With my stats settled, I still needed to decide what to do with my new general upgrade points. I could swap one of my general skills for a class skill like I did last time, or I could upgrade an existing skill.
The key consideration here was the new Fell Shield ability that I had access to but lacked the skill to use. The quickest way to get such a skill would be to replace a general skill.
The main thing stopping me was a reluctance to continue burning through my general skills. I didn’t have an unlimited amount of them, and I didn’t know for sure when I would get more of them.
A better option for Fell Shield might be to wait until my next level and replace the Skin Hardening skill for it. That was a much lower-level ability and served much the same purpose.
It felt odd to write off an ability like that, but I wasn’t sure if there was much use in keeping both. Plus, I would still have the ability, and I could always allocate another skill point to it in the future.
That gave me another idea of what to use my general upgrade points for. My combat had shifted over time from using a pistol and a knife to a rifle and a sword. Yet I still had my old skills that I rarely ever used.
I could use my new upgrade points to re-select them, and it would be cheap if I didn’t swap the slot to a class skill. A quick check found it would only be two points per skill, allowing me to do both with the points I had.
With Pistols already being level three, that would give me an immediate boost to my combat ability with a rifle. While it would make my pistol less powerful if I had to use it, that was mainly a backup now.
And again, I can always take it again later if I need to, I decided with a firm nod. Flicking through the menu, I allocated the points, changing Pistols to Rifles and Light Blades to Swords.
As expected, Rifles came through at level three, giving me a fifteen percent boost to damage. There were some interesting upgrades available for the skill as well, but I was down to only a single upgrade point.
It would be worth having another look at level fourteen, but for now, it was still a solid improvement. Given how long Pistols had been at level three for, I might even be nearing a level up for it.
Maybe I should get some more training, I mused as I closed the various windows I had open. I have a few spare days, and I’m mostly self-taught. I’m sure the Captain could include me in some of the drills he has the troops working on.
That should help me to become a better shot, get me skill experience, and let me check up on the troops' training. A triple win, I thought with a grin as I sent a message off to get it organized.
That set the tone of my days until it was time to prepare for Sweden. I’d spend half the day training, and the rest either helping with the frigate or spending time with Linnea.
She was getting progressively more nervous as the days passed, and I couldn’t say that I was faring much better. Not only would we be meeting for the first time, but I had little idea of what to expect when I got there.
While she shared a few details about how I’d get picked up and the accommodation, she was very tightlipped about the other part of the visit. Apparently, the secret group was very particular about any information when not in person.
Only two things of note happened during that time. First was the funerals for the dead soldiers. That was a trying experience that had me seriously doubting my ability to lead groups of people.
While no one seemed to blame me, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I could have done better. Being forced out of the last battle didn’t help that mindset, as I had been unable to affect how things went.
It took a while, but in the end, I had to realize that it was in the past and couldn’t be changed. All I could do was try to do better in the future. My training with the troops helped with that, as the Captain gave me solid advice for leading small groups.
The other event of note was the medal ceremony organized by the Duchess. Linnea, I, and the surviving troops were all invited. As I’d somewhat feared it was a big political spectacle set up as much for show as it was to reward us.
Despite this, it still felt nice to get a medal in front of so many people, and we all get a small boon from the Duchess. Each of the soldiers received higher quality gear, Linnea got a close-quarters weapon for if she ran out of ammo again, and I got permission to visit another capital ship.
It would take a while to organize with all of them under repair at the moment, but it would happen in the next few weeks. Elana would be joining me and between the two of us, I was hoping we could get a blueprint for the two missing pieces of technology.
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Once I got the mining village up and running we would have the materials to build them, leaving only the ship’s hull plating as an issue. I still needed to find a source for its stealth plating, which would be my next priority during exploration.
I also started taking the anti-corruption medication and found it to have little noticeable effect. The lack of side effects was nice, but it also showed little sign that it was working.
I’d had a few regrets about my decision to push the Corruption problem to the future, as well as an almost argument with Linnea, but I was still resolved that it was the only actual solution. I simply couldn’t take that much of a break now.
If there was another option, it wasn’t something I could find easily. I tried asking Mira, the Arkathian AI I had rescued, but she had no answers for me. The Arkathians had been highly secretive about Psionics and kept any details far away from their resident AI.
While it was likely that they had a solution, assuming that Corruption was an issue back then as well, it may very well have been lost to time. It might be hidden in a ruin somewhere, but the chances of me finding it were low.
