What Will Be | Book 2 | Chapter 32

Author's Note: Thank you all for the continued support. It means the world to me.

Author's Note: Thank you all for the continued support. It means the world to me. When there are two System windows here on Patreon one after the other, I will separate them with a -- in place of the blue box visible on other formats. Enjoy!

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Pain was not a stranger to me, but that did not mean I was one to welcome it with open arms. Ever present was the temptation to push against the sensation with Perseverance, and while I had practiced the technique with some success, I was reluctant to grow dependent on it. I could not always depend on having the mana to spare, and so the maiming of my arm was felt in its entirety… until Doctor Lou could tend to me which, blessedly, was not long. 

Apart from the pack laden with travelling supplies, the good doctor had been carrying around a case loaded with the tools of his trade, a pack that he wasted no time pouring through when he slammed it down beside me. 

“Fool boy. Idiot. Moron,” he muttered. 

“What the fuck, Will?!” It was Eva who called out, having initially rushed past me to survey for any threats we may have missed. Evidently she found none.  

“You should see the other guy,” I managed to choke out only to transition into a renewed hiss of agony when Doctor Lou unwound my cloak. I’d had the presence of mind to keep Perseverance focused on keeping my bleeding in check, but barely, and the fabric peeling back from my damaged flesh was all kinds of unpleasant.  

“Will. Mana. How much?” Doctor Lou was in the process of unwrapping a paste I recognized from some of my earlier treatments, some antiseptic-numbing-concoction. Over the years, I’d revealed my ability to keep my bleeding under control on more than one occasion. 

“Plenty. Perseverance broke through.” I could sense the awaiting System notification. 

“Good. Wonderful. Grand. I can take my time without worrying if you will die of blood loss.”  

It was hard to focus on the words around me given the intense emotions I felt coming through Fudge’s end of the Tamer Bond. I’d prepared Fudge for the day as best I could, building off our work with Durability to make him understand that my imminent injury was acceptable; if Fudge used Quantum Manipulation to negate the exchange it would have been a setback. 

My efforts were successful. Fudge restrained himself. It didn’t mean he had to like it, though. Waves of concern slammed into me. Fear. Guilt. Wariness of everyone present. I knew at that moment that he was fully prepared to turn on anyone who might have threatened my safety, years of familiarity be damned. 

It’s okay, boy, I’ll be fine. My reassurances could only do so much, but I could tell they were helping all the same. 

“This might sting a bit,” Doctor Lou warned me, brandishing a needle that had been coated in the medicinal paste. Pix and Eva were saying something to one another, but I didn't catch enough to make sense of it. 

I nodded and, without further fanfare, Doctor Lou started stitching up my wounds. Contrary to his words, I barely felt any new discomfort at all, but with a Core Skill like Precision [Sewing] that was to be expected. Patching people up was Doctor Lou’s specialty, and within moments I felt the anesthetic qualities of the paste he was using start to spread through my arm. Relief came, and it was oh so blissful.

Just call me Pink Floyd, I sighed internally. 

-0-0-0-0-0-

“Consider yourself lucky. Fortuitous. Blessed. Your arm is broken in two places, but the bone is not shattered.” Doctor Lou hadn’t shared the entirety of his build with me, and I couldn't help but wonder what Skill he used to determine my condition. Something like Diagnosing would have probably worked, but given his Core Skill the synergy would have been awful.  

“Am I good to start using Recovery?” 

“You are.” Coupled with the lingering effects of Doctor Lou’s Skill, most of my flesh wounds would be fine within a couple of days, even the through-and-through caused by a particularly long spike. I finally took a long moment to inspect my arm. The stitches were immaculate and impossibly tight, My arm was bound in a splint. I knew anecdotally that modern medicine, as I remembered it, could stitch blood vessels together, but I also had no idea how Doctor Lou managed it beyond ‘mana and Skills’. 

