Michelle and Nin continued their discussion with Nikki for a little longer. The woman had the sort of dry personality that Michelle privately would have expected from an assassin, even if it was hard to put a name to. In a way, she reminded Michelle more of Erik than anyone. He'd put up with a lot of shit without comment, and then gone berserk on the battlefield. The more shit he dealt with outside of the Dungeon, the harder he was to control inside. Jon had tended to be both the cause of and the solution to that.

  "Honestly, what might be best is for a bunch of people to meet up in a Run practice room to go over some shit, and make sure you have your bases covered," Nikki said, as they tried to figure out what to schedule for the future, without being able to get input from either Jenna or Reese. She nodded to Michelle. "There's things like adjusting your minion base stats and figuring out how you want them to progress, but there's also understanding how defense towers work. If you're letting Jenna play commander, she'll make do with whatever you have, but all defense towers are not made equal, especially for melee types. You noticed that your towers still started with ranged weapons despite your Take, right?"

  "Yeah. That felt a little weird."

  "It is. It's one of a lot of things that Jerry intends to revisit once he has a better model. There's already a meta around trying to rush long-range skill progression so that you can take out Towers safely, early. They're big investments and harder to rebuild once gone, and they hard-counter Soldiers by design. Having towers start with ranged weapons makes it more expensive to rush that kind of build, because you have to focus on both range and power. Not that you need to worry about the meta, yet." Nikki sighed. "There are some archetypes for ranged weapons when you don't have have a ranged Take. I'm betting yours was bows?" She glanced at Michelle, who nodded.

  "The way Dungeon bows work, there tends to be an implicit power investment in each shot. If you can land your shots, they have an unrealistically high damage compared to guns or even crossbows, because of mana or whatever." She shrugged. "The problem is that bows in the hands of unled, low-level NPCs have terribly low accuracy. If you have a bow Minion assigned to the tower, there can be an implicit Leadership bonus or something weird like that, especially with exactly the same weapon, but without any kind of bonus, they shoot like crap. Most people agree that gun-types are more reliable damage dealers, with crossbows a close second. Guns get more shots in, and crossbows take draw strength out of the equation, so the minions focus only on aiming."

  Michelle stared at Nikki for a moment. "Honestly," she said, "I never really paid attention to how well my tower was doing."

  "If you stand there and watch, you'll see them miss soldiers who are standing still way too often." Nikki sighed. "Runners are more likely to dodge into a Tower arrow than be hit with one when charging straight. Literally backed up by statistical analysis. Again, Jerry is working on another answer, but right now, he's kind of stumped. Some things he can't tweak because they're really Dungeon concepts, but if he adjusts NPC stats upwards, they can suddenly become frighteningly competent, to a degree that's hard to counter."

  "I thought that was supposed to be the whole concept? That you stay away from towers or hide behind minions until you're strong enough to take them out?" Nin fidgeted. "Not like I'm any good at those games, but..."

  "Again, he's workshopped it. If the sentries are too competent, you need fewer of them as balance. That makes it easier to snipe them, which shifts the meta strongly in that direction." Nikki shook her head, sounding a bit impatient. "I didn't mean to go off on this tangent. Again, it's not like it's going to matter much right now. The point is, adjusting how your towers work is a small change that can have a big impact on your round, and there are other examples. Minion stats, elite templates, Headquarters layouts, little things like that. When we get into a practice room, we can go over them, or you can just trust me and adjust some things. Either's fine, really."

  Nin took a moment to consider that, before deflating with an almost explosive sigh. "This is so much to take in at once," she griped.

  "Nobody expects you to understand it all at the start. Having someone like me or Jenna walk you through it will give you a leg up, but you have a ways to go before anyone expects you to understand all the mechanics of the Run. Honestly, even in the lower rungs of the Low Runner leaderboards, you see lots of people who clearly just don't get it, and get by on combat skill or ferocity." She shrugged. "If you don't engage with any of these mechanics, there will be a default there that kind-of works. Just like your skills and level-up bonuses kind-of work. They obviously do, but they could be better." She sipped from a bottle of ginger ale that she'd pulled from her Inventory at some point. "Anyway. Anyone who doesn't want to come learn stuff doesn't have to, but we'll be kind of judging you if you don't. Which is fine, it just means that we won't be your teammates for very long."

