We stayed one more night at Kira’s and then told her where we were headed in case Brick and Bastion returned by an unexpected route. The silver-haired cat-woman gave me a long, calculating look as we left, but I tried to ignore the feeling of unease that was growing inside me.
I should never have agreed to staying behind when Brick left. I should never have encouraged him to go and fetch his stash of loot. He was only doing that to buy that damned house to make a life with me, and now I was setting off on a journey with another man I had strong feelings for. I refused to label them as love, even though Bruiser had already declared as much to me.
He’d been right. I needed to see Brick. To sort this tangle of feelings out before it choked me.
Bonaparte left early in the morning in the other direction. Bruiser had asked him to scout ahead towards the university and ferret out any rumours of possible danger we might need to know about.
We stopped by the marketplace and Bruiser bought the entire tray of cinnamon rolls to keep me satisfied for as long as they lasted. I smiled, moved by the gesture and delighted at the idea of exploiting the absence of best before dates.
“I’m surprised your bag even holds that much,” I commented, having a peek inside his tightly packed luggage.
“It does seem bigger on the inside,” Bruiser agreed.
“Don’t you think it’s strange?” I asked, looking up at him curiously.
He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then nodded. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. Another thing about this world that doesn’t make sense. I love how you see things no one else does, Emma.”
I felt a heady rush as I levelled up and took a moment to clear my mind of the muddled sensation.
LEVEL UP!
Mitsy
Race: Succubus
Class: Healer
Level Six
Health: 700
Mana: 700
“What’d I do to level up?” I asked in confusion, stepping in closer to Bruiser to keep out of the way of the main thoroughfare.
He pulled me into an alley between two stalls and I closed my eyes, looking for my experience log to check the last line.
EXPERIENCE LOG
Ability unlocked: Charm
LEVEL UP! Mitsy = Level Six
Persuasion: 5 Points
“I got points for Persuasion?” I asked, opening my eyes to look to Bruiser.
“You persuaded me to think about the physics of my bag,” Bruiser said, piecing the information together. “I told you, Emma… You don’t know how special you are. The things you see, the things you say… They’re making real change in this world. They’re changing me. You’re changing me.”
He took my hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing me like I was some kind of royalty.
My heart fluttered as I looked into his warm eyes. It seemed ridiculous that I’d ever been afraid of him. He was so passionate and kind.
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I swallowed and reluctantly withdrew my hand.
“Seems like an odd thing to get experience points for,” I said. “Do you know what ‘Charm’ is? I seem to have unlocked another ability.”
It sounded like a move a Pokémon would make. One of the squishy cute pink ones like Jigglypuff or Clefairy.
“Ah! Excellent!” Bruiser beamed at me. “You should be able to control the release of your pheromones now. Check your abilities again and you’ll find the description. Your accuracy will increase as you level the skill up, so it would be worth using it on anything you come across, just like you’ve been doing with your sleep spell.”
I found my abilities list, barely registering the changes to my other statistics as an odd feeling came over me.
PERSUASION – The ability to influence others through persuasive words or actions. Unlocks conversation and action options unavailable to others. LEVEL TWO 25% SUCCESS RATE. CHARM MULTIPLIER x1.5.
SEDUCTION – The ability to influence others through attraction. Unlocks conversation and action options unavailable to others. Unlocks the ability to form relationship bonds with other characters. LEVEL TWO 30% SUCCESS RATE.
HEALING SONG – The ability to heal any wound through singing. Only available to races imbued with life magic. LEVEL FOUR HEALING RATE 15%/SECOND.
SUCCUBUS SLIME – A mysterious slime produced by succubus that can heal any wound. Incredibly rare and valuable in apothecaries.
CHARM – The ability to release pheromones on command to lower an opponent’s defense. Unlocks action options unavailable to others. LEVEL ONE 25% SUCCESS RATE. 20% CHANCE END COMBAT, 25% CHANCE OPPONENT’S ATTACK POWER REDUCED /25%, 50% OPPONENT’S DEFENSE REDUCED 25%. SEDUCTION MULTIPLIER x1.5.
“I can control my pheromones because I levelled up,” I said aloud, my eyes still closed as by brow furrowed and I focused on the words. “I had them before, but I can control them now… but how?”
My 5/20 intelligence was feeling strained again.
“They were biologically a part of you,” Bruiser added helpfully.
“There’s just… there’s something wrong here, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
“You’ll get used to your abilities as you use them. Give it time.”
I took a deep breath and tried imagining my pheromone pores closing up, willing them to stop sending their tempting smell to Bruiser. I couldn’t tell if they were working under my clay and scarf, but I looked back at my experience log and the evidence was there.
EXPERIENCE LOG
Ability unlocked: Charm
LEVEL UP! Mitsy = Level Six
Persuasion: 5 Points
“I don’t think I’m doing it right,” I chewed on my lip and explained the issue to Bruiser.
“You’re not using it, you’re actively not using it,” he explained. “Try flirt with me.”
“Excuse me? I can’t just… flirt with you on command!”
“Why not?”
“It’s too awkward!”
“So is your singing, but you’re perfectly capable of that.”
“Ugh!” I said, bracing myself for humiliation. “So, what… I just… use a pickup line on you or wink at you or something?”
“You can only try and find out.”
“How do I know if it’s any different to seduction?” God, I hated my stupid abilities. I was totally like a Pokémon. A sexy Clefairy or some other horror of a mash-up.
“Just check your experience log. Get on with it, though, or we won’t make it far out of town tonight.”
I exhaled deeply, then trying with all my might to channel Joey from FRIENDS, gave Bruiser a saucy look and said, “How you doin’?”
His expression intensified, and he drifted closer to me.
“I’ll struggle to make it far out of town myself, if you do that again,” he said, drooling lecherously at me before shaking himself out of his stupor. “Maybe don’t direct that at me again. I’m finding it hard enough to contain my feelings for you as it is.”
“Sorry,” I blushed, still in awe that it had worked at all. “I felt so stupid doing it.”
“Check your experience.”
EXPERIENCE LOG
Seduction: 5 Points
Charm: 5 Points
Ability unlocked: Charm
LEVEL UP! Mitsy = Level Six
Persuasion: 5 Points
“Wow, I double dipped,” I said. “I mean, it’s still totally stupid, but if it gets me levelled up twice as fast, I guess I can use some pickup lines on rats before I smash them.”
“Come, we should get on the road,” Bruiser said, stepping back into the daylight.