Chương 84: 83 - Ethics

The boy was staring at his hands, his black eyes never blinking. Lifeforce Offering. She didn't ask how a boy his age had developed such a skill. She could imagine a few things, none palatable.

"I see," she said.

"I'm not giving you any." She raised her hands. Pointed at her hair.

"I wasn't going to ask. I know how much it would cost you. I already have an idea how I'm going to recover my lost lifeforce."

"Oh?"

"It will only work on me, sorry." He nodded, his expression unchanged, and picked up a book from the stacks. Alexandra spent the rest of the night reading books in the lifeforce section's alcove. The boy sat in front of her, reading his own material. She didn't regret staying. Lifeforce stuck to the surface level of the topics it covered, but it gave her an overview of what this mysterious energy was and how it could be used. In general, the author advised against using lifeforce spells at all.

But Alexandra was in the privileged position where she had a way to replenish the spent lifeforce. Rather, she would once she figured out how to use Drain Life effectively. She was surprised to find a chapter of the book covering lifeforce substitution skills. Her Life Curse fit in that category. But while she was interested in learning how it worked, she didn't understand half of the terms the author used, and that was only an overview. She dreaded how complicated a thorough explanation would be.

In essence, skills like Life Curse substituted the conceptual loss of lifeforce. If losing lifeforce was bad, so was getting cursed, and an equivalent exchange could fuel the spell in question. Alexandra spent an hour trying to wrap her head around it before giving up. She closed the book shut and summoned her journal. Reading 3 -> 4 It wasn't quite quest reset time yet. She waited a few minutes until the previous day's quest was erased from the page and a new one appeared.

Quest Journal Daily Reset: 06: 00 | Streak: 29 Days | 2% All Stats Next Milestone: 50 Days Daily Quests: Make a new friend (0/1) Alexandra stared at the new entry for a moment. Fuck me. Her thoughts instantly moved to Willow. No, it wouldn't work. They were already friends. Louis was in the same category. Who else? Sera, maybe? She and the Keeper weren't exactly friends. But it was doubtful whether the system counted her as a new friend. She moved to Raymond.

The status of their friendship was uncertain, but it definitely was not new. Alexandra moved on to… To… She looked at her streak. Twenty-nine days. She'd been in the Iron Library for more than a week and could barely name four people. Well, there were her teachers, but they were not good candidates for this quest. She tapped her fingers on the table. She'd met a Bronze girl in the library on her first visit. What was her name again? Haste? She was friendly enough. A bit direct, but Alexandra could work with that.

She'd need to find her, though. The boy closed his book, stood up, and picked another from the stacks. She looked at him.

"Do you come here every night?" she asked. He stopped with his hand on the spine of a book. Turned his head around.

"No."

"Often?"

"Yes." Alexandra rubbed her eyes. She didn't need much sleep, but this quest was already proving to be exhausting.

"So, what else do you enjoy doing?" Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The boy turned his head back to the stacks and pulled the book out. Then, he walked back to his chair.

"You see, my class gives me a quest every day. That's what I enjoy doing. Well, most of the time." She grimaced. What was that? He looked at her.

"Okay." Opened his book. She checked her journal. Her quest wasn't complete.

"Could you recommend a book for me?" He looked up again.

"Which book?"

"Anything on lifeforce substitution, curses, or if you have a book you think I should read." He stared at her. Seconds ticked. No light reflected on his deep black pupils. Alexandra waited. He was completely still. Then he stood up, walked to the stacks behind her, and browsed the books. He picked one and handed it to her. It was a small book, closer to