"I heard the last part," Ollie groaned. "None of us know what we're doing. Some words of wisdom right there."
"Ollie!" Lily moved closer to the bed. "You should rest."
Ollie ignored her, his bloodshot eyes finding Gale. "Welcome to the club where eating dinner with your backstabbers occurs every Sunday."
"Why Sunday?" Gale immediately asked.
The question made Ollie cough. Nathan handed him a bottled water, but he refused it.
"Nathan, hand me a gun syringe," Ollie said.
Lily shot Nathan a look, making him cower down.
"Look. I finished my tactical sleep. Now I need ingredient #2," Ollie said.
"Hmph. You've been running yourself into the ground for months. Look at you now," Jeanne said. First time she had said something that didn't sound like sarcasm or rough.
"The machine doesn't sleep." Ollie took the water bottle from Nathan, drinking it before speaking again. "Speaking of which... did I hear you right, Gale? 'Ollie will follow me'?"
Gale felt his face flush. "Sorry…"
"It's fine. Someone had to stand up to asshole number 1. Didn't expect it would be you though." Ollie chuckled weakly. "Jonathan's been hounding me for months."
"You heard that whole conversation?" Marine asked, eyebrows raised.
"Enough of it." Ollie shifted, wincing as he tried to sit up. "The Blue Witches and me, huh? Not a bad power play."
"You should go back to sleep," Nathan said.
Ollie ignored him, waving him off weakly.
Seeing him like this, Gale suddenly remembered Vianne's story. If it gave him physical objects, why not let others use it? Looking around, everyone had their attention on him and Ollie. He needed a tactical retreat to get the Vit Vial from the store. He’s definitely not crazy, but just in case anyone asks.
"I need to use the washroom," Gale said suddenly. "Be right back."
Lily gave him a weird look, then pointed to the other door at the other side of the room. The weird look didn't matter. They probably all thought he was weird already anyway. Going inside the washroom, it was unnecessarily twice the size of his apartment and it was inside of a single-person hospital room. A bigger washroom would probably be easier for sick patients to move around in rather than a cramped one. Very functional.
Standing in front of the mirror, he pulled up Vianne's Express Amazing Store. The vial was already on the front page of recently viewed items.
[Vit Vial]
[Description: A vial of vitality essence]
[Consumable]
[Effects: restores 20% vitality of self or target, max amount: 200 vitality points]
[Cost: 100 points]
Guide, can I use items I bought in the store on other people? He mouthed while looking at his reflection.
[Affirmative. Item can be administered to others. Effect remains consistent regardless of recipient.]
The only issue was that it was 100 points. He only had 200 total currently. Half of his points to get Ollie to recover 20% of his health was a steep bargain. There'd be no telling if he would need those points later too for himself. He'd definitely regret it if he was only 100 points short for something big.
Regret?
He could regret and wallow later. His friend needed it. The dark knight did say to forge connections, but this wasn't about that. It was for Ollie right here, right now. I just want to help a friend. No need to think of anything else.
But… just in case, he asked, How do I get more points?
[Points are earned through completion of missions]
What missions are available?
[Available Missions:]
- [Attain Core Class: Attuned]
- [Attain Lv. 3 in all basic skills]
- [Close a Rift][Repeatable]
- [Practice skills][Weekly]
[Current Active Missions:]
- [Vianne's Origin Fragments][1/8]
"Wait, there are repeatable missions? And weekly ones? Why didn't you tell me about these before?" he accidentally whispered outloud.
[Host did not ask]
Are you kidding me seriously right now?! Gale cringed, forcing his whole face not to crumple in on itself. He could've been earning points!
No more hesitating. Gale tapped on the status screen, scrolling to the Vit Vial.
A notification popped up as soon as he tapped on the Vit Vial.
[Purchase: Vit Vial - 100 points]
[Confirm? Y/N]
Tapping the Y button, a small red vial materialized in his hand. Warmth emanated from it, pulsing like a heartbeat. The vial contained a deep translucent liquid that glowed faintly. It was smaller than expected, about the size of a double A battery.
[Purchase complete. Remaining points: 100]
Pocketing the vial, he turned back to the room and twisted the knob. Everyone looked at him as he exited the washroom.
"You okay?" Lily asked.
"Do men not flush?" Jeanne asked.
