The problem with staying in a big, still as-of-yet unnamed city was that there were precious few spots that could be used to test out someone’s abilities or Skills. At the very least, though, they’d been able to take a look at Melanie’s Stats.
Which was why Melanie was currently leaning up against Carmine and crying into her shoulder like a baby. One look at her Stats sheet was all it took for Chase to figure out why.
Name: Melanie Vhaeries
Level: 4
Race: Ascended Human
Class: Necromancer
Subclass: Arch-Lich
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 13
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 16
Constitution: 15
Charisma: 12
Skills: Raise Lesser Undead (Level 10); Raise Greater Undead (Level 3); Unorthodox Weapon User (Level 8)
Spells: Touch of Death (Level 5); Gravesinger (Level 7); Armor of Bone (Level 3)
Traits: None
“I forgot that it scales!” Melanie wailed.
“What do you mean, it scales?!” Carmine demanded.
“It means my Level can’t surpass yours!” Melanie sniffled. “Rather than prevent me from being summoned in the first place, the System just yoinked my Levels and Skills! I just got fucked, and not in the good way!”
She buried her face in Carmine’s shoulder once more and continued to cry. Carmine, for her part, just stood there somewhat awkwardly, looking decidedly unimpressed.
“Well, then,” Chase offered. “I don't know how to feel about this. What about you, Carmine? How are you feeling?”
“Chase, there is a Lich sobbing uncontrollably into my shoulder right now,” Carmine growled. “How do you think I’m feeling?”
Chase raised his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright… no need to bite my head off, Miss Praying Mantis.” Carmine glared at him, and he turned his attention back towards Melanie. “Hey, Lich.”
It was no good, though – she simply continued to sob into Carmine’s shoulder. Chase’s brow furrowed, and he turned back to Carmine.
“Is there a way you can get her to stop?”
“I mean, if this works, it’s gonna be pretty obvious,” Carmine said. She cleared her throat. “Hey, Melanie. I order you to stop crying right now.”
In the blink of an eye, Melanie’s tears ended, and she peeled herself away from Carmine’s shoulder. She gave a few more sniffles before wiping her nose with the sleeve of her robe, but then stood up as straight as she could.
“S-sorry…” she said. “It’s just… I was Level 25 before now… I’ve heard about the System playing dirty tricks on people before, but that’s one of the dirtiest ones I’ve ever experienced…”
“I’m starting to get the impression that the System is a rotten bastard,” Chase stated.
“Many people have said that before, yes.” Melanie sucked in a deep breath. “Again, I’m sorry…”
Carmine let out a tired sigh, then pinched the bridge of her nose. “Just… listen, alright?’
“Okay.”
“Good. I think it’s safe to say that nobody here is exactly happy about this situation, but it doesn’t look like there’s any way out of it for any of us. So we’re stuck together for the time being.”
“I’m not,” Chase pointed out. “I could leave whenever I want.”
“You won’t, though,” Carmine said.
“Why not?”
“Because then I’ll tell everyone about your night terrors. Not the regular ones we both have, but the other ones, the ones you don’t think I know about.”
Chase paused, his eyes widening. “You wouldn’t.”
Carmine just gave him a smug grin in response. Chase stared at her for a moment before his eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Okay, I need to defend myself here,” he said. “Those geese were downright vicious, you hear me? And it happened when I was like four years old. No wonder it still gives me nightmares to this day.”
“That doesn’t mean it isn’t funny.”
“One of these days, I will find out your greatest fear, and I am going to absolutely lord it over you,” Chase threatened. “You will rue the day you found out about my geese-induced night terrors, woman. This, I swear.”
“That may be, but until that day actually comes, I’m going to keep laughing at you.”
Melanie suddenly shifted, fidgeting as she did so. “Um… are you two both normally like this?’
“No, not normally,” Chase told her. “There’s usually a very drunk man in his fifties accompanying us. But we’ve both decided we don’t like him very much, so we’ve decided to temporarily emancipate ourselves from him, and possibly permanently emancipate ourselves from him. Jury’s still out on that one, though.”
