Chapter 35 – Magical Girl

I shook her hand, her armored grip surprisingly gentle.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I murmured nervously, not knowing how to really respond.

Sergeant Kelley didn’t seem to notice my anxiety, simply turning to Everglaive with her hands back on her hip.

“So, I think I get why you’re here. There’s a nice low risk Usurpation for her to cut her teeth on, and it should give Moon Bunny here some good experience and points, yeah? The only thing I can’t figure out is why you asked me here. I mean, yeah, I’m good, but I’m sure you’re more than capable of helping her yourselves. Seems kind of overkill to bring me out, not that I’m complaining about getting to hang with you or anything.”

Everglaive gave a placid smile, simply gesturing to the Usurpation.

“Let’s talk about the specifics inside. I have Error Machina ready to put a privacy shell around the Usurpation so we can speak in peace.”

The Warden raised an eyebrow, but something like mischief twinkled in her ruby eyes.

“Oh? A secret mission? You should have led with that. Let’s be on it, then.”

She twirled on her foot and strode towards the distorted air without hesitation, humming happily as Everglaive followed. Naiad’s face had finally turned back to a more normal color, and she muttered something under her breath as she hurried to catch up.

I glanced at Selene, who simply shrugged with her tails.

[Magical Girls do not have a monopoly on unique personalities, I suppose.]

A surprised, amused huff escaped through my nose, and I shook my head before going after them.

I was hesitant as we approached, and watched with interest as Sergeant Kelley reached the bubble and kept going. The air rippled as she went inside, the effect similar to watching something fall into a still pond.

Everglaive and Naiad entered in the same manner, Naiad briefly stopping to give me a comforting smile. As I reached the distortion, I found myself holding my breath as I forced myself to keep walking.

A moment later, I stepped into the Usurpation.

Instantly, the faintest sense of wrongness tickled over my skin, like a summer breeze that had somehow been corrupted. The feeling quickly disappeared, but it left me feeling anxious.

[You can sense the miasma better in your Astral Shift,] Selene whispered in my mind, the explanation helping to soothe my nerves.

Now that I was inside the Usurpation, I had a better look at the structure contained within. It had the same modern, clean architecture common in most of Arcadia’s buildings. The building was long, covering a fair bit of ground with a big entrance and sign that I quickly read over.

Meadow’s Track and Field Center.

The size of the building suddenly made more sense.

“Alright,” Sergeant Kelley clapped her hands, turning so she was halfway looking at us while still keeping an eye on the building. “So what’s the big secret, then?”

Everglaive hand went to her ear, head tilting slightly.

“Error? We’re inside. The privacy shell, if you please.”

I felt a slight prickle against my skin, and turned to notice the distorted view of the world beyond the Usurpation becoming even more prismatic. In a few short breaths, the view became perfectly opaque, as if I was looking at an unreflective wall of glass.

Turning back to Everglaive with a frown, she gave me a nod.

“Apologies. I meant to talk with you about this beforehand, but it was an idea I only recently came up with. Guin, I assume you’re aware of some of the colorful rumors around Dark Magical Girls?”

She snorted, folding her arms and rolling her eyes.

“Sure. Hard to work with you lot and not catch a word or two. Think it’s a load of bull, personally. I’ve worked with plenty of Darks before, and honestly, we tend to get along better with ‘em than any other color except maybe Blues. I’m of the personal opinion that those rumors are mostly just jealousy.”

“You’re not entirely wrong,” Everglaive nodded. “And that brings me to the purpose of our privacy shell. Moon Bunny here is a special case, even among Darks, and I’m hoping to get her as much training as possible while keeping her exact abilities hidden. I believe this will give her an edge. While I hope she doesn’t need it, having an extra ace up her sleeve certainly wouldn’t hurt.”

“Makes sense,” she nodded. “Though it doesn’t explain my purpose here.”

Everglaive smiled, turning to me and waving her hand at the ground. Emerald light flashed, and my backpack materialized onto the grass.

