BXBX NOVEL Chapter 38 - Reflecting
* Illenium - Leaving *
AN: awesome song by the way.
***
"Don\'t sweat it," Rain said as she scratched her cheek in embarrassment. "I only repaid the debt I guess, she saved me back in the soccer field and now we\'re even."
She knew the situation was getting awkward by the moment and didn\'t want to push Raven more than that. She\'s still sick after all, me she was her nurse.
"Raven," she continued, "How about this? I\'ll make sure you\'re perfectly fine and well, then I\'ll leave with Joey. I really like your company, and I\'m pretty sure we\'ll meet again anyway, so by then you\'d probably have a better mindset, and understanding of me and Joey."
"Didn\'t you hear me, kid?" Maria said in an annoyed tone, "you\'re not leaving and Raven can do nothing about it." she was playing the harsh mother now, she needed to be strict or her child will be spoilt. "To be fair, I even think what she did to Camilla was an overkill, she didn\'t have to be that harsh. Heck, the girl was fighting back tears, and she\'s not only a grown up, but also a freaking S ranker!"
Raven\'s lips were red and hurting from the constant biting. She knew Maria wanted what\'s best for her and Maya, she\'d never do something if she believed it to be harmless or even worthless to them.
\'Am I really the bad person here?\' she thought as she took a seat on the cold floor away from the group, and rested her back against the cave wall. Her face was a mix of anger and sadness, both were directed at herself. \'I\'m just really worried about someone harming the people I care for...\'
Raven wasn\'t surprised when Kayla remained silent since she wasn\'t best described as emotional, nor did she want emotional support from a robo-girl, or rather a voice in her head.
\'To be fair, I think I\'m harshest on you, huh? Sorry... Kayla,\' remembering how harsh she treated Kayla, she felt bad for her. \'Even though she\'s a voice in my head, she might have feelings of her own...\' *sigh*
\'Yo Kayla,\' she called out for the girl in her head, even though she could read her mind.
\'I\'m sorry if I\'ve- no for I\'ve been so harsh on you, ok?\'
Kayla didn\'t say anything as it wasn\'t something she could help with.
\'Say, now that I think about it, are you barely a day old? Or were you helping err, unit Kayla before?\'
[Affirmative. Kayla is less than a day old.]
Realising that Kayla finished there and didn\'t elaborate any farther, she understood that it was basically because of her constant mental scolding as she was trying to be as \'efficient\' as possible.
\'How deep did I drop? Now I\'m yelling at infants?\' she said with a pained expression.
\'Kayla, please don\'t mind me, whenever I ask for something, answer with what you believe is a good answer. I can\'t treat you as trash and then expect you to be a perfect piece of art... I\'m so sorry.\'
Although Kayla remained quite this time too, Raven could swear she detected a faint a nod in the tiny figure in her mind.
Smiling at the gesture, she felt a little better.
\'Alright, with the drones keeping an eye inside and outside the cave, wanna get back to business, lil buddy?\' she said as her face took a hint of red.
[Affirmative.]
She wasn\'t expecting an answer, but the good surprise only made her smile softly.
\'Sweet, let\'s explore the most important thing now.\' she said as her face turned serious. She remembered how Camilla said that the Runestone wasn\'t a one time use item, so she could apply the effect and get her old body back.
At the thought, she considered if she\'s been too harsh with Camilla, but quickly dismissed it. \'Directing her killing intent towards the girls is a big no-no...\' she thought with a somewhat cold expression.
\'Anyway, umm where\'s the Runestone? I remember Camilla saying it was in the bracelet? But I can\'t feel it...\'
At the thought, a tiny glowing crimson runestone materialized in front of her and fell into her open palm.
\'It has its own invisibility skill? or was it hidden in a different dimension?\'
[Artifact detected: Avaia\'s Extreme Disguise Runestone.]
Although that practically wasn\'t so useful for Raven since she knew what it is, she wasn\'t going to think deeply about it as she has decided to accept Kayla with all of her flaws.
\'Thanks a lot!\' was all she said in her mind.
\'So this is the thing that made me a boy?\' she slightly blushed at the thought. Blinking twice, she started thinking about whether to try ro input her energy into it or ask Kayla for help first.
\'Uh, what do you think the best course of action is, Kayla?\'
[Raven can choose between two options:
[One: Pulse own mana into the artifact and allow it to merge with Mana Core.