“Not for me,” Carmine said.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“So, if that’s the case… what were you two planning to do, exactly?” Melanie asked. “I mean, there must be a reason why you chose to summon a familiar.”
“Truthfully, we were just trying to see if the spell worked yet or not,” Chase said. “You were a byproduct of our experimentation. An accident, if you will.”
“Bet you’ve heard that one before, haven’t you?” Carmine asked him.
Chase rolled his eyes. “Oh, piss off, I set that one up for you.”
“Not on purpose, you didn’t.”
“Keep laughing, Carmine. We’ll see if you’re still laughing later tonight.”
“And why is that?” Carmine asked.
“I’m not telling.”
“No, you can’t make a comment like that to a lady and not expect her to demand you explain yourself.”
“I’ve said it before, but-”
“I’m no lady, right.” Carmine rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I have my own pet Arch-Lich and you don’t. Step the wrong way and I’ll have her do something unsavory to you.”
“Like what?”
“Like…” Carmine paused, then turned towards Melanie. “...What can you do, anyway?”
Melanie shrugged. “Standard Lich things. Raise a bunch of weak undead, raise a couple strong undead, cause people’s flesh to rot away with a touch or drain their life force with a Spell. Oh, and I’m also quite handy with my scythe, too. I used to be capable of more powerful feats, obviously, but new management seems to have changed that.”
“Sounds impressive.”
Melanie let out a tired sigh. “If only… But whatever the case may be, I’m here now, and there’s not really a good way to change that. So might as well make the most of it.”
“Says the girl who just cried over losing her Levels,” Chase pointed out.
“Oh, piss off, you would, too.”
“Alright, admittedly, I’m starting to like her,” Carmine said.
“Yeah, yeah…” Chase muttered. A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he looked back to the two of them in surprise. “Wait, this means we have an extra mouth to feed now, doesn’t it? And she’s a mage, too. How are we going to afford that?”
Carmine blinked, then looked over to Melanie. “I command you to not starve.”
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way,” Melanie informed her. “Even your commands cannot counteract nature taking its course.”
“Damn, and I was really hopeful there for a moment…” Carmine brought a hand up to her chin in thought. “Well, shit, I guess this means we’re all going to have to find work somehow.”
“Maybe we should go look for Leon, then,” Chase suggested. “He’s never had any problems finding us work before.”
“How about no?” Carmine said. “I still don’t want to even be in the same room as him right now, and I’m sure you feel the same.”
“Alright, yeah, you’re right about that…” Chase admitted. “Still, that begs the question – where are we going to get enough money to feed a group of three on short notice?”
Silence fell over the three of them before Melanie gave a long, exaggerated sigh.
“Well, I hate to do this, but I suppose it must be done,” she said. “I volunteer.”
Carmine and Chase exchanged a glance with each other. “...Volunteer for what?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I’ll sell my body for money.”
They both blinked in tandem as they stared at her. Slowly, a lecherous grin worked its way across Melanie’s face as she drew her robe around herself.
“Why, I can just imagine it now…” she muttered, her face flushing red. “All those people, ravaging me like animals, desperate for release… heh, heh…”
“Chase, I’ve changed my mind,” Carmine announced. “I don’t like her anymore. In fact, I want to return her and get a refund.”
“I don’t think it works that way,” Chase said. “But if it’s any consolation, my feelings are exactly the same right now.” He shook his head. “Look, Melanie, there’s no reason for you to sell yourself like that.”
Melanie turned towards him in shock. “There isn’t?”
“No.”
“...Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Really sure?”
“My familiar is not selling herself on the streets just so we can afford food,” Carmine said tiredly. “Get your mind out of the gutter, already. You’re weirding me out.”
