Yuki sat on the stone benches around Rusty’s arena, she half paid attention to the ongoing fight down there. It started with analyzing [Regeneration], Yuki was sure there was something strange about the spells. Not odd as in wrong, but strange as in they should do more. With regeneration, for instance, Yuki felt the spell wasn’t designed to heal minor injuries like how she’d been using it, but regrowing new limbs kind of regenerate. It was like Yuki was using a dumbed-down version of the better spell.

It made no sense because Yuki remembered her first impression of the spell before the system unlocked. The impression she got at the time was that the spell healed minor injuries, often not working on serious ones. Yuki glanced at the elegant parchment and Jenny’s new advanced skill. The description was cryptic, and none of the possibilities Yuki could imagine were good.

[Memory Manipulation] (INT+POW): 76

Relive the past and shape the future.

Another small parchment showed “Perks” available for selection, just two.

Memory Merge: Combine two or more memories.

Memory Wipe: Remove a memory.

Yuki’s guts squirmed in discomfort. She hoped Jenny wasn’t stupid enough to modify her own memories. That was beyond dumb. She also wouldn’t select one without consulting Jenny. Maybe Jenny could select a perk by herself; perhaps she just didn’t know how. Clear communication couldn’t come fast enough.

Yuki shook her head and focused on the important part. It was this “First threshold” that she wanted to explore. From all she was able to gather, seventy-five was the threshold. Her current theory was that the effects she thought regeneration missed were due to this; if she managed to get Invocation past that value, the spell might be more potent.

Her own character sheet was on the other side of Jenny’s parchment. Yuki checked the progress from the past few days. Invocation sat at forty-eight and shaping at forty-nine. Yuki also had the impression she reached the end of all the low-hanging fruits with the implanted knowledge. By assimilating and reviewing things, she pushed both skills up almost ten points. From here on out, she’d needed experimentation and practice instead of just theory. Get isekai’ed to study magic. Even if magic was fun, studying wasn’t.

Down in the arena, metal hit metal. Jenny held her spear diagonally by her side, and Rusty’s sword was embedded in the arena’s floor. Rusty tried to move back and away, but Jenny had the upper hand. She twirled her spear; it sneaked along the armored arm and clanked against the shoulder joints.

Both combatants stood still for a moment. Rusty, being Rusty, never moved more than necessary. Jenny panted hard. Yuki could hear the woman’s gasps from here. Even for Yuki’s untrained eyes, Jenny had progressed fast. She couldn’t tell how, but the woman’s movements were sharper, more forceful, and she looked much more comfortable wielding the bigger weapon. Well, it was to be expected; this was a fantasy world.

Rusty dislodged his Guts sword and walked to the arena’s center again. Once there, he bowed to Jenny and pointed at the wall behind him with the hanging weapons. Jenny burst out laughing while still gasping for breath. She fell on her back, arms and legs sprawled. The woman didn’t look injured, just exhausted.

Yuki glanced at Jenny’s combat skills. It now also included the spear, and had risen a few points, sitting at sixty-eight. She hopped down the seats and toward Jenny.

“Jenny, we go orchard?” She asked, repeating the words they had practiced the past days.

Jenny looked at the rabbit, still grinning. “Yes, we’re done here. It’s time to find a way out of this place.”

Most of that sailed past Yuki’s head. Jenny didn’t pantomime her message this time; Yuki had no way of figuring out what it all meant. Yuki had considered using shapechange again in the past few days. She had the magic points now; the goblet was full.

Jenny’s fingers found their usual place by Yuki’s ears. Yuki pressed against the hand, trying — and failing — to stop the purring.

That was one of the reasons she didn’t, however. Yuki didn’t mind all the petting, touching, and ear scritches while she was a rabbit. It would be awkward were she to turn into a human girl now. Jenny had never tried to talk about the contract, and in the end, Yuki was more than happy to leave things as they were. No need to complicate things while they couldn’t even talk properly, even if the only complication was in Yuki’s own head.

Jenny got up, still breathing hard. She picked Yuki and crossed the arena toward the fabled wall of weapons. Yuki guessed they could have tried to bypass Rusty by going around the seats or attempting to neutralize the magic. Jenny never asked for it, though, and Yuki didn’t dare step into the arena or try to go around it alone.

The weapons hung on the wall were all expertly crafted, decorated, and utterly rusted. Yuki could see the designs of each weapon and the intricate rusted details, but the wood had rotted away, the metal corroded. These might have been once impressive weapons, but not anymore.

Jenny inspected all the weapons anyway, even picking one spear off the wall and trying a few thrusts. In the end, they left without taking anything. Jenny bowed to Rusty, but the armor didn’t bow back. Yuki wasn’t sure how aware the armor actually was. Jenny hadn’t put Yuki on the ground, and the scratching hadn’t stopped.

“We rest today,” Jenny said, “and explore tomorrow.” Jenny stumbled up the passageway to the orchard in the darkness. After using the second oil flask with the lantern, she had stopped using it, crossing the passages they already knew in the darkness.

Yuki understood the first part of the message, but the second was lost to her.

“Can you teach me magic?”

Yuki perked up at that question. She moved the words in her head.

“Yes, me can,” Yuki started, “No. No words.” She hoped Jenny would understand.

“You can, but you don’t have the words?”

Yuki nodded; if that also made her snuggle closer to Jenny’s palm, it was just a coincidence again. “Yes.”

“Right, thank you,” said the blonde.

FatElf

Spoiler

Ah, yes, I forgot... I'm afraid to tell you guys the price...

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