Chapter 6: Research in the Middle of Analysis

Injured thumb Suggestion: Hold under running water or apply an ice pack. Splint not required in this case.

I tried sucking my thumb even though that wasn’t listed as a remedy. It didn’t work. Mr. Branch sighed when he saw what I was doing. “Are you a child? Get your thumb out of your mouth?” “Can I get some ice or cold water?” I asked, deciding to take the Analysis’ advice. He sighed again. “Ask Mr. Johnson. Nicely!” I slid past Mr. Branch into the store, looking around for the shopkeeper. He stood behind a counter in the back. “Got yourself good, didn’t you?” “Yes, Sir,” I admitted. “Can I get some ice or some-” He cut me off. “Don’t touch the ice. Use the restroom in the back.” “Yes, Sir,” I repeated, trying to ignore the throbbing in my finger while I made my way back. True to the Analysis, the cold water had a soothing effect on my thumb. It was already starting to turn purple but at least I was finally getting a little reprieve from the pain.

You have gained 100 experience points.

Additional Suggestion: Keep elevated.

I groaned but did as instructed. When I returned to the front, I offered to help Mr. Branch again but he refused. He didn’t even allow me to help out around the shop while he worked. “Stand there, be quiet, and watch,” he ordered without looking up. “Try to at least learn something.” I watched Mr. Branch while he worked but my Analyze skill didn’t pop up with any useful messages. He measured the door several times as he nailed the new frame into place. When he finished, he screwed the door jam back in and attached the old warped door to the hinges. While it still squeaked, it fit smoothly into the new frame. We walked in silence after that. I was lost in thought about everything that had happened during the day. It was one thing to see strange words but quite another to meet someone who told me it was all real and not just my imagination. “I think you’ve done enough for one day,” Mr. Branch said as he power-walked a few steps ahead of me. “Be ready again tomorrow. I’m not going to go easy on you.” “I understand,” I muttered, still lost in thought. I stopped him before he left. “Um, excuse me, Sir. Do you have any peroxide or bleach?” “Huh?” He asked, clearly not expecting me to ask for cleaning supplies. “Oh, right. You mentioned something about that earlier. Let me see what I can do.” He rummaged through the trolley for a minute before handing me a bottle with clear liquid inside.

Distilled Bleach Owner: Branch Crafting Material

“Tomorrow, be ready after lunch,” he said before power-walking away. Once I was back at the orphanage, I snuck up the stairwell, anxious to see the bleach’s effect on the stain. I stopped by the showers first to get some hot water before returning to the toilet stall to try to scrub the stain. The hot water failed to have any effect just like the first time. Then I poured the bleach on the stain. The smell of it burned my nose as I scrubbed at the stain. It was hard to tell if it was working or not while it was wet. I decided to give it time and made my way out the fire escape and up to the roof. It was dinner time and I knew the other kids would probably want me to make the food taste better again but my mind was still reeling from everything that happened that day. I took out the book on magic bags again. There was just enough light to read. I skimmed past the sections I’d already read. I couldn’t get over the fact that the book spoke of magical items as though they actually existed. As if I could make them. The problem was that it required things that I had no clue how to get. I focused on one of them.

Analysis: Hair of a Shade Shades are creatures made up of pure void magic that reside in shadows. Often found under beds and in closets, they are a primary source of children’s nightmares. As a Class F monster, they are impossible to see in their true form without the Monster Vision trait.

The Analysis provided me with another term I wasn’t familiar with, Monster Vision. I decided to Analyze those words.

Monster Vision A trait unique to Earth that can be manually assigned. Depending on the grade, the trait allows the person to both see and interact with monsters of a corresponding level.

Why did it have to be so complicated? I didn’t think that any amount of Analysis was going to help me get a trait. I’d need to find someone to give it to me. Perhaps Analyze could tell me where at least.

Assignable Traits The closest place to acquire an assignable trait is the New York City Adventurer’s Guild.

I knew the word guild. Similar to unions, it was a group of people who shared a profession. I knew Weavers and Blacksmiths belonged to guilds but what exactly was an Adventurer?

Adventurer Title given to an Awakened when they choose to serve the public by completing quests for the general public.

Your Research skill has increased: +1

I stared at the message in front of me. With Analyze, I wasn’t going to need the special section of the library nearly as much as I thought I was. Then again, without the book Lavender gave me, I’d never have known what words to Analyze in the first place. I continued flipping through the book.

