Tori wandered over to the bounty board, looking through what was available, focusing on the bounties for first and second stage Core Strengthening Hunters. She could get away with heading to a more difficult region with Tiffany's help, but a part of her wanted to be able to fight herself. She'd spent the entirety of her time in this world developing her Runes and growing her cultivation, while spending almost zero time developing her ability to actually use her Runes and cultivation. Even her spars with Albert focused on developing her skill with blades, which obviously helped with combat, but it did nothing to strengthen her Rune skills. The only thing her cultivation did for her at this point was make her stronger, and that had to change.
Tori quickly found a decent looking region that seemed to have a good spread of first and second stage beasts and was going over the materials people were looking for when Tiffany called her over, the evaluator finally ready to see them. Tori made sure her Essence core was properly cloaked as she joined them, the evaluator glancing at her as she walked over, frowning slightly. “What- I thought you said she was at the peak of Energy Gathering. Why does she look like she's in the middle of the first stage of Core Strengthening?”
Tiffany nodded. “She is at the peak of Energy Gathering. She simply has an abnormally large core.”
The examiner eyed Tori skeptically. “Is that so…”
“I mean, I wouldn't complain if you wanted to put me down as a first stage Core Strengthening Cultivator.” Tori commented.
Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Look, put her down as whatever you want, alright? That's your job, isn't it?”
The examiner coughed. “Yes, of course.” He pulled out a small token. “Hand please?” Tori gave him her hand and he pressed the token into her palm, doing… something with his Qi before releasing her hand, leaving the token in it as he pulled out a second and gesturing for Tiffany's hand, performing the same process with her.
Tori briefly examined the token, a simple ‘SCS1’ written on it. “What did he do?” She asked, glancing at Tiffany as the examiner left.
“He infused the token with our energy signatures, along with his own. It verifies that not only is the token ours, but it was issued by this branch.” Tiffany explained. “It prevents counterfeiting and keeps people from simply using tokens from other branches.”
Tori frowned. “They put a lot of work into keeping track of us, don't they?”
“Of course. We're Cultivators.” Tiffany replied, as if that explained everything. Which… It kinda did. Cultivators were basically living weapons. Even someone in the Energy Gathering realm could face a trained soldier easily. By the time they reached Core Strengthening, they could handle entire squads on their own! To not do everything you could to keep track of them would be idiotic to the point of negligence. “Now, where are we going?”
“Dolvost Foothills.” Tori answered. “It's about half a day away and seems to have a decent amount of first and second stage Core Strengthening Rune Beasts.”
“And the resources?” Tiffany asked.
“I was just looking at them when you called me over.” Tori explained.
Tiffany nodded. “Alright, finish with that and then head to the residence. I'll go buy some provisions and equipment, then we'll leave in the morning.”
“Will do.” Tori agreed. It didn't take much longer to make a list of resources to focus on and she made her way to the residence, though she had to message Beatrice to figure out where it was. Tiffany seemed to have forgotten that she never saw the tag with the address on it. The residence itself was two stories with the bedrooms upstairs and a dining/sitting area downstairs, where Beatrice was waiting when Tori arrived.
“We need to talk.” Beatrice began in a serious tone.
Tori froze. “Is- Is something wrong? Did something happen with your brother?”
Beatrice shook her head. “No, this isn't about me, it's about you.” She took a deep breath. “Vic- Tory… I know you want to bring back Jessica.”
Tori flinched. “How-”
“I received a task.” Beatrice smiled sadly. “Is- is it possible?”
Tori nodded hesitantly. “I- think so. If the system can bring back Vicky-” Tori snorted. “Jessica would say that the fact that you even have the task is proof that it's possible. I probably have the task myself… I- haven't been checking. If I saw it- I don't think I could stop myself.”
“Then don't.” Beatrice replied, taking her hand. “If this is what you want, then I support you, no matter what happens.”
