Chapter 169

“Unbelievable,” Delta said. “Another advancement, already.” She huffed. “You know, I’m kind of pissed. You advance your runes by fucking girls, meanwhile we have to risk our lives and wade around in monster guts to progress.” She paused. “Though,” she conceded, “I guess you’re doing your own fair amount of wading around in guts—but not like we had to.”

Zoey laughed at the turn of phrase, while Rosalie eyed her with distaste. “Must you always be so crude? Have some decorum.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Delta said. “But really—don’t you agree?”

Rosalie, who had instantly reached over to place her hand on Zoey’s cheek, reading her tabula anima, pursed her lips. Zoey didn’t need an explicit answer to see that Rosalie did agree. Zoey couldn’t fault Delta’s outrage, either. Compared to most people, her form of leveling was definitely far more enjoyable. Unfairly so.

“Well, anyway. What’s it looking like?” Delta asked. “Which rune was it?”

“Runes, actually.”

“Two of them?!”

“All four,” Rosalie said, her tone dry.

Delta’s mouth fell open, and she full-on gaped at Zoey. Even Zoey’s eyebrows went up. This was the first time all four had incremented over the same night. The foxgirl recovered, then glared at her. Zoey raised her hands defensively. “Look, I know I’m lucky. I’m hardly denying that. I have both of you in my bed, don’t I?”

“Flattery won’t save you,” Delta said, poking her in the shoulder. “All four runes? You haven’t even been in a shard. We’re been running around the city and fucking like rabbits, and you’ve advancing all four runes?”

“I’ve been taking my lessons seriously, too” Zoey said defensively.

“And? Most wayfarers do. But they don’t advance four runes in less than a week while lazing about.”

Zoey certainly wasn’t lazing about, at least in the full meaning of the phrase. But she didn’t defend herself; she understood Delta’s sentiment.

“I’ll remind you that you’re benefiting too,” Rosalie pointed out. “Her Growth skill means our next shard will probably boost both of us to our next advancement—or at least close.”

“Still,” Delta grumbled. “It’s insane.”

Zoey knew Delta wasn’t actually upset. She was just incredulous, and teasing in her usual over-the-top way. Zoey completely understood how her easy progress could feel kind of invalidating to her months of hard work. Most people spent their lives nearly dying to reach the higher advancements, and here Zoey was, doing it while—well, as Delta said, frolicking about, fucking like rabbits. Even if Zoey was also attending her alchemy and magic lessons as a diligent student.

“So, what’s she got?” Delta asked.

Rosalie withdrew her hand, having sorted through Zoey’s newly gained abilities.

“And we should probably teach her how to do that herself,” Delta added. “It’s not that hard to learn, even if she’s an alien.”

“She’s not an alien,” Rosalie said. “Just a...” she failed to find the proper word, so sniffed and moved on. “And yes, I’ve been meaning to get around to it.”

Zoey knew the real reason Rosalie hadn’t prioritized teaching her: she found the act of reading her skills intimate. And while Zoey would like to be able to read her tabula anima herself, so she could sort through her abilities in her own mind without Rosalie’s help, she didn’t mind indulging her girlfriend. It wasn’t that high of a priority.

“So?” Zoey prompted. “Hit us with it.”

Rosalie didn’t seem flabbergasted by anything she had seen, like some of the earlier reveals, but that was more likely because she understood Zoey’s position better—and a person could only be surprised by her class so many times. Her lips were pursed, anyway, so whatever skills she’d read, they had prompted some sort of reaction.

“Which first?” Rosalie asked.

“Whatever one’s got you frowning like that,” Delta said, poking at her cheek—which Rosalie leaned away from and eyed her for. “Cuz that’s gonna be the fun one.”

Rosalie looked at Zoey, pointedly ignoring the third woman.

“Uh—how about arcana, first? Honestly, that’s what I’m most excited for.” Her lewd abilities were fun, and she was excited to see what she’d gotten, but the reality of her transmigration through worlds had been hanging over her head more and more. She didn’t think ‘saving the world’, whatever that meant, would include a traditional set of combat skills, but her Rune of Arcana was her most standard wayfaring Rune—her most practical means of fighting.

Plus, it gave her access to free-form magical abilities. Who wouldn’t be excited to see how that developed?

“Arcana. There’s two skills that came with it,” Rosalie started, though she was quickly cut off by Delta.

“Two?!”

“One of them is a filler,” Rosalie said. “A Circle upgrade.”

“Huh?” Zoey said.

“Second Circle: Cast spells up to two Circles in complexity.” Rosalie shrugged. “I’m not a caster, but as far as I know, it’s standard to receive on second or third advancement.”

In that case, that would make this rune the only one growing at a normal pace. As she’d already noted, her Rune of Arcana was her ‘typical wayfaring rune’.