“Would you like to show Guin your chosen weapon, Moon Bunny?”

I nodded nervously, and Sergeant Kelley watched me with interest as I crouched down to open my backpack. Reaching in, I very carefully removed my Umbra, making sure to keep it pointed at the ground even if it was unloaded with the slide locked back.

“A Magical Girl focusing on using actual guns?” Sergeant Kelly asked, voice filled with glee. “Oh. Oh yes. Glaivy, I see where you’re going with this, and yes, I accept a thousand times over. This is something I have to see.”

“I thought you might be interested,” Everglaive sniffed with a haughty expression, looking at her nails. “You do have a reputation, after all.”

“Oh come off it, elf,” the Warden waved a hand at her, eying my Umbra with interest. “So I assume you were thinking I could teach her a thing or two about guns, then?”

“More or less. Moon Bunny will be attending the Magical Girl Academy, and part of the curriculum is weapons training. I was hoping you would be willing to give her a few pointers right now and possibly help me find an instructor to fill her weapons training class. I’m sure the Academy would have contacts, but I’d rather she gets the best while keeping it under the radar.”

Sergeant Kelley hummed thoughtfully, and I found myself frowning.

“Is it really that useful to hide the fact I’m using guns?” I asked nervously. “Just… Won’t it be obvious pretty quickly? I don’t really know how I’m supposed to hide it…”

Naiad and Everglaive glanced at each other, and Naiad sighed, nodding almost hesitantly. Everglaive turned back to me.

“You are correct, it will be difficult to keep it a secret, but you wouldn’t have to hide it for long. You see, there is something of a tradition among Magical Girls, that should there be an argument or conflict between two Guardians, one can challenge the other to a duel.”

I felt my eyes widen, but Naiad quickly put up her hands in a placating gesture.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds! The duels are held in a special arena, and the fight is usually only until one’s Barrier is depleted. The arena itself is heavily enchanted to detect anything that might seriously injure a Guardian, and can place a shield around anybody in danger in milliseconds. In the twenty-one years of Magical Girl duels, there hasn’t been a single death.”

“It’s very safe,” Everglaive agreed. “There are also various rules and regulations about who can challenge who, but that’s besides the point. The duels themselves can also be refused. No Magical Girl is obligated to accept a challenge, although refusing a challenge when somebody has a legitimate complaint can have social consequences.”

I frowned, eyes flicking between the two in confusion.

“Um… I don’t understand. I don’t plan on causing trouble with anybody, and people are already not going to like me just for being a Dark, so… Why does it matter?”

“It mostly doesn’t,” Everglaive admitted. “However, one of the things that can be done in a duel is making a wager. Usually, it’s Gate Points, though only a limited amount can be gained or lost per month through duels. More importantly, there are other things that can be wagered.”

“Patrol zones, for instance,” Naiad nodded. “If two Guardians are arguing who gets dibs on a certain location if Usurpations show up, they can wager the area in a duel. That’s probably the second most common wager, but there’s not really a limit to what can be put up for grabs. In your case, however…”

“You could make a wager for people to leave you alone and have it be officially enforced,” Everglaive sighed, glancing at Sergeant Kelley who was taking in the conversation with a carefully neutral expression. “Newer Magical Girls who haven’t had a chance to actually work with a Dark yet are much more likely to fall for the rumors older Guardians pass along. That combined with the general angst and aggressiveness of teenagers who have suddenly gained magical fighting powers, and there’s little to no doubt somebody will try to cause trouble with you. Hence, this ploy. Error already agreed to help, casting privacy shells over any Usurpation you fight in and using magic to clean up your battlefields until the truth comes out. If you can hide the fact you use firearms, you’ll be able to pull one out in your first duel, giving you a massive advantage over your opponent who will be misinformed about your capabilities.”

“It would pretty much guarantee a win, especially with a Warden training you, and if you wait to accept a duel until it’s from somebody who is really bothering you…” Naiad shrugged. “You could get the most bang for your buck. No pun intended.”