I would just have to take the time when it became available and keep up with the medicine in the meantime. As long as the problem didn’t get any worse, I could deal with the changes it had caused. Often, I even liked the extra power it brought.
The last day before I was due to leave, I spent the morning out of the game preparing. Given that I was going for an indeterminate amount of time, and to somewhere colder than where I lived, I packed a heavy suitcase with everything I might need.
It would be a little awkward to carry around, but I felt better being prepared. This would be the first time that I’d left the country, and anything that helped stabilize my nerves was good.
In the second half of the day, I returned to find that Linnea had logged out to do her own preparations. While Elana was scarce on the details, I guessed it had to do with the real reason I was going.
I ended up spending the afternoon helping increasingly nervous Elana with the frigate until she finally started talking near the end of the day.
“Ah Jared,” she said, pulling my attention from the life support systems. It was a slow process, but I’d been gradually repairing them with Technokinesis. With most of the actual material still there, it was just a matter of slowly piecing it back together.
With a thought, I disengaged from the machine, leaving it in a stable state. “What’s up?” I asked as I stood and turned toward her.
“I’m guessing you noticed how nervous Linnea has been over the last few days. I just wanted to ask you to be careful when you meet her,” she said while bouncing between one foot and the other.
At my inquisitive look, she continued. “She’s pretty self-conscious about her condition, and people have reacted badly before. There was even one guy she met online who walked out after seeing how sick she was,” Elana finished with a stare.
“Which is almost the same as this situation,” I responded with an understanding nod. “I can see why that would tear her up.”
Elana frantically nodded at that. “Exactly. I’m not asking you to be some kind of superhuman who doesn’t react, just be prepared and don’t freak out. I know Linnea cares a lot, so she’ll be really broken up if you react badly.”
“And I won’t be able to help pick her back up in the real world,” she finished in a sad-sounding whisper.
“You’re not going to be there?” I asked, blinking in surprise. I had rather assumed that they would both be around.
“Yeah… I can’t really talk about it, but I won’t be able to make it,” she said with a wince. “I’ll still be here when you guys log in, but just not on Earth,” she continued in a hurry.
That was odd and brought back memories of how distraught Linnea had been when Elana was caught by the spider. She said that Elana couldn’t log out then, maybe that’s still the case, I realized. She didn’t sound thrilled about it either.
I wanted to ask more, but from her closed-off posture, I could tell that Elana wouldn’t be saying anything else. Instead, I decided to just put her mind at ease on the initial talking point.
“I’ll be careful,” I said, reaching over to gently lay a hand on her shoulder. “I care about Linnea too, and I won’t be walking out even if I’m surprised.” I didn’t like the idea that Linnea was so sick as to shock people, but I was prepared for it.
From the little Linnea had told me she was very determined to enter VSO full-time because of how bad the illness was. Despite not having any details, I had plenty of time to consider worst-case scenarios.
“Thank you, Jared,” Elana responded, pushing forward into a hug. “She’s a lot better these days, but it’s still bad when you're not expecting it.”
She continued the hug for nearly a minute without saying anything else, before she pulled free and darted off. Goodbye, and good luck were shouted over her shoulder, and then she was gone.
That left me alone to do the final few things before I left. Given that I would likely be out of the game for a whole day tomorrow, some preparations had to be made.
I sent a few messages telling everyone I would be out of contact for the day and set my watch to auto-respond with a similar message if anyone tried to call me. Then I slipped into the room I shared with Linnea and locked the door from the inside.
I wasn’t too worried given that the ship should be secure already, but it was best to be safe. The last thing I needed was for someone to find my unconscious body. With that settled, I logged out and slept back on Earth.
The next day was a whirlwind of activity as I took a taxi to the airport and navigated customs. Airport security was pretty nerve-wracking, but I made it through without issue and boarded the flight.
The flight itself wasn’t too bad, and would probably have been interesting if I hadn’t flown in far more impressive machines in VSO. That made it feel slow and boring in comparison, and I couldn’t wait for it to end.
When it was finally done, I navigated customs on the other end, before finally being let out into Sweden itself. My instructions were to make my way to an out-of-the-way part of the parking lot, where a van would wait for me.
Sure enough, I eventually found a large, black van with two hulking men standing out the front. Both were tall with blond hair and bared something of a resemblance to Linnea and Elana.
With a deep breath, I tried to calm my nerves as I walked forward. It was time to meet the secretive group that claimed to know more about the secrets behind VSO.