A crestfallen look crossed over Melanie’s face, but she nodded nonetheless. “Fine…”
“Of course, now we’re back to square one,” Chase stated. “I guess the question now is… where are we going to find someone desperate enough to hire two young teenagers and an unrepentant pervert on short notice?”
“Good question,” Carmine replied.
Melanie thought for a moment. “Um… I guess we could always do a Dungeon crawl for money.”
“That seems like a bad idea when we’re all on the verge of starving, but sure.”
“Oh, stop being so dramatic, Carmine,” Chase told her. “You are not on the verge of starving. It’s been like a day since you last ate.”
“I am a mage,” Carmine pointed out. “A day for you might as well be a week for me.”
“I don’t think that’s how that works.”
“Well, what would you know about it? You’re not a mage.”
“Still, Melanie has a point,” Chase admitted. “A Dungeon crawl would probably be a good move, despite our group’s obvious hunger – we’d be able to grab some loot and sell it, as well as test what Melanie is actually capable of at the same time. I honestly don’t see a reason not to do it.”
Carmine brought a hand up to her chin in thought. “Well… I suppose it has been a while since our last one of these…”
“So, you’re in?”
“I guess,” she acquiesced. “Not like I have anything better to do.”
“I mean, as far as I can tell, it’s this or working a regular job-”
“Yeah, fuck that,” Carmine declared. “I’d sooner get my hand bitten off by a Mimic again than sit behind a desk or something.”
“Nobody said anything about a desk job,” Chase pointed out. “We could always become couriers or something.”
“That’s the last thing I need – to be hunted down or killed for a message I’m sending or a package I’m trying to deliver, and all for shit pay, at that.” Carmine shook her head. “If I’m putting myself in mortal danger for money, I’d prefer to at least be the master of my own life while I do it, rather than work on someone else’s whims.”
“Then it’s agreed,” Chase surmised. “Dungeon crawl?”
Both women nodded, and he pursed his lips. “Okay, we’ve figured that one out. Next question is… where do we find the nearest Dungeon?”
“You mean you don’t know?” Melanie asked.
Chase shook his head. “We’re new in town, remember?”
“We don’t know shit,” Carmine added.
Melanie hesitated. “Well… I suppose we could always ask around and see who can point us in the right direction…”
“Oh, you mean shake people down for information?” Chase questioned.
“Not exactly-”
“I think that’s a great idea,” he declared. “Come on, I saw a seedy bar not far from here. I’m sure that place is ripe with information.”
“Why does it have to be a seedy-”
Unfortunately for Melanie, she never got to finish her sentence before Chase took Carmine by the hand and began to lead her out of the hotel room and down onto the streets below. Melanie watched the two of them as they went, then let out a tired sigh and chased after them.
XXX
Name: Chase Ironheart
Level: 4
Race: Human
Class: Warrior
Subclass: Swordmaster
Strength: 19
Dexterity: 15
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 13
Constitution: 17
Charisma: 16
Skills: Master Swordsmanship (Level 10); Booby Trap Mastery (Level 8); Archery (Level 4)
Spells: Rush (Level 7); Muscle (Level 4); Stone Flesh (Level 6); Defying The Odds (Level 1)
Traits: Blessed
Name: Carmine Nolastname
Level: 4
Race: Greater Demon
Class: Arcane Witch
Subclass: Archmage
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 13
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 18
Constitution: 12
Charisma: 8
Skills: Master Spellcasting (Level 10); Summon Familiar (Level 10)
Spells: Magic Dart (Level 7); Magic Scattershot (Level 5); Fire Magic (Level 5)
Traits: Blessed
Name: Melanie Vhaeries
Level: 4
Race: Ascended Human
Class: Necromancer
Subclass: Arch-Lich
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 13
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 16
Constitution: 15
Charisma: 12
Skills: Raise Lesser Undead (Level 10); Raise Greater Undead (Level 3); Unorthodox Weapon User (Level 8)
Spells: Touch of Death (Level 5); Gravesinger (Level 7); Armor of Bone (Level 3)
Traits: None
