10: FWB
My hunch about my strength being a hindrance was correct, and the NPC politely said as much. Politely. Unlike the idiot elf player.
The NPC still took my money, though, and ran me through the introductory course for Smithing. With the skill unlocked and sitting pretty in my character sheet, I could go off to get the funds and the strength I needed to get started on it properly.
There were seven ranks in each crafting skill, and at base the current rank was novice. The next one up was Apprentice, the rank that Spirit Forging required before you could start learning it.
All I had to do to get from novice to apprentice was to gain ‘Proficiency’ in five ‘Crafting Patterns’ for novice level items. It shouldn't be too difficult. I just had to find some materials, tools, a forge without dumbass way-too-tall elves, and I'd be off to the races.
When I got home that day, I found Elena sprawled out on the sofa, lazily watching a feed from CORA in Virtual Environment Holographic Window. The kind that was actually projected from the computer of your own pod, rather than anything in the game. Back in the days of mice and keyboards, it would've been like having a stream open on a second monitor.
She glanced over when I entered and gave me a welcoming smile. “Hey, Keiko. I’m just watching the latest guild drama in CORA. Want to watch it with me?”
“So long as I can have some of that platter you’ve made yourself, and that wine…” I said, returning her smile. “I just spent my afternoon learning smithing and I’m exhausted.”
“Sure, why not?” she said, sitting up so I could fit next to her.
Hopping up onto the sofa, I pulled my legs up under me and settled in to watch the feed. To my surprise, she just handed me the bottle of wine, no glass or cup or anything. Then, I received a hearty slice of salami, some cheese, and a chunk of dried fruit. I felt so pampered.
“I have no idea what’s happening,” I admitted a moment later, watching as some people clashed in a deadly battle, surrounded by tall pillars of stone and jungle. It looked like an absolute nightmare environment to fight in.
Elena glanced sideways at me for a moment. "Oh, so these two large guilds have been at each other's throats for months now. They also align themselves with two different nations in a region that is basically just one big political clusterfuck. Their beef with each other has gotten so bad that the fighting actually burned down an important trading port. It's hella fun to watch the drama."
"Ah, I see. Who are we rooting for?" I asked, leaning in closer to get a better look.
"Both," she shrugged, her violet eyes twinkling. "Neither. That's the fun of it, really. They're both dumb and cool in their own ways."
"Huh," I murmured, settling in to watch the carnage. It was pretty gruesome, actually.
Rellithesh tended to tone down the gore, opting for just enough to keep things from being too silly. CORA, the other big MMO that people played, was as close to realistic as possible. That included fireball burns, entrails everywhere, and blood coating just about every surface. Personally, I didn't mind a bit of blood and guts, so long as they weren't mine. Being covered in realistic blood and gore would probably change that opinion, though.
We sat in silence together, drinking through the bottle of wine and just enjoying the show. At some point, tipsy from the alcohol, I lost my balance and flopped sideways.
My head came to rest on Elena's shoulder, and she glanced down at me with a complicated expression. "Comfortable?"
I blink, trying and failing to parse the hidden meanings to her words. "I fell over."
"I can see that," she smiled, her hand coming up to brush my cheek. "God, you're so beautiful."
"I am?" My squeak was dizzy and confused, as though it really was a surprise to me, despite the fact that I created this character.
"Absolutely," she chuckled, but pulled her hand away nevertheless, retreating slightly from the intimate moment.
Our gazes landed on the feed again, just as the battle came to a close. Victorious shouts sounded out from the victors, and then… slightly off the main focus of the camera, a couple embrace, kissing furiously. It was a guy and a girl, and the scene threw me back eight months, to the three weeks I'd had a girlfriend in Rellithesh. I wonder how she was doing these days. God, it took me a moment to even remember her name.
"It's been so long," I whispered, reaching out to touch the screen. My finger passed through it, obviously, causing it to shimmer and bounce.
Elena glanced down and raised an eyebrow. "Since you kissed someone?"
"Since I've been intimate with anyone in general," I replied, giving a one-shoulder shrug. "I had a girlfriend back near launch, but we went our separate ways pretty quickly."
"You know… I could help with that," she giggled, wiggling her eyebrows so I knew she was joking. Yeah, right. I can see right through you, Elena. Even drunk I know and remember your interest in me, you… sexy, toned, pretty… open book…
Leaning forward, hand reaching up to snake around her neck, I called her bluff. Is it a bad idea to kiss my roommate? Probably. Do I have any heartfelt feelings for her? Nope. Is she hot, and am I touch starved? Yes. So much yes.
