Smalltalk, bossfight, big talk.

“For the record: I still think this is a terrible idea!” John shouted as he blasted the face off a Ghost. His boner had subsided and now he was able to think clearly again. He still was blasting the Ghosts away in record speed though. “Stop being a baby, John.” Rave answered and with an aura enveloped kick tore apart another one. They had been killing Ghosts like madman for the past four hours, in stark contrast to their relaxed attitude of the day prior.

“It worked out, didn’t it?” A group of Ghosts got instantly annihilated by a cone of blinding blue light. “You almost died.” John commented with a dry tone in his voice. “ALMOST, exactly.” Rave sidestepped the attack of a Ghosts claw as she regenerated her mana. “I have been thinking by the way.” “About the fact that your dad is going to kill me if he finds out that I put you into dangerous situations?” He asked. “Nu-uh, that is so your problem.” She giggled as she showed the Ghost her pierced tongue in a playful gesture before dodging again.

John took care of the Ghost with two Mana Power Attacks. “That is so irresponsible of you!” He complained. “Nu-uh, it’s your weird powers that made it spawn after all.” Rave burned away a new Ghost that peeled from the mist. “Also my dad wouldn’t kill you…” “Well, that is nice to he-“ “That would be way to easy, he will probably **** you to do some worse stuff.” Rave made a horrifying expression. “You should see our basement, he has this collection of….” John held his ears closed, “Lalala, I don’t want to hear that. Nothing bad is in the basement of your weirdo father, lalala.”

Rave softly knocked him over the head. “Don’t call daddy a weirdo.” She said. “You were fine when I called him insane.” John wondered. “There is a difference of magnitude here.” She explained between killing two Ghosts. Their evaporation was quickly followed by a “Wuhu, Level-Up!” which meant that Rave was now Level 19.

It took them another three hours to spawn the boss. The window popped up and once again darkness started to gather. It was way less impressive or spooky in the daylight. “This is just progress raiding all over again.” John mumbled as he waited. “What was that?” Rave asked. “Well, have you ever played an MMO?” “Tried Guild Wars for a bit, wasn’t for me though.” “Well, in MMO’s there are raids with extremely strong bosses. The first time you kill a boss it is fucking awesome but over time it kinda loses the flavour.” John watched as the cocoon of darkness started rippling as the boss inside started manifesting. “Like, the spawn animation is way less cool the second time.”

The scream of the Spectre **** through the air as it fell to the ground. This time the two of them had already taken a position far away and immediately started showering the Spectre in spells. The Spectre sluggishly turned towards them and started hovering over. They started running. “Same style as last time.” John said as he threw Mana Power Attacks without aiming much. He had enough mana right now.

The Specte didn’t manage to dodge them all and took all of Rave’s attacks as well. John was confused. The boss seemed to be actively bothered by his attacks this time, what’s more it moved so slowly they could kite it in circles for hours and the only reason to blindside the Spectre would be to gather some breath. “It seems very sluggish.” Rave said in a disappointed tone. John nodded and looked upwards. “Probably the sunlight. Maybe it gets stronger by night and weaker by day?” He theorized. “Would make a degree of sense.” She agreed. “But, oh well, if it is that slow I might as well actually go punch him.”

John had no opportunity to stop her as she stormed forward, leaving leaves and pine needles flying in her wake, little flames of her blue aura as Rave punched the Spectre in its face. “Not so tough now, are ya?” She ridiculed and quickly followed that up with a spin-kick in the air. The Spectre tried to grab her but John was already on that. Possessing the branch of a young tree, he wrapped himself around the raised arm and shackled it. The Spectre screamed in anger and confusion as he ripped the branch right off.

Not a moment too early. John now possessed the whole young tree and wrapped himself around the Spectre’s arm yet again. Although the monster was probably strong enough to rip that annoyance of him as well he couldn’t do so while Rave was dishing out punch after punch engulfed in light. All the boss monster could do is helplessly swing its arm around as Rave beat the unlive from it.

After ten minutes of this it was over. All John was busy doing was keeping the shackle tight. “Second boss kills aren’t that exciting…” He sighed and reprimanded himself for being so overly worried earlier. “It made a good punching bag though.” Rave said as she watched the being disintegrate. “So you are feeling better?” “A lot. I am hungry again though so just do your thing and let’s head back.”

John was happy to, he as well was getting pretty famished. First he checked his own EXP gain. He got another level today and thanks to the massive amount of EXP the boss had just amounted him (although not as much as last time) he was only 140 points of the next level. He put the points into Intellect immediately and his mana exploded.

So that pretty much just hammered home that he got a bonus every 25 levels per stat. He should probably think about getting some of his other Stats up to 25. Endurance and Charisma sounded like good ideas. However, these were ideas for later.

