Butler Boy - Chapter 6

I looked down at the remaining ticket I had, frowning.

Dinner had just finished and, even though the days were getting longer, the sun still set pretty early, especially with the mountains arranged like they were. I had... maybe thirty minutes of daylight left, all things considered. As had become habit, I rubbed the shiny paper between my thumb and forefinger, hesitating.

“At this point, I'm just asking for something to happen,” I muttered, shaking my head.

The back lawn stretched out before me as I sighed, reaching over to pet Lincoln with one hand and keeping the ticket firmly grasped in the other.

Maybe part of me wanted this whole secrecy thing to be over? Honestly, I didn't see how a lot of superheroes did it, keeping up a lie like this. Though, Clark had his family and Bruce had Alfred – given I hadn't seen any news about Robin appearing – so maybe they didn't, actually? The contrary example was obviously Peter Parker, but Spider-Man's perpetual misery and loneliness were essentially a meme for good reason. Not that I didn't have a high opinion of his heroism, but the guy was a complete idiot as far as interpersonal relationships go.

The lesson there is clearly, 'Don't be Spider-Man, be Superman instead.'

...and after tearing two gold-tier tickets, I was already on the upper-end of superhumans. Hell, I was on the upper-end after using one.

I let the ticket drop into my lap and manifested a flame in the palm of my hand.

Lincoln blinked at the fire, but gave little indication he would care unless I stopped scratching him or food was involved. He was getting on in years and his joints were starting to get a little worse for the wear-

I blinked, crushing the flame as my body tensed and I looked over at one of my dogs as I chewed the inside of my cheek. “Gonna' need more syringes.”

The perk hadn't said anything about it being limited to humans, after all.

I could slip Addie a few bucks and she could pick some up from a pharmacy and bring them back. Maybe insulin syringes for diabetics would work? Or were they too small? I'd have to think about it.

...but healing one of the dogs of puppy arthritis kind of highlighted the problem. I didn't want to have to sneak around to do it. I was already getting irritated skulking around the house whenever I got a ticket and wanted to use the gacha. That was probably why I'd told Addie, beyond healing her at least. Planning to use a ticket like this was just asking for my powers to be revealed to my parents, because... well, I already kept plenty of secrets from them. The identities of heroes and villains, potential alien invasions, my own previous life in another reality, and more besides.

I kept those secrets for the benefit of others, mostly.

Or out of a lack of an ability to do anything productive with them.

No one would believe a random-ass kid shouting about a potential apocalypse that he, himself, admitted might not even come to pass.

There were so many DC continuities that I had no idea if Vandal Savage was ever going to build that time machine to go back to World War 2. Superman being mind controlled by Darkseid was a staple of comics, but would it happen here? Were the Court of Owls a thing? Would Young Justice happen or was I in a world where a giant T-shaped tower would get built?

No idea.

But... now that I had the ability to... I kind of wanted to be a part of that.

To help people. To do good. To fistbump Superman and see the Batcave in real life.

And I didn't want to have to hide that side of who I was from my family.

So what did all that mean, in practice?

“How about...” I paused, considering as I picked the ticket back up. “I use my tickets in private, or around Addie, and pay lip service to the idea that I'm trying to keep things secret, but... I don't try that hard?”

Lincoln tilted his head at me in doggy-incomprehension.

It was... something of the coward's way out, in truth. I knew that. I'd be avoiding a difficult and complicated conversation in favor of electing to have random chance take the choice out of my hands. The moment I pulled something I couldn't explain away or got caught doing something sufficiently supernatural, I'd be outed and be forced to come clean.

“Well, at least I'm deliberately invoking that trope instead of just stumbling into it,” I shrugged, snorting in amusement.

Then, with Addie in the bathroom, my parents doing dishes inside the house, and Algie seizing the opportunity presented by my lounging on the rear porch to watch his own shows, I ripped the ticket. I immediately heard the working of the great gacha machine in the sky, the fall of the capsule, and felt it manifest in my hand.

I took a breath and looked at Lincoln, who had perked up at the oddness.

Maybe dogs can sense something? Animals are usually depicted as being more attuned to magic.

