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What Will Be | Chapter 40
🕑 Added 2024-04-30 17:30:01 +0000 UTCAuthor's Note: We are back! I am so very excited to begin posting again. The time off was well spent and while we still haven't found a new place, I have done everything I need to in order to make the process of moving as smooth as possible when we finally get the green light. A huge thank you to all of my supporters! I hope you continue to enjoy joining Will on his journey!
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“Would society be better if we catered people’s Builds for them based on the needs of the community in accordance with the potential aptitude for a role as determined by their Core Skill? It is a loaded question, and one I have seen many people contemplate and argue, both for and against. As for me, I have always preferred to be the unhelpful thinker who dares answer a question with another question: better for who?”
~Unknown
‘Eventually’ is a dangerous word. It promises an ambiguous future, devoid of deadlines and desire, where ambition is burned upon the pyre of uncertainty. Zetta’s fiancé, Lou, was late. The marital march to collect his guests should have concluded within that first month. We were approaching the end of the second.
Had my evocation of ‘eventually’ been responsible? No. That would be ludicrous, and Lou’s crossing of the continent could have hit any number of setbacks. Wedding plans were a tangled knot and not even Skills could unravel that mess. There are greater forces at play when it comes to such things; strange, mysterious forces that transcend worlds just to fuck with people.
I had no proof of such things, of course, but until I reincarnated I had no evidence of that phenomenon, either. Besides, having a nebulous other to blame made it easier to vent the second-hand anxiety I felt radiating off of Tina as she worried on behalf of her best friend. There was an unspoken agreement that no one would speculate about worst-case scenarios, and I was doing my best not to dwell on some of the disasters that could have befallen a traveling caravan.
***
We’d just finished our lesson for the day. I say we, but Tina was so distracted that I decided I wanted to continue without her after she hastily wrapped things up. Her left hand drummed a fluttering beat on the side of her thigh as I watched her retreating form. Vigil was, as always, glued to her heels. He’d had increasingly less patience for Fudge’s puppy antics over the last few weeks, a symptom of his Bond with Tina.
When one of them was on edge, so was the other.
Fudge - for lack of a better word - flomped down beside me to rest his head in my lap. The sudden addition of weight rocked me backwards and I had to stick an arm out to brace myself. I felt the soft grass cushion my efforts. There was a lushness to it that persisted even in the warmer months. It was something I’d noticed with much of the local flora; while there were seasonal differences, they were neither as stark nor - seemingly - necessary compared to what I was used t-
That turn of phrase is feeling increasingly less appropriate, I noted sadly as I idly ran my free hand through Fudge’s fur. He’d need a brush soon, and a bath. Even that casual observation served to reiterate that I was ‘used to’ my current life, strangeness and all. No doubt, there were still wonders for me to see and experience, but I’d well and truly settled into my little slice of the world.
I pulled gently on my Skills as a pang of sadness threatened to overwhelm me. The soft radiance of Recovery reminded me that it was okay to hurt.
One day at a time, I reminded myself. A small gust of wind flung my hair around my face, forcing me to scoop the offending locks out of my mouth. Fudge yawned and grumbled at my efforts.
“Pardon me for not choking on my hair,” I said sarcastically to the affectionate goofball while he voiced his complaints. Having the audacity to cease pats was, in Fudge’s eyes, a notable offense.
I took a deep breath and sent a pulse of mana down the Tamer Bond, like a bat screeching in the darkness to get a better sense of things. Not the most elegant imagery, but my efforts were hardly elegant either. It was a mere moment before the pulse returned, carrying with it a sense of Fudge that I was growing increasingly more adept at deciphering.
Content.
It wasn’t a word, but a feeling, one that accompanied an enthusiastic nuzzle into my stomach. Despite recent distractions, Tina’s tutelage continued to be a boon. My earliest efforts at discerning Fudge’s emotional state were akin to shoving my arm into a cauldron of soup and trying to taste through my fingertips. In the broadest possible sense, I had the right idea but completely and utterly failed when it came to execution.
It still took a modicum of focus, but I was now able to reliably get a read on Fudge’s mood. As for Tina, she maintained a general awareness of Vigil in the same way I remembered to breathe; it just kind of happened. The benefits of experience were myriad, and her example was a good indication of where my efforts were leading.
I’d long since grown beyond compulsively checking my Skill progress every chance I had, but I still made a point to do so at least once a day. It was another example of the kind of sensible restraint that used to feel impossible for me in the days before Perseverance. Ever since my Advancement, inconsequential adjustments to my routine fell into place with barely any consideration. The similarities between that and Tina’s casual uses of Taming were not lost on me.
