Sadie awoke to a chill that went deep into her bones, finding herself lying in a pool of dark congealing blood. As she rose a hand to her throbbing head, trying to remember what ghastly events had occurred, a wave of terror seized her, and she began searching through the bathroom for the dead sloth, staring at the four corners now that the sun has illumined them, but she found nothing out of the ordinary.
"I was seeing things," she thought to herself. "I must have been paranoid, thinking that the serum entered my bloodstream through the ulcers. What a wretched night it had been."
Pensively, she rubbed her goosebump-covered arms, trying to relieve tension and contemplating the entire situation.
"But why a sloth?" she said disparagingly. "If I was to be part of the xenarthrans' evolutionary branch, it should have been an anteater for practicality's sake, then I could've beat Miss Antonella with ease."
But then she imagined that if she were to be an anteater, she couldn't possibly slurp up an ant of such huge size as Miss Antonella, no matter how long her proboscis would've been. Eating her would've taken on a whole different meaning.
Sadie coughed slightly, feeling the cold pinch her chest, her sweat-drenched undergarment was slightly stained with blood and felt like a glacial burden.
She peeled it off her, freeing her body from all restraints despite the low temperature. She then wet her fingers under the sink and sprinkled some water on her bare chest.
She was yearning for a warm shower, but she had no time because she was late for class. So she rubbed some eucalyptus leaves on her arms up to her armpits.
To her astonishment, her arms seemed to have turned translucent, fading away and leaving her looking like the fragmented Venus de Milo. She froze in shock for a few moments, contemplating what remained of her glistening figure.
Then, she cautiously started moving her ghostly limb in a circular pattern, and to her relief, she could perceive her wriggling fingers reemerging from oblivion and a crease forming in her underarm once more. The strange phenomenon had passed, and her arms returned to their familiar state.
She paused her hand on her shoulder, and after a few seconds elapsed, her arm entirely disappeared again, starting from her slender fingers all the way up to her forearm.
"It was no illusion then, I have the power to turn invisible now," she exclaimed, beyond herself with excitement. "What better power can an antisocial girl desire? Perhaps my act of goodness was rewarded with a more dignified transition."
Being a sloth had more benefits than she had ever imagined. However, turning half invisible had consumed a lot of energy, and she began to feel very cold—so cold that she feared she might freeze to death.
Desperate to warm up, she held her arms beneath the open sink, and the color gradually returned to them as the eucalyptus effect washed off. She then decided to dry off her skin and put on her winter clothes, but it did little to alleviate the disturbingly chilling sensation.
It was as if her body became unable to regulate its temperature, even her mind felt slower than usual. And that was a problem because they had a physics lesson this morning.
As she observed the bathroom counter, a hazy pattern caught her attention. Its origin became evident when she noticed the watch which the stranger left behind and which she threw inside the cabinet after he didn't come back to pick it up.
Approaching the counter, she gently picked up the watch, closely examining its ivory-white exterior and its distinct square shape for the first time. Instead of conventional Latin numbers, the dial displayed elongated patterns within circular symbols, which appeared both fascinating and foreign, and they seemed to have a vibrational connection with the very particles of the mirror.
Holding the watch up, she brought it closer to the mirror's surface. To her astonishment, the enigmatic symbols reflected at her, turning into a series of complex circular smoky symbols. They were arranging in the mirror reflection in a non-linear fashion, blurring the lines between her thoughts and their floating expression until they coalesced into a decipherable form and she could read what was transcribed.
**Establishing Synchrony with subject #554321
Countering negative effects of transition, regulating body temperature to 37 degrees Celsius, dissipating mind fog.**
As Sadie read the message, a wave of overwhelming warmth washed over her, embracing her senses. Her skin turned rosy and tender, akin to the soothing sensation of sitting in a cozy sauna. The gentle heat seemed to melt away the frozen veneer that had settled over her mind, and she felt a profound sense of relaxation. The experience was so intense that her eyes almost rolled to the back of her head in sheer blissful surrender.
When she reopened her eyes she saw new information displayed in the symbols.
