Chapter 67: 63. Family and Evolution (II)

“What the fuck?” Jay spat into the toilet until he got out every bit of his minced-up organs. He flushed the toilet and took an offered towel from his mom to wipe the blood from his mouth.

“Sorry, Master, had to do some remodeling,” Kleo said, her voice filling the bathroom with an otherworldly strangeness that was part monstrous, part alien, and part something else. It was a temporary voice change, quickly returning to normal. “But look! I’ve evolved!”

Jay stood wobbly to his feet. He regarded Kleo’s naked form with wonder, searching for anything different. There seemed to be nothing changed. Her flight ability came out the same as only two gravity thruster wings. Her doll-like size hadn’t changed. None of her looks seemed any different. Still a deep shade of black with purple hair speckled with white dots. Her lack of changes reflected Jay’s experience with his rank up.

Looking past the physical, Jay felt that Kleo's energy pattern seemed slightly altered. Like she could exude her magic more. It probably had something to do with magic channels or super wizard stuff that went into understanding magic's makeup and how it worked deep down. It might explain the weird pulsating feeling in his chest, too. And the glow of purple light that appeared and disappeared.

“Hm, my home is more to my liking,” Kleo said with a smile. “It’ll be more useful that way, I’m sure.”

“I’m sure it will,” Jay said. “Let’s look at the notifications next.”

Congrats! You’ve evolved Teeny Faerie (Creepy Kleo) to Rank 2! Your experiences from Rank 1 shape your rank-up gains! You’ve acquired +1 Resilience, +2 Poise, +1 Strength, +2 Agility, +2 Perception, +1 Intellect, +1 Conviction, +2 Discovery.

New Talent acquired! [Mana Power Cycle (Familiar)]

Congrats! Teeny Faerie leveled up to 11! +1 Perception, +1 Discovery.

New Skill Acquired! [Gravity Mastery (Familiar), Level 1]!

Some experiences from certain noteworthy and incredible encounters from peak Rank 1 have rolled over into your new rank!

Congrats! Teeny Faerie leveled up to 12! +1 Poise, +1 Agility.

Congrats! Teeny Faerie leveled up to 13! +1 Perception, +1 Discovery.

“Whoop!” Kleo cheered, sitting on Jay’s shoulder now as they reviewed the rank-up notifications.

It was funny how so much could be gained despite fighting Systemless humans. Jay hadn’t gained as much–only two levels–but he was so far above in power compared to the assassins that the System weighed things differently for him. He probably gained more from finishing the encounter than actually killing the assassins. The assassins were globally major, after all. Maybe his actions had a huge worldwide effect?

That was boosted significantly for Kleo, who got to have her cake and eat it, too. She was Jay’s super supportive familiar but could also level up, rank up, and gain Skills on her own. The System weighed things heavily in her favor against the assassins for being weaker. And if that was the culmination of their gains, that would be sweet. 

But the [Mana Power Cycle] Talent and new Skill made their gains even sweeter.

"Any idea what the new Talent could do?" Jay asked. They couldn't [Identify] it. They had to wait on the update from YoAnna to get the details on Talents and Titles.

Kleo hummed, the air wavering around her with purple gravity magic. "It feels like it'll let me charge up a power. For more impact. More effect. I'll have to concentrate. But it'll hit big if I get that opportunity."

"Nice. That'll make for a good boss-killing move." Jay turned his attention to the new Skill. That required an in-depth look. Jay was damn sure it was probably one of the most needed Skills yet.

[Gravity Mastery (Familiar), Level 1]: This passive Skill improves Gravity powers or any power that touches on Gravity's nature for both the Faerie and Master. The improvements include efficiency, power, range, mana cost, and scaling. These improvements work better with both Master and Faerie together. The improvements are significantly reduced for the Master when separated from Kleo. Leveling up grants slight increases in mastery improvements.

“Master, I don’t have the words,” Kleo said, sounding breathless.

“This Skill is everything, Kleo,” Jay said in awe.

“Can you read it out for me?” his mom asked.

Kleo did so for her. Jay’s mom leaned against the sink in thought. “Powers, huh? Not Skills, but powers. Which includes anything with a touch of gravity.”

“Does that mean anything to you, Mom?” Jay asked.

“Dunno. I just started learning yesterday,” she said. “Whatever’s got my brain tickled, you’ll figure it out on your own.”

“At the very least, this is going to help so much with mana cost,” Jay said, feeling beside himself.

