Chosen By The Lover's Constellation-Chapter 25: Out Again

{One Week Later, August 27 239 2E}

{Lianna}

"The map says the spot should be around here..." Enverna said, leading Lianna forward. "You haven’t found anything?"

"Nope," Lianna replied, just after using her scouting abilities. "Not yet."

They’d been walking through a swamp located far northwest, a long walk away from the Haunted Forest. After everything that happened, Lianna and Enverna still needed to go and get their first kills to gain access to their Inventories.

Given that they were now suspected murderers in the eyes of the public, though, they went to do this on their own, with no one there to assist them.

Lianna kept looking over her shoulder the entire time, just in case someone had thought of following them and taking justice into their own hands. Or, in case Jack Caldwell figured he might as well finish the job he started.

It was hard to believe, but now, every step they made needed to consider the fact that another Constellation, or perhaps some other, darker, force had painted a target on their backs.

[... What the hell did I get myself into?]

As worried as she was about that, Lianna looked ahead and any doubt about the decision she’d made to agree to The Lover’s offer vanished as Enverna looked back at her, an eager smile gracing her face.

In truth, this was some of the most fun Lianna had experienced in all her life. If some adversity was to be expected in exchange for that, she figured she could deal with it.

She would need to plan ahead, though. And, her plan started with this little trip.

"I’ve been sweeping through my virtual reality simulations with ease, lately. Try not to fall to your knees as soon as you see me fight."

Lianna tried to hold herself back from speaking any of the thousands of "on my knees" jokes that came to her mind, but one snuck past her filter.

"You *don’t* want me on my knees? That might be the first time I’ve heard someone say that."

"Your efforts to fluster me on this day are in vain, my dear," Enverna said, twirling her staff with one hand. "I am the very image of focus today."

"What a lovely image that is."

"We have a job to do, Lianna. Don’t tell me you’re more focused on complimenting me than finding Fiends."

"Well, hearing you say my efforts at flustering you were in vain did sound a lot like a challenge."

"Okay, how about this? I challenge you to find me a Fiend before I die of boredom."

"On it, ma’am."

On that note, Lianna used {Reconnaisance} again. The area around her was scanned for any signs of life.

Unlike the last several times she’d used this ability, this time she actually found something.

"Get down!" Lianna whisper-yelled, just as the Fiend she saw through the trees and bushes came into view, walking into a clearing.

This was Lianna’s first time seeing such a creature. A grotesque lump of flesh slithering across the dirt, with writhing tentacles at the top of its mass.

[Gross...]

Using {Target Analysis}, she quickly assessed its strength.

{Lesser Fiend}

MP: 15/15

---

STR: C-

END: D

DEX: F

MYS: D-

L: F

"Okay... Okay," Lianna calmed down significantly. "This thing is weaker than you in pretty much every way. Still might pack a punch, though, so try not to get hit by those tentacles."

"... You really can see everything’s status," Enverna murmured. "Even Fiends."

Lianna did a double-take.

"Did you think I was lying to you or something? Yes, I can see everyone’s status... Or, most people’s, anyway," she whispered. "I couldn’t see all of Jack’s status."

Enverna’s eyes lingered on Lianna hearing that. But, soon, she focused up again.

"Watch me."

"You don’t need to tell me twice. Oh, hold on," Lianna soon added, "let me use something else..."

Then, she used her most recently acquired tool, {Lover’s Intuition}. The spell she’d gained from succeeding in her efforts to keep Enverna safe a week ago.

Lover’s Intuition - 25 MP

{Spell}

{Unique}

{Class: Scout}

{Desc: Receive a tip as to the most optimal way for Enverna Alteri to approach a combat scenario}

{Val: N/A}

Using it now, a message appeared.

{Be as aggressive as possible}

That was it. That was the entirety of the advice granted to them by the ability.

[Spells and Techniques get stronger the more you use them. I wonder if the tip is so short because that’s all Enverna needs to hear or because the spell is just too weak right now.]

Regardless, she said this to Enverna, letting her know.

Enverna then walked up to the Fiend calmly, spear in hand. Lianna went behind a nearby tree, knowing that she needed to stay out of sight.

[Five meters... As hot as it was for her to walk up like that if that thing sees me, my Technique’s passive will go away. So, yeah... But, that confidence was seriously hot, though.]

Activating her Instinct, a trail of water followed Enverna’s spear as she approached the Fiend.

The Fiend’s tentacles writhed aggressively.

Enverna ran straight to it.

Aiming the tip of Storm at its flesh, Enverna thrust swiftly, firing off a string of quick, calculated thrusts. Attacks that looked practiced and natural.

Dark, green blood, that looked and smelled like the foul traces of a bad meal, spilled out onto the dirt, with the water trail following her blade matching it.

Enverna did not stop. Even as the tentacles at the top of that thing’s body stretched out and tried to swipe at her, she dodged and attacked simultaneously.

The Fiend shortly collapsed, pieces of its body hitting the dirt.

It wasn’t a fight. It was an execution.

One that, thanks to her Technique, Lianna benefitted from.

{Inventory unlocked!}

{You may now store System-generated items in your Inventory.}

{You have gained access to the Player Shop!}

{Starting tomorrow, at this same time, you will now be able to sell and buy System-generated items.}

[Wait, what?] Lianna’s eyes narrowed. [Instructor Vara never said anything about a shop.]

"Ah, so we can get items from them!" Enverna noted. "I always wondered why the guard back home didn’t use guns more often. Supposedly, these System-made weapons are stronger. Same with the armor. Man-made bullets just can’t penetrate them, even though they should."