[Outcome: Regaining previous body.
[Mana cost: 23% of own total mana at all times. Resetting final usable capacity to 77%
[Two: attempt to absorb and integrate artifact into own Mana Core by the effect of the system.
[Outcome: Gaining runestone disguise effect that will be treated at a skill. The skill\'s efficiency will evolve together with the system and Raven. If procedure succeeds.
[Mana cost: A one time 50% charge to get the skill, with extra charges proportional to the effect desired when using it. Note that only 5% must be of own energy as to introduce own mana signature, while 45% can be taken from an external mana source.]
\'Hm, that\'s interesting...\' Raven started to ponder on the two options. \' the first option carries the most certain success rate, I\'m assuming. Whereas the second option is kinda tricky since I don\'t know how efficient the skill may be when I get it now.
\'But also, there\'s no way I can force my body to absorb 23% of the world energy, so the first option would have to wait if I decide to go with it. But the second option is doable at the moment as I can sacrifice 5% of my own energy and then keep fueling it using the world energy, 5% or so at a time.\'
\'Kayla, what do you recommend?\'
Kayla took a second before answering.
[Recommended course of action: Option two.]
\'Hm, why\'s that?\'
[Raven\'s original body is that of a girl. Usually, disguising the true nature of a person would hinder their long term potential, especially that only 77% of totally mana could be used in the future because of the constant high mana cost. Also, the longer the identity concealment is activated for, the more Raven\'s psychological resistance will suffer.
[The second option implies that Raven would gain a disguise skill that would be helpful in the future, and at the same time, there\'s a chance that previous body might be obtainable.]
\'What are the chances of having my body back by the end of today?\'
[Option one: 0%
[Option two: <5%]
\'How about by the end of tomorrow?\'
[Option one: 69%
[Option two: <8%]
\'Uh, so for the long term benefit it\'s obviously the second option, whereas the first would ensure that I\'d be back to normal by the day after tomorrow.\'
\'Well, screw it, I\'m not gonna wait for two more days, plus, I\'ll call it an investment. The girls are also right, I\'d better live a real life and make it work, rather than a fabricated life. Kayla is there anything else I should know before jumping into the second option?\'
[Since Raven is a low ranker with no pain resistance, the process will be highly painful. Also, there\'s no guarantee of success.]
\'What do I need to have a decent chance of success?\' Raven was like a customer that\'s waiting for the car dealer to make a small mistake so she can dip without buying an expensive car.
[Raven is to focus on the collection of the mana required for the procedure, and Kayla will do the rest. In case Raven falls unconscious as a result of extreme pain, permission is required for Kayla to take over.]
*sigh* \'at this point I don\'t even know why I\'m doing this, but sure you have my permission, Kayla let\'s start.\'
--------------------
*Camilla\'s POV*
Dragging her feet through the dark woods, under the two moons in the bright green sky, Camilla had a sad look filled with regret.
\'Why did I do that?\' was a thought she kept repeating to herself from the moment she stepped out of the cave.
\'Why did I have to be Ms. righteous? I\'ve killed so many lives that I\'ve lost count, why did I decide to care about some criminals?
\'Not only that, but I had to f*cking release my aura! Am I brilliant or what?\'
She was fighting to keep her tears from blurring her vision.
Noticing a wide tree bark near her, she decided to take a quick rest there. Her plan as of the moment, other than grieving losing the only true friends she\'s ever had of course, was to find the monsters and basically vent off her rage.
She was so angry with herself that she wouldn\'t even consider that plan suicidal.
\'Will I ever find someone as kind as Maria?
\'Someone as trustworthy as Raven?
...
\'I really envy the bond they have...\'
Camilla had no living parents, no loved ones, and no good friends. Everything in her life was related to being an S ranker and the EDA.
This might\'ve been the only time where she could sit down and relax while watching others do their job properly. \'That tiny girl has a bright future ahead of her, I really wish her all the best.\'
~
Camilla was about to take a quick nap when she heard some distinct footsteps sounds. They weren\'t loud as they were clicking against soft grass, not a stony floor. However, she was sure three of them at least were the noise a hoofed mount would make.
Standing up gracefully, Camilla started dusting herself quietly as she watched some enemies surround her from opposite sides.