I grinned, holding up the capsule to the dog, vaguely curious. “Well, what do you think, boy? Good luck, bad luck, or is it just absolutely cursed?”

Lincoln cocked his head, leaned forward, and took the gacha capsule in his jaws.

My own jaw dropped and I stared at the huge dog.

“You little shit,” I spoke in a whisper, narrowing my gaze. “Give it back.”

Lincoln's tail began wagging, which was a bad sign.

The absolute worst sign, in fact.

“Don't you fucking dare,” I hissed.

He did. He dared.

…

“I just don't know, Archie. It hasn't been all that long.”

Her husband sighed as he ran a washcloth over the dish. “Abby, it's been a week and a half. The boy's alternating between going stir-crazy and staring listlessly at the TV. You're going to have to let him leave the house sooner or later. And go back to his own bed. I want to be able to watch the big set in the living room eventually.”

“He was in the hospital for the first week,” Abigail replied pointedly. “Forgive me if I just want to make sure he doesn't have a-a... relapse or something!”

“He's been resting like you asked him to and he's been taking all the pills the doctors said he should,” Archibald shook his head. “You've got to stop worrying so much, woman.”

“I'll stop worrying when I don't have a daughter in another town at a coed college, a son playing one of the most violent high school sports in the world, and another who skipped two grades and is going to school with kids that out-mass him by twice or more,” she replied archly. “I feel like the least I'm allowed to do is worry this much.”

“Then take the boy to the scout meeting yourself. Sit and talk to the rest of the parents while you're less than fifty feet away from him,” Archie sighed. “You know they're a dual-troop. He-ck, you insisted on taking Addie back when she was in scouts.”

“Of course I did! Honestly, immortal pagan princess of the Amazons or not, that woman should have just kept her nose out of how modern Americans did things, ugh!” She nearly spat, throwing the rag in the sink in disgust. “Whoever heard of sending little girls on overnight hikes with boys!”

A less socially-adept man would have pointed out that Adelaide had always gotten along better with the boys in her troop than the girls and that her mother's constant (hovering) presence during scouting events had been what started the rift between them.

Archibald was not nearly so stupid as to open his mouth on that subject (again), though.

Given that he knew the way his wife's mind worked, though, he chose a different subject. “Addie didn't have any incidents and neither did Algernon. You honestly think Arden – of all of our children – is going to be the one caught with his pants down?”

Not that Archie himself had ever actually heard of pants coming off on a scouting trip. He was sure it had happened, and not just with the dual troops – the coed scouting groups, but the worst that had come of their town's troop was a few kids caught making out.

Which was, in his honest opinion, perfectly fine.

Kids were going to be kids and it was better for them to get found out somewhere their friends or the adults were going to stumble onto them before things went too far. Not all of the other parents shared his viewpoint, but enough did that the troop hadn't been divided yet.

The town was small enough that it wasn't really worth having two different troops running around, anyway.

“It's not Arden I'm worried about,” Abigail replied with a shake of her head. “It's all those girls. I know a few of them have their eyes on him. I just don't want Arden to end up pinned down by a mistake he's too young to realize. He's a bright boy, with a bright future.”

Archie could have brought up Jason Thomas at that point, but again, he wasn't a stupid man. His wife's double-standard over the respective sexes was an old saw that wouldn't be resolved while washing the dishes. Regardless, he couldn't help but think that Abigail wouldn't have been too heartbroken if their daughter had ended up 'in the family way' and had to postpone or cancel her college plans.

But, maybe it was for the best that the two of them had broken up, in the end, even if it was sudden.

Jason had ended up going out of state for school, anyway.

And it wasn't as though he doubted she'd be gushing over Addie the day she graduated. His wife would be among the proudest parents at that ceremony, he was sure. There was just the lingering feeling that she'd be a tiny bit happier with a grandchild instead of a diploma, were she forced to choose between the two.

“How about we hold off on that until Arden starts asking girls out, okay?” He asked instead, holding back another sigh. “Once we know he's getting to that point, we can talk to him about it.”

Abigail huffed, but nodded. “Fine, I suppose. I guess I can take him to the scout meeting as well. It has been a long time since I've seen Sharon and Victor.”

