33 – Streak Ten

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Louis asked.

They were standing at the end of a pier overlooking the bay of Esmera. Sandwiched between cliffs on both sides, the sea was deep, but calm enough to host the only harbor of the plains. Behind them, two massive vessels blocked the view of the city, the third having departed overnight.

Alexandra nodded. “It’s how my class art works.” She hadn’t elaborated, and Louis didn’t press.

“Stay close to the shore. There are beasts roaming the depth. You don’t want them to detect you.”

“Of course.”

A Face Among Many was working wonders already. Hood or not, people were not paying much attention to her now. Unfortunately, it only worked in crowds, so it wouldn’t help her here.

She checked her journal one last time.

Quest Journal

Daily Reset: 06:00 | Streak: 9 Days | 0% All Stats

Next Milestone: 10 Days

Daily Quests:

• Swim ten kilometers without leaving the water (0/10)

She could already see the Swimming skill quest added to her list. Another not-so-useful skill, but that was the nature of her class. In any case, this would be good endurance training for when she would tackle the Running skill quest.

But what she was really looking forward to was the mysterious milestone that had been teasing her since she arrived in Laika.

She removed the outer layer of her clothes. The wind brushed against her. Cold. Then, she tied her hair in a bun, and dove into the sea.

Feeling her blood rush as cold water and salt hit her skin, she got started.

Alexandra’s arms pulled through the water in uneven strokes. Her breathing was already ragged, spray catching her open mouth, salt burning her throat. She adjusted her angle toward the shore and settled into a rhythm.

Her shoulders ached early. She rolled onto her back and floated, staring at the sky, arms spread. The cliffs on either side framed a strip of grey-white cloud. Her chest heaved. Then she turned over and kept going.

She hugged the shoreline when she needed the reassurance of rock nearby. A shadow passed beneath her once, long and slow, and she kicked harder without thinking. It didn’t return.

The attribute points were doing something. She could feel it. Her body should have given out already. It hadn’t.

She stopped twice more, floating on her back, staring at the same grey sky, giving herself thirty seconds each time and taking forty-five. Her legs were doing less than they should. She compensated with her arms.

The cramps came in bursts. A hard clench in her right calf that made her gasp and swallow water. She surfaced coughing, treading until the muscle released. Then she kept going.

The shivering started subtle, a faint tremor in her jaw she could clench against. Then it was in her shoulders, her hands, her core. The water hadn’t seemed so cold at first.

Louis was on his knees at the edge of the pier when she got close.

“Alexandra.” His voice was flat and careful. “Come out.”

She didn’t answer. Her teeth were locked together.

“This is too much. You’re not going to make it.”

She reached the pier pylon and held it. Her fingers barely gripped. She hesitated, wanting to read her journal, but she wasn’t sure it was waterproof. She pushed off the pylon and stroked away from him.

“Fuck,” she whispered. She summoned her journal. Just a bit more.

The last stretch she was not swimming well by any definition. Her arms moved. Her body moved forward. She shivered.

She touched the pylon again.

She looked up at Louis, then at her journal. He was already reaching down.

“Done,” she said. The word came out wrong, jaw too stiff, but it came out.

He grabbed her wrist with both hands and pulled. She tried to help but mostly couldn’t. Her knees hit the edge of the pier and she got one arm over and then Louis had her by the back of her shirt and she was out of the water, face down on the weathered wood, cold air hitting her wet skin.

She rolled on her back, and looked at the clouds overhead.

Louis crouched beside her and said nothing. He dropped a linen cloth over her shoulder.

The trembling continued for a long time after she dried her body, so much that she struggled to turn the pages of her journal. The water hadn’t damaged it.

Swim ten kilometers without leaving the water (10/10) -> Quest Completed: +10 exp, +1 CON, Skill Quest Unlocked: Swimming.

Daily Quest Streak: 9 -> 10

Next milestone: 25 days.

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You’ve achieved a feat: Diligent Quester

Diligent Quester: Reach a 10 days daily quest streak. +1% All stats.

She stared at the last line for a few seconds.

That was new.

She frowned. A one percent boost was nothing. In fact, it wasn’t enough to increase any of her attributes. Yet, it changed the way she viewed her streak.

She didn’t have to feel guilty for doing all that was in her power to keep the streak alive.

One percent was nothing. But it was only for ten days. In Lone World Online, she had a ten year streak.

Her frown morphed into a smile.

“Was it worth it?” Louis asked.

She grinned. “You can’t even imagine.”

“Will it help us defeat the Yshant.”

Her shoulders dropped. “Erm… Not really.” As good as her prospects were, nothing would come soon enough to be useful against the verdant beast. “But that’s fine. I have other options. You wouldn’t happen to have a curse skill?”

Louis shook his head. “Can’t say I do.”

“Expected as much. Let’s go grab a bite. Your treat.”

“What?”

She shrugged. “I don’t have money.”

“Hey! I’m not rich either. Money doesn’t grow on trees.”

Alexandra stood up, and gave him a knowing look. “Oh. You haven’t told me about your job.”