Chapter 85 Thingy.

Chapter 85: 85 Thingy.

In this form, anyway. In her other form...

And then it hit me like a sack of nuts to my sack of nuts. Her other form was designed to be attractive to me so that I could deepen our bond more easily. The System wanted me to fuck her. The System was, as it turned out, an incredible wingman.

I dismissed that thought for now as we closed on the wolf in six seconds. I leaned low against Clementine’s neck, sword extended, and as we drew even with the fleeing creature, I brought the blade down in a single, clean stroke.

The wolf tumbled and didn’t get up.

Clementine slowed to a trot, then stopped. Her breathing was heavy but controlled. I slid off her back, feeling my legs shaking with residual adrenaline, and turned to check on Ayra.

She was sitting against the tree, holding her arm, but Juniper was already at her side. Green healing light pulsed from the dog girl’s hands into her own body as the snake girl seemed to channel something into her as well, knitting the gashes closed. Ayra winced but managed a thumbs-up in my direction. "Just scratches, Master! I’ve had worse from Elsa’s hairbrush!"

"That was but ONE time!" came a shriek from the stump.

The blue notification materialized in my field of vision:

[ VICTORY! XP Gained! ↓↓↓

LEVEL UP! Level 19↑ achieved.

You have one new skill point and one new attribute point. Would you like to allocate them now? YES / NO ]

"Yes," I said, still catching my breath.

[ ALLOCATE YOUR SKILL POINT:

• Mounted Charge (Devastating first-strike damage when attacking from horseback at full gallop. Damage scales with mount’s speed and rider’s STR.)

• Journeyman Fishing (Cast a magical fishing line. Improved bait selection. 15% increased catch rate in freshwater environments.) ]

"Hmmm. This is a tough one," I said out loud, just to hear the reactions.

"Grey!" three voices shouted.

"Kidding. Mounted Charge."

[ Skill acquired: Mounted Charge. When attacking from horseback at full gallop, your first strike deals massively increased damage. Damage scales with your mount’s speed and your STR. Cooldown: once per combat engagement. ]

For the attribute point, the choice was straightforward. That fight had confirmed what I’d been suspecting for a while. Strength was reaching the point of diminishing returns on its own. If I was going to be fighting from horseback, I needed the durability to take hits while managing two bodies’ worth of combat positioning.

But then I reconsidered. My STR was 18. One more point would bring it to 19. One after that, and I’d hit 20. There was something appealing about pushing a stat to the round number, about knowing I was within arm’s reach of a threshold that felt significant even if the System didn’t explicitly mark it.

Screw it. Go with the gut.

"Strength," I decided.

[ Attribute increased: Strength (Now 19)

Congratulations on reaching Level 19! New skill and attribute points have been allocated. ]

The notification faded and the warmth of the level-up settled into my muscles.

I checked the party XP breakdown and noticed something new at the bottom: Clementine’s name now appeared in the distribution list, receiving a small share as a bonded party member.

Her stats would have ticked up from the bond scaling, too, though I’d check the specifics later.

The silver light of Clementine’s transformation rippled over the horse, and then she was standing on two hooved feet in front of me, wearing my clothes again. Her black hair was wild, her cheeks flushed, her chest heaving with exertion. She looked like she’d just sprinted a mile, which in fairness she more or less had.

She also looked furious. But a different kind of furious than I’d gotten used to. Her ears were pinned back and her tail lashed behind her as her fists clenched at her sides, but her eyes were alive in a way I hadn’t seen before. Not from her anyway.

"That," she said, jabbing a finger at my chest, "was the best I’ve ever felt in my entire life, you fucking fuck."

I chuckled. "You were incredible out there."

"Fuck you." She was pacing a short, agitated circuit on the frosty grass. "I didn’t want to come out here. I was perfectly fine on the porch. I was eating leftover pizza and having a great time."

"But you came anyway," I said. "Thanks for that, it made things a lot easier."

"Easier?! You were about to get your throat ripped out, fuckface! You think I’m going to just sit there and watch you die? After I already—after we—" She caught herself. Stopped pacing. Her nostrils flared with a long, slow exhale. "The bond kicked in. I felt you get hurt, and it was kind of like someone hurt me, too. And my body just... I did the thingy."

I looked down at the gashes on my side. The bleeding had mostly stopped. Ayra would patch me up properly in a moment, but it did sting. "I’m sorry you got pulled into that, but I’m glad you did."

"Shut up. I’m not done being mad about how good it felt." She raked both hands through her hair, dislodging bits of grass and frost.

"Take your time," I said as she continued pacing.

After a few minutes, she finally stopped pacing and let out a sigh. "That was pretty fucking cool, I guess," she said quietly.

Nobody disagreed.

After Ayra patched me up, the walk back to the house was slow.

Ayra was drained and leaned on Juniper, who supported her with one arm while her tail did most of the actual load-bearing.

Elsa had abandoned her stump and was trotting to keep up with me, one hand gripping my arm, alternating between scolding me for getting hurt and fussing over the claw marks with wide, frightened eyes.

"You could have died!" she accused as she vaulted and landed on my back, wrapping arms and legs around me like a koala. "What would become of us if you died? What would become of me? I cannot go on in this barbaric world without you!"

It had been the closest call so far, I admitted internally, but I had a feeling we were going to be just fine.

Clementine walked beside us, close enough that her shoulder occasionally brushed mine. She didn’t say anything else.