Tori blinked. “Beatrice… no, look, no matter what, I'm with you now, okay? That is never going to change. I just-” She grimaced, not even sure what she felt at the moment. Why did the system have to do this to her?!? She was happy with Beatrice! But- she really wanted to bring Jessica back. And if she brought her back… She wasn't leaving Beatrice, but- she didn't think she could ignore Jessica either. “This sucks.” Tori sighed. “I don't- why did I have to fall in love with both of you?!?”
“You- both of us?” Beatrice asked tentatively. “You- love me?”
Tori froze for a moment, before a slow smile spread across her face and she gave Beatrice's hand a squeeze. “Yeah… I think I do.”
Beatrice flushed. “I- I love you too. And because I love you… I think you need to bring Jessica back.”
“But-” Tori began.
“I know.” Beatrice cut her off. “I don't know how it will affect our relationship, and… it does scare me a little. But bringing her back is the right thing to do. You should bring back everyone who died! It's just- it's the right thing to do.”
Tori sighed. “But that's the thing. I'm not sure I am bringing them back. The people made by the system would still essentially be the same people, but- would they really be them? Or would they just be copies?”
Beatrice frowned. “What's the difference?”
Tori grimaced. “It's- okay, if I used the system to make another you, would you say they're the same person or a copy?”
“A copy?” Beatrice replied hesitantly. “But that's because I'm still here. If I was dead, then it'd be totally different!”
Tori cocked her head. “Would it? Would the copy be any more you just because you died first?”
Beatrice paused. “Then- why do you want to bring Jessica back if you think she'd only be a copy?”
“Because she'd at least feel like Jessica. And- I miss her. I miss a lot of people. But- they wouldn't be them. Maybe. I don't know, this crap is confusing.” Tori groaned. “In any case, now would be a terrible time to bring anyone back. We're about to start a war! And even without that, where would they live? What would they do? How would they survive? I'm not even in a position where I can be the person they know me as! It's just- It's a bad idea.”
Beatrice eyed her skeptically. “I guess… though I'm still not convinced they wouldn't be the same person. Vicky doesn't seem to be any different than the original Victoria.”
Tori shook her head. “She wouldn't. She has the same memories, the same personality, the same everything, it's just- that doesn't make them the same. It just makes them really, really similar.”
Beatrice frowned. “So… why do you treat her like the original Victoria? Why do you insist that your parents are her parents?”
“Because they are?” Tori replied hesitantly. “Vicky is still their daughter, she's just not the same daughter they had before. I could make a dozen Victoria's and they'd all be their daughter, but none of them would be the same Victoria, right?”
“I- guess?” Beatrice agreed tentatively. “Okay, this is confusing.”
Tori let out an amused huff. “Yeah, but it's a confusing problem for later. Because again, now would be a terrible time to do anything.”
Beatrice nodded. “Right… I just- I don't want you to not bring anyone back because of me, okay? If it's the right thing to do, then- you should do it, no matter what the consequences are for us.” She took a deep breath. “I- I can't avoid doing the right thing just because I'm scared of what I might lose. Not- not again.”
“Beatrice…” Tori sighed, wrapping her arms around her. “This is nothing like that, okay? If I can truly bring everyone back, I will, I just- I don't think that's how it works. And even if it does… I'm never giving up on you, okay? I love you.”
Beatrice smiled. “I love you too.”
*
Tiffany returned about an hour later and the three of them got lunch at a nearby tavern before spending the rest of the day settling into their new residence. In the morning, Tiffany and Tori put together their gear and began their trek to the Dolvost Foothills, leaving Beatrice at the residence, much to Tori's disappointment. Though, admittedly, it did seem like a bad idea to take a non-cultivator into a region with Core Strengthening Rune Beasts. Still, she was going to miss her.
“Now, what is it we're actually going to be doing out here?” Tiffany asked once they'd left town. “Because we sure as shit aren't out here for the money.”
