You Answer

John spent the next few days sparing with my teammates and going on simple errands around the city. It was a little boring, but boring is good compared to being ambushed by a wind mage out of nowhere. They cleared Sarah after finding the infection and removing it. She did have to take a day off to rest before returning to duty. He did ask his brother if he had any information on why they were attacked, but his brother didn’t have any idea. He did have an idea of who attacked them. Apparently, there was a wanted woman named Wanda who controls insects, but no one knows where she is and what she’s doing. It’s not much, but it’s something. Today was the squad’s day off, so everyone could do whatever they want. As for himself, it was decided for him. His mom runs a local bakery, and she wanted some extra help around the shop. John would help out from time to time, but he honestly didn’t want to spend the day helping his mom. Of course, she would kill him if he ever said that.

John spent the day in the front of the store cleaning and serving any customers that came through. It wasn’t a very busy day, but someone came in that fit all of John’s qualifications. Snow, one of John’s old classmates, came in, and she was extremely beautiful. Her parents obviously named her after her snow-white hair. She had green eyes that always seem to glow, a dazzling smile that made people’s hearts melt, and curves in all the right places. He knew that she just got her class so she should be low leveled, and they had some interactions in the past so it wouldn’t be too strange to meet up with her. Of course, all that was hard to concentrate on as he watched her huge breasts bounce with each step she took.

“Hey Snow, how’s it going?”

“Hey John, it’s been going well. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine. I just got drafted into the army and am currently on my day off. What about you?”

“My mom loves your mom’s blueberry muffins. Usually, she comes by to get it herself, but she was busier than usual today and couldn’t come to get it herself.”

If I remember correctly, Snow’s mom has the blacksmith class. I wonder what could’ve made her so busy.

“Do you have anything that you want to get?”

“I do love your store's mini chocolate cakes, but I don’t have the money to indulge in that habit today.”

“Nonsense, I’ll buy you one. I still owe you for your help in the horse-riding class.”

“That’s true. Alright, I’ll gladly accept.”

“Great.”

John starts preparing her order and asks, “What are you planning to do going forward?”

Snow brightens, “I plan to become an adventurer like my dad. Thankfully, I got a class that would help with that even if it means being regulated to just support.”

“What class is it?”

“The Healer Class.”

“You know just because you’re a healer doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be the support. If you hone your skills, then you can be a valuable asset in combat as well. I know that’s what you’ve always wanted in the first place.”

“You’re right. I’m going to give it my all.”

John activated his new skill Parasite and created a small bug that flew toward Snow without her noticing.

John finished packing everything up as the bug landed on the back of Snow’s neck.

“Thanks for the cake and the pep talk.”

“Anytime and you know where to find me if you need me.”

Snow laughed, “If you need any help, then don’t hesitate to ask.”

As Snow left the bakery, she felt a pain in her neck for a second but then it was gone. She ignored it as she left the shop.

John couldn’t believe that his skill worked. Well, he could but he thought that something would’ve gone wrong. It was almost too easy. Then again, he didn’t actually manipulate her in any way using it so he would have to wait to see how powerful the skill actually is. One thing that did worry him is that when she reached a high enough level, she would be able to use skills that would destroy the parasite in a second. This means that I just need to get her on my side before that happens. In the meantime, he had to finish his shift at the bakery. He checked his screen to see new information appear.

Parasite v3 (Active): Create a bug capable of entering a creature’s body and multiplying. Once it has multiplied enough, it will connect to various parts of the brain and control it from the inside. It’s easier to control the body directly than to mess with the host's emotions and memory. Users can connect with the bugs to give commands on what to do. Feeds on the victim’s mana to survive and carry out orders. The skill could be inhibited but is less effective by other skills, stats, resistances, and willpower. Costs 150 Mana to create (Max: 2).

Parasite 1 (Inactive: Growing): Estimated time ten minutes

Ten minutes is quick but I’m guessing that’s the amount of time needed to grow and multiply and not control the body since it needs mana to carry out orders. Hours passed by and finally, it was time to close the shop and return home.

When John got home, his two sisters were playing Dragon Chess. The game was about assembling your own army to fight against your opponent. You used event cards to gain money, land, people, and more to build up your army. It really came to luck, intelligence, and real-life tactics to win. Father **** us to play this game all the time saying that it would help us out in the future. John wondered why his sisters are playing it though, they hate this game. He walked into the room to see his dad in the corner watching the game unfold. His eyes locked onto him.

“Son, your sisters didn’t want to spar with me and had a disagreement so I’m making them play chess to determine who’s going to fight me.”

Who’d want to find against you? John could see why they’d chosen to play chess over fighting dad. He tried to run away but he turned around and saw his dad’s smiling face.

“I guess you’ll do for now.”

He dragged me off to the backyard to fight for the next hour. Fighting would be a nice word for it as it was more like a one-sided beatdown. John could see why his stats were higher than usual now. It all made sense now.