There was a long silence that followed, the three of them watching me as I stared back.

I internally went over their explanation a few times.

Something tied a knot around my heart and began to squeeze.

I couldn’t breathe.

“E-excuse me,” I managed to whisper, storing my gun in my backpack before turning around and taking several hurried steps away from them.

[Mai?] Selene asked with concern, but I ignored her as I closed my eyes.

Everglaive, a Magical Girl powerful enough to lead a strike team to come save me in the middle of a hoard of Anathema, called in a literal special forces operative and got Error Machina, another powerful Guardian, to agree to assist her in spending their valuable time and points all so I could make sure the first person to really start harassing me would leave me alone.

My chest hurt.

Why?

It was hard to breathe.

Why go through all this trouble for me?

I blinked away the moisture in my eyes.

Why were they being so nice?

My hands squeezed into tight, impotent fists.

Was it pity? Was it because I was so useless? Was it that obvious?

I let out the breath in a quiet hiss of air.

Does it matter?

Slowly, I felt the not entirely unpleasant tightness in my chest loosen.

I’ll find a way to pay them back. If nothing else, I can spend my points getting them gifts.

I took a few more moments to gather myself, letting the tension slowly pass from my body. Once I felt ready, I tried to discreetly wipe at my eyes before I turned around and rejoined the group.

They seemed to be talking to themselves about something, but stopped as I neared.

“Sorry, I just…”

I trailed off, realizing I didn’t have a way to explain how I was feeling without it being completely humiliating. My face began to heat up, a heavy blush forming on my face, but Naiad quickly stepped in.

“It’s alright! I know that having to go through all this cloak and dagger stuff is a little frustrating. I know I’d be upset if I was in your shoes.”

Even though that wasn’t exactly the cause of my reaction, I gave the girl a thankful nod for the escape opportunity. Then, I bowed appreciatively to the three of them.

“I really appreciate what you’ve done for me so far, and what you continue to do. I hope I can find a way to repay all of you for your help.”

“Moon Bunny…” Naiad hesitated, and Sergeant Kelley let out a laugh that had me looking up at her in surprise.

“Oh, I don’t think that will be too hard. In my case, all I want in exchange for some training is a promise that you’ll invite me to the duels, especially the first! Just thinking about it now has me excited. Just imagine it: some bratty girl who thinks she’s top of the world has been bothering you and finally gets you to accept a duel, and then… Oh lord, just imagine the look on her face when you pull a gun on her and she realizes she brought a sword to a gunfight!”

She cackled with an infectious glee, and I found a giggle escaping me. Naiad chuckled herself while a Everglaive’s lips twitched with a small smile.

“Okay,” I told her, giving her a serious nod. “I promise.”

“Oh, you’re quickly becoming my favorite Magical Girl, Bunny,” she rubbed her hands together. “Now then, how about we get started. We are technically in an Usurpation, even if it isn’t that dangerous with us around. How about you show me that gun of yours, and we can start with some basics?”

I nodded, once again retrieving my Umbra from the bag. I started to raise it to hand it to her but paused, a blush forming on my face.

“I, um… I don’t really know the safest way to give this to you. Selene taught me the basics of gun safety and shooting, but…”

Sergeant Kelley’s face sobered immediately, and she gave me an impressed nod.

“What you just did is one of the smartest things you could do, girl. Never be afraid to ask questions or admit you don’t know something, especially with something as serious as handling a weapon.”

A flash of scarlet light materialized a handgun into her hands.

“Here, watch what I do. First, make sure the safety is set. Then take out the magazine, clear the chamber, and make sure the action is locked back like this. Next, hold the gun reversed and pointed down, hand gripped over the slide and receiver like this while making sure your fingers are wrapped over the trigger guard here. After that, you simply offer them the grip.”

She moved slowly, making sure I could see every step of the process. When she finished, she quickly reloaded her gun and put it back into her dimensional storage.