Next up the loot. The Spectre had left him with another stack of cash, only ten grand this time though, and two items, both of which he quickly Observed.

He equipped the gloves and stored the Ectoplasm and the money in his inventory.

“I think you have more mana than me.” Rave said with a raised eyebrow. “What just happened?” “I crossed a threshold and it raised my mana efficiency.” He waited for a moment and then said “”Bullshit.”” Just as Rave did. The pink haired girl looked confounded for a moment, then she started laughing. “Don’t ya mock ma gag ya jerk.” She slurred and threw her left arm around his shoulders in a chummy fashion. John took the moment to Observe her as well.

He sighed as he saw her emotions. She was still angry about earlier. Should he act on that? Was it his place to pry on her business? In the past he would have said hell no and got home to watch some nice VR porn or something but something (maybe his higher Wisdom, maybe the fact that he actually felt something for Rave) inclined him to ask. “Are you still angry about earlier?” Rave’s smile froze and died down. “Ja.” She took a deep breath. “Urgh, I hate this.” She walked away from him, back turned towards him so he couldn’t see her face.

“I mean dad used that tent the last time two years ago. Why am I getting bothered this much by something that happened two years ago?” John kept quiet. After a few more breaths Rave went on. “I never liked mom. She always went on trips on her own. Once she vanished for two months, just like that, not a word to me or dad. He was always sad when she was gone.” Rave folded her hands behind her back and kicked a pebble. “And when she was home they were always just talking about business. I could see dad trying to make her talk to me. We never really were a family, we were always moving, we never settled at a home and mom never settled with us. The two of them getting divorced was probably the best thing that happened to this family. But…” Rave’s voice broke for a second. John took a step forward but stopped when she continued talking.

“…but to see that dad still cared for her and that she just went ahead and sold the ring….I thought I was done with my mother, ya know?” She turned to give him a sad smile, her eyes were wet but she didn’t cry. “And then I see shit like that. How am I supposed to like such a bitch?” All John could do is hug her tightly. She still didn’t cry but her breath was unsteady, there was no rhythm inside her actions. “Answer me you useless moron.” She sniffed and lightly boxed him in the stomach. “I have no answers to your questions, sorry, I can only listen and be there for you.” “Oh, shaddup, corny bastard.” Rave mumbled and boxed him a second time. It didn’t hurt, just weak punches to vent some frustration. “Why am I even talking to you about this, huh? I have been knowing you for barely a week….You have no answer to that either do you?”

“Well…” It seemed like a bad idea but he might as well come clean now. “It might be because I have raised my Charisma, or because Observe shows me what you currently think of me.” “Oh, bullshit.” This time the punch hit hard enough to make him stumble a step back. His foot got stuck on a root sticking from the ground and he fell. John was ready to defend himself but he was to slow and Rave pinned him to the floor.

He had experienced her strength before but never like this. Her hand were like iron claws and he could barely budge an inch. “Fuck you, John.” Rave cursed at him. “You think I just start to like you because you tapped on some points? What, are you that useless without your stats? Or do you think that low of me, that I couldn’t make my own choices?” “No, no of course not!” John shouted back at her, a slip of anger in his voice. Rave was taken aback by the sudden outburst. “How could I think low of you? You saved my life, you are always daring, beautiful, ready to make the best out of the moment. Sure, you are a bit flimsy and sure sometimes I think you are overdoing it but what if you like only my ability?” His doubts started bubbling out, “What if none of this is because it is ME but just because I was randomly selected for this power. What significance do I have in all of this besides just being here? Would another person have met you and ended in the exact same position anyway? Do YOU have an answer to THAT?”

John’s eyes went wide when he felt her lips on his. There it was again, that prickly warm feeling he only got in moments like this. It wasn’t a long kiss or a particular romantic one, with him still being held against the forest floor. “Just stop doubting yourself.” Rave whispered and rested her forehead on his. “Ya moron. You were honest, right? It was you who saved me, right? It was you who figured out how to beat the Wall Shadow, right?” Their stared into each other’s eyes, searching for answers that had no business being there and yet were. “Your power doesn’t make you, you John.” “Your mother doesn’t make you, you either Jane. You don’t have to like her, you never had to.” They spent a few minutes like that, the Gamer and the Rave girl.

“Use that Observe thing on me again.” She broke the silence. John wasn’t sure why she would ask of him to do that but he followed her instructions.

“What does it say?” She asked. “It says you love me.” “That’s pretty unfair towards me, now is it? To just blow my feelings into your face without consulting whether I was ready for them yet.” Her lips curved in the saddest, most radiant smile ever. “…Jane…would you, maybe, want to go on a date sometime? Not killing monsters, just something… normal.” John asked, his voice bumping around the sentence still unsure what he was supposed to say. “Four words, John, say them.” “I love you too.”