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Chapter 77 - No More Damn Waivers!

I immediately got PTSD at the word sign. “Umm…why, exactly?” I asked.

He didn’t look up from his papers, his hands arranging and rearranging as he spoke. “It absolves me of any liability should you die in the Raid for any reason,” he said casually. He continued shifting the papers around, lining them up with each other as if they weren’t already perfectly straight.

I looked to Denise and Ryan, who returned my helpless stare. “Are you expecting us to wipe? Or me to die?” I asked.

“Not at all,” he said abruptly.

When he didn’t elaborate, I felt my annoyance begin to rise. “Then why the hell-”

The front door to the Guildhall shut, the sound echoing in the tiny space. I turned to see Jeremy walk in, his breathing heavy.

“I really got to get me one of those travel skills,” he said between ragged breaths. “Ran my ass off-”

“You’re late,” Mech interrupted, still worrying over his damn waivers.

Jeremy shot me an annoyed look, then pointed and mouthed, ‘Mech?’

I simply nodded and moved to grab a chair.

“Yeah…uh, I didn’t realize we were taking attendance,” Jeremy quipped as he sat next to me.

Mech looked up for the first time, his expression bland. “I take pride in always being on time and running my Raids with an attention to detail. Tardiness is sloppiness.” Then he was back to his papers, shifting them for the tenth time.

Jeremy sent me a private chat.

SnotPuppy: Aspergers?

I looked over at him and raised my eyebrows in surprise.

RayGun47: If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me the exact same thing about you…

He tipped an imaginary hat and replied back:

SnotPuppy: Touche

Mech disrupted the perfect row of papers and slid one of many towards me. He placed his pen parallel to the paper, adjusted it once, then sat back.

“We can start with the Personal Liability Waiver,” he said.

I took a deep breath. “Is this really necessary?” I asked. “If I die in the Raid, I’ll be dead. Can’t exactly sue you then, can I?”

He steepled his fingers, his eyes laser-focused on the document in front of me. “I’m not in the habit of taking risks,” he explained. “If one of your family members or friends decides to sue me, this will put paid to that.” He tapped the paper in front of me. In front of him, he tapped another sheet of paper. “This one waives your right to sue in the event of bodily harm. This one here states that no damages will be paid for pain and suffering. And this one-”

“Mech, can I stop you for one second?” I asked, my hand upraised. My eyes were starting to glaze over and I wasn’t signing any-goddamn-thing until me and a very specific lawyer went over it with a fine-tooth comb. “I’ll need to review these, have my lawyer go over them.” I slid the paper back to him, and noticed his eye twitch as I upset the arrangement of papers by doing so. “I’m sure you understand. Have to do my due diligence.”

He gathered the papers with specific intention, rotating the one I had passed back so that it faced up along with the others. “I understand,” he finally said, his tone neutral. “Next item: your skill build. I understand you have chosen a Boon path, which will come in handy-”

“Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt, but that’s not-”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Then why did you?” he asked, placing the neat stack of papers back on the table.

I glanced at Jeremy, then at Denise and Ryan who were sitting stock still, their faces made of stone.

“I guess…it’s an expression. What I meant to say was, that isn’t the build I will be utilizing,” I said. I just couldn’t say anything right with this guy. I was used to Jeremy’s brand of brash, loud, and in your face. Not this…robot.

“Are you saying the Skill Competition announcement was a lie?” There was no accusation in his tone, but it put me on the defensive regardless.

“It-We did that-” I sighed, massaging the bridge of my nose. “We made the choice to tell the public something different, so that my build couldn’t be used against me. If you’d like, I can show you the actual build I’ll be selecting?”

“You haven’t chosen your skills yet?” he asked, confusion in his voice. The first hints of life in this entire meeting. “That’s stupid.”

SnotPuppy: Dude, fuck this guy.

I could see Jeremy getting ready to blow a gasket, so I typed him back a quick reply.

RayGun47: Leave it alone, Jer. He’s gotta be neurodivergent. I don’t think he means to be offensive.