Inwardly, Archie relaxed. It would do both his son and his wife some good to get out of the house a little.

“As long as Arden's feeling up to it, of course,” Abigail added.

Archie opened his mouth to reply, then blinked as movement caught his eye in the back window above the kitchen. He grinned, then chuckled. “Oh, I don't think that'll be a problem.”

His wife frowned, leaned over, and groaned. “I told that boy he shouldn't be running around like that.”

“Relax, honey, Lincoln probably just grabbed one of Arden's things. You know how that dog is. And Arden. Honestly, he should just let the pencil go after the dog gets it, but it just has to be that pencil...” Archie grumbled, having lost track of the times that he'd needed to chase down one of their hounds to get a toy, gadget, or writing instrument back from them.

Abby shook her head and turned towards the living room. “Algie! Get up off the couch and help your brother! Lincoln's stolen something of his again!”

“Ah, wha-oh, yeah! I'm on it!” Algie replied, bouncing to his feet without so much as a whine or objection.

Archibald shook his head and sighed in fond exasperation. “Anyway, I've set up the meeting with the Baxters for next week. Wednesday at ten. If you want to be there for that.”

Abby took a deep breath. “I'll come to the station. For Arden. But I don't think I could keep a civil tongue in my mouth around... those people, one of them your old friend or not, honey.”

Archie just nodded. “Regardless of how this turns out, that probably won't be a concern anymore.”

His wife gave him a long look, then nodded once. “Good.”

…

“You sonnuva'bitch!” I growled as I ran, keeping pace with the dog-

-which was actually just as surprising to me as it probably was for him.

That said, it was much less amusing given how his tail was wagging.

“Should have named you-” huff “-Nixon! You're a goddamn crook!”

The dog swerved around the shed and I nearly slipped, barely catching my footing as I made the turn. It was strange, moving this fast and being able to hold my own against Lincoln, asshole that he was. As we came around, I poured on the speed while I could.

“Get back here!” I shouted.

“Don't worry, squirt! I got this!” My brother, the running back, cried as he came rushing past me.

Superhuman regeneration and a general health buff or not, Algie had been training for half a decade to be as fast as he could. Even if I was surprising myself with my own capabilities, I was nowhere near the level of even a high school sports star of a – frankly – minor school.

If I'm serious about this, I need to git gud.

Then my brain caught up to what was happening.

“Algie, I got this!” I cried out, trying desperately to push myself harder.

To no avail.

“Gotcha!” Algie shouted, not listening to me as he ducked into a roll and tackled the dog that weighed at least as much as me. The two went down in a heap of fur and muscle as Lincoln made noises of playful anger and frustration. “C'mon, give it! Giiiii~iiive it!”

“Arooororoooo!” Lincoln howled around the capsule in his mouth, squirming in my brother's grasp.

I grimaced as the two played tug-of-war with the literal superpower in the plastic ball.

“Annnn~nnnd... Got it, hah!” Algie shouted, giving one last yank to pull it from Lincoln's teeth.

For a brief instant, I felt hope that this mess could be salvaged.

Then the telltale crack of plastic sounded in Algie's hand, my older brother blinking as he looked closer at his prize-

-before it shattered into motes of light.

I sighed and facepalmed as Algernon staggered, blinking rapidly in a confused stupor.

“The hell was that?” He asked, looking around. “Whoa, what the...”

Walking over, I grabbed the small piece of paper that had fluttered to the ground and gave it a once-over. Narrowing my gaze, I felt a little jealousy rise up. Algie had gotten a good one, too. Not that Addie's wasn't, but it hadn't been what I was looking for.

I sighed and extended the note to my brother, who took it dumbly.

“I guess... we need to talk about some stuff, Algie,” I sighed.

192.Adept Stealth (3.6 Rarity, 0.36% odds)

-Rare Skill-

You are skilled in the way of stealth, you know how to move silently, how to sneak up on people, how to check for traps, you can blend into your surroundings and sneak up on people who know you are coming. You would make Solid Snake proud.

…

“...and that's about the size of it,” I explained, shrugging.

