Some Spirited Conversation

“Man, steak sure tastes better when it’s marinated in victory,” Aeolia sighed as she finished the last bite of her meal. It had been the first time she’d referenced her win since they had been seated, a blessing both John and Vivian appreciated.

Ignoring Aeolia’s boast, John nibbled on one of his last fries and said, “So, after we finish up here, drop off the excess loot at Vivian’s and try our hand at a ‘Dungeon’ run, yeah?”

Vivian nodded. “We should maybe stop off and grab some water before we do. Just in case. And maybe give the Neural Core a more thorough examination. Maybe playing back whatever’s in its memory will give us a bit more to work with.”

“Sounds good to me,” Aeolia chimed in. Then with a cocky smirk she added, “Once we figure out what exactly this dungeon thing is all about, how about we set up another wager?”

John and Vivian leveled deadpan stares at their girlfriend and she held her hands up defensively. “Just kidding!”

“I see my cooking continues to please,” Mason’s deep voice cut in as some of his spirits approached to collect their emptied plates. “Well, if I could actually ‘see’ through these guys!”

His laughter echoed from the spirits and the kitchen as the animated winds picked up their dishes. Vivian eyed the motes of swirling green as they moved, a curious look etching her features.

“How do you perceive through your spirits?” she asked.

Mason’s voice hummed from a lingering spirit as the rest carried the dirty dinnerware away. “It depends on what sort of spirit I’m looking through. These wind ones are more of a tactile thing. They ‘see’ by feeling the air as it bounces off things. A bit like echolocation, now that I think about it. Nothing too detailed about what they pick up, but enough to gauge the rough shape of something.”

“What about fire ones?” Vivian inquired, growing more invested in the conversation. “You used fire spirits on those thugs from yesterday, right?”

“Why yes, I did,” Mason responded, his jovial tone dimming slightly at the recollection of yesterday’s minor altercation. “Don’t often use them to look around, but they ‘see’ things through heat.”

Vivian nodded as she processed that nugget of information. “Yes, that makes sense. What about water and earth?”

The spirit vocalizer shook and Mason replied with an apologetic voice, “Sorry, but my abilities are more rooted in wind and fire. I can bind earth and water, with some effort, but my connection with them wouldn’t be strong enough to view through them.”

“Oh,” Vivian softly exclaimed. “I didn’t realize that compatabilies came into play. That’s interesting.”

Her eyes drifted over to John and he realized she was thinking about the Senka situation. Mason also came to that conclusion and asked, “Any changes to your knife, John?”

John shook his head. “Nothing that I’ve noticed, but we have done a bit of fighting, so she may have leveled up. I should probably check before we get back to the grind. Make sure we’re taking full advantage of what we’re working with.”

“If you would indulge me,” Mason said, “I’d like to see. Might give me some insight into your unique condition. Give me a minute to come out.”

The spirit dashed back to its master, fading away as it did. John slumped slightly into his seat, his face drawn into a frown.

“You okay?” Aeolia asked, noting his less than chipper expression.

“I just-,” he began, searching for the right words. “I know Mason’s just being curious and a good person, but being looked at like I’ve got some weird issue makes me a bit uncomfortable.”

Aeolia frowned, but before she could offer words of comfort, Mason’s heavy footfalls signaled his proper return. The imposing mountain of a man wore a soothing smile, and he clapped John on his shoulder, forcing him deeper into the plush seat.

“No need to look so glum,” the cheerful giant said. “As unusual as this is, it’s not really a cause for alarm. You’re definitely not the sort of person who’d give way to some dark entity, elemental leanings aside, of course.”

John smiled weakly at Mason’s words of encouragement. “Well, let’s get this little exam over with.”

“Don’t need to make it sound like this is some sort of Apothecary visit,” Mason responded.

John bit back his question on what that meant and called out Senka. A cool sensation ran down his arm as his hand closed around the smooth, unadorned handle, like his arm had been dipped into a pool of water.

“Interesting,” Mason intoned as he leaned closer to inspect the weapon. “It’s only been a day, but the spirit’s grown significantly stronger. How many of these levels have you gained since yesterday, John?”

“None,” John answered. “But I had just leveled up before we came here so I think I’m fairly close to the next level. Let me check.”

“Yeah, less than one hundred experience ‘til level seven,” John reported, feeling a little pleased he’d almost leveled in a day.

