The next day, news of the previous night's events began to trickle in as gossip among the students.
Apparently, demon worshipers had infiltrated Southspire and set up ritual circles intending to summon hundreds of thousands of demons. Their most ambitious attempt yet.
Fortunately, most of the circles were destroyed the moment they activated, leaving only a few intact. The remaining ones summoned no more than a few hundred demons, all of whom were swiftly dispatched thanks to the efforts of Saintess Aurelia and her party.
Bastion hadn't known much about her, other than that she was small, cute, perky, and had a large rack. He had been suspicious when Seraphina befriended her, but now it made sense.
She had most likely been the original player, now reduced to an ordinary girl, while the role of the gamer had shifted to Seraphina. He knew for a fact Aurelia was not a player anymore, as she lacked the fate of a hero, unlike Seraphina who shone like a star in the night sky.
When he arrived at Elemental Spellcraft, a subject he shared with Seraphina, her party, and Lilia, that morning, Bastion was immediately introduced to Aurelia by Seraphina.
"Bastion, this is Aurelia, the Saintess," Seraphina said with a smile. "Aurelia, this is Bastion, my fiancé."
They had never been introduced before because Seraphina had never officially declared him as her fiancé. Besides, they usually ignored each other unless Seraphina started the conversation.
Bastion wasn't cold. He was being considerate of Seraphina's plans. The last thing he wanted was to interfere with Seraphina's work. He wasn't presumptuous enough to believe he can do better so it was best to get out of her way and simply wait for instructions.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Saintess," Bastion greeted with a formal bow.
"It is nice finally meeting you as well, Bastion. Seraphina has told me all about you," Aurelia replied warmly.
"Oh? Do tell," Bastion said, making polite conversation.
"She said that you are the love of her life and the man of her dreams," Aurelia said with dreamy eyes, hands clasped.
"Aurelia! Stop! You don't need to share that," Seraphina interjected, her face flushing.
"Well, someone has to tell him if you won't. You two have been so distant with each other. I could hardly tell you were engaged."
"We… we have our moments and we like to keep it private," Seraphina mumbled, her voice soft with embarrassment.
'Ah, now I see why I would make this woman work her ass off for my affection,' Bastion thought, a flicker of understanding crossing his mind.
He had felt something the first time he saw Aurelia, an instinct he could not explain. Even after nearly a year of sharing classes with her, he had never placed it. But now the feeling was clear as day.
She reminded him too much of his wife from Earth. A cheerful, optimistic woman who was forward, presumptuous, and often confrontational. The kind of person who, upon hearing any trouble, would rush to fix the problem, usually to the detriment of everyone involved. Not her problems though, those she keeps locked away in a vault.
She would mean well, of course. Always hoping for the best. But more often than not, she caused damage without realizing it, carried by a blind belief that everything would somehow work itself out for the better. Her problems, however, were hers alone to deal with.
His wife had always been that way, and he had loved her for it. But that same outlook had slowly pushed a wedge between them and everyone else. Isolated from friends and family, they were left to drown alone in the cries of their children deep into the night.
He had been blaming his wife in the back of his mind for the distance that had grown between them. She was likely doing the same to him. If not, then she wouldn't have avoided their love life. At the very least, they should have opened up to each other.
His game counterpart would have avoided someone like Aurelia at all costs. It would take tremendous effort for Bastion to put down that old resentment and recognize that Aurelia was not his wife. That she was a different person. And that she deserved a chance.
"What do you think, Bastion?" Seraphina asked suddenly.
"Sorry, I was distracted. Think about what?" Bastion replied, blinking out of his thoughts.
"The upcoming competition. What do you think?"
"I think I'll do alright unless I'm up against you."
"So you think you can take me?" Aurelia asked with a playful, competitive edge.
"That depends on how much Seraphina has shared with you."
"Oh? And what could she possibly share?"
"She would know. All I know is that I stand little chance of beating her."
Their small talk continued until class began.
It was a class teaching the optimal models that go with the different elements. It was a standard class that streamlined elemental spellcasting by teaching each spell model by element.
After class ended, Seraphina caught up with Bastion and nudged him lightly.
"So? What did you think of Aurelia? She's cute, right? Her personality matches with the dialogue in the game."
"She reminds me of my ex-wife."
"What?"
