The stone forest had a new air of danger, as Emelia kept expecting one of the lizards, a Chixel Imri had called them, to ambush them. Her life before the integration hadn’t been perfect, but compared to having a race of lizards trying to enslave you, things had been great.
Imri, unflappable as always, rambled on about how the damn lights worked. “Mana shares many properties of other forms of energy. That’s why using mana to power lights is so fascinating. Think of what we can do if we find methods of gathering large amounts, besides ripping people's souls apart that is. Combining that with our modern knowledge can accomplish many things science fiction hadn’t even considered.”
“You're seriously more excited about using mana than you are concerned about homicidal lizards that want to enslave the human race?” Emelia asked, though she already knew the answer. Imri just shrugged. Emelia shook her head, though she felt strangely reassured by his unending nerdiness in the face of unspeakable evil.
They had decided to head back to the waterfall. While Emelia wasn’t entirely thrilled about returning to the spot Imri had described as a one-stop shop for monsters, they didn’t have a better idea. The idea of a hungry monster hunting them for food seemed far less concerning when sentient Chixel wanted them enslaved. It also reassured her that they wouldn’t be sleeping under a floating island held up by beams of energy powered by souls. Yes, Emelia was certain she would not be sleeping any time soon despite not sleeping since the integration. Falling unconscious from taking on soul wounds just wasn’t the same as sleeping.
As they neared the site, they spotted a group milling around the pool's edge formed by the waterfall. Fortunately, they were other humans, and Emelia even recognized some of them as fellow hospital staff. There were about a dozen people, all dressed in the simple clothing provided by the system, though some had slightly different variations than the robes she and Imri had both been given. A particularly large man had armor made from various animal pelts and a sword slightly smaller than Emelia.
As Emelia and Imri approached, she noticed the group tense up, then visibly relaxed when someone recognized her. They had been arguing about something, but she couldn’t hear any of it above the waterfall's roar. As she drew closer, her empathic skills flooded her mind. The entire group was terrified, though she didn’t need the system to learn that. She felt relieved that she wasn’t the only one in a state of panic over the unusual circumstances; Imri was just the weird one.
They were gathered around the corpses of several hyena creatures that she was certain were the Ulfr Hounds Imri had mentioned. Mixed among the monsters was a human body, an elderly man who had been a patient at the hospital.
“If it wasn’t for Zhaire, who knows how many people would have died? This place isn’t safe.”
“As opposed to what, wandering around? We’ll run into more monsters that way.” The pair argued on, scarcely acknowledging the new arrivals.
Emelia hoped Imri would step in and calm the panicked group down, but he averted his eyes when she looked over at him. He wasn’t terrified like the others, but he was definitely uncomfortable with the larger group. It pained her that his unease extended to her. Just two minutes ago, he had rambled incessantly about his different theories, and now he couldn’t even look at her. Was he afraid she would leave him for this group? That she would abandon him in favor of someone more normal? She had to admit she had been put off by him initially, and in a normal world, she would have left it at that. But now she wasn’t so sure; something about him reassured her. He was the only one making any progress with understanding this world.
“Everyone calm down!” Emelia yelled, startling the group that had barely noticed her. She wasn’t sure what she had done, but she cast a spell as she said those words.
New Spell Learned Tier/Rank Description Project Emotion 1F Influence others' emotions to mirror your own more closely. Mana cost varies on the severity of the emotion of the target and the caster, and the distance from the caster to targets.
Emelia Fields has reached Level 3 in Empathic Healer (1F) Emelia Fields has reached Level 3 in Human (1F) Secondary Stats Gained New Value +1 MP 123 +1 Mana Efficiency 149
The spell took effect, calming the group down enough for Emelia to speak without interruption. “I think we should all listen to Imri. He at least has some idea of what’s going on.” As one of the group turned to Imri, many doubtful sentiments were expressed in hushed whispers. Imri, the man who had faced a Chixel with a soul-destroying dagger without flinching, was visibly nervous from a small crowd of people.
Imri started by explaining how their universe had been integrated. When the questions started to come, Emelia could see Imri gained confidence. It quickly became apparent to everyone that he knew far more than they did. It took him a couple of hours to go through everything, Emelia occasionally adding in a detail or two, mainly to stress how fucked up the lizards are.
When Imri finished, the crowd of onlookers stared at him, waiting expectantly. “They’re waiting for you to tell them what to do,” Emelia whispered to the bewildered Imri.
“I don’t know what to do. I’m not a leader,” Imri said loud enough for others to hear, followed by his signature shrug.
“You got this. Just treat this like you did when it was just me,” Emelia reassured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Imri’s emotions swirled before settling on resolve.
“First, we should get the cores from all the monsters. Most people here have a noncombat class similar to what they were doing before the integration, but for now, we should prioritize leveling up those who can fight,” He said.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
No one objected to this first order of business, and with a sense of hierarchy established, the hospital employees worked efficiently. None of them were squeamish, and after a brief instruction from Imri, they could easily extract the cores far more efficiently than he had. There was a brief discussion about the ethics of using the core of the fallen person, but eventually, pragmatism won out. The elderly man's core was extracted with more care, a doctor doing that work with the same deference given to an organ donor, albeit with far inferior operating conditions.
There was a brief service for the fallen man. No one had known him, but a few people stepped up and said some kind words and wished his spirit peace. This held extra significance with the Chixel’s perversion of the soul.