Algernon stared at me, Adelaide sitting off to the side on a rock wearing a shit-eating grin that she was trying (badly) to hide. “So... when I grabbed that thing out of Lincoln's mouth yesterday... I got a fucking superpower?”

I winced slightly. You knew shit was getting real when Algie started cussing.

My eyes roamed the clearing we'd settled in, the mostly-intact childhood fort still standing against the treeline. It'd been an easier sell that I thought it would be to get Mom to give me some time off bed rest. Still, with both Algie and Addie accompanying me on a 'sibling bonding hike,' we'd gotten permission to make the thirty-minute trek into the woods where my older siblings had once constructed a 'secret' fort.

It wasn't anything to write home about, just some cast-off lumber and pallet wood that they'd gotten virtually for free and built a little hide out that also served as a makeshift deer stand.

“Well, Addie got an actual power,” I explained, scratching the back of my head awkwardly. “You just got a skill.”

Algie massaged his face in disbelief. “And it just jammed being able to sneak around like some kind of assassin in my head?!”

I winced again, and Algie took a visible breath. “I mean, I just showed you the one I got for mechanics, didn't I? Same thing, basically. The one for art, too.”

“Stop freaking out, Algernon,” Addie ordered with a frown. “It's not like Arden meant for you to get it. He tried to stop you, didn't he? But you wanted to play the hero.”

Now my brother looked away, running a hand through his sandy blonde hair with a grimace. “Mom told me too, you know how she gets. Besides, he was supposed to be resting, anyway.”

“It was partly my fault,” I sighed, my head drooping. “With everything that's happened, I forgot that Lincoln can be a total Nixon about anything you're holding.”

My siblings both blinked at the statement, then simultaneously snorted, grinning widely.

Then Algie's expression sobered. “So, uh... any reason why we're not telling Mom and Dad? Feels like the kind of thing we should?”

Addie, tellingly, had refrained from commenting on the lack of certain details when I'd explained what was going on to our brother. Specifically, the interdimensional imp thing. Which would make most true believers suspect that there was soul-taking afoot.

I frowned and hummed. “I just... don't know how to, I guess? My plan was basically to wait until something happened and I couldn't hide it anymore, then explain once I'm forced to?”

Now my sister decided to speak up, a deadpan expression and narrow gaze on her face. “That's a terrible plan, Ardie.”

I pointed at Algernon. “It worked fine with him.”

Addie opened her mouth, stopped, then closed it.

“I feel like just because something works once, you shouldn't try to do it again,” Algie stated slowly.

I frowned at him. “That's literally how all of science works.”

Now it was Algie's turn to gape at me for a few moments while Addie replied. “You can't science people, dork.”

“Watch me,” I replied smugly.

“Ugh, you're an insufferable little shit sometimes, fucking genius,” Addie sighed, rubbing at her face. “So, you going to use that gold ticket you got?”

I wilted slightly, pulling out the shiny golden paper from my pocket and staring at it.

[Gold Ticket – Losing a Chaos Gacha Capsule To Someone Else]

I didn't like being reminded of this one.

Because the rarity really put things into perspective.

Gold tickets involved death or permanent damage to one or a small group of people.

In hindsight, that was easy enough to understand. The gacha was powerful. Even a silver ticket, nominally the second-lowest, could generate something potent and deadly. Hell, that had actually happened this time. Algernon had been given access to top-tier human-level stealth. Short of advanced technology or Bat-tier abilities to erase your own presence, Algernon could probably compete with the best of the best. Up to and including special operations personnel given the mention of Solid Snake in the summary.

If someone who I didn't trust implicitly had gotten that skill...

I didn't like to think about the outcome of that possibility.

Lesson Learned.

Treat the capsules with care and be responsible with them.

For maybe the first time since I'd gotten this power, I wasn't actually looking forward to tearing this ticket or what it would give me. I'd received this reward for doing something stupid. Something that was almost as bad as being actively evil with it.

I swallowed, another dimension of my potential coming to light.

I'd gotten a gold-tier ticket for accidentally losing a gacha capsule.

What would I get for willingly giving one away to someone? Someone random, not someone like Addie that I knew and trusted. Or someone that I knew had bad tendencies that could be exacerbated by powers. Involuntarily, I remembered the organization Cauldron and its various schemes to control the world by handing out powers to various factions and individuals.

