Origin ARS 3 (Origin A.R.S.) (22 page)

“Sharde, what is it...What’s wrong?” asked Rhea. She ran her hand down her crying sister’s ponytail.

“H-he’s dead!” wailed the girl.

“Who’s dead?” asked Rhea.

“Fat Scott!” cried Sharde.

Scott mouthed the words, “Fat Scott” to Rhea and she shook her head at him. It was not the time to discuss that.

Ero, however, did not get to participate in that silent conversation. “Who’s Fat Scott?”

Sharde blubbered a little then cried out, “My F-fiancé-ey...”

“Fiancé?” asked Scott loudly. When the heck did that happen?

“Yeah... It was a whirlwind romance.” said Sharde between sniffles.

“Oh Sharde, how did it happen?” asked Rhea gently.

Sharde pulled back then looked at Rhea with an anguished expression. “I let him touch my boobs and he had a heart attack.”

The red-haired girl’s expression turned sour when Rhea made a snickering sound then tried to cover it up. “Hey, I loved him you know.” said Sharde.

“Yeah, I know...” said Rhea softly. She brushed her sister’s hair once more. The ninja girl sniffled a little then snuggled in close. She’d had a traumatic experience.

Sharde pulled out a tissue from her inventory then dabbed at her eyes before she blew her nose loudly. “It was a lovely funeral.”

Rhea made a face. Her sister had blown her nose a little too close to her for her comfort.

Scott opened his mouth to say something, but Rhea shook her head again. He kept quiet for a moment and the girls spoke softly with each other.

“The worst part is that I’ve been sentenced to community service.” said Sharde.

“Really? That’s terrible. When’s the trial?” asked Rhea.

“Next week. I start work at my temp job tomorrow.”

Scott could not be quiet any longer. “Your trial is not till next week, but you’ve already been sentenced?”

Sharde glanced over at him then her eyes widened. She began to cry then loudly called out, “Oh, you look just like him except he was
faa-at
!”

She clutched at Rhea again then started to bawl like a baby. Rhea looked at Scott reproachfully.

“Uh, I think we’ll leave you two ladies alone for a while.” said Scott.

Rhea smiled thankfully at him and Sharde blubbered a little. The sorcerer and his fairy friend left to give them time to speak as sisters.

Sharde blew her nose again then sighed. “No sympathy kisses from him, huh?”

“No, he’s my boyfriend remember?” said Rhea with a smile. That was one of the many things that Sharde had asked Rhea about during the whispered portion of their conversation.

“I know... I know. I just wish I could find a boyfriend of my own. One without a heart condition.” replied the ninja girl before she stopped crying altogether then sighed.

Rhea hugged her sister tight then shook her head. “What kind of community service did they stick you with?”

Sharde sighed. “Alpha Phase World building...”

“Eww, that’s a total pain, or is it fun? Did you get a good world?”

“I dunno. The briefing told me that it’s some recently purchased Earth or other. I only have to put in twenty hours a week.”

“That’s not too bad. What happened to Fat Scott?”

Sharde shrugged. “The arbiter told me that my presence there was erased and his heart attack, at that time, never happened in the new timeline.”

“See, that’s not too bad. At least Fat Scott can live the rest of his life.” said Rhea.

“I can’t ever see him again or go within five hundred light years and twenty-six realities from that Earth for at least five years, though.” said Sharde.

“Oh... I see.”

“Yeah. I felt so sad that I even wrote a song and put it up on the ARS collectible site.”

“Really? A song?” asked Rhea. Sharde sang beautifully, but rarely did so. This was news.

“I wanted to make a tribute to our short, but passionate love.” replied the ponytailed ninja.

“What did you call it?” asked Rhea.

“The Ballad of Fat Scott.” said Sharde before she sniffled loudly.

Rhea made a snickering noise once more and Sharde pouted at her. The red-head said, “S’not funny... I need to figure out how to have a relationship with someone normal.”

“Normal?”

“Yeah, someone nice.” said Sharde.

“Like who?” asked Rhea carefully.

Sharde looked at her sister then sniffled sadly. She pouted at her cutely then widened her eyes and batted her eyelashes.

“Absolutely not. He’s mine. We’re going to start a family soon.”

“Rhea, are you pregnant!” asked Sharde excitedly.

“No, he hasn’t figured out how to do that with me yet.” said Rhea.

“I’m sure he has an idea.” replied the ninja girl while unleashing a suggestive wink.