**Health condition: Stable
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Hybrid Animal: Sloth
Level: 1
Experience Points: 140
Attributes:
1. Strength: 6
2. Agility: 3
3. Intelligence: 3
4. Endurance: 2
5. Perception: 2
6. Charisma: 2
7. Luck: 1**
"3? Really?" Sadie was taken aback and felt a bit insulted by her intelligence score of just 3. It seemed as if the clockwork device was calling her dumb. While she acknowledged that she might not be the brightest tool in the shed, she couldn't help but wonder how those with an intelligence score above 8 perceived the world, and why she has never met such people. As she pondered, a thought dawned on her:
"Perhaps this device doesn't assess intelligence solely based on human standards. Considering it was created by the people of the serpent kin, it likely takes into account the attributes of the evolved races that roamed the Earth as a whole."
Her assessment was enough to satisfy her indignant curiosity. The other attributes seemed correct and did not surprise her one bit, especially the luck. Under the luck attribute, she saw the word "Abilities" written. Her mere thought about it opened a new slot.
**Abilities:
1. Slothskin Cloak: Level 1
- Effect: Become invisible if remaining still for 5.3 seconds while in contact with leaves.
As Poikilotherms the specimen's temperature is very close to the surrounding environment at all times, confounding the pit organ that some predators use to "see" heat. This will make the specimen difficult to detect across the entire visible spectrum, even the infrared.
- Cooldown: 120 seconds
- Duration: 60 seconds
2. Time Disruption: Level 1
- Effect: Slow down time of everyone, making the surrounding cast of creatures react in slow-motion. The subject remains unaffected.
- Cooldown: 300 seconds
- Duration: 120 seconds
3. Bony Claws: Level 1
- Effect: The distal phalange bones elongate and protrude from limbs in curved claws which can serve as a vicious weapon.
- Bonus Damage: +2
Skills:
1. Stealth: Level 3 (Experience: 50/100)
- Passive skill that increases the effectiveness of invisibility and reduces the chance of being detected.
2. Herbology: Level 2 (Experience: 30/50)
- Passive skill that improves the efficacy of using herbs and plants for various effects.
3. Time Manipulation: Level 2 (Experience: 40/50)
- Passive skill that enhances the effectiveness and duration of time disruption ability.
4. Claw Mastery: Level 2 (Experience: 20/50)
- Passive skill that increases the damage and accuracy of attacks using bony claws.**
"I've already tested the invisibility by accident, as for the other two I'll have to wait and see how to trigger them. I can't say i am looking forward to it, bony claws seems particularly painful.
It was a lot to take in at once, and she was starting to feel a bit too warm beneath all the articles of clothes she had buried herself under. So, she decided to remove most of them, contending to keep on a halter top as the device had heightened her body temperature to levels she wasn't used to.
As she headed to the door, she accidentally stepped on the trail of cakes she had sprinkled last night. "Big Mac did not eat his treat; he never misses a meal," she thought, worried about her pet rat.
She was afraid to peek inside the hole, fearing that she'd find her friend rodent on his back. She did not want to deal with emotions right now, so she just got out of her house, trying to focus on the skills she gained, hoping they would preoccupy her thoughts and prevent her from sinking into a worry loop.
On her way to school, she started considering her skills and how they could be improved. "It seems their evolution depends on the skills I acquire and develop," she thought.
"The herbology skill must have been influenced by my mixture of drugs and the use of organic elements. It also makes sense to have leveled up in stealth, given that I have spent most of my life hiding from sight and doing my utmost to remain unnoticed by others."
As for time manipulation, she noticed that time seemed to pass painfully slowly during school periods. "Maybe that counts for something," she pondered. "It would be pretty dope to be able to level up my skills just by being bored."
When she arrived at school and entered her class, the entire classroom was gathered at the back, as if the physics teacher erected a forcefield around her.
Miss Catherine glowered at her with big green eyes. She fixed a strand of red mesh that had come loose from her coiffure with one finger before saying, "You are late, Miss Sadie. I hope you have a good excuse for your sake."