Eliona's War 1: Hesitant Healer

Chapter 56

Eliona was quickly proving to be the best distraction. For four hours, it was almost possible to forget the ugly reality, and as long as he avoided thinking about certain things, he could almost pretend that nothing had happened and that everything was okay.

For four hours, it was going to be a good day. That was what he had decided.

Severance strode through Two Bridges with his head up and a determination to not think about anything but the game. His hands casually rested in his coat pockets. With every step he could feel the swish-swish of his new coat brushing against his legs.

Olen's a great guy, he thought.

When he'd logged in, Olen had immediately approached him. It was like the man had been waiting for his arrival, because Severance had barely time to orient himself before Olen had appeared in front of him.

It was slightly creepy, but Severance wasn't going to complain. Not when Olen had come bearing gifts. The Veiled man hadn't said a thing about what happened yesterday either, something which Severance was immensely grateful for. He only gave a small, but warm, smile and offered a brand new coat.

Although it was the same design as before, the coat was made with a different material. Instead of a breathable fabric, it was made of a slick leather. When Severance saw it, he'd been mildly amused because he wondered if this was on purpose. Leather like this could be hosed off after hanging out with The Brain in the Chosen Den. It would make cleaning it actually possible, unlike his previous coat.

He wandered to a quiet area just off the beaten path. A bench sat between two flowering bushes, while a vine-covered lattice rose behind it. It was a pretty little alcove, perfect for thinking or resting. Two Bridges had tons of these little alcoves.

Once he settled on the bench, he called up his System menu. For a while, he eyeballed his attributes curiously. He'd gained a whole level just from hunting arachnai with Maun. That was only to be expected, but he'd actually expected to get more Intelligence than he did, since he was slinging around Ionize the whole time.

Current Level: 25

WIS - 22

INT - 23

VIT - 22

AGI - 13

STR - 2

FOR - 2

It really seemed like leveling was getting harder the higher he got. He leaned forward, rubbing his chin. Was that just how it was? Or was there another trick to it that he wasn't getting? Like with Agility, he was able to gain a new point faster by doing somersaults than by simply running.

Maybe Intelligence and Vitality were the same, though he didn't have any idea of how else someone could go about improving the skills. He'd have to ask Awesome Dude yet again. Or the Chat, though the few times Severance did look at that, it hadn't been exactly useful.

Someone screamed close by, jolting him from the bench and onto his feet before he even registered moving. What on earth-?

A quick swipe of the fingers closed the window, and then he stepped out of the alcove. The road appeared empty when he looked both ways, and there was no sign of the Valkyrie guards.

Severance walked further out onto the road, wondering if he should go towards the direction of the scream, or run the other way. The second option seemed a lot smarter. Safer. In fact, he rather liked that idea. What reason did he have to go get involved in things that were none of his business?

Yeah, he shook his head in bemusement. Only a sheer idiot would go charging right into danger.

A person in gray skidded around a corner and rammed right into Severance, knocking him aside.