As she walks through the B-grade dormitory, Emily takes a glance at her status.

¯¯¯¯¯

[Status]

[Name:] Emily Coldstone

[Race:] Human

[Age:] 16

[Magic Circle:] First Circle

[Machina Cortex:] First Stage

[Attributes:] Strength 7 (8), Dexterity 16 > 17 (18), Agility 12 > 13 (14), Vitality 8, Intelligence 24 > 27

[Health:] 108/115

[Stamina:] 126/180

[Mana:] 386/405

[Machina:] 401/405

_____

At least that fight provided some useful data to process. I can feel the effect of my stat increase more clearly after my agility increase. I reacted faster to attacks than I did last week, and I think my flexibility is slightly better. My hand signs are getting easier too. That’s definitely an effect of dexterity. And I was successful in overcharging my light spell! The sudden burst of light was very effective, I’ll have to remember it in the future.

A frown forms on her face as she focuses on the resources at the bottom of the floating window.

What’s with my health though? I have several cuts, bruises, and a dislocated shoulder but it’s only dropped by 7. I guess none of them are life-threatening. Maybe it only decreases with more severe injuries.

With a small sigh, Emily clears her head of distractions and raises her hand to knock on the door she has reached. She hesitates for a moment, glancing down at her sorry state before knocking three times.

It’ll be fine, just say, ‘Hey can you pop my shoulder back in for me?’ and she totally won’t overreact…

Hearing a shuffling on the other side of the door, she starts shifting from side to side, regretting coming to Juliana already. The door fades from existence to reveal a smiling Juliana.

“Emi! What are-?“ She stops as she notices the dried blood on Emily’s cheek and slowly looks down.

Seeing Emily’s torn clothes, stained red in several places, and the unnatural way her left arm is sitting lower than her right, Juliana quickly grows concerned.

“What happened to you? Did you start a fight?”

“Hey, why do you assume I started it?” Emily asks with a small chuckle, wincing as it disturbs her wounds.

“Didn’t you?”

“No, but I did end it. They’ll think twice next time.”

Emily sees disappointment in Juliana’s eyes.

“It wasn’t my fault,” she rushes to explain. “Jeremy and Kyle brought two of their goons to try and force me to reveal the source of my Claws. When I wouldn’t tell them, they attacked me. With weapons.”

Juliana’s expression shifts to outrage, then concern as she surveys Emily’s injuries. She quickly ushers her into her room. Emily walks over to Juliana’s desk chair and sits down.

“Can you pop my shoulder back in? Then I can deal with the rest.”

“I don’t think so. Do you even have any medical supplies in your room?” Juliana asks while walking into her bathroom.

“No,” Emily confesses.

"So, what’s the plan?” Juliana calls back.

“I’ll take a shower, then go to bed once everything stops bleeding.”

“Bad plan,” Juliana scoffs, returning to the room with a sizeable wooden box.

Seeing Emily sitting on the chair, she frowns.

“Why are you sat there? Move to the bed, it’ll be more comfortable.”

“I don’t want to make your bed dirty.”

Juliana rolls her eyes and gestures towards the bathroom with her head as she places the box down on the bed.

“It’ll take twenty minutes to clean the sheets, stop being dramatic and get over here.”

Emily relents and stands up, wincing in the process, before walking over to sit on the bed.

“Why do you have medical supplies anyway? I wouldn’t think you got hurt that much.”

“Well… you’re always coming back from hand-to-hand combat classes with cuts and bruises, so I thought it would be a good idea in case you got hurt badly,” Juliana admits with a blush, looking away and refusing to make eye contact.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Emily coos.

“Yes, I’m very sweet,” Juliana says, sticking out her tongue. “Now, let’s see what we’re working with.”

Juliana kneels in front of Emily and starts undoing her shirt. Emily blushes and looks away as she does.

Why am I so embarrassed? I wasn’t like this when Anna helped me.

The thought makes Emily’s heart ache, so she quickly tries to clear her mind and focus on following Juliana’s instructions instead. She gets Emily to slide her right arm out of the shirt, before gently peeling the fabric away from the gashes on her left. Dropping the bloody shirt to the floor, she grimaces at Emily’s state.

Her left arm hangs limply at her side from her mangled shoulder. Two deep gashes run outwards from her collarbone, still seeping blood. Her ribs are bruised a deep purple on both sides, with a small slice running along the centre of the larger bruise on her left. Her right bicep also sports a small bruise, but Juliana quickly dismisses it as not needing any treatment.

“Right, how do I do this?” she asks while looking to Emily for help.

“Why do you assume I’d know how?” Emily responds with a teasing grin.

“This isn’t the time to be joking!” Juliana complains with a pouting glare. “You’re the one who asked for help, so I just assumed you knew what to do already.”

“Haha, sorry. Jokes help distract from the pain,” she says apologetically. “But yeah, I’ve done this before. One sec.”

Emily shifts to lie on the bed with her left arm on the outside. Thinking back to the day she took a bad tumble off a scrap pile, she remembers Anna’s actions clearly.

“First, take my wrist and slowly move my arm out to a ninety-degree angle from my body. You can remove the Claw if it’s in the way.”

