John aimed his two extended fingers at a point left of the wall he stood several metres away from. He pulled his thumb back, as if he was cocking the hammer of the revolver. “Bang.” He allowed himself the childish behaviour of vocalizing the shot, as he loosened a pair of Blast Rays from his middle and index finger.

The parallel projectiles of arcane energy met with a pair Jack had shot from a position further away, practically behind the wall. Four metres were between the upper and the lower projectiles colliding with their aimed partner. Melding Rays caused the colliding pairs to fuse and continue their joined paths at an angle between that of the two.

“Ping! Ping!” it echoed softly, as two tin cans were shot off the platforms they stood on. Although, after the arcane energies had blasted giant holes into their sides, their status as ‘cans’ was rather dubious. As trash, they hit the ground.

“Your aim is incredible,” Lorelei complimented.

“It’s pretty ridiculous,” John agreed. The steadiness of his hands alone was beyond what humans should be capable of. Coordinating the perfect level for two shots at different intersections and heights was mental gymnastics more fit for a math problem than applied warfare. Using Melding Rays with his own ten fingers was fundamentally difficult enough. Supporting it with his Extension only made it harder. “Luckily I got a talent for these overcomplicated things,” he confessed. “Hasn’t served me much before I got these powers, but I got it.”

“With your endowment, I find it difficult to imagine anything you would struggle with,” the seer said and jumped off the wall Gnome had left for her to sit on.

It was only the two of them right now. The rest of the harem still enjoyed their leisure time elsewhere. When John had promised some time spent in circumstances undistracted by eroticisms, he had imagined in the evening. Lorelei appeared content with watching him go through the Class challenges though.

“If you promise me that you won’t tell William about it, I can tell you my weakness,” John said with a disarming smile. He didn’t want this to sound like he was testing her loyalties. If he hadn’t known that Lorelei could peer right at his intention, he might not have made the comment at all. Lorelei was still a member of the Order, a pivotal one at that. Her talents made her more important than her current position. Looking at it rationally, the House of Exceptionals had expanded so much since its conception, when they had struggled to find members, that they could now have several seats that were filled only in name.

Lorelei walked over where the destroyed cans had been left and picked one of them up. “Lord Brighton will not hear what he does not need to know,” the seer gave him a non-definitive promise. “The honoured Warden, however, in her capacity as our next leader, will hear whatever may be useful.”

The Gamer laughed. “You know, it is refreshing dealing with people that will just outright tell you how they could worm their way out of an agreement.”

“The Order of the Golden Rose has always adhered to simplicity and honesty in its statements,” Lorelei answered, always the sincere woman. That this sincere woman was nakedly walking with him out in the unpopulated plain, with only the sun as their companion, was a welcome change. “It is how we have cultivated respect with the honourable guilds around us.”

‘And why you never managed to ascend to a proper power yourself,’ John thought. Thoroughly honest actors had a habit of getting rolled over on the political stage. Before he figured out how he could put that in a sentence that sounded nice enough, he was distracted by the unwelcome presence of red in his field of view. It was just a tiny bit, little more than a drop, but enough to make him walk forwards. “Let me see that,” he said.

Lorelei put the can on the stone elevation it had been shot off and showed John her hand. Blood was trickling down from a cut she had received from the edge of the blasted metal. “A mere scratch, honoured Gamer, you need not-“

“John,” he insisted, while opening the Guild Bank. Tapping through the various categories, he soon found what he needed and pulled it out. A healing potion lay in his hand when he pulled it out of the interdimensional storage. “If you need to use an honorific, I’m a lot more comfortable with Master, but if we’re just hanging out, my name is better.”

“You must not waste such a valuable item on me.” Lorelei ignored what he had just said and pulled her hand back. “Undine can fix it when we next convene. A scratch can be endured.”

“These are free,” John responded, shaking the vial. “The Guild Hall automatically produces them as long as materials are provided. Now drink it.” He practically shoved it in her hand. These potions were practically useless to him. They only healed about a hundred HP and, unlike the protagonist in Elder Scroll games, John could not consume a hundred of them in an instant to make that amount something worthwhile. Higher grade health potions did exist. Creating them was too much of a money sink to be worth it though.