Enverna materialized a dagger out of thin air.

"What do you think? You could use a close-range option."

"Let me see..."

Common Shiv

{Weapon}

{Lesser}

{Class Req: None}

{Stat Req: None}

{Description: The kind of knife inmates keep for special occasions}

{Val: 50 Tokens}

"Meh, it’s not good at all," Lianna replied. "Worth a few tokens, though. We might be able to buy something nice from the Player Shop with it."

Hearing that, Enverna furrowed her brows.

"What do you mean?"

"Uh, sell it on the Player Shop. Get something else."

"I... Lianna, I don’t know what a Player Shop is. What is that?"

Lianna was taken aback.

"You... Your Inventory message didn’t say anything about that? Wait, can you see how many tokens this is worth?"

"No and no." Enverna shrugged. "I sincerely do not know what you’re talking about."

Lianna blinked.

[What in the world is going on here?]

---

Lianna and Enverna came back to their dorm well into the night. It was funny, no matter how busy whatever hall they were in looked as they approached, it always felt emptier by the time they left.

[Huh,] Lianna thought as she followed Enverna into the room, closing the door behind them. [I’ve been disrespected, I’ve been sneered at, I’ve been lusted over... I don’t think I’ve ever been feared before, though.]

"I’d say that was a productive first day on the job," Enverna remarked, walking over to the couch and sitting down, legs crossed.

"I mean... We killed three Fiends."

"Indeed. Oh," Enverna said dramatically, "it was awful."

Smiling a little, Lianna walked to the couch and sat beside her.

"Stressful work, I’m sure."

"Downright nerve-wracking," Enverna replied, struggling to keep a straight face. "So much so... That I’d like to learn how a lady in Telvan is expected to relax in these conditions."

Lianna shook her head.

"If I showed you how I like to relax, you’d leave the dorm and never come back."

"Do you not drink here?" Lianna raised a brow. Laughing, Enverna followed that up with, "by Saren’s grace, Lianna, I’m asking you if, maybe, you could take me out for a drink. Not... Not whatever other animalistic urge came to your mind."

On one hand, it did hurt a little to hear Enverna laugh away any potential notion of, as she put it, "animalistic" acts. On the other, the way she blushed was just too cute.

Part of her wanted to reject the offer, though. With so much stress, she felt like the instant she got in bed, she may have gotten a year’s worth of sleep in.

But, something appeared that helped convince her to take that offer.

{Quest: Take Enverna out drinking}

{Reward: Dex: D+}

"... Sure," Lianna replied. "Go and put something nice on. I’ll show you how I usually have a good time."

---

It was only by the time midnight rolled around that Lianna and Enverna started to walk back home. Usually, Lianna would be doing the opposite, looking for someone to spend the rest of these precious, sunless hours with. But, with Enverna by her side, and given their situation, she just wanted to make sure they got back home safely.

Lianna had learned a couple of things about her ever-elegant roommate. For one, she was more of a tequila kind of girl than Lianna, and two, she was very much a lightweight. A fraction of what Lianna herself had drunk had Enverna looking like she could pass out any moment now.

And yet, she still looked so proud, walking down the street in high heels with her sense of balance still intact, Enverna’s bright, sky-blue dress and white gloves made her seem like snow rolling down a dark hill.

She’d been very quiet for the last couple of hours, though. Mostly just going along with Lianna in silent contemplation. Lianna was rather curious about what was going on in her mind right now.

Easing some of that curiosity as they walked back into the Watchful guild’s headquarters, Enverna said:

"I feel all manner of thoughts popping up from my subconscious and I cannot tell if they’re truly mine or not. Is that normal when you drink?"

"Uh, depends, I guess. What kind of thoughts?"

Quietly, Enverna answered:

"I find myself wondering how I ended up on this path I’m on. Why I’m doing what I’m doing. If my family’s gratitude is something I should even be coveting like this or if maybe I’m out to prove something to myself, as well."

"I don’t know if-"

"I can feel myself getting lost in your scent." Lianna’s eyes bulged out of their head, hearing that. "You put on something... chocolatey, tonight, didn’t you?"

"Yeah... It’s a perfume I thought smelled nice."

"It does," Enverna confirmed for her, as they went up the steps leading back to their dorm room. She even held her hand out, asking for Lianna to help keep her steady. "So much so that I find myself wanting to lay my head on your shoulders thinking that, maybe, I’d get better sleep tonight that way."

"I..."

"I find myself wondering if things I used to think were wrong and unnatural truly are. I don’t know. I... I’m confused."

Lianna let go of her so she could unlock the door and Enverna rested her body against the wall, staring out at the night sky from the hallway.

"... Alcohol definitely makes you talk a lot more, I’ll say that," Lianna replied.

"Some things shouldn’t be said, though. Some words can do irreparable damage to an atmosphere even when they’re said as quietly as possible. Maybe I should refrain from this sort of thing."

Lianna opened up and the two of them went straight to the bedroom.

Lianna, however, grabbed some of her clothes and went to walk out so she could get changed in the bathroom.

When she came back, she found out that Enverna, on the other hand, had simply discarded her dress, kicked off those heels, and called it a night, with nothing on but the sheet covering her body.

Inhaling sharply, as her heart drummed against her ears, Lianna laid down next to her, pulling up her own side of the sheets.

"Envy, are you good?"

"Envy?" Enverna asked with a giggle. "Who’s Envy?"

"Just a nickname for you... If you don’t like it I won’t say it."

"No, no," Enverna replied, resting on her side as she closed her eyes. "It’s quite fitting, actually."