I tried to think of something to say here...but I got nothing.

I couldn't hear anything that Alice was saying but I could hear Old Man Crocker. It was kind of funny, imagining that Crocker had finally lost his marbles. "I said, you missed the due date for rent! Now, pack your shit and get the fuck outta my building!", yelled Crocker. That wasn't so funny.

"Hell no, you ain't gettin' your deposit back! I've had to fix too much shit in that apartment since you moved in!", he yelled. I heard Darren mumble something in his sleep. "You got until the end of the month to pack your shit and move out!", he yelled. This time, I could sort-of hear Alice talking. "I don't care if you can make the damn payment! You missed the due date!", he yelled. I heard him start walking down the corridor, cane in hand.

Alice came back inside. Our eyes met and she just shook her head. She made her way to me and sat on the edge of the bed. She buried her face in her hands. I moved to the edge of the bed and pulled her into a hug.

"I forgot about the rent. After everything yesterday, I just-I forgot.", she said as she hugged me. "I'll put on some clean clothes and we'll get some stuff that fits.", she said as she pulled away. "We'll have to take some time away from grinding to find a new place.", she said as she stood up. I got out of bed and headed towards the laundry room. I had remembered the laundry when Alice mentioned clean clothes.

I had completely forgotten about the laundry after starting the all-night grind. The clothes in the washer had gone sour from being wet for so long. I started them up again and pulled the rest of my clothes out of the dryer. Then, I realized there was no point in rewashing the laundry. We all needed new clothes. I leaned against the dryer, waiting for Alice.

It wasn't long before Alice was ready. We left the apartment and took the bus towards the outskirts of the downtown shopping area. We were never down here for any kind of shopping, besides groceries, so I was a little nervous. We went through several clothing stores, picking up a few shirts and pants here and there. I counted the total amounts and realized she had spent over two hundred on clothes for us. It bothered me that Alice was spending so much on me.

Afterwards, she took me to a store that was nothing but underwear. She tried on a bunch of different bras. I milled around while she kept picking things out to try on. Eventually, she got me to try some on as well. She explained a lot of things to me about how to choose what to wear. All I could think of was how much my choices would cost her. She spent over two hundred on both of us there as well.

After that, we went by a convenience store for a newspaper. Alice said it was so she could see what was listed for rent. From there, we took the bus to a nearby park. At Alice's request, we changed our clothes in the park bathroom. Initially, I went with a black tank top and a red and black checkered skirt.

Alice rejected the tank top, saying it wasn't appropriate for apartment hunting. Instead, she picked out a blue denim jacket, black shirt, and bra for me. She helped me with putting on the bra. After that, we sat on a park bench while Alice skimmed the listings. She went through the list, marking potential places with a familiar chewed-up pen.

Once she was done, we left the park and checked out a number of apartments. The majority of them were almost as run-down as our old apartment. Alice scratched off more and more apartments as we went from place to place. We stopped back at the shopping district for lunch. We went to Hubway and Alice bought lunch for us. I was starting to feel really bad about all the money she was spending on me.

"Hey, are you okay?", she asked out the blue. I nodded and took a bite of my sub. "You haven't said much since we left this morning. You sure everything is okay?", she asked again. I nodded again and she dropped the subject. I didn't want to bring it up here.

We finished our subs in silence. Alice kept glancing between me and her paper the rest of the time we were there. We left Hubway and checked out two more places. Unfortunately, the paper neglected to mention how expensive the places were. So, we passed on them as well. We were left with slim pickings at this point. We went to one last place before calling it a day.

We rode the bus all way across town. We had to get off a few times and move to another bus to get there. We got off the bus once we were close and walked a few blocks. I noticed there was a park nearby. Alice pointed out that such places can increase the cost of an apartment. We made it to our destination with no problems, other than a long bus ride.

