Jack absently opened his panel, more out of habit from the days of obsessing about the race change than out of any real desire to see what was shown there.

He froze, eyes wide, as he looked over the second line of his status.

“Holy shit,” he whispered.
“What is it? Are you ok?” Erin sat up, her laughter wilting.
“What’s it say Jack?” Layla dropped out of the tree again.

He wordlessly looked up at the three of them, then back down, then up again.

“Don’t keep us in suspense, dork. What is it?” Layla grimaced.

He finally spun the panel around.

“Guess that gift was bigger than I thought. Nightwraith is already at ten,” he choked out.

“He just gave you a level ten class?! That’s fucked up,” Layla grinned wildly. The words were resentful, but the manic tone was something they were all familiar with. It was the same every time one of them discovered a new synergy or skill combination in Fire & Fury.

Rory poured over Jack’s sheet, ticking on his fingers and mouthing math, “So it’s not just me. Our resources don’t go up with every level in every class.”
“Yeah, I noticed that too. It seems like only the best value counts. My stamina is decent because succubus is good, and my mana is outrageous because mage is rated superior,” Layla replied.
“Wait, how much mana do you have?” Jack looked up from the panel.
“One-forty-four,” she stuck her tongue at him.
“Hell,” Erin whistled. “That’s higher than my health.”
“Well, I took Bottomless for my mage talent at ten, so my Mind and Will count twice” she winked at Erin.

They compared notes for a bit longer, discussing their choices and the paths their classes might take in the future as Jack butchered the beast they had caught. The odd goat-like creature was fatty, and the skillet sizzled as he fried the tender mutton in its own grease. He added a handful of the ubiquitous forest onions, crushed some of the precious remaining rock salt they had purchased from the traveling merchant, and minced some wild herbs that were close enough to thyme and parsley. They ate it with the boiled mountain tubers they had gathered in the previous days, and finished with fresh fruit for dessert.

“You know, it’s wild how food just grows on the ground around here,” Layla pondered.
“I mean, it does that in our world too. You just have to know where to look. Things are different, of course. Wild onions are smaller than farm onions. Bananas are really small and not nearly so sweet. But I’ve never had trouble feeding myself while camping,” Jack gestured with his spoon as he talked.
“Hillbilly,” Rory teased.
“City boy,” Jack shot back with a smile.
“Any idea when we’ll hit the coast?” Layla interjected.
“Should be the next few days. I got a look at the terrain when we were running for our lives from the dragon, and I think the forest opens up a little further north into grasslands. If we can find a road or a river bank heading west, we’ll be in good shape,” Jack replied.

They chatted a while longer, but as the sun finally dropped behind the treeline, Rory, Layla, and Erin fell silent one by one. Jack finished his sentence, then looked around to see them staring at him.

“What now?” he groaned.
“Check out your skin, dude,” Layla whispered.
“Wow…” Erin breathed.

Jack looked down at his hands, where the faint traceries of black veins had come to life, visibly pulsing with dark mana. He stripped off his tunic and watched in amazement as inside his chest, a core of gently swirling black energy pulsed in time with the drumbeat beneath his skin. It was a mesmerizing sight, watching his heart stream Night mana into his limbs and across his skin.

“It’s beautiful, Jack,” Erin smiled.
“It happened when the sun went down?” he asked.
“Yeah, you just started… glowing, I guess. If you can glow… black…” Rory hedged. “It is quite lovely though.”

Jack watched a moment longer, then Erin stood up abruptly and grabbed his wrist, hauling him upright.

“Whuh- HURK,” he grunted as she yanked him to his feet. “Wha-” he started, but he was silenced by her lips pressed against hers.

Their kiss dragged on, until Rory cleared his throat and she leaned back, breathless.

She stared into the liquid pools of darkness in his eyes, “I can feel it when I touch you, like a drum. Like your heart is… pounding, but slow. You’re cool to the touch, but you’re not cold.”

She turned to the other two, “We’re gonna be… busy. Fer… a bit. We’ll be back.”

She snatched up her bedroll and yanked him toward the treeline.

Helplessly, he looked back at the camp, “We’ll be back,” he stumbled, “I hope…”

Rory and Layla stared at them as they retreated into the trees, then at each other for a few moments, then fell out laughing.

As they sat next to the fire, Layla chuckled to herself.

“What is it?” Rory smirked.
“He’ll be lucky if she doesn’t break his pelvis. Poor boy,” she giggled.
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