Mason stroked his chin. “Perhaps you can add me to your, what did you call it, party, yes? It might make some explanations easier.”

“Right,” John said sheepishly, his ears warming. “Add Mason to Gamer Test Party.”

Mason Sweeney has joined the Gamer Test Party.

“I really need to change that name,” John muttered as he willed the notification away while Mason looked at the open Character Sheet.

“Certainly a detailed list,” the cook said as he skimmed it. “And you have one for the knife, yes?”

“Yeah,” John replied, conjuring up Senka’s sheet.

“Two levels,” John clarified as Mason read the knife’s info. “She was about midway through level four when we looked yesterday.”

Mason hummed, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he moved them from the sheet to its owner. “I’d say the spirit’s strength has at least doubled since yesterday. Does the amount of experience remain the same, or has it gone up?”

After a moment of recollection, John answered, “It went up. To get to level five, I needed thirty-five, and now for level seven, it’s eighty. Didn’t catch what I needed for level six.”

“But it takes more each time,” Mason intoned, stroking his chin.

“It makes sense,” Vivian interjected. “John needs more for every level. And it fits with that explanation you gave us yesterday. That the experience charges up John’s soul until it reaches a critical point then, boom, higher power threshold.”

“Yes, I recall that analogy,” Mason said. “And it looks like it's shaping up to be an apt one. I had thought that the points the level ups give would have been the catalyst for the spirit’s growth, but that seems to not be the case. But maybe…”

“Maybe what?” John asked, a hint of nervousness creeping into his voice.

Mason didn’t respond right away, his brow furrowed deep in thought.

“Maybe,” Mason finally said, “while the experience, and later level ups, grows the spirit, it’s the use of those points that help to shape that power. Do you have any points to redeem?”

“I should have three,” John answered, readying to pull up the perk page. “But I might not have a perk to spend them on. It seems random what sort of abilities I can unlock, complete with random point cost.”

“But luck is on our side today,” John added when he saw the new perk. “It’s not super powerful, but it’ll let Shadow Snare do damage.”

“Shadow Snare?” Mason asked.

“Senka’s Evocation,” John explained. “It lets me conjure up ropes of dark magic to restrain enemies. Hold on, I’ll summon its sheet up.”

“Not really the greatest since it’s a close range thing, but with ‘Thorns’ I can now bind an enemy and do chip damage. And it’s only one point, so I get a useful upgrade to Senka’s Evocation and still have points for later upgrades.”

John finished his explanation and regarded Mason, his earlier discomfort gone with the notion of uncovering a hint to his power’s functionality.

“Do you need to get into a meditative state or anything like that to sense if redeeming the point does anything?” he asked.

“Just give me a moment to focus,” Mason responded and took a deep breath. When he nodded, John unlocked ‘Thorns’. A faint hum of satisfaction sounded in his ear as a cool and faint weight seemed to fall on his shoulders, like a pair of arms draped over him. It faded quickly, before John could say anything about it, and when he turned to address Mason, he found the spirit user eyeing the space just behind him.

“You felt something, yes?” he asked, causing Vivian and Aeolia to look at John with concerned expressions.

“Yeah,” he admitted, recounting the experience.

“Yesterday, it was only a slight visual apparition, correct?” Mason inquired. When John nodded, he continued, “Fascinating. I haven’t seen any spirit develop that quickly before, but being powered by your soul and the mechanism that lets you get stronger gives her a distinct advantage.”

“That’s the first time you’ve used a pronoun for the spirit,” Vivian pointed out. “Before it was always ‘the spirit’.”

“Because before that last point I didn’t have a good sense of if it would even have a gender or if it did which,” Mason explained. “It was too vague, like looking through a thick fog. The fog’s still there, but when she interacted with John’s senses, her form locked in, for lack of a better term.”

“So, what’s next then?” Aeolia chimed in. “Some sort of ritual to draw her out?”

“Nothing so dramatic,” Mason answered with a laugh. “I think there’s still a bit of time before she’s developed enough to properly manifest.”

“Although,” he added, stroking his chin, “it couldn’t hurt to get some preparatory work done. Lay the foundation down and all that.”

“You mean learn how to do that spirit stuff?” John asked as he dismissed the various screens that filled his vision.

“It couldn’t hurt,” Mason said thoughtfully. “Given that you are already bonded to the weapon, it may be superfluous, but maybe it could give you some sort of bonus when the time comes.”