Once we were there, I realized this place would likely be too expensive for us as well. The three story building was made of brick and mortar. I could see clean white curtains hanging on the other side of the windows. The second and third floors had balconies. There wasn't a bunch of trash blowing around on the sidewalk. The alleys weren't littered with half a dozen of overflowing trashcans. Most of all, there were only a few cars parked by the curb.

Alice didn't hesitate to go inside. I followed right behind her. Once we were inside, I felt the now familiar feeling of entering a protected space. All the noise from outside disappeared along with the mid-day summer heat. At the same time, I saw a small window appear in front of me.

You have entered an instant dungeon.

We were in a white hallway with pale cream carpet. There was an opening to our right. In the opening, there were two chairs facing a desk. The desk had a computer monitor, mouse, and keyboard on it. There were two doors further up the hallway. I assumed they led to apartments.

A being of blue energy appeared in front of us. The energy quickly disapated and, in it's place, was a man with short black hair. I couldn't help but be a little scared. Granted, even people of the Abyss needed a place to live. It would be the first time any of us had met someone from the Abyss, asides from the mystery being.

He held in his right hand a wooden staff adorned with a red gem of an unreasonable size at the tip. He was dressed in a plain white shirt that was tucked into tan khakis. He was about as tall as Alice used to be, if not a little taller. He didn't have any facial hair. Despite his height, he didn't look to be very strong. My opinion changed the moment I looked at the text above his head.

(Apple Creek Manager)
Lv.39 Jay Wilson

"Sorry about the wait. Are you looking for a place to rent or is this a business call?", he asked in a deep voice. I could feel my face getting hot. Alice stepped in front of me.

"We're looking for a place to rent. What are your prices for two and three bedroom apartments?", she asked the same question I've heard all throughout the day. Jay stood there for a second, looking us over.

"Two bed, one bath is twenty-four hundred with a deposit of twelve hundred. Three bed, two bath is thirty-six hundred with a deposit of eighteen hundred. Rent is due on the fifteenth of every month. If you miss a payment, you are allowed up to two days grace. After that, you will be evicted on the spot.", he replied smoothly. I felt my jaw drop a little over the prices.

"Let's see your two bed, one bath.", said Alice. Jay offered his hand to us. Alice and I looked at each other. We hesitated on taking his hand. I was wary for two reasons: I didn't know or trust him.

"Teleportation is only dangerous when used by an inexperienced novice.", he said with a warm smile. "I promise I won't teleport us half-way into a wall or through the floor.", he said with a chuckle. We took his hand. I felt my face get even hotter. Moments later, we were somewhere else.

I looked around and saw we were in a hallway, similar to the one we were just standing in. The walls were painted white. At the end of the hallway, there was a potted plant sitting underneath a window on a small desk. The carpet was a pale cream and felt soft. We let go of Jay's hand. He fished a set of keys out of his pocket.

"Now, I do keep spare keys to all the locks for maitenance purposes. Also, three things to bear in mind. I will never enter an apartment that is being rented without prior notice. However, I will enter the apartment if I have reason to believe you are in immediate danger. I respect the privacy of my tenants as long as they respect mine.", he said as he went through the ring of keys. After finding the right key, he unlocked the door and led us in.

"You have an updated kitchen to the left with an electric stove, microwave, and two lane sink. The refrigerator and freezer will be scrubbed, bleached, and cleaned before you move in. There are six cupboards for dishes, small cookware, and cups. There are four drawers for silverware and cooking utensils. Beneath that, you have two double door cabinets for pots and pans. The only downside is that it feels a little cramped with more than two people.", he said as he showed us into the kitchen. Afterwards, he led us to the living room.

"Here, you have a co-joined living room and dining room. As you can see, the apartment comes prefurnished. There is an open wall between the kitchen and dining room for serving up food. The dinner table can seat up to eight people comfortably. The living room comes with two black leather couches, complete with pull-out beds, and an entertainment center complete with a thirty-two inch flatscreen TV. Please, take a seat and see for yourself how everything comes together."