On some level, that lack of understanding irked me, but it was easy to reconcile when I considered how much technology or how many services I took advantage of, in both my lives, without fully understanding how they were possible. 

Better to just be thankful there are magical doctors and leave it at that. 

“I take it that means treatment is done for now, doctor?” It was Pix who asked. She had sent Eva to scout out our surroundings while I was getting worked on. 

“It is.” Fudge, who was laying protectively next to me, chose that moment to lean forward and give Doctor Lou an appreciative nudge with nose. 

“Good. Will, are you in need of immediate rest?” 

“I am not, Recovery and Perseverance are keeping me going.” I suspected I knew what was coming, so better to get it over with quickly. 

“Understood.” Pix planned her spear into the earth and crouched down in front of me, so that we could see eye-to-eye. It was a kind gesture, given that she could have just as easily told me to stand after I admitted I was capable of doing so. “I want clarification. When you requested practical experience to push your Core Skill past the bottleneck did you-” 

“Yes, I always intended to let myself take a severe injury as the catalyst for my breakthrough. I omitted that detail intentionally.” There was no point denying it, not after the display with my cloak. I didn’t want to delay my Advancement any longer than I had to, and ultimately decided that the full extent of my plan might result in it being denied. 

Pix’s features pinched in irritation. 

“I see. I will include that in my report.”

I nodded in agreement. 

“Understood. You definitely should do that.” 

“No words to defend your actions, recruit? 

“Sure. I believed taking big risks now, while in the presence of experienced Slayers and a doctor, would better position me to fulfill my duties in the future.” 

“Crippling yourself after-” Pix cut herself off and took an exasperated breath. “Understood, recruit. I will include that statement in my report. It will be up to the Captain to decide your punishment when we return. As for the remainder of this outing, your input is no longer necessary. Follow instructions and recuperate. Am I clear?” 

“Crystal.” I offered Pix a smile but didn’t receive one in return before she left me to my devices. “Thanks again, Lou.” The doctor in question was still kneeling by my side, cleaning his needles with a jar of what smelled like strong alcohol. 

“You are welcome, Will.” He looked like he was going to say something else, but hesitated, his lips forming a tight line.  

“What is it?” 

“I do what I do to help people who hurt themselves; who injure themselves; who wound themselves. I was paid to be here, but even so, I do not appreciate being misled. Do not ask me to do this again.” When he placed the closed jar back into its spot, he frowned and took it out again. He repeated the action twice more before he was satisfied. 

“I am sorry about that,” I admitted. In truth, I did feel guilty for the deception, but Advancing to the Second Tier would make it all worth it. “I just… I could not wait.” 

“I get that impression from you often.” Doctor Lou wore a long, brown coat laden with pockets. Had it been white, it might have even resembled a lab coat if a person squinted hard enough. He fished around one of its pockets and withdrew a handful of dried berries, balancing them on his palm and offering it to me. “Want a sweet?” 

“Yeah. Thanks.” I’d lost a bit of blood. Recovery would be enough to handle it, but the sugar would do me well all the same. I popped the fruit into my mouth and luxuriated in the tart sweetness with a smack of my lips. There was a time I might have hesitated to eat pocket fruit, but it had long since occurred to me that Recovery would help me handle any of the minor issues that such questionable choices could cause, so I indulged. Doctor Lou followed suit. 

“Why is someone as young as you in such a rush?” 

I took a long moment to consider the question. Doctor Lou had never taken much interest in my personal life before. 

“Is it okay if I keep that to myself?” 

“It is.” He nodded. “It is enough that you seem to have a reason.” Idly, I wondered why I hadn’t given him the same excuse I gave Eva. Guilt. Probably. 

“Thanks…” The conversation sort of trailed off, after that. Before long Eva returned, but after a hushed exchange with Pix she didn’t come and berate me like I thought she would. That same, subdued mood covered the rest of the trip. 