Elena gasped in surprise when I leaned forward, but she also didn't hesitate to capture my lips and make them hers. Instantly, I’m assaulted by how different kissing a girl as a girl is. Because I’m so much smaller than her, it feels natural to let her take the lead, but more than that, I really like it. In fact, I love it. Enveloping me in her embrace, cradling my head with a delicate touch, she deepened the kiss with open desire.
A few moments later, and her hand was up my shirt. A minute after that, and I was on my back on the couch, Elena topless on top of me, peppering kisses down my stomach. My mind was buzzing, filled with a whirl of emotions, scattered thoughts, and desperate lust. I’d never experienced anything like this, not even close.
I woke the next morning in my own bed, although still naked. Memories immediately pushed through the fog of sleep and alcohol, and my cheeks burned bright in a blush.
A series of images had been burned into my psyche. Short, strawberry blonde hair brushing the smooth insides of my thighs. A tongue pressed to my new and unfamiliar center, working magic so arcane it left me shuddering and lost. Then, there had been the press of soft skin to soft skin, and my hands had explored, much smaller against a woman’s body than I was used to. At least I’d remembered what to do once they got between Elena’s legs, even if everything else was different now.
“Oh god,” I groaned, placing my arm over my face as I tried desperately to forget the taste of my roommate on my fingers after she’d come.
“You okay?” she called, her voice filtering over from her side.
Oh crap. I guess there wasn’t going to be any sheepish avoiding of the problem, huh?
“Uh… I am if you are?” I replied, biting my lower lip.
There was a rustling sound from across the living room, followed by footsteps as she made her way over to my room. The stairs creaked under her weight, and she came into view, her blanket wrapped around her obviously naked form.
“So uh… we committed the cardinal roomie sin last night, didn’t we?” she asked, her lips quirking into a smile.
God, she really needed to stop raking her gaze over me like that, or we were going to be sinning all over again.
“We did,” I said, giggling a little. “I can’t believe I got drunk and fucked my roommate.”
“Got drunk and fucked your roommate within a week of becoming a girl,” she corrected me with a cheeky wink. “But in all seriousness, I really don’t want this to fuck things up between us. You’re really cool, and it’s nice to make such a good friend this early on in the game.”
“Wow, friendzoned already,” I said with a theatrical wail. My silliness caused her to snort out a laugh, and I grinned. “Yes, I’m okay with being chill. I uh… I guess I’m just a bit of a slut now, huh?”
“Hey, nothing wrong with that,” she said. “I’m a bit of a slut too. We can be slut friends, although I think you’ll need to get yourself under a few more girls before I can give you your slut card. Let's be real, one night with a girl you aren't dating isn't exactly it, you know?”
“I get a card?” I asked, laughing. “Holy shit. Okay, we’ll have to put my sluthood on hold, I’m here to play the game.”
“Alright, I respect your choice, even if I believe it’s wrong,” she told me, poking her tongue out while her soft grey eyes twinkled with mirth. “What’s your plan for today, anyway?”
“I was going to go out and start killing things,” I said, motioning to my sword, which was leaned up against the wall. “I need to level up and get myself some more strength so I can do smithing properly… wait, where’s my Wisp?”
“God, that little thing nearly made me shit myself when it popped out. Uh, I think it went and hid in the bathroom after I evicted it from your bra,” Elena said, glancing back out into the house. “Ah, it’s curled up in the fireplace.”
“Ah, sweet. It’s still okay,” I sighed, relieved.
My roommate still hovered near my stairs, glancing back at me for a moment. “Do you want to team up today?”
Apologetically, I shook my head. “No, sorry. I want to get a handle on my class and all that. Tomorrow, or the next day, definitely. That good with you?”
“Absolutely. I’ll look forward to it!” she said, and then sheepishly, “I want to learn as much as I can about the game from you. Since you’re like, a vet or whatever. Plus, I totally saw the look in your eyes when Doug was bragging about his dungeon exploits. You were hot shit on your past character, huh?”
My cheeks flushed with embarrassment and I grinned up at the ceiling. “God, you’re perceptive aren’t you? Yeah, I was in one of the top raiding guilds. I don’t… I don't really want to talk about why I’m not there anymore. Sorry.”
My voice fell a little as I spoke, but my exile from Silver Ridge didn’t take away from the fact that yeah, I was pretty good. Shit, half of my greatest achievements had been in spite of them, because nobody wanted to run a hard dungeon I was eyeing up, so I'd frequently decide to try and solo it.
“Sorry for bringing it up,” she said, her tone softening.
“It’s no problem. Still, I’m keen to hang out tomorrow. Once I’ve figured out what I’m capable of today,” I said, smiling to let her know I wasn’t upset. She was a good person. I really hoped she didn’t find out about what exactly got me kicked out of my old guild. I didn’t want to lose her too.