Trina looked between Sui and Ito a few times before speaking “Ok, so the question then becomes, what are these numbers dependent on, and how do they relate to others”

“What do you mean exactly” asked Aife.

Hey Ito, you have the same stats as me. Isn’t that cool? It’s a shame you don’t have dexterity for some reason but who cares about that, you can already work a web much better than a person, so I say you’re coming out on top.

“Well, I mean is it determined based on species. Without testing we can’t know how smart Ito is, or how strong, but she seems really smart, perhaps because of Sui’s own stats. The problem with this assumption, is that Ito is apparently a soulweaver spider, whatever that means.

“Adding onto that, the fact Ito is one of the summoned monsters who have shown remarkable intelligence all things considered, I’m hesitant to say all stats are equal. I’m wondering then, if it’s a reflection of your capacity.

“So, Sui was average strength for her height… or weight class maybe, and Aife is at peak form for hers. That being said, it is also possible this isn’t the case, and that you are being compared to the average human, and Ito the average soulweaver spider.

“If that is the case, then Aife was amongst the strongest for humans, while Sui and myself were about average. Me because of my lack of dedication, and Sui because of her short height and lack of dedication”

Aife raised an eyebrow and watched Sui’s reaction, but she didn’t say anything until she noticed Aife looking at her. “What? I am short, and martial arts was never important to me, sorry Aife”

Aife shrugged and gave Sui a reassuring smile. “I figured that one out on my own, so I take no offence”

Sui frowned at this “I think I’d feel more comfortable if you did take offence”

Trina looked confusedly at Aife, but Aife nodded in understanding. “I suppose that is understandable”

“No” said Trina “No it isn’t in the slightest. How is that even remotely understandable Aife”

“You want to give the explanation?” asked Aife

Sui shook her head and went back to planning her closet raid. “Well, for people like Sui and myself who have dedicated our lives to something, it is, well not for me, but for some, it is insulting to know others just can’t show the same level of dedication”

“That’s stupid” said Trina “Why is this just now coming up” Trina then turned to Sui “That doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s stupid. Do you go around hating people who have no appreciation for sewing?”

“Yes, I do” said Sui

Trina sat there dumbfounded “Why do you even like us then? I don’t care for sewing”

Sui shrugged “Yeah, but you managed to tell me you did care about me… and Aife has her own dedication, so I don’t begrudge her path”

Trina frowned “What exactly do you mean? I know this might not be the best time but I can’t just let a statement like that go Sui. Why am I different to other people who have no time or desire to sew”?

Sui frowned. Can I just not answer this question Ito… it’s kind of awkward and hard to explain, and I can’t believe this never came up before…

Ito glared at Sui and crossed her legs ‘Nope, you have to tell her’

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Sui frowned. Pleeeeeeeease?

‘No’ Ito crossed her legs more forcefully.

Sui sighed “Ok, well… at first you were just someone else who got stuck at martial arts training like me, and I grew to not completely dislike you with that as a shared basis. I wasn’t really going to talk to you until Aife”

Sui waved an accusing hand at her friend, “Took an interest in training us personally because we were her age. Even then, I wasn’t too happy about it but… when you asked about my outfit, and then I explained how I made it…

“You asked why I’d do that, and then like all the others who just sort of looked at me like I was wasting time. You listened. And I remember that afternoon. You spent I think three hours listening to how I made everything, and you kept asking questions until you understood.

“And I mean… sure you never did show a proper interest in sewing, but outside of Aife you made the most effort to understand me, and well, you also provide a chance to make clothes for normal people”

Trina frowned at that, but you could see the edges creeping up, telling Sui she wasn’t really mad “So that’s all I am. A normal clothes model? Cursed to mediocrity? What was wrong with using Aife as a model?”

Sui’s own smile twitched. “Have you seen Aife. She is in no way the average person. Everything except ‘that’ is well oversized”

Aife also faked a frown “Hey hey, that’s a low blow shorty. You can’t injure a woman’s pride like that. I might do something scandalous like spreading rumours about that stuffed toy you own”

It was now Sui’s turn to show genuine confusion “But I don’t have one? And I never did. And Grandma forced me to stop sleeping with the sewing equipment years ago”

Aife and Trina burst out laughing, and if you looked very closely, even Ito was struggling not to giggle. It was only after a minute of reoccurring laughter, did the others stop to see Sui’s very confused face. That sobered them up quickly.

“Um… Sui what is with that look?” asked Aife

“What seems humorous about sleeping with sewing equipment? The scissors and needles especially were very dangerous, Grandma had to wake me up several times when I went to sleep with them accidentally” said Sui honestly

This got Trina and Aife settled into another fit of laughter, but Aife popped Trina lightly over her shoulder, and grabbed Sui as well, grabbing them in a bundle and moving over the couch to laugh. She even took the time to let Ito climb up her arm as she did so.

After a few minutes of laughter everything calmed down. “So” said Aife “How are we testing this stat thing”

Trina got a thoughtful look. “Well… Sui and I only have a one stat point difference. If I can easily overpower her, it would probably mean that it is based on humans, rather than height, and if we are fairly even with me winning then it’s based on our own bodies”

Aife frowned a little “You just want to get back at Sui a bit”

“Of course, not” said Trina with a bright smile, the picture of innocence.

“Sounds fine to me” said Sui

The girls stood up and took opposite sides of the floor. “So how did you want to test this?” asked Sui

“Just some light pushing against each other” said Trina

Sui shrugged and walked forward slowly. Trina saw this and placed her hands on Sui. Then instead of pushing she simply lifted her up effortlessly. “Wow, is this what it’s like to be Aife?”

Sui frowned in Trina’s arms “I thought this was a contest of strength”

“It is” said Trina “But I may have cheated a little. I have five strength now, and I can finally understand how Aife was able to throw us around. This really makes it easy”

“But it doesn’t really tell us if the stats are per individual or per species, for the comparison” said Sui

“Oh, I’m almost certain it is per species” said Trina “Reason being, I’m not sure I could lift you like this even in peak physical condition. I’m cheating because I had to spend a few stats to get to five strength”

Sui shrugged “Well, fair enough then”

Trina then gently put Sui back down on the couch. “Right, now that we’ve covered that, I realised we got a bit sidetracked and I never told you about my own ability”

Sui shrugged “Does it matter?”

Trina felt her eye twitch as she looked at the carefree shorty on the couch that was clearly admiring its thread makeup. “I only had commons skills to select from, so I picked improved memory. It helps me remember information longer, and recall random facts a bit easier. I think it can be really useful in the long run. It’s called ‘Remember the Good ol’ days’”

Sui sighed “But I can already do that. It isn’t even that hard, just takes a bit of concentration. Why waste a skill on that when you can learn it yourself?”

Trina frowned “What do you mean? Why would the system give us things we can already do?”

“It doesn’t” said Sui “But you can learn the skills, then it prevents you buying them”

“Explain” said Trina forcefully.

Sui then went on to explain her experience with the skill menu selection and the multiple uncommon skills she was unable to purchase because she already possessed them. When the explanation was finished, Trina had a remarkably thoughtful look on her face.