Convincing Ivy

The choices are kinda mixed. The Thorn skill is mostly a dead skill at this point, Ivy and I almost forgot it existed. The Shredder choice would give the rarely used skill a powerful buff and make it a much better option for her to contribute directly to dealing damage in combat.

Charged Strike is kinda vague, but the gist of it is clear: it allows Ivy to go further down the path of becoming a melee fighter. It’s not necessarily a bad skill in and of itself, but it’s mostly pointless to Ivy’s build. Mana Strike is supposed to be a last resort for her, so she can defend herself if anybody manages to get close to her.

Awareness is the clear winner, when it comes to harmonising with her existing build. It’s not been a huge issue yet, but with so many people on the battlefield, it can be a little hard for Ivy to keep up with what everyone’s doing. And with how many people are going to be fighting when we face Mathias, Ivy being able to sense everybody’s health levels is a huge asset.

Ivy herself agrees, and so the Awareness option is chosen. “So when are you gonna let me put a class level into the Summoner class?” I ask cheekily, and Ivy sighs dramatically.

“Is that really your plan? Put your next class level into Summoner?” She asks.

“Not my next one, but maybe the one after.” I tell her.

“Beloved, your strength is more important!” Ivy tells me.

“Beloved?” I ask, smiling.

“Hey, don’t make fun of me, I thought it was cute!” My caregiver says.

“I’m sorry love, it is cute.” I say, kissing her softly. She kisses me back, and when we separate, her eyes are filled with worry.

“You’re afraid.” I observe.

Ivy nods hesitantly. “I wasn’t there that night. If I can’t be there to protect you and the others, what use is my magic? You need to be as strong as you can be, so if I’m not there, you’ll be okay.” She says.

I run my hand through her hair, and stroke her cheek with my thumb. “Next time, you will be there.” I promise her.

“Is it weird that I want you to be stronger over me? I know most people would want to get stronger, so they can better protect their loved ones.” Ivy says.

I shake my head. “Emotions aren’t rational. Besides, you aren’t most people.” I tell her.

Ivy lets out a small chuckle. “I-”

“If you’re about to say that you’re not technically a person, I’m about to bonk you on with one of Lena’s inflatable bats.” I warn jokingly.

Ivy giggles and a smile forms on her face. “You know me too well. Hey, why are you the one comforting me? I’m the caregiver dom in this relationship, I should be comforting you!” She says.

I take her hand and bring it to my lips, kissing it softly. “Even caregivers doms need comfort sometimes.” I say simply.

Ivy pulls me in and hugs me tightly. “I love you.” She declares.

“I love you too.” I reply happily, enjoying the warmth of her body and the feel of her embrace around me. We stay like that for a while, and I can feel the love she has for me radiating from her, like the warmth and comfort from a fire and a hot chocolate on a cold winter’s day.

Eventually, we separate, and look each other in the eyes again. I take her hands in mine. “I understand why you feel the way you do.” I begin, and Ivy nods. “You do need to get stronger too though. It’s okay if it’s at the expense of my growth every once in a while. Because your growth helps protect everybody, not just me.” I tell her.

“That’s true…” Ivy says. “I just…your magic is so much stronger than mine…you created me, and you have all this extra stuff on top of it…Mathias said that you’ll be much stronger than him one day, and I want you to get there, because if you do, none of us would be in danger anymore…” She explains her reasoning.

I nod, seeing the truth of her statement. “I’m not going to get there for a long time though, definitely not in the next two and a half weeks. Sacrificing your growth for mine isn’t going to speed up the process very much.” I remind her.

“Yeah…fine okay, tell me what your plan is.” Ivy says.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Yes, I wanna hear it.” She nods.

“Alright. Tomorrow, I’ll reach level 130, which is going to give me access to one more class level. The amount of XP I need to level up is going up by 1000 every level, and each of these new dungeons is giving 60,000XP. Levelling progress is going to slow again soon, so I want to see if I can keep it going. I’ll put the next class level in the Gamer class.” I explain.

“After that, I want to invest in either the Warrior or the Summoner class. Belle and I are going to be the main people fighting Mathias, and our main strategy is to outmatch him in speed for long enough so that you and the others can come help. If we can get faster than him, and combine it with my ice magic to slow him down, we should be able to keep him occupied for a bit.”

“I’m hoping the Warrior class is going to help with me getting faster somehow, or otherwise offer agility related perks. On the other hand, I’m hoping the Summoner class will make you a more powerful support. You’re good at healing and supporting from a distance by using your plants to create openings.”

“Something we haven’t really thought about yet is buffs. If we could somehow unlock the ability for you to buff allies, make us faster or stronger or whatever, that would be a tremendous help. Every little bit counts, and I’m hoping that somehow the Summoner class would let you do that. And even if it doesn’t, healer and support is one of the most important roles anyway, so boosting your power would be huge either way.” I tell her.

“How many class levels do you think you’ll be able to get before we fight Mathias?” Ivy asks.

“It really depends a lot on whether Belle decides to join our guild at some point, and what the Gamer class gives me tomorrow. If Belle joins, that’s an immediate class level and skill evolution point from the quest I have for ten guild members. Optimistically, I’m hoping for at least 3 class levels, so I can put one in Gamer, one in Warrior and one in Summoner.” I tell her.

Ivy nods. “Alright. I can support that.” She says.

“Good girl.” I say with a grin on my face.

The expression on her face changes to a smirk, and she steps forward, towering over me. She puts her hand on my face gently, and leans down to whisper in my ear. “That’s my line, brat.”

“Whatcha gonna do about it, little sub?” I taunt.

Her other hand closes around my throat and looks at me warningly. “Are you sure you want to do that?” She asks.

I nod, still grinning.

“Don’t want to reconsider your words?” Ivy asks.

I shake my head. “Nope!” I declare proudly.

Instead of squeezing my throat and **** me like I expect her to, in one motion, she sweeps me off my feet and picks me up. “Apparently I need to remind you who’s in charge here.” Ivy says, carrying me up to the bedroom.

I giggle happily. “Oh no, whatever shall I do!”

Ivy puts her lips to my ear. “You’ll regret that.” She says simply, nibbling at my ear. I shiver from the simple contact.