  That clearly wasn't meant as a threat, but it still kind of felt like one to Michelle. Although nobody had exactly said so, she felt like she wouldn't really get to play with skill mixing until she could rely on her team to be relatively stable; it seemed like it would be reckless to even suggest right now. And she was rapidly getting the impression that Nikki and Jenna would make their party a lot more stable than Jon and Erik did.

  "I'll definitely join you," Michelle said, hardly needing to think about it.

  "I figured as much," Nikki gave her a grin, and looked to Nin.

  Nin worried her lip for a moment, and shrugged. "It's not like I don't want to," she said. "I just feel like I haven't gotten the basics of the Run down, and I'm suddenly expected to keep up with more advanced stuff. A lot of our first run is still a blur in my mind. I kind of want to do one or two more Runs before I try to really understand anything advanced? I can show up to have you change things, but I really don't want a lecture. Or even to sit there while you're giving one. I feel like it will just confuse things."

  "That's not a bad answer," Nikki said, nodding. "From what you said, your tank might feel the same. The only reason I'd suggest coming anyway is that a lot of the little inefficiencies I'm talking about are only going to confuse you further if you do nothing with them. You'll wonder why your minions suck so much compared to mine, Jenna's, or Michelle's. It can feel unfair and personal, when it isn't."

  Nin considered that, and shrugged. "I was going to visit with my dad tomorrow, but Reese and I are both free Monday, at least, as of this morning. Unless his sister makes him promise to babysit or something. Which she might, when he tells her he won't be going back in the Dungeon right away."

  Nikki shrugged. "I'm mostly free for the next week or two. Jenna keeps trying to, like..." she snorted. "Found some kind of Runner secret society, or something. As far as I can tell, it's not working, but I might be missing something. Her availability is pretty random until we nail down a date for an actual Run. Once we do, though, she tends to get serious about it, making sure everyone is on the same page and such until it's all over and done with, and then she's gone again."

  Michelle decided not to engage with that entire topic, although it couldn't have been that serious if Nikki was talking about it in front of the cashier. And probably on a security camera or two.

  Nin was on her phone. "I sent Reese a text, but he probably won't get back to us immediately. I can commit to going Monday either way." She glanced at Nikki, then Michelle.

  "I'll probably be in a practice room tomorrow anyway, and I'll be there Monday." Michelle nodded, feeling excitement more than nervousness stir in her guts.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  "Sounds good." Nikki stood. "If I happen to swing by Pearland tomorrow I might stop in and see if I can find you, so put me on the list for your room. No promises, though."

  Michelle shrugged rather than make a firm promise, but she decided she would anyway.

  They split after that, Michelle following Nin back to her apartment.

  "We didn't actually talk about much on the list," Nin said, slumping down onto her futon.

  "They did kind of dictate the pace," Michelle agreed, taking an overstuffed armchair next to her. Nin's furniture collection was sincere and eclectic, mostly focused on random things she found too comfortable to get rid of. Michelle... couldn't disagree, despite how often things didn't match her own style. The armchair was way too plaid for her. "I don't feel like we exactly missed anything, though?"

  "I mean, we didn't really get much of an impression of their strategy, or what they expect from us. Except that they expect something and will leave if we aren't good enough."

  That was a little harsh, but not too much. Michelle shrugged. "I get the feeling if they had tried to discuss strategy, we wouldn't have understood it."

  Nin considered that silently, still in her slumped posture. "Fair," she eventually decided with a sigh. "What about you? Did you get anything from them that you don't think I did?"

  Michelle considered silently for a time, but in truth, her mind jumped to one thought quickly, and she just wasn't sure whether to bring it up. "Elites," she said after a moment of silence, and then when her mind caught up to what she said, she continued. "Nikki said something about elite templates. Which is weird, because elites seem to be the only thing I got last round that didn't get stored in a card."

  "They aren't?" A bracelet appeared in Nin's hand as she straightened, and she studied her deck for a moment with a frown. "Huh. I definitely promoted both mobs and minions to elites, and you're right, they aren't there."

