032 – Ruthless Kindness

Day 1

I took a moment to examine my new shape’s stats. No surprise I hadn’t been able to hit it. It had a base Agility of 10, putting me at 15 right now. Strength and Endurance were close behind at 9 base each. And it only cost 2 ATP. It didn’t match the raw power the buffalo had provided, but it made up for it by feeling a lot more comfortable.

Maybe my instincts aligned better with wicked intelligence than raw fury?

But for now I wanted to go fast and that meant acting against all my better instincts. I lowered myself to the grass.

[“Hop on. We got what we came for, I want to see how fast this shape goes and I’m not leaving you behind.”]

Jamie started on a response, then stopped himself and shook his head. “I should really stop asking if you are serious. You know that people invented saddles for a reason? That’ll be really uncomfortable.”

[“What an excellent opportunity for science. Does it still hurt when you bounce against something you are nearly invulnerable against?”]

“Just so you know, I am holding back so many possible replies here. Anyway, I know I will regret this and you should be grateful I am enabling your need for speed. I will focus on holding on tight and not dying, and you get us home safe.”

As he spoke Jamie climbed onto my back and put his arms around my neck. The moment I rose back onto my feet, or rather, hooves, I got another Task Completion.

Jamie’s puzzled ‘Huh’ indicated he also got one. I opened the Task menu and groaned inside.

[“Get mounted by another Blessed.”]

If my next list of perks offered something themed around becoming a fucking combat mount, I’d join Lucy and murder God.

I snorted with displeasure and ran off. What better test for this shape’s incredible Agility than running through a dense forest at full speed?

Jamie’s terrified screams soon became only quiet prayers to a multitude of deities—while I had the time of my life. My joy only grew once we left the forest behind and I could run along the streets of New York.

I’d need to put one of those police speed sensors onto the wishlist. This was faster than any speed I’d ever driven in those streets, and it took all my focus to not crash into any of the countless car wrecks that littered the streets.

A couple of blocks away from the fire station my efforts were rewarded. Between this run and our adventures in the forest, my Instinct skill had finally reached 15. Once we were done processing our level ups, I would finally fly.

Satisfied, I slowed down and stopped.

[“Thank you for travelling with our service. Now please step off the ride.”]

Jamie laughed quietly and climbed off my back.

“Yes, I did not take damage from this, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t uncomfortable or that it didn’t hurt.”

[“Which is a valuable data point if we ever need to—nevermind. It is good to know.”]

“Are you going to stay in that shape for our return?”

[“Of course. I gotta show off my fancy new toy.”]

Jamie didn’t argue further and headed off toward the base.

As we approached the building, our minimap populated with dots all over the building. The others had already returned from their mall trip. Most were clustered in the ‘living room’, being unusually busy.

When we saw the collapsed wall which currently served as our unofficial main entrance, we saw why: They were preparing a BBQ.

Right in front of the opening, two large grills had been set up. Inside, the couch had been pushed to the side to make room for a set of camping tables. An additional table had been set up across from the small kitchenette, at which Stephen was chopping up vegetables.

Anthony and Constance were setting the tables while Roslyn and Liz were chatting on the couch. None of them had levelled significantly on their trip, with most of them only one level higher than they’d been that morning.

The general buzz came to a stop when we stepped into view. I allowed myself a tiny bit of flair and reared back onto my hind legs, before I changed back into my human self. The atmosphere relaxed and people mostly went back to what they were doing. Only Anthony and Stephen exchanged a glance before they approached us, wearing smiles that still made me a bit suspicious.

Once I crossed the threshold into the sanctified space, a notification appeared.

[Looting unlocked

Touch the corpse of a defeated foe for potential rewards]

That was the first time the Blessing itself bothered to explain anything.

“Jamie, Eve, welcome back,” Anthony said.

“Looks like your trip was more successful than ours,” Stephen added with a smile that didn’t fully hide his frustration.

“Wait a minute,” I said, holding up a finger. I opened my Tasks menu and quickly accepted all the first kill rewards, pushing me over to level 11. “There we go. Quite successful, and in no small part due to your help. Those extra stats make a huge difference across my shapes.”

“Yeah, I’ve been paying a bit of attention through my tasks. If my math isn’t off, you two must have killed over twenty foes on your own today,” Stephen said.

“Your excursion wasn’t as successful?” Jamie asked.

“There were a couple of issues, but ultimately our party was simply too large,” Anthony said.

“Oh?” I asked.

“The kobolds did a number on that building. More often than not we ended up stumbling over our own feet,” Stephen said.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

“And even when we managed to make progress, the size of our party penalized experience too much,” Anthony added. “Experience isn’t just split between people present; it gets reduced when too many people participate.”

No wonder they hadn’t leveled a lot. They went with what? Seven people?

“But all of that is beside the point,” Stephen said.

Anthony nodded. “We still want to celebrate our group here and what we achieved last night. On our return trip we found a restaurant and its failing freezer. The temperature was still well within consumption-safe levels, but what we left behind would have spoiled. So we are grilling today, and you are obviously invited.”

I turned toward the corridor leading to the showers and what had been my bedroom. “Ah, I appreciate it but—” Stephen stepped into my way.

“Wait, Eve. Before you reject the invitation, please hear us out.”

I raised an eyebrow but gestured for him to go on.

“A lot happened yesterday, but the matter of fact is: many of us wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for you. You—don’t get me wrong—don’t seem to be the type for such social occasions, but I would appreciate it greatly if you joined us.”

“I will spare you any sermon regarding lost sheep,” Anthony said. “But we care about you being part of this group instead of existing along with it. Do take your time to get rid of all that blood—” he grinned “—but then please join us.”

I looked over at Jamie, feeling lost. He just gave me an encouraging smile and nodded.

“I guess I can stay around. Suppose I can process all those tasks while eating barbeque,” I said. “Oh, but where should we drop off dry food? We fulfilled a good chunk of your wishlist for ingredients.”

Stephen grinned. “Right now we are dropping everything off in the pillow fort room. Whoever requested things can pick them up there and sort them out on their own.”

I nodded. “Will do that. I have to add decaf there anyway.”

“Thank you, Eve.”

“Glad you’ll be joining us,” added Anthony.