Suffused with the warm glow of lantern light, the plush rug made for an appealing location to modify one's very being.
With curtains closed and the door locked, Ramsey sat on the velvety pelt.
'My foundation is Elorr. I should probably be doing this around nature.'
He recalled the story of Myra's father and his connection to the soil and plant life. There was no life in this room, quite the opposite in fact. This comfortable rug, his creepy new roommate, all the wooden furniture, even the room itself.
'I'm surrounded by death.'
Accepting his less than ideal surroundings, Ramsey opened the attributes menu.
[Available Attribute points: 4]
[Attributes]
[Intelligence: 1] [Wisdom: 2]
[Strength: 1] [Dexterity: 2]
[Charm: 1]
[Mana: 1] [Nature: 1] [Spirit: 1]
'Nature is one's understanding of the elements.
…Magic comes from nature.
Originally I thought mana would be the obvious choice, and it still may be correct, but nature seems equally important.'
Without hesitation, Ramsey added 1 to both Nature and Mana, then dismissed the menu. He closed his eyes, slowed his breathing and attempted to sense any changes.
He still felt that faint jittery sensation, but nothing else.
He recalled the menu, '2 points left.'
Spirit was also a possibility. Each of these three attributes had started at 0 and Ramsey heavily considered keeping them even. However, trusting his intuition, he repeated his decision, depleting the last of his points.
With a Mana and Nature of 3, Ramsey nodded, closed the menu and waited.
And waited.
'…'
"Dammit," he sighed dejectedly and slumped over.
'I could've easily made myself smarter, stronger, more charming… any of those could've helped my situation.'
Disappointed but still determined, he decided to get up and continue exploring the town. Only… he couldn't get up.
'Did I drain my energy somehow?'
Frowning, he lowered his hands to push off the floor - but then couldn't lift his hands.
"What's… happening?" Ramsey spat through gritted teeth as the jittery feeling intensified and a crushing wave of heaviness washed over him.
Crumbling under immense pressure, he fell prone, his face distorting as his cheek smashed against the floor. But the pressing did not stop, with the wood beneath him creaking as it persisted.
"Ahh!" Air expelled from his lungs as his chest compressed.
Soon the rug and Ramsey felt inseparable, as if he could feel every inch of it being pushed as well.
The more intense the pressure the further this feeling extended. He could feel the weight of the washtub which began to bow as the water inside pushed down with nowhere to go.
Helplessly staring at the expanding tub, Ramsey closed his eyes expecting it to burst.
And then… nothing.
The tub regained its original shape and the pressure slowly released Ramsey from the floor.
He could breathe normally again.
"What… was that?"
After being so tightly pressed, the release made it feel as if he was being lifted off the floor. He moved to prop himself up on the rug, but strangely his hand pushed the rug down until it hit the floor.
"Wha-" His curiosity was quickly interrupted as he and the rug fell a few inches to the floor.
Groaning and rolling over, "What the hell?!" He yelled up at the ceiling.
'Was I attacked just now, or did I bloom?
That's not what the story said would happen.'
Ramsey summoned the menu and noticed no changes, but there below his attributes and foundation was the obvious answer.
[Path: Gravity]
'After hearing how people bloomed in Myra's Muse, I assumed those were the only ways.
It is a children's book… Maybe there are dozens of different ways. Or those were the only ones Myra's father knew.'
Relocating to the edge of the bed, he studied the floor.
At the peak of the bloom, he was laying flat and could feel the weight of everything within around 5 feet of some part of his body.
The rug, the tub of water, the floor itself, even one leg of the bed now that he thought about it.
'So, I guess that's my range, a 5 foot radius. …But its center can be extended to the end of my reach.'
Ramsey imagined himself as a bubble that changed shape based on his movement, with a 5 foot glow that surrounded it. Anything in that area could be affected.
The bloom had also shared what was possible with gravity magic. Both increasing the weight or pull towards Elorr, and decreasing the weight or releasing the pull.