  "When she said it, it sounded weird to me, but I couldn't put a finger on why until you asked." Michelle shrugged. "I'll pester the assistant about it tomorrow, even if Nikki doesn't show up."

  Nin grunted and put her Deck away. She was silent for a moment, but Michelle could see the tension in her. "I lied about visiting my dad," she said after a minute.

  "I figured," Michelle admitted, though she thought she'd kept a good poker face.

  "I probably will eventually, you know..." Nin started to gesture, than thought better about it. "I was gonna... I dunno. Walk. Some place that isn't fake. Even downtown feels more real to me than dungeons. But even then, with this body..."

  Michelle didn't respond to that for a long moment. It wasn't the first time... but she had kind of hoped that Nin was getting over it. "It is weird," she admitted after a long moment, but looked away. "I can feel the difference too. But it doesn't bother me the way it does you."

  "I know." Nin took a deep breath. "I can handle it, but... the Run avatar is worse. It feels even less real than my Dungeoneer body."

  "It is," Michelle answered.

  "I know, but..."

  "No, I mean..." she took a breath. "You know Jerry talked to me before we started the run last time. One of the things he mentioned is the battlefields and avatar bodies are actually smaller. To save space, he said. They're like, fairy-sized. He figured I'd notice, though he clearly didn't expect you would, too." She paused. "You never met his fairy, did you? Merry?"

  "No."

  "She's nice." Michelle looked down at her hands, not sure what exactly she was saying, or thinking. "Or she was. I'm not sure what's happened to her since then."

  "What did she look like?" Michelle could hear the interest in her friend's voice, and forced herself to be a little upbeat.

  "Oh, she's cute, about this tall," she gestured, "She was shy and like, almost upsettingly innocent. She could talk normally and was the one that helped me fix my Skill, but she really seemed like a child. Which I guess is part of the mystique of fairies? In fiction at least."

  "Innocent, huh?" Nin leaned back into her futon. She didn't say anything more, but Michelle could almost hear the thought. When did we stop being innocent?

  "I did some searching after that, but apparently fairies are really rare. They're hidden deep in the Dungeon, though there are apparently eggs for them that you're supposed to be able to hatch, somehow. I guess Jerry figured out a way, and others have since then, because I know I've heard more about them in the news in the last six months than I did at all before that." She wondered what it took, and whether she might have a fairy companion some day. But, she'd wondered that before, and there hadn't been anything like an opportunity.

  Though... Jenna had suggested she talk to Jerry. Michelle pursed her lips and considered.

  "You don't have to stay here while I mope," Nin said. "I'm not really on a downer, it just..." She looked away. "Those two were weird, but they were more, like... you weird. Which is good, I guess."

  "But it made you depressed?" Michelle wasn't sure she understood, though to be fair, neither of them had ever felt like depression made sense, and they'd both found ways of handling it. Being together helped.

  "I dunno. It doesn't make sense." Nin sighed. "I guess... I was scared I was going to lose you, after Jon."

  "Nin..." Michelle got up and hopped onto the futon. "You're my best friend. I'm not leaving you."

  "I know, but he..."

  "Stop it." Michelle wrapped her arm around Nin. "Look... I didn't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk about it. But it's not like his skill was working. Or was going to work."

  Nin tensed, like she was scared of whatever Michelle was going to say.

  "It was a weapon return skill, right? The whole point was..." Michelle pursed her lips. "He hurt me. And it scared the shit out of me. The skill was hurting me, and it made me scared that it was working. But it didn't work. And the more I think about it, the more I'm sure it wouldn't work. Ever."

  "How can you be sure?" Nin asked, her voice thick with guilt.

  Michelle just sat there, feeling the emptiness and certainty inside of her for a minute, then shook her head. "Because I couldn't go back to being something I never was in the first place. And you know I wasn't. We talked about it. A lot."

  Nin curled up and leaned into her, and Michelle pulled her tighter for a minute. In truth, she hadn't thought about it, and had tried not think about it. But the more she spoke, the more obvious it felt.

  She'd never been in love with him. Never.

  She'd had moments of hope, and she'd gone along with his bullshit. And maybe if he'd... maybe if he'd used the skill differently... she grimaced at the thought. But he'd thought, he'd assumed, that Michelle loved him. That they were still together. That they were meant to be together.