Rhea giggled at her sister’s antics. “He has lots of ideas, but you know how some of those go.”

Sharde laughed at her. “He should have a few bad ideas about me.”

Rhea kissed her on the cheek. “I can’t say that loving you would be a bad idea, you’re a wonderful person, Sharde. But I’d have to kill him at least three times for every idea that he had. Let’s not get started on what would happen if he acted on them.”

“Sounds fair! Let me go find him.” She turned and started to move away, but Rhea snatched her head back by her ponytail.

“Ow! No fair with the hair, Rhea!” cried Sharde.

“Nope, no Scott for you.”

“But my Scott died tragically... Let me borrow yours for a few days.” said Sharde.

“To paraphrase
my
Scott,
Hell no
.” said the blue haired elf.

“That’s not fair... I want a Scott, too.” Sharde pouted cutely at her sister.

“Is my Scott really the one you secretly dream of, though?” asked Rhea.

“I dunno, maybe. I do want to spend time with him and get to know him for real, but he’s not into harems and well... I don’t want to hurt you, even if I’d like it if he’d hurt me a little.”

“Hurt you a little?” Rhea’s eyes widened in surprise.

Sharde blushed at her sister. “What...? I’m a ninja... I like dark attribute things.”

Rhea giggled at her sister.  “You want a Tall, dark, and fat Scott?”

“Yes! Of course!” replied Sharde without hesitation. However, she changed her mind a moment later.

Sharde placed a finger to her chin the bit her lower lip. She acquired a thoughtful expression then made her true heart known. “Maybe he’s a dark and mysterious sort of Scott. He might have a tragic past, but only be a little fat. You know, like a cute little Scott teddy bear that I can poke and cuddle. Oh, and hopefully he likes harems and games.”

“So, basically harem batman?” asked Rhea.

“Haremman.” said Sharde with a sage nod.

“Would he have a harem-mobile and haremarangs?”

“Yes, and harem anti-shark spray.” said Sharde. The girls shared a giggle over that one.

“What is it with you and harems anyway? You never used to be into them that much.” said Rhea.

Sharde smiled at her sister. “I don’t know. They just appeal to me. There’s this one guy and a whole bunch of girls who want the one guy. Sometimes he’s a whiny little thing, which I don’t like. Other times he’s all kickass and grr, and
sexy
.”

“So, you want the
grr
sexy, harem guy?” asked Rhea with a smile.

“Yeah! That guy is usually surrounded by girls who can kick ass, too, even if he doesn’t want to be. They tend to travel around while they do the aforementioned ass kicking and there is occasional cuddling.” said Sharde.

Rhea watched her sister’s eyes light up as she went into detail about the joys of being part of a harem. It was quite comical and nice to see. Sharde had been a bit introverted in recent years. The fact that the ninja girl had become so animated really set her sister’s heart at ease.

They came by the dozens, the monstrous beasts of the mountains. They came on wing, on scale, and by tip-toe of claw. No matter what method of travel they chose, they all died the same way. They exploded into gore amidst showers of blood. The remains of the once great beasts dissipated into motes of light.

Rhea smiled at her handiwork after receiving her battle report. It was nice to carve her way through her opponents once more. She cleaned off her blade then ran onward in search of the next field of battle. She needed to surpass Scott’s level as quickly as possible so that she could safely drag him up the experience ladder. Otherwise, they would grow too far apart in level and would not be able to fight together properly in the near future. Rhea could easily defeat the monsters here. Scott would not have the same effect on them.

She had slaughtered them by the hundreds in the last three days, but that was only enough to increase her level twice. She needed to carve them up by the thousands.

Meanwhile, Scott labored to battle opponents of his own. His current goal was to train and transfer experience to Ero until she reached his level. If word had not come about the Mermaid queen or the missing mermaids by then, he would start his own training to reach twenty-five.

Rhea had assured him that she could reach level twenty-five in less than two weeks. At that point the level gap allowance would increase considerably and they could rapidly increase his level while training together. Till then, fighting separately during the day would allow him to acquire ability points that he would miss out on if he was quick-leveled. He would need those points.

Scott leapt forward and unleashed a burn spell into a pack of Arvulfs, a wolf-like monster with saber teeth and horns that spat out lightning. The vulfs were flung away by his powerful attack, but they quickly regrouped and spread out.

Three of the blue-furred monsters raced toward him while the rest of the pack split up and came at him from his left and right. Scott knew this tactic well. They had caught him with it before. He had originally attempted to jump back to force them into a group once more but that method had proved less effective than what he was about to do.