We slowly sat down. The first thing I noticed was how cushy and soft the couch was. I started to look around at everything but stopped when Jay sat next to me. My blush returned in full force. All I could do was stare at my hands. I heard Jay give a sigh of contentment.

"I'm sorry. I can't be hyper professional all the time, like my sister.", he said, his arm hung over his staff. "Yet, I never get tired of showing off the apartments we worked so hard to bring together.", he said, ending the statement with a laugh. I glanced at him for a moment. He was really handsome. He pointed his staff at the sliding glass doors next to the TV.

"On the balcony, you'll find a high efficiency washer and dryer tucked away in a closet on the right hand side. The balcony has an overhang so no need to worry about getting wet during the rainy times.", he said with a relaxed smile. He motioned at the remote sitting on the coffee table in front of us. "The TV comes with a DVR remote and cable box. You can record your favorite shows and watch them when you have the time.", he said before standing up with his staff in hand. We got up and followed him into a side hallway attached to the living room.

"The entire building has central heat and air. This is the control box for tempature control in the apartment. Then, you have the two bedrooms on either side of the bathroom. The master bedroom has a king bed while the regular bedroom has a queen bed. Both bedrooms have their own closet space. Now, I'll give you ladies some time alone to talk and look around.", he finished with an exaggerated bow before teleporting to somewhere else.

Alice and I looked at each other in silence. She headed into the master bedroom and laid down on the bed. She left out a soft moan. I watched as she sank into the mattress. She laid there, motionless.

I looked around the room. I could see the closet door off to the far right. The king bed was in the middle of the room with the headboard against the wall. There were nightstands on both sides of the bed, each with a lamp. To my left, there was a large dresser with two columns of five drawers. The dresser was almost as tall as me.

"The bed alone is worth the price of the apartment. Seriously, Jun, try it out. It's like laying on a cloud!", said Alice excitedly as she sat up. She went through the whole apartment, looking at everything. She fell in love with the detachable shower wand. The other bedroom was just as nice and almost as spacious as the master bedroom. We sat on the couch together when she was done looking.

"This place is so nice. I think Darren will love it here.", she said, happy as she kicked back in the couch recliner. She rolled over onto her side to look at me. "What about you?", she asked. She was smiling the whole time we looked around. I cringed as I asked a single question.

"It costs so much. Can we afford it?", I asked quietly, afraid I would ruin her good mood. Alice pushed down the foot rest and scooted across the couch to sit next to me. She pulled me into a loose hug.

"My dad passed away about two years ago. He had a small life insurance policy and some money saved up. Most of it went to his funeral. There's enough left to make the deposit as well as first and last months rent. After that, we'll be short of covering the next month due too food and stuff. I think we can easily make it up before the due date. By then, I think we'll be strong enough to afford this place with no worries.", she explained.

"What about all the clothes and stuff we bought?", I asked. I really just wanted to shut up but I was too worried about everything. "And what about lunch? How can we afford all of this?", I asked quietly, more than a little worried. We were barely scrapping by at fifteen hundred for rent at Crocker's place. Alice hugged me tightly for a moment and kissed my forehead.

"Well, I pulled the money for clothes and lunch from rent that would have gone to Crocker. He didn't want the money, so screw him. I spent it because we haven't done anything for ourselves in a long time. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I would have said something if I thought you'd worry about it so much.", she explained, making me a little better. "This is what's been bothering you, right?", she asked. I smiled and nodded.

We talked it over a bit longer and, in the end, we decided to take the apartment. We learned that there were finance firms in the Abyss that handled a variety of things, such as paying rent. Jay was kind enough to give us a card to one place called The Institute. He went over the tenant rules and explained that we weren't allowed to create our own protected spaces in the apartment building. Jay explained that he and his sister would protect us from others in the Abyss, unless they were appropriately bribed. The only other exception to that was if we made an enemy of other organizations. There just one problem: Jay couldn't take payments from a normal bank as it would leave something called a paper trail.

