CHAPTER 29 — Status Windows & Secrets
ELION — POV
Meso didn't move from my lap right away.
Even after all the crying, all the vulnerability, all the shifting of the world between us, she just stayed there a moment longer— warm, breathing slow, her forehead resting against my jaw until her heartbeat leveled out.
Then, like someone flipping a switch, she straightened, slid off my lap, and sat beside me on the bed. Her shoulder brushed mine—close enough to remind me she wasn't done, not even close.
Her voice was soft, but razor-sharp beneath it.
"Alright," she said. "So tell me, what happened..."
So I slowly started recounting how first killed a zombie, then saved Alexiy, to the grocery store, pharmacy, and gun store, supplies run. When I got to the part about my bloodline awakening, Meso caught on to something.
"Wait... How did you 'awaken' it? Was there a trigger or catalyst that caused it?" Her eyes narrowing, getting colder.
"Well... about that..." I decided to bite the bullet. I leaned hugged her, "Meso, promise me that before I continue my story that you won't get upset. I'm here, I'm safe and alive with you now. That's whats important. Okay?"
Meso stiffened when I huddled her. Then probably hearing the fear and vulnerability in my voice, she relaxed and hugged me back. "Elion... I promise that I won't get mad, okay."
As much as I wanted tot rust her I knew she would still probably be upset when I told her so I landed back and moved my hands, instead of resting on her was it and lower back, I cupped her face between my hands and looked her in the eye as I spoke next.
"The wanna be warlord, the ganster had a strong skill. Gravity control... He also had a gun... To tell it straight he shot me and I died." I felt her freeze when I said the final word. She was completely still, it felt like like she wasn't breathing, only looking at me.
I quickly continued knowing she needed more information. "The system even showed a notice saying I died... but then somehow my bloodline awakened. and the next thing I knew I was alive laying on the floor with Alexiy crying over me." I let out a sigh, thinking about how I died and the only regret was that I wasn't strong enough to kill my father, how I finally had the chance to be free and drop the mask that society forces me to wear.
"I think honestly now I'm a vampire or something since I need to drink some blood everyday or I'll die. But I got a few skills with the bloodline so it's not all bad." I tried to lighten the mood, showing that even as cynical and realistic that I am, I can look at this positivity.
"...." I saw her lips move but she didn't make a sound.
"Sorry, Meso what was that?" I ask and lean in closer.
"… and you didn't tell me. So now—"
She turned her gaze up at me.
"Show me." She commanded. It was forceful.
I blinked. "Show you what?"
She flicked my forehead.
"Your status screen, dumbass. Read it to me. Out loud."
Right.
Since others couldn't see different system screens, I had to read out loud my page, since only I could see it.
I took a slow breath and summoned the window.
Blue light shimmered into place in front of me—transparent, glowing softly in the dim bunker room.
Meso leaned in, practically nose-to-nose with the floating letters.
Her expression sharpened into something predatory.
"Read," she ordered, with a serious look in her eyes.
I exhaled.
"Alright."
And I spoke.
[STATUS WINDOW — ELION]
Level: 4
Physique: 20
Mind: 15
Spirit: 15
Will: 25
Perception: 15
Charm (Hidden): 16
Free Stat Points: 41
Bloodline: Vrykolakas (Fledgling)
Her hand shot up like she meant to freeze me mid sentence.
"FORTY-ONE FREE POINTS!?" she barked.
I shrugged. "For every Level I get a bonus of plus ten points. And… bonus points, for kills... I'm not sure about the amount for that..." Math and numbers weren't my strong suit.
"Ten points?" she repeated slowly, like the phrase was personally offensive.
"When I leveled up to both to level 2 and 3 I only received a +2 to each of my stats. They were assigned automatically, while you get the ten points as free points... Is it a skill? or a bloodline trait?"
I ignored her spiraling. "Let me keep going, then I can answer any questions."
"Fine," she muttered, waving aggressively for me to continue.
[SKILLS]
Passive: Crimson Pulse, Danger Sense, Exsanguine Nature, Bloodline Authority – "Fledgling Mark"
Active:Shadow Veil, Telekinesis, Frostwill, Hemovore
Extra: Inventory
I then went on to explain some of skills. Crimson Pulse not only allowed for instant casting, but it also increased my Spirit stat once a day, since it "Increased my mana pool", how Exsanguine Nature granted me an 'Enhanced Physique' but I needed to drink blood once day due to "Vitality pool" and stuff.