My stomach dropped a bit as I realized that could be me.

I could do that.

If I wanted to.

I didn't, but the idea... I could create my own nemeses to fight against, to in turn gain more power. I could advance through the suffering of others. I'd likely get tickets for theft and murder just as easily as I would for saving lives.

“Are you going to tear it, or what?” Addie asked, interrupting my thoughts.

I blinked, shaking my head. “Just... had an intrusive thought, sorry.”

“What was it?” Algie asked, looking curious. “Worrying about what you'd get?”

I shook my head again. “No, just... I could probably get more tickets if I gave out powers to random people, since I got a ticket for giving you one by accident and Addie one on purpose. In fact, I could probably get tickets for doing some pretty lousy stuff to people, like stealing from them or whatever.”

The 'or whatever' was deliberately casual on my part, almost too much so.

Killing someone would probably be worth a gold ticket, at least once or twice. I probably wouldn't get much repeat value out of relatively 'simple' tasks like that. With pyromancy, at least, it would be as simple as point and click, so I imagine that only the first murder I committed with my powers would get me a reward.

But platinum-level achievements?

I could kill a dozen people pretty easily, which was about the threshold for that, I think. There were no precise numbers, but the sheet I'd gotten with the first orb Mixxy had given me specified a 'mass casualty event. Either stopping or – presumably – starting one.

And the scale only went up from there.

“...you're not gonna' do that, though, right?” Algie asked, cautiously.

I snorted, then shook my head, feeling the tension let out between us. “No. I... think I want to be a hero? Like Superman.”

Even after resolving to that idea internally, saying it out loud made my cheeks heat up. It sounded... so childish.

“I thought you liked Batman more,” Algie asked, his lips twitching.

“I do, but someone took the super-stealth, so I guess I'm going loud and proud,” I replied dryly.

“Okay, being the adult here, for a moment,” Addie raised her hand, stopping both of us, then looking at me directly. “You're not going to like, run off and go punching bad guys in alleyways, are you? Cause, I'd have to tell Mom and Dad if you are.”

I rolled my eyes. “No way. The only time I'd do something like that is if it was happening right in front of me, but I'm not planning on any hero stuff for... at least a year, maybe more? I need to build up muscle, do training, get skills that I don't have. That sort of thing.”

Addie sighed, relaxing, as Algie just nodded thoughtfully.

Then he stopped and went ramrod straight. “Wait! If you healed that Jamie kid, then you can heal-”

An instant too late, he caught himself and slapped a hand over his mouth as his eyes guiltily turned to Adelaide.

My mouth dropped open in shock.

He knew?!

“You knew?!” Addie asked, her eyes going wide.

“Ah... oops?” Algie asked, giving an awkward show of teeth that was half-grimace and half-smile, his face contorting between the two as it tried to find an expression that would bail him out. “I, um... oops?”

Addie groaned, dropping her face into her hands. “Does Mom know? Or Dad?”

“Ah... no? I don't think so, at least?” Algie asked, still intensely awkward. “I mean, I never talked with them about it or anything, so they could, I guess?”

Addie snorted and shook her head, her elbows resting on her knees as she held herself up by them. “Ugh, unlikely. Jesus, Algie... how the fuck did you find out?!”

“Ah, well... after your breakup with Jason, you were in your room crying for a week, so I thought he'd like... hurt you,” Algie paused, finding a tree in the distance particularly interesting. “Or something. So, um... I kind of beat the shit out of him until he told me what happened.”

Addie stared at our brother in mild disbelief. “Jason is three years older than you and had at least fifty pounds on you.”

“Not much of it was muscle, though,” Algie shrugged.

I snapped my fingers. “Right... this was when you came home with that black eye a few years ago, wasn't it? You said you'd gotten into it with someone who said some shit about the Broncos. I only remember because it was after Addie's breakup.”

“He still had half a fucking foot on you, Algernon,” Addie hissed in disbelief.

Algie shrugged and, although he refused to make eye contact, he also refused to show any remorse. “He made my big sister cry. So what?”

