Eliona's War 1: Hesitant Healer

Chapter 44

When Severance entered Olen's office, he found the smaller man poring over a long scroll filled with what looked like crazy person scribbles. It was entirely unintelligible, at least to Severance's eyes.

Olen looked up. "Severance. Come in."

It was a little late, since Severance was already in the man's office, but he sat himself down in the weird, low-backed chair anyway.

"Hi," he said.

Olen carefully rolled up the scroll and set it aside. He gave Severance his full attention, appearing very much like a professor listening to his student. "How can I help you?"

Severance hesitated. He knew he was supposed to keep Olen informed of what he was doing, but it still felt weird.

"Well," he began, "I got a bunch more vitality like you said. And now I have to advance my class. Augustine said I should find my own way, but how can I when the options are so vague?"

"I see."

Do you? Severance somehow doubted it. He wasn't even sure why he was asking Olen about this. How would a game person know what he was talking about? Sadly, there wasn't anyone else he could ask. Awesome Dude still hadn't come online. And Uncle Fenn was still away on his trip.

Severance curled his hands in his lap. How much longer was Fenn going to be gone? There were so many things going on now. What if he made the wrong choice? What if he messed everything up? Without Fenn, it felt like he was bumbling about in the dark.

"I will congratulate you for working hard," Olen said. "I know Outsiders have incredible potential, but seeing how much you've improved in such a short time is quite impressive."

The praise was entirely unexpected. Severance didn't know how to respond to that. Should he say thank you? Was that the polite thing to do? No one ever told him he'd done a good job or that he was impressive. It left a weird feeling in his chest.

"I also see that you gained the favor of the Valkyries." Olen's gaze dropped to Severance's wrist, where the corded bracelet lay. His lips thinned just a fraction before relaxing into a pleasant smile.

Severance also looked at the bracelet. He'd forgotten he even had it on. "Yeah, they gave it to me after I fought the Chosen."

"I see. In light of your efforts, I do have something for you. But before I pass it on, let's address your second question regarding your class advancement. Tell me about your options."

Relieved that Olen was willing to help, Severance quickly read out the text on the window.

"It says I can choose either a Moon Scribe, which 'becomes a shield to protect their allies', or a Battle Dancer, which 'becomes a force of nature and fights alongside their allies.' That's all it says."

Olen steepled his fingers. "Isn't that enough?"

"What do you mean?"

"That should tell you all you need to know." When Severance just furrowed his brow in confusion, Olen elaborated. "It's all in the description. Do you wish to protect, or do you want to fight? Do you want to shield, or do you want to become something more? Which one appeals to you?"

"But the last one doesn't even sound like a healer."

"It's still an extension of the class you have now. That means it'll have healing capability."

Well, that made sense. But something about this was strange. Were these things that game people normally knew about?

"How do you know that?" he asked.