John considered the offer, eyes drifting down to Senka.

‘Getting a leg up on this whole spirit thing sounds like a really good idea,’ he thought. ‘The last thing we need is some unknown thing springing up at the wrong time and making things difficult.’

“Yeah,” John said aloud, “I think getting some pointers would be a good idea.”

“Excellent,” Mason boomed. “I’ve got an area set aside for training. We should get right to it.”

“Wait, right now!?” John exclaimed, his shocked face matched by Aeolia and Vivian.

“No time like the present,” Mason said like he was dispensing vast wisdom. “Better to get the basics down before you gain more of that experience and cause Senka to develop into something more active.”

“But what about running this place?” Aeolia questioned, waving an arm to gesture at the now empty diner; the last occupant beside them had left sometime during Mason’s examination of Senka.

Mason shrugged, “Business is always slow around noon. Our clientele keeps odd hours.”

“Doesn’t mean you can just lock up all willy nilly,” Cammie’s sarcastic voice cut in as she stepped through the door.

“Ah, you’re back early, dear,” Mason said, sounding a bit like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“No, I’m back right on time,” Cammie replied with a smirk, walking towards them. “You always run late since you have to stop and talk to everyone.”

“That’s just my marketing strategy,” Mason countered with a wide smile as he moved to meet her. “Drumming up hype for our food and atmosphere.”

“Is that why you keep slipping in tales of your expeditions?” Cammie shot back, her tone light.

“I seem to recall you liking some of my stories,” Mason said in a rumbling voice, one of his arms reaching out to draw Cammie to him, pulling his shorter girlfriend into his embrace. “Especially that one about the moonlit shoreline.”

Mason easily lifted Cammie up and captured her lips with his.

“Get a room you two,” Aoelia playfully shouted at them as they separated.

“This is our room,” Cammie replied, angling herself to regard them from over Mason’s shoulder.

“She’s got a point,” Vivian pointed out softly, earning a halfhearted glare from Aeolia that faltered after only a moment.

“Damn it, can’t stay mad with that logic,” the winged woman sighed out and leaned her head on Vivian’s shoulder dramatically, earning a small eep from the redhead and an inquisitive hum from Cammie.

“Getting awfully comfy there,” she said with a knowing smirk as Mason let her down, the large man pivoting to give the diminutive woman a clear view of their guests.

Cammie’s remarks caused Vivian’s blush to bloom and John shifted in his seat, a sudden spike of nervousness at the way Cammie looked at them.

“We’ve had some good bonding times,” Aeolia shot back. “Watched a movie, did some dancing, smacked the shit out of some monsters. Ya know, classic relationship stuff.”

“Well, as much as I would like to needle you for details,” Cammie said, “got a Barrier that I need to scope out.”

“A Barrier?” John asked.

“Yep,” Cammie said as she summoned up several wind spirits that darted into the diner’s backrooms. “Natural one formed up about ten miles northeast of the city. Need to check it out and see if there’s any game, produce or herbs we can use.”

Mason scratched his chin in thought. “We are running a bit low on specialty meats. And importing some is always too expensive.”

He focused on John. “Looks like we’ll have to postpone our lesson then. Never smart to run off into a Natural Barrier alone. Could be peaceful, could be filled with terrible monsters.”

Cammie lightly touched Mason’s arm as her equipment floated in, held aloft by her wind spirits.

“Lesson?”

Mason nodded. “It seems the peculiarities of John’s abilities have allowed the knife spirit to develop greatly since we examined it. I wanted to show him the basics of spirit manipulation before she reached a more complete state.”

Cammie directed her attention towards John, her eyes narrowed as she gave him the once over.

“I see what you mean,” she muttered, eyes drifting over to the girls, brow creased in thought as she drummed her fingers against the crook of her left elbow.

“Well, I suppose there is one way to solve all our problems,” she said before turning her full attention to Aeolia and Vivian. “How about you girls come with me to scope out the Barrier while Mason gives John that lesson?”

Aeolia, still pressed against Vivian, shrugged her unpinned shoulder. “It’s not quite what our plan was, but it's better than just sitting around while Mason schools John. I’m game.”

Vivian looked a touch less confident.

“Is it really smart for just the three of us to go in?” she asked Cammie.

“We should be fine,” Cammie responded with assurance. “We’ve never run into a Natural Barrier around here that had anything too hard to deal with. It takes time for a reliably recurring one to reach a level beyond us, and this one’s in a new spot so it’ll be pretty tame.”

