She was so busy thinking about what to say, she almost didn't notice the match was over until a wall of text filled her vision.
Clan Bravebear has won the match!
Quest Progress: Win the clan battle with Harmonious Rats – 2 wins
Quest Completed: Win the clan battle with Harmonious Rats
Quest Chain II: Challenge another clan to battle and win the match (15,000 XP / 1,500 CP)
+200 Renown for Bravebear Clan
+38 Morale for Bravebear Clan
You have gained experience: 10,000 XP
You have gained conquest points: 1,325 CP
You have reached level 23!
You have gained a unique skill point: +1 Leadership
With the battle won, her clan had doubled in size and she'd gained a new level. A menu appeared, allowing her to pick from the Harmonious Rats. She was busy pursuing the options, when Judith the Breaker appeared. The massive woman looked like she had caught a burglar in the loot chest and was ready to deal the killing blow.
"I challenge you," said Judith, hands on her wide hips.
Alex stared back with a flat smile, waiting for the leader of the Fallen Phoenix to realize what had happened.
"I don't understand," said Judith, looking around as if the answer might suddenly appear.
"I've already challenged another clan, the Death Frogs, to be exact," said Alex.
"But you haven't left this spot," said Judith, frowning.
Alex winked. "I had my right-hand woman do the inviting. Funny how it works like that. You can set your clan up however you like."
Thwarted again, Judith growled and marched away, knocking over gladiators as if they were merely straw.
"That was interesting," said Sophia, who had returned.
"We won't be able to avoid her forever, but maybe by the time we fight we'll be ready," said Alex.
Sensing that someone was watching her, she turned her head, to find Tormane the Tower staring from nearby. His cold glare gave her the shivers. Even though she'd defeated him twice, facing him a third time worried her. She'd gained his ultimate animosity, which suggested he would go to great lengths to defeat her.
"I have some work to do," she told Sophia. "Stay here and watch the next clan battles. We need to learn as much as we can about our potential opponents."
Chapter Twenty-Six
Back in the battleleader hut, Alex pulled up her menus. First, she threw her three ability points into Cunning. Next she had to figure out where to assign CPs and select her new clan members. The first task was straightforward as she leveled the clan to 4, which would increase their overall effectiveness by 5%. That left 399 CPs to assign in other areas.
Assuming that she'd get to fill in some holes in her team with the additions from Harmonious Rats, Alex decided to maximize her current gladiators. She spent 225 CPs on getting Nayiri, Sophia, and Blaze to rank 3; and another 150 CPs leveling up her 2 healers and 1 ranged to rank 3.
She could have saved some CPs for the new group, but she didn't trust them, nor did they understand the tactics she'd been training her side in. The trust issue was the bigger problem. As she'd seen with Tormane, just because someone was in her clan, that didn't mean they had to act in the clan's best interest.
Alex planned on talking to Zelda about the problem to see if the wisewoman had any ideas on how to vet her new warriors, but first she had to pick from the Harmonious Rats clan.
As she scoured the list, she realized that she didn't get to select the same number of gladiators, but the sum total of her current rank. Since most of her side was of low rank, it meant she was only going to get to claim a dozen new warriors. Also, she couldn't take any that were a higher level than her clan level, which made that a high priority for increasing it so she could cherry pick the best gladiators as she defeated the other clans.
She settled on taking a mix of rank 1 gladiators, including some mages and rogues, two general classes that she hadn't any of, deciding that the best rank level to CP conversion was to take the classed gladiators, since it cost 200 CPs to give someone a class.
There were no unique classes in the Harmonious Rats, which made her wonder about how they were chosen. If the other clans had minimal numbers of them it would be fortunate, because they added new elements into the battle that couldn't be accounted for. But she knew that was wishful thinking, because Tormane had been the Destructor class, which meant there were others out there like him.
Around the time she was finished selecting from Harmonious Rats, Nayiri entered the hut, but as soon as she saw Alex, she turned to leave as if she'd thought the place would be empty.