Scott quickly equipped his boomerangs then ran forward. While he ran he utilized synchronicity to charge them with two separate spells. The first spell was his water sphere and the second was his flash spell.

His boomerangs flashed outward toward the three Arvulfs in front of him. The leader managed to dodge but his companion was right behind him. He took the boomerang to the face. The water sphere imprisoned it for a split second as the second boomerang hit just after. The flash spell flared out and destabilized the sphere with explosive results.

Electrified water shot out in all directions and caught the other two Arvulfs in the process. Neither of them was killed in that exchange, but they were temporarily paralyzed.

Scott kept moving forward and snatched up his boomerangs when they returned to him. He immediately charged them again. This time they were both charged with the burn spell.

The running sorcerer leapt over a paralyzed Arvulf and kept going. He did not turn until he heard the howls of the creatures behind him. They always howled when they recovered from a status effect.

Scott spun around as soon as his next step was completed. He hurled his boomerangs toward the reformed pack. Dual explosions rocked the area and Arvulfs flew through the air.

He switched weapons and equipped his spear. Several of the monsters were burning now, but they still had a tendency toward moving as a pack. They writhed and howled, but their pack mates did not abandon them. Scott took the opportunity to fan the flames, so to speak.

The sorcerer whirled his spear around and cried out, “
Howling Gale!
”

A horizontal tornado raced outward and buffeted the monsters with razor-like winds. They actual magical damage was minor, but the effect was great. The flames were drawn into the vortex and he managed to create a flame tornado that burned the pack with great fury. Several of them actually died as numbers in the double digits began to pop up from them repeatedly.

Weakened considerably by the onslaught, the pack of Arvulfs was not able to withstand the concentrated volley of burn spells that came their way afterwards. After the pack dissipated, the background music shifted back to the airy mountain tune that normally played. The battle report appeared.

<<<
Battle Report
>>>

Victory!!

Congratulations! You defeated eighteen Arvulfs!

+ 5234 EXP

+ 3467 Fayth

+ 36 Ability Points

Item(s) Acquired

Arvulf Horns X 12

Arvulf Pelt X 9

Arvulf Fang X 3

Medium Sapphire X 1

<<< * >>>

Scott was happy to see the result. That was nearly one-third of the experience that he needed to reach the next level. It would help sighed. “Man, who knew that monsters had this much magic resistance?”

The Shar-Shar had given him a false sense of superiority. They had strong resistance to physical damage but weak to magic.  Most sea creatures seemed to follow that pattern. However, everything he had fought in this mountain range had been far more capable of shrugging off his magic. Apparently, class one magic was even less effective due to level bonuses or something.

“So, what do you say we head in and rest for a little while, Ero?” asked Scott. He would be in serious trouble if another pack showed up. His mana was not infinite and it took a good chunk out of his mana pool per Vulf pack.

“Yeah! I want to see how Sharde is doing.” said the fairy girl from within his mind. She had been worried about Rhea’s sister since she had returned.

Scott smiled softly then nodded. They left the burnt ruin that was the battlefield and headed toward the small cabin that they temporarily called home. This would be a great place to train both before, and after, they rescued the mermaids.

He was a little concerned that they could have just had him acquire a much higher level first, and then back train for ability points, but Rhea had a good point. Until he could effectively use his spells without having to hurl four or five of them just to take down a single monster, hunting at higher levels would be pointless. He would have better stats, but he might still be beaten by the stronger monsters and their bullshit magic resistance buffs.

It took a half hour to return to the cabin. Upon arrival Scott bore witness to a sad sight. Sharde sat alone at the little picnic table outside. She slowly stirred a spoon around inside of a bowl of soup. After a moment she sighed loudly.

“Hey Sharde.” said Scott in a friendly manner.

She never looked up from her bowl. “Hi...”

Scott walked over to her then sat down across from her at the table. She glanced up at him quickly then looked down at her bowl again.

He was silent for a moment. What could he say? She was obviously depressed, but he barely knew her. She needed to spend time with her sister.

Sharde bit her lower lip briefly then glanced back up at Scott. “So... Have you been training?”

Scott nodded. “Yeah, it’s harder now, even with better equipment.”

She smiled softly. “Yeah, you need to upgrade your spells and skills a bit.”

He accepted her critique with a smile of his own. It was true.

Sharde played with her soup for a moment then sighed once more. Scott asked, “I’m not very good at it, but... you can tell me what’s bothering you if you like.”

