Vol.4 Ch.15 – Level Up!
Chapter 15: Level Up!
Aurora decided that the only winning move was not to play, that to acknowledge Mariana's comment at all would be foolish, though internally she was cheering that someone had tried to joke with her.
She both liked and hated that Elaine was so gentle with her. She was grateful that Elaine was being so supportive of her, that she didn't try to push her more than necessary, but at the same time she didn't like being reminded that she was broken and needed healing. And so Mariana's teasing comment excited her. Mariana clearly wasn't so ignorant that she wouldn't have known what kind of effect her comment would have had. And so Aurora had to assume that this was a deliberate effort to treat her just like any other team member. And she was grateful for it.
But still, she decided not to acknowledge it, not to acknowledge the warmth radiating from her cheeks, and instead focus on the skills.
“So apparently I can just buy everything,” she said.
“You can,” Elaine said after clearing her throat, evidently grateful that she wouldn't have to come up with a reply to Mariana's teasing. “But with the way the levels work there will be one ability you won't get stat bonuses from yet.”
“How so?”
“You have skills for 240 points,” Elaine explained. “Each level costs 20 more than the last, so you need 200 to reach Level 5. Level 6 would require 300, but your Bond Level isn't that high yet. So, the third skill of Bond Level 3 will bring you over 200, which means the next skill only counts once you level up next time.”
“So I have all of these EXP but I won't get to use them until... we get to know each other better?” Aurora asked dubiously.
“That's it exactly,” Elaine said. “If you want to, we can hang out later, or maybe tomorrow. But you absolutely need to buy your available skills now.”
“The fruit thing, right?” Aurora asked, feeling the blood rushing back to her cheeks.
“Yes,” Elaine said. “That skill pays dividends the earlier you get it.” She eyed the mountain of fruit arrayed before Aurora. “Especially...”
“Yeah,” Aurora said, lowering her gaze. She didn't know why she felt embarrassed by it. It wasn't as if the thing she was indulging in was bad. They were just fruits, not drugs or alcohol. “So, which skill should I buy last, then?”
“The Level 3 Recovery skill,” Mariana said immediately.
“I thought that was the most important?” Aurora asked.
“She's right,” Elaine said. “Having the skill is the most important, yes, but the stat bonuses from it aren't. Your skill set sounds like it revolves around magic and support, so your Vigor and Endurance aren't that important. If everything goes according to plan you'll never have to worry about taking a hit.”
“How likely is that?”
“Unlikely enough that you want those stat points eventually, likely enough that you can do without for now.”
“Alright then,” Aurora said, reaching for the AR buttons in front of her, “here goes.”
“I don't really feel five times as smart as before,” Aurora said. There was something very clearly different about her but it didn't feel as quantifiable as these stats made it look.
“The stats are an abstraction,” Elaine explained. “You are definitely three times as strong as you were before, but don't try arm wrestling anyone at the compound, they're all much further along than you are. The intelligence stat mostly affects speed of thought and parallel processing, it doesn't directly make you smarter.”
“And I can use magic now?” Aurora asked.
“Yes,” Elaine said. “That's the biggest difference. If you want to hang out tomorrow I'll teach you a little bit about it.”
“I'd like that,” Aurora said. Of course she knew magic was real. Caulder had made sure of that. But she had thought it would forever be out of her reach. And yet, here she was.
**
“Great,” Elaine said, inwardly elated that Aurora wanted to spend time with her. She would not have a repeat of Abigail. She would make sure to build a proper rapport with this girl, without any unpleasant misunderstandings getting in the way. And step one of that was keeping her stat sheet a secret from Aurora for now. The girl seemed excited about how strong she was, balling her hands into fists to feel how her control over her body had grown and eyeing the Everest of fruit with something akin to lust. She didn't need to know just how far Elaine was ahead of her.
It really only left one thing on her to-do list. No, Elaine realized as she pried her eyes away from the adorable butterfly girl. Two things to do. She needed to have a proper chat with Mare, talk to her and build a proper connection, just as much as she needed to with Aurora. But much more urgently, she needed to sit down with Jeanne. That's why she'd invited her along, after all.
Jeanne, too, seemed to realize where Elaine's mind had gone because she stiffened up a bit, clearly uncomfortable with the scrutiny. But she surprised Elaine when she said:
“Would you like to come to my room?”
Elaine couldn't have been more surprised if the angel had started hopping around the cafeteria like a bunny. Why there, of all places?
But Jeanne clarified. In a quiet, gentle tone that took any sting out of the words she explained: “I'd rather not have the entire compound watch us arguing again.”
**
And so, after leaving Aurora to her giant pile of fruit, Elaine followed Jeanne to her room, realizing idly that she'd never seen the angel's living quarters. Back during... the ritual... they'd all been in Rachel's room. As Jeanne motioned to open the door Elaine wondered if this had been an elaborate way to drag her into another threesome, if Rachel was waiting for them on the bed.
But she wasn't. Jeanne's room was, in fact, nearly entirely devoid of personal effects. And Elaine realized that that was the point. That's what she had wanted Elaine to see, why she'd brought her here. This was no coy invitation. This was an empty place with nothing to distract them from the conversation they needed to have.