> Chapter -2147483640 (Odessos I)

The next morning, just after dawn, the rangers broke camp and prepared to enter the city. While Ada was helping with breaking down and rolling up the tents the others had used, Lucius approached and asked about her class advancement.

“I see you’re now tagged as a [Mage], and you’ve even got a bit of color,” he said. “I take it you had some residual experience and got a bunch of levels as soon as you finished with your class advancement?”

“I got [Elementalist], metal element. And yeah, I’m already sitting on another advancement. I figured that just like before, it’d be best to level up my skills again before going back for another advancement.”

Lucius nodded along to this bit of information as he assisted with rolling another tent. The two carried the canvas bundle to the wagon and the gear was stowed in one of the storage compartments built into the floor.

“That’s generally recommended. You don’t always need to rank up all your skills, as some are a lot more difficult to gain levels and the system takes that into account.” Lucius rubbed at the stubble growing on his chin, thinking for a moment, and then continued, “Also, it’s really the core skills that matter the most when advancing. That class does sound interesting, though it’s not one that I’ve ever heard of showing up for a first class. What quality did you get?”

“Well, it’s light green quality, and the skills synergize perfectly with my racial abilities, or at least the one that the system has told me about.”

“Oh? Light green is.. well, everything else about you is absurd, so why not.”

It looked like Lucius was ready to say more, but Marcus approached with Alex in tow.

“Ada, Alex pointed out to me that we need to discuss some cultural niceties before the two of you get into some trouble. There’s, er, no real delicate way to say this, but the two of you will have to not be so obvious about your affections in public.”

Alex continued, “Alright, quick history lesson time. A few hundred years ago, prior to the war with the shimagu, the empire really didn’t have any issues with various sexualities. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or other identities were completely accepted under the teachings of the cults of Papilion. Unfortunately, during the war, the population dropped enough that the emperor was apparently concerned about having enough people to fill the legions and forced the Senate to pass a law designed to encourage population growth, granting automatic citizenship to any woman who raised at least 8 children to the age of 8, naming them a hero of the empire. The law also granted access to state-sponsored health care to all children under the age of 16 if they pledged to take up a combat class and join the legions. The end result of all of that is that after two hundred years people tend to be... not so open minded outside the major trade cities, especially out here on the frontier of the empire where people saw a lot of the fighting.”

Marcus picked up from there, “In short, a lot of the people in power out here are homophobic dickbags. Also, while you probably won’t get arrested if people see you holding hands or being, ahem, friendly in public, the rangers still have to work with these people, and we can’t afford to be antagonistic. I don’t like any of it, and I’m sure you won’t either, but this is the bullshit reality we have to live with right now.”

He rubbed his hands together, as if trying to brush something unpleasant from them. “Right, ok, that’s the most important thing out of the way. Have you decided on what you want to do in the city and after we move out? We’ll be staying here for at least two days unless something comes up that requires ranger attention, like that band of goblins you handled for us.”

Ada considered things for only a moment. “Well, I don’t have any funds, so whatever I can do to earn a bit of coin. I also need to get a few of my own tunics -- something that actually fits. I’m guessing that’s a visit to a tailor’s shop.”

“I can cover that for you if you come with me to the market while I do some discount healing,” said Alex. “First thing’s first, however. All of us are going directly to the bath house as soon as we get through the gates and get the wagon situated at the guard barracks.”

The other woman smiled, then spoke, “OK, also when you have some time, I have some things I need to tell you about, privately.”

“Yeah, no problem,” replied Alex.

Ada noticed most of the other rangers standing around. It seemed that they had finished stowing all the gear, and cleaned up the temporary campsite. Marcus looked around and nodded, looking satisfied with everything.

“Alright, let’s get this thing moving. I don’t want to spend another night camping when there’s a perfectly decent barracks right on the other side of that wall. Pliny and Nyssos, you two up front on the yoke. Ada, Atalanta, you two push from the back. Alex, you hop up and keep us moving in the right direction. Quirinus..”

“I’m scouting?”

“You’re scouting. We don’t have far to go, but that’s no reason to get caught unaware. Mages, standard formation around the wagon. We’re all walking.