The ninja girl looked up at him then a slight smile broke across her face. “I’m not sure what to talk about. I... I just don’t know anymore.”

“Then just pick a topic. We never really talk, so there are a lot of things to discuss, right?” asked Scott.

She nodded slowly then a slight tinge of pink slipped across her nose. “Well, are you and Rhea getting along well?”

“I think so. We don’t have as many weird interactions as before.” he admitted.

“Weird interactions?” she asked with a grin.

He smiled at her in return. “Well, you know... Misunderstandings about feelings and stuff.”

“That’s good... I’m happy for her and for you...” said Sharde. However, her expression shifted to one of sadness and longing once more.

Scott reached out and took her free hand. “Sharde, I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you.”

Her faced grew darker and her blush increased. “No, I... I hurt myself, I guess.”

“Did you?” asked Scott.

She nodded. “I fixated on you because of my sister’s interest and let myself believe there was more to it than that.”

He squeezed her hand gently. She smiled in response. They continued to simply look at each other for a moment.

Sharde finally spoke up. “I’m sorry if I caused you problems.”

“You are not and never were a problem, Sharde. You’re a nice girl, and I’d love to be friends with you.”

Her smile increased several sizes. “Thanks for that. I know that I can be a little... aggressive and clueless. I just get excited about things that interest me.”

“That’s a good thing though. I used to be that way till life sucked the fun out of Me.” said Scott.

“Ha! You’re one of the most amusing people I know.” said Sharde.

“You think so?” asked Scott.

She giggled gently then nodded. “Yes... I really liked watching you live your life. It got me through a lot of lonely days.”

“I’m glad that I could be there for you in that way then.” said Scott.

Sharde’s cheeks took on a rosy tone. “Thank you. I just...”

“Yes?” he asked.

Sharde shook her head. “It’s not right, but I just wish that I could have met you first.”

Scott squeezed her hand again. “Am I really that irreplaceable? There are probably millions of guys like me out there. There might even been one or two who are better.”

“One or two, huh?” asked Sharde with a smile.

“Maybe three, but that’s pushing it. I’m pretty awesome.” replied Scott with a cheeky grin.

Sharde laughed. “Yeah, and you make my sister happy. I’m glad.”

“I’m sure you’ll find someone who makes you happy, too. You’re a really nice girl, Sharde.” said Scott.

She smiled softly at him. “You said you were bad at this.”

“If I were good at it, you’d be dancing and singing by now.” he said with a smile of his own.

The ninja girl shook her head. “I probably won’t be doing either for a while.”

“Why? Is it because of your...fiancé?” asked Scott. He still did not know the real story of that.

“Only a little. It’s mostly that I just can’t figure out how to approach someone I like. I’m usually direct about everything that I do, and it doesn’t seem to work properly with relationships.” she said.

“Well, maybe you’re too eager for a relationship to start and just need to be friends with someone first.” said Scott.

“Friends first?” she asked curiously.

“Well, yeah. Some people claim there is a thing called the
friend zone
where a relationship is doomed to never be more than simple friendship. Don’t believe that.” he said.

“OK, what should I believe?” asked Sharde.

Scott smiled at her then said, “Believe that everything starts with being friends with someone. You don’t need to be best friends forever or anything, but at least be on good terms.”

“Would I have been able to find a guy like you with such a tactic?” asked Sharde with curious expression.

“You could find any decent sort of guy like that. Wouldn’t you want to be with someone who honestly knows and cares about you, has history with you?” asked Scott.

“History, what sort of history?” she asked, her eyebrow rose curiously.

“Yeah, you know, like being neighbors or childhood friends. Maybe you work together or have similar interests. There are lots of ways to be part of someone’s life” said Scott.

“I see... How interesting. You say that I could have someone special in my life if I just spent more time with that someone, had a little history with them?”  

“Well it might be a little late for you to be someone’s childhood friend, but hey if it ever happens then there you go. Otherwise, just keep your eyes out for someone you find interesting and see what common ground you have.” said Scott.

Sharde released her soup spoon then placed it atop Scott’s. “OK, if I find anyone like that I’ll give your advice a try.”

“I hope it helps.” said Scott.

“Yes, me too.” She sighed softly. “I doubt it’ll be useful any time soon, though.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I’m stuck doing community service and I’ll be working on world building for a new project part-time.” she said.

“Well, that could be fun and interesting...” said Scott.

Sharde glanced at him. “Most of it is number crunching. I doubt I’ll find anything fun or interesting about it.”