“What?”
Mia pushed her clone away, taking a few steps back, the image of that brace burned in her mind after only seeing it for a brief moment. “Why would that be bad?” She asked, “My skills are kept between saves?” It was her one saving grace going back in time, after all.
The ability to spend a lifetime training, then going back with all that experience and skills, it was something she was trying to take advantage of this time around since she could finally remember between saves… but she kept getting... distracted.
[Yes, the skills you do have go back in time with you… the ones you have.] The clone stepped back, pulling up the map again [It sparked a vicious cycle…] The dot representing Mia began to move rapidely, going through years in mere moments as her slave life in Eldaha progressed, then the dot suddenly left, went back, and then headed out again towards a familiar location.
“…The dungeon with John.” Mia gulped “The language skill…” It was strange now that she thought about it, if she went to the dungeon before with John in another life and she got the language skill… then why didn’t she have it when she woke up.
[Correct, while it was not always a guaranteed the skill in the chest was the one you wanted, having the ability to read set you on a path to encounter that woman in the church.]
A shiver ran down Mia’s spine “ok, ok… I get it…” she waved her hands in front of her face, signaling AM to stop “Don’t need to know more, she’s bad, avoid” She then took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves as she began to pace on the sand “Then why is she here!?”
[That, I do not know, this is a first.]
She paused; Mia turned towards her “A first?”
AM nodded [You never get this far with Hiro.]
“I…” She wanted to contest that, finding it hard to believe but then she remembered that damned knight and the state of Hiiro at the time “Ok, fine.”
Mia faced AM, staring at the blank expression of her clone that was staring her down as well “Don’t trust you yet, but… thanks for the warning.”
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[That is my purpose, to keep the wielder of [Time] as save as possible.]
“Uh-huh…” Mia still had her doubts, there was still what [Void] had told her, but there was clearly more to this then what she cared about… “too complicated…” Mia mumbled under her breathe.
[About enabling me…]
“Why do you even need to be enabled?” Mia huffed “You’re talking to me just fine as is, disabling you didn’t do anything.”
[I am extremely limited in what I am able to do, and I am abusing several emergency protocols to talk to you right now.]
“…” Mia shook her head and turned away from her, she took a deep breathe and closed her eyes, and opened them to find herself back in the forest, back to where she loaded. She raised an eyebrow, noting it didn’t seem like any time had passed at all, the deer just now noticing her and running off.
She shrugged, then faced upwards “If I catch you do anything shady at all, it’s right back to being disabled.” She then brought up the status screen and hit the
[Assist Mode has been enabled: I promise my continued honesty and assistance.]
“Sure, whatever.” Mia looked around, trying to figure out what was best in this situation going forward.
On one hand, she immediately returns to Hiro and gets the heck out of here before the church catches up to them.
On the other, she just leaves, ditching Hiro and leaving him to his fate.
First option, with the use of Assist Mode and Log she could easily retrace her steps and hopefully find him fast enough to just run away together.
[Cons: slower speed and going back towards the enemy.]
“…”
…Option two, she just leaves. She really didn’t want to just abandon him after he just rescued him like that, but… she also really didn't want to run into that woman again…
[Cons: Hiro wouldn’t like it.]
Mia’s ear twitched “Ami don’t read my mind.” She sighed, maybe enabling her was a mistake.
[…Ami?}
Mia groaned, sitting down on the ground “Calling Assist mode or AM all the time annoying, giving name is simpler.” She shrugged “Don’t read mind.”
[….I apologize, but will point out that if I do not it appears as if you are talking to yourself.]
Mia rolled onto her back, then quickly flipped up onto her feet before taking off deeper into the forest, in the opposite direction from where Hiro was “hrm, don’t like it, but fine. Don’t comment so much.”
[So you are leaving Hiro?]
Mia didn’t answer, instead she focused on running between the trees, she’d have to get out of this forest and find out how to get to Lexon. Just had to focus on getting out of this forest.
[…for what it is worth, like everyone else, you can always come back.]
“…yeah.” It took Mia a bit to answer, her voice shaky as she forced herself to run, not looking back as she weaved between the trees, just had to focus on getting out of this forest.
“Just have to… focus…”
Just had to keep running.
She’d be back.
Stronger than ever.
But for now, she ran.
“Sorry, Hiro.”