“By the way, you can level up normally, right?” Raj asked, slowing down a bit to let Trixie catch up.

“Yes, I can,” she replied, the light reflecting off her wings catching his attention. “But you should know, the energy from kills is given solely off of contribution, and nothing more. It prevents people from getting carried to higher levels. Power is never truly a facade, and this is doubly true for the higher levels.”

That caused Raj to stop dead in his tracks. “Wait, so you’re telling me that the only way to get you up to speed is to go back to the start of the tutorial zone?” If that were true, it would greatly hamper his progress, and would allow others to close the gap.

“If I were another individual person, yes. But since we are bonds, I get roughly 5% of the experience you gain. The same is true the other way around, but that isn’t as pertinent to our situation right now.” That allowed Raj to let out a sigh of relief. He was on par with monsters with levels in the teens at minimum, so he could just kill a handful and get Trixie more or less caught up. A couple higher leveled monsters had always seemed to push him up in levels, but getting even 5% of a level 15 should be enough for at least a level or two. It wouldn’t work forever, especially considering that leveling got exponentially harder, at least from his experience, but it was more than enough for now.

“Alright, let’s head out!” He proclaimed, ever the picture of bravery, wisdom, and courage.

Trixie didn’t hesitate in the slightest to poke a hole through his projected image. “You do remember I don’t have a class yet, right? Surely the one I am and will be bonded to for the rest of my life didn’t forget that detail?” Her glare made Raj think of his sister or mom whenever they had been mad at him. He concluded that, at their core, women didn’t seem to change, race and planet be damned. Raj felt beads of sweat start to form, running down his back.

Responding a little quicker than he would have liked, he said,”Of course not! That’s absurd. I was, uh, testing you to make sure you were truly focused! Yup!” His voice ramped up to a squeal by the end of the sentence, but he was more concerned with the tension that had built in the air. After all, his dad… he suppressed the inner turmoil that rose up within him, tears threatening to spill at the corners of his eyes. Then, his eyes widened in fear. No! This can’t be happening!

Gripping at his heart through his shirt, Raj recounted all the trouble the damn organ had given throughout his life. Hospitals, checkups. Hell, he had been resuscitated from the brink of death. Numerous times. So much trauma, so much pain. Yet, he had thought it all over. And that’s when Raj felt true anger for the very first time.

*****

Trixie looked at the human… No, Raj, she corrected herself. A myriad of emotions played across her face as his thoughts were reflected through their bond, which he didn’t seem to be aware of. She had first been concerned by his sadness and sudden jolt of pain, but stepped back fearfully when his anger shone through. This in turn became doubly so when he sank to his knees and started screaming out defiantly. What struck Trixie as odd was that it didn’t seem like he had experience with the emotion of anger, for some reason. He was raging at the heavens, looking desperately for a conduit, but failing to find any. Trixie knew it fell onto her, as Raj’s bond, to calm him down. Schooling her face into one of sympathy, she pushed forwards, sending waves of warmth and kindness.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

His eyes, which had been glazed over and wild, fixated on her, the rest of his body following suit. His face returned to its former light-chocolate color from red, and his expression shifted to one of sadness, tears streaking down his face. Oh dear, she thought. I am most definitely not qualified to be a… what do earthlings call it? Yes, a guidance counselor.

*****

After he had settled down, and his embarrassment at his outburst had worn off, he started explaining himself to Trixie, keenly aware of the jagged edge of the rock he was leaning against digging into his back. She deserved an explanation after what he had just done, and he felt he deserved some explanation as to what she had been able to do in his mind.

“I have had a heart disease of sorts since I was born. And to be honest, it has become a part of my personality. I have always had to watch out when doing physical activity, as it could set me off in the worst way. It caused for an… interesting childhood, to say the least.” He studied Trixie’s face, but she simply tucked her golden hair behind her ear and gestured for him to continue.

“The problems didn’t end there, either. In both my last year of high school, and my first year of college, my heart failed. The same scene played out both times, where I was walking through the halls of the school, before falling to the ground in agony. Next thing I knew, I was awake in a hospital, with no recollection of how I got there, and a team of doctors crowded around my bed in relief.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, struggling to repel the wave of emotions which threatened to overtake him once more. After collecting himself, he continued. “The reason I lost my cool in a way I never have before was because I expected my condition to be cured when the system took over.”

Trixie elected that moment to interject, positing a question of her own. “Why would you assume that?”

“I had read a lot of books about these sort of things, and–”

Trixie let out an exasperated sigh. “Why, pray tell, is that your basis for information? Never assume that you know anything about the real world from books. I am aware that they are based on information sent to your world to prepare you, but that doesn’t make said books some holy script for you to follow to a t.”

When she put it like that, it made Raj feel slightly foolish, but he still shot a rebuttal her way. “In my defense, everything else has been going pretty similarly…” he dropped the matter after seeing the pointed glare she was giving him. Seeing his face, she burst out into laughter. It was a light, tinkling sound. He cracked a smile as well, and for a moment, all seemed right in the world.