With the decision made, the room began to clear with Rook thankfully being among the first to leave while Yuzu walked over to join them.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you guys.”
“And we weren’t expecting you’d be alone. No chaperones? No Jake and Amy?”
“They’re all busy enough that they couldn’t justify it for what was supposed to be a pretty standard meeting until things went wrong and Jake can’t exactly keep his attention up for it either.”
“Well, since things ended early and someone has already displayed a willingness to kill me, want to get lunch?”
“...You seem uncomfortably unconcerned.”
“I’ve lived on this world for nearly five years now, I know how things work at this point.”
“...”
His bleak attitude about the world being said so casually left none of them knowing how to react while his teacher shook his head.
“I did have plans but I’d rather not leave you alone if there’s gonna be trouble.”
“Go, go, it will probably be fine. It looks like I’ll have two of the strongest mages on the planet with me. Plus I’m grabbing another couple folks too. Hey, Killi and Verbum, lunch?”
“Ah, I’m busy but my Verbum would love to join you,” The knowledge holder smiled while her student looked deeply betrayed. “But are you going to stick around for tomorrow Ben? As unfortunate as it is, that idiot is right. Third-tier skill holders really are rather hard to punish for their wrongdoings, especially one that can teleport. It might be better to head home.”
“Sorry, but I have a firm rule of always getting revenge on the people who try to murder me so I can’t leave yet until I get that sorted. As long as he’s not so flagrant about it again I’ll probably be fine.”
“Mmh, well if he steps foot in the embassy, get Abrus,” Falk told them. “At that point, it’s an international incident and he’ll be able to handle things in a way we couldn’t.”
“Will do, but now, after a nice, stressful morning, I need something to eat to take my mind off of it.”
Parting from the few they knew, the small group left, Ben dragging Verbum along to keep him from escaping while the other two looked at him with concern while they made their way to the nearest restaurant.
“Ben, we really do need to talk about your perception of how dangerous the planet is,” Thera sighed. “The way you view the world is too warped.”
“You think I’m too over the top in the way I look at a world in the middle of an interstellar invasion?”
“It’s the way you look at every other part of it.”
“She’s right,” Yuzu chimed in. “This is an intervention. It’s not normal to feel so casual about the idea someone wants to kill you.”
“I don’t know what to tell you guys, it’s just something you get used to. I’m sure plenty of the other summoned have dealt with the same thing.”
“I sure haven’t. Neither have Jake and Amy. Verbum, what about you? Are people threatening to kill you left and right?”
“Some days it feels like it.”
“See!”
“Verbum was a bad example, you know how he is.”
“Yuzu, listen, I don’t want to sound classist about this but did you ever think that you, Jake, and Amy are just shielded from some of the world’s garbage on account of your position? Nobody wants to risk losing a soul mage right now and the other two are with you often enough that they’re probably kept safe from most of it. Trust me here, the average person has to deal with way more threats. As someone who’s been living as a regular citizen of this world since I got here, I’ve just been exposed to more realities of the world. A normal person here can expect to have someone try to kill them once or twice a year, I’ve just adapted.”
“Yeah, that’s objectively untrue,” Thera sighed, seeing his argument was making Yuzu second guess herself and immediately tried to put a stop to it in defense of the reputation of her planet. “You think I’ve had people trying to kill me constantly my entire life here? I’m sorry Ben, reality just hates you.”
“Hold on now, you’re not so safe from my point either. You really think the princess of a nation is going to be exposed to the same day-to-day dangers of a common citizen?”
“Not a princess.”
“When your mom’s a queen, the point still stands. Besides, just think about it. Didn’t your life almost immediately get more dangerous when you moved out of Anailia?”
“Which largely coincides with meeting you. I’m just getting sucked into the whirlpool that is your bad luck.”
“I know for a fact you had your issues with Roan before we met. I’m sorry Thera, I know it’s probably not easy to see from the perspective of a native to this world but compared to Earth, everyone here is in danger at practically all times.”
She wanted to refute that to try and force him to finally come to terms with the fact that the average person didn’t have people come up on the street to try to kill them but was stopped only by the fact that they made it to the restaurant, with a waiter there to take them to one of the many free tables.
“One for five please, on the patio,” Ben asked, answering the looks he was getting before they could ask. “We might have one more in a bit, gotta see what they’re going to do first.”
The vague answer left Verbum sweating but Ben wasn’t concerned. Looking through the eyes of the people they passed on the way there he could see they were being followed but he didn’t feel overly threatened about it and wanted to leave room to let them approach if they wanted to.
I wouldn’t mind talking to them a little if I get the chance anyway. Maybe I’ll push the issue in a bit.