Gale shook his head, then went over to Ollie's side. He pulled out the small red vial from his pocket.
"Ollie, drink this," he said.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Nathan stepped forward. "What is that? He shouldn't drink anything sugary."
"It's fine, Nathan," Ollie interrupted, staring at the vial. "What is it, Gale?"
Gale held the vial out. "Got it from the stone tower. Think of it as, um… for your vitality."
Ollie raised one eye brow, then took the vial from his hand. "Well, can't get much worse than I am right now, right? Bottoms up."
He downed the contents in one gulp.
For a moment, nothing happened. Just as people were about to say anything, the lights in the room dimmed. A red glow spread throughout Ollie's veins, tracing through his entire body through the sheet of the hospital garments.
Everyone took a step back, except Gale.
Ollie gasped and looked at his own arms. The monitors beside the bed beeped increased, then settled into a steadier rhythm once the glow was gone.
The room went silent again.
"The fuck was that?" Ollie blinked multiple times while looking at his own hands. Colour had returned to his face. The dark circles under his eyes had faded significantly.
"Just something I picked up from the stone tower," Gale said. The effects were much more dramatic than he expected. However, going from maybe near 0 to 20 was a big difference.
Nathan rushed to check the monitors. "Your vitals are becoming… relatively normal. Blood pressure, heart rate, ECG. All of them just slightly above what would be considered bad."
Ollie swung his legs over the side of the bed, pulling the IV from his arm and the ECG pads all over his body. Nathan was too late to stop him from doing so.
"What? I feel like I just woke up from the best sleep of my life." He stood straight up. "Better than those damn syringe guns. Way better."
"Ollie, you should still rest up for a bit," Lily said.
"The machine is back," Ollie cut her off.
"Woah, you got any more of those?" Marine asked.
"You should at least let the doctor check you first," Nathan tried to keep him down, but Ollie waved him off.
"I know my own body best. I feel like I just had a few days' worth of sleep," Ollie raised his tone. "Whatever that was, I owe you one. Much better than sticking in a needle that looks like a gun."
Lily's eyes narrowed towards Gale. "You just happen to have those potions in your pocket? Sounds like something straight out of a game."
Game? There was no deer in that washroom. That liquid in that vial definitely didn't come from an animal he hunted. There weren't even any game to hunt around here in downtown.
"Now let's get back to business. What matters is Jonathan showed up here, which means the Path is watching more closely than I thought." Ollie grabbed his jacket from the wooden coat rack just beside his bed. "And you, Gale, just became a thorn on their side."
"I didn't mean to…" Gale mumbled.
"No, it was brilliant," Ollie said, crouching down and looking for his shoes under the bed. "But also dangerous as hell. You said the Blue Witches and I would follow you. Bold claim, Mister. Sir, very bold."
Marine chuckled. "It was pretty badass though."
Ollie found his shoes and put them on while standing. "So, you seem to know something about the Red Hollow or the Red Death incident. How'd you figure that out?"
Gale's eyes glanced at Lily just for an instant.
"I mean, I'm guessing Lily probably told you or something," Ollie continued, tying his shoes. "But what you need to know is this. In Aur, the people who got out of that hellhole we went through, they call them Red Hollows. They're a special breed of awakened."
Ollie stood up, now fully dressed and looking like a standard Path businessman. "Everyone who came out awakened as a combatant. Not just awakened. Awakened with specific powers related to what we saw there."
He gestured toward Jeanne. "Take Jeanne here. She's got constant body strengthening. It's passive. She's just always like that without using any ether. She can amp it up if she uses her ether. Just like those beasts in the forest. Makes her tough like those fugly forest beasts. Smells like one too."
"Hey!" Jeanne shouted, flustered.
"And Lily," Ollie continued, "can throw those lances, the blue light ones that came from the moon and do some more funky stuff with it. The mundane all got out, awakened, and got something out of that place."
"Most people who exit rifts have about a 50/50 chance of awakening. And getting a combat related gift? That's even less chance. Like 10% of that 50/50." Lily added. "And for everyone that came out of that rift to have combat aspects? That's unheard of."
Ollie slicked his hair back. "That's why the Path watches them. The awakened from the red hollows are all strong, valuable assets." His eyes fixed on Gale. "So how'd you know? How'd you figure that out to use against Jonathan?"