“So what?” Addie echoed, still in shock. “You... you... complete asshole, brave, sweet sibling whom it turns out I can trust a lot more than I thought I could... goddammit.”

Algie colored slightly. “Ahh... Sis, it's okay, I know it was supposed to be this big secret and everything, so I never said anything. Especially with Mom, but... uh, could you watch the swearing? Just a little?”

Adelaide stared at him for a long moment, then started laughing helplessly, almost manically. “You-I... hah! I-I have a-an abortion and you get irritated – hehe! At me for swearing!”

Algernon looked, if anything, more uncomfortable. “I, um... look, it's not my business. I don't think it's right or anything, Sis, but... it's your place to decide what to do with your body.”

My own viewpoint on the subject was… well, I supported Addie’s decision. She was a child who’d made a stupid decision to have sex with someone who turned out to be a jerk and there had been an accident. Jason had been the one to find and arrange for a visit to a less-than-stellar clinic where Addie had the operation, which went fine.

Initially.

It was the post-op infection, likely from improperly cleaned tools or something, that caused problems. I wasn’t privy to the exact discussion she and Mom had after the subsequent visit to the gynecologist, but the odds of her having children were… not good, after that. It had caused some tension and likely resulted in Addie moving out for college instead of attending the community one in Shiloh across the river for her undergraduate, at least.

Personally, I blamed Jason, first and foremost for (likely) pressuring my sister into sex. Then I blamed the fact that she’d had to hide getting the operation from our parents, which had led to the complications. And after that, I blamed the church for putting so much value on a woman’s reproductive capabilities in the first place.

I might go to mass, but I didn’t exactly agree with everything I heard there.

That was doubly-true given my insider knowledge of the system.

“I wouldn’t tell anyone what happened, especially with that douche Thomas.” Algernon’s face screwed up in a rare fit of anger. “He was a complete jacka-er hole, blaming you for the condom breaking, and saying the whole thing should be your responsibility. Chicken-crap, too. I told him he should apologize to you and he never showed up at the house, even!”

My eyes widened and I almost choked on my own spit, coughing to clear it from my airway.

“Ardie...” My sister was staring at me, her eyes narrow and her humor forgotten. “What did you do?”

“Nothing?” I asked, taking my turn in the lineup to study the very interesting foliage around us.

What rustic architecture!

“Arden.” Adelaide ordered. “Fess up or I'll tell Mom you fainted on the walk back and we had to carry you home.”

I hissed and flinched as if struck. “Bitch! Low blow!”

Adelaide was unmoved, and Algernon was curious – and slightly disapproving of my language.

“Okay, so Jason might have showed up a couple of days after Algie got into that fight,” I confessed. “Mom and Dad were out for groceries and Algie was running practice with the team, even if he wasn't on it yet, like he used to do. Remember?”

My older brother colored slightly in the face. He'd gone through a pretty strong wannabe phase before he made the team, trying to bulk up and flexing in front of the mirror to try and increase visible muscle definition.

“I remember, yeah,” Addie nodded.

“He wanted to talk to you, but you were still locked in your room.” I paused, thinking about how to spin what had happened next as my face heated up again. “You remember that super-creepy Children of the Corn act I used to do for Halloween?”

Her face blanked to surprise, her lips twitching as Algie's face showed nothing except malicious delight.

“You didn't.” She stated blankly and, at my continued refusal to meet her eyes, she sighed and drooped. “You did. You totally did.”

“Bet he didn't even know the Fundamentally Funny Words to get you laughing,” Algie grinned, and I twitched. “That always broke you out of it.”

“Please don't,” I nearly begged, trying to brace myself.

Proving that Lincoln had come by his puckishness honestly, Algie grinned and replied with deep gravitas a single word. “Djibouti.”

I grimaced. “Algie... please.”

“Okay, stop,” Addie held up her hands, then looked at me. “Was that all you did?”

Back to the trees! “Uh... I might have had a fascinating discussion on the properties of nitrogen fertilizers and their... explosive capabilities?”

Algie snorted and Addie facepalmed again.

While she was distracted groaning in exasperated amusement, my brother and I bumped fists with a nod.

