-Haruki Murakami

Mini-Boss defeated, Dungeon complete [Level 5]!
WARNING: Dungeon has already been completed five times this week, during current Reincarnation. Rewards divided by (2^5)
+16 EXP [+(50/32)=(1) EXP from Perks]
+$70 (35 + 100% from Perks)

"Alright… maybe one more, just to-"

"Father… your anger is gone. I can feel it. It has been nearly an hour and a half, and we still have to begin construction. Should we not hurry before the others grow concerned? They will wonder what exactly happened, if Lunaya has not already told them."

"That's… exactly why I don't want to go back," John admitted, sighing as the Barrier faded. The empty plains and the distant forest seeped back into reality, and at once John felt a hand upon his shoulder and a wing wrapping around his side. The towering figure of the harpy, still more than a head taller than John, leaned against him comfortingly. He had confessed - after the initial anger and stress had been relieved into several dozen Treants - exactly what had happened to Sophia. She seemed to have a fantastic read on the situation, judging by her reaction to the butler, but John gave her the exact details. Sophia had never said a word, only nodding and continuing to aid John.

Most of their time passed in that silence as he farmed wood from the living trees, their half-decayed bark cleaved quite cleanly by John's new blade. But it seemed that her silence had ended.

"You'll have to explain it to them. As with any break in a nest, there will be questions. Lines may be drawn. Fights may be started. It would be wise of you to decide how you will intervene now."

Sophia's words were concerning. A few hours ago John would have said there was nothing that could have broken Seras or the Nekos apart from him, and yet now, he couldn't bring himself to take any relationship - or non-relationship - for granted.

"You have a lot of knowledge imprinted on you from your time in that egg, learning about your species before you were even born… how would your family deal with an issue like this?"

"I am not sure that our family dynamics are the most relatable," Sophia said with a shrug. "Our nests, our families, are ruled by the strongest. Relationships last as long as the leader wishes them to. When it is time for a new clutch to be born, daughters and sons are culled from the flock, **** out of the nest and into the wild to start families of their own. This keeps food supplies and living space available for the new hatchlings, and only those old and strong enough to live on their own are told to leave. When a new mate is defeated, one more powerful or more beautiful than the current harem member, one is set loose to make room, or if space and food is ample a new mate can be simply added. The only limit to a harpy leader's harem is their own strength against the jealousy of the other nests."

"None of the sons or daughters ever go off and find a mate on their own?"

"One may request to be released from the flock. It happens sometimes, in families that choose to grow more slowly, especially in the larger and stronger flocks who rarely seek to add members to the harem and may not have as many broods flying around at once. But a flock that grows too small may not survive if there are not enough younglings to keep the captured slaves in line or to fend off invaders. The Father or Mother of the flock has the final say."

"What if one ran away? What if they chose mate over family?"

"...They would be branded. Exiled. They were needed and abandoned their calling for lust or love, primal instincts all the same. They endangered the entire nest, and they cannot be trusted to return and serve again, but cannot be allowed to encourage others to do the same. They are marked for ****, and if any member of that nest finds them again, they are honor-bound to destroy them."

"And you would have no problem with that? If you were the leader of your flock?"

"I would only hope that I had raised better children. If I had not… I would not have it in me to hunt them in vengeance," Sophia said quietly, "but if they had truly placed my flock at risk, I could not bear to see them again."

John thought about what Sophia had said as they travelled north. At first the idea seemed almost palatable to John. Banish the Canid and her demon lover, tell them never to return, under penalty of ****. Or even to kill the demon outright. But the longer he thought about it, the more John's pulsing shard began to fade, and the more his rational mind saw the problems with that thinking. As the trees began to thicken around them and they entered the proper boundary of the forest, John picked apart each thread.

"I would consider what you said as justified," John said quietly, slowing only briefly to brush his hands against the rough bark of one of his trees, "but I don't think things are quite the same here."

"You said that she hurt you," Sophia replied softly.

"She did, but that's… kind of my fault," John mumbled. "I knew she wasn't happy with the way things were. I'd still be upset, but it's not like communication is easy for her. I think… I think after she saw how I reacted to the butler the first time she was scared to tell me about how she felt. When we were in that room together, when I faced the demon with my sword drawn, she was afraid. Really afraid. She thought I was going to kill her."

"Would you have?"

"…"

Another thought John would have brushed aside as ridiculous just a few hours ago. Now he stopped to think about it, to make sure there wasn't something darker hidden under his answer.

"No," John finally said with confidence. "It wouldn't have been just. It's not the same thing as what you were discussing. We're a family by being in this together, by all being isolated from the world. That's no way to forge a relationship - we should be here by choice, not by circumstance. Some of us are, but not all of us. I just didn't realize that until now. I never asked Lunaya to be faithful to me, or to stay here. The only reason I wouldn't let her leave if she did ask is because she'd be in terrible danger if the rest of the Abyss ever found her, and her being found would place the rest of us in danger.

"But she didn't put us in danger. And we don't… need her here, she isn't risking anyone's life. She's being happy, and the only reason I got hurt is because I only saw things from my perspective. From hers…"

John trailed off, not wanting to dwell anymore on such troublesome thoughts. Too much pain, and too much blame that he couldn't bring himself to place on anyone.

"It doesn't matter now. We'll talk about this when we get back. I want to avoid this happening again, so we'll discuss boundaries and… relationships some more tonight. For now, I know where to put this house."

John had already picked out the spot, sometime before they even began their journey. It was the small clearing where he'd found Lunaya when he showed her the moon, when he made the promise to her to bring her voice back. He still intended to keep the promise, but his happy memories with her were tainted. At least for now. This was a place he wanted to avoid - and better to only have one in his world than two.

