An awkward silence descended around the living room, and she resolved to gather the dishes to avoid the embarrassment of looking into Cora’s eyes. Oblivious to the unease floating in the air, Lizzie’s happiness shone through her eyes and merry voice.
“Auntie Cora, what do you think about the schedule?”
Cora fondled the girl’s head. “It looks great, Lizzie. Everybody will have a fair share of Rowan’s—”
“Hugs!” Grace hissed.
“Hugs.”
[Grace to Cora]: She’s six, for goodness’ sake. Don’t you dare mention anything but hugs around her, or so I swear, I’ll have your skin as my bath rug.
[Cora to Grace]: Sure, err… how should I call you now? Big Sister? Madam? Older Wife?
The Nekojin’s face looked sincere, so either she was truly candid or hid her sarcasm well.
[Grace to Cora]: Call me any of those; you’re dead. Grace will do. “You’re free today, right, Cora?” she continued aloud.
“Yes, why?”
“A family shares the good, the bad, and the chores. Are you ready to join the latter?”
“Sure, what do you want me to do?”
“Take care of Lizzie and ask Dmitri about the ways of this house. Chores rotation, everything.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll show you my routine; it’s easy,” the Greek promised. “You’re going somewhere, Grace?”
“To train. I don’t want to be left behind. Sweetie, Auntie Cora will take care of you today. Show her what a blessing it is to babysit a six-year-old, will you?” After kissing Lizzie on the forehead, Grace exited the house and beckoned to Bree, who was on the last legs of her twenty-hour shift and fretted around some rose bush in the garden.
“Is that a Princess Marga—"
“Ask Dmitri. He planted them. I need to clear my head, lose myself in something... anything. Are there any quests around?”
“I know the feeling… There are those moments in a marriage when you wish to get far and forget everything.”
“You also have two co-wives, or whatever this shit is called?”
“Nope, but we argued a lot in the past, when Sam lost his job, and… sorry, not your problem. I’m taking a look at the party search. There is a call for clearing a Mini Dungeon, level fifty-six. Two more free spots on the team… You want me to come with you?”
“You’re free? I mean, you worked a lot, and—”
“I’m good, sweet plum. I’m used to hard work, and if I come for a quest, I’ll be free for the week… OK, we’re on. I booked us for the job. My shift will be here in five, and then we can rock and roll. So, you sort it out in the end, huh?”
Grace sulked, crossing her arms. Yes, things have been sorted out, albeit not like she wanted. And there was a sour, spoiled cherry on the cake of her troubles that she procrastinated to confront. A lingering red message in the corner of her eyes.
Obligatory Survey: Please rate your interaction with I, the Warlord, on a scale from 1 to 10.
Fine. Five, Grace sneered inside her mind. I can’t tell if the interaction was good or bad.
Who would you kill if you were obliged to go back in time and terminate one of the two people you chose to save?
- The Knyaz
- Cora Shemeows
What a ridiculous name! Shemeows? Really? However, no matter how much she disliked the cat—maybe because Cora reminded Grace of herself in her teenage years—there was no way she would sacrifice a kid, even if annoying, for a fat stupid guy who should have known better than letting a Vampire bitch manipulate him.
I’d kill the Knyaz… Oops… Will he die because of my choice?
No. Purely a rhetorical question.
The answer sent shivers down Grance’s spine. It meant that the Warlord was in her mind.
Last question: Do you see yourself as more of a solo or team player?
“Seriously?”
“Say again?” Bree asked.
“Nothing. Thinking aloud.”
Team player, duh! Why?
It has become clear that your secondary class is not well-suited for you. Furthermore, my (I, the Warlord) intervention unlocked it. I am obliged by my own code of honor to remediate. Are you absolutely certain you don’t wish to walk the path of the Assassin?
You bet I don’t!
Given your efforts and achievements, I, the Warlord, have selected new options better suited to your capabilities as a team player.
I, The Warlord, hope you will find wisdom in your missteps, for regret is a personal battle we all must face.
Grace tried to see the options, but Bree touched her arm. “We can go; my shift is here.”
“Where?” Grace looked around.
“In some tree, he’s a Ninja.”
“Oh, well… everything is possible now. Where are we going?”