Too many times had he got gassed out in the mana department or had to worry about it. Mana crystals were really good as quick fixes, but the time limits on them were concerning when in long and engaging fights. Jay had enough experience now to understand he was a heavy Skill and magic abuser. He was unlike a [Mage], who was damaging from afar and could select their shots or maneuvers with care. Because Jay’s developing style pushed his Skills at a constant rate. He cycled through various Skill combinations while burning through mana at a fast pace.

Kleo helped mitigate that with her [Orbital Mastery] Skill.

[Orbital Mastery (Familiar), Level 10]: You and Kleo can passively or actively orbit each other or allies, places, and things you gravitate toward personally. Variable mana costs range from tiny to high. While Kleo is orbiting you, all gravity Skills have a small mana reduction base. When Kleo is orbiting an ally, all of their Magic Skills have a similar mana cost reduction base. Whenever Kleo uses her Master’s Gravity Skills while orbiting her Master, the mana cost reduction is boosted considerably for her alone. While you’re using this Skill, all mana cost reductions are removed, and the mana costs increase slightly. Leveling this Skill improves your orbital control and slightly increases the mana reduction bonuses with Kleo.

The mana reduction wasn’t significant enough in this Skill to lend a huge help against the assassins last night. Jay had to turn to another Skill to kill those bastards.

But [Orbital Mastery] would soon become worthwhile once it leveled further during Kleo’s Rank 2 growth. Combine together [Orbital Mastery] and [Gravity Mastery] when grown to their peak at Rank 2, and Jay and Kleo were looking at extended fights where they could combo efficiently. They would only need a few short breaks in-between and fewer uses of mana crystals. Add peak level [Manasinger], and Jay was good for the long haul, able to recover and skirmish repeatedly.

All of which came from Kleo, his familiar.

And that wasn’t considering how Jay could help other Champions with mana issues. Or how this shrank Jay’s need for Mike’s [Mana Hype]. Jay's friend could use that Skill on someone else needing more mana–Frank and his [Weapon Conflagration]–which would improve team optimization.

Jay’s 30 Intellect was firing at all cylinders with the possibilities.

Jay grabbed Kleo gently and kissed the top of her head. She responded in bubbly giggles, enjoying his affection enough to ignore his ashtray smell. He hugged her to his chest and soaked in this momentous occasion.

“Kleo,” Jay called.

“Yes, Master?”

“You have no idea how precious you are.”

Kleo burst into more giggles. “Praise me more, Master, praise me more!”

“Can I praise you, too?” Mom asked.

Kleo agreed, of course, and got a heap of praise from her adopted momma and chosen master.

***

Jay showered, ate, and got ready for school. At this point, he might make it in the nick of time. But he wasn’t worried about that. He wanted to spend as much time around his mom and familiar as much as possible.

They were all that he had as a family at this point. Having suffered through Kleo’s quasi-death and his mom’s near execution made Jay feel how precious and scary life could be sometimes. His smiles were smaller. His silliness felt drawn back. He was mostly in the background as Mom and Kleo laughed and joked over Wendy’s and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Images of his destroyed house would come up in his mind, but Jay kept that from letting it affect him again. Not here. He smiled like a Luckrun should and enjoyed the moment until it was time to go.

He could feel the pull of Chance. The narrative needed him to play his role. To hopefully spark the start of a more peaceful and curious couple of weeks. He was a star performer of the narrative, a character of such uniqueness he couldn’t hope to turn them away. Or he would face huge consequences.

“You must go, Master,” Kleo said softly. “I can feel it. The want of destiny.”

Every now and then, Kleo would speak in a manner that was weird and fantastical. Exuding that strangeness of being a [Faerie]. It was hard not to take these moments seriously.

Jay hesitated.

“It’s pulling at ya,” Mom said, her eyes closed. She circled her finger around the rim of her glass of OJ. Hers had a little rum. Less than normal, but it was best they cut back on alcohol until she was back on even footing again.

“Is your Title telling you?” Jay asked.

“Tell? No.” His mom smiled. “It races out words. It dashes across the paper. It makes me like a page flipping in the wind, a pair of feet running from one point of the story to the other. And that story needs you, Jay.”

For a brief moment, Jay thought about doing the opposite. Staying in the motel and ignoring the story–the school arc. He could have fun here with his family.

But the school arc wasn’t just for him. It was for the Champions. They needed him. And that responsibility weighed on his shoulders. It felt heavy for some reason.

“Time for another performance." Jay cricked his neck as he prepared to get back into character–back to being Rooftop Weirdo.

He gave Mom and Kleo parting hugs. His familiar would stay to ensure Jhara was safe. It would give Jay time to feel out the next couple of days before inviting Kleo to school.

Then he left the motel room, dressed in a different gas station hoodie, joggers, and slippers with socks. It got cold inside of school, sometimes. Though, his 25 Resilience might not care for that anymore. It could probably regulate temperatures for Jay way better than the Resilience of a Systemless human.