Perseverance Level 10/20
Current proficiency points: 287/1000
Recovery Level 4/10
Current proficiency points: 53/200
Taming [Dog] Level 5/10
Current proficiency points: 186/500
Progress. You love to see it.
It would still be a long while before Fudge and I could accomplish something even remotely comparable to the capabilities Vigil and Tina demonstrated against the fueha, but every day took us one step closer. Even with the looming… not threat - that would be inaccurate - the looming prospect of Crown intervention, I had a surplus of time to work towards it, and I intended to make the most of it.
“It all comes back to the bond,” I whispered, echoing what I had come to consider as Tina’s educational catchphrase. For what were no doubt sensible reasons, Tina hadn’t even begun to teach me the techniques necessary to draw on Fudge’s strength, and I was under strict instructions not to attempt it myself.
Having seen first-hand how the endeavor could impact even an experienced Tamer, I had no intentions of disobeying. The Tamer Bond was the foundation for everything, though. I sent another practiced pulse of mana down the magical connection. Fudge’s limited System window opened up beside my own, answering the call almost immediately.
Dog Level 7/10
Fudge was, inevitably, going to reach their Skill bottleneck before me. Not that it was ever in any doubt with a Core Skill like ‘Dog’ being innate to his species. Fudge could sniff a stump, take a nap, and still earn more proficiency points than I would in an afternoon of focused effort. I was beginning to understand how my Core Skill might inspire similar envy in others.
Even though Fudge would beat me to that first barrier, barring exceptional circumstances he would stagnate there like most animals did.
“You will have to wait for me to catch up, Fudge,” I said sweetly, savoring the small break I was allowing us before getting back to work. Unlike with Perseverance, I wouldn’t need to flounder for a way through the first bottleneck of Taming [Dog]. When the moment came, Tina would coach me through a tried and true method.
Technically, I had the option to try and forge my own path, but in this case it would be like spitefully scaling the side of a skyscraper with my bare hands instead of walking inside to use the elevator. The act of guiding Fudge through his first Advancement using our bond would be beneficial to both of us and give me greater influence over his growth in the future. Those were all things I wanted, so I saw no reason to seek an alternate approach.
There was only one problem.
What do I want Fudge to be? If I was going to guide his Advancement, doing so without an idea of what I wanted would be doing him a disservice. I closed my eyes and lay back on the grass to mull over the problem. Fudge took the opportunity to reposition, as well. The pair of us lay side-by-side, warmed by the sunlight and cooled by the breeze.
A friend. A companion. That went without saying and was a function of the Tamer Bond more than anything. Unless I wanted Fudge making friends with everyone - a feat I suspected he could accomplish regardless - then it would be a poor direction to develop his Skills.
A protector. A guardian. It’s what motivated me to take the Skill to begin with, after all. Coaching Fudge in the development of Skills to take down threats and keep both of us alive would be necessary. By all accounts, that should have been the end of my initial deliberations.
It wasn’t. A question had been nagging at me, one I’d given increasing attention to over the last several weeks. Tina once told me that Fudge would grow into who I needed him to be. Lionel told me that developing my Skills to achieve my goals was possible, or at the very least he hinted at it. Maybe. With Lionel, it was hard to tell.
Could Fudge help me get back to Earth?
Technically, there was still some ambiguity regarding the nature of where I was, but for the sake of organizing my thoughts I decided to take the plunge and consider my current location an entirely different world. There was my Earth, and there was here, hence the question.
It would have been fine if my musings consistently failed to find purchase. Even if Fudge could help, without any idea of where to begin, it would have been moot. I did have an idea though, one inspired by an animal who could theoretically interact with reality on a quantum level if you stretched your understanding far enough.
Perception. Observation. Relativity. My grasp of the concepts was flimsy, but maybe it would be enough. The hard part would be convincing The System we’d earned it.
“Come on Fudge, break time is over,” I said definitively. With a small grunt, I sat all the way up and used the momentum to transition into a forward roll before springing to my feet.
Nailed it, I thought cheerfully. Fudge similarly scrambled off the ground and enthusiastically wagged his tail at the announcement. I had a poorly thought out list of ideas to work through and there was no better time than the present. Worst case, our efforts wouldn’t be recognized and I’d try to get Fudge a more standard Build.
Until then, it was time for operation ‘Schrödinger's Dog’.
Comments
Hangwind
I was assuming a Hound of Tindalos.
Hammy
Welcome back. I am SOOO excited to see this story come back. I agree with Ahppy feels like you are going to Blink Dog which is pretty awesome.
Ahppy
I hope Fudge becomes a blink dog. At least that’s what I think the story is hinting towards.