John reached for his Building skill, focused on the wood in his inventory. A blueprint erupted around the ground, taking up not only the clearing but a good portion of the woods around it. He had conjured their own house out of familiarity, though only a single floor instead of two. Where trees intersected it, red highlights showed the offending trunks, and a menu popped up explaining.

Terrain requires clearing. Additional time required for construction.
Total Time Required: 1 Day, 17 Hours

"That is way too long… I need this finished tonight."

John considered what to do, and found the solution quite obvious. He wasn't going to hurt Lunaya… but he was under no obligation to make things easy on her, or to go beyond what he had said he’d do. John shrank the blueprint, a little at a time, until it was within the boundaries of the clearing, barely a two-room suite. Then he hesitated just an instant before shrinking it more, down to a studio apartment, well within the boundaries. It wasn't much… but it was livable. And it had shrunk the crafting time down to just over six hours, mostly thanks to not having to remove the trees.

John punched the confirmation and then crafted two beds, outside the house as it was only just beginning the most basic parts of the foundation. Lunaya and the butler could carry them in themselves.

"There. By the time the sun sets, this should all be finished. Lunaya has food she can find in the trees and bushes around here, and I'll look into adding a pond soon when my full abilities come back online. We'll make this as self-sustaining as possible."

"If you're not exiling her, she'll want to come back. Want to help with the Nekos, especially the newborns."

"…She is welcome to join us," John said, after a brief pause. "He is not."

"Very well, Father."

John eyed his stats, a sudden curiosity coming over him. Sophia's buff was still there. She hadn't lost faith in him for his decisions.

"I know it isn't how you would have handled things, Sophia, but it seems like the right thing to do for now. We can address the rest later. I… want to ask the Nekos, and maybe even Seras, but… Sophia, what do you think of our relationship?"

"You are my Father. I am yours, and you are mine. I need no other, and I will serve you alone. I will defend this nest with my life and honor."

"You don't want a… harpy, though? I know it can't be easy being the only one of your kind here."

"I wasn't born to a harpy, I was born to you, Father. Species means little to me, so long as I know who I belong to, and who belongs to me. You have no wings, but I will lend you mine. I will lend them to you, and no other, save at your wish."

"Thank you, Sophia. Let's go home."

"Nothing would make me happier, Father."

John and Sophia started on their way back to camp. Sophia had offered to carry him to speed up the journey, but after the long day he was - finally - nearly finished with, John enjoyed the time to relax and decompress. His immediate angers, fears, and happiness had all faded into a sort of numbness, a gray mixture of emotion that stiffened his neck and pained his back. Every step back through the forest seemed to bring a sigh of relief with it as he let the calmness of nature take his painful thoughts away.

They were striding across the thinning treeline, their home still out of sight, when at last a menu popped up that John had not conjured himself - it startled him how used to this he had become, how much he missed it when it was gone. Evellyn’s orange-tinted skin and attire shimmered into view, the holographic woman offering an honestly apologetic bow as she clasped her hand across her chest and bent until her head was nearly below her waist.

“Apologies for the lengthy delay, Master Newman. Your benefactor decided that you could use a more impactful version of your skills, and had a few customization options for your Talents. You will now receive fewer skill points, but they should feel more impactful - and your Talents have now been accommodated to your new abilities.”

“Wait, I thought my benefactor gave me my abilities?” John asked, latching onto the Talent Points immediately. “And I swear, this Skill Point revamp better not be like the WoW Talent squish, or-”

“You will now receive one Skill Point starting at level two, then four, then eight, and doubled on and on until level 128. After that, you will gain one point at each milestone of 250 levels. Once you reach maximum level, you will gain one Skill Point per Reincarnation. Talent Points will be given for every 100 level milestone you reach, every time you learn a Talent tree, and upon every five Reincarnations after maximum level. To start off this gives you four skill points and two talent points which you may spend as you please; all your previous expenditures have been reset. Furthermore, your Skill Trees have been completely revamped. To compensate your slowed gain of Skill Points, you may now fully reset your skill trees once per year if you desire - however, Talent Points are permanent once spent after this, barring future updates.”

“What’s up with you and year cooldowns?!” John shouted, fighting the urge to shake his fist at a virtual woman.

“Should you embrace your powers, should you succeed, John Newman…” Evellyn said, her voice taking on a very serious tone that she rarely had. Her eyes seemed to take on a distance and intensity John had never seen in them before. It was as if Evellyn was not herself for a moment. “...A year will be child’s play. A year can be lost to the whims of a goddess, to forge a blade that will do things you cannot imagine.”

“What? Evellyn, what are you talking about? I’ve never forged a blade for longer than a few seconds with these abilities.”

“I was… what? I’m sorry, Master Newman,” Evellyn said, shaking her head as if from a trance, “I don’t know what came over me. I… your update is complete. Please inspect all your skills; your talents should remain mostly unchanged - I need to perform a self-evaluation to ensure none of my critical processes have been damaged.”

Before John could interrupt her again, Evellyn vanished in a digital explosion, her body temporarily covered by code John couldn’t read and then gone entirely. John stared at the blank spot for a long while, until Sophia placed her hand atop his shoulder.

“Father, has something new happened to your abilities? The woman seemed quite concerned.”

“Something happened indeed,” John noted, eyes narrowing as he slowly took in his interface. Everything was back online… No matter Evellyn’s strange behavior, John seemed to have his full interface available along with all his abilities.

“Whatever it is, I’ll look at it tonight, and we’ll put it through its paces tomorrow. For now we need to let the others know.”