“We’ll go to the Border, then the Core will open a portal to Huntingdon, and we drive forty miles to Rothrock State Forest. It’s in Pennsylvania. We need a ride, by the way.”
Grace nodded. “Let’s take my car. Do you mind driving? I need to adjust my build.”
“No problem. Automatic, right?”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Yeah.”
“Perfect.”
Going inside the vehicle, Bree started the car and drove north while Grace leaned her chair back, closed her eyes, and summoned her notifications.
Choose to a new Secondary Class:
1: Sniper (Rare). Evolution of the Rogue Class. A master of camouflage, a Sniper picks valuable targets while the team deals with the brunt of the fight. Main Stat: DEX
2: Gunslinger (Rare): Evolution of the Rogue Class. Short Range AoE discipline. The Gunslinger discharges flurries of shots to clear ads or inflict DOTs on multiple enemies. Clears the Main Tank or the Leader of aggro if needed. Main Stat: DEX
3: Tactician (Epic): This will replace the Rogue Class. Available because of your Tactical Planning Perk. You can develop into a valuable field general. Albeit underestimated in favor of Strategists, the Tactician is the one who wins the Battles. Main Stat: INT
The logical choice was clear: Tactician, but her heart was drawn to Gunslinger because she liked shooting. But fun was not as important as helping Rowan and working together for the good of the County, so she went for Tactician.
“How are you adapting?” she started a conversation with Bree. “You like it here?”
“Sure... It’s really nice… We just need to find a proper house…”
“Aren’t you living in one of those mansions in the Central Square?” Grace asked.
“Oh, those… Not anymore. We moved back into the VR. Have you seen the size of the bathrooms? And no open space? Who build those damn’ things, some European?”
“Worse. Cora. Do you know she pees in a litter and dislikes water? She has an ultrasound shower in her room, some weird tech stuff… Sorry… I shouldn’t have ratted…” Grace covered her cheeks, blood flushing her face.
“That explains many things… however, she’s a sweet girl. Really good-hearted. Give her a chance.”
“I’ll try,” Grace sighed.
“Sam is thinking of getting a farm around here. The mana-infused potatoes are a good crop,” Bree said.
“Go for it. The County will pay,” Grace said on autopilot, looking outside. Then, the blue portal appeared, and they passed through seamlessly, appearing on another mountain road with snow around. Bree turned on the heating, but Grace extracted a pullover from her spatial inventory, just in case.
“Don’t you find it strange that every mini-dungeon we found was in a forest?” Bree asked.
“Cora says the ship teleported them by design into remote areas to avoid detection. Sorry, I need a moment to check my stats.”
Grace returned to her Character Menu. It didn’t look great. She had joined Rowan for claiming a mini-dungeon Core and leveled to forty-five but had been too preoccupied with her nightly activities to invest in leveling and builds.
Name: Grace Allinder, Class: Seer/Tactician, Level 45 (10 free APs)
STR: 15 / DEX: 29 / CON: 50 / INT: 31 / WIL: 25 / CHA: 31
Fuck… I need INT, but I don’t have enough APs…
The wise choice would have been to wait, but Grace felt the urge to throw the ten free APs into Strength to reach a threshold and then inspected her perks.
NEW! Strength perk, Threshold 1, Seer: Sure Body, Sure Mind. Ignore all soft CC effects: Blindness, Daze, Confusion, Disorientation, Deafness, Hypnosis, etc. Active effect: uses your Seer senses instead of your vision or hearing for a cost of 5 Mana /second.
NEW! Strength Perk, Threshold 1, Tactician: Handler: You have better weapons control and can dual-wield heavier versions in ranged and melee combat. Improves aim, stability, and balance. Works well with WIL and DEX first threshold Perks.
Dexterity Perk, Threshold 1, Seer: Advanced Ranged Proficiency. + 25% damage with ranged weapons. You can See weak spots and have a +25% chance of delivering Critical Damage to them.
Modified! Dexterity Perk, Threshold 1, Tactician: Anticipates the enemies' movements. +25% to Parry and Evade.
Constitution Perk, Threshold 1+2, Seer: Enhanced Toughness +50% Physical Resistances, immune to small arms bullets.
Modified! Constitution Perk, Threshold 1, Tactician: Super Additive. Adds +25% Physical Resistance to Seer’s CON perks 1+2 by consuming 5 Mana/second.