Void bags can be further customized into unique compartments. To both contain and allow the void to pass through them, special material must be used inside the bag. Known materials considered safe for use inside the void include: 1. Shadoweave 2. Korakel Root 3. Synth Webbing 4. Mana Strands While bags containing additional materials are known to exist, not much is known about them.

I decided I wanted to make my bag out of something not listed in the book. The question was, what material could I use? I didn’t know how to get regular magic materials let alone fancy unique ones. My stomach chose that moment to growl and I decided to head downstairs to see if there was any dinner left but not before stashing the book in my secret hiding place on the roof.

The window wasn’t locked when I returned for once. A line at the showers told me that most of the kids were getting ready for bed. I tiptoed downstairs and made my way to the kitchen. As expected it was abandoned. The dishes were all washed and put away. Some of the children would have been assigned to do that. I looked around in vain for any sign of food. Of course, there were never any leftovers. There wasn’t exactly enough food to fill our bellies on a good day. I dug out the crust of an old loaf of bread and grabbed a glass of water to go with it. I decided not to Analyze it as I was too tired to try and make it taste better. The thought made me wonder if there was magic cooking. My Analyze skill responded when I stared at the bread a little too hard.

Magic Ingredients There are two types of magic food. Natural ingredients include anything harvested from a monster. Artificial ingredients are manually infused with mana through a variety of processes. Both enhance food and provide bonuses when consumed.

I wanted some. The problem was, once again, I had no access to magical anything. I made a mental goal to find and visit The Adventurer’s Guild.

Manhattan Adventurer’s Guild The guild is located at 405 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan New York.

I blinked a few times, wondering if I’d read that wrong. “Isn’t that the Chrysler Building?” I knew all about that building. It had been the tallest building on the planet, for a little while anyways. I’d been there during the grand opening. It was a business, not a magical guild. Could Analysis be wrong? I sighed. There was only one way to find out. I’d have to go there.

I was ambushed on my way to bed. It wasn’t Gordon thankfully. It was an army of small children, all chanting the same thing. “Bedtime story!” An exasperated Beth gave me an apologetic look. “They won’t go to bed without it.” I let out a long sigh and resigned myself to half an hour of storytelling.

I’d only just fallen asleep when I was nearly jolted awake. Sleep wasn’t supposed to feel good. A shock of pure bliss started at my center and spread through channels in my body that I didn’t know existed. The relief felt like I’d been backed up for a week and was finally getting sweet release. The sensation would have woken me up if not for the new message that printed itself on the inside of my brain.

Congratulations, you have reached level 2 +100 HP +100 Mana +100 Stamina

Skill Unlocked: Research

In the fog of my dream, I pondered over the message. I’d already achieved level two. Why was I seeing the message again? Did something special happen when I slept? I’d already seen the Research skill in action. Very peculiar. Then my dream took over and I forgot all about it.

I woke early the next morning, partially because I couldn’t sleep due to all of the things I wanted to do and partially because I wanted a hot shower for once. As luck would have it, I was the only kid awake at six AM. I enjoyed a long shower, using up all of the hot water in the process as I planned my day. Not only was I going to skip breakfast but I was also skipping my morning job at the newspaper. I was going to find the guild and ask some questions. If that didn’t take too long, I also wanted to go back to the library and see if I could check out a book from the special section. It certainly wasn’t to go see Lavender. I would never go out of my way just to look at a pretty lady. I was very careful to sneak out and climb down the fire escape. My stomach growled so loudly in protest over skipping breakfast that I worried I’d woken half the city. Once I made it down to the street, it only took about an hour to make it to The Chrysler Building. I looked up and marveled at how tall it was before pushing the glass doors open and marching inside. It was just after eight AM at that point. The inside didn’t exactly look magical. Hardwood tiles lined the floors and ornate pillars stood everywhere, supporting the weight of the building above the two-story lobby. I made my way over to a reception counter as a woman in a fancy pantsuit stared back at me. “Are you lost, Little Boy?” She asked, her lip curled in unmasked revulsion. “Um, can you tell me where to find the Adventurer’s Guild?” I answered her question with a question, wondering if my skill steered me in the wrong direction. She gaped at me. “What on Earth are you talking about? I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” A pair of security guards marched over and I quickly made a retreat toward the door. Just then, a man wearing a bathrobe cleared his throat to get my attention. “If you’re looking for the guild, you need to take the elevator to the top floor.”

Chapter 6: Research in the Middle of Analysis

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