Gods of Blood and Bone (Seeds of Chaos Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

well?”
    IF YOU PLAY WELL, YOU GET MORE SEEDS. AND THE SEEDS ARE REALLY THE POINT OF IT ALL. THEY ALLOW YOU TO CHANGE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOURSELF, EXCEPT PERSONALITY. THE 13 ATTRIBUTES. THEY MAKE YOUR WISHES COME TRUE, LITERALLY.
    —Bunny—
    “Thirteen Attributes?”
    PART OF THE QUEST I GAVE YOU, WHICH YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVEN’T DONE.
    —Bunny—
    I bit the inside of my lip. “I had a lot of things to think about. This is overwhelming.”  
    YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO BECOME A LOT MORE ADAPTABLE. SIGH. LET’S RUN THROUGH IT NOW, THEN.
    —Bunny—
    I frowned, and hesitated. “Umm, what do I…?”
    DOUBLE SIGH. YOU’RE A BIT USELESS, AREN’T YOU? SAY “DISPLAY QUESTS.”
    —Bunny—
    I bit the inside of my lip again, this time for a different reason, but held my irritation back as I always did. I wanted to set Bunny straight, but there was nothing I could say. There was nothing special about me at all. I wasn’t a great student, I wasn’t pretty, and I was especially nonathletic. I was the type of person who was mostly ignored, except for the occasional bullying. An invisible girl. But that didn’t mean my jaw didn’t clench and my tongue didn’t burn with the desire to spit something cutting at the screen.  
    Instead, I said, “Display Quests.”  
    INTRODUCTION TO USER INTERFACE–STATUS WINDOW
    USE VOICE COMMAND “DISPLAY STATUS WINDOW.”
    COMPLETION REWARD: 5 EXPNON-COMPLETION PENALTY: NONE
    I followed its instructions, and a larger window popped up.  
    PLAYER NAME: EVE REDDING
    TITLE: NONECHARACTERISTIC SKILL: N/A
    LEVEL: 1UNPLANTED SEEDS: 1
    SKILLS: NONE

STRENGTH: 7
LIFE: 12
AGILITY: 4
GRACE: 4
INTELLIGENCE: 10
FOCUS: 8
BEAUTY: 4
PHYSIQUE: 5
MANUAL DEXTERITY: 7
MENTAL ACUITY: 10
RESILIENCE: 5
STAMINA: 6
PERCEPTION: 7

    A small, quickly fading window slid into my peripheral vision, telling me I’d gained five experience points, and giving me instructions for the next part of the “chain” quest.  
    “These are measures of…me?”
    YES.
    —Bunny—
    I poked at the word “Strength” on the screen.  
    STRENGTH: ABILITY TO EXERT PHYSICAL FORCE.
    “I’m level seven strength? Seven out of what?”  
    7 OUT OF INFINITY. THOUGH IF YOU DON’T LEVEL UP ANY OF THE BALANCING ATTRIBUTES, YOU WILL REACH A POINT WHERE YOUR BODY IS SO STRONG IT’LL DESTROY ITSELF. USE THE ATTRIBUTE WINDOW TO DISPLAY ALL OF THEM AT ONCE.  
    —Bunny—
    “Display Attributes,” I said. Another EXP gain notification popped up, along with a larger window.  

ATTRIBUTE
LEVEL
STRENGTH: ABILITY TO EXERT PHYSICAL FORCE.
7
AGILITY: PHYSICAL ABILITY TO INITIATE QUICK-TWITCH MUSCLE MOVEMENTS.
4
MANUAL DEXTERITY: ABILITY TO UTILIZE FINE MOTOR CONTROL.
7
INTELLIGENCE: ABILITY TO REMEMBER DATA AND EMPLOY REASONING.
10
MENTAL ACUITY: ABILITY TO THINK AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS QUICKLY.
10
FOCUS: ABILITY TO CONCENTRATE ATTENTION ON A SPECIFIC ISSUE.
8
PHYSIQUE: PHYSICAL APPEARANCE OF THE BODY’S FORM, CONFORMING TO THE WISHES OF THE PLAYER.
5
BEAUTY: ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE, SPECIFICALLY THE FACE, CONFORMING TO THE WISHES OF THE PLAYER.
4
GRACE: ABILITY TO CONTROL THE FLOW AND CONSEQUENCE OF BODY MOVEMENTS.
4
RESILIENCE: ABILITY TO RECOVER FROM DAMAGE AND MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION.
5
STAMINA: MEASURE OF HOW MUCH PHYSICAL OR MENTAL FORCE CAN BE EXERTED BEFORE BECOMING EXHAUSTED.
6
PERCEPTION: ABILITY TO SENSE BOTH THE PHYSICAL AND THE IMPLIED.
7
LIFE: MEASURE OF HOW MUCH DAMAGE CAN BE ABSORBED BEFORE DYING.
12

UNPLANTED SEEDS:   1

    NOW PICK ONE, HOLD YOUR SEED TO YOUR WRIST OR YOUR NECK, AND MAKE A WISH FOR WHICHEVER ATTRIBUTE YOU WANT TO INCREASE LEVELS.
    —Bunny—
    I pulled out the little marble-like ball from under my pillow again and held it in my hand, studying it. The sun shone through my window and fell onto the Seed. It was beautiful, that liquid swirling around inside, glimmering in the light. Once again, the words rose to the surface, prompting me to make a wish.  
    “Is it addictive, like, a drug?