Chapter 16: Filters, [Spell]s, and Tags

  There it was, spelled out in boxy, green letters, after a week of concentrating and honing in on my best approach to increasing quality. The white filter, which I had labeled [Mana-sight] with the [Mark .07]’s customization settings, had proved invaluable. I looked closely at the new ink carafe and noticed the volume drop. It looked like it had lost a little less than half during the final processing. It made sense, I supposed. When alcohol was distilled, it lost volume, too. Of course, that was from the evaporation of water molecules, leaving a concentration behind. I doubt that is what happened in this case. Sure, the ink had water in it, it was a liquid. I leaned toward a theory along the lines of purified [mana], removing all the impurities. Except that fell apart with the realization that [mana] was energy, and energy didn’t take up space. You could not weigh it. But, then how did it work with the physical manifestation of magic? Green Lantern style, maybe? I needed a primer for magical theory. For now, distillation worked for my purpose.

  I could start using smaller vessels for mixing. The few times I had seen Master Alric personally make ink for his scrolls, I’d noticed he used much smaller mixing containers. My carafes, compared to his vials, had seemed like overkill, at first. Who would need a carafe of ink? Carafes were for orange juice. Now that I was scribing magic scrolls myself, I knew why. The quill I used was closer to a small paintbrush. I needed to use a lot of [ink; common] to get usable results out of the scrolls. [Ink; poor] wasn’t even an option. The [mana] infused parchments soaked it up like a shipwrecked sailor and a keg of rum. I had seen some of the greater scrolls Master Alric created, and they were certainly not scribbled in heavy paint strokes. They were inked in the fine, narrow letters of a master calligrapher. With flawless penmanship, they were truly works of art. Highly ornate with intricate designs and sweeping embellishments. I had seen pictures of 'The Book of Kells', considered the greatest of Ireland's treasures, and Alric’s masterworks gave it a run for the money.

  Seeing [ink; good] listed under [Skill]s gave me the warm fuzzies. I also liked how the drop-down menu presented it. With only five [Skill] slots available, I could have lost three to just ink making. It was good to see that a highly technological race such as the orcs—Space Orcs! —had not made such a foolish blunder.

  So, if I had five [Skill] slots, and three [Spell-slot]s—yeah, the nomenclature wasn’t always consistent, that was the [Mark .07] for you, not even first gen, sheesh—what happened when they were filled? I noticed some spelling mistakes, too. ‘!’ and ‘$’ sometimes replaced their obvious, letter associations. But enough of that, back to the beginning. Filled slots, and what happens after. Fingers crossed; I’d be Level 2! Or [Level], if I was right. I would check in on Tess over dinner tonight, and see where she was sitting on [Skill]s.

  Getting home after a good day at the shop, I was in high spirits. I didn’t even care that it was my turn to cook dinner. It would be nice to buy dinner from our favorite spot, the place with the sticky buns, but alas. I could not afford it. Tess had been defaulting to it when her turn came around. No complaints, here. Her cooking tended to leave a bad taste in the mouth. But I sure envied her tips for a job well done. All I got was inner satisfaction. Good feelings didn’t buy the bacon.

  I found some dried pasta in the cupboard. I could pair it with some Parmesan analog Tess had come across on a run, throw in garlic—it put the universal in the universe—and some cream, spices, and wallah, we had an Alfredo in the making. Mushrooms, it needed mushrooms. I loved mushrooms! Take that, Jake. I pulled a variety mix of them out of the cooler and set them on the counter with pasta, garlic, and spices. A pair of self [heat]ing pots, one for the water and one for the sauce, and away I went.

  The Alfredo was well along when Tess made it home. Not only did she start her day earlier than me, but she finished later, too. It made sense that she earned more coin than I did. Still sucked. Speaking of the suck, she was not alone when she came through the front door.

  “Book, it smells amazing in here!”

  “Just a little something I threw together.” Always be modest. But I was getting better at cooking. My dorm-mate had always left the cooking channel on when he studied, a habit I’d carried since. Some of it must have stuck. I’d never put it to the test before. Now, I had to fend for myself. I couldn't afford not to.

  “Yo, Book,” this was from her companion. Kolin. They were still a thing, apparently.

  “Hey, Kolin. Back from a grand adventure?”

  “You know it,” He shot me a grin, the cocky bastard. The only thing his words needed were an addendum; ‘Bro’, ‘Dude’, ‘My Man’, or such. I could almost hear it.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “He and his team,” Tess said. “They took on a pack of wolf-bats. Tore ‘em up, dude!”

  Team Brawn, he-he. And I doubt it was a ‘pack’ of wolf-bats. At most, maybe two or three of them. They were nasty buggers from what I’d heard.

  “Kool-kool,” I said. “Anyway, I hope you’re hungry, My Girl.” OK, that was just wrong. I fell prey to my own wit. It was cute when Tess said stuff like that.

  “Always, Book. You’ve seen me wolf down pasta like there was no tomorrow.”

  I sure had. That was cute, too.

  “So, got enough if Kolin stays?”

  I’d been afraid of that. “No problem. I made enough sauce for two meals and can always throw in more pasta.” Discovering dried pasta here had been a godsend. It was between that and rolled oats that kept us fed.

  “Thanks…dude?…,” Kolin told me. “Did I use that right, hon? Dude?”

  Tess was a tall girl, so she didn’t have to reach up to give Kolin a peck on the lips. My jaw hurt from all the teeth grinding. I held my smile.

  “Got it in one, babe.” Kolin looked confused at the slang, and Tess’s pet names started to wear thin on me.