I followed her instructions, and even though my Umbra was already empty, I went through the motions, and she nodded approvingly as she then took the gun from me, inspecting it carefully.

“The Umbra, huh?” she said thoughtfully. “Model A, mark one by the looks of it. Nine millimeter? You’ve got a solid starter gun right here. It’s definitely one I’d recommend to a beginner. Very nice accuracy and it handles recoil much better than other nine mills. Its only real weakness is its low caliber is going to struggle against some of the bigger nasties. At low levels, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem, though.”

“Is there something else you would recommend?” I asked, soaking in the information.

“Mmm… I’m partial to forty calibers, myself. Good balance of stopping power with ammo capacity. You’ll have more recoil than you would feel with a nine mill, but with some practice and your magical stats bullshit, I imagine you’ll adjust fairly quickly. If you like the Umbra’s design and feel, I know it’s made in both a forty and forty-five variant too, so the adjustment won’t be too big.”

She waved a hand dismissively.

“But all that’s for later. Let’s talk about some gun basics first. Safety, strategy, that sort of thing.”

I listened as she went into a miniature lecture, though a lot of it was the basics Selene had drilled into me. I still nodded along, not interrupting her as she gave some examples of bad gun handling and the consequences that could happen. After finishing the safety instructions and the most basic of shooting stances that she had me practice a few times, she gave a thoughtful hum.

“There’s plenty more to teach on tactics, teamwork, and all that, but I think most of that can be left for another time. The last thing that you really need to know is collateral. When you point your gun and are about to shoot, you need to always know what will happen if you miss. Bullets can penetrate through a lot of objects, and while civilians should be evacuated when you enter an area, that might not always be the case. So, before you shoot, always know if your bullet is going to miss and hit a soft target that it could penetrate through, or a harder material that will stop it. If there’s ever any doubt, it’s better to hold off and reposition.”

Giving her a serious nod, she handed my Umbra back.

“Like I said, it really shouldn’t be a problem here in Arcadia. There’s enough shelters and warning time before Usurpations that it’s exceedingly rare for civilians to get caught out, but it never hurts to be careful. You might not always be deploying in Arcadia, and you never know when a scared kid might be hiding in a cupboard or something.”

I winced at that, the image of Brian cowering in the clothing store flashing through my mind. She didn’t comment on it, simply looking at the other two.

“That should cover the need-to-know. I’ll admit, you lot can cheat a lot with your stat magics enhancing you, so I’ll have to really think about training lessons and gun recommendations. Right now, though, I think that seeing her in action is going to give me the best idea where to begin.”

“Agreed,” Everglaive smiled. “Which is why Moon Bunny will be soloing this Usurpation with just her gun. We shall simply be observing.”

Sergeant Kelley frowned.

“Alone?”

“Yes. Moon Bunny has had some… interesting experiences as a Magical Girl. It has, however, slightly skewed her view on certain things. Completing this Usurpation should give her a better idea of her actual capabilities. Speaking of which, there is one more thing Moon Bunny needs to learn.”

“Oh?”

“Guin,” Everglaive said, motioning for Naiad to take a few steps back. “Do you remember the test we did after trivia night at Mac’s? Moon Bunny needs a proper introduction to the strength of a Magical Girl’s Barrier.”

Sergeant Kelley stared at her blankly for a moment.

Then a wide, malicious grin spread over her face.

“Oh, do I remember? Are we doing the first or second one?”

“The second one, if you would. Moon Bunny, I urge you not to panic.”

I watched in confusion as Sergeant Kelley stalked towards Everglaive who stood there passively, hands folded behind her back.

“I don’t think this will ever get old,” the Warden gave a contented sigh.

Then scarlet light flashed, a handgun appearing in her hand that she promptly pointed directly at the side of Everglaive’s head.

From no more than an inch away, she fired.