SnotPuppy: So he just gets a pass for being an ass?

RayGun47: He’s not the only one…

I gave Jeremy a knowing look and he rolled his eyes at me.

“I realize that it may seem like an unusual choice,” I said, addressing Mech. “But I intend to select my skills today.”

“I see. Send me the build. I’d like to know what you can offer the Raid.” The way he said that really annoyed me, but I had to take my own advice and not get offended…

What I can offer the Raid…How about I’m setting the whole damn thing up!? I wanted to say. Be cool, Ray. Be cool.

“Sure, I can do that. I do have to ask that you don’t share it with anyone, though. It’s personal information that I don’t want to get out.”

“My Raid assistants will need to know,” he said. “They manage the individual groups and will pick up duties if I fall in combat.”

I looked at Denise, then sent her a message.

RayGun47: Is that normal?

Denise (Trainer): Yeah, very. They’re like his sous-chefs.

I chewed on my lip for a moment, then sighed. “Okay, you can tell them-Wait, how many assistants are we talking?”

“Five,” he said.

I nodded. “Okay. Here’s the build.” I sent him over the Wolverine Build information.

“Received,” he said, his tone businesslike. Why was I starting to have cold feet about this whole thing? Something about his overly serious attitude was rubbing me the wrong way.

That’s a good thing, I told myself. Means he will take the Raid serious, too. Better too serious than not enough.

We sat in silence as his eyes scanned a window that only he could see.

After a couple of minutes, he flicked the window away with his hand and looked me in the eyes for the first time. “That is not a good build,” he said, his tone matter of fact.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jeremy bristle. I held up my hand to forestall any outburst.

“Oh?” I asked. I forced the sarcasm out of my tone - just barely. “What makes you say that?”

He started ticking points off his fingers. “One, poor damage. It relies upon you deflecting attacks, which no damage dealer should be doing.” He ticked off another finger. “Two, sub-par tanking. You have no taunts, no peels, no threat management of any sort, really.” Another finger, and I felt my hands clench around the edges of the table. “Three, mediocre off-tanking at best. You can maintain great regeneration against adds, but rely solely upon damage to maintain threat.” He sat back in his chair, his expression unchanging. “I’m afraid I can’t use you in a Raid with this build.”

Jeremy’s hands slapped the table before I could stop him. “That’s it!” Jeremy shouted, standing up to loom over Mech. “Ray is the one bringing you in to his Raid! Not the other way around. You don’t get to sideline the Godfather, you hear? There’s a dozen Raid leaders that would kill for the chance to lead a Damsels’ Raid-”

I grabbed Jeremy’s arm and gently pulled him back down before he said anything we couldn’t take back. “Jer’, it’s okay,” I said.

“No, it’s not!” he replied, looking back at me. “This guy comes into our house, insults you left and right. Then has the gall to tell you, that you can’t contribute?” Jeremy threw his hands up in the air in outrage. “You’re level 100 for shit’s sake!”

Mech barely reacted to Jeremy’s outburst, and I resisted the unconscious habit to apologize for Jeremy. Abrupt or not, I didn’t disagree with him. I felt I could bring something to the table. If my experience in PvP had shown me anything, I could at least dish out decent damage, regardless of my build.

“I apologize if you’ve taken offense,” Mech finally said. “I say what I mean, and some find that rude. But it’s the truth, as I see it.”

“Hmm, I do dish out pretty good damage in PvP,” I said, wondering if we could salvage this meeting. Did I want to salvage it?

“PvP is children at play,” he said dismissively. “A Raid is a whole other animal. There are optimal rotations, threat management, actors inside the bosses picking off the weak links, varying the encounters.” He shook his head. “Pretty good damage is only a small part of the equation.”

“So you won’t do it, then?” I asked.

Before he could respond, Denise cut in, speaking for the first time in the meeting.

“What about a trial run?” she asked. “Take Ray into a dungeon and see how he performs?”

Mech’s eyes darted across the table like he was doing intense mental calculations.

After a full ten seconds, he looked up. “I could be amenable to that…”