PoV: Snow Okiyama - Ion
I let out a long sigh as I guide Jean back home through the rain. The storm tears at us, and Isabelle glares at me the entire way, even as Jean happily skips through the puddles. Overall, things went remarkably well, really.
Sure, Raven wants to kill me, but what else is new? They got a guard killed before by bringing them on a field and running like a coward. They then attacked an asset of Respitia herself. So, of course, the guards are onto them.
Shame, really. Raven really isn’t that bad. They are kind of a rude jerk, but they usually don’t get into my space. But I might have to kill them soon. Shame. Well, not like I’ll feel guilty about it.
As we walk, I crack my vessel once more, suffusing it with more of my mana. By now, I’ve almost entirely remade it from those cracks, turning it more malleable. Just a few more weeks, and I’ll get more of a handle on the skills.
[Vessel Construction 8 > 9]
[Class up! Vesselsmith 6 > 7]
I am bleeding from my eyes, but with the mask Jean can’t see it.
[Level Up! 82 > 83]
The class experience finally leads to another supremacy level, and I smile faintly. There’s just a little bit of danger coming my way, when I look at my stat sheet.
Lv. 83
Heart: 62 - Perpetual Pursuit
Power: 31
Vessel: 497 - Abiding Apathy
All my stats have gone up naturally a little bit. And vessel… vessel is just a few points off of a threshold. Judging by how things changed when I crossed 250, this might shatter my vessel entirely if I’m not prepared.
I’m excited.
Isabelle looks at me, then at Jean, furrowing her brows. “I really don’t think this… Kuro is a good influence for you, Jean.”
At that, the boy just laughs. He pulls on her arm, and whispers in her ear. Instantly, conflicted emotions play across her face. She stares at me, and she clearly still hates me, but she can acknowledge that I definitely did contribute to saving both of them. Now, serving Respitia wouldn’t be the worst fate, probably, but it wouldn’t be freedom, either. Not properly.
If Jean had gone along willingly, they wouldn’t have dragged him up here like that. But no, they had to bring him here with an escort. He was, in all but name, a prisoner. Isabelle knows that. It’s why she’s so angry at me, running a hand through her greying hair. But she doesn’t say anything, in the end. She just stares at me.
And I’m not opening conversation with that grouch of a woman. Instead, I explode my own vessel one or two more times. It even reopens the wounds Sylves dealt me - ones I’ve not healed because “Yuki” needs them to stay undercover. I am able to hide my limp through; Kuro helps by bracing my leg, a bit like an exoskeleton.
Not too long later, I return Jean to Anna’s place, this time with Isabelle in tow.
“Snow,” Anna breathes quietly. “You can’t keep bringing people to my house.”
“You mind because she’s a mean-spirited old lady who looks at you like you’ve killed her family?” I ask.
The feryran stares at me. Once again, her silver face flushes slightly and she clicks her tongue, looking aside. “Yes,” she says. “That’s exactly right.”
Isabelle stares at me as I nod. “I get it,” I say. “We’re working on it, the two will be in their own building soon. Healing station. Give us a day,” I ask.
“You know I can hear you?” Isabelle asks, annoyance clear on her old face.
I look at her, expressionless and entirely unrepentant. Inside, I even feel a touch of smugness about it. Outside, though, I just shrug. “Oops,” I say, innocently.
Anna stares at me with disbelief at my shamelessness, and I give her a small smile. She shakes her head, pinching the bridge of her nose in the way that Inu usually does. “You’re incorrigible.”
“I get that a lot,” I say. Then, I feel how the noise of the two kids - and by two kids, I mean mainly Trey - starts to rapidly be too much. “Well, I’ll be off, though.”
“Wait,” Anna says, reaching for my shoulder. I rapidly avoid her touch, but still turn to see her. She looks a little hurt at my dodge, to which I sigh, and slowly place her hand on my shoulder.
She blinks. I watch. The awkwardness hangs in the air between us for a moment, before I ask. “What is it?”
“Oh, uh, right,” she stutters, shaking her head and reaching into her cloak. Then, with a swift motion, she presses something into my hand. “Here. It’s the least I could do.”
I tilt my head at the object, then take a look. It’s a small booklet, and I flip it open, finding that it’s filled with drawings and sketches. Mana circuits. My eyes widen, faintly. I flip the page, and there’s more circuits, and words, scrawled in tiny script to save space. “Is that…?”
She nods.
Without hesitation, I smack the book closed. For a long, long moment, I stare at her. “Are you sure?” I ask, whisper-quiet.
Anna nods, again.
Then, slowly, I reach out, and ruffle her hair. “Thank you,” I say, simply. “That’s kind of you. I’ll be sure to burn it when I’m done.”
She gives an awkward smile and blushes. “C’mon, it’s not that special, they’re just-”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” I warn her quietly. “Don’t. Don’t demean yourself like that. They’re your skills. Treasure them. You don’t have to be proud, but you got them because of who you are, because of what you do. They’re yours. So, thank you for sharing. I will value them appropriately.”
For a few moments, the feryran in front of me blinks, then clicks her tongue and looks away. She can’t even meet my eyes. It’s kind of funny. How someone like her is so much more like an ordinary human than me.
Smiling bitterly, I turn around and wave. Just before I leave, I hear her whisper. “That was… almost sweet,” she says, and somehow sounds surprised.
I let her tone go without admonishing. After all, it is rare for me to be sweet, I guess.
Just as it’s rare for someone to gift me their skills’ blueprints. So, I’ll make sure to put them in the archive, and remember them properly. It’s the least I can do.
Once again, I’ve found a teacher in the most unlikely place. This world inside the Tower really is just a little wonderful.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter