Chapter 136

They continued around the arcade, destroying various skill games, Delta much more so than Zoey, but Zoey putting up her own supernatural performance too. As much as Zoey had fun testing her new limits, she enjoyed Delta strutting about and teasing her. Maybe some people would find the bravado annoying, but Zoey found it endlessly cute—especially because whenever Zoey didn’t rise up to the bait, and instead complimented Delta, the poor foxgirl would blush and look away. She even pouted about how Zoey ought to be at least acting a little frustrated.

Some of the games were difficult enough even they couldn’t get perfect scores. For examples, empowered or not, landing a pinpoint bullseye with darts twenty feet away on every single shot was beyond even Delta—though her accuracy was shocking nonetheless.

As they played, they of course chatted. The entertainment was background noise, especially to Zoey. She’d gotten a chance to learn more about Delta, and in the frenzy of the past two weeks, that was a rare opportunity. One she’d been looking forward to.

“So what’s it like up there?” Zoey asked. “I haven’t actually learned much about Haven.”

“Depends,” Delta said. “My answer would be different from Rosalie’s.”

“That’s fair. You, specifically, though.”

Delta shrugged. “I didn’t have it as bad as some. Maybe worse than a lot. I guess in the end it’s not that different from the Fractures. Those who have, have. And those who don’t, don’t.”

It was more of a serious response than Zoey had been expecting, but she was happy to engage with it. “There’s a lot of imbalance?”

“That’d be putting it lightly.”

In a world where people could acquire nearly godlike powers, that made sense. It still made Zoey’s heart pang, hearing that Delta had been in that less-fortunate half. Or probably less-fortunate nine-tenths. She could only imagine the difference between the ‘elite’ and the ‘not’ was more prevalent than in her own world—and things hadn’t been pretty there, either.

“Fractures might even have it better,” Delta commented. “Way more likely to die down here, I guess, but the day to day is better for the average citizen. On purpose. Wayfarers need support personnel, so they gives reasons for people to flock to such a dangerous place.”

“Yeah,” Zoey said. “What about you, though? Family? You said you had a dad you were trying to help?”

“That’s why I came down initially. Same as most people. Money. A chance at something more. Didn’t expect to do so well.”

No kidding. From the sounds of it, Delta wasn’t anyone special—in the sense of status or birth—yet had proven herself an impressive wayfarer in a matter of months, enough even Maddy and Rosalie thought highly of her. Lacking the elite training those two had received, that was really saying something.

“Working towards that goal faster than I’d expected,” Delta continued. “Expected it to take at least a year to start pulling in the money I’d need to help my dad out, but I’m already third advancement. It’s kind of crazy to think about. I know you don’t have a great idea of what that means, but my time as just—I don’t know, a regular person, is over. Way over. Third advancement up in Haven would live like royalty.”

“Really?”

“Maybe that’s exaggerating,” Delta said. “Actually, it definitely is. But to me? Or rather, us? My family? Not that far. It’d be like royalty, considering where we started.”

“How hard is it to climb advancements? Normally, I mean.”

“Most people die in their first few shards,” Delta said. “Most people don’t get an insane prodigy for a surprise teammate and an unbelievable class to help them along. Or make two advancements in a matter of weeks. Or have five runes.”

“I get it,” Zoey said. “Still, reaching third and heading back to Haven makes you practically nobility?”

“Again, I was exaggerating—we just really weren’t well off.”

“Ah.”

“But yes, it’s hard. Hence the payout if you reach the higher ranks. Even if you’re great at this, all it takes is a single bad shard. Say you’ve got a one-in-twenty odds of dying on any given adventure. Go through fifty of them—well, do the math, right? Even if you’re relatively safe, by doing what we do, over and over, things’ll eventually catch up.”

“I guess I didn’t think about it too hard.”

“Don’t blame you. I mean, considering your whole situation—and what’s going on now, too.”

“Not much chance to sit around and just think about stuff like that,” Zoey said in agreement. She sobered up. “But back to your dad—you’re trying to make enough to pay for his treatment, right?” Delta had mentioned a while ago he’d been in an accident, resulting in a crippling injury. That event had been the catalyst to shove Delta down into the Fractures, seeking some kind of solution.

“That’s the goal.”

“We could help,” Zoey said. “Me and Rosalie.”

Delta slowed, her next shot freezing. She frowned at Zoey. “Yeah. I knew you’d eventually offer something like that.”

“Oh?”

“Look,” Delta said. “I’d be the world’s biggest asshole to put my ego before getting my dad the money he needs.”

She ended the statement there.

“But you wanted to do it yourself,” Zoey finished.

Delta’s expression soured. “Like I said, that doesn’t matter.”

“How close are you?”

“Not close. Third advancement means I’ll start pulling in impressive amounts with each trip, but I just reached it. And wayfaring is expensive in its own right.”

Zoey sympathized with Delta’s dilemma. Delta recognized that wanting to be her dad’s exclusive savior was selfish, but at the same time, it was selfish in the best kind of way—wanting to be responsible for risking her life to earn the money her family needed. And while she wanted that, she also wouldn’t refuse help—she just had conflicting feelings about it.

“How about a loan from us?” Zoey asked. “That way it’s still all your work. But he gets what he needs now.”

Delta considered.

“I kinda figured you’d insist I just take your help,” Delta said. “To stop being stupid and selfish.” She chewed her lip for a moment, then said, “Wow, you’re really gonna make it a loan? Aren’t we friends? It’s my poor, disabled father.”

“Don’t be an ass,” Zoey laughed.

“I guess it’s the best I can do,” Delta said, growing serious. “A part of me wants to be the sole savior, like I said, but I’ll get over it. Dad comes first, obviously. You think blondie would do that for me, though? I get the feeling her family’s rich as sin, but loaning me?”

“She would,” Zoey said without hesitation. “But even if she couldn’t, I probably could, soon enough. Sabina seems positive that potion business is gonna blow up at Mantle.”