That turn of events led to us visiting the downtown area to see The Institute. The outside of the building was made of concrete and was five stories tall. We were pulled into protected space as soon as we passed through the glass double doors. Alice did all the talking with the receptionist. Before long, we were seated in a private office with a woman who represented The Institute.

She explained that The Institute worked as an investment firm in the normal world. At the same time, The Institute handled false paper trails and account management for people of the Abyss. She went over the monthly account fees and when they would be taken out of our account. They had state of the art magical and barrier security to stop people from spying on our account. All of their accounts were also linked to an online site called the Abyss Auction.

They took over Alice's normal bank account for a reasonable fee. Then, her money was routed to our new account with The Institute. We were given three cell phones with active service plans. The phones came with an app to check our account balance at any time. The monthly fee also covered the cost of our phones and the service plan. It wasn't until we left the building that we realized the sun was already setting.

We stopped at a pizza place and picked up dinner. Alice didn't want to bother with grocery shopping since we were moving. The pizzas were cold by the time the bus took us to our old apartment. Darren was mad that we left without letting him know we were okay. He forgave us when he saw we brought pizza and new clothes for everyone. After all, it was pretty rare for us to be able to afford much of anything.

After we ate, we settled down for the night. Darren and Alice were researching the stuff we learned today. Meanwhile, I sat on the floor, next to the couch. I was going through my skills. I had noticed something odd about the skills I learned from Alice's book.

I didn't just learn the skills. I could feel my ki circulating through my body. I was even able to control my ki in various ways without using any skills. I could gather my ki or just let it flow freely within me. What bothered me the most was the fact that I had a new yellow bar displayed in my party window. "Status", I said, curious to know what my new bar was for.

Name: Jun Tachibana
Occupation: The Gamer
Level: 6 Exp: 49.01%
Age: 15
HP: 340/340
KP: 50/50
MP: 170/170
Strength: 26
Agility: 15
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 4
Luck: 4
Points: 0

"KP? Ki Points?", I mused as I nibbled on the tip of my thumb. I had noticed the skills I learned kept mentioning Ki. So, I was pretty sure I was right. The real question was: how could I take advantage of this? "Skills.", I said. I tapped on one of the skills I learned from Alice's book.

Basic Understanding of Ki (Passive) - Lv:Max
You have a working understanding of ki and how it flows through your body. Through this knowledge, you have unlocked your ability to utilize ki.
Effect: Latent ki potential has been unlocked.

"Did this skill unlock my ability to feel my own ki?", I asked as I switched thumbs. I sat in silence while debating whether or not my guess was right. It was hard to figure out. Eventually, I tapped on another skill I learned.

Ki Manipulation (Passive) - Lv:Max
You have a working understanding of ki and how it flows through your body. You are able to use and direct your ki in a variety of manners.
Effect: Allows for ki-based actions.

"They're both passive skills and they can't be leveled up. Ki-based actions, huh?", I mused as I stopped chewing on my thumbs. They were starting to feel raw. I tapped on the third skill I learned.

Meditation(Ki) (Active) - Lv:1 Exp:0.0%
You are able to replenish your ki through meditation.
Effect: Restore 1 KP per second.

"This suggests there's a way for me to actively use ki for fighting. I already know how to move my ki around inside my body. But, how do I use it?", I wondered. I was interrupted by the sound of something knocking on glass. I had to be hallucinating when I saw what was at the window. There was a tiny UFO-looking disc-like thing floating in the air outside the window.

"Alice, Darren, I think there's something weird outside the window.", I called out. Alice came out of the bedroom. She headed straight for the window and opened it. The UFO thing flew into the apartment. There was a small rope-like string attached to the UFO. I noticed there four books bound together by the string.