We started making our way back to Dorbe after camping out for a night. Pix and Eva split watch duty. They did not ask me to participate. On the second day, we stumbled upon a rare mushroom that seemed to brighten Doctor Lou’s mood, somewhat. It was late afternoon when we made it back to Dorbe. 

-0-0-0-0-0-  

Perseverance has gained sufficient recognized proficiency for Advancement.

Please proceed to Skill Augmentation selection for Perseverance

–

Perseverance Level 20/20

Advancement Bonuses

• Tier 1: Skill is more effective during periods of emotional turmoil.

Unlock Condition: Perseverance was used to overcome the negative effects of an acute stress response.

• Tier 2: Skill is more effective when enduring bodily harm.

Unlock Condition: Perseverance was used to counteract the debilitating effects of severe injury. 

Skill Augmentations (2/4)

Distraction (Minor):

The effects of Perseverance will be marginally more effective when endeavoring to focus on a single task.

Learning (Minor):

The effects of Perseverance will be marginally more effective while endeavoring to learn something.

Please choose 2 from the following Skill Augmentations.

• Distraction (Moderate)

• Learning (Moderate) 

• Physical Exertion (Minor)

• Skills (Minor)

I was sitting in my bedroom, having been instructed to wait there while Pix gave her report. With little else to do, I opened up the System notification I knew was waiting for me. I was satisfied with the Advancement bonus, since I anticipated more inevitable injuries in my future. The offered Augmentations gave me pause. Advancing Taming [Fudge] had been somewhat of an outlier, given the alterations to the Skill, but I now had evidence to suggest that, at least in my case, I would be offered four choices each time a Skill Advanced. A quick flex of thought brought up the expanded list. 

Distraction (Moderate):

The effects of Perseverance will be more effective when endeavoring to focus on a single task.

Learning (Moderate):

The effects of Perseverance will be more effective while endeavoring to learn something.

Physical Exertion (Minor)

The effects of Perseverance will be marginally more effective during periods of physical exertion.

Skills (Minor)

The effects of Perseverance will be marginally more effective when used to supplement other Skills. 

I noted the qualitative change to the upgraded versions of my existing Augmentations, and the description for ‘Physical Exertion’ remained the same. It was the newest offering that garnered my attention, though.  

Well, I am definitely choosing that one. 

One of the benefits of having Perseverance as my Core Skill was its potential to chain with every Skill in my Build. I couldn’t not capitalize on that. That left my second choice, for which I was torn. When I first chose the ‘Distraction’ and ‘Learning’ augmentations, part of me still worried I would fall into old habits and lack the ability to maintain the routines necessary to push myself.  

I no longer had those concerns. If anything, my recent endeavours made me think that picking up ‘Physical Exertion’ would be a wise choice; I could build wide instead of tall for a Skill that I used for all manner of things. There was only one thing holding me back. If I was only ever limited to four categories of Augmentation, I’d be sealing off any future options. 

I clicked my tongue. 

‘What do you think, boy?” Fudge was at the foot of my bed, content to rest after the journey. He raised his head to look at me before slowly setting it back down. “Helpful as always.” 

Fuck it. 

You have selected the Physical Exertion (Minor) Skill Augmentation for Perseverance.

You have selected the Skills (Minor) Skill Augmentation for Perseverance.

I used Perseverance to help me exercise almost every day. If there was any kind of weighted system that determined what options I was given, then ‘Physical Exertion’ would be there every time. No sense in dragging it out. Almost immediately after I made my choice, a System window I hadn’t seen in close to a decade made itself known. 

All Skills have gained sufficient recognized proficiency for Advancement.

Commence Advancement?

I was almost certain I had a chewing out waiting for me in Engel’s office, one I could delay if I pushed ahead with my Advancement. I’d been growing increasingly annoyed with the rules and regulations I had to navigate, so the prospect of sidestepping them for as long as possible was an attractive one. 

“See you on the other side, boy.” I leaned forward to pat Fudge’s side. “Commence Advancement.”