A strangled scream escaped my lips that was aborted as Everglaive didn’t so much as flinch, a green light flaring against her head. Everglaive simply smiled at me as Sergeant Kelley lowered the gun, storing it again with a laugh. She looked around for a moment before bending over and picking up a squished bullet, a wide grin on her face.

“Lord, you Girls are such bullshit,” she laughed. “I love it!”

I stared dumbfounded at them, my mind trying to process what I’d just seen.

“This is the power of your Barrier, your shield,” Everglaive stated. “Like we told you, It’s capable of absorbing most of the damage from hits, and if it’s strong enough, it can absorb the entirety of a blow. Your stats determine the strength of your Barrier.”

[Willpower determines your Barrier’s overall capacity,] Selene added. [Vitality gives your Barrier better defense against physical attacks, and Spirit does the same but for magical damage. Please note that Vitality and Spirit do not provide nearly as much damage reduction to your shield as they do to your body. Spirit also determines how quickly your Barrier regenerates. Barrier regeneration is generally slow, taking sixteen minutes and forty seconds to regenerate to full if your Willpower and Spirit are of equal value.]

“Your Barrier is also adaptive,” Everglaive said. “Meaning it knows how much your Vitality and Spirit will naturally resist and let the appropriate amount of damage through before draining your shield. For example, as a Guardian who focuses on Vitality and has over 900 in the stat, my physical defenses are quite high. As such, my Aura knows to let most of the damage ‘bleed’ through the shield to be negated by my body’s enhanced resilience instead of burning itself up against an attack.”

She reached up, pointing to the side of her head where I made out some fragments of bullet that had smashed itself against her skin.

“This is an example. I didn’t even lose a single percentage point of my shield because a standard bullet doesn’t pose much threat to me, especially because Sergeant Kelley was using one of her weaker guns. If it was from a Zenith catalog of a higher rarity or fired by a Magical Girl, there would have been some actual danger involved.”

“Just remember,” Naiad jumped in, looking at Everglaive with concern. “Your shield can’t always absorb all the damage. If an attack is strong enough or has some kind of piercing aspect, it can get through much easier.”

My heart had finally slowed down from the display, and I found myself shaking my head.

“You really weren’t exaggerating when you told me I wouldn’t have lost my arm if I had my Barrier back then, were you?” I thought to Selene, hoping the bitterness didn’t fully transfer over.

[No. It’s part of the reason what happened is so upsetting.]

I swallowed, nodding.

“I understand,” I told them.

“Excellent,” Everglaive nodded. “Then all that is left is for you to clear this Usurpation and test out your new abilities, including your physical capabilities. Based on what you told me, your reaction time, speed, jumping, and accuracy will be greatly improved, so make sure to study those limits carefully.”

“Um,” Naiad said sheepishly. “Do you know how to clear out an Usurpation?”

Everglaive paused, looking at me. I shook my head, and she looked slightly embarrassed.

“Ah, yes. Well. Every Usurpation is formed by what we call a Miasma Seed, or Seed for short. At lower level Usurpations, it’s a stationary object that looks like a glowing, semi-crystalline flower. In higher level Usurpations, an Anathema will sometimes absorb the Seed, increasing their abilities drastically. Destroying the Seed or the Seed Bearer will end an Usurpation.”

“Usually it’s a good idea to destroy as many other Anathema as possible before targeting the Seed,” Naiad added. “The seed will call all the remaining Anathema to it if it’s under attack. Don’t worry too much if you end an Usurpation before defeating all the Anathema, though. Except in very rare cases, Anathema can’t survive outside Usurpations, so they will either die or return to where they come from. You will be missing out on points and experience, though, so it’s best to try to get them all first.”

Taking a deep breath, I nodded to them, and Everglaive smiled at me.

“Don’t worry. This is the weakest of Usurpations, and Error Machina has assured me there won’t be any Anathema over level ten. As for numbers, you’ll be looking at twenty to thirty Anathema. The three of us will be following you, but I’m going to put up some invisibility spells with Naiad’s help to stop the Anathema from coming for us.”