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Tori cocked her head, considering her goals. “I need some actual combat experience for one, though I probably need to train with my energy abilities a bit more first. I also need energy cores to increase my points. There are also some system experiments I should do…” She'd had this whole plan which involved dissecting Rune Beast's abilities and figuring out how to put them into the system, but after everything with the Hidden Blades it'd been pushed to the back of her mind. But now that she was thinking about it, creating methods for people to defend themselves that had nothing to do with cultivation might be exactly what she was looking for. Or it could completely backfire and get the world destroyed again… Tori shook her head. It'd at least be good to have the option, right?
Tiffany raised an eyebrow. “You want to do system experiments out here?”
“Where else would I do them?” Tori retorted. “I need test subjects and I can't exactly use people. Plus, Rune Beasts are supposed to have some interesting abilities which I might be able to use with the system.”
Tiffany paused. “That- is an interesting idea.” She muttered, giving Tori an evaluating look. “Is that how you learned to conceal your cultivation? By studying the Hidden Blades with the system?”
Tori blinked. “I- no, actually. I- can sense energy, so I just saw what you were doing and copied it. It wasn't really that hard to do.”
Tiffany frowned. “It- wasn't?”
“No?” Tori replied hesitantly. “You just have to surround your core with Qi, right?”
“No, you have to surround your core with concealment Qi.” Tiffany corrected. “Which you shouldn't have.”
Tori paused. “Is that an intent?”
Tiffany raised an eyebrow. “It is.”
“Okay, well, I'm pretty good with intents, so… I don't know, I guess I just got it?” Tori shrugged. “It only took me a minute to figure out how to do the iron skin thing too.”
Tiffany froze. “What iron skin thing?”
“This.” Tori demonstrated, raising a fist and turning it metallic.
“You- when did you learn to do that?!?” Tiffany exclaimed.
Tori cocked her head. “Two days ago? Horace taught me in exchange for telling him about the other world.”
Tiffany narrowed her eyes. “Did he teach you anything else?”
“A bit. Mostly body strengthening techniques. He probably would have taught me more, but he kept pushing me to learn Qi skills, so I ended up walking out on him.” Tori explained.
“He was pushing you to learn Qi skills?” Tiffany asked skeptically.
Tori sighed. “Apparently I'm ‘too talented’ to be limited to the Circulatory realm, but honestly I think it's just because he has a major crush on me. He even tried to convince me to go back to Avinter with him. Dude's obsessed and just will not take the hint that I'm not interested.”
Tiffany frowned. “Let me get this straight. You have a Unification realm Cultivator begging to help you, and you're ignoring him?” She gave Tori an almost pitying look. “Are you an idiot?”
Tori blinked. “I- what?”
Tiffany shook her head. “Do you know how many people would literally kill for a chance to be personally tutored by someone in the Unification realm?”
“A lot, but-” Tori began.
“But what!?!” Tiffany cut her off. “He's insisting on teaching you more? Even if you don't want to reveal your Qi Rune, do you honestly think there's nothing you can learn from him?!?”
Tori scowled. “It isn't about that! If he'd told me he was willing to teach me Qi skills, that'd be one thing, but instead he tried to force the issue! I'm not going to be pushed around just because he's stronger than me!”
Tiffany snorted. “Who cares if he pushes you around?!? That's what the powerful do! The fact that he's even giving you a choice instead of taking you wherever he damn well pleases is a gift! Do you really think anyone in Farova could stop him?!?”
Tori grimaced. “So what, I should just go along with whatever he wants?”
“Yes! Especially if it benefits you!” Tiffany exclaimed.
Tori rolled her eyes. “And what if he did end up taking me to Avinter? What would you think then? What would Jocelyn think?”
Tiffany waved dismissively. “It would be disappointing to lose a tri-core, but if a Unification realm Cultivator wants to take you, there isn't much we can do about it. We understand that power comes with certain benefits. Besides, our primary concern is access to the system, and your primary concern is the safety of your family and people, neither of which would be affected by this.”
Tori stared at her for a moment, before letting out a short huff. “Well I'm still not going to let him push me around. And even if I can't stop him, I'm not going to pretend to be happy about it.”