Lorelei still seemed hesitant. Whether she simply gave in or if she saw his unhappiness at the single drop of blood that fell off her cut thumb, he didn’t know. Fact was that she pulled off the cork sealing the vial. “Thank you, John,” she said, before drinking the contents in a slow and graceful fashion. The bleeding stopped. He handed her one of the steamed towels he, and everyone else who had an inventory in the harem, almost always carried with him. They were simply too convenient to forego when it came to cleaning up various bodily fluids. Blood was very rarely among them.

“Physical activity,” John revealed, after Lorelei had cleaned her hand. “I’m pretty bad with physical activity. I trained a day to master all of these angle shots that came naturally to me. When it came to figuring out martial arts and such, it took me a while. I struggle, relatively speaking, with picking things up that require me to do something with my body.” He gave her a wry smile. “Relatively speaking being the important bit.”

“It appears to me your greater weakness is those that you hold dear,” the seer pointed out.

“I like to believe that’s a weakness not specific to me, but to every decent person,” the Gamer responded. “Although I do react quite intensely if one of you is harmed, yeah.”

“A man who does not defend his woman will never be respected,” Lorelei responded and took hold of his hand. “It is only natural that you, who has managed to attract a great many of us, embody male virtues more extremely than most.”

“Not sure I would attach gender to those virtues. Moira seems plenty capable of defending what she holds dear,” John pointed out.

“The honoured Warden is exceptional.”

“I suppose so,” the Gamer dropped that point in favour of them preparing the next course. The Class Challenge was to hit targets in certain configurations. Often Gaia provided a special Instant Dungeon just for these Challenges. In the case of the angled shots, all they were provided with were schematics.

Since this was only the second level of the Silver Arcanist Class, the Challenges were done within a moderate amount of time. Most of them were aimed at testing his aptitude with Arcana Ray, which he had already polished through field practice. After only one hour of grinding, about half of which was spent setting up the courses, he reached the Perk.

Those were interesting choices and John could see himself going for all three of these. Unload was pretty cheap for what it did and, especially when used with an Unstable Arcana, could have devastating effects. On its own, Unstable Arcana pulsed every 0,5 seconds. Casting the spell with Arcane Ascension, the Attribute of Purgatory, created an Unstable Arcana for five times John’s maximum MP. That was about 140’000 mana, for a total of 700 pulses over 350 seconds. Few fights would remain in one area for six minutes, especially if the person being hit was bombarded not only by energy waves but also Mana Chains (as John still liked to call them, since Chains of Babylon was a bit awkward to use in a sentence).

Doubling the rate of damage pulses not only ensured that there was more damage done while they were inside the area, it also made sure that they would remain there longer thanks to the doubled rate of chains. The only drawback of this whole thing was that it cost John a lot of mana or a vital cooldown to set up and, if it missed, that was a giant sunk cost.

Recharge was just good. Arc Lance could be held indefinitely, so if he used it at the start of a fight, he had 15% bonus MP regeneration. It was a good idea to have a conjured Arc Lance at all times anyway, because they grew stronger the longer they were held (up to a cap). Having an emergency spell at the ready was never a bad idea and this reimbursed him for the cost in the meantime. If he juggled it correctly, each Arc Lance cast could be a net positive, mana wise.

At first glance, the third option seemed the weakest. Second and third glance only furthered that impression. A platform to shoot his Arc Lance from wasn’t needed whatsoever. What John was interested in was where the Perk could go from there. Also, the perpetual damage memes had done to his brain urged him to be united with the Companion Cube.

“May I ask what you are contemplating?” Lorelei asked. Since she wasn’t in his Harem Party yet, she couldn’t see his windows directly.

John gave her a quick breakdown and then summarised it, “Really, I’m just pondering the Companion Cube.”

“I could be of assistance,” Lorelei suggested.