She lies waiting, trying not to think about her sister, as Juliana slowly undoes the leather straps and pulls the weapon off her arm before gently moving it into position. Juliana’s look of gentle care and concern overlaps with Emily’s memories of Anna and she closes her eyes, fighting back tears as they begin to form.

“What next?” she hears Juliana ask.

“Pull it slowly away from me until you hear a pop or me screaming,” Emily responds with a hollow chuckle; the attempted humour failing to stop the images still forming behind her eyelids. “You may have to brace yourself against my ribs though.”

She feels Juliana’s knee gently press into her side, barely noticing the pain it causes, and a slow pressure starts building in her arm. As the pressure builds, so do the memories of Anna. When a small pop sounds and a jolt of pain flares in her shoulder, she’s unable to choke back the sob that leaves her mouth unbidden or the tears that flow freely down her face.

“Oh Goddess, sorry, did I do something wrong? Does it hurt?” Juliana asks in a frantic panic.

Opening her eyes, Emily looks over to her and tries to explain.

“N- no. It’s not you,” she chokes out between sobs.

Looking unconvinced, but relieved as Emily manages to sit herself up, Juliana carefully lowers Emily’s arm to rest in her lap before moving to sit down on her right. She gently pulls Emily into a hug, placing one arm around her waist, careful to avoid any injuries, and using the other to pull Emily’s head to rest against her chest.

Emily relaxes into her embrace and continues crying for a few minutes. After her tears stop, she remains still for a few more minutes, enjoying the feeling of Juliana’s fingers running through her hair. Reluctantly, she lifts her head and looks at Juliana.

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” Juliana responds softly, surprising Emily as she reaches up and gently brushes the tears from her cheeks. “Does it hurt?

“Yes, but it’s not that. I can handle pain.”

“What then?”

Emily bites her lip in indecision.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, I do want to tell you,” Emily says with a sigh, finally making her choice. “However, maybe we should stop my bleeding first.”

Juliana gives a small smile, standing up and pulling her medical kit back over. As she starts pulling out bandages and cloth to clean the wounds, Emily begins to speak.

“I guess I should start at the beginning. A few months ago, in Eimdon, one of the Mandrago family’s airships went down outside the city in the scrap heaps. I was nearby and went to dig through the wreckage, where I found an uncut mass of lightning mana crystals.” She pauses and winces slightly as Juliana ties a bandage around her ribs.

Keeping her explanation as close to the truth as possible while avoiding mentioning The Clock or the system, Emily continues while Juliana cleans and dresses the gashes on her shoulder. She pauses her explanation briefly when Juliana takes a clean cloth and wipes the blood from her face.

“Perfect,” Juliana says with a small grin as she finishes, causing Emily to blush and look away.

Juliana closes her medical box before sitting down next to Emily and wrapping an arm around her waist again. Emily leans her head on her shoulder as she continues.

“My awakening sent out a pulse of mana. It was like a beacon to the Mandragos. When they arrived at the shop, they took back the mana crystals, then slit Dad’s throat for stealing their property.”

Juliana lets out a small gasp and tightens her grip slightly. Tears of sadness and rage fall from Emily’s eyes as she keeps talking through slightly gritted teeth.

“They then realised I was a self-awakened mage, and told me that they’d let my sister, Anna, live with only a scar if I became their vassal. What choice did I have? I went with them. Once they got me into their mansion, they tried to use mental magic to brainwash me.”

Juliana pulls away slightly and turns Emily’s head to face her.

“They brainwashed you?” she asks with a mixture of concern and anger written on her face.

“Ha! No. They certainly tried though,” Emily chuckles lightly while reaching up and taking Juliana’s hand from her face and into her own as her grin turns malicious. “I was able to resist their spell without them realising. And I swear that once I’m strong enough, everyone who had a part in my father's death and keeping me apart from my sister will pay the price in blood.”

Juliana shivers and recoils slightly at her words, causing Emily to panic internally.

Shit, was that too much? I don’t want to scare her.

Her concerns disappear as Juliana responds with a sigh.

“I can see why you are so intent on making weapons then.”

“Yeah, I need to use everything I can to make sure I can get in and kill those responsible without killing myself.”

Juliana nods in understanding before changing the subject.

“Where’s your sister now?”

“I don’t know. Home, I hope. They’ve got no reason to bother her. She’s not a mage. You reminded me of her earlier actually. She used to get cross with me too, before she patched me up.”

“Ah, so I remind you of your sister?” Juliana says with disappointment as her face falls, and she starts to release her grip on Emily’s waist.

Emily laughs, then winces before pushing the pain to the back of her mind. She releases Juliana’s hand and reaches up to caress her face, smiling at the obvious hope returning to her gaze as she does.

I hope I’m reading this right.

Emily steels her nerves and slowly leans forward.

“Only in the fact that you care for me,” she says softly, her heart accelerating as her nerves try to force it out of her chest. “I certainly don’t see you as a sister.”

To her immediate relief, Juliana smiles and leans in to meet her, their lips joining together in a soft kiss. Juliana’s grip on Emily’s waist tightens, pulling their bodies closer together before their lips part.

“How do you see me then?” Juliana asks with anticipation, a light blush on her cheeks.

“As a girlfriend?” Emily responds with slight apprehension.

A bright smile blooms on Juliana’s face.

“Good.”

Emily joins her in smiling, as they lean in for another kiss.