Insufficient energy.
Before any of us could process what was happening, Vespera pursed her lips. She must have wanted to look cool, but she gagged when she tasted the monster blood still sticking to her face. Cursing, she cleansed it with her magic, shook her head and summoned her claws again.
"What are you doing?" I asked her.
She approached the dead monster, and began digging through the monster's flesh. "Digging through the monster's flesh, of course."
Of course, how could I not see that?
She emerged a few moments later, clutching a rough gemstone. Its color was of a sick yellow like the bear's eyes, cloudy and unnerving, but the inner light it shone with felt almost enticing. The clash of emotions was disturbing, but even more so was the energy inside of it.
"Is that a monster core?" I asked. Strange, the skittering creatures of the caves didn't have it, I checked, despite being much higher level. But then again, despite their level they had been quite weak.
The demon shrugged. "I don't know. I felt something, and found this."
She offered it to me, and I gingerly took it.
Energy source [Rabid Bear Soul Crystal - Level 7] detected.
Consume?
I wasn't sure what to do, so I turned to the girls. They both spoke at the same time.
"No!"
"Heavens yes!"
Vespera arched an eyebrow towards Elyra. "Why not?"
"It is…" the angel began, taking a step closer to us and examining the gemstone. Despite the blood on Vespera's hands, it hadn't stuck to the gem at all and it was perfectly clean. "I mean to say…"
She paused again, shaking her head.
"Ah, it is hard to put it to words. Vespera, do you not feel the soul inside the crystal?"
The demon smirked. "Of course I do."
I looked at both of them. What the hell were they talking about?
"I can feel its suffering," the angel said.
"Exactly!" Vespera exclaimed energetically. "We can consume it, right? Put an end to its misery and use it as an energy source for the System? We grow by delivering a mercy kill! It's a win-win!"
"I… suppose you have a point," Elyra relented. "Sol, you can go ahead."
I did. The moment I gave the System the go-ahead, the core crumbled in Vespera's hands. Moments later, we all felt a rush of energy slam into us with almost physical force. With it came a wave of nausea, vertigo and overall unpleasantness.
"That was fucking foul," Vespera said through gritted teeth, spitting on the ground.
I felt the energy bounce around between us three, using the bond as a sort of bridge. With each bounce, it slowly lost its foul edge and became purer, until finally it was all sucked away. Presumably, by the System, because soon after a window appeared in front of me.
1 General Skill point available.
Vespera leaned into me, putting her weight on my shoulder. To reach my height, she must have been on her tippy toes.
"Ooh," she said, looking at the message window. "Look who's back. Come on, spacer boy. Let's see what you get!"
General Skills available:
Kinetic Dampening
Matter Reclamation
Environmental Harmonization
I stared. Vespera too was taken aback by the options. She whistled, and I felt her weight on me increase as she leaned in even harder.
"These options are most strange," Elyra said after reading them. "I have no idea what they might be useful for."
Vespera chuckled. "Me neither! But it's much better than offering running or athletics to a cripple, isn't it, Sol, the System must have recognized just how awesome you are."
I wanted to retort, but didn't. Truth be told, I liked the compliment, even though it was a little bit embarrassing. I hadn't done anything to deserve it, I don't think.
Anyway. I had to agree that the choices were strange but, unlike them, I was familiar with a few terms they might not fully understand. I wondered where the System had fished these skills from, but before I could spend too much time hypothesizing, the selection window started to blink. The soul crystal's energy was already running out.
I picked [Matter Reclamation], and it appeared in my status.
"Really, spacer boy?" Vespera deapanned.
"If the skill does what I think it does, it might be very useful." I replied.
She shrugged. "If you say so…"
Honestly, I was curious myself. Skills didn't come with an instruction manual, so even after picking it I still had no idea what the skill would do. As I told Vespera, I had a hunch though, so I approached the bear's carcass while they watched me carefully, curiosity in their eyes, wondering what I was planning on doing.
Keeping the skill at the ready, I activated it as soon as the System let me. Which was pretty darn close to the pile of stinking mincemeat, but I couldn't complain too much, because what happened afterwards stunned me.
Magic drained out of me. Mana, or energy, or something slowly hollowed me from the inside out. It rushed to my hands, and I had the urge to lay them on the dead body like I was a bishop holding mass. A glow enveloped both my hands and the dead bear, blinding me, and the mana drain increased even further. Thirty seconds later, when I had no more energy to give, it finally subsided.
