The party request notification pulled at my attention, but I ignored it. "Wait a second." I stood up and moved a step or two away, so I could turn and look directly at both of them. "Bushra? Are you sure about this?"
"Sure that I want to show those bastards at Complyze what my ARC can do? Abso-damn-lutely." She stood up and emphasized by stabbing her empty cup at the air.
I shook my head. "But you can take it anywhere, now. There's probably a few companies that would want to pick up you and your app, especially given what Complyze was prepared to do for it." I peered at her face, wanting to understand whether it was confidence or vengeance driving her. "That seems like a more certain way to success."
From her seat on the couch, Kris looked thoughtful. "Hmm, maybe. But maybe not." She glanced back and forth between us. "I may not know all the details, but there was some kind of conflict or controversy around the app you built?" Bushra's mouth twisted, but she nodded. "That could work both ways. You could get interested folks trying to seize the opportunity," she paused. "Or you could look like a big risk: of further litigation, of potential founder issues, or that Complyze found a way to walk because the app didn't live up to the hype." Kris counted each point out on her fingers. Then she shook her head with a thin sardonic smile. "Investors like to think they are analytical and data-driven, but they are as swayed by emotion, rumor, and bias as much as everyone else."
I could see Bushra's jaw muscles bunch up as her lips pursed together.
Kris noticed, and quickly continued, "What I mean to say, is if you believe in the product, bootstrapping your way to a viable company may be the most direct route." She leaned back and spread her arms on the back of the couch, and shrugged with a relaxed and confident smile. "Make the investors and doubters irrelevant."
"Easier said that done." I commented. I narrowed my eyes at Kris. I rarely saw Kris in work mode. She was pushing, entirely unlike what I was used to. I wondered what she was angling for. Did she really want to join this company so badly?
Kris shrugged again, and smiled back at my gaze. "Of course. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy."
Bushra turned to Kris, and her brash grin was back in place. "Yeah! That's right!"
I could feel Kris staring up at me, now, eyes probing for something. "What do you want to do, Mai?"
Bushra also looked at me, her face pleading.
I exhaled slowly, looking down and away from their gaze. What did I want? When did that ever matter? Company executives and gods, pulling and pushing me this way and that. No one cares what I say. Play your part, play the role, be what we need. Then, poof, it's gone. And Bushra and her app comes along, a new dream of someone else's making. But it feels different? Like we're dreaming it together. Like they can't take it from us.
Yesterday's sessions with Laci and Ted were amazing – more fun than I'd had in a while. Not only the games, but the tinkering with a new product, feeling the edges and limits of its capabilities, finding out what resonated with users. It felt like endless possibilities. Like it was too good to be true. Like gods and heroes. Magic and reincarnation. Nothing had felt real since Thursday morning. Maybe one more fantasy was okay?
My focus fell on the waiting notification in the bottom corner of my view.
"All right. Yeah. Let's do this." I breathed, not daring to look up.
"Yes!" Bushra actually pumped her fist. Kris was looking at me with a strange expression, her eyes crinkled with concern, but her mouth lifted in a warm grin.
The notification changed to display: New Party Member: Kris Dougherty – Accepted.
That's interesting. I hadn't consciously accepted Kris's invite. I didn't know it could do that.
Putting that aside, now that I'd committed I'd better start taking some action.
"I have an errand to run for our new venture. Who wants to come with?"
✦ ✦ ✦
Yesterday morning had ended up being quite a profitable scavenger hunt. Aside from the assortment of shiny adornments I'd collected while running, Iter and I had managed to visit some additional loot markers in between breakfast at Rose's and visiting Epic Encounters. My favorite find was the small container of what looked like actual gold coins. The material of the original container had deteriorated to the point where the 12 coin tubes had spilled out when I lifted it. The tubes themselves looked like semi-transparent, old school plastic film canisters, though wider and shorter. Looking inside one, I found a gold coin with a picture of Queen Elizabeth on one side, and a maple leaf on the other – Canadian Maple Leaf coins. How the hell they ended up near the lagoon on the southern part of the island, and how they had remained undisturbed, I doubt I'll ever know.
I now had a somewhat suspicious-looking pile of varied jewelry, coins, and cash collected on my dresser. Rather than let it accumulate, it would be interesting to see how much my heavenly metal detector was worth. It seemed fitting that the seed money for our new company had a divine provenance.
Kris and Bushra were apprehensive when I carried it all out in a heavy nylon messenger bag.
"I know, it looks shady. But its simply a collection of old jewelry and coins from relatives that I never had time or motivation to do anything with." I opened the bag and we all peered inside. Yeah, it looked like a some kind of cat burglar's haul.
"I was thinking this might be a good time to turn it into something worthwhile. Not that it will make a dent in any startup costs. But every bit counts," I ended lamely. I was already regretting bringing this up. I pictured how inconsequential and embarrassing the total would be. I should have tossed it all in a drawer and forgotten about it.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"Well, it couldn't hurt," Kris said, eying the bag dubiously. "I have the time today, so we can get a couple bids and see what they offer. In the end, you don't have to sell any of it if you'd rather hold onto it.