"Your payment has been received. Thank you for using the Abyss Auction.", said the UFO thing in a mechanical voice. After that, it flew out the window and it was gone. Alice untied the books and picked one of them up. I saw a window pop up and she tapped something. The book shined for a moment and broke apart, similar to when I used Alice's book. She repeated the action with another book.

"Darren, come get your books.", she called out. Alice shook her head and let out a small sigh when there was no reply from the bedroom. She looked at me and smiled. "Man, talk about a rush of knowledge.", she said as she headed for the bedroom. She leaned into the bedroom and tossed the books to Darren. After that, she turned back to me and broke into a huge smile.

"Darren and I looked up the Abyss Auction site. They sell all kinds of books. So, we bought two books for a spell called Magic Missle and two more for meditating as a way to recover our MP.", she explained. I remembered hearing about the Abyss Auction from the woman at The Institute.

"What about Magic Blast?", I asked. I was confused as to why they needed a new spell. Sure, I knew a mage needed more than one spell to survive but Magic Blast seemed like it did well for our levels.

"Well, with Magic Blast, I feel like I'm just gathering mana and releasing it. It just doesn't feel very economical. The feeling is even worse when I'm not using the skill name to cast it.", she said as she sat next to me. I froze for a moment and thought about what she had just said. I felt a lightbulb turn on.

"Alice, you're a genius!", I said, excited over my idea. I kissed her on the cheek and held up my palm. "Create Instant Dungeon!", I said, itching to try my idea. The dungeon spread out and everything went quiet, except for Darren.

"Hey, what's goin' on? Why are we in a dungeon?", yelped Darren from the bedroom. I got up and ran for the front door. I recalled a simple diagram about ki control from Alice's book. "Yo, seriously, what are you doin'?", asked Darren.

I took a stance I had never used before. Yet, it felt as if I had known the stance for my entire life. I aligned my feet with my shoulders. I held up my left arm as if it were a slightly crooked 'L'. My right hand stopped at my stomach, around the center of my ki. I slightly bent my knees to lower my center of gravity. Then, I walked myself through my theory of using ki.

I gathered my ki into my right hand, causing it to swell. I focused on condensing it to a single point: the front of my fist, near my knuckles. My fist started to give off small white tendrils of ki. As I stepped forward, I withdrew my left hand to my side and threw a punch with my right hand. I released my ki just before my punch made contact with the door. I blew a hole the size of a bowling ball in the front door. The shockwave from the blast of ki blew me off my feet.

A pop-up window appeared in front me as a zombie's arm came through the hole I made. I could hear the zombie's moans and snarls as it reached for me but it's efforts were futile.

A new custom skill has been created.
Would you like to name the custom skill?

As I sat up, I heard a spell name being said. When I looked up, I saw a small condensed magic bolt blow a small hole through the door. Another small window appeared in front of me as Darren helped me stand up. I already knew what I wanted to name my new skill. I didn't even care if it made me feel even more like an anime character.

"Yes.", I said as I got my balance back. The window disappeared and was replaced by another window.

Please state the name of the new custom skill.

"Mega Ex.", I said with satisfaction. I didn't care that my attack was based on an attack from Kurokami. I didn't mind the irony that I even slightly resembled Kuro. My breakthrough was just so exciting! I held up my hand. "Escape from Instant Dungeon.", I said, quite pleased with myself. Alice turned me around to face her as the dungeon faded.

"Jun, what the hell was that?", she asked. I looked at her and Darren. I couldn't wait to share my realizations with them. This was a huge breakthrough! I just couldn't contain myself!

"Skills!", I said excitedly. I quickly tapped on the icon of my new skill. I whirled around so they could read the skill description from over my shoulder.

Mega Ex (Active) - Lv:1 Exp:0.0%
Cost: 30 Ki
You generate a strong ki-infused punch by pooling and condensing your ki into your fist. Skill damage is linked to Strength.
Effect: Inflict 600% ki-based damage.

