What Will Be | Book 2 | Chapter 35

Author's Note: Thank you all for your continued support, it means the world to me. I am back home and relieved that things seem to be on their way to a semblance of stability with my mother. She has a new regime of medications and the scans seemed promising but there is this thing looming over the family now that wasn't there before. I do not like it, but unfortunately my displeasure is not the reality warping force I often wish it was. In any case, I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

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I woke to a knock on the door. Fudge had already hopped off the bed to trot to it, his tail wagging in recognition. A quick pulse of Recovery was more effective than any cup of coffee, and I reluctantly crawled out of bed. I felt the beginnings of a tangle when I tried to run a hand through my hair and, not for the first time, considered chopping it all off. 

“Ugh.” Longer hair always spoke of fantasy and magic in my mind, but it was becoming more trouble than it was worth. That was a problem for later, though, and so I let my bed hair do its thing. “You have to move so I can open the door, bud.” 

Fudge harrumphed and reluctantly made room for me. It was early, but not too far from my usual early starts; I could already hear the earliest signs of birdsong. When I opened the door and saw Eva, already dressed in her full kit, it wasn’t hard to guess her objective. 

“You are leaving.” It wasn’t a question. 

“Good morning to you, too.” She took a step past me and cupped her hands for Fudge to rest his head in them. Fudge, softie that he was, happily obliged. “And who is a good boy? Huh? Fudge is.” 

“No. Please. Come in. Make yourself at home.” I chuckled and closed the door. “Want me to grab you the chair- annnnnnd you are not listening to me.” I felt forgotten as she showered Fudge with praise and pats. 

“Pix and I have a job. You will be gone before we get back.” She spoke over her shoulder, having to crane her neck slightly to look up at me ever since my growth spurt left me taller than her. “Do not do anything stupid.” 

I cracked a smile at that. 

“I will miss you, too.” 

Eva scoffed, my apparent audacity enough to prompt a heel spin so that she was facing me again. I felt Fudge’s disappointment through the Tamer Bond. 

“Puh-lease,” she said, stretching out each syllable. “Who says you are going to be missed?” There was defiance in her crossed arms, the kind that promised retribution if I dared to call her out again. 

“Oh? So why are you here, then?” 

“Fudge is going to be missed.” She didn't miss a beat.

“... I walked right into that one. In my defense, I just woke up.” We shared a quick laugh and Eva closed the distance to give me a good natured punch to the arm. 

“Seriously, though, you both take care of yourselves. That comes from Pix as well. She is finishing the packing so I can be here.” It was the closest thing to a show of forgiveness from Pix I could have asked for. 

“Tell her thank you, from Fudge and I.” 

“I will.” 

“Good. Good. Thank you.” 

The conversation had accidentally trailed off, leaving Eva and I just kind of lightly bobbing our heads in agreement. I coughed. 

“So do you want a drink, or-” 
“I should probably-” 

“You first, I–.”
“You can go-”

“I should probably get going,” Eva managed to get out before we tripped over each other's words again. 

“Right. Yes. You probably should. Long day of travel ahead.” I went for the door and held it open for Eva while she quickly gave another quick ruffle of Fudge’s fur. Before leaving, she hesitated and seemed to consider something for a moment before pulling me in for a quick hug, though more ‘partial collision’ than hug– the kind of thing one might see two emotionally stunted brothers attempt. 

“Just do not pull any stunts like you did the other day.” With that final scold, she left, leaving me mildly amused for all of two seconds. I shut the door and collapsed back on to my bed with an annoyed groan, hating my mind for lingering on the feeling of Eva’s figure through the hug, brief though the contact may have been. Puberty could fuck all the way off; it didn’t particularly care about my feelings being platonic or the the entire tangled mess the very notion of adult relationships would entail given my circumstances. 

It was going to be a long day. 

-0-0-0-0-0-  

Mana flowed easily through my mana channels. Advancement brought about it a veritable upgrade to just about every facet of my being, and it was hard not to relish in it; that and throwing myself into my training was a welcome distraction. 

No, this is not the distraction, that other stuff is, I reminded myself. If I let myself believe that teenage fantasies were my primary purpose then Perseverance would work against me, the ambient mana it filtered through my system becoming a nagging twinge that brought to mind how form fitting Eva’s- 

System, I am a creep. I’d gotten so accustomed to a life without a libido that its re-emergence came with a vengeance. I would adjust, eventually, but it was hard not to feel like a bit of a slime ball in the meantime. 

I urged Mana Sense to the forefront of my mind. Mana produced by the Skill was unusual, almost like a sensory organ into itself that helped translate mana into something my brain could comprehend. It reminded me of the mana shaping technique I used in tandem with Recovery to speed up my mana regeneration, but impossibly more complex. 

I sat in the lotus position on the patch of grass that had long since been my training grounds. There was no real reason to sit like that, but in matters of mysticism the old nerd I used to be couldn’t help but insist on it. 

The old nerd I still am. I frowned, the thought enough to break my concentration. I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood, the pain enough to snap me out of the pit I’d been carefully avoiding. I tasted iron, but Recovery was quick to clot the bleeding. 

What was important was Mana Sense. While it should have come as no surprise, simply acquiring the Skill was not enough to suddenly lay bare the secrets of mana– the Skill was level one, after all. Even so, I noticed an immediate improvement as the subtle, System-born instincts helped me build upon the rudimentary understanding I’d earned with hours of Sisyphusian effort. 

