Arise - Chapter 9: Status And Stats

The words made no sense, and the numbers were weird. What did they mean? Regis backed away from the pedestal and nearly tripped on his feet, holding himself up by placing a hand on the wall. Somehow, the place where the needle stabbed his right hand was clean of any blood; furthermore, the wound was gone. Regis gulped and took in deep breaths, an exercise that Grandpa always made him do to calm down.

Once he was calm, he slowly opened a crack through his eyes and jerked back. The strange floating window of light with the strange words and his name was still there! First, Regis tried to grab it, but his hands simply went through the window of light. Second, he ran, spun, and looked high up to avoid the window. Nothing worked, and the window remained fixed in his sight, always close enough for him to read it. It followed him like a haunting ghost in the stories.

"Regis! What are you doing?" Astar pulled on his wrist and forced him to be still. He couldn't break free from her grip. She forced him to sit on the floor and said, "Lesson one about etiquette, never lose your calm!"

"Ah?" Regis said unintelligbly.

"Repeat after me! Never lose your calm!" Astar postured over him.

Regis replied, "Never lose your calm."

Astar shouted, "Again!"

Regis parroted, "Never lose your calm." Then he remembered something and asked, "Didn't you go crazy before?" If his memory was accurate, she went crazy and tried to stab him before.

"That doesn't count." Astar scoffed and flipped her green hair behind her shoulders. Her deep yellow eyes rolled around as a chuckle escaped her lips. "Is the status window that scary?"

"Status? You mean this strange window of light?" Regis pointed at the thing she called a status window. "Can you see it?"

"I can't see yours. I can only see mine," Astar said tiredly. "On top of etiquette and manners, I'll have to teach you the general knowledge of the Tower. Did that Big Sister of yours teach you nothing?"

"She never said anything. What is a status window?" Regis asked, standing up.

Astar began to explain the meaning of the status window and the meaning of the words and numbers written on it. The status window appeared to everyone who linked to the Tower, each person having their unique status window accompanying them until their death. It was the symbol of the contract made with the Tower and became a reflection of the powers within one's self.

The words and numbers represented what she named stats, the measurement of his powers and abilities, like how he noted the hours, minutes, and seconds at the time of day.

[Strength] measured his physical power. [Vitality] measured his stamina and recovery powers. [Agility] measured his speed and dexterity. [Endurance] measured his willpower, the ability to endure pain and decrease the damage from attacks. [Spirit] measured his magical capabilities, control, and damage. Regis listened carefully and repeated her explanations over in his mind.

"What about Skills and Traits?" Regis asked.

Astar was about to speak, then a sudden series of musical chords caught their attention. Danube played for a minute, a beautiful and wild piece that excited Regis's heart, thumping to the beat of the song. Once it was over, Danube plucked a string and let the last chord linger in the air as a vibrato, something the lute players often did to send the sound out in waves.

"Skills and Traits are things you gain other than stats. The numbers only show what you can be capable of. Skills and traits are what harness those values into real power." Danube explained.

"I was going to say that. Don't rudely interrupt with your horrid music." Astar said mockingly. "As for the class, that is something you will decide later when you arrive in Orsusten, though the stats you have are a good indication of what you can be. When you settle on class, the traits and skills can be learned."

Regis finally understood the meaning of this status window and wondered why everything was so low except for the [Spirit] stat. Was five hundred the norm?

"If you want to close it, just say or think the word status with the intent to close it. You can say or think it again to open it." Astar taught him.

"Status!" Regis stated, and the status window disappeared. He said it again, and the status window reappeared. Laughing, Regis played around with the status window, opening and closing it multiple times.

"If it ever comes to it, you can show it to others by saying or thinking flip, but–"

Regis didn't catch Astar's other words and cut her off by saying, "Flip!"

"Wait!!" Astar and Danube shouted, and he froze like a fearful rabbit.

Sweat beaded down his face as his fingers quivered. Regis knew he had screwed up again and quickly apologized with a deep bow. But no matter how long he stayed bowed, staring at the tiles of the floor, no answer or response came from his two friends. Tired of staying down, he raised himself back up. Astar and Danube didn't move, their mouths gaping like the fish in the marketplace, and stared at his status window without blinking.

"Y-you…." Astar once again stammered. Regis wondered if she had a speech problem like the old lady next door. She gulped and said in a trembling voice, "These can't be your stats. Impossible. Impossible. That's impossible." She slumped down to her knees, her long, wide skirt poofing like a half-deflated balloon. She reached out her shaky finger at his [Spirit] stat, cupping her mouth behind her hand.

