Chapter 31 – Advice

I stared at the Magical Girl, wondering if she was crazy.

“Um…?” I trailed off, glancing around with some concern.

“One of the problems you currently have is one of perception,” Everglaive explained, folding her hands on her lap. “You’ve been fighting without your Astral Shift this entire time. So while you know what it’s like to fight Anathema, it is as a normal human, not a Magical Girl. You’ve had no real stat advantages, no magic, and no shield. If you were not already aware, when you use your Astral Shift, you get a shield which we refer to as our Barrier. It’s capable of reducing the damage we receive or even negating it completely.”

Everglaive watched me carefully as she explained the last part, but I only dipped my head in acknowledgement. She must have been unsure about my reaction to not having that available for my Death Wish, but Selene had already told me about it.

Everglaive gave a careful nod, continuing.

“You’ve experienced the terror of fighting the Anathema as a normal human. Before you make your decision of being a Magical Girl, you need to experience what it’s like to properly fight them with all the tools at your disposal. Well, at least two out of three. It might be a bit early to commit to purchasing any magics just yet.”

Chewing on my inner lip, I grudgingly accepted her logic. The thought of going back out there to fight more Anathema so soon made my heart flutter in panic, but… she was right. I’d lacked most of the physical and magical benefits of being a Magical Girl, so I really couldn’t make an informed decision if I wanted to be a “standard” Magical Girl or not.

“Oh God, it’s going to be so fun for you!” Thorina laughed. “You must have gotten a good amount of levels from what you did, so you’re going to go in and feel a huge difference!”

“It should prove, if nothing else, enlightening,” Everglaive agreed. “I will also be with you the whole time, so there will be no chance of real danger.”

Instantly, I felt a lot more calm about the idea. An over level 200 Magical Girl keeping me safe against whatever low level Usurpation they found for me took away most of my worry, though a small pit of it still gnawed at my stomach.

It was unreasonable, but after everything that happened, after the mistakes that had been made not by the people I put my trust in, but by the circumstances… it was hard to just fully accept her decision without some worry.

I would have to content myself with knowing that even if something unexpected were to happen, Everglaive would at least be there, and I doubted the person who risked her life to save me would just watch me get hurt.

“Okay,” I agreed, hesitating. “Um… Before any of that, should I spend my points to prepare?”

“Hm. I would recommend saving the majority for now except to spend on whatever you will be using for a weapon. Speaking of which, you used guns in the mall. While that was most definitely the most pragmatic choice for the situation, I have to ask if you plan on sticking with firearms for your primary weapon.”

I thought about it for only a few moments before nodding. Swords, bows, and fantasy weapons were cool, and while I loved watching shows where people did superhuman things with them, I was pretty sure that wasn’t me. Maybe I could see myself using two short blades like the Magical Girl I played in Rebellion, but using the guns had felt more than just good, it had felt great. Besides, with my HUD, it seemed a little bit of a waste to use anything else.

“Are you sure?” Everglaive hedged. “If your Familiar hasn’t already warned you, guns pose a bit of a problem for optics. However, that mostly applies to the traditional kinetic firearms you’ve been using.”

“Selene told me, but…” I trailed off, shifting nervously as I considered my words.

“It would work.”

The bass voice of Gildscale suddenly broke the silence, and I looked at him in surprise. He had a thoughtful look on his face as he flicked his eyes over me in examination, rubbing his chin.

“No, not just work,” he shook his head. “It would be very effective. She might even be the most ideal candidate to introduce guns as a more commonplace weapon among Magical Girls.”

“Gild, please explain,” Everglaive said, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

“Hmph. From a marketing standpoint, she would be able to fill many of the same tropes and archetypes that Thorina does. While not quite fitting as a ‘pint-sized powerhouse,’ an argument could still be made. More importantly, her smaller stature leads to a natural cuteness that the ‘girls with guns’ genre can exploit for maximum effectiveness, especially because she will be double dipping with ‘young gun.’ Even better, if she ever uses larger guns she’ll easily fit in the ‘small girl, big gun’ trope. Depending on her Astral Shift, she could very easily make use of ‘little miss badass’ or ‘badass adorable.’ Another possibility is ‘military moe’ with team Panther Four being the most popular example, but I digress. To put things simply, her natural appearance would put many people at ease when paired with a gun, and with the amount of tropes and archetypes backing her, she would quickly become popular without being seen as particularly problematic. I’d expect her to earn quite a number of fans very quickly with this approach, especially due to its current rarity.”