We all blinked away the afterimages of the bright light, and saw that where the formless mass of bloodied fur, organs and flesh used to be, now were neatly organized piles of materials. Meat, already drained of blood and properly cut into pieces. Bones—not all of them, but the largest ones. Two large pelts made of whatever fur hadn't been shredded by Vespera's claws and could still be salvaged. The claws were gone, though.
Not too bad for a level one skill, I had to admit.
Elyra seemed to agree, amazed by the sight. "Woah," she said.
Vespera grinned. "That's neat, spacer boy." She eyed the meat greedily, licking her lips. "I was just getting hungry."
"The monster was rabid," I tried to argue. "Are we sure it's not contaminated?"
"That meat was produced by magic, spaceman. It's safe."
Elyra nodded in agreement, and my stomach grumbled. Well, I guess that settled it. We found a safe spot, grabbed the meat and pelts, and began to build a fire.
◈◈◈
While Vespera cooked the meat, I decided to clean myself off in the river. Elyra, sensing my intentions, stopped me.
"Can I try… cleaning you with my light?" she asked shyly.
I could feel her nervousness, but there was an undercurrent of determination there as well. The way she glanced back at Vespera told me that she wanted to do that same thing the demon had done to me back in the cave, in order to figure out how it felt. The angel wasn't naive, despite how she acted. She knew that Vespera had felt something strange when she used her magic on me, but despite Elyra's prodding the demon had refused to tell her. She did tease her, though.
Near the fire, a real fire made from wood gathered in the forest, the demon in question pretended to be wholly focused on her tasks, but I could sense her amusement.
"Sure," I said.
The angel steeled herself, mumbling under her breath, and then began to cast something. Her wings extended to her sides, glowing like pristine glass carvings and scattering the light of the sun in a million rainbows. Her halo lit up, and a soft light enveloped me, slowly dissolving away all traces of blood and grime from the last fight.
When it receded, Elyra was panting and quite red in the face, smiling peacefully with her eyes closed. I thanked her, and she excused herself to go bathe in the river, wanting to feel the cool water on her skin.
"Icy cold water?" Vespera commented when I sat close to her. "Not for me, no thanks."
I totally agreed with her. "I don't like the cold either," I said.
"So, spacer boy…" she said seductively, tracing the lines of my arms with her fingers.
I was wearing one of the pelts to keep warm, since a chill wind had picked up while the meat was cooking and the furs were completely clean thanks to the magic. Underneath it, I was still bare-chested.
She kept drawing circles on me, making goosebumps appear all over the skin, until she finally said: "Elyra might have saved the day, but don't think for a moment that I didn't see you jumping straight into that bear, when you thought it was going to squish me like a little bug."
She pouted, red eyes darting all over the place.
"I thought I was a better fighter than that," she said.
"Don't worry. I too suck at fighting. We'll train and get better."
She smiled at me. "What I wanted to say, before getting all sidetracked is…" her voice was soft, completely different from her normal demeanor. "…thank you, Sol. You were ready to sacrifice yourself for me—again…"
Her finger went up and down my arm, the side of her hand brushing against my chest for a moment. I felt heat rise inside of me, and my breath sped up.
"You have been so good to us, Sol," she purred, leaning in. She cocked her head sideways so that her curved horns wouldn't hit me, brushing her pitch black hair out of the way and revealing her pointed ears. Full of earrings and decorations, they were beet red beneath all the silver.
She let out a soft hum of amusement, and her finger went up until it reached my chin. With a little bit of gentle force, she pushed my face up until my eyes were looking into hers.
"What's got you all flustered, spacer boy? Never saved a girl before?"
"Not really," I tried to say.
She giggled. "Silly. And," she pursed her lips. "You did save us quite a few times for a beginner."
I opened my mouth to reply, but she silenced me with her lips. It was just a quick peck, a little fleeting kiss, but it sent a sudden jolt through me that echoed through the bond and looped right back at me. Then she moved away, giggling, looking towards the river just in time to see Elyra return.
"That is most unfair, Vespera…" the girl in question murmured.
A playful glint appeared in the demon woman's eyes. "You want a little reward too?" she said, misunderstanding the angel on purpose.
Before Elyra could move away, she got up, dashed forward and gave her a little peck on the cheek. Then she ran away, claiming that she had changed her mind about a quick cool dip in the river.
Elyra stood, stunned and utterly red in the face, before she managed to shake herself awake. I knew, from the bond, that she hadn't expected this in the slightest, but it didn't mean she didn't like it.