I didn't really want to keep any of it, though. "I'd appreciate the help in negotiating a price," I smiled weakly at my childhood friend. Kris matched my smile with faint one of her own.
"Why don't I go through it," Kris sighed in capitulation, and pulled the bag toward her. Bushra sat next to her, clearly intrigued.
While they began sifting through what I had started to think of in my mind as 'the goods', I excused myself to the bedroom so I could take care of another preparatory step: leveling up.
> Name: Mai Carrigan
> Race: Human
> Class: Hero
> Level: 3 (+)
> Condition: Normal
>
> Core Attributes (10 attribute points available)
> Body: 35 (x1.25 = 43)
> Spirit: 70 (x1.25 = 87)
> Mind: 55 (x1.25 = 68)
> Luck: 50 (x1.25 = 62)
>
> Derived Attributes
> Health: 43 (+)
> Magic: 0 [max 87] (+)
> Focus: 68 (+)
> Charm: 65
> Intuition: 56
> Will: 78
> Fate: ??? (+)
>
> Skills (2 skill points available)
> Communion of the Soul, Appraisal, Inventory, Divine Translation, Hero's Journey, Champion of Light, Inner Eye, Adept of Ages, Fortune's Favor, Swift Regeneration, Spiritual Harmony, Still Mind, Destiny's Chosen, Inner Alchemy, Follow the Leader
I had the same amount of attribute points to use, and I could pick 2 skills this time. I briefly considered maxing one of my attributes, specifically Mind. All of my active skills would use Focus, after all. But I decided to spilt the points between Body and Mind again, given the physical improvements I saw after my run yesterday. Would I continue to get better, stronger, faster? I couldn't wait to find out.
I had looked over my new skill list briefly, but I was far too tired last night/this morning to make any life-changing decisions. The list had included the prior skills I hadn't chosen, with some new additions. The magic skills were still grayed out, of course. But there had been a couple of new skills that caught my eye:
Augur's Insight
Improved Appraisal
Aura of Inspiration
If I recall correctly from what Iter had said, Augur's Insight was another active, focus-based skill that enabled the user to gain additional insight into the motivations and veracity of the chosen target. That sounded extremely useful in social and business situations, though I suppose I'd have to use it sparingly in lengthy negotiations or risk passing out again. That episode had left a mark on me.
Iter hadn't had much detail on Improved Appraisal, other than to say it would show me additional information about the person or object being appraised. That was an Isekai staple cheat, and I was tempted.
Aura of Inspiration was intriguing – Iter was equally vague about this one, saying that activating the focus-based skill would grant a boost to one attribute of my choice for all party members. Iter said something about how this skill was likely unlocked by choosing Follow the Leader before. I hadn't been planning to select it, because until moments ago I had only had a single party member. But now I had two. Would I gain more in the future? Buffing two for the price of one seemed like a good deal.
I decided to go with Augur's Insight and Aura of Inspiration this time around. Improved Appraisal seemed like it could be hit or miss. It was reassuring that skills I didn't select remained in the list the next time I leveled up, though that might not always be the case. And it was interesting that there seemed to be skill evolution or growth paths, like Follow the Leader unlocking Aura of Inspiration. Though I confirmed that Follow the Leader remained in my list of skills – it wasn't replaced by the new skill.
> Name: Mai Carrigan
> Race: Human
> Class: Hero
> Level: 3 (+)
> Condition: Normal
>
> Core Attributes
> Body: 40 (x1.25 = 50)
> Spirit: 70 (x1.25 = 87)
> Mind: 60 (x1.25 = 75)
> Luck: 50 (x1.25 = 62)
>
> Derived Attributes
> Health: 50 (+)
> Magic: 0 [max 87] (+)
> Focus: 75 (+)
> Charm: 68
> Intuition: 62
> Will: 81
> Fate: ??? (+)
>
> Skills
> Communion of the Soul, Appraisal, Inventory, Divine Translation, Hero's Journey, Champion of Light, Inner Eye, Adept of Ages, Fortune's Favor, Swift Regeneration, Spiritual Harmony, Still Mind, Destiny's Chosen, Inner Alchemy, Follow the Leader, Augur's Insight, Aura of Inspiration
I was turning into quite the support class build, I reflected.
I was also notified that Bushra was able to level up, too. It felt wrong making decisions like that for someone else. And involving Bushra meant opening up to her about the gods and everything, which… I wasn't prepared for. I put all questions about leveling up Bushra on hold for now.
✦ ✦ ✦
"Well, you have quite a stash here. But jewelry appraisal's not really my thing," Kris sighed, and leaned back away from the coffee table. "I like my money in spreadsheets and ledgers, where you can apply it. This kind of physical wealth doesn't do much for me."
"It's shiny," Bushra offered helpfully. "Also, Alameda has three different locations where you can sell gold. What's that about?" Her nose wrinkled up as she looked up at me from her phone.
"Not sure. Maybe Alameda has a lot of hoarders? Or at least, heirs of hoarders?"
She looked down at the bag, the corners of her mouth rising, but her forehead wrinkled. "Guess you fit right in, then."