jobs, and me? I did not. But I knew this wasn't the job I wanted to do. Just as I didn't want to do the laundry at a brothel, but I needed to start somewhere, I needed money.

Washing dishes was a monotonous job that did not require much effort or thought. I could imagine how invaluable someone with cleansing skill could be, but that was not my case. My good mood, which I had in the morning, had long since vanished, so I was glad when the innkeeper interrupted my work.

"That would be enough for today, Korra," said the innkeeper as I brought the last batch of clean dishes.

Finally, I rejoiced. "Have all the guests left yet?"

Byron laughed. "Not by far, but everyone who wanted dinner got it. Tess and I can do it ourselves, now."

"Okay, well," I hesitated. I had no idea how to ask Byron about the money without sounding like I only cared about my paycheck. Which was true.

Byron smiled. "I have a suggestion for you. Tonight's dinner is for sixteen coppers. You worked here for two-and-a-half hours. I'll give you dinner and nine coppers. What do you say?"

What could I say about that? It was a woefully small amount, but the innkeeper did not try to deceive me. I knew he was selling today's dinner at that price. I washed the dishes for two-and-a-half hours, even though it felt like ten. Nine coppers for two-and-a-half hours of work was not much. At least I had dinner.

But from the bright side, I was not hungry, and dinner was delicious.

With my stomach full, I took refuge in my room. It was amazing how satisfying it could be to take off shoes, but when a person is denied something for a long time, even little things like this were satisfying. I spread out on the bed and stretched, wanting nothing more than closing my eyes and falling asleep, jet I still needed to fix my General Skills.

General skills:

Eleaden Standard Language: lvl 9

Flight: lvl 1

Nerve Poison: lvl 6

Night Vision: lvl 18

Good Hearing: lvl 23

Unnatural Regeneration: lvl 36

Lioness Strength: lvl 4

Poison Resistance: lvl 3

Except for [Eleaden Standard Language], I wanted to get rid of everything. This skill was necessary for me. Otherwise, I wouldn't understand others. It was the only good thing that came out of the slave collar. The slave needed to understand the master's commands, so the system forced this skill on me. But there were definitely better ways. For example, learning to speak with Standard language.

It was on my to-do list. I wanted to learn to speak the local language on my own and without the help of a skill. Why? First, I had no idea when I would get into a situation where this skill would not work. Second, it took up a valuable place among General Skills. In time, I definitely wanted to replace it with something much more useful. 

But not now.

[Flight] What to say about an ability I couldn't use? It wasn't an ability that would magically allow me to fly, but it improved my physical flight. However, with the wings placed above my ass, it was impossible with such a small wingspan. Dungreen wanted me to have this ability, making me often practice flying. I just fluttered my wings for hours, but I never really soared into the air. So I didn't get a single level. On the other hand, I learned to control my wings well.

I don't know what kind of animal owned a tail as I had, but I gained the [Nerve Poison] skill after my tail grew. This skill allowed me to release a cloud of nerve poison from my tail. It was a very dangerous poison, which fortunately was not lethal at such a low skill level. That's what I found out when the bastard let me use the poison on the other slaves. I cried, begging him not to have to, but with a collar around my neck, I couldn't disobey his orders. Fortunately, no one died, not because of me. Still, the others suffered even more than they had to, thanks to me.

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[Poisson Resistance] was a skill, which I was allowed to keep even though it was a skill that had nothing to do with my mutations. I only gained it because of my repeated exposure to my own poison.

[Night Vision] was not a skill I gained from my stay in the basement. Although there were no windows to let in daylight, there was no darkness. The fool needed to see his research, so the cellar was lit, albeit poorly. I got this skill after my eyes changed color. Again, I was clueless about what monster had eyes like me. The irises of my eyes were green with a purple circumference and veins intersecting the green now.

Thanks to my ears, on the contrary, I heard much better. Not to mention that they were huge ears. However, [Good Hearing] was a skill that made my hearing even more sensitive. I quickly found out it was something I didn't want to have. I didn't need to hear the suffering of the other slaves even louder with even more details.

Strangely, as my horns grew, I got Dungreen's favorite skill, [Unnatural Regeneration]. Yes, I healed faster, but to the madman's delight, my body also mutated more quickly. Even so, it took weeks. For me, it meant the same amount of pain, only in a shorter time. For Dungreen, speed up his experiments. This was the skill I blamed for my resurrections.

[Lioness Strength] I got with a change of my hair. First mutation for which I knew the originator thanks to this skill. In the basement, I did not have many opportunities to train this skill.

However, I had many better skills to try that the jerk had no idea about. I also gained a lot of magical skills after my last mutation. The origin of the essence Dungreen inject in me was unknown to me, but I was sure of one thing after today. My heart was not mine.

When I woke up on the banks of the river Traim, my heart was racing, it wanted to jump out of my chest when I met Mr. Scoresby, and even during a quiet night, its beating echoed in my ears. I blamed it on my anxiety, my fear, but after today I was sure. I had a pleasant day, a quiet day, but my heartbeat still rang in my ears. I could feel it in my chest without having to put my hand on it. My heart was much stronger now, magical, and also the cause of my last death.

My stronger heartbeat was uncomfortable, but it was something I had to get used to, just like I got used to other mutations. The first one was the harshest, and I'm not afraid to admit that I cried a lot. I think it was after the fourth essence injection that I didn't weep over the change of my ears. A stronger heart was just another minor obstacle in my life.

