After dinner I started studying the spells while the girls got ready for bed. I thought to the girls, “How are you guys doing, still missing your home?”
I did not get a response for a minute and then Xiantha responded, “In some ways yes, but honestly this life is better. We are not looked at as food here at least for most creatures. This world is much easier. It’s more comfortable here, we can have time to actually think and consider a future. So in a way I am thankful that this all happened”. She looked towards me then with a smile on her face and said, “I am not sure if it’s the world or you that makes this place enjoyable. I think with that guy who summoned me I would rather die in my own world than live under him. You though treat us with respect and are not trying to always to force us to do anything. We have a partnership and I appreciate that you always ask our opinions. That makes a difference”.
I think I might have blushed because I felt my face heat up and said, “I don’t think that’s anything special, Everyone should treat you that way normally. How can common courtesy be special treatment?”
Etalia then responded, “I am glad you are different but you have to remember that others are raised that we should be slaves, less than you humans. While we were training, we spoke to others of our kind, and they are envious of us. They have masters not partners. They have to suck up to their masters and follow their every whims or they might be punished”.
I kind of frowned at that point and said, “Well we are going to be different. Maybe we can show them a new way forward and get others of your kind the lives that they deserve. Everyone should see that you guys are not tools, you are people”.
The smiled at me when I said that and we went on to speak of plans for the next day and I went back to studying to prepare for my training. We went to bed soon after and got up at six the next morning to start our day.
We had breakfast at the inn again and went over our finances. We had done a total of 5 jobs which earned us two hundred ninety credits, ten percent was automatically deducted towards our debt so in our accounts was two hundred sixty-one left over. I then went to our outstanding debts tab and saw :
Implants x3
$10,000 ea
$30,000.00
Monthly memory updating x3
$100.00 ea
$30,270.00
Hotel stay 3 nights
$90.00 per day
$30,540.00
Meals 3 days, 3 people
$15.00 per person per day
$30,675.00
Auto Pay made
$29.00
$30,646.00
I went over the details with the girls, basically we were thirty grand in debt. We then decided that at a minimum we needed to manage four jobs per day at the current rate, and that we needed to find a permanent place to live because the hotel fees were too expensive to keep going like this.
We finished our meal shortly after and then headed out. I returned to the training center and the girls went to do more tasks like yesterday.
I messaged Tabby and was told to meet her at the the range and she sent me a waypoint for it. I followed the implant and met up with her. Before we started I asked about a couple of things. One how much does it cost to get revived if you die, and two did she know of any places we could rent to keep costs down.
Tabby responded, “When you get revived there is the cost of the implant again, ten grand, there is the cost of the clone, another ten grand. I think I also told you that you lose some random stat points as well. Generally about one threat levels worth. Overall don’t die if at all possible. On the subject of renting a place, I know of one that a friend of mine has, it’s a studio apartment though so only a single room for four hundred a month, or I can hook you up with an agent that has more places available but I am guessing they would be more a month.”
“Why is that one only four hundred?” I ask.
“Because it is pretty close to unprotected territory, it’s small. It is like a fifteen minute walk to get back into town, and there are not any neighbors close to it”, she said.
“Is it unsafe or something?”, I ask.
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“Not unsafe per say, just in an area that is not well protected. Honestly I think it has an upside for you guys. About five minutes away is a point where owlbears come to feed. The owlbears are level five creatures, and the alphas are level 6. As a group I think they would be a good challenge for you guys and they have tasks permanently assigned for their demise. Bowyers and tailors want the feathers, leather workers want the skin, the meat is edible and tastes like chicken. Overall you would earn about fifty credits for each kill, plus whatever increase in stats you guys obtain.” explains Tabby. “Tell you what. Why don’t you have your girls meet us here around six tonight. That will let them hunt and you train, then we can see if this place will work for you and I can show you the owlbears, then you can all decide together”, she continues.
I agree and so do the girls when I ask them. Tabby has me start training, first before anything she has me start doing physical work sparring with a trainer. I ask her how this helps casting spells and she explains that it will increase my dexterity which will help in getting spells off, especially under pressure. It will also help with my accuracy to make sure that I can hit things. And lastly in case everything goes to shit it will help me to try running away because I will have more stamina.
Several hours later after being practically beat into the ground, then forced to run laps, she has me start practicing spells. It takes a few tries to start being accurate on my spell throws. Eventually they bring out a trainer that moves around with a target that I am supposed to hit like it would be if we were fighting. He moves it around a lot, and I miss about seventy to eighty percent of the time it also does not help that Tabby keeps throwing pebbles at me too. I need practice and it shows. It gets me thinking about strategy, when I go out with Xiantha and Etalia again we need to use positioning and other methods so that I can contribute without killing them.
By the time six rolls around I am exhausted but there is a good side effect
Alex Johnson
Human, Male
18 years old
Threat level 3
Strength
9
Stamina
10
Dexterity
11
Intelligence
14
Wisdom
11
Health 100/100
Mana 140/140
I was able to gain 6 stat points overall in a single day and increase my health and mana pool as well. Even without the training room, I may need to keep up a workout regimen. Compared to Xiantha and Etalia though, I am still behind on training.
Xiantha
Imp Demon, Female
17 years old
Threat level 4
Strength
10
Stamina
10
Dexterity
17
Intelligence
12
Wisdom
11
Health 100/100
Mana 120/120
Etalia
Imp Demon, Female
16 years old
Threat level 4
Strength
18
Stamina
13
Dexterity
11
Intelligence
9
Wisdom
9
Health 130/130
Mana 190/190
We follow behind Tabby for the walk to the rental place and find it is furnished, but there is only a single king size bed, a couch, a kitchen table and things like pots and pans. I grimace because we have to change the furniture and that means more costs out of our already low coin supply. The girls discuss the place quietly and Tabby tells us if we decide to take it let her know, if not lock the place up and she will hook us up with an agent tomorrow. She then sends me a waypoint for the location of the owlbears as well as she shows herself out.
I start off with “Well its small and we need another bed or two at least but it’s cheap until we decide to stay here a while or move to another world.”
Etalia nods at Xiantha and Xiantha replies, “It is good enough for the time being. Honestly this will be our first real home so for that it is already good enough. We can always change as we get stronger. As far as the bed goes, we already share a room, why bother buying more beds for a place we will not be at for too long. We can share this one for the time being. We are not human anyway. I don’t think you are going to mate us in the night since we are not human, though even if you did, it’s not like that hasn’t happened before.”
My mouth drops open and start thinking about going to their world and killing whoever hurt them and stringing them up by their balls. I also start thinking about how to show them that not everyone is like that and how I am going to show them how much I care. I start to consider how they appear, I mean definitely not human with the claws and tails, but feature wise they are alien in nature they are still very cute and anatomically we appear compatible. When I look back at them trying to come up with what to actually say to them I notice that Etalia is darker than she usually is and she is looking down shyly and glancing up towards me, While Xiantha has a large smile and a look of pride on her face. I try to figure out what would possibly give them those looks and I realize that I had been broadcasting my thoughts to them giving the unmitigated truth of my feeling on the subject of consent, rape and my feelings of concern and care about them, as well as maybe some other thoughts that I really hope I did not broadcast.
Xiantha only says, “Nope, we definitely do not need another bed.”