Before could speak more Meo's slapped her hand over my mouth, to stop me from speaking.
Her mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
Then:
"WHAT—WHAT—YOU—"
She slapped both hands over her face and screamed into her palms.
"+1 SPIRIT. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS, ELION!?"
"…A passive skill?"
"A PASSIVE?" she shrieked. "A fucking passive?! That's not a passive, that is ECONOMIC INFLATION OF THE SOUL! THAT IS A SELF-FUELING MANA FURNACE! THAT IS—"
She grabbed my shoulders and shook me violently.
"That means even if you NEVER train again, even if you sit on your ass for a YEAR, your mana capacity will be hundreds of points beyond any normal human! Do you understand how—how—HOW—"
She flailed so hard she nearly fell off the bed.
I caught her by the elbow.
"Meso—breathe." I tried to calm her down,
"I CAN'T. YOU ARE BREAKING THE SYSTEM!"
I sighed. "There's more."
She froze mid-rant, eyes narrowing.
"…There's more?"
"Yes."
I also explained the "Blood Family" that the Bloodline Authority skill created. I wasn't sure myself, and said she would need to ask Alexiy for more details but how she received a skill called Lesser Vrykolakas Physique. And another bonus skill.
Then I got to my active skills, Shadow Veil, a skill that hid my presence, Telekinesis, that let me push and move things with my mana, Frostwill, a Violet orb skill, that lets me form and make frost with my will. And finally Hemovore, which I haven't tested.
Meso's eyes flicked rapidly as she processed them.
"Telekinesis? Frostwill— Wait, what the hell is Frostwill? What do you mean Will. Not mana?"
"It uses Will to control, and only cost mana to create the ice." I pull up the description of the skill.
Ice manifests according to intent—limited only by Will and Spirit.
Capabilities:
Generate ice from ambient moisture
Shape ice freely (weapons, shields, armor, constructs)
Harden or soften ice at will
Freeze surfaces or small areas
Cost: 2 mana per second to create ice. Will to control.
She stopped moving. She sat there and wasn't speaking. It seemed as if she had stopped breathing, even.
"Elion," she whispered, "Will-based abilities aren't possible. From my short testing, I think that should NOT be possible. 'Will' is more of a mental resistance stat, not an energy-conducting medium."
"What do you mean?" I wasn't sure what kind of testing Meso had done, but ti didn't surprise me that she had already started doing some experiments.
"From my shallow understanding, Physique Is your body, how fast, strong tough you are. think, agility, strength and endurance type stats." she shared, making a reference to the typical games that we've played.
"Mind is more mental, thinking, cognitive abilities, that kind of stuff. Honestly I think your telekinesis would benefit more if you added some stats there. Mind would improve thinking speed, and allow for higher processing, think if your brain was a computer, then more mind ment more speed and storage, like upgrading the RAM."
I nodded as I could Meso had done meticulous testing before and after added even a single point to her stats so she could have any bit of information.
"Spirit Is mana, I'm not 100% sure since, this is compelty new and I don't proper equipment to test Mana... from my initial readings, Mana is a type of energy, don't ask more since I don't know anything else... That's why having your Crimson Pulse skill is insane.."
I didn't know what to say to that. Mana the one thing I've been dreaming about for years... Before I could get lost in thought Meso continued her info dump. "Perception is a boast to senses, or instinct. Maybe something deep down in our DNA. It's not just better eyesight and hearing, although that's a large part, it's more like heightening your senses in a way to see more of the world... But then there's will..."
"I'll be honest will seems hard to test and examine in a lab. From what I've seen Will is more of a physique type rather than a Mind or Spirit. Perception is it's own thing... And now you also have a hidden stat "Charm"."
I simply sat and let Meso ramble. My own thoughts a mix of the information she just shared and how it affected me and my experiments with the stats.
"Wait." Her head whipped toward me again.
"You used 3 red and 1 orange orbs earlier. And you mentioned a Violet orb as well. Do you know if there is a threshold? Or limit?"
No, that was also a concern and why I didn't use every red orb as soon as I got one.
"What do you me—"
Her brain caught up. She inhaled sharply.
"…Elion. Are you telling me you have a bunch of orbs?"
"I don't know if I would say a bunch," I admitted.
But she knew.
She saw the truth in my tone.
Her lips parted slightly.
"Oh my god," she whispered. "I don't know if it's your bloodline … or what but if you have that many orbs... "
She stood abruptly, pacing.