  She'd felt something that she was now sure, was the skill trying and failing to latch on to something inside of her. And he didn't understand why, and he tried again.

  "Hey." Nin poked her. "You okay?"

  "Yeah." Michelle found her voice cold again. "He really couldn't understand. He thought his skill was just going to work magic. That I'd been in love with him and would go back to being in love with him. That all he had to do was pull me back and he'd have the life he dreamed of. And he must have known it wasn't true, or else he wouldn't have needed to create some kind of violent mind-warping Skill to try to make it happen."

  "You're grabbing me kind of hard."

  Michelle blinked, finding that her hands had tensed without her realizing, and she let go of Nin. "Sorry."

  "My body's tough enough. I'm worried about you." Nin pushed harder into her side. "You know I'll always be on your side, right?"

  "I know, Nin. And I'll always be on yours." Michelle... wasn't sure what to think about the words as she said them. She meant them, had always meant them, but right now, her feelings were a mess. That meant nothing, not between the two of them, but it did feel wrong to say those things while her heart was hard and cold, thinking about Jon.

  "I guess that's part of what worries me." Nin pulled back, slowly, and half turned her body to face her. "I don't want to hold you back if if turns out they're a good match for you..."

  "Nin..." Michelle felt exasperated at the turn of conversation.

  "No, I know." Whatever Nin was going to say, she stopped. "Look... I've said, it, you've said it. We're best friends. We're on each other's side. I'm not worried about that. I just..." she shook her head, and changed the subject. "Do you want to stay for a while? If you're just going to mope somewhere else, you should do it here instead."

  But Michelle shook her head. "I'm not moping. Not right now. I'm angry. I want to... I dunno. Not go back to the Dungeon. Maybe go for a jog."

  "That sounds good." Nin perked up. "Let's go for a jog around the neighborhood. I think we both need to clear our minds."

  Michelle nodded, more relieved than anything, and stood. "I'll get changed in the bathroom and join you in a minute."

  "Right. No moping while you're in there, though." Nin poked her with a grin as they both stood up. "Clear your mind. Purge your chi. Open your chakras and feel the energy of the world."

  Michelle snorted. Nin's weird-ass collection of collection of so-called magic traditions was never going to make sense, though the woman still embraced it proudly. In words, if not in actions. "Shouldn't I be doing that somewhere other than the bathroom?"

  "It's a clean bathroom." Nin tried to sound offended.

  "Did you light a candle the last time you took a shit in there?"

  "I did." Nin's managed to sound both innocent and offended.

  It didn't take more than a moment to understand that Nin was not the last person to use the bathroom, and she just sighed as she turned on the fan and closed the door.

  vis a vis Jon and Michelle...

  The Soulforged Dugoneeron, Jerry was able to break Skills and reform them into new ones, and new combinations using similar parts. The implication here, which I will now state plainly, is that shortly before this story started, while in the Alpha Dungeon (and during a Run), Jon broke a "Weapon Return" skill and reformed it into a mind control skill. Because it had to reuse parts from the skill he used to create it, that means that the skill itself was bound by the concept of "Returning". He believed that previously, and still currently, Michelle loved him, and he twisted the skill to force her to come back. But, the image he had in his mind was them being in a loving relationship that never existed.

  generic mind control skill. It wasn't capable of doing whatever. It was based on Return, and could only apply itself when making someone Return.

  doing that and then running off to save Louise - specifically, he more or less disabled Jon's skill and let the others put him down. In that version of the story, what happened to Michelle is a side detail. In this version, what happened to Louise (and the rest of the incident in Brazil) is a side detail. Also, though I didn't even touch on it in this version of the story, something else happened to Jerry that day, at the same time, and that was also treated with offhanded contempt, though that was less because Jerry was strong, and more because he has strong allies and his enemies underestimated that wildly.

  Patreon has up to Chapter 17 posted. It's $10/mo for ten posts ahead. There's also essentially a FAQ on the Patreon (in which I stop teasing and explain the Run, and also have some details about the Administrators, and I'll answer other questions) for $3. I hope you will consider it because I am broke AF right now.