A CWG girl waited for him outside. She was pretty and the youngest CWG agent he’d seen so far. She was also afraid of him. She had the ditzy blond thing going for her. Someone must’ve thought it was better to toss the cute rookie at Jay instead of risking their experienced agents.

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“Um, hello. I’ll be escorting you to school. If you need anything from me or the CWG, just let me know,” she said nervously. Then in a smaller voice, she said, “Please don’t kill me.”

Jay winced.

The Champions might not be the nicest kids around, but they were supposed to be heroes. Emily going off the deep end might reverberate further than predicted. And it was scary how that slipped by Jay’s gravity awareness.

“I can’t account for everything,” Jay mumbled.

“Uh, what’s that?” asked the CWG girl.

Although, she wasn’t really a girl. She was a grown woman with a girlish attitude.

Jay looked her over again, making her even more nervous.

“Wanna be a CWG buddy?” he asked.

“Oh, yes, please!” She said excitedly. “I’m–”

“No name just yet,” Jay said. “You’re dubbed Buddy One until you make a few more appearances. This should keep you alive until you're more important.”

“Oh, o-okay.”

They entered her sedan with him taking the passenger seat next to her. He imagined the rear seat would make her more nervous.

For most of the ride, Jay sat in silence and remunerated (30 Intellect coming out with the big words). He thought back to his destroyed home, the World Knife’s purposeful attacks to deteriorate the Champions’ mental health, and his mom and familiar staying in the motel room without him.

He thought about YoAnna.

How was she fairing with the absorption of the cores? Would she come out okay? What would be the change after?

“Gotta wait and see,” Jay said.

“What’s that?” Buddy One asked.

“Just me speaking to myself like a lunatic,” Jay said with a smile.

“Oh, okay, well, we have psychiatrists that could help with that,” she offered.

Jay broke into [Freakish] laughter. His outburst sent tiny gravity ripples around the car. His right eye shone bright purple.

 That spooked the CWG woman. She swerved in and out of opposing traffic. They barely slipped past a semi-truck that would’ve folded her nondescript sedan. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the wheel as if her life depended on it.

“I’m so sorry, please forgive me,” she said.

“Relax, Buddy One. I’m not a crazy villain out to punish mooks for every mistake,” he said. “As long as you don’t turn me into one.”

“I promise I won’t!” she said frantically.

Jay grinned.

Why was terrorizing her so fun? The urge to play around as a [Freak] rather than as Rooftop Weirdo was growing.

Jay figured he should stop before he awakened a new side of himself. The best way he could divert his attention was to look over his profile until he arrived at school.

 

Name: Jay Luckrun, Rank 2 Class: [Lesser Freak, Level 21] Race: Inhuman Allegiance: Multiverse Protectorate Pantheon. Affinity: Gravity Familiar: Creepy Kleo, Rank 2 Type: [Teeny Faerie, Level 13] Statuses: Health [540/540 HP] Stamina [650/650 SP] Mana [1036/1150 MP] Chance [x6/x10 CM] Attributes: [338 Applied AP]; 26 Resilience, 28 Poise, 21 Strength, 44 Agility, 85 Perception, 30 Intellect, 50 Conviction, 54 Discovery; [2 Free AP]. J Skills: [Moonwalker, Level 17]; [Dance Floor Relativity, Level 17]; [Grav Kick, Level 14]; [One Heavy Step, Level 15]; [Horizondancer (Super), Level 13]; [Sling Assist, Level 9]; [Cloak of Freakish Relativity (Freak), Level 7]; [Weighted Touch, Level 3]. K Skills: [Orbital Mastery (Familiar), Level 15]; [Gravity Grasp (Familiar), Level 7]; [Graviton Wall (Familiar), Level 7]; [Judging Finger That Cuts Divinity (Faerie), Level 1]; [Faerie’s Voice (Faerie), Level 3]; [Gravity Mastery (Familiar), Level 1]. Talents: [Identify], [Guiding Light], [Obscurification], [Monkey Boon], [Faerie Master], [Status Channels], [Eye of Venerated Madness], [Mana Weaver (Familiar)], [Appetite for Divinity (Familiar)], [Mana Power Cycle (Familiar)]. Titles: [YoAnna’s Champion of Challenge and Change], [Omen Bearer of the Apocalypse], [Precursor of the System], [Challenger of the Divine], [Slayer of Assassins], [Slayer of Tyranny (Familiar)], [Successor of the Dungeon (Familiar)], [Punisher of the Divine (Familiar)]. …

 

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