"Nayiri, wait," said Alex, restraining her hands from reaching out towards her.
With the door half open, Nayiri turned partially. Her eyes were covered in shadow. "I'm sorry to bother you."
"You're not bothering me," said Alex with Dr. Althud's comment about relationships lingering in her mind. "I wanted to talk to you."
Nayiri's gaze shifted around like a trapped animal. "You look busy, I should go."
"Nayiri, please, we need to talk. Close the door, come back," she said.
The diminutive rogue looked like she'd been called to the principal's office by the way she returned, shoulders slumped. Alex had the urge to throw her arms around Nayiri but she was afraid that wouldn't offer comfort.
Alex wasn't sure how to broach the subject of the strange goings-on with Nayiri. Should she be the foreboding battleleader or the empathic girlfriend? The min-max side of her said to wring the truth out of Nayiri no matter the cost. After all, it was a game, Nayiri was an NPC, and her life was at stake.
But the tender way that Nayiri held herself made Alex want to believe that she was more than an NPC. Maybe the AIs in this game had evolved? And even if she did believe that Nayiri was an NPC, what did that say about herself if she treated Nayiri that way?
A sociopath was a person who only saw others as a means to an end, she reminded herself. Even if Nayiri was an NPC, she couldn't do that to her, or to herself, so she settled on approaching it as a friend, first and foremost.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Alex. "I can see something's bothering you. You haven't been yourself lately."
Alex knew what she'd said about being yourself lately was wrong as soon as Nayiri flinched.
"I don't want to disappoint you," said Nayiri, gaze etched with sadness.
Alex reached out and brushed Nayiri's arm. "You're not disappointing me. You've been amazing, in the battle circle...and in bed."
When Nayiri's eyes glistened with tears, Alex knew she had to ask, if only to understand.
"Speaking of the circle, when Graven hit you with his warhammer, I saw your hair change momentarily," said Alex.
Nayiri's mouth was screwed up. She held an arm across her chest, grabbing herself with a fist.
"I'm sorry...I can't help it," said Nayiri.
"Can't help...?"
As soon as the words trailed from her lips, she remembered the guy she'd seen near the pond. Other facts about Nayiri drew in the rest of the picture: her disappearances at night, her strange reaction on the first night in the hut when Alex had told her that she was gay, the hidden class on her character sheet.
"You can change yourself," said Alex at last, receiving a pained nod from Nayiri. "That guy with the white hair I saw at the pond, that was you."
"I'm sorry I'm not who you think I am," said Nayiri, on the verge of tears.
"Why? Why do you think I would care?" asked Alex, genuinely curious.
Nayiri straightened, shaking her head slightly as if she didn't agree. "On our first night together, you said you liked girls. But I'm not just a girl."
When Alex realized what the tension had been about, a laugh slipped out, which made Nayiri flinch.
"I'm sorry," said Alex, a grin stretching her face. "I should have been more clear that night. I like girls, but I also like guys."
"Oh."
Alex wished t
he game had a way to capture screenshots, because the look on Nayiri's face contained multitudes. Relief, embarrassment, excitement at the possibilities, all these and more washed across her face like a multicolored rain.
"Could I...could I meet the other you?" asked Alex, cautiously biting her lower lip.
A look of fierce joy exploded across Nayiri's face. "Yes."
Within the span of two seconds, the pale, dark-haired Nayiri morphed into the similarly pale, but with bone-white hair boy she'd seen near the pond. From up close, his stark gray eyes were like staring into a storm cloud before a tornado formed.
Like Nayiri, he was beautiful, slight like a K-pop star, and looked capable of doing a triple-backflip off the high dive or collapsing into tears over having his heart broken.
"Hi...is it still Nayiri?" asked Alex, feeling a little dizzy.
"I'm Adara Shadowmarch," he said, touching his tongue to his teeth playfully.