  She shrugged his look off. I ignored it.

  We were sitting around, eating plates piled high with mushroom Alfredo. Tess and Kolin took the couch, and I sat cross-legged on the floor. Kolin jabbered on about his latest adventure non-stop, only pausing to slurp up noodles. There was sauce on his chin. I smiled and nodded.

  “You have got to tell him, Tess. You got your first combat spell, today!”

  What was that? What did he just say? “Tess?”

  “Yep,” she said. I could see a little sheepishness hiding in her brown eyes. Was she not going to tell me? “It happened so fast. I was on one of Jez’s special runs, carrying some sort of valuables. She never tells me what’s in the pouch. Anyway, I’m running along when this pair of thugs blocks me. One in front, one behind. The first guy brandished a knife at me and started to say something, probably something cliche. ‘Give me all your money…’” She tried for a deep voice here. “I didn’t wait to hear, not wanting to bother, you know? So, I barely slowed my pace, then kicked him—flat-footed—right in the balls as hard as I could.”

  Tess laughed, and Kolin and I cupped our jewels. Every man ever born involuntarily winced when they heard something like this. Apparently, elves did too. Now I knew their parts matched human anatomy. Girls, too…? Also, involuntary (//oink-oink, piggy//).

  “I bet he lifted six inches off the ground, ha! Then I did a little spin maneuver around him, activating [sprint; common], and that was that. I didn’t expect to get a [Spell] out of it.”

  There, the brackets! They changed placement, right after I was thinking about it. Coincidence, or influence?

  “I heard a…,” she hesitated, looking at Kolin. “…a gurgle as I ran past.”

  “Ooh, babe,” Kolin scrunched his face in mock misery. “Please don’t say things like that.” He tossed me a look of solidarity. If things get going like this, a tooth is bound to crack from all the grinding.

  I knew what she had started to say. She’d heard the *Ding!*.

  “Anyway,” a huge yawn split her face. “That was my day.”

  Kolin and I let go of sympathy yawns. There might have been a hint of…hint…in mine.

  “Oh man, I’m wiped. And I have an early day tomorrow, like…”

  “…usual,” the two of us sang in harmony. We shared a genuine smile.

  Tess stood and pulled Kolin up off the couch with her. She clung to his arm as she led him to the door.

  “So, Tess,” Kolin asked on his way out. “Have you thought any more about…”

  “Later, Kolin,” she replied. “Right now, I need some shut-eye. Lunch tomorrow, at Garlyn’s Cafe?”

  “Sure thing.” He pulled her in for a kiss. A little too long in the midst of company, I thought.

  I was glad when the door shut behind him. Now we could talk about a few shared things.

  “You heard the *Ding!*” It was not a question.

  “I heard the *Ding!*.”

  “What does it say?” I asked.

  “It’s called [powered front kick].” She read the complete description for me.

  “Variable? That sounds useful.” Significantly more useful than my one--and only one--spell, [apprenticeship unlock; common].

  “Definitely. And the evolution part, that sounds like [Level]s, right?” She was bouncing on her feet.

  “Yes, it does. Now we just have to get there,” I said.

  “How?”

  “According to my HUD, there are five slots for [Skill]s, and three for [Spell]s.” Had the brackets changed for her, too? Not important yet, so I’d ask later.

  “Same.”

  “I’ve got [translation; superior]…”

  “Yup.”

  “… [ink; poor]->[ink; common]->[ink; good],” I told her my thoughts on the chain.

  “Makes sense,” she nodded. “I have [sprint; common].”

  Hers wasn’t chained with a ‘poor’ tag. Good for her. Not to brag (//right!//), but I had a ‘good’ tag.

  “I have my new [PFK], and you’ve got your unlock thing.”

  OK, she had me there. I may have achieved my spell first, but her’s was combat-oriented. Not that I wanted to get into fights, but it was still cool. And Tess had said it wasn’t unusual for [Courier]s. It made sense, since they often ran into trouble on the road, and needed to defend themselves. I got the impression this led to a fair number of [Courier]s straying into the adventurer’s life. Tess’s…friend, Kolin—official boyfriend, the doof—was a prime example. I knew he was dropping hints that Tess joins him down that path. It had been obvious, at the door. She was not biting, yet, but there was a new gleam in her eye when we talked after he left. I did not like it, not one bit. But what could I do? If I opposed it too much, I could see it pushing her along quicker.

  “So, by my reckoning…,”

  “You and your two-dollar words, Book.”

  “By my reckoning,” I stressed it. “We should [Level] up once all the [Skill]s and [Spell]s are maxed out. It’s only reasonable there is someplace to go up from there.”

  “Only reasonable.” She liked to parrot.

  “The only thing we have to do now is…just do it.”

  She grinned. “Nike is going to get you.”

  I grinned back. “Common turn of phrase, free domain.” I stuck my tongue out at her.

  Tess and I were on par with each other, with two [Skill]s, one [Spell]. Also, [Spell] was now in brackets instead of [Spell-slots], damned first-generation implants. I would hope T.U.S.K. Industries fixed things before the initial release…

  What the hell was I thinking?! T.I. was the enemy, for acorn’s sake—the swear comes more naturally every time. When the orcs invaded EH-103—not if, when—I wanted them with the least advantage over the elves as possible. I hoped it was a looong time away. I didn’t know how to prepare for the eventuality. Neither running and hiding, nor trying to fight back ourselves, struck me as viable options.

  Tess would want to fight. If I wanted to stand by her—not protect (//other way around, buddy//)—when the time came, then [Level]s was the game.