I focused my efforts internally, at first. Mana from Perseverance was the most potent and, as such, the easiest to analyse. It was firm. Unyielding. It moved with purpose, even when not guided by my intent, bringing to mind the smell of body odour, oddly enough, and sounded like a steam engine, the kind I saw in cartoons about trains as a kid my first time around. That, more than anything, made me suspect that a person’s interpretation of mana was a deeply personal thing, and I wondered how such things were catalogued academically. Was it like colours? Two people could agree something was blue while perceiving something different and- 

I cut myself off before I delved too deeply into the rabbit hole of objective reality. Those types of headaches were reserved for when I tried to wrap my head around Fudge’s Skill. I called up my System window and noted some easy, early progress in the Skill. It would be enough, for now. 

Movement proved to be similarly exhilarating, despite the care I needed to take with my injured arm. I’d already practiced using mana to enhance my mobility with Perseverance and even unattributed mana, on occasion, though the latter was an exercise in tedium for minimal payoff. While the difference was negligible when I attempted to use Movement on its own to duplicate the feats I accomplished with Perseverance - like especially high jumps or similar extreme actions - that could be explained by the difference in Tier between the Skills. Pound for pound, Perseverance would always outperform my newer Skills. 

Where Movement shone was in the routine, in smoothing out the edges when I ran, climbed, jumped, or even walked. I felt my form gradually improve, as if I could feel the inefficiencies. So engrossed was I that I lost the rest of the day to exercise, my usual routine all but forgotten as I gave myself over to the easily quantifiable feeling of running faster and jumping higher. It made me excited to imagine what the Skill might be capable of when it matured and, for a moment, regretful that I didn’t choose the specialised variant of the Skill. 

-0-0-0-0-0-

The final weeks leading up to our departure passed without much incident. While prospecting for belly button lint at the dining table, Cruz told me he was going to enjoy the vacation in passing and I hadn’t seen him since. Mira regularly made me check and double-check that I hadn’t forgotten to pack - or forgotten to plan to pack - anything important. That final week, I noted that the meals served by the kitchen were some of my favourites. The thanks I offered them was met with curse words and a command to ‘get the fuck out of the kitchen’ which, from cooks, might have been their way of wishing me luck. It was hard to tell.

Wynn, surprisingly, didn’t mention my departure or treat me any differently in the lead up to it. It would have felt odd to bring it up myself, so I didn’t. 

The guardsmen I’d grown acquainted with at their training grounds took the excuse to throw a party, which is just another way of saying they used it as an excuse to drink between shifts. I decided to invite Nance, who spent most of the evening chatting with Eaehdro. 

The day before my departure, there was only one person I still needed to visit. Regular use of Recovery and the help of the Doctor’s Skill left my arm healed in less than a couple of weeks. I used it to knock on the door to Isa’s. It’d been almost half a year since I swung by; her reception of me grew increasingly icy despite Rio’s intervention. It hit the point where I just couldn’t be bothered making the effort anymore, but all things considered I felt it best to say goodbye, at least. 

The door wasn’t locked, so I let myself in. Isa was at the bar, as she usually was. Her temples were greyer than when I first came to town, and she met my presence with a scowl. 

“Welcome,” she said flatly. 

I paused halfway through the threshold. 

“Hey Isa, I will be leaving tomorrow so-” 

“Stop. I do not want to know. If you are not here to order, I have work to do.” She punctuated the point by plucking a rag from her apron to run along the bar top. 

“Okay, I… give my best to Rio.” The door closed behind me with a dull thud as I left. I couldn’t help but wonder what I did to sour her so, not that I’d pushed as hard as I probably could have to find out, though. I already had so much to do and- Yeah, that was probably it. She probably got tired of my attitude. I suppose I couldn’t blame her. 

-0-0-0-0-0-

Envy was an annoying emotion, it could rear its head uninvited in the face of logic or rationality. Watching the luxurious looking carriage pull up outside the Slayer fort, I felt envy. Blanca, Alicia and I were all travelling to Sentrodah together, but I was responsible for my own transportation. Some years back the stable hand at the fort taught me the basics of riding, but I’d decided against acquiring a horse of my own. Travel was the perfect opportunity to grind out some proficiency points and, in theory, I would eventually be able to out pace a regular horse.

I probably could already, actually. A horse might have still had me beat in a sprint, but they’d tire before I did, and travel was more of a marathon anyway. I turned to look at the small cart I’d be pulling behind me, laden with my supplies and a small harness I could use to give Fudge a turn dragging the thing. It was nowhere near as large or loaded as the cart my father regularly hauled, but without a dedicated Skill for strength I knew Perseverance was going to get a workout; granted, that was the point, but still… 

“Can Fudge ride in the carriage with us?” Alicia asked, and I almost choked on the breath of air I was taking. She and Blanca were watching while one of the twins helped their driver load their pile of luggage. 

“He would not fit,” came Blanca’s easy reply. 

“I know,” she beamed, “I just wanted to watch Will react and he did not disappoint.” 

“Ha ha, ha ha,” I droned sarcastically. “I hope your butts get sore sitting in the carriage all day.”  

“Not to worry, Will, we have cushions.” Blanca kept a straight face. She was good at that. 

“Oh, you hear that, Fudge? It is fine because they have cushions.” Fudge was sitting down and using a back leg to scratch at his ears, oblivious to my plight. “Thanks for the support, bud.” 

Blanca and Alicia shared a giggle as the driver gave the signal that they were ready to depart. 

“It is good your spirits are high, Will,” Blanca said before leaning in for a conspiracy whisper. “And I think we can get away with letting you share our fire and dinner pot most nights.” 

I grinned at that. It would almost certainly be better than the rations I packed.

“I shall look forward to it.” 

“Then let us depart.”