I stared in shock at the seemingly quiet man as he finished his marketing speech, only sort of following along with what he was saying. Mostly, I’d just heard him call me short and cute a few times, but it all had come out with a clinical and detached delivery that didn’t leave me feeling particularly hurt or embarrassed.

Naiad looked over at me, and blinked at my surprised expression.

“Oh! Gild is sort of our image consultant. He knows all about marketing and stuff like that, so we generally go to him with any of our questions. He’s helped all of us refine our outfits into what they are now, so you can see he’s kind of a genius.”

Gild waved a hand, looking away in something like embarrassment. Everglaive was quiet for another moment before giving a slow nod.

“I see… I believe I might agree with your assessment. Very well, then. If your choice is firearms, then you have my support. Just remember, you are still a new Magical Girl. There is no shame in rebranding and trying something new, though doing so earlier is better, obviously.”

I nodded, giving Gild silent thanks in my heart. I’d already had this conversation with Selene, but hearing an experienced Guardian say guns wouldn’t be an optics problem for me made me feel a lot better. Truthfully I was still a little lost on the nuances of what he was saying, but that hardly mattered so long as it worked.

Everglaive clapped her hands softly. “Well then, to answer your question about spending points, all you will need to purchase is ammunition for whichever guns you want to use during this expedition. All that remains now is for you to pick your Astral Dress and whatever alias you will be using as your codename.”

“Okay… Before that…” I glanced at Selene and started sending my thoughts to her.

“Should I ask for advice on what to use my points on in the future?”

[Only if you feel comfortable, but I would highly recommend it. Remember, they are bound by the mentorship geas now, meaning the information you ask or share should be safe in their hands.]

I nodded, taking a deep breath before addressing the group.

“I-if it’s all right, could I, um, get some advice on what I should be planning to spend my points on for later?”

“Of course,” Everglaive said, raising her eyebrows in surprise. “We would be happy to help. Normally, this kind of thing is best learned at the academy, but with the large windfall of points you’ve come into, I believe it would be prudent to advise you now. If you feel comfortable sharing, could you tell us how many points you are working with, or at least a general amount?”

“4,000 points,” I answered, and Thorina whistled.

“Very nice. You’re going to be an absolute monster with a lead like that. Could buy eight of your Skills right off the bat.”

“That would be a waste,” Naiad frowned thoughtfully. “At least until she reaches level ten and gets her first Class.”

I bit my lip, and after hesitating, I decided to make a leap of faith and tell them my general level. The geas should keep me safe, but it was also hard for me to see Fantasy Fatale using that information against me. It’s not like my level would be remaining static, so giving it away to get better advice seemed like the smartest move.

“I’m, um, over level ten,” I stated, and all of them blinked.

Everglaive gave the barest hint of a wince while Naiad full on grimaced. Gild looked at me with a deep, hard to read expression, and Thorina…

“Hell yeah, sister!” she jumped out her seat in a cheer. “You really kicked some ass! I knew you must have had it rough, but damn, girl, the Anathema definitely got the short end on this one. Level ten on day one of being a Magical Girl? In what, like seven, eight hours? You probably made a record!”

A blush warmed my cheeks as Thorina shook her head in amazement, and Naiad let out a groan.

“Oh God, she’s going to go on another leveling binge now, isn’t she?”

“Without a doubt,” Gild sighed.

“Congratulations are most definitely in order,” Everglaive addressed me, speaking slowly. “While it is easier to level the lower level you are, achieving what you have is no small matter. You should be proud of yourself. I am only sorry you had to go through what you did.”

I shrugged, ignoring the acidic bitterness boiling in my stomach. It was what it was. Besides, it wasn’t like I hadn’t gotten anything out of it.

“Should I choose a Class now, then?” I asked Everglaive, trying to ignore the aching sensation the memories brought back.

“Not until you’ve decided what kind of Magical Girl you want to be. Though, I find myself curious. How many Class choices do you currently have?”

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“Ten,”

Naiad and Thorina both made a choking sound, Gildscale shaking his head in amazement. A small smile pulled up on the corner of Everlglaive’s lips as she dipped her head toward me.

“Once again, congratulations. You normally get offered a generic seven, meaning you unlocked three unique Classes through your achievements. Unique Classes offer more specific options and will most likely be slightly more powerful than average. We can deal with those later, though. Right now, we are on the topic of spending points.”