Auntie toasts the VRMMORPG

2.52 Bonus-Material (as an Atonement for all the Thorn Cannons)

Bonus-Scene: Eddie's Rear End Skill

Shiny Frenemy to Flowing Flowers: "Mind if I lean my back against yours?"

Flowing Flowers to Shiny Frenemy: "Good idea! Maybe I can even take a nap with my back supported. Albeit, I'm currently working on my Magical Perception, so I don't know whether I can control my snooping range to exclude you."

At the same time, Flora received Eddie's "I don't mind, love." she felt his back on hers.

Then she sensed a huge amount of energy leaving Eddie's buttocks... and it didn't stop.

First, Flora wanted to ask her friend what he was doing, but she didn't want to disturb his channeling.

"Aidan, do you know which skill Eddie is using? Don't tell me; I want to guess."

"Yes, Milady. The combat log lists all spells of the party."

"Great, let's play Hot or Cold. I'll make a conjecture, and you'll say how close to the truth it is via the temperature." Flora wanted to clear her mind of any ridiculous thoughts, so she said: "Eddie is channeling Mega Fart!"

"Hot, Milady."

"Really?" Flora laughed. "Ha, on the right track with the first try! I hope it doesn't stink." At the moment, Flora only smelt burned hair and fabric.

"You have guessed wrong, Milady. You are sitting in the fire, so my answer would always be 'Hot'. Maybe I have misunderstood the game?"

"Oh, dear." Flora laughed harder but tried not to shake too much. "Hot is pretty close to the truth. Warm means that the direction of the guess is right, while cold means it's off. You may use cool for in between. The game uses temperature as an indicator of how close my call is."

"That makes more sense, Milady. Cold."

Flora nodded and concentrated on the energy below Eddie's butt. The magic jittered between Eddie and the hotplate. "So it's nothing that purely affects the floor. It interacts with Eddie."

"Hot, Milady."

"Maybe he gets something from the flame rune-scheme?" Flora analyzed the energy, but it didn't seem to be elemental. She wouldn't even say that it was a spell.

"Cold, Milady."

Concentrating on the nature of the magic, Flora eliminated prayers and charms, as well.

"Is it a technique, an art, or a trick?" She listed the most likely candidates and narrowed it down with Aidan's feedback to a skill of the Trick branch. However, the knowledge didn't get her closer to the function of the skill. "I'd always knew he was a tricky bum, no wonder he has one!" Flora mumbled. "Maybe I should determine the area of expertise. That would narrow down the applications. Has it something to do with acting or the entertainment industry?"

"Cold, Milady."

"Sailing or pirates?"

"Hot, Milady."

"Swashbuckling tricky butt skills ... hmm. Okay, let's forget about the butt part. I can channel through multiple body parts, no matter the effect. Am I right in the assumption that the skill isn't usually channeled through the bottom?"

"Coolish, maybe luke-warm."

"Oh, I didn't expect that. Do people mainly channel it through their butt or feet?"

"Warm, Milady."

"So what use could a skill interacting between user and surface bring to a sailor or pirate?" Flora mused. "Water walking?"