Vicki took a deep breath, steadying her hands as she held the delicate white rose between her fingers. The wilting petals trembled as a short gale swept across the room.
HOO...FWOO...
I took a short breath and exhaled softly, my eyes resting on the flower in my right hand while my other hand rested on a page of the Nascent Nature Arts book. On the page was an illustration of the same flower in my hands.
This rose is called Pristine Floret and is a third order plant used in expulsion of the World Energy...
I closed my eyes and calmed myself before muttering, "First off, let's go over how magic works in this game..."
According to the books in the study, every person in this world has an attribute called Saturation, a skill that allows humans to perform miracles through the World Energy.
The World Energy was a type of power that existed in the air and was nearly-ubiquitous. Living things absorbed this energy into an organ in their body called an Aperture – a certain organ that allowed the World Energy to be stored.
It is universally stated that before one can even think of using magic, they must first be able to absorb the World Energy which was by breathing in with not just your lungs but the Aperture. When a person is able to accomplish that can they now move on to the next stage – Cultivation.
Cultivation, in the context of this game, is the process of imbuing the World Energy in one's Aperture with their Affinity.
HOO...
I paused, taking a deep breath before continuing.
A person's Affinity is an element which a person was closely tied to.
My Affinity is Air...and as a result I can use Air magic...
Humans are usually known to possess a single Affinity while some rare gifted individuals among them can possess two – dual-affinity, but then again, the affinities were usually derived from the same element.
Other living creatures like Elves, Dwarves, Dryads, Vampires, Seraphs and so on usually possess dual-affinity, one from their nature and one from birth. Such as how Dryads had an affinity to plants along with a second one and Seraphs one of light and another – it was how Marta had possessed the ability to use both water and light magic.
I took another breath before saying, "Unlike other races, Humans can't just use magic normally."
Marta had been able to conjure a ball of light just from her thoughts alone, am sure other races can do this as well with their own racial affinities...but...
"Humans can't. To use magic, we require something called a Saturation Technique."
I said as my gaze rested on the two thick books in front of me.
They were both documentations on Saturation Techniques – one based on the Art of Magic Circles and the other based on the use of Magical Plants.
Since I had already witnessed the Nascent Nature Arts in action, albeit without much context, I decided to use it instead.
Besides...the Art of Magic Circles was too complicated and would take me a long time to learn, and... I didn't have much time.
SHIFF!
I shifted from a kneeling position into a lotus position, curving my fair and slender legs beneath me.
My gaze wandered back to the book on NNA while my hand fiddled with the rose.
Compared to the Art of Magic Circles, the Nascent Nature Arts was much more lenient.
To use the Saturation Technique, one needed to connect with an 'ordered' plant – a plant which existed in the seven orders.
Plants too were regarded as living creatures and thus, could use magic but that didn't mean that all could be used in the Nascent Nature Arts.
In NNA, there existed seven orders, a classification of plants based on their compatibility with humans as an Affinity conduit, ranging from first order to seventh order. First Order plants were the lowest as Affinity conduits and had a compatibility rate of 10%, Second Order had 20%, Third Order 30% and so on. No plant had a 100% compatibility because the plants themselves possessed wills.
The Pristine Floret, the white rose, was a third order plant but possessed a 35% compatibility rate, as a result, the book described it as an ideal start for greenhorns.
And to think I'd find such an ideal plant in Marta's Garden, how lucky!
Frankly, it wasn't really a stroke of luck, Marta and Galter most likely took interest in NNA at some point, that explains why the garden was filled with so many ordered plants.
The Pristine Floret was also described as the ideal plant because unlike many others, it didn't have an inclination to any Affinity and as a result was very versatile.
FWIP!
I flipped the pages of the NNA book, away from the theoretical aspect and over to the instructional part of it.
Soon, I reached the first guidelines.
The first step in learning the NNA technique is forming a connection with the plant conduit and that is by...allowing your World Energy to flow through it...
"My World Energy...that is the World Energy in my core which has been imbued with my Affinity."
I placed the flower back on the ground and sighed, "That means...Cultivation."
Normally, a human would first have to cultivate their World Energy before using a Saturation Technique but when one uses the Nascent Nature Arts, this aspect is completely ignored.
Unlike most techniques where one has to impart their will through the World Energy, in NNA, one has to synchronize with the will of the ordered plant and to do this I have to imbue it with World Energy, which was the problem.
"I don't know how to absorb or interact with the World Energy."
FWUMP.
I slumped back and collapsed back on the floor.
Ugh...and according to this world that was supposed to be the basics...so there's no book on the topic...at least in the library...
I looked up with a complicated expression, "What do I do now?"
I remained silent, simply staring at the ceiling before muttering, "Stats."
[Name:] Vicki
[Epithet:]???
[Level:] 4
[EXP:] 96/100
[Skills:] Saturation, Ease of Learning, Parallel Processing, Seduction, Total Assimilation, Air Affinity, General Knowledge (depreciated), Thousand Tongues
[Aliases:] Little Devil, Dr. Vicki, Tiny Girl
[Debuffs:] Myopic Vision, Weakness, Naivete, Lolita
I glazed over the panel and frowned.
That's strange...I should be in Level 5 by now...I haven't gotten any EXP since last time...
Indeed.
Ever since the system announced my first ever Level 6 kill, I hadn't heard another notification which usually occurred frequently each day.
"Have the monsters begun to f-"
KNOCK. KNOCK.
A hollow sound suddenly tore through the silence of the old cottage – it was the dull sound of wood being struck.
W-what?
Horror suddenly gripped my heart as its rate suddenly soared.
C-calm down...it's probably just m-
KNOCK. KNOCK.
The sound came again, prompting me to slowly turn to the door of the plain room.
SHIFF...
I quietly rose to my feet and walked towards it, my hand gripped the door knob and twisted it open.
CREAK!
The sound of the door opening echoed eerily loud in the hall of the upper floor. I propped my head through a small gap in it and looked at the passage, there was no one there.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
I jolted, the dull sound reaching me again.
HA... HA...
I panted lowly, before swallowing.
"I-it...can only be from the front door...b-but how?"
What about the barrier?
Suddenly, my eyes shrunk and my breath hitched.
C-could something have happened to the barrier?
It was a startling thought.
If something had really happened to the barrier, then I was definitely screwed. This homely place would quickly turn into a hunt zone for various monsters.
At the thought of monsters, memories of the Tree Trolls began to resurface. Cold sweat began to trickle down my increasingly pale face.
HA...! HA...!
C-calm down! Calm down!
I forced myself to retain composure, pushing down the creeping feeling of fear.
TMP. TMP.
I slowly stepped out of the plain room and into the corridor, before approaching the stairwell.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
The knocking sound came again, prompting me to lower my breathing and steps but I didn't stop.
Instinctively, I lowered my body and crept down the stairwell, making sure not to make even a slight sound.
HA...! HA...!
I crept down the stairwell and entered the living room, where the front door was located. My breathing intensified as I approached it carefully, my steps were shaky yet measured.
TMP. TMP.
I slowly approached the door before putting my hands on it, I pressed my ear against it before slowly raising my head to look through the peephole.
Who i-
The moment I peered through it, I froze.
There was no one there.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
The knocking sounds struck again; this time much louder.
Suddenly, I realized.
They weren't from the front door.
There was no other door in this house that led outside, other than the one before me.
Which meant only one thing...
Instantly, my blood ran cold.
Someone else was inside the house.