“You shouldn’t divine a Perk.”

“It costs me nothing,” the seer turned his earlier logic back against him, “and I may not succeed. The Lady’s grace has its limits and some parts of the future are best explored through action, rather than thought.”

The Gamer hesitated. She wasn’t entirely accurate when she said it cost her nothing. At some point her second sight would wane. They hadn’t fully established yet if there was a connection between over usage and the speed at which the divination powers declined, yet it was better to be cautious. Lorelei checking on boss mechanics was fine with him, because it was a rare instance. Her checking on every Perk he cared about would mount much quicker.

“May I at least attempt it to make certain whether I could?” Lorelei asked. “Information is key. Is it not so… John?” She only added his name after a bit of hesitation. She was getting more used to it, ever so slowly.

Although John’s problem still remained, he did give a slow nod. If it turned out that she couldn’t foresee the future of a Perk, then this whole conundrum just dissipated. Lorelei cuddled up to him. She only needed his hand, not full body, skin-to-skin contact. What man would have denied a hug from a beauty such as her, however?

“I see… nothing,” Lorelei revealed. She sounded disappointed; he was relieved. Not having to decide between efficiency and potentially contributing to Lorelei’s future blindness was a load off his mind. “You are chosen by the Lady,” the seer pouted, resting her forehead on his shoulder. “You are the purple and golden man, who I love deeply. I wish to be of use to you.”

“You don’t need to be useful in all aspects of my life,” John assured her, running his fingers through her silky, if mildly unkempt, hair. “Your powers are an incredible utility. Using them modestly may be appropriate. As you said, some things are better explored through action than thought.” He kissed the top of her head. “Besides, you can be useful without them.”

“My body will be eternally yours to use.”

John chuckled and shook his head. “I love to hear that, but that’s not what I mean. I love you, Lorelei, not just for what you look like and certainly not for what you are capable of. You’re adorable, soft-spoken, and you think about your words. You have more than your gifts, you have your character.” Gently, he pushed her away from his chest, so he could take hold of her cheek instead. “Don’t divine my future. Advise me. What do you think I should pick?”

“You are chosen, I’m certain that-“

“Bad girl,” John chided her and playfully slapped her cheek. “If I trusted my intuition on its own, I wouldn’t ask. I want your input, Lorelei. Not as seer and chosen, but as lover and beloved. What we are now is different from what we were when we met.”

Lorelei stood there for a little bit longer, sorting her thoughts. After John had brushed her hair behind her ears, she said, “I agree with what you said. Unload and Recharge are enticing. The former seems like the superior choice to me. Yet, the Companion Cube does intrigue. Perhaps it could be used for other spells later? An additional angle to cast your Arcana Rays from certainly would increase the difficulty enemies would have in predicting the attack. If the Lady so blesses you, it could turn into a second Extension of kinds.”

“Which would be practically invaluable,” John agreed. “So, you advise me to take Companion Cube?”

“I advise that I agree with your wisdom, John.” Lorelei smiled. “May I make a single demand?”

“You can make a great many demands.” The assurance fell on submissive ears; he doubted she would ever demand anything outright. She was too agreeable to ever ask to be given something without asking for permission to ask in the first place. “I’m your man. It’s my duty to make you happy.”

“Would you kiss me?” the seer asked. Bowing down, he showed her how ridiculous that question was. Their lips found each other in blissful unity. It lasted for a few seconds, then he pulled back. Lorelei giggled like only women in love could. “Thank you, John.”

“Kisses are free,” the Gamer joked and confirmed the Companion Cube choice. The object manifested in front of him. Particles of mana rose from his skin and consolidated into a perfect cube, about the size of a baseball. Because it was made from his mana, the cube was of a shimmering silver. Once finished, it hovered over to behind his right shoulder. The Gamer was aware of its position, just like he was aware of the position of his hands when he couldn’t see them. He dismissed it, then resummoned it, and experimentally shot an Arc Lance from it. All behaved as expected. “We should gather the others,” John said, out of excuses to delay any further.