JAARU ANIIK
“Do you want to run again? Like in real life?” she asked tiredly.
Init nodded eagerly: “Yes, this time it is not about me though. It’s about a few colleagues. Including a guy named Kereu Taaki. You might know about him.”
Jaaru nodded: “He triggered a repository event, yeah. I am aware of him.”
Init stared at Jaaru for a moment, then responded dryly: “He also got himself into legal trouble for using a Solidarity-provided healing skill. Which, to me at least, is more relevant.”
Jaaru tilted her head: “You were not the one who had to manage the repository event on the backend. While dealing with pretty annoying people and trying to not coast through calls but to deliberately increase your skills so the Repository can level up.”
Init raised an eyebrow: “I didn’t know that this was required.”
Jaaru smiled: “I try not to talk about it. It feels frustrating how difficult it is to get the Repository level up anywhere decent.”
Init made an unhappy noise: “I get that. Work doesn’t really appreciate trying to improve your skills. It mostly wants repetition and good enough for longer than feels good and after work, the day is almost over and we’re tired. Badly so.”
Jaaru nodded: “That was actually why I hoped that I could get a lazy weekend today. Just the bed, some snacks and maybe something to read. But you say we need to delve again?”
Init nodded: “We do. Kereu is currently out on bail but had to take a predatory loan for that. So we need to delve to pay it off as well as pay for his lawyer.”
Jaaru raised an eyebrow: “The dungeon we delved had not really any loot. We’d better work additional shifts.”
Init shook her head: “There are dungeons with far better loot. They are just not reachable via public transport or on foot. You need to fly there – or have transport magic. Which we just happen to have.”
Jaaru raised an eyebrow: “We do? I don’t see anything like that in the skill list.”
Init nodded: “It’s not in Solidarity, just some nifty tech that we happen to have access to today.”
Jaaru smiled: “Okay, let’s go!”
SKIPS-ONE-STEP
She had thought that with the group going for a Rank 19 dungeon, a Rank 12 one would be easy. She had thought wrong. The ground was stony and it didn’t allow the ambush tactics of the team. Nourishes was tired, heck, most of the group was tired and Skips had to attempt to keep the focus of any attacking monster on her by attacking from all sides, being an absolute pain and preventing the monsters from attacking Nourishes. Her damage was only superficial, only causing bleeding and other kinds of superficial cuts, but she was always on her feet, attacking from one side and moments later the other one. Compared to that, Nourishes would do deep damage, but needed a lot of time to use the magic. That meant that she had to distract the enemy until Nourishes was in position and fired his attack.
Skips was tired, her legs hurt, her feet hurt, and she was tired enough to just fall asleep on the ground right there. And yet, in front of them was the boss portal. Skips breathed a long breath, then she asked: “Thrives, what do you think is the boss of this dungeon?”
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Thrives had examined the place and sighed: “We had few rushpaws, so I expect there to be an elite rushpaw. Which really doesn’t sound like something I want this group to face. I know one person in our group who could outrun an elite rushpaw. So, the only way we could defeat them would be if Skips could keep their attention the entire time.”
Sure-Climbing-Friend made a gesture of agreement: “Sounds feasible. I can trap an area and Skips can lead them to it and jump over it.”
Skips felt put on the spot: “I am a reasonable runner, not a reasonable jumper.”
Digs-our-Caves nervously made a suggestion: “Is it possible to snare an elite rushpaw?”
Teki looked all of a sudden very eager: “Snaring it? I can see a way, yeah. But I’ve never seen it actually being used. Worth a try though as I get very little info about how bosses are defeated during integration.”
Teki reminded the group: “We have an hour until the monsters recharge. Let’s prepare something and rest for a bit before we go ahead. I know that you don’t have access to Earth-hours, but I can see the time displayed in my vision in my watersuit.”
SHIVERS-IN-SUNLIGHT
Being around the other humans was fascinating. They lugged so much equipment with them, it was as if they never learned how to use magic for anything. Xe enjoyed learning about inventions like straws and bedrolls, but found electronic gadgets confusing. On a nightly break, xe saw the group use them a lot and they did so many things that it seemed strange that they were so small. Xe asked one of the humans about it: “Hello Crystal, I see you are using your communicator. Can you please explain to me how to use it?”
“Oh, you just click on the option that you want.” Crystal eagerly explained.
“May I try?” Shivers asked.
Crystal held the display to xir. Xe looked at the device, realised that xe did not understand the writing at all and tried to tap one of the symbols. Nothing happened. Xe looked to Crystal and asked: “Is something supposed to happen?”
Crystal nodded: “Yeah, it is. But I guess electricity isn’t conducted well by your exoskeleton.”
Shivers looked confused: “What is electricity? Isn’t this device using magic?”
Crystal shook her head: “No, it is using the movement of invisibly small particles that powers it.”
Shivers was intrigued: “Can you teach me about it?”
Crystal looked at Shivers and moved her hands: “So, matter, that is everything you can touch, but also things which are harder to do so, like air, are made out of so-called atoms. These have a core and a shell. The core doesn’t matter here, but the shell is made out of small particles called electrons. And these can travel from one place to another and these travelling electrons are basically the core of what makes this communicator work. We have a connection here, so I can open some of my school books for you.”
Again Shivers was not fully understanding: “A school is a facility for younglings to improve their skills before they integrate, right?” After a nod from Crystal, xe asked: “But what is a book?”
Crystal now seemed shocked: “A book is a collection of either stories, guidance or similar things in the form of writing… that is… like the system messages, made out of symbols. But it is not like a system message in so far that it is huge. A book doesn’t just have a dozen words but tens of thousand ones.”
Shivers looked interested: “Oh, so like a story stone?”
Now it was Crystal who did not understand: “What is a story stone?”
Shivers: “It is a stone with an enchantment to hold a story. It works by magic that is embedded in the structure of the stone and you can have it speak the story to your mind by a simple movement. Kinda like this.” He shook the communicator in a complex pattern. “And while you do, it is continuing to relay the story.”
Crystal looked shocked: “What‽ A stone that communicates to your mind‽ That sounds unbelievable! I have never heard of anything like that! How‽”
Shivers smiled: “We scorpions-of-Tsanh are not unskilled, just limited by the environment.”