Aster Loka
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Chapter 97 (v2)
🕑 Added 2022-03-21 15:13:56 +0000 UTC[Heya! Aster here. Today's chapter is a bit out of order, as this morning I realized there should be a bit more shown of the Levi/Irene discussion before we move on to the next arc, so here it is. I trust you can forgive. I might like to further expand 98-99 as well, but haven't decided if that's a thing to do now or later.
To those reading this later who are confused by the posting dates, this chapter was written after 100, and inserted into the timeline between 96 and 97v1 at that time. 97 onwards have been renamed accordingly.]
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Levi woke some time before Irene, but for once he felt no urge to leave and go find another dungeon. He lay behind her, one arm draped over her shoulder, watching her blankets moving steadily up and down with her breathing.
He could have stayed here forever. Warm, content, united.
But he could not stop time from moving on. The sun steadily rose, light in brilliant cracks slowly moving across the bed, the room brightening, and Irene stirred awake. He’d almost forgotten the tiny sounds of discontentment she’d make, not quite a groan, not quite a squeak, as she squinted her eyes and put her hand out to block the sunlight. “Nope,” she said, rolling over firmly and burying her head in his chest. In a moment, she was asleep again, the sunlight moving across her back.
Levi lay still, looking down at the way her hair sprawled across the pillow, feeling the warm exhalation of each breath against his chest.
He didn’t count the minutes as the sun rose further, leaving their window alone and instead brightening the whole neighborhood.
Finally Irene let out one last sigh and blinked awake. She stared up at him, and he stared down at her.
“You’re going to be a problem,” she murmured.
“Am I?”
“You said your magic eats electricity. Right?”
“Mhmm…”
“But we need electricity.”
Levi laughed softly. “This is what you think about first thing in the morning?”
“I had a dream about driving you downtown but everything stopped working and you kept saying you’d fix it but everything you did only made it darker and darker until we couldn’t see anything at all. And I think Cas was dancing on the car? Like a tap dance. She was surprisingly good. I wish I could get a recording.” She stretched, reaching her feet out and lying back on her pillow before turning back to Levi. “I know it was just a dream, but have you ever thought about just how much we need electricity?”
“I’ve been in a world without it for so long, I hardly know what to do with it,” Levi admitted. “The higher you level, the less you rely on light to see. Even starlight was usually enough for me. While computers and internet are convenient, I don’t see how they’ll continue functioning much longer as the world changes, so why bother getting attached to them again?”
Irene looked at him with that look of quiet grief that he began to realize was her remembering that he’d been away for over a decade instead of two weeks. “Some of us are already used to them,” she said, after a pause. “Light and computers aren’t the only things. What about the stove, the fridge, the microwave? What about heating, and air conditioning? What about all our contacts?”
“I don’t know,” Levi admitted. “The first time, there wasn’t much in the way of normal life after the first invasion happened. I was… not paying attention to the world.”
“We need to pay attention this time. Even with all this monster and dungeon and apocalypse stuff. Do we need to find a new house with a deep cellar? Stock up on potatoes and grains? Preserved meats?”
“Once you level enough, you won’t need food any more.”
“Even so. What about the car? How will we get anywhere or do anything?”
“I can teach you to stamina-drag. It’s not hard once you get the hang of it, and past threshold three or four you should be able to run indefinitely.”
“That sounds like an incredible waste of time, running everywhere. Though it would probably be good for my figure.”
“Your figure is perfect the way it is.”
“Thanks, but that’s beside the point. If there’s going to be an invasion in October, we need to prepare. How will that affect Peter’s education? Will we need to homeschool? I don’t think I’m qualified to teach him everything he needs to know.”
“We’ll figure that out after we survive.”
She gave him a judgmental look. “If we’re going to need textbooks and there are going to be disruptions to supply chain, we should order them now. I know you like putting off decisions indefinitely but this isn’t something we can ignore until it goes away.”
“Alright. Go ahead and find a curriculum you like and order it. Get all the way through graduation. Though I don’t know how much use a lot of it will be.”
“We should get an encyclopedia set, and some supplementary science and vocational training books. Anything that’s currently accomplished with machines will need to be revamped, so we might need tools to do repairs to the house ourselves. Should we start a garden? I think we should start a garden.”
“You go ahead and buy whatever you think necessary. Whatever money we have now is going to lose its value pretty fast in the next year, so better to spend it than stash it away.”
“And I should get everyone to send me their mailing addresses, so we can at least send letters. It won’t be the same as phone or email, but it’s better than losing touch with everyone completely.” She sat up, abruptly. “We should put together a newsletter and mail it out to everyone we know. How to survive the coming apocalypse 101. We don’t want them caught off guard either.” She frowned. “I’ll need to figure out how to word things so they don’t assume I’ve gone crazy.”
Levi smiled up at her. “That’s an excellent idea. You should coordinate with Laurence, he’s been taking copious notes about everything.”
“And Cassandra. She’s been more obsessed with this stuff than I’ve ever seen her. You should have seen her after her first dungeon, she couldn’t get over it. I swear, she kept me up until about three in the morning gushing over how amazing all the monsters were.”
“I thought you seemed awfully unsurprised by this all, considering.”
“Mmmm, my life started going insane a week ago. It’s a relief having everything make sense again. Even if it is an insane sort of sense.”
“Have I ever mentioned how much I love you?”
“Once more couldn’t hurt.” She leaned over to kiss him again.
“I love you,” he whispered. “Truly, desperately, I love you.”
“How much are we going to tell the others?” Irene asked. “And how soon?”
“I already told Gordon basically everything, and now you. Laurence doesn’t know about the invasion, but he knows more about dungeons than I’ve told anyone else.
“What are you planning to tell Peter?”
“Everything he needs to know about dungeons and leveling to become a Tamer with his own army to protect him.”
“Can you go over the classes again? I don’t think I remember them all.”
“Fighter, Ranger, Mage, Medic, Tamer, and Scout are the six base classes. Have you decided…?”
She shook her head. “I’m going to wait until I actually see it all for myself. I have some ideas, but I need to talk to Cas too.”
“Fair enough.”
The sound of feet thumping down the stairs heralded the end of their quiet time together. Irene yawned and stood. “I should go get breakfast started, if Mom hasn’t already.” She leaned over her suitcase to pick out her clothing for the day.
Levi smiled as he watched her dress, transforming from the Irene that belonged only to him into the perfect mother and supportive daughter the rest of the world knew. “Is there anything I should do to help?”
She turned back, raising an eyebrow. “I’m sure there are dishes to be put away, if you’re offering.”
“I am.”
She laughed as she tucked in her shirt. “I think I like the new Levi.”
“It’s not like this is the first time I’ve helped with dishes.”
“No, but usually you had to be asked.”
“Did I? I don’t remember.”
“Get dressed. I’ll see you downstairs.”
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[Since this was written out of order, chapter 98 can be found here.]
