The Chimera Summoner – Ch 26 (2 of 2) – Motivation
Ch 26 part 2--
My morning training now included sparring with both Lucy and Violette. They were each combat experts, but their styles were as contrasting as possible.
Lucy loved getting up close and personal, relying on creativity and reflexes to find solutions to every situation I could throw at her.
Violette, contrary to her fiery personality, had an extremely calculating approach to battle. She was perfectly content to wait minutes at a time, as I darted between cover to try to close the distance on her, slowly maneuvering me into a perfect shot.
It took some convincing to get both of them not to ‘accidentally’ lose to me, in the hope of getting pinned down.
Then they figured they could at least get disciplined for not fighting properly.
In the end, I had to turn it upside down on them, and offer them extended ‘treats’ for a job well done, when they tried for real.
Thereafter, both of them kicked my ass multiple times, per morning.
Lorna would watch, mostly silent, only giving the most occasional observation. But her insights always led me to a marked improvement. And her unwavering belief in me helped bolster my spirit, when I really wanted to go back to bed and get one extra hour of sleep, rather than train.
After, we would retreat to the mercifully private gym showers where I would get a secondary workout keeping Lucy and Violette satisfied. Or at least keep them from going completely feral. They were both insatiable. And I was starting to be too. The feeling of mutual yearning, straight from my soul to theirs, was a constant temptation that I gave into more often than I liked to admit.
Lorna mostly contented herself with voyeurism, and some occasional mutual masturbation full of a longing that made my entire being ache for her. I yearned for more, and I knew she did too. But she was still unable to hold her corporeal form for longer than a few heartbeats, so we shared our tantalizingly brief kisses, and caresses and worked hard to Level up.
I no longer dismissed them, except when necessary for class or when I was in dire need of mana recovery. Instead, they were my constant companions, trailing me in the halls like colorful shadows. My classmates gradually became accustomed to seeing me with them, so we drew fewer and fewer comments.
Looks, on the other hand… we still got a lot of.
Which I understood.
My girls were smokeshows, one and all. I still found my eyes snagging on them, whenever my attention wandered. More than once I caught myself just gazing dreamily at one of them.
Lorna met this with a secretive smile and gentle redirection to my current task.
Violette would smirk, and act aloof. But her tail would give her away, lashing like a great fluffy serpent behind her, and revealing how much my admiration pleased her. And I was rapidly growing to enjoy her cutting sense of humor, and ferocious streak. She fit in well with Jennie, in that way.
Lucy would flush, and squirm. She loved that I was still just as entranced with her, even with Violette around. I squashed her fears that she'd get less love whenever I felt it. I didn't mind. Our relationship was like a garden. I was more than happy to do as much weeding as necessary for us to flourish.
I tried not to throw out my shoulder, patting myself on the back so hard. But I was genuinely pretty proud of how we were all growing together, both as Wayfinders and… girlfriends? Lovers? Suitors?
I should ask what kind of labels would suit each of them best.
The students of the first year were settling in.
After our first weekend fluke, Jennie and I settled into the top third of the leaderboard. Hera and her team, predictably, took the top by storm and stayed there, growing their lead by the week.
I was more than happy for them to take the spotlight.
With our names no longer a source of resentment and rumor, Jennie and I gradually blended into the rest of our years students.
As we proved ourselves over and over in the sparring ring, and other practical exercises, we even earned some acceptance and respect.
Valant continued to have us spar in different teams, terrains, and scenarios. She also ran us through grueling obstacle courses and puzzle rooms that made my head ache.
Brawly was on a rampage, running us through ever more impossible obstacle courses, the difficulty more than keeping pace with our rapidly growing levels.
Bernsley had all of our gear under a microscope, sometimes literally.
The workload I was putting myself through was pushing me to the absolute limit many times a day. I was feeling absolutely relentless, and the rewards for my efforts only pushed me to redouble them.
With each drop of sweat, I could feel my mastery of my Class grow.
I had people to look after now. My familiars had tied their futures to mine, and I was done making them pick up my slack.
Our teamwork grew, and I was taking a more and more active role in fights, both in class and in the Dungeon.
Our second and third weekends, we made it through the first biome easily and started working on the second. The monsters there were more powerful, much to my delight.
The harder we were pushed, the better our progress would be. Plus, the loot was markedly improved, making our income spike quite meaningfully, especially since we were still only splitting it two ways.
With the extra income, we filled out our armor sets. I got Lucy a set of mobility focused gloves to go with her red sneakers. Violette got a set of silken robes tailored for archery that gave her a refined, lethal kind of look that I found very fetching. Lorna requested rings, instead of armor, which boosted the efficacy of her mana regeneration and Skill cooldown time.
I found a set of shoulder armor pieces that gave a mild boost to my Body attribute, and increased the power of my special attacks from my hands. Perfect for getting more value out of my [tempest strike].