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An hour later, they had passed through the gates and finally parked at the local guard barracks, where they also commandeered a semi private room which was intended for use by the roaming ranger teams whenever they were in town. Getting Ada through the gates had been trivial, only requiring Marcus to explain that Ada was a survivor they had picked up and then hired on as an auxiliary, hoping to eventually have her sign on as a full ranger. At Marcus's request, the guard captain had then provided Ada with a document stating as much, letting her know that she wouldn't be treated the same as a full ranger, but as Marcus was sponsoring her, he'd ultimately be responsible if she became a problem for anyone.

With all of that out of the way, Marcus instructed the rangers to stay in pairs at all times, and then released them all for the day. They’d set up a booth the following morning, which gave the guard all morning and afternoon to spread the word that there was a ranger team in town.

Arm in arm, Ada, Alex, and Atalanta went skipping down the street to the closest bath house, all three women looking forward to once again being temporarily clean. Pliny, Lucius, and Nyssos were close behind, electing to simply walk.

Ada wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but she wasn’t terribly surprised to find a building that was essentially the same in concept as a modern Turkish bath. The building was divided by gender, and had a series of bathing pools that were cold, warm, and then a piping hot pool at the end. Alex paid the entry fee for both herself and Ada, while Atalanta covered her own. They all went through one door, while the three men who had finally caught up paid their fees and went through the other door to the other side of the building.

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Inside, they changed out of their clothing, and all three proceeded directly to the hottest pool. Atalanta slipped in, then relaxed on an underwater bench, content to simply soak for a while. Alex used a set of steps built into the side of the pool, and likewise took a seat. Ada wasn’t so sure she could tolerate such a hot temperature, but as she lowered herself in at the edge, she discovered that it really didn’t feel much worse than lukewarm.

“I thought you said this was the hot bath,” she said to the other women.

Atalanta looked over at her, one eyebrow raised, and said, “This is the hot bath.”

“You’re really not feeling the heat? Maybe it’s one of your new skills doing it,” said Alex. “Sometimes people get resistance skills that affect how heat and cold are perceived.”

“Oh, hmm, I guess that could be it. I did merge a couple skills into one that adds a vitality multiplier along with a couple other effects,” said Ada.

She was thinking about looking over the skill description again when she received an unfortunately familiar notification.

> [Unknown Racial ability detected. Enumerating...]

“Right, so, it’s not a skill doing it,” she mumbled. “Apparently, I have some kind of racial ability that is making the water seem tepid for me. The system hasn’t actually figured out what it is yet.”

Alex nodded and then patted the seat next to her, “If you want to talk about that, maybe save it for later when we’re back at the barracks. Right now, you need to come over here and sit, relax.”

The dark haired woman did exactly that. Ada was delighted that she was being treated as one of the girls, something she had longed for her entire life. She was enjoying simply existing.

After around an hour, Atalanta climbed out and retrieved a bar of soap. When she returned, the women took turns scrubbing each other’s back.

> [*ding!* Racial trait enumeration complete: You have unlocked the Racial trait [Poikilothermy]!]

>

> [Poikilothermy] - Your internal temperature varies according to environmental conditions and has adapted to compensate. You are more resistant to the effects of external temperature variation.]

“I.. what? The fuck is poikilothermy?”

“Huh? What’s that, Ada?” asked Alex.

“Oh, the system finally figured out why the water doesn’t feel hot to me.” Ada paused for a moment, and then continued, “Apparently, I have something called poikilothermy, but I have no idea what that means. It says I’m resistant to the effects of external temperature variations.”

“That’s.. Huh. I don’t really know, either. I think we should probably talk about stuff sooner rather than later,” said Alex.

Ada nodded. “Yeah, I think we probably should. How much longer do you want to stay here in the baths?”

The blond girl looked over to Atalanta and asked, “What do you think? Enough soak time for today?”

“Yeah, I think this is about as clean as we’re going to get, and we can always come back tomorrow,” said the other ranger.

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Ada and Alex were finally alone, having commandeered the rangers’ armored wagon once again. Alex had even remembered to activate the privacy inscription this time.

“OK, we’ve got about as much privacy as we can expect, at least until someone decides they need a change of clothes or some of their stashed coins,” said Alex.