"I've been trying for about the past hour to figure out how to use the skills from your book.", I explained as I looked at Alice. "Their descriptions weren't very straightforward. Then, you mentioned Magic Blast and I realized-", I tried to explain but Alice interrupted me.

"Jun, slow down. Let's sit on the couch and take a few deep breathes. Okay?", she spoke as she guided me to the couch. The three of us sat on the couch together. "Now, take a few deep breathes to calm down.", she said as she and Darren sat beside me. I took a few deep breaths. "Now, from the top, what was that?", she asked.

"Yea, I wanna know too, man. What the hell did you do?", asked Darren. He was even more confused than Alice. I couldn't blame him for it. The theory was simple but the execution was a little complex.

"Well, I unlocked the ability to use ki when I used your book. It was hard to figure out how to use ki until you mentioned Magic Blast.", I explained. They both nodded and waited for me to go on. "You said Magic Blast was just releasing a bunch of mana with no real clear direction. So, I tried to pool, condense, and then release my ki through a single point. This means we can manually use ki and mana to create new skills!", I said, smiling as I looked at my right hand.

Alice sat back as she processed my explanation. I could definitely see her mind working overtime. She looked at her palm for a moment and smiled. She stood up with a wicked looking smile. Her palm went up into the air.

"Create Instant Dungeon.", she said happily. The dungeon spread out all around us. She leveled her palm at the fridge. I thought nothing was happening until I noticed her clothes were gently moving. It was like her clothes were being moved by a small breeze.

Then, she closed her hand as if she were pointing at the fridge. Her pointing finger started to faintly give off a blue light. Then, the faint light erupted and shot off as a spinning bolt of mana. The spinning bolt struck the fridge and blew it clear through the wall. When the dust cleared, I saw Alice's magic attack had kept going after it struck the fridge. There was a large hole in the wall behind the fridge.

"Wooh!", she said, sounding tired. "I didn't think that would work.", she said with a laugh at the end. I took a quick look at the party HUD. Alice had just used most of her MP. That didn't sit well with me. There was a small window in front of her like there had been for me.

A new custom skill has been created.
Would you like to name the custom skill?

"Yes.", she said, smiling despite looking tired. The window was replaced by another window.

Please state the name of the new custom skill.

"Spirit Gun!", she said triumphantly as she glanced at me. I bit back a curse. During my earlier excitement, I didn't take a moment to consider Alice would recognize the name Mega Ex. "Do you approve, Kuro?", she asked, slightly taunting me. I bit back another curse as my face started getting hot. A window popped up in front of me.

You have earned the nickname "Kuro".

I looked up and saw the text "Jun 'Kuro' Tachibana" floating above my head. I let out a soft groan. This couldn't be any more embarrassing.

"Okay, I can tell something is goin' on but I don't know what.", said Darren cautiously. He looked at us as if we had lost our marbles.

"I named my spell after an anime attack, just like Jun did.", said Alice as she grinned me. She was trying so hard not to laugh at me. I should have known she'd recognize the attack name 'Mega Ex'. After all, we both loved watching Kurokami. Darren made a sound of pure disgust.

"Seriously? You guys just created skills based on some weeabo shit? I bet it ain't even that powerful. Go on, pull it up.", he said, passing instant judgement on us. I had almost forgotten that Dragonball Z was the only anime Darren liked. Alice called up her skill menu and pulled up the description for Spirit Gun.

"Holy shit!", the three of us yelled in unison. I was vaguely aware of Alice looking at us and then back at the skill description. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Alice had just created an incredibly powerful skill!

Spirit Gun (Active) - Lv:1 Exp:0.0%
Cost: 200 Mana
Create a spinning bullet of pure, highly condensed mana. Skill damage is linked to Intelligence. Skill may pierce initial target.
Range: 75M
Effect: Deals 1200% magic damage. 50% chance to pierce target. 50% decrease in spell damage for each pierced target.

Is the skill actually useful?