"Are you alright? Is it bad? Danube, is it bad?" Regis tried to get an answer, but both of them were like statues, unresponsive and frozen. He tapped his foot on the ground, nervous about why they acted like this. Were his stats that terrible?

"This…is a surprise." Danube finally responded with a shake of his head. "No, Regis. Your other stats are lower than average, but your [Spirit] is insane. I don't think a single person in the history of the Tower started with what you have."

"That's impossible!" Astar shouted, regaining some of her usual vigor. Regis backed a step away from her. She bit her lower lip and glared at Regis with reddened eyes. "Of all the races in the Tower, we, elves, have always been the foremost in our starting [Spirit]. How can you have a larger stat than me, a noble of the elves?!"

"I-I'm sorry?" Regis apologized, but he didn't know what he was apologizing for. He never had this much interaction with the others in his home, certainly not anyone like Astar. He cleared his throat and suggested, "Then can I give you some of my stats? If it makes you feel that bad, then I'll help."

"Give me?" Astar's body shook once, and she closed her eyes and raised her head before exhaling. She let out a small groan and smacked her forehead, the loud self-slap echoing through the room. Regis couldn't help but think of her as a weird person. She mumbled in an audible whisper, "What a filthy display. I'm ashamed." Her words grew louder as she made a graceful bow with her hand on her chest and one lifting a part of her skirt. "Sorry for yelling at you. It's not fair to be angry at you. But listen here, don't carelessly show your stats to anyone. Say flip again to hide it from others."

Regis nodded and flipped the status window back to face him. After a long glance at the five-hundred by his [Spirit] stat, he put his status window away. He grumbled and scratched his head, unable to satisfy the uncomfortable itch. From Big Sister Yvel's lessons to Astar's advice, there were so many rules he had to learn and follow that it was getting complicated to handle.

"Don't worry. I said I'll teach you the manners and etiquette. That also includes how to be a proper Climber." As if she knew his troubles, she spoke to comfort him. Regis smiled and gripped her hand with both of his, shaking her hand up and down. Realizing his mistake, he let go and apologized again. She sighed and chuckled, "At least you remembered mid-way. Now let's make sure you remember it beforehand. Understand"

"Oi! You two can flirt all you want later. We need to move on." Danube played a soft tune as he walked down the wide hallway.

"Who's flirting?" Astar blushed and grabbed Regis's wrist, tugging him along.

"Ah?" Regis yelped. His visions blurred as the white-tiled walls and ceiling flowed like murky water, and his ears flapped from the harsh winds. He shouted as his body couldn't hold on, flailing around. Before long, he found himself at the other end of the hallway and almost hit the door if not for Astar holding him tightly.

"Nice speed. Your [Agility] must be quite high, and as an elf, your [Spirit] should be high as well." Danube applauded on his way over with a smirk.

"Even if you have the information, what will you do with it? Next lesson, Regis, don't show your abilities earlier unless you're confident no one can do anything to you or if you're going to kill them." Astar responded to Danube with a cold smile.

"Will you fight me?" Regis asked innocently, his hand still grasped by Astar.

"What?" Astar turned with a strange face.

"You also showed me how fast you are. Does that mean you'll fight me or even kill me?" His voice tremored in fear. Regis locked gazes with her, and she looked shocked.

"What is with you?" Astar sounded tired and let go of his wrist. "Everything you say is…forget it."

Regis followed her to the door. Unlike the hallway in which it stood, it was made entirely out of black, obsidian material, smooth like glass and reflecting their images clearly like a mirror. Gold lined the outlines of the door, glimmering from the light hitting the many surfaces of their coiling body. They looked like ropes tied to the edges of the door. Instead of a knob or handle, three scarlet imprints of large hands gathered in the center of the obsidian sheet.

The elf noble placed her right hand on one outline and waved Regis over to her. He stood by her side and placed his hand on the middle outline. Danube strummed his way over to Regis's other side and put his hand out, still pinching his guitar pick. A fierce, red light shone out from the imprint, a mechanical groan hummed, followed by gears grinding, and the floor quaked, rattling Regis's knees.

From top to bottom, a long slit formed down the center of the obsidian door. The slit grew wider and wider until the doors swung open. Immediately, a sweet scent of cookies and baked goods suffused the air, and Regis nearly drooled. A tall, slender man in a suit and a top hat smiled at them, his cheeks sunk in to show the bone like a skeleton.

The tall man took off his hat and bowed, showing his bald head. He spoke warmly, "Welcome to Orsusten, young Climbers. Would you like some cookies?"