He had other priorities though and once they were seated to look over the menu he finally broached them before anyone could try to return to the topic of his increasingly casual attitude about threats to his life.
“Okay, so first things first, you guys mind telling us about Rook?”
“He’s a jerk,” Verbum muttered, with Yuzu in firm agreement.
“During my very first meeting, he made a pass at both me and Abel and was persistent enough about it that the gods had to step in to tell him to stop. He’s obnoxious but I guess he’s been around long enough with his level of power that he’s used to getting what he wants.”
“And he wants Thera because…?”
“Probably exactly why he said. She’s going to look young for a long time and he wants a pretty companion without having to worry about replacing her too soon.”
“Gross,” Thera muttered. “Why do I exclusively attract crazy people and assholes?”
“A little hurt by that.”
“Ben, you only fall under crazy person, it’s fine.”
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“I’m pretty sure he’s more than willing to be an asshole to anyone he doesn’t like,” Verbum sighed.
“Verbum, whose side are you on here?”
“You dragged me here, what did you expect?”
“That you’d enjoy this beautiful get-together amongst friends?”
“No.”
“Lame, you’ll learn to love me one day. Anyway, backing up a bit. Yuzu, you mentioned Abel and based on the context I have to assume you're talking about the eyeless girl at the table. The one who neither of you were looking at and happens to have followed us here?”
“Yeah, she- wait, what?”
“Behind the bush across the street.”
Only Thera turned to look. As soon as he said it, Yuzu and Verbum kept their eyes firmly locked on the table, but it was enough to reveal the jig was up. The girl, Abel’s presence had been found and with defeated pout she made her way over, taking the empty seat.
“What a coincidence, I was looking for something to eat, didn’t expect to find my two pals here,” She said, switching to a laugh while grabbing Verbum’s face to pull it right to her own, giving a broad, happy grin and acting like she hadn’t been caught following them the entire time. “Verbs, still so spooked all the time, you’ve gotta learn to relax. And Yuzu, I’ve got a bone to pick with you!”
“Um, what is it, Abel?” She asked, still avoiding looking at the other while Abel puffed out her chest in indignation.
“Him!” She yelled, pointing to Ben. “I can’t believe you’d say you think he’s better than me!”
…What?
“Um, what?” Yuzu asked, equally confused and put into a place where she forgot whatever discomfort she had with the girl to look at her, getting to see her cheeks puff out.
“No matter how wrong everyone is about it, everyone here places you above me when you can barely fight. And sure, I get you have your uses so that’s one thing, I can deal with it, but what I won’t allow is you saying anyone else is. So you, mind reader! Fight me!”
“No thanks.”
“...Why not?”
She was clearly upset, tears were welling in the two empty spots in her head in a way that left Ben feeling a bit guilty and added to his suspicion that she was younger than him, at least when comparing their species, but he gave an honest answer.
“For one, I’m not a fighter. Two, I have no reason to.”
“Hmph, so how can you be better than me if you can’t even fight?” She asked, seeming a lot more confident after hearing that. “But I’m not falling for that either! You smell as strong as you do tasty!”
“...Okay, ignoring that second part, yeah I’m pretty strong but I don’t typically use it to fight and I have no problem with you. You think you’re more important than me? Honestly, I agree, Yuzu just evaluated me too highly. You can be number one, I’m not going to argue with you on it.”
“No, I need to prove it! Now come on, fight me fight me fight me!”
Maybe young isn’t the right word to describe her. Emotionally stunted might be more correct, but…
But it wasn’t actually a bad option after giving it some thought. She was sure to be powerful and when his goal was to eventually deal with what may have been the strongest god in the universe, getting some experience going against someone who was at the third tier wasn’t the worst option, just to see how he’d measure where he currently was, leading to decisions to give in.
“Okay, you know what? Sure, fine, I’ll spar with you after we eat. But just a spar. I don’t want you maiming or killing me when you’re going to be a lot more powerful, okay?”
The moment he agreed she lit up like it was the best news in the world. “Really?”
“Yeah, but again, just a friendly spar. Does this city have a training ground or something?”
“Let’s just take the beach, it’s not like anyone’s going to be using it.”
“Okay, sure.”
“Ben, are you sure about this?” Thera asked him, getting a shrug in exchange.
“If she’s not going to kill me then I don’t have a reason to say no.”
“I’d say the way the other two look is a decent reason.”
Both Yuzu and Verbum looked significantly more scared for it in a way that was admittedly worrying, but he didn’t actually get the impression that the girl was a bad person. Childish sure, but that wasn’t the end of the world, even if it left him wanting some answers.