"An optimistic meddler who tries to fix everything without thinking it through. My wife was just like that. And I was no better, a lovestruck fool who followed her lead. I enabled her self-righteousness, and together we pushed away our friends and family. When we finally needed someone, no one was there. We had burned every bridge."
"Is that why your route was so tedious?"
"I would have projected my wife onto Aurelia. It would've taken constant effort to remind myself she isn't my wife. Even now, there is a voice in the back of my mind telling me to avoid her."
"How are players supposed to know something like that?"
"I'm surprised I never mentioned it. I usually talk about things like this pretty openly. Then again, maybe I was hiding my identity as a hero from people who didn't need to know much at the time."
"That makes sense. Are you okay?" she asked with concern.
Bastion took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"I'm fine. It's a past I've put behind me. I'll try my best not to project onto her. No promises though."
"Okay."
In Bastion's view, the Saintess was a kind girl with a bubbly personality. She was easy to talk to and genuinely listened when others spoke. Unfortunately, he was still biased against her, and it would take time for him to adjust.
"So, what would have happened yesterday if you hadn't known about the attack?" Bastion suddenly asked.
"Aurelia and her team would've been at the auction with the capture targets and fought off the demons in a multi-stage survival event until the Headmaster arrived and took over the city's defense. Thousands would've died instead of the hundreds that were lost. Southspire would've been reduced to rubble, and the area would've been locked off for the rest of the game."
"They only sold cheap items there, so it wouldn't have mattered for the endgame, but too many real people would've died. It would've shifted the game's tone from magical and wondrous to dark and grim. Afterward, the protagonist and her team would've focused on dungeon dives to grow stronger, all while dodging assassins and developing romantic relationships with the capture targets over the course of the year."
"You did good, Seraphina. Well done," Bastion said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
"Thanks… I still missed a few summoning circles, though. I could've done better. We were only supposed to fight the acolytes who built them, not the demons themselves. I think I messed up," she said quietly.
"Don't blame yourself. Just because you had some knowledge of the future doesn't mean you're responsible for saving everyone. Cut yourself some slack. You saved thousands, that's what matters."
"Thanks. You're right."
"So, how's leveling going? I gained three levels by the time I got back to school. You must've raked in some serious exp," Bastion said with a grin.
"Hehehe. Behold!"
[Name]: Seraphina Phoenixhart
[Age]: 20
[Class]: Alchemist (Rank 2)
[Ability]: Alchemist's Flame
[Rank]: Apprentice
[Level]: 45
[Health]: 75/75
[Mana]: 100/100
[Strength]: 40
[Dexterity]: 95
[Vitality]: 75
[Intelligence]: 100
[Wisdom]: 100
[Charm]: 65
[Status Points]: 0
[Arts]: Alchemy 3, Fire Magic 3, Water Magic 3, Earth Magic 2, Wind Magic 2, Dark Magic 2, Light Magic 2, Staff 2, Cooking 1, Riding 1, Taming 1, Traps 1, Throwing 1
[Skills:]: Fire Bolt 3, Mage Hand 3, Amplify 3, Smash 2, Parry 2, Dodge 2, Dash 2, Jump 2, Summon Familiar (Mew) 2, Analyze 2, Synthesize 1, Extract 1, Vaporize 1, Summon Bottle 1
[Skill Points]: 20
"Damn. I'm seriously falling behind," Bastion said, impressed with her progress.
"Don't worry about it. You don't need to hit Rank 1. I'll take care of everything," she said confidently.
Bastion didn't like that one bit but couldn't do anything about it. She had all the cards and if she said to not worry about it then it shouldn't be something to be worried about.
'I'll have to finish my weapon schematics earlier,' Bastion thought.
"Why haven't you put more stats beyond 100?" he asked.
"I need to cover my bases before I go over the threshold. Once my Dexterity and Vitality reach 100, I'll start adding more to Intelligence and Wisdom."
"I see."
After some small talk, they went their separate ways to class.
Bastion had thought he was doing well enough during their party's dungeon runs, but he had been wrong. He was significantly behind the curve. Under normal circumstances, he might not have cared. But the gap was too wide to ignore.
He would have to prioritize dungeon diving over library visits or forging practice. He did not need to catch up completely, just stay close enough to be useful when it mattered.
With the upcoming competition only three months away, he needed strength now more than ever.
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