With the memorial completed, the cores were to be divided among the members designated as combatants. Apart from herself and Imri, there were two others, Zhaire and Sylvi. Zhaire was the mammoth of a man with an almost equally massive sword. He stood nearly half a meter taller than her and was two meters tall with a bodybuilder's physique. Apparently, he had aspirations of being a professional football player before a pair of knee injuries ended his career. He had spent the past few years working in the hospital as an orderly, though he clearly hadn’t slacked in his physical training. The integration had healed the buildup of scar tissue in his knee, allowing him to move like he had before the injury, leaving him practically giddy. His class was called linebreaker, a melee warrior who specialized in quick bursts of speed to charge an enemy with reckless abandon.
Their fourth was a wiry woman named Sylvi. She had been one of the younger patients who had the misfortune of a terminal illness in her prime. She was ex-military, one of the few women in the world who had been a female special forces operative. Like Imri, her body had been devastated by illness, far from her prime physique. Still, she emanated excitement at the second chance she had been given. Her class was a sharpshooter ranger, specializing in ranged combat and nature survival.
Emelia immediately felt like the odd one out. The three psychos around her were excited, not thinking of the new world as a curse but as an opportunity. All three of them had some chronic illness cured through the integration, and for Imri and Sylvi, it was a life-saving event. Despite this, the three of them turned to her, the least remarkable in this group of four.
“I nominate Emelia as the group leader,” Imri said, the other two nodding along, not even bothering to discuss.
“I couldn’t. I’m not special. I’m literally the worst choice out of everyone. I barely feel qualified to be in this group,” she said, shaking her head.
“That’s exactly why you need to lead,” Zhaire pointed out.
“You saw how we managed before you arrived. Neither Zhaire nor I are leaders. We’re soldiers,” Sylvi said with a nod.
“I’m similar; I am a scholar, not a leader,” Imri said.
“Do you all really believe I’m the best candidate to lead?” Emelia asked, giving them one last chance to reconsider. All three nodded without hesitation. “Fine, but I’m going to delegate. Imri, you're in charge when a decision needs to be made about magic or science stuff. Sylvi, you're in charge of combat or tactical decisions. Zhaire, I’m not sure what you’ll be in charge of, but I will find something.”
“It’s alright; not everyone needs a thing,” Zhaire said, his emotions neutral and unbothered.
“As for the monster cores, Zhaire, you were responsible for slaying them, so you get to decide,” Emelia declared.
“I don’t know, I didn’t even know these were a thing until y’all brought it up,” Zhaire said.
“I think we should prioritize those who haven’t gained levels yet. The amount of experience for each level increases, so someone at a lower level will get more from them. Also, I think they become less effective the more you use, at least for some amount of time until your body can fully integrate the energy,” Imri said.
In the end, Sylvi got 2, Zhaire and Emelia took 1, and Imri abstained. It took a little bit of instruction before Zhaire and Sylvi could absorb theirs. After absorbing the cores, Imri and Zhaire were level 4, Emelia was still level 3, and Sylvi was also level 3.
The four of them returned to the other survivors. They briefly discussed plans for the upcoming days. The general goal was to find a defensible position to set up a semi-permanent camp while integrating as many survivors as they could find along the way. It wasn’t the most sophisticated of plans, even by Emelia’s standards, but she had been reassured when Imri hadn’t objected.
After the group moved some distance from the waterfall, further away from the temple, they did their best to get some sleep. A rotating watch was established; two people were always awake while the remainder tried to sleep. Some people passed out, their exhaustion exceeding their fear. Others wept, the stress and anxiety coming forth. Emelia wanted to use her emotional projection spell to reassure each of them, but even if she had the mana, it wouldn’t have worked. She needed to be calm to project it, and she was closer to breaking down. She decided to move closer to Imri. Something about his presence drew her in. He was studying the piece of copper he had ripped out of the temple's wall. He noticed her and set the item down.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“No,” she said with a sniffle as a tear formed unbidden.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Just shut up,” Emelia said, confusing Imri until she leaned against him. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his chest. He was surprised and momentarily uncomfortable, but that quickly shifted to a sense of duty. He wanted her to feel safe, and he felt it was his obligation.
“Everything will be alright,” Imri said soothingly. It was a comforting sentiment, made all the more powerful that Emelia could tell he believed it.
Emelia felt his swirl of emotions. Gone were the negative emotions, and he no longer believed she was doing this as a platonic gesture. He wanted more, but he was still afraid—afraid she would reject him, afraid he would be taking advantage of her in a moment of emotional instability. Emelia wanted to tell him he was being stupid and that she wanted him to keep holding her.
She looked him in the eyes, refusing to back down. He met her gaze, and she could feel his doubts melting away. She leaned in, moving her face mere centimeters from his. He got the message, closing the distance between them and kissing her. It was gentle at first, as if posing the question, 'Is this alright'? Emelia responded fiercely, passionately kissing him back. This snapped the last of his uncertainty. He kissed her back with equal passion, even holding the back of her head, tender yet insistent. They paused for a moment, their lips centimeters apart, both of them with wide grins.
They continued kissing for longer than they should have, yet it felt like a moment that passed in the blink of an eye. They only stopped when it was her turn to stand watch, another nurse having awkwardly interrupted them after not finding an opportune way of letting her know. Emelia gave Imri a quick parting kiss with a coy smile.