“So what exactly is the issue?” He asked them, not sure how willing they’d be to give honest answers in front of her while he peeked into their thoughts to get what he hoped would be something less filtered than while they talked.
“Her skills are a little…” Yuzu started, with her mind trying to flash to something but failing and instead being replaced with a sudden burst of nausea while Verbum’s took a different turn.
His thoughts were actually less clear, with them screaming that everything about her freaked him out. Perhaps not a surprise given his nervous nature but what he said made things a bit more straightforward.
“The more you talk to her the more you’ll understand.”
“Hey, I’m right here! And there’s nothing wrong with my skills! I-”
She was cut off by the rest of their food arriving, giving a break for the others to focus on their meals instead of their company while Abel looked around the table with a hungry look.
Just how young she seemed may have played a part in Ben giving in to her, both with the prospect of a fight and then, with him sliding his plate over.
“Here, want a bite?”
“Can I?”
“Yeah, sure.”
She smiled brightly at him as she reached out, grabbing not anything from his plate but instead his arm, pulling it towards her face before he could react while her teeth lengthened in response, only stopping from plunging into his flesh thanks to Thera noticing and ripping the two apart with her magic.
“What the fuck was that?” Thera spat.
“Abel, you know he was talking about from his plate,” Yuzu sighed while the girl looked guilty.
“We don’t know that for sure, he could have been offering either. Besides, he smells tastier than that.”
…Okay, suddenly see where some of their discomfort comes from and why does she think I smell so good… Oh god damn it, smell and taste are connected, aren’t they? This is at least partially because of flavour enhancement.
“You get a pile of monster meat each day,” Yuzu told her, trying to come off as both strict and responsible despite whatever she was feeling on the inside. “You don’t need to take a bite out of him to try and get stronger.”
“But I’m curious about how much I’d get when you think he’s all that!”
“And I want an explanation please,” Ben spoke up. “Based on the context I’m assuming this has something to do with her meat strengthening?”
“Ha, I knew you were looking at my soul! Most of the table likes to peep, huh? At least you can handle being called out. Actually, that reminds me, you ignored me before! I know you can read my mind too!”
Ignoring her again, Yuzu answered the question.
“Her attributes permanently increase depending on what she eats. It’s usually just a point or two and it typically has to come from something powerful, but she has the bad habit of wanting to get a taste of the people around her too.”
“You’re all meat and you have healers, what’s the problem!”
“Ethics?”
“I’m on Regnal’s side, why should I bend to this world’s morality! Who cares if it’s a person, why let it go to waste?”
“Because for one, you don’t currently have any problems with food insecurity, and the second and more important bit, Ben’s still alive!”
Thera looked like she had plenty to say too but stopped after seeing Ben’s face and getting a premonition of where things were about to go. Less than horrified, he mostly just looked curious.
“Is it just meat or is it really any part of the body?” He asked in interest. “Will blood work too?”
“It will! See Yuzu, I told you he was offering! Some people are just more generous than you.”
She looked like she had something to say to that but didn’t get the chance as Ben went on.
“To be clear, I wasn’t originally but I’m willing to make the trade now. If you let me get a before and after look at your status to see what effect I have on your attributes then I’ll give you a cup.”
“What, why? I already know you can see my soul.”
“Sure, but I can’t tell what attributes you have, I can just see the shape and your skills. So we have a deal?”
“You’ve got it!” She laughed as she pulled out her card and handed it over. “Look at everything I am and regret that you’re not me!”
Look he did, with seemingly nothing hidden that he could tell, getting far more than he bargained for with what he was seeing.
The most surprising bit wasn’t that her attributes were all around fifteen thousand. Combining the benefits of being at the third tier with the fact that she’d surely gotten one of the forbidden god potions which he could easily imagine had its effect enhanced through her meat strengthening the same way his defiler of ambrosia would, along with any growth she’d gotten from her daily meal from the sounds of it, having such ridiculous attributes wasn’t actually that unreasonable.
Nor was the most surprising bit what was found within her blessing section. While only one, it felt apparent it was something that hadn’t come from their current reality, being listed as the primordial corpse fragment. After finding out that Yuzu had been engaged to one of the gods of her old world before coming to that new one, Ben had been beginning to suspect that the potential that allowed someone to arrive with a skill at the third tier could be related to the benefits they’d gotten in their home reality before going through the changes being pulled to a new one would bring and arriving with something that was by all accounts a blessing was sure to do the job, no matter how uncomfortable the name may have been.
No, what he viewed as the most shocking of all was the fact that she didn’t have eight attributes but nine, something he didn’t even suspect was possible while looking at the foreign one sitting at the bottom of her list.