Chapter 132: Not Elite

Jaxir woke the next morning with no better answer than he had gone to sleep with. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, then passed the room he had given Lue to crash in.

The door stood open and the bed was empty. The big bastard had somehow gotten up and left before Jaxir, and it was barely past dawn right now.

He checked the time and shook his head as he headed downstairs. Jaxir had started waking earlier over the last couple weeks, yet apparently that still wasn’t enough to compete with whatever schedule the military beat into people. Lue had also managed to leave the room almost perfectly clean, surprisingly enough.

Outside, Jaxir returned to the lawn and picked up where he had stopped the day before. His body held up much better this time, letting him clear the last patches of weeds, broken branches and old debris without needing to sit down every few minutes. By the time he dragged the final bag toward the pile near the driveway, the entire property looked different.

Jaxir stood near the edge of the lawn and grinned at it. With all the garbage and weeds finally gone, he could actually start thinking about doing a proper renovation instead of basic damage control.

A year or two ago, one of his random video binges had somehow turned into several hours of lawn renovation and reseeding videos, so maybe some of that useless knowledge could finally earn its keep.

Not today, though. His arms were already telling him he had done enough, and Dr. Obrey would probably find some way to materialize behind him if he decided to push until exhaustion again. Jaxir headed back inside, showered, then stood in front of the bathroom mirror while water still ran down the sides of his face.

His fingers moved over his cheeks as he studied himself. They were almost back to normal now, with enough flesh returning that his cheekbones no longer looked sharp enough to cut something, although one look lower reminded him that his ribs were still much too visible. He had a long way to go before he looked anything like the version of himself he remembered.

Still, Jaxir smiled at his reflection. His looks were secondary, and even the weight returning to his body wasn’t what held his attention for long.

The light burning in his eyes was something he hadn’t seen in years. That was the Jaxir he actually recognized.

He slipped into a pair of boxers and headed straight for the basement. The pod accepted him the moment he settled inside, and the familiar transition washed over him before the ceiling of his new bedroom came into view. His eyes had barely opened when something small bounced directly onto his chest.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Niri bounced again before leaning down and grabbing both of Jaxir’s cheeks in her hands. "Jaxir!"

"I’m up, I’m up." Jaxir laughed through the way she was squeezing his face and reached toward the nightstand beside the bed. His fingers tapped the hygienic device he had bought with the house, and a clean pulse swept over his body before leaving him feeling as fresh as though he had just stepped out of the shower.

Niri had apparently received an upgrade of her own while he was gone. She wore a set of pink pajamas covered in tiny white stars, and Jaxir didn’t need much imagination to guess who had bought them for her. Elara had clearly gone hard on the bribery campaign.

Jaxir got dressed with Niri following him around the room, then crouched enough to let her climb onto his shoulders before heading downstairs. Her legs hung over his chest while she held the top of his head, and every few steps she leaned to one side as though she were personally steering him. By the time they reached the bottom floor, Jaxir could already hear several voices coming from his dining room.

He turned the corner and found Nick sitting at his table as though he had paid even a single silver toward the house. Apparently, buying a property had been enough for Nick to decide they were roommates, and he had already let Elara and the rest of her team inside without bothering to ask. Jaxir considered throwing him out on principle before Niri spotted Elara.

"Elara!" Niri scrambled down from Jaxir’s shoulders and ran toward her with enough enthusiasm to make the healer’s eyes light up. Elara immediately crouched to catch her, and Jaxir watched the reunion with growing suspicion.

Whatever Elara had bought Niri yesterday had apparently been enough to erase the little girl’s declaration that she hated her.

Knowing Niri, Jaxir doubted the pajamas had been the entire price. The little thief probably had several more gifts hidden somewhere already. Plus, Elara looked much too pleased with herself for someone who had been insulted less than a day ago.

Nick caught Jaxir watching and gave him a look that made it clear he had reached the same conclusion.

"Since we’re apparently going to be working together, we should probably redo the introductions properly." The other man at the table rose from his seat and offered Jaxir a hand. "Things got a little derailed last time."

Jaxir accepted the handshake and finally got a proper look at him.

Gavin had the build Jaxir expected from someone playing a Melee Class, with broad shoulders and the kind of easy balance that carried over even when he wasn’t holding a weapon. He also seemed to be the one the others naturally looked toward when the Commander wasn’t around.

"I’m Gavin, Level 19, Melee Class." Gavin gestured toward Malik next. "Malik is Level 19, Tank Class, and he’s getting close to qualifying for Elite."

Malik raised two fingers in greeting from where he sat. The large black man looked far more relaxed than he had while acting as Jaxir’s government liaison yesterday. "Close enough that I’m getting tired of hearing everyone ask when I’m finally going to cross it."

Gavin moved on to the Asian woman sitting beside him. "Mina, Level 18, Ranged Class, and she’s probably the closest of us to Elite right now." Mina gave Jaxir a small nod, the longbow resting against her chair matching the Class without much need for explanation.

"Probably?" Mina looked toward Gavin and raised an eyebrow. "I’ll be Elite before any of you."

Elara scoffed from where Niri had climbed halfway into her lap. "You’re not even Level 19 yet."

Niri immediately copied the scoff without understanding any of the conversation, which made Mina cover a smile with one hand.

"And Elara is Level 18, Healer Class." Gavin’s mouth twitched as he looked toward her. "She’s also close to Elite, assuming she can go long enough without starting an international incident."

"Fuck off." Elara hugged Niri tighter while the little girl looked between them with interest. Gavin ignored her and turned back toward Jaxir.

"We’ve all been holding ourselves below Level 20 for the operation, so progression through our Classes has been the priority." Gavin took his seat again and rested his arms against the table. "If everything goes right, we’re hoping to reach beyond Elite when the time comes. We’re leveled enough now, so our main focus is grinding out our Root Abilities.

"Our situation is a bit, um... unique. So we rushed to near Level 20 as quickly as possible first which is why our Root Abilities are so under-leveled. But we should be able to rectify that soon."

"Nice to meet you properly." Jaxir pulled out the remaining chair and sat down while Nick and Niri began fighting over something Jaxir couldn’t see on the other side of the table. "I’m Jaxir, Level 8, Magic Class."

Gavin waited for the rest. When nothing came, his expression shifted and he cleared his throat. "I assumed you were already Elite after everything we’ve heard about you, so how close are you to Mage?"

"Uh..." Jaxir scratched the side of his face and chuckled. Across the room, Nick looked up from where Niri had both hands wrapped around his wrist in what had somehow turned into a wrestling match.

"I’m not an Elite."

The four of them stared at him with almost identical confusion. Jaxir looked around the table, realized exactly what assumption they had made, and smiled.

"I’m an Archmage."