Tiffany's expression darkened. “Then you're going to spend a lot of time unhappy, because while this Unification realm may be content to respect your wishes, there are many who will not, and you are a very, very pretty young woman.”
Tori shot her a concerned look, noticing a more… personal note in Tiffany's reply. “Has- have you ever-”
A bitter chuckle escaped Tiffany's lips. “I have received many benefits over the years. None of them were free.” Tori's expression twisted, not even sure what to say to something like that. “Of course,” Tiffany continued, “as a tri-core you have power of your own, even if only due to your potential, and even more there's your system to account for.” She shot her a twisted grin. “Who knows, maybe soon I'll be getting benefits from you.”
Tori shuddered slightly. “That is not happening.”
“Oh come now, we both know where your inclinations lie. I'm sure I could make you very~ happy.” Tiffany purred, leaning in to whisper breathily in her ear. “We Cultivators can pleasure each other in ways that little maid of your could never even dream of~”
Tori froze. “How- why do you think- I- I'm not-”
Tiffany rolled eyes. “Please, I'm a spy trained by the Hidden Blades, and it isn't that difficult to notice that you have a tendency to enter your quarters in a bad mood and leave your quarters in a good mood, which your maid seems to share. And trust me, I'm well acquainted with that type of good mood.”
Tori flushed. “Even- even if that is true-” Tiffany snorted. “-that doesn't mean I'm going to take advantage of you! Especially since it's equally obvious that you love Ursa!”
Tiffany frowned. “What does me loving Pookie have to do with anything?”
Tori blinked. “It- means you should be with him? Not coming after me?”
Tiffany stared at her for a moment, then flicked Tori in the forehead. “That's disgusting, he's a bear!”
“Not anymore!” Tori protested, rubbing her forehead.
Tiffany scowled. “Giving him a human body does not make him human! And why would you even want him to be human! He's a sweet, caring, innocent creature, better than any human! All being human has done is corrupt him and make him obsessed with sex just like all the rest of you!”
Tori sputtered. “What- you- you were literally just trying to get me to sleep with you!”
“Because I'm human!” Tiffany retorted, throwing up her hands. “Pookie isn't! He's a bear! He shouldn't even know what sex is!”
“That doesn't even make sense! Animals have sex all the time!” Tori countered.
“To make babies! Not for fun! It's completely different!” Tiffany pointed out.
Tori hesitated. “That- may be true… I still think animals enjoy sex though? Otherwise why do dogs hump everything?”
Tiffany sniffed. “Too much time spent around humans. Wolves don't hump.”
Tori narrowed her eyes. “That- doesn't sound right, but I don't know enough about wolves to dispute it.”
Tiffany waved dismissively. “Even if animals do enjoy sex, they aren't obsessed with it the way humans are. They don't play games with it.”
“Okay, now I know that's false. Mating displays are a huge thing for animals! Bears literally fight over who gets to mate! You hear all those noises around us? Literally all of it is some animal yelling for someone to come and fuck them!” Tori exclaimed. “And yeah, it's to make babies, I'm not going to argue that, and they are more straightforward about it, but that doesn't necessarily make it better. There's no companionship in any of it. Few of those creatures actually care about each other. Humans, at least some of us, do. And yeah, there are a lot of people who fuck it up, but there are a lot of people who don't too. And if you really care about Ursa, it'd be a great way to show it to him, because he's been frustrated ever since you took Foratuna away from him. And maybe it'd help you see sex as something other than abuse.” Tori paused. “Actually, no, hold on, that's probably terrible advice… is it? Yes? No? I don't know.” She sighed. “All I know is you should definitely talk to the guy, because you both have issues you need to work out.” She paused again. “That, and the fact that we are definitely not having sex.”
Tiffany glanced at her with a complicated expression. A part of her knew that Tori would spend a long time being very, very disappointed, but… another part of her really, really hoped she wouldn't. “You are a very interesting young woman.” Tiffany eventually sighed, shaking her head.
Tori grinned. “Nah, I'm just weird.”