The taller woman sighed and said, “Right, yes, ok... um.. Do you remember when I told you that I’m not human anymore? Well, it’s even weirder than that. Apparently, I showed up on this world without a body at all, and my soul built this,” she gestured at herself, “out of the magnetite sands from the bottom of this dry riverbed. And this apparently makes me an elemental now.”

“Right, you’re an [Elementalist], you told us that this morning,” said Alex.

“No, that’s not.. Hang on.”

Ada concentrated on her left hand, activating [Metal Manipulation]. She reshaped her other hand into a sword hilt, which she then grabbed and began to pull on it. As she continued to pour mana into the skill, she continued to draw the hilt, and her hand came away with a short blade formed from her own forearm. Ada now held an arming sword in her left hand, the other missing down to just past the wrist.

With a thought, she dismissed the sword form, absorbing the magnetite through the palm of that hand. The other slowly reformed from the stump nearly as fast as the sword was being absorbed.

Ada said, “Do you see it now? My entire body is currently made of iron magnetite sand. I am an elemental.”

“What the fuck, Ada? How did this happen? Why.. no, what?” Alex couldn’t believe what she had just seen. “That doesn’t make any sense! You feel like a regular human! Your tits are soft and you’re warm! You.. you were.. you know.. the other night when it was your turn.”

Both women turned beet red at that moment.

“Yeah, I know. I didn’t understand what happened either. At least not until I went to do my class advancement and talked to my guide, who is apparently actually my inner self. Apparently, I was out in that riverbed for a while before my soul managed to put a body together, and we still don’t know how long that took. I don’t know why I appear to be so perfectly human. I don’t know why I have saliva or.. other things.” Ada paused for a moment, then continued, “You haven’t noticed that I haven’t needed anything to eat or drink since you all found me? I walked through a hot, barren landscape for most of an entire day, then fought off thirty-two goblins, and wasn’t so much as thirsty. I also haven’t had to sleep since I woke up from passing out from that battle.”

The other woman blinked at her. “What? No, you’ve.. But no, you’ve slept here, next to me every night.”

“No, Alex, I haven’t. I lay down, and I don’t move, but I’m mostly meditating all through the night. I haven’t needed to sleep, at all,” the dark-haired woman replied. “Of course, sometimes I just lay on my side and watch you sleep. I’m sorry if that’s weird, but I just can’t help it. You’re so incredibly beautiful, and I'd do anything I could to protect you. I don't think I could handle losing you again.”

Alex’s eyes started to form tears as she replied, “I.. Ada.. Fuck.. I don’t know what’s going on or what you being an elemental really means. I don't want to lose you either.”

She leaned forward into Ada’s arms, and the two women embraced, tears running down each of their faces.

> [*ding!* You have unlocked and been assigned the passive general skill [Soul Bonded]!]

>

>

> [Soul Bonded] Your soul is permanently bonded to another and vice versa. Experience gained is partially shared through this bond. Furthermore, you will always know the approximate direction and distance to your other half as long as she resides on the same plane of existence as you. Distance and accuracy increases per level. This skill cannot be replaced and will persist through reincarnation.

"Ada, what the fuck just happened?"

[Name: Ada]

[Race: Outsider (Elemental)]

[Age: 29]

[Mana: 6,640/6,640]

[Mana Regeneration: 5,051]

Stats

[Free Stats: 312]

[Strength: 293]

[Dexterity: 293]

[Vitality: 352]

[Speed: 342]

[Mana: 664]

[Mana Regeneration: 664]

[Magic Power: 620]

[Magic Control: 593]

[Class 1: [Elementalist - Metal: Lv 32 ]]

[Metal Spirit: 13]

[Metal Resistance: 1]

[Metal Manipulation: 7]

[Metal Conjuration: 1]

[Resolute: 1]

[Temper: 1]

[Alloy: 13]

[Shard: 1]

[Class 2: [ - : Lv ]]

[Class 3: [ - : Lv ]]

General Skills

[Walking: 8]

[Soul Bonded: 32]

[: ]

[Meditate: 8]

[Cunning Linguist: 8]

[Identify: 8]

[Pathfinding: 8]

[Cynicism: 8]