“What if I accidentally shoot at you?” I asked, worry in my voice, but Everglaive smiled.

“I’m a defensive Guardian. I’ll have spells in place to protect us, but even without them, a few bullets at your level wouldn’t be able to seriously hurt any of us, as our recent demonstration has proven.”

I glanced at Sergeant Kelley, and she merely laughed, gesturing to her power armor.

“Magical Soldiers are given Zenith bought equipment, mostly guns and such, but us Wardens, as you may have noticed, have all kinds of toys from dimensional storage items to enchanted power armor and third tier weapons. I even have a personal shield generator of my own. In all, I’m easily equipped with over 300,000 points of equipment, not including the cost you Girls have to pay unlocking those Vaults. I probably also have over 50,000 points of expendable items alone like grenades, first aid, and ammunition. You don’t have to worry about me.”

I felt my eyes widen, and Everglaive nodded with a smile.

“Wardens are equipped with enough enchanted magitech gear that I would bet on them being able to defeat any Guardian lower than level 150. I have no doubt some of the stronger Wardens like Sanguine here would beat any Guardian level 199 and lower.”

“Damn right I would,” Sergeant Kelley flexed in her black armor.

Everglaive shook her head, lips twitching.

“Is there anything else you would like to ask before beginning?”

I could feel my pulse beginning to pick up, my mouth drying as I realized I was about to be thrown back into danger again. Squeezing the familiar weight of my Umbra in my right hand helped to soothe my nerves, and I only stuttered slightly when I spoke.

“Do you, um… do you have any advice for me? On tactics, or just how to go about this?”

“Hmm… Well, I mostly want to see how you do on your own to get a baseline, but… I suppose I would say to remember what you already did in your first Usurpation. What worked and what didn’t, that sort of thing.”

“Um,” Naiad interjected, taking a step forward shyly. “This might sound dumb, but what helped me was looking at Usurpations like I did dungeons in Magical Girls Sunset: Rebellion. I’m assuming you have experience in that? Did you get far?”

“The fifth dungeon,” I replied, and both Magical Girls stopped.

“But…” Naiad sputtered. “Weren’t you an emergency… How long did that take you?”

“Two weeks, I think?” I said, and Everglaive let out a huff of air, shaking her head while Naiad just blinked a few times.

“Oh. Well… I guess that shouldn’t be that surprising, given everything. That’s, um, still pretty crazy. Okay then. So, I would say that you should approach this Usurpation like you would a dungeon before you go into it. I don’t want to interfere too much, but does that make sense?”

Approach it like I would a dungeon in Sunset?

That…

I could do that.

I nodded to Everglaive who gave me a comforting smile.

“With that out of the way, we’ll give you time to prepare. Again, don’t worry about hitting the three of us. Just focus on the Usurpation. Although I doubt something will go wrong, we’ll be right there to help. Oh, and if you could speak out loud to your Familiar at least during the planning phase so we can hear your thought process, that would be appreciated.”

“Okay,” I said, and she walked away, gesturing to Naiad and Sergeant Kelley to follow. The first gave me a thumbs up and the latter a wink as they trotted off. Naiad started murmuring some words, and with a snap of her fingers, the image of the three suddenly wavered before fading into nothing.

I stared for a moment.

Okay. I really need to unlock some magic soon. That’s too useful and too cool to pass up.

Turning back to the building, I crouched down, Selene’s tails wavering back and forth.

“Okay… so a dungeon,” I whispered. “First step… information. Selene, can you scout it out?”

[On it.]

She hopped away, form blurring from spot to spot. Thinking about it for a moment, I turned to the spot where the three had disappeared. With how far Fantasy Fatale was going for me, it didn’t make sense to leave out information, especially when it might affect the advice they were going to give.

The same went for Sergeant Kelley, but I was still going to ask her if she would sign a Geas afterwards, just to be safe.

