Eliona's War 2: Veiled Healer

Chapter 78

When Jack spoke again, his voice was calm and quiet. "You should leave that clan. They're dangerous, and they'll drag you down with them."

"No." Severance shook his head.

He looked sideways at Jack. The tank had a frown firmly etched into his face like it'd been engraved there. That bothered Severance a little, because while he still reeled under the revelation that Jack knew, he wanted the tank to see things from his perspective. He wanted to Jack to understand.

"One of them died protecting me," Severance told him. "There's so few of them already, and yet he didn't even hesitate. He left behind a son, who's almost the same age as me. He gave me a stupid nickname and I hate it, but he's okay. He's teaching me how to fight better."

Jack looked grim. "You won't leave them, then."

"No. And..." Severance hesitated, then admitted, "I can't. Like you said, I have several Gifts. They're powerful enough that if I left and lost them, I'd probably die. For real."

The tank sat very still. He didn't say a word.

"That's why I feel things now," Severance added. The lack of response made him uncomfortable. "It was pretty realistic before, but now I can't tell the difference. It's just like being on Earth, except I'm a lot taller and in way better shape."

Still, Jack said nothing. He stared stonily out at the world like a brooding statue.

"It makes dungeons tougher," Severance went on. "But it's fine. Being a healer helps a lot. As long as-"

"Enough," Jack said.

Severance shut up. Now the tank was glaring at him again. Great.

"I'd tell you to stay away from dungeons altogether, but you're not going to do that either, are you?" The accusation in that tone was sharp enough to cut.

Feeling almost embarrassed, Severance shook his head. "Can't. I have to reach level 50 as soon as I can."

"Do you now." It wasn't a question.

"There's this special dungeon," Severance said before he could stop himself. "It's important that I get to it first."

He cringed inwardly, because he knew his clan wouldn't be happy about him spilling the beans. But he couldn't help it. The words just kept coming out.

"Why?"

"Clan stuff," Severance hedged. "Either way, I can't let the other clans get it first."

Jack ran a hand through his hair, the movement sudden and sharp. "All right then." He tilted his head to fix Severance with a cold stare. "If you want to be a fool, then so be it."

Who asked for your opinion? It wasn't like he needed permission to do dungeons. It wouldn't even effect Jack Coyote anyway.

Severance had trouble understanding what was going through the tank's head. That was further compounded when he got a sudden system message.

Jack Coyote has sent you a friend request. Would you like to accept?

Severance stared at it. This didn't make sense. Wasn't Jack mad at him?

"Why?"

"Accept it," Jack commanded. "And next time you want to run a dungeon, message me."

Severance slowly turned his head, giving Jack a baffled stare. Nope, this still wasn't making sense. "Why?"

Jack looked annoyed. "I've seen enough soldiers self-destruct. I don't want to see it again. You want to keep doing this, you're going to need a shield."