Alex reached out, capturing his face with her hand. Adara leaned into the touch, eyes closed as he reveled.
"It's nice to meet you," said Alex, stepping close enough that their noses almost touched.
She closed her eyes and inhaled. It still smelled like Nayiri, a hint of jasmine, which made her smile.
Alex placed her hand on the back of Adara's neck, pulling him against her. When their lips met, shivers exploded down her spine.
After a long time—minutes, hours, days, she couldn't tell—they broke the kiss, staring into each other's eyes.
"Interested in exploring any more firsts?" she asked.
Adara raised an eyebrow in question.
"I've never been with a guy either," she said, glancing askew. "At least not in this way."
"Oh," he said, in the same way as Nayiri had before.
Alex let a hungry smile climb onto her lips as she pushed Adara into the furs.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The next morning, Alex was pleased to find Adara in her bed. Normally, Nayiri/Adara was gone by morning, but the change showed that their relationship had progressed.
There'd been other benefits to the revelation. Alex could see Nayiri/Adara's unique class: Changeling.
Quest Completed: Discover Nayiri/Adara Shadowmarch's class
You have gained experience: 2,000 XP
The vigorous bed play had stricken the ache of the constant grind from her bones, left her sated. As she made her way to the longhouse, the sounds of battle carried on the western breeze.
The stands around the battle circle were packed with gladiators, cheering their sides. A plume of smoke rose from the fighting area, suggesting the result of a spell.
Somewhere nearby, bacon was frying, making her stomach grumble in response, but she wanted to check on the training and acquisition of new gladiators before she took the time to eat breakfast. She'd spent the night with Adara selfishly and now she needed to get back to work.
As soon as she stepped into the longhouse, she sensed something was wrong. Normally, there was a sense of focused bustle—chaotic energy barely harnessed as her clanmates trained. But the addition of the new members had upset that fragile sense of comradery. By the weak blows and shifting glances, she could tell that the long-term Bravebears didn't trust the new ones.
Sophia strode up, hands clenching and unclenching, her Afro pulled into a globe at the back of her head with a metal headband.
"Not going well?" asked Alex.
"The more we practice, the more our morale sinks," said Sophia.
Alex quickly checked the status, finding it tending towards Awful again. They couldn't afford to drop below the line, as that would reduce their effectiveness by 10%, which was worth two clan levels.
"Nobody trusts the newcomers," said Alex. "I knew it would take some time to integrate them, but I didn’t expect such a negative reaction."
Quest Offered: Solve the morale problem with the new Bravebears (+4,000 XP / +100 Morale) [Y/N]
"Well then, I guess this has become my first priority," said Alex, looking around the longhouse until she found Sorrow, who was lying on a bench, feet propped on the armrest, humming to himself.
"You're coming with me," she told him.
He dusted himself off with a shrug and fell in behind her. They headed to the wisewoman's hut, knocking on the door before entering. After they lit the lantern, the room bloomed into view, revealing the blind witch with her eyes sewn shut.
"Welcome back, Alexandria," said Zelda, wearing a smile. "And it is good to finally meet you, Sorrow. I've enjoyed the songs that you sing in the valley behind my hut. Haunting, but beautiful."
The normally loquacious bard stammered as he held his hands against his chest in faux-prayer.
"Uhm, greetings," he said, then hurriedly added, "And thank you."
"What can I do for you, Battleleader?" asked Zelda.
"I need a way to integrate the new members of the clan, or at least test them for their loyalty. Morale is dropping fast because no one trusts each other," said Alex.
"There are no spells that can test loyalty," said Zelda. "But I don't think you need that anyway."
"What do you mean? And don't give me that the answer has been in you the whole time nonsense," said Alex.
Zelda's lips quirked to the side. "Not in you, per se."
After a moment's thought, Alex said with a sigh, "Clan management."
