Figuring Things Out

When the system hit me with that bombshell earlier, I had a weird thought. An unethical one, even. But…

“Hey, Yuki. You’re awake? Join us.”

Karina waves me over and I join them near the campfire. Nono is fully absorbed in brushing Gale, who doesn’t even acknowledge my presence. There is light and noise outside the garden, people talking, horses neighing, yet in the sheltered area we are shielded from view. A little bubble of peace.

“Are you hungry?” Karina asks and I nod.

She proceeds to ladle some stew into a bowl. It’s warm and hearty, with floating bits of potato and meat. I’ve gotten used to the different spices they use around here.

“With everything else destroyed, the vegetable gardens around town were still thriving,” she says. “This is fresh from Granlal.”

“Is it safe to eat?” I ask, fully aware I’ve already downed half the bowl.

“It should be,” Nono interjects, and that’s all the confirmation I need.

Just then, Gale looks up and meows at me.

“What’s that, Gale?” Karina asks.

The cat jumps up, snatches the brush from Nono’s hand and delivers it into my lap, looking up expectantly.

“You want me to brush you too?” I ask.

Gale actually shakes his head. Tall as he is, he doesn’t even need to jump, just stands up on his hind legs and paws at my hair. Nono laughs.

“I think he means your hair needs brushing too.”

“Mrow.”

“Let me,” Karina says.

There’s no use in protesting. Soon I sit in silence and let Karina brush out the tangles in my hair. It’s actually… quite nice. Damn. I take a glance at her face and her stats jump into view.

[Karina von Vale]

Type: Human

Attributes: Fire

Life Points: 38/45

Age: 23

Skills: Dumb Luck

I did not know her age before, but it fits. Not even the life points distract me. She’s clearly exhausted, but will recover with sleep. No, it’s the next line that makes me pause.

[It is possible to redistribute 562 skill points.]

How can I… is it the Microscopic skill? I had an inkling there was something I could do. But what am I supposed to do with that? I remember what the system told me.

[Everyone levels up through experience. Without skill Divine Appraisal, this process is passive.]

So her skill points were automatically assigned? What to?

[Skill: Dumb Luck 562/1000]

Ah. What other skills are there?

[Skill options: Dumb Luck (562/1000), Fireball (10/100)]

So she told the truth about her skills, as far as she knew. What if I reassigned some Dumb Luck skill points into Fireball, would she be able to…

Wait. No. No! I can’t do that. Meddling with another person’s skills without their knowledge? It’s one thing to manipulate objects and rebuild houses, or experiment on my own skills… it’s something entirely different reaching into someone’s whole being like that. I bite my lip.

“Yuki?” Karina asks. “You’ve been really quiet. Is everything alright?”

“Just tired,” I mumble.

“You should go back to sleep after you’ve eaten. It’s the middle of the night.”

“Did you ever wish you could do more powerful magic?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“Where’s that coming from all of a sudden? Sure, my Fireball could be better, but I’m not a mage.”

“Hm.”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m wondering about my own skill. Poru-in said that magic comes from imagination, but I don’t know how to make it stronger beyond that.”

“Repeated practice,” Nono says. “Though for someone with low aptitude, training enough to make a weak magic spell better is often senseless, as the gains are so small, they could train all their life and never achieve something as great as someone with a high aptitude. It’s better to focus on what you’re good at.”

Back when I screened candidates for my company, I heard similar things. People were often hired to fill specific niches and generalists were not as wanted. Why waste time on something you’re never going to be able to do? But I’ve always believed that if doing something gives you joy, do that thing, no matter if you’re good or bad at it. Unfortunately, that’s not something which is valued in the corporate world. And when your main goal is to survive in battle, the principles are much the same.

“But if it could be better… theoretically.”

Karina frowns. “But it can’t.”

“Right.”

Nono looks at me with narrowed eyes. Where I only see confusion on Karina’s face, Nono is immediately suspicious upon my insistence. By all accounts, she should be. But I’m also suspicious of her, so it’s only fair.

“Go to sleep. You’re talking nonsense,” Karina says and pats my head. “You’re all done here.”

“Thanks, I will.”

The labels next to Karina disappear as she puts some distance between us, and with it the temptation fades. Well, the temptation for a quick experiment, at least.

It wouldn’t be right to do it without asking. But to ask, I will have to reveal my skills. Partially. Hum.

——

By the next morning, Atol’s troops have arrived in full force. We can’t lose any more time, so I abandon the effort to construct more housing and prepare for the journey ahead. The view from the castle hill shows that the foggy miasma is condensing in the distance, crawling back into the bubble of peace, which we created through Erya’s intervention. Somewhere, on the other side, Char’s army is marching towards us. I don’t know how far we can go, but if the demons have to defend on two sides, both fronts will be less dangerous.