Jennie was able to fully upgrade her leather body suit, and even managed to acquire some useful trinkets. I had three more armor sets to buy, so I left utility and quality of life on the shelf, for now.
But the purchase that took up most of our funds, and would for some time, was an apartment.
About a third of the first years had moved out of the barracks as soon as possible. We’d hung on as long as we could, so that we could gear up.
But finally, we could stand it no longer.
Cramped conditions were one thing.
Having nowhere to get real privacy was another.
At the end of our first month, right after our fourth weekend Dungeon dive, we bit the bullet.
Jennie scowled, slamming her trunk down in the tiny kitchen of our new apartment.
We’d finally squirrelled away enough tokens to rent the second cheapest option other than the barracks. A two bedroom apartment, with shared kitchenette, shared bathroom, and one hard couch.
“We need a tank.” I said, finally bringing up what we’d been avoiding since our fourth dive.
“Lucy is doing great.” Jennie argued, for the millionth time.
“No one is saying she isn't." I agreed. “But we’re wasting her strengths by making her main-tank for us.”
Lucy bounded up with a box of fragile dishes we’d purchased to go with our paltry kitchenette.
“Let me loose!” She cheered. “I want to dive on backline monsters and heck em up! Pow pow! Lucy style!”
I ruffled her hair fondly and took the precious plates from her questionable care.
“How long until your next familiar?” Jennie asked.
I frowned.
Eir
Human
Lv 9 Chimera summoner
Body: 9
Mind: 16 (+7)
Spirit: 20 (+11)
Attribute points: 18!
Skill points: 2!
Skills:
Familiar bond: (3/3)
Paramore's mending: (1)
Chimera assimilation:(3/3) - Tempest strike, spectral waltz, Cinder-blossom harvest.
“Should be level ten soon.” I shrugged. “Felt like I had to get my skill from Violette first.”
The Cinder-blossom harvest had rapidly become our group’s win condition against elites and especially Biome Guardians. It turned Violette’s escalating damage over time effects into both a burst of damage, and a substantial group buff. Long fights had quickly become the group's specialty.
It was a great skill. Plus, it felt SO good to have a big flashy finisher, rather than having to run away and wait for foes to burn away over time.
“So do we add a third, or just wait for you to hit ten?” Asked Jennie, “Or should I–”
“We don't know if I'll get a tank.” I interrupted. I hated when Jennie brought up looking for another team. “I've been thinking…”
Jennie squared up to me. In our confined little kitchenette, I couldn't escape her.
“Hera’s been rotating out two of her spots.” I muttered.
Jennie’s eyebrows looked like they were about to take flight.
I plowed on. “Ravale is locked in. She's the best healer in the year by a mile. And they’ll never let Nyke go. She’s probably the best tank, though that one is closer. That leaves…”
Jennie blinked rapidly. “A DPS–preferably melee, and a flex spot.”
Parties usually contained a tank, healer, and ranged damage. The other two spots were technically flex spots, but a melee damage dealer was the most common fourth, by far. The fifth spot was sometimes a utility focused person like Lorna, or a second ranged damage. As a fifth, I could offer a little of everything. Except tanking. Which Nyke would more than cover.
“What makes you think they'd consider us?” Jennie scoffed.
I shrunk a little, but plowed on, feeling warm encouragement from my familiars. Well. From Lucy and Lorna. From Violette it was more like if arrogance could somehow be projected–a cockiness buff.
“I’ve been sparring with them, a couple times a week.” I admitted. “We talked about the possibility.”
“...You’ve been sparring with them, one at a time?” Jennie asked, eyes narrowing.
“Teams.” I corrected.
“You’re one person.” Jennie said, flatly.
Violette poked her head over the little counter, ears flat, ready to fight.
Jennie raised her hands in surrender. “I mean, I know you’ve got…But she’s one Wayfinder.”
“What of it?” Violette demanded.
“She shouldn’t…?!” Jennie floundered. “You shouldn’t be able to go one versus five against the best team in the year. That’s like… not controversial.”
“It’s just three of them.” I offered. “Just Hera, Ravale, and Nyke.”
Jennie waved her hands like she was about to protest then, stopped herself and rubbed her eyes.
“Ok.” She said, peeking at me. “I have been meaning to talk to you about this. Your Class is bizarre. And it’s not just that your Skillset is unusual. All Summoners are pretty weird. But you’re…overpowered!?”
I tensed. My Familiars filtered into the room, instantly putting down whatever they’d been unpacking. I hadn’t thought about the peculiar circumstances of my awakening in weeks. I’d been too busy. And the changes to my body had become normal to me much faster than I had even realized.
Jennie made a peacemaking gesture, “This is crazy. But I’m just going to ask. Did you get your Class from the Architect?”