When she pulled up the menu, she found she could dig deeper into the Morale page. It didn't show just the overall morale, but the individual ones as well, which explained why it had dropped so low. The newcomers were collectively in the Awful range because they'd just been taken by a lower-ranked clan and given no welcome, nor support. Her regular Bravebears were higher, but dropping fast. She saw a few tick down as she studied the page.
"Do you have any suggestions on how to improve it?" asked Alex as she wracked her own brain for ideas.
"You'll need to ask them," said Zelda.
"I was afraid of that," said Alex with a sigh. One of the reasons she'd never wanted to lead a big guild was the constant hand-holding and ego smoothing. It always irked her when players didn't take their responsibilities as seriously as she did.
"But I'm glad you stopped by," said Zelda. "I believe you have something for me, Sorrow."
The dark-eyed bard startled, before reaching to the small pouch at his hip. He handed over a package of herbs.
Quest Completed: Find 8 different herbs for Zelda
You have gained experience: 1,000 XP
"At least you remembered to collect them on your journey," said Alex, raising an eyebrow at Sorrow.
He scrunched up his face. "Sorry."
"Come by again later, and I'll have something brewed up for you," said Zelda. "Anything else?"
"You can teach spells and powers," said Alex.
"Nothing for you, I'm afraid. I'll need to be a few levels higher for that," said Zelda.
"Soon enough, but I'm talking about Sorrow. He's a bard, and despite his poor self-view, he's pretty good at his job," she said, adding when Sorrow rolled his eyes, "You got the whole damn Western Plains clan population to come to this backwater, didn't you?"
"And yet I receive nothing but more work for my trouble," said Sorrow sardonically.
"I could make you fight in the circle," she said, pointing at him.
He screwed up his mouth. "So petty."
Alex refocused on Zelda. "Can you teach him any spells or powers to help with inspiring the newcomers?"
Zelda nodded. "I can. Will the Sarcastic Miming spell do the trick?"
Sorrow jerked forward. "Miming? Are you out of your witchy mind? I'll agree to a thousand fights in the battle circle before I pull on an invisible rope or get stuck in an ever-shrinking invisible box for general amusement, if one could even call that amusement."
The power caught Alex off guard as well, but as Sorrow ranted, a smirk grew on Zelda's lips until the realization that she was messing with him broke his fever.
Sorrow crossed his a
rms and glanced away. "Sarcastic Miming. I knew it was a joke power the whole time."
Zelda chuckled under her breath. "The real power is Dark Inspiration. Call it a bit of gallows' humor, which I think our dear bard excels at."
"Sold, to the man in tight black leather pants and eyeliner," said Alex as the 5 CPs were deducted from her total. If she leveled both Zelda and Sorrow, she could increase the effectiveness of the power, which might be worth the investment if it helped her integrate the new gladiators.
When they returned to the longhouse, Alex took the time to observe the practice battles. She kept the morale page open as she watched, finding that their morale dropped when the new Bravebears mixed with the old. Once she'd figured that out, it wasn't hard to notice their jealous glances towards the magical equipment that her long-term Bravebears carried.
Alex climbed onto the throne and gathered them around.
"Greetings, Bravebears, new and old. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to talk to you, but I wanted to welcome you to the clan. I know things are quite different than your previous clan, but I swear to you we have reasons for our methods and that if you listen and work hard, you'll find success in the battle circle.
"As a token of my appreciation, I plan on taking the newest members into the Warped Forest tomorrow to mine for magical weapons and armor to help make you more effective Bravebears."
As soon as she said that, their heads gophered up with excitement brewing on their lips. Everyone loved loot, even NPCs. Why hadn't she seen that before?
Quest Completed: Solve the morale problem with the new Bravebears
You have gained experience: 4,000 XP
+100 Morale for Bravebear Clan
You are now Neutral morale
"You can return to your practice," said Alex.
Before Sorrow returned, she told him to make the rounds and help with the lowest morale members.
"Nicely done," said Sophia, nodding with appreciation.
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