Ramsey had watched enough videos on space to understand how gravity worked and how it was different on each planet. We may not feel Earth or Elorr's gravity, but only because we're used to it.
If a creature from a planet with lesser gravity came to Earth, the effect could range from mildly inconvenient, like wearing weights while exercising, to completely debilitating and painful, like he had just experienced.
'Gravity really is OP.
Now… how do I use it?'
Ramsey grabbed a piece of silver and held it in his hand. It was the smallest and lightest item he had, which seemed like the ideal place to start.
He focused deeply on the coin, trying to make the same connection he had with the washtub before. He moved his hand around, feeling the weight it carried.
'That's not it... I couldn't actually feel the weight on the washtub," he looked back at it, 'but I sensed it. Even when I closed my eyes, it was still there.'
Ramsey closed his eyes. He tried to remember how it started. It didn't start with the tub - it started within him - and the always present jittery feeling.
The bloom was fast and fierce, but happened in stages. First the jittery feeling, then a wave of pressure, then connections to everything else.
'If the jittery feeling is always present at the start… could it be base gravity?
There's always a pull, we just can't feel it. Well, not before now.'
Ramsey recalled sitting by the tree in Tyrian Woods. He could feel it even then, as soon as he had chosen his path and arrived on Elorr.
'If I focus on that feeling, can I change it?
It was similar to a frequency, no..., a vibration! Like tiny little pulls quickly repeating, forming a constant. If the repetition increases, so does the pull. If the repetition decreases or stops, so does the pull.'
Ramsey focused on the repetitions, visualizing them, listening to them. If this was base gravity, he needed to become intimate with this feeling.
He tried to calm his mind, pushing out all other thoughts, leaving only the vibration. This was easier than clearing his mind, he still had a focus, a purpose.
After several minutes, Ramsey tried willing his vibration to speed up. Not much, just a slight increase. He thought of it like trying to rev an engine in his mind, over and over. He was so lost in the repetitive process, he hadn't noticed a slight increase, until he felt himself sinking further into the mattress.
"Oh!!
I did it!"
He immediately tried again and again, each attempt slightly reducing the time it took to influence a change.
The daylight surrounding the curtains dimmed, then ultimately disappeared as Ramsey tirelessly persisted.
If not for an interruptive stomach growl, he may have continued late into the evening. As upset as he was with the system for its lack of assistance, he quite enjoyed the challenge.
With somewhat improved efficiency, he decided to try one more thing before giving in to hunger.
So far, Ramsey had only been quickening the vibration, then allowing it to settle back down on its own.
'Let's try slowing it down.'
This time, instead of focusing on the repetitions, he devoted his attention to the spaces between them. Increasing the distance should slow them down and lessen the pull.
After just a few moments Ramsey began to float.
"Ha!" He extended his arms to keep his balance. 'Either I'm getting better or this is much easier.'
Satisfied with the inch of levitation, Ramsey stopped influencing the pull. However… he didn't sink back down automatically. "Huh," he looked down, seeing himself getting farther from the bed.
Not only was he rising but it was happening faster.
"Wait!" He contested as he lost his balance and rolled backward, his feet cycling, trying to find purchase. "Hey! Dammit!"
Ramsey held out his hands to protect against the incoming collision with the ceiling, while also closing his eyes tightly. His heart was racing but he needed to focus on the vibrations.
'No, it's still slowing!' The repetitions were beginning to crawl, like a music box winding down.
Ramsey tried to focus on increasing the pace, but intrusive thoughts were interfering with his concentration.
'What if it stops completely? Will I be able to start it again?'
His palms touched the ceiling snapping him out of it.
'Just like before,' he exhaled slowly, 'rev the engine.'
The slowed pings were terrifying, but he was sustaining them. However, sustaining was not enough. Without breaking his thoughts, he situated himself more comfortably on the ceiling, essentially laying on his back.
Ramsey spent the next several minutes lowering himself. For good measure he didn't stop when he touched the bed again, pressing his body into it slightly before releasing.
"Really glad I didn't try that outside," he sighed.