“Okay, know what?” Addie suddenly asked, sitting back up and looking at both of us innocently sitting there and not having congratulated each other just a second earlier. “You're both my adorable little brothers and I love you. Now please rip that ticket and change the subject so I can ignore the impulse to hug you.”

Algie and I snorted, but I shrugged and held up the ticket again, tearing it in two.

Once again, neither of them gave any indication that they could hear the great gacha machine in the sky working.

A capsule in my hand, I debated warning them to get ready for anything, but decided we'd had enough drama already.

I blinked as a small blue and gold ring fell into my palm.

“A ring?” Algie asked, surprised. “What's it do?”

I held up the small paper blurb and read it aloud. “Bellowing Dragoncrest Ring. It's a rare item. Hmm... A special ring granted to only the most accomplished sorcerers at the Vinheim Dragon School. The ring is engraved with an everlasting dragon and boost the strength of magic cast by its wearer.”

359. Bellowing Dragoncrest Ring (3.6 Rarity, 0.44% odds)

-Rare Item-

Dark Souls - A special ring granted to only the most accomplished sorcerers at the Vinheim Dragon School. The ring is engraved with an everlasting dragon and boosts the strength of magic cast by its wearer.

“Magic isn't-” Adelaide began, then snapped her mouth shut.

I raised an eyebrow at her. She narrowed hers at me.

“Can you... do magic?” Algernon asked awkwardly, visibly uncomfortable.

“Nope!” I replied, popping the 'P' as I put it on and watched the metal resize to fit my finger before I focused on my inner fire and manifested a flame. “Looks like a meta-human trait like pyromancy doesn't count, either. It doesn't feel more powerful or easier to summon flames. Well, at least it has a cool carving of a dragon on it. Neat.”

I could be upset, but I was choosing the high road.

I'd played a stupid game with my dog and gotten a stupid prize that I couldn't effectively use.

Oh, I was sure that one day the ring would be an enormous boon, but much like Non-Binding Clause, I had zero use for it right now. Before I could ruminate further on my mixed luck, Algie spoke up.

“I was expecting something... I don't know... more impressive?” He asked, slightly disappointed.

I blinked, then perked up and smirked.

“Well, I guess we could go down to the river and I could show off my pyromancy, or...” I stood and clasped my hands together. They weren't really a 'cursed technique' in the here and now, and I didn't have cursed energy to summon them with, but any self-respecting anime fan knew that when you blasted a kamehameha, you did the pose.

So when you summoned a shikigami, you made the hand sign.

“Divine Dogs!” I shouted out, and felt my shadow bubble behind me as it split and two large canines emerged from their depths.

“Whoa!” Algie cried, standing up and beginning to approach as Addie stared wide-eyed. “You can get dogs? That's so cool!”

The only correct response.

I grinned, reaching out and giving rubs and scratches to the white and black dogs. “They're special dogs. Creatures called shikigami, kind of like a wizard's pet familiar. They can hide in my shadow when they're not out and about. They don't need food or water, but still like treats, and they're skilled trackers.”

“Okay, that's... actually really cool, squirt,” Addie nodded begrudgingly, stepping up to pet the puppers cautiously, then more firmly as they failed to snap or bite at her.

“What are their names?” Algie asked, petting the white one until his eyes rolled up and he showed his belly for more attention. “Just like normal dogs...”

I frowned, hesitating. “I hadn't... hmm, how about-”

Pointing at the black dog, I announced, “Yin,” and he perked up.

“Yang,” I stated, switching to the white one, now on the ground, who merely huffed in acknowledgment.

“Yin and Yang, real original, genius,” Addie said, grinning a bit sardonically.

“Basic isn't bad,” I shrugged, reaching down to give the dogs some of my own attention.

All in all, it was a good day.

~~~

So, I'm still working on the chapter of Where Your God Is. I will definitely have it out this month. Committing to that.

It's just been long enough that I need to reread some chapters, give my notes a thorough skim, and retread some research to get an idea of how to write the next scene.

Anyway! To tide you over, here's another chapter of Butler Boy.

I'll be working on more Mind Games over the weekend.

Hope everyone's had a good week so far, TGIF.

Thank you again for your patience and support.