Constitution Perk, Threshold 2, Tactician: Blood Minstrel (Legendary)
Grace already knew what that Constitution perk did, so she skipped it. It was time to check her Magical stats.
Intelligence Perk, Threshold 1, Seer: Manager. You have a knack for organizing things from businesses to logistics.
Enhanced! Intelligence Perk, Threshold 1, Tactician: Enhanced Tactical Planning. You can plan for attack or retreat in mere seconds.
Will Perk, Threshold 1, Seer: Mindful Control. You have better control of your body and emotions when under stress. Useful both in combat and for your private life.
Modified! Will Perk, Threshold 1, Tactician: Resolve. You have the patience to apply your plans despite the obstacles in your path. You don’t lose hope easily. + 25% Mental Resistance.
Charisma Perk, Threshold 1, Seer: Silk-Tongue: When your intuitions are true, your words can convince others about their truthfulness.
Modified! Charisma Perk, Threshold 1, Tactician: Bespoke Connection. You have gone to great lengths to build a deep relationship with the man you love. Common activities will perform 50% better. This can translate into fighting, your love life, endearing family activities, or high-quality stage performances. It works well with your Seer first Will Perk.
The last perk almost made her cry, but Grace forced herself to sobriety. And it was time; there was a police roadblock just ahead.
“Hi, are you with the Classed team?” a policewoman asked when Bree stopped.
“Yep.”
“Thank goodness! Godspeed.”
“That was a friendly welcome,” Grace stated as they drove on.
“According to the mission’s brief, this dungeon was discovered a while ago, but the government kept the information under wraps. They sent the Army to clear it, failed, tried with the Neeks, and failed again. Now that the government is gone, the local authorities cut a deal with us; they’ll pay us ten million in gold to clear the Dungeon. It’s near a huge college campus and cuts the main communication roads. Many college nerds also tried to clear the dungeon and got killed. The good thing is this dungeon lets you get out if you want to abandon the fight. OK, here we are.”
The car slowed and parked near two other cars, a minivan and a 4x4. Beside the road, on a clearing covered in snow, people trained. There was Carla, two Asian men, one in Samurai armor, and a tall blonde Grace could recognize from a mile away. The Vampire who gave Grace the Blood Gift.
“What’s she doing here?” Grace blurted, trying to extract her handgun from the spatial storage. Which was not quite organized, as instead of the gun, a purse first fell out, followed by various makeup items, a pair of nylon socks, some sexy underwear, a pack of cigarettes she used to smoke in secret, once in a blue moon… and the deluge stopped there because Bree caught her hand.
“Hold your horses, sweet plum. She’s our ally now.”
Grace gasped. Bree was right; Rowan had made a deal with the Vampire clan. “I forgot. You know her?”
“We worked together for the last couple of weeks. She trained us, hasn’t Rowan told you?”
No, because he was too tired to talk… My fault… mine and Isla’s.
Thinking of Rowan made her miss him so much that she had to call, never mind waking him up. “Hi, honey,” she blurted as soon as he answered.
“Mmm… Hi…” his sleepy voice answered.
“I’m going with Bree on an adventure. Don’t worry, we’ll be safe…”
“Take care, call me if you’re in danger,” his voice suddenly revived.
“Thank you... Have to go… love you.” Closing the phone, Grace busied picking up the mess she created from the car’s floor, avoiding Bree’s amused gaze. Finally, she exited the car, shivering under the colder weather.
“Use your movement skills, you fucking rookies,” the blonde Vampire yelled. “Like this!” she demonstrated a lightning-fast move, forward and backward.
“Are those our guys?” Grace asked. “Never saw them before.”
“We’re cooperating with the other towns,” Bree said. “We help there, they help here.”
“The Countess?” the Vampire frowned. “Come here.” She grabbed Grace by the elbow, pulling her behind the car. “What are you doing in this attire? You do have some body armor, right? Medium leather armor would do. This is a Goblinoid dungeon; we need stealth, or we will be overwhelmed in no time. No guns, too noisy, only bows and arrows. You have five minutes to prepare.”
Sighing, Grace fiddled around in her inventory, finally extracting her bow and quiver, medium body armor, and a light leather helmet. She managed to get ready in four minutes.
“Accept the party invite, and let’s go!” the Vampire yelled.