“How long will we take to reach Char?” I ask.

“It was a journey of about two weeks, back when the road was still unoccupied. I’d wager it will take at least twice that now,” Safrim explains. “Especially since we’re travelling in such a large group.”

I look below, to where the troops are gearing up to leave. We will have to make camp every night. Make sure everyone and their horses are fed… Luckily, the plants around here have all grown out of proportion and offer a safe, reliable food source. Some more support troops have already been called to harvest what they can to help out the refugees in Atol. Should be be able to free a large stretch of land, they will survive this winter, at least.

“Won’t we be too slow?”

“Char’s army won’t be much faster,” Safrim counters. “They have to fight demons and terrain just like us.”

“Hm.”

“I know what you’re trying to say, but going ahead with a smaller group is too risky.”

“It’s what we did to retake Granlal,” I say.

“We can’t be that lucky all the time. We can’t lose the hero to a dangerous foray.”

Ah, so now I’m a precious hero? Seems they realised I can do more than they thought, so now I’m worth protecting. I don’t blame Safrim for this. He’s likely getting orders from even higher up.

While he goes to talk to the other commanders, I seek out Karina and Nono, who have joined the few people searching though the rubble of the castle ruins to find helpful clues. Nono could tell us more about the operations here than any leftover objects ever could, but she is searching dutifully with the others. She knew the guy who performed the magic to create demons here.

I find her digging through the remnants of some crushed furniture. She regards me with a smile.

“Found what you’re looking for?” I ask.

“Not yet.”

“So you are looking for something.”

“Din’s magic focus. He would have needed one to channel the energy to create so many demons. Even if he is a dark elf, and an experienced one at that, without such a focus, he’d have worked himself to death long ago.”

“And what would you need the focus for?”

“Nothing. I just can’t have you people find it first.”

Ah. Yes. Enemies, still.

“I could reveal you to the others any time.”

“Go ahead. You’ll lose your way out. Besides, I don’t mind dying. I’ve died many times before. It was horrifying at first, but it has just become tedious by now. Also, I like this body.”

I ball my hands to fists.

“I’ll help you search.”

“Great. I knew you were smart.”

Don’t think I haven’t picked up on the hints you’ve dropped. Died many times? What? I know you’re working for the Demon Lord, but actually not much more than that.

I turn over some broken floorboards and kick away the rat that scurries over my foot in surprise. Nono is looking in an area, where no one else is searching, but I suppose she must know something.

“What does the focus look like?”

“They’re usually crystals, set in amulets. But I’m looking for Din’s corpse, which will be easier to find.”

“Ah.”

Nono looks up. “Not good with the dead?” she asks.

“I didn't have much opportunity to get familiarised with them in my old world.”

“Then you better get used to them fast. There are a lot of undead in the central demon lands. Energy that doesn’t get channeled into demons revives the dead. Any dead. They wander aimless, full of rage for being disturbed. They even attack demons. Luckily they’re quite easy to dispose of, especially with a focus. Suck the energy out of their bodies and they collapse.”

“You’re rather forthcoming with information today.”

Nono shrugs. She turns over some rocks with a focused fireball.

“This isn’t new to anyone from Fylbrin. It’s just new to you. It’s not like I’m telling you actual intel.”

“You’ve told me plenty. What do you mean you died many times before?”

Nono smiles at me. “Exactly that. And, no, I won’t tell you more than that. Just know that killing me doesn’t remove me from this world. It will only make me angry.”

She turns away to dig through the rubble again. I take a deep breath. Could I risk it? Should I? I walk over to Nono and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to harm you. As weird as it sounds, I think I might even trust you.”

Nono laughs. The text next to her head pops up as I touch her.

[Nono Lylt]

Type: Human

Attributes: Fire, Earth

Life Points: 100/100

Age: 547

Skills: [Fireball, ####]

What.

WHAT?

“I trust you too, in a way,” she says.

“Uh.”

“Is that so surprising?”

I shake my head. That’s not what surprised me. Not at all. Nono is 546 years old?? As a human??? But she has a family and… how old are her younger sisters???

“Nono. What are you?” I blurt out.

“Now that’s not a very nice way to ask a lady. You just said you trust me.”

“I do, but…”

She sighs. “Alright. I understand. I know I’m working for your enemy, but I am not a threat to you. My name wasn’t always Nono. It was Kari. And Palia. And Hil. And many others. But my first name was Minako. I know where you’re from and I am on your side.”

Just then, we hear a shout from the other side of the courtyard. They have found Din’s body.