I scratched behind Penguin's sugar glider ears. "Looks like you're stuck with me now."
He made a happy sound and did an excited run down my arm and then up again.
I laughed. It tickled a bit.
A feeling of warmth spread through my chest.
The evening air was cool but not cold. Penguin's presence felt like a small, warm anchor against my skin.
-
[System Notification: Bond stabilization complete.
Elemental channel established.
Combat parameters adjusted.
Intuitive Drift enhanced.]
-
I blinked at the notification.
"What? What does that mean?"
[User Skills now include bond-enhancement. Would you like to see your basic Attributes, Abilities, and Skills?]
Wait, I had more of those? I confirmed the prompt.
A new window popped up.
-
ATTRIBUTES
Intuitive Drift (Legendary)
Thread Perception (Unique)
Elemental Insight (Myth)
ABILITIES
Elemental Mastery (Myth) [User-Specific]
Thread Moderation (Myth) [Exclusive]
Knot Listening (Rare) [System-Enhanced]
Thread Muting (Rare) [System-Granted]
Thread Flagging (Myth) [System-Granted]
SKILLS
Crisis Management (Rare) [System-Granted]
Exploratory Analysis (Rare) [System-Granted]
-
What? Wait...
That was more than I thought.
I read briefly through the descriptions, feeling slightly mystified.
My Elemental Insight was Myth level? And hadn't the Intuitive Drift Attribute been the only one I'd seen before all of this started? It was Legendary Level?!
I opened the description.
-
[Intuitive Drift (Legendary):
A natural, subconscious pull toward what's off-kilter, urgent, or worth noticing. A tendency toward environments, individuals, opportunities, and situations that mirror the User's true nature.]
-
I was speechless. What did that even mean?
Was this the reason my life was such a mess?
That'd explain a lot. My employment history, for one. Every job I'd ever had always seemed to implode. Contracts canceled, projects shelved, industries collapsing... Maybe I'd been drifting toward disaster my whole life without realizing it.
It was a depressing thought.
I closed the window.
Penguin chirped and nuzzled against my neck, as if trying to console me.
Whatever Intuitive Drift was, it had also pulled me toward Penguin, so it couldn't be that bad, right?
I reopened the window and scrolled through the other skills.
Thread Perception, Thread Moderation, Thread Muting, Thread Flagging, Crisis Management, Exploratory Analysis… These all seemed to be the powers I had used in the Distorted Realm and then in the Dungeon.
But Myth and Legendary level? That seemed excessive.
"I'm not sure I deserve these ratings," I told Penguin. "I've been in exactly two fights and one training. That's hardly enough data for the System to decide I'm 'Mythical' or 'Legendary' at anything."
Penguin let out a chirp that I chose to interpret as disagreement.
"You're biased," I said, scratching his head. "But I appreciate the vote of confidence."
I should spend some more time exploring this, but it didn't feel like the right moment. We were taking a stroll and Penguin was happy.
I closed all windows and stopped to listen to a musician playing the Irish fiddle.
As we stood there, I found myself thinking about that day in Mondwyn Harbor again.
And then, inevitably... the training.
I wondered what Llewellyn was doing. What did national heroes do in their free time?
I was still feeling a bit too self-conscious from the training, but—
Before I could talk myself out of it, I pulled out my phone.
Ryo: Still all in one piece?
I stared at the screen, half expecting no reply. To my surprise, the response came almost immediately.
Llewellyn: I'm normally the one who has to ask you that.
Well. He wasn't wrong.
Ryo: Just checking.
Llewellyn: Fell off from any skies recently?
I snorted.
Ryo: Can't tell if that was sarcasm or the worst pick-up line I've ever heard.
Wait… That came out wrong.
Shit. Too late now.
My face heated up.
There was a suitable long pause.
Llewellyn: …I knew I should have let you hit the ground.
Ryo: You literally walked into that, what did you expect?
Llewellyn was typing again.
Llewellyn: Shouldn't you be asleep?
I glanced at the time. The question caught me off guard.
Ryo: It's afternoon? Most people are awake now.
Llewellyn: Most people being the operative word. The last time you were complaining about being on shift at 4 am.
I couldn't argue with that. Wait, was this why he had scheduled the training in the afternoon?
Ryo: I did sleep most of the day. Now I'm in Jeongdae with my new pet.
I paused, wondering if I should have delayed mentioning Penguin or found a better way to say it. Well, too late now.
Penguin shifted on my shoulder, leaning forward to peer at my phone screen.
Llewellyn: Pet?
The three dots appeared, disappeared, then reappeared again.
Llewellyn: What kind of pet?
I lifted my phone, angling it so Penguin was in frame, and snapped a quick photo.
His tiny sugar glider face looked almost comically serious as he gripped my collar. I sent the picture.
Ryo: This kind.
Llewellyn: That's a sugar glider.
Ryo: Very observant.
Llewellyn: Since when do you have a sugar glider?
Ryo: Only a few days. He's not actually a sugar glider though.
Llewellyn: What is he, then?
I watched Penguin shift back into his penguin form, settling more comfortably in my pocket.
Ryo: A penguin, mostly. Sometimes a fox. Occasionally a hedgehog.
I wondered if I had said too much.
The dots appeared and disappeared three times before his reply came through.
Llewellyn: Are you concussed?
I snorted loudly, startling a couple walking past.
Llewellyn: Wait.
There was a long pause. The three dots appeared and disappeared several times.
Llewellyn: Tell me that's not it.
I frowned at the screen, confused by his sudden shift in tone.
Ryo: Not what?
Llewellyn: The thing you couldn't tell me.
…Of course he'd made the connection.
Well, I had intended to tell him after all—and the bond was complete now, so there was no reason not to.
My phone rang immediately. I winced and answered.
"What did you do?" Llewellyn said. "Is this the thing Ó Néill cornered me about?"
"Er... You sure you want me to answer that?"
"Ryo."
"Fine. Maybe? Should we talk about this over the phone?"
Llewellyn let out an unhappy sound.
"Where are you?"
"I told you, I'm—"
"Where should I reach you," Llewellyn said impatiently.
Oh. "Well, I guess you could come here, but there are quite a few people around."
That wasn't a problem just for Penguin. If Llewellyn were to be recognized, that would be a hassle to say the least.
I rotated on the spot, trying to find a suitable location.
"There's a small coffee shop near the end of the promenade," I said. "The Jeongdae Express. We can meet outside, then move somewhere among the trees."
"Fine," I could hear him rummage in the background. "Let me grab my coat. I'll be there in a few moments."
He hung up before I could respond.