Nevertheless, my mutations gave me much better skills than Dungreen expected. Because of the wings, I could have [Maneuverability], [Great Balance] thanks to the tail. They were excellent skills in themselves, but the strange thing was that the [Equilibrium] skill was available to me thanks to both of them.

Because of my eyes, I had access to [Peripheral vision], and my ears allowed me to choose [Awareness]. By combining them, the system offered me the skill [Stability]. These were impressive skills, enabling me to have an excellent orientation in space and stability of my body. However, after all those mutations, I gained access to the [Perfect Equilibrium]. This skill was a combination of the previous four, the pinnacle of what my body now allowed me right now.

Perfect Equlibirum: lvl 1

Passive I

Even with extra limbs, you have the potential to achieve the perfect balance, perfect coordination of the body in space. You can say goodbye to unwanted falls because you can twist like a tumbler, move like a dancer, or land with the grace of a cat.

I wasn't sure that I could achieve a perfect balance with this skill, but I was willing to try it. I had no illusions that this was a unique skill. After all, it was a General Skill. Anyone could get it, but which profession required such a balance? Maybe an acrobat? Of course, warriors, robbers, perhaps everyone who had to fight something needed to keep their balance. Through training and years of effort, they could undoubtedly gain this ability. If I forgot about the months of suffering, the skill fell into my lap utterly free.

And it wasn't the only one.

It was a mystery to me why Dungreen never asked me about these skills. Why didn't he study them? Because in my opinion there was potential in them. Being able to have a skill that I would otherwise have had a hard time gaining was terrific. Anyway, if he didn't ask, I didn't tell him. He might have known about the deeper effect of mutations on skills, and he simply didn't care, but I thought he had no idea. I liked the thought of knowing something he didn't, and I was determined to take it as a secret to the grave.

I almost succeeded.

Another such skill was [Spatial Domain], which was a combination of my spatial perception skills.

Spatial Domain: lvl 1

Passive I

You are the mistress of the surrounding space. Nothing in your domain will escape your attention. The space that you can consider your own reaches 2m from your body, and as you grow stronger, your reach will grow too.

When I chose this skill, the perception of the world around me immediately changed. In the sphere with a radius of 4 m, of which I was the center, I perceived absolutely everything. I knew where I was in the room, where the bed was, where the floor was. It was strange; I was lying on the bed, but at the same time I felt like I was touching the floor below it and looking at the window at the same time. I didn't even miss the mosquito that made its way to my room.

I smiled. "At least this skill will provide me with a night without stings and bites."

Otherworlder: lvl 1

Passive I

As someone who has visited two realms, you are sensitive to changes in space. Within a radius of 10m, you can sense anomalies in space.

I wasn't entirely sure about this ability. I did not get it because of my mutations, but because of my origin. It wasn't a fascinating ability that would guarantee me gaining a double EXP compared to locals, just because I was from another realm. No, if I understood correctly, I should be able to sense if someone near me opened a portal or something like that—someone like Fae.

Sadly, this ability would not help me resist such relocation. It would only alert me to it. This skill also couldn't help me get back to Earth. That's why I wasn't sure if this ability was a good choice, but I was willing to give it a chance.

Maybe at a higher level, it will have more useful options. If I can get it to a higher level at all.

Next on the list was a skill, which when I first saw, I was sure I had to have.

Beast: lvl 1

Passive I

Humans can say what they want, but there is a bit of a beast in each of them. Yet, there is more beast in you than is typical of humans. Why not accept it and admit that you are stronger than a purebred human because of it? Strength and constitution increased by 50%

Even the system told me I was a monster, that I was not human. No, not at all. I knew it, and I hated that fact. However, I didn't know how to change it, and 50% more power and constitution was something I couldn't miss.

I think the name of the skill [Never-dying] spoke for itself, and I was honestly a little scared of it.

Never-Dying: lvl 1

Passive I

Dying is not good for your health. Although you died several times, always coming back to life. The regeneration of your body is exceptional, and even death does not mean the end of the road for you. As long as the brain is not damaged, you can find a new way to die later.

I was pretty sure that [Unnatural Regeneration] was the skill I got from the horns on my head and that it was the skill that kept me alive. More precisely, it brought me back to life. Yet, there was nothing in the skill description that said it should be able to do that. It should only enhance the regeneration of the body. That's why I wasn't sure if [Never-dying] was the skill I had due to previous skills and mutations, or if it was the result of my repeated resurrections.

So I had chosen 5 skills out of the possible 8. Thanks to them, I was stronger, more perceptive, with the balance of an acrobat, and I shouldn't die, at least not permanently. What I was missing was some skill I could use to attack. Unfortunately, there was no [Death Ray] or [God's Judgment] among the General Skills to choose from. General Skills were skills that anyone could learn or were part of the body. For example, Avier and Harpie have had the [Flight] ability since their birth. Unlike me, though, they could fly.

So I couldn't have any amazing abilities because, during my stay in Eleaden, which was limited to a dark cellar, I didn't do much. The only thing I gained from my body and the only part of it that had some offensive properties was my tail. My poison secreting tail.

The Tail of Poison Empress: lvl 1

Active I

Death awaits everyone, but for some, it comes earlier in the form of poison. Your tail is your natural weapon excreting deadly poisonous gas. Blazing orange and with the smell of apples, this poison that does not escape attention. However, this may change as more experience is gained.

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