Gale looked down, not knowing what to say. He didn't know any of that. What else could he say other than, "I didn't."
"What?" Ollie leaned forward.
"I didn't know. I was making it all up. I just wanted him to leave us alone," Gale said.
Ollie laughed hysterically. The others joined in on his laugh, Jeanne being the biggest laugher.
"You!" Ollie laughed with a gasp, "You just pulled that out of your ass? You threatened Jonathan with information you didn't even have?"
Marine joined in the laughter, while Jeanne shook her head with a smirk. Even Lily cracked a smile.
"Asshole number 1," Gale mumbled.
"Oh, he absolutely is." Ollie straightened, wiping tears from his eyes. "But you accidentally hit the nail on the head. That's probably why Jonathan looked so rattled."
Was he rattled? As far as Gale knew, the man looked completely undisturbed by any of what he said.
"This isn't funny, Ollie. If Jonathan thinks Gale actually knows insider information, then bad things could happen to him!" Nathan tried to raise his voice to go over the last few laughs.
"Relax, Nathan." Ollie clapped a hand on Gale's shoulder. "Our boy here just got lucky. And now Jonathan's going to be looking over his shoulder, wondering what else he knows."
The smile on Ollie immediately faded. "But Nathan's right about one thing. You've put yourself on their radar now. The Path doesn't like wildcards. They'll either try to recruit you or neutralize you."
Great. He went from invisible to target practice for any of the agents under Jonathan. So what! Let them. They won't follow him all the way to the Arctic.
Ollie paced across the small room, hand on his chin, thinking. He stopped and faced Gale. "This brings me to a proposition. I want you to join the Path under my umbrella."
Gale frowned. "Your umbrella?"
"My division," Ollie explained. "Weapons R&D department. We specialize in artificing and researching new applications of magic to firearms and other weapons. Plus defensive artefacts for those with more delicate bodies like me."
"Ollie's division is one of the most autonomous in the Path. Its relationship with the higher-ups is... complicated," Nathan added.
"That's putting it mildly," Lily muttered.
"The point is," Ollie continued, "you'd have protection. You'd be officially Path, but you'd answer to me, not Jonathan or any other stuffed suit."
This was way too much. He couldn't just take all of this for granted. The first time he asked him, sure, he could just decline. This was the second time though. If one way or another, Ollie suddenly leaves him, then he'd have nothing to go back on. Can't even work at McDs without a G.E.D. The woods? No. That's only the last resort.
"I appreciate the offer," Gale said slowly. "Really, I do. But..."
"But?"
"I'd rather prefer to be more like the Blue Witches. Independent. Maybe work with you when I'm not in class?"
"Right. I forgot you were taking classes. But most of the work I give out is during the night anyways," Ollie said.
"I also have classes at night."
Ollie sighed, putting a palm on his face. "Then what about personal missions from me at your own timing?"
"Are those the off the books thing you did like last night? I could do those," Gale asked.
Marine put her index finger on her mouth. "Shhh. No one has to hear that."
Gale covered his own mouth with his hand and nodded.
Ollie raised an eyebrow. "My side business?"
Nathan cleared his throat and nervously looked around. "Ollie, maybe we should discuss this somewhere more discreet."
"No, it's fine." Ollie held up a hand, never taking his eyes off Gale. "Seems our boy knows more than he lets on."
A grin formed on Ollie's lips. "Whatever happened to that innocent nightmare demon that kept everyone alive? Thought you'd come back the same. I guess two extra months with asshole number 1 does stuff to people."
"It does," Gale said simply.
Ollie laughed again.
"I had a whole speech prepared about bringing you into the Path slowly, teaching you the ropes, protecting your innocence." He wiped the tears off his eyes. "But it seems you've got your own ideas already."
"Is that a yes or a no?" Gale asked.
"It's a 'tell me more,'" Ollie replied. "What exactly are you offering, Gale? And what do you want in return?"
Before Gale could answer, there was a soft knock at the door. Everyone in the room got on guard, just in case it was the Path agents again.
"Who is it?" Lily called, positioning herself at the door.
"It's Rachel," the familiar voice came from the other side. "I heard Ollie was here."
"Rachel?" Gale whispered to himself.
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