Cammie’s words quieted Vivian’s misgivings and she nodded once in agreement.

“Guess it’s time to hit the books then,” John remarked, slipping out of the booth. “Where’s this training area?”

Mason threw back his head and laughed. “No books. Practical all the way. I’ve got a Barrier set up in a nearby playground. I do need to gather a few things first though.”

John nodded, willing Senka away. Vivian and Aeolia hauled themself free of their seating, both looking slightly disappointed at needing to separate.

“Any chance we can take my car and drop off some things?” Vivian asked Cammie as she inspected the bags her spirits brought her.

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” the dark haired woman answered before starting to walk towards the kitchen. “The Barrier popped in some time today, so it’ll stick around for a bit.”

“Great,” Vivian said, before she slid over to where John and Aeolia had moved to. “Can’t say I expected to explore a Natural Barrier today.”

“Yeah,” Aeolia remarked, her voice somewhat distant. “Cammie and Mason sometimes talked about hitting them up when we’d pop around to eat.”

The winged woman shook her malaise away and smiled. “Anyway, it's going to be interesting to be able to take things out. Gonna feel a bit like you, John.”

John returned her grin. “Pick me up a souvenir?”

“Sure,” she answered, then adopted a sly look. “I think we’re all going to need a bit of luck. And I know just how to get some.”

Before either John or Vivian could say anything, Aeolia darted in and captured John’s lips with her own, her tongue shooting into his mouth. After a stunned second, John matched her intensity, meeting her probing tongue with his own. But before a full battle for dominance could commence, Aeolia pulled away, a satisfied smile on her face.

“Well, I sure feel lucky,” she breathed out. “But it’d be best to spread that luck around.”

She spun on the spot, just missing John with her wing, and pulled Vivian in close, their lips meeting in a less intense but no less passionate kiss. John’s cock, already at half mast, reached maximum hardness and he adjusted his pants as he watched his girlfriends make out with a dumb smile plastered on his face.

Their kiss lasted a bit longer than his and Aeolia’s had, giving the ladies a chance for them to fully embrace, their arms gently caressing up and down their sides. When they pulled apart, Vivian was slightly panting, her face a lovely shade of pink, while Aeolia looked up at her with warm eyes.

“Hmm,” she hummed as she stared at the kiss drunk Vivian, “I don’t think it worked all that well. Maybe it has to come straight from the source.”

Aeolia pivoted and gently flung Vivian at John. He caught her easily, arms safely enclosing around her. His eyes locked with hers and leaned in. Their lips met softly, the kiss matching the prior one in tenderness. Vivian’s eyes fluttered closed as John gently massaged her lips with his. His tongue gingerly probed and Vivian let it slip into her mouth and began to dance with hers.

After a few seconds of intimate contact, they broke apart, their breaths intermingling as their heads lingered close.

“Yep,” Aeolia’s voice broke their reverie, “the luck definitely flows better this way.”

“I certainly feel a bit luckier,” Vivian said, her voice just above a whisper.

“Me too,” John added, a dopey smile working its way across his face.

“And you told us to get a room,” Cammie cut in as she walked out of the kitchen. “I see you three are quite comfortable indeed.”

Getting caught caused Vivian’s placid and dreamy expression to morph into mortification and she stumbled out of John’s loose embrace, her face heating up to clash with her hair. Likewise, John felt his face grow red and he avoided looking at their host.

Aeolia, on the other hand, only shrugged, earning an exaggerated sigh of exasperation from Cammie.

“Well, if you girls are all filled up on ‘luck’,” Cammie addressed them, “let’s get a move on.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Aeolia said, before turning back to John and giving him a wink. “See ya later.”

She shrank and flew after Cammie, fading out of view as she did. Vivian turned towards the door but then pivoted back to John and kissed his cheek.

“Bye,” she quickly whispered out, a shy smile highlighting her features, and hurried after the others.

“Well,” Mason’s booming voice shook John from his romance induced stupor and the large man clapped a hand on the Gamer’s shoulder, “you certainly have a way with women.”

He let out a bellowing laugh.

“Come on,” he instructed. “Let’s see if your powers are compatible with spirit magics.”

Thanks again for reading this little story. If you liked the chapter, please hit that thumbs up, and if you want to support my writing, check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ScrapCrow. Get access to my chapters before they’re published here and join my private Discord.