“My, um, bonus for being a Dark,” I started. “I have a HUD. It comes with a targeting reticle and minimap. Anything Selene scouts out also updates on the map.”

I did leave out the part about identifying things. Selene had done a good job of explaining how dangerous that information getting out might be, and while I wanted to trust them, it was better to just be safe.

I should have tried identifying Fantasy Fatale, I realized a moment later, giving a mental facepalm. I’ll do it later. Focus on the Usurpation for now.

With Selene off scouting, I decided to start with some testing, so I stood.

“I don’t know how fast I can run yet,” I told the empty air. “So I’m going to do some tests while Selene finishes her scouting.”

Nobody responded, which was expected, but it still made me feel a little silly.

Picking a tree at random some distance away, I ran.

And I was there in a matter of seconds, no more winded than if I walked. Picking a spot further out, I ran again.

I repeated the process a few times, going at speeds ranging from an all out sprint to a jog. I pointed my still-empty Umbra a few times, getting a feel for holding the gun at my new speed, and was quickly shocked at how steady my targeting reticle was. While it still enlarged by a good bit as I moved, it was much less than before, and when I aimed when I wasn’t moving, I could tell it had shrunk a small amount.

Even better, the reticle seemed to shrink faster when I aimed, narrowing in quicker than I remembered as I focused on a point and kept my breathing steady.

By the end of my testing, I was only breathing a little heavier, no more than if I’d been doing a fast walk down the street. The results were… impressive.

Overall, I was pretty sure I wasn’t superhumanly fast yet with my 70 Agility. However, I was definitely faster. I didn’t have a lot of reference, but I felt like I was probably close to a professional track sprinter. Even my jogging speed was ridiculous now, and I was certain I could beat anybody on the school track team in a 100 meter dash with just my new long-distance running pace.

I think I’m even faster than Lily now.

I shoved down the thought as it brought an aching pang up into my chest, not letting myself get distracted for more than a moment.

The other thing I noticed was that I wasn’t just faster, I also had much more stamina. Even running at my full sprint speed, it felt like I could maintain it for longer than normally should be possible. In fact, I was almost certain I could be going at a full sprint for twenty to thirty minutes at a time.

So Agility has a huge effect on stamina, not just speed… Wouldn’t Vitality be the stat that determines stamina? Or does Agility somehow reduce my stamina loss when it comes to running? It doesn’t really make logical sense, but the stats seem to affect things more based on their theme than physical logic…

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Making a note to ask more about how stats worked exactly, I decided to test my standing jump height.

And I promptly let out a half shriek as I flew over ten feet into the air.

My arms windmilled as I tried to control myself, stomach flipping as I started to fall. I choked down a scream as I landed directly on my feet, knees bending slightly, and-

I gasped, finding myself completely unhurt and standing with a slight hunch.

Quickly standing back up with a blush, I forced myself not to look around, knowing I wouldn’t be able to see any reaction. I knew the others were probably trying not to laugh right now, but I couldn’t blame them too much.

Jumping a few more times, I forced myself to get used to the sensation of falling from such a high distance. Once I was fairly certain I wouldn’t vomit if I had to make such a jump, I practiced doing some leaps, sprinting at full speed and jumping.

Turns out, the combination of my new speed and ridiculous jump height let me cover a lot of distance. I’d been skeptical of Everglaive’s claim that 100 Agility at a minimum was recommended for jumping across rooftops and over streets, but now I knew she hadn’t been exaggerating.

It felt odd to me that my jump height had been affected so much more drastically than my actual speed by my Agility stat. I mean, I could jump as high as a basketball hoop, but I was only running at the speed of a professional athlete. Though, my stamina also seemed to have been affected disproportionately…

Leaping around a few more times, my eyes flicked to my minimap as I saw Selene’s icon begin making her way back to me. I was slightly winded from the exercises, but nothing a few seconds of resting wouldn’t cure.

