Seeing as how the nurse had given the "ok", Ross took Fina to her room.
"Jai, you stay here." [Ross]
"Er… Sure, but… Can you please hurry?" [Jai]
Even with the little time he had spent inside the girl's dorms, random passerbys were already giving him weird stares.
"I'll try." [Ross]
"I hope so..." [Jai]
Leaving him without much thought, Ross took Fina inside.
"Her roommate isn't here as usual…" [Ross]
("As usual?") [Solace]
Ross quickly made her way over to Fina's bed and laid her down.
"Sweet dreams." [Ross]
Giving Fina a small pat on the head, Ross tucked her in and left.
("...Finally, some alone time.") [Solace]
Luckily for me, Ross had closed the door on her way out. Now I could finally do what I've been waiting for since my evolution.
("To the bathroom!") [Solace]
I appeared out of thin air, slowly floating towards the bathroom with excitement.
("I can't wait to check the mirror-") [Solace]
"Watch it!" [???]
Loud noises came from outside the dorm room, and lots of thumping against the ground too.
("God, they're loud.") [Solace]
Ignoring the noises outside, I had a momentary realization.
("Oh, crap. They might wake up Fina!") [Solace]
Quickly reacting, I swerved away from the bathroom and went towards Fina.
("Is she awake?!") [Solace]
I checked if her eyes were open, but luckily they weren't.
("Guess not…") [Solace]
Though Fina didn't wake up, it didn't guarantee the noise wasn't going to wake her up.
("Hm… I know! Let's try my new spell!") [Solace]
With a snap of my imaginary finger, I spoke aloud.
"|Sound Interference|." [Solace]
A moment of silence passed. Then another. That was when I noticed that I couldn't hear a thing.
("I guess it worked…?") [Solace]
Seeing as how my spell had activated, I made my way to the bathroom again.
("Back to business.") [Solace]
Just as I moved away, I suddenly became capable of hearing the people in the hallway again.
("Huh?! Did the spell end?") [Solace]
I retreated backwards, and then the noise vanished.
("Oh… It blocks noise from a certain radius…") [Solace]
The range was incredibly small. Just enough to cover Fina's body. If a regular person were to be near her, they would need to lean in to have the |Noise Interference| do its job.
("Whatever, let's just go to the backroom.") [Solace]
Feeling relieved that the spell was active, I went to the bathroom for real this time.
("...Is there no light switch or something?") [Solace]
Now that it had come to mind, I never realized that electrical devices weren't really a thing here.
("How does anyone use the bathroom at night?") [Solace]
I looked around with my |Night Vision| skill, which allowed me to pinpoint a strange crystal connected to the ceiling.
("Is that supposed to be the light? How do I light it?") [Solace]
"Response: To power a Stone of Luminescence, it must receive mana." [Spirit Guide]
("Mana…") [Solace]
Mana, something that was the main source of power for magic. Well, that's what I knew from reading anything about fantasy.
("How do I give it mana?") [Solace]
There was no reply.
("...Great. Whatever, I don't need it. I'll make my own light instead.") [Solace]
I made a quick check on my skills and selected the one I wanted.
("|Kindle|.") [Solace]
After speaking the word, an orb of light appeared about me. Using what felt like instinct, I moved the orb to the ceiling to illuminate the room.
("Works like a charm.") [Solace]
Now that the room was well lit, I turned to the mirror that hung over the bathroom sink.
("Huh? Oh, I forgot.") [Solace]
Turns out, my mimic was still on. Meaning, I still looked like a little yellow ball that floats around.
("How do I turn it off? Spirit Guide, any clues?") [Solace]
There was no reply.
("...How quaint. I'll have to figure it out myself.") [Solace]
I racked my brain for ideas, which led to me just randomly spouting commands.
("Un-mimic? Cancel mimic?") [Solace]
It didn't work.
("Hm… How about something from a fantasy game? Er… dispel mimic?") [Solace]
As soon as those words exited my mouth, my appearance shifted.
"Oh, it worked. Oh! I can talk again!" [Solace]
I brought my hands to my face, allowing me to feel eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
"How do I look?" [Solace]
I turned to the mirror, curious as to what my appearance would be. Strangely enough, I was still yellow. Instead of being a yellow ball, I was more like a person wearing one of those full body tights. Except that I had more detail than just wearing tights.
"I look… different from what I imagined." [Solace]
I inspected myself through the mirror. I was pretty happy with the result until my eyes wandered downwards.
"...Why." [Solace]
I was completely genderless. My body mainly had the features of a male, minus the uh… lower part. There was nothing there.
"Maybe it'll return if I evolve more…?" [Solace]
Considering that I grew hands, feet, and more after evolving, it wasn't too far fetched.
"Hm… I'm quite the looker. Oh, I know! |Mimic|!" [Solace]
Curious as to what my human form looked like, I used mimicry again.
"Did it work?" [Solace]
Checking the mirror again, I saw something quite surprising.
"That's… me?!" [Solace]
It was a perfect replication of how I looked back on earth. Straight black hair, dark brown eyes, and an average build. Most importantly, my height was back to six feet. Or rather, I assumed I was.
"I'm back! I'm... naked…?" [Solace]
The clothing I had on in the cave wasn't there. I also had my lower body parts back, which did make me pretty happy.
"Hm… Maybe I can go look for something to cover up in the wardrobe? Let's look for a towel." [Solace]
Heading back into the bedroom, I saw Fina who was still resting soundly.
("It would be a bit weird if she woke up to see me like this. Maybe there's a blindfold or something to keep her from seeing me.") [Solace]
I checked the drawers of her work desk, but there really wasn't anything similar to a blindfold.
("Oh, I have an idea.") [Solace]
I turned towards Fina and approached her. Looking near her collar, I decided to use the ribbon around her neck.
"..." [Solace]
As I loomed over Fina, a thought came to mind as I untied her ribbon.
("Would be really weird if someone walked in on me doing this though.") [Solace]
Just as I thought that, I heard thumping coming from outside and the door to the room swung right open.
"Fina! Are you alright?!" [Leyhna]
"Ah." [Solace]
There was Leyhna, staring at me. There was also me, staring back at her.
("Hm, truly a bruh moment. Guess I'll die.") [Solace]