A True Rhombic Comes in Time

7

I stared at the screens in front of me. More specifically, I focused on the center one.

[Leah Nowey]

Level 1

Power 21 [Offense: 10] [Defense: 11]

Skill: Unknown

Dammit....

The reading was exactly the same as what was on my Display.

My heart sank for the third time today. The disappointment I felt was impossible to describe. I wanted to scream and curse at the world, and at the same time, I wanted to crawl into my bed and cry.

So it was official; I was only a fraction of a Rhombic. Could I even be considered a Rhombic at all at this point?

Sofia had always encouraged me to see the world with more of a glass-half-full outlook. She would always say that there were kids in much worse situations. She insisted that we should be thankful for what we had.

Think positively, and things will work out in the end, and blah blah blah.

The way her brain worked sometimes made me wonder if we were related at all.

Although I teased my older sister for sounding like one of those cliché motivational speakers, I still made an effort to listen to her. Because I loved Sofia and wanted to believe her, I tried hard everyday not to dwell on the tragedy that was my life.

But now, it seemed that Sofia had finally been proven wrong. Life had done it again. Perhaps I should have felt the satisfaction of being right, because I have always known that the world wasn't a fair place.

But surprise to no one, all I felt was aching disappointment. And because Sofia didn't even know that I became a Rhombic, I wasn't even going to get my "I told you so" moment.

"Are you okay?" Virpal asked in a concerned voice. Her calmness, which helped me feel better earlier, was no use now.

I was surprised that my voice sounded normal when I replied, "Is... is there something you can do to help me? Maybe some kind of special potions or weapons..."

I know she didn't mean to, but the kind CIO stomped on the last bit of my hope as she shook her head.

She answered, "No, unfortunately not. You're right that there are some magic potions and weapons that can help you get stronger. But none of them can make you level up. They certainly can't increase your Power value, because... Well, frankly, no Rhombic had ever needed to get their Power value up. Like I said before, everyone always had a full 100."

An awkward silence between us. Even the machines and computers in the room were unusually quiet as if they recognized what a grim situation this was for me.

I waited for the CIO to say something else, perhaps come up with a genius idea, but Virpal only continued to look at me with concern.

Was she going to tell me again that I should quit? I wasn't saying that this wasn't what might end up happening anyway, but I still wasn't ready.

So before Virpal could change her mind about making me quit, I broke the silence.

"I need some time to think. Thank you so much for your help today, and..."

I hesitated before asking, "...Could you please keep this to yourself? I know that RAC probably would want to ban me from entering the Door, and I know it's for my own safety, but..."

Even if I ended up no longer being a Rhombic, I needed it to happen on my own terms. I wasn't trying to "stick it to the man" or anything. Not that it made any difference, but I wanted to be the one that makes the choice to stop. I didn't want the decision to be forced on me.