By the time I made my way back to my backpack, Selene was sitting there waiting for me, and I gave her a nod, looking over the now filled out minimap on my HUD. It responded to my intentions reflexively, zooming in or changing floors as I looked over it.

[The building is three stories. The largest area is the track, but there’s an attached workout gym with various weightlifting machines. The other rooms are a variety of specialty rooms with a few offices. The Seed is located on the second floor in what I believe to be a yoga room.]

Nodding to her, I studied the map, paying attention to the red dots Selene had put down where she encountered Anathema.

“Any information about the Anathema?”

[A total of twelve in the track room consisting of hounds, ghouls, and wasps, another nine patrolling the rest of the building, and one Corpse Blossom in the locker room. With all the variety of potential Anathema, it’s interesting that we’re encountering more of the same from the invasion.]

“Is that bad?”

[Not especially. The Anathema take corrupted forms based on fears, myths, and legends. There’s plenty of choices for them, so consolidating into certain types has interesting implications. Perhaps it is a coincidence, but I’m sure the analysts would find it intriguing.]

Nodding, I looked back to my minimap.

Examining it, I came to the simple conclusion that it was a mess.

Actual buildings, unlike game-designed dungeons, were filled with hallways, turns, and side rooms that could hold Anathema. The moment I started firing, I was sure to start drawing some of them to me, and once I got further into the building, it would be all too easy for them to come at me from an unseen angle.

Of course, the worst part was the fact I would be confining myself to short hallways with little to no time to properly aim and get my shots off. The whole point of using a gun was to hit things at range, not get up close and personal. Even with my Barrier, it would be stupid to put myself in a situation where I would be at a disadvantage.

Which just left one thing to do.

“We’ll enter the room with the track,” I said. “It’s big and open enough to give me plenty of room to fight in. Between my new speed and range, I should be fine taking them down considering how far away you marked them from the entrance. If they do start to overwhelm us, we retreat back onto the street and use the door as a chokepoint. I’ll leave the Ripple in a spot outside the doors just in case. After that, we wait for any that are drawn by the noise to come to us. Does… does that sound good? Will they even come to the noise of the gunshots?”

[It seems like a reasonable plan. This building was not built with the same sound suppression materials of the mall, and a firearm going off in such a big room is going to echo. The sounds of fighting should be enough to draw most of them out, but a few might continue on their patrols.]

I nodded, then began to think to myself about how much ammunition I wanted to buy. I had a bunch of empty magazines in my backpack, but I didn’t really want to spend more time refilling them while I was sitting in the middle of an Usurpation.

After considering it for a while, I made out my order to Selene.

[Purchased: 9mm Silverbane Magazine x8]

[-8 Points]

[Purchased: 9mm Silverbane Magazine (30) x3]

[-6 Points]

[Remaining Points: 3,963]

Violet light coalesced in the magic circle that appeared next to me, forming into a familiar black case. I opened it, quickly removing the magazines and loading up. One for each gun, the remaining nine going to Selene’s tails.

With that finished I stood, and…

I paused, taking a deep breath, hand squeezing around my Umbra tightly.

This was it. I was going back into a fight against the Anathema of my own free will. Even with my Astral Shift’s advantages, I couldn’t shake the fear that flashed through me.

The memory of their claws and teeth, of the blood where the security team fought the Arachnomantis, of being surrounded and lying against the crystal and-

No.

I sucked in a breath and started moving, a walk at first, then jogging towards the entrance to the track.

I survived, that’s all that matters.

I reached a side door, setting my Ripple down on the ground before putting my hand on the handle and sharpening my focus.

Besides…

I threw open the door and stepped in, immediately raising my gun as I spotted a Fomorian Hound turn towards me from no more than ten feet away.

I need to know…

Aiming at the creature, surprise briefly flickered through me at how small my reticle was, its entire size easily being contained by the Anathema’s body as it began to move.

If anything has really changed.

I fired, twice in quick succession, the sound echoing in the room. Black blood sprayed from the Anathema’s back as I realigned my aim and-