"I don't know how many but assuming we call have at lear 2-5 active and a couple passives..."
She stopped pacing.
Her red eyes locked onto mine.
"You're not a player in the system," she said softly. "You're my lucky wild card." She smiled a smiled that felt darker, twisted almost.
I swallowed.
Before I could speak, she continued.
"Show me the violet orbs."
I pulled them from my Inventory. I had planned on using them myself, but Meso wanted one to test then I would gladly give her one.
The room dimmed at their glow.
"That variant at the pharmacy gave me this one," I said, and held one in my left hand. "And this was a final gift from that wanna be warlord."
Meso nodded slowly. "Use them."
"You want me to—right now?"
"Use. Them." I she said a bit colder.
I didn't think and just crushed the first orb between my fingers. It shattered into violet sparks that dove into my skin.
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: GRAVITY CONTROL]
Gravity Control (Active) Manipulate local areas gravity through focused Will.
Effects: Increase/decrease gravitational pull around yourself (scales with Spirit)
Create zones of weightlessness or compression
Range: 10 meters (scales with Spirit)
Cost / Limit: Your gravitational influence scales with your Will stat. You can increase or decrease gravity by an amount equal to Will ÷ 2.
AN: (Example: Will 20 → up to 10x gravity control)
The air pressure dipped. The mattress betroth me, compressed an inch. A pen on the nightstand rolled, as if it was pulled to me.
I exhaled gently, stabilizing it.
This was badass! Honestly I'm sure there are like 100 different uses for this skill in and out of combat. And I can't wait with the idea of flying through the sky. It was happening. I will make it happen.
Meso didn't move. She just sat there and stared at me like she was trying to decipher a language she'd only heard in nightmares.
"…Gravity control," she repeated slowly.
Her eyes dropped to my hands, then to my chest, then back to my eyes. Not scared. Not impressed. Something worse.
Calculating.
"Show me."
Her voice was soft enough not to echo in the small bedroom, but sharp enough that my pulse tripped.
I hesitated. "Here? It could damage the—"
"Elion."
One word. A command dressed as a suggestion.
I exhaled, and focused, knowing that it would be pointless to fight her on this. A bead of mana slid down my spine, coiled into my hand like a weightless thread. I pressed my palm gently against the mattress beside me.
The bed groaned.
Then sank.
Only by a few inches—but it sank like something invisible pressed down with hundreds of pounds.
Then I got up off the mattress and with my hand still holding the gravity mana, I tried to lift. Even with my 20 in Physique I could bearly lift mattress, it felt as if it weighed over thousand pounds.
I stoped with demonstration and collared back on the bed.
Meso didn't move.
Her lips parted slightly. Her pupils thinned, sharpened. Not human. Not humanoid. Something else altogether, something ancient sneaking through her expression.
"…That's not a beginner skill."Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"It's what the orb gave me." But I already had my suspicions... This was the same skill that the wanna be warlord had. "Gravity Control" the skill that killed me... now made me stronger. Another Will based skill... While I wasn't sure how strong this skill was I knew that I needed to spend some stats later tonight.
"Hmm," Was all the reply she said.
She leaned forward until her face was inches from mine. I could feel her breath brush my cheek, warm and mint-sweet.
"Elion..." she murmured, soft and seductive in my ear.
"This might be a problem..." she whispered her breath hot against my ear.
My heart kicked hard. "A… what?"
"A problem," she repeated, slowly leaning back. Looking me in the eye she began tapping my chest with a finger. "For the world. For the apocalypse. For our enemies."
I saw a cruel glint flash through her eyes as she smiled a wicked smile. I felt chills up my spine as I shivered a little. While the
She leaned back slightly, eyes flicking to the violet orb still sitting on the bed beside me.
"And you have another one."
I swallowed. "Yeah."
Meso sat cross-legged, her posture suddenly formal— as if observing a ritual. "Well," she said with surgical calm, "go on. Let's see what other reality bending skills you get tonight."
I picked up the violet orb. I received this after killing the Variant Zombie that almost killed Alexiy.
It pulsed once against my palm—cold, nervous, eager.
Then it shattered into threads of violet light.
A chime flickered through the back of my skull:
Skill Obtained: Telepathy (Active)
You project your thoughts into another mind and receive theirs in return.
Capabilities: Silent mind-to-mind communication and sense emotional tone and intent and create a multi-person link.
Range: 1 Mile (Scales with Spirit)
Cost: 1 mana per minute
Cooldown: None
My breath hitched.
I focused, testing the new skill.
—Hey.
The word wasn't a sound.It simply appeared inside Meso's mind.
She flinched so hard the bedframe rattled.
Her eyes snapped wide, pupils dilating, breath seizing in her throat.
"Elion—" she whispered, voice thin."Elion, please tell me I'm not hearing voices."
Her voice wasn't sharp, or even annoyed.
No she sounded... afraid.
A raw, buried kind of fear — the kind that came from being told she was "unstable," "delusional," "crazy" for most of her life.
My stomach dropped.
"Meso—" I moved instantly, grabbing her shoulders, pulling her toward me. 'It's me. It's me Meso.' I sent with Telepathy
"That was me." I speak out loud, this time to make sure she understood it was me.
Her breathing hitched.
I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight.
Then, softly, carefully, I projected the words again — this time like a whisper inside her head.
It's my new skill. Telepathy. You're not hearing things. You're not losing it. I promise.
She froze.
Then slowly, painfully slowly, her fingers curled into the fabric of my hoodie, clutching it like a lifeline.
"You… you can really do that?" she whispered against my chest.
"Yes."
"And it wasn't—" She swallowed, the next word trembling. "—me?"
"Never you," I murmured, stroking the back of her head. "You're not broken. And you're not hearing things. This one's on me. I'm sorry, I just wanted to test out my skill and I acted without thinking. I'm sorry Meso."
A shaky exhale escaped her — relief, embarrassment, something tangled between them.
For a long moment she stayed pressed against me, letting me hold her, letting the panic drain out of her body. It was rare — seeing her let herself be comforted. She hid it quickly, but I felt the way her breathing steadied, the way her grip softened but didn't let go.
Finally she pulled back just enough to look at me, cheeks flushed, voice steadier.
"Okay…" she said quietly. "It's okay. I'm fine now. I understand."
Then she jabbed a finger into my chest.
"But don't ever—ever—do that without warning. If I hear unexplained voices again, I will kill something."
"Noted." So only use it if there something else around for her to kill, as long as it wasn't me who died that's okay with me.
She exhaled, then smirked faintly.
"You really don't run out of surprises, do you?"
"Apparently not." I shrugged. This skill seemed useful so that as long as my team were within the mile I should be able to talk with them, and even form a kind of 'mental group chat' so if we spit up, we can still keep in touch and be able to react.
Meso moved, brushing off her pants, trying to reassemble her usual composure — though the faint pink on her ears betrayed her.
"Well," she muttered, "at this point I doubt anything you do can actually surprise me anymore." Meso checked me once more — eyes softer now, emotions buried but not unreadable.
"You terrify me sometimes," she admitted quietly. "Just… not in the bad way."
Then she glanced toward the door.
"We should go," she added. "If we take any longer, your girlfriend will be pacing holes in the floor. She's probably imagining me dismembering you or something."
"Probably," I said. I sighed as I stood. Thinking about Alexiy made me just want to hold her and fall asleep and not wake up, today has been a long a day and I could tell the night wasn't over just yet.
"I like her already." Meso, comment caught me off guard.
"What—"
"She's delusional. That's a good sign."
"Meso…"
"Come on, Elion. Time to introduce the new pact."
"My… what?"
"Oh," she said sweetly, walking ahead of me down the hallway.
"Our pact. You and me. The foundation."
"…Foundation of what?"
She looked over her shoulder. Her smile was small, sharp, soft all at once.
"The start of something grand."
We walked back toward the living quarters, the hum of the bunker growing louder, voices drifting faintly from ahead.
Before we turned the last corner, Meso reached out and took my hand again — not romantically. But with purpose.
We entered the room.
Alexiy stood immediately.
Her eyes locked onto mine.
And I gave her a small, reassuring smile.
It's okay, that smile said.
Trust me.
Her whole body relaxed.
And she did.She trusted me.
And Meso?
She squeezed my hand once, released it, and stepped forward with calm, almost regal composure.
"Well," she said simply."Let's discuss the future."
AN: Sorry guys with thanksgiving just last week and more holidays coming up life has been getting a bit busy. I promise I'll double upload tomorrow, if I have time, or I'll post an update on my other book The Dating Protocol. Check it out if you haven't, there's no mana, but there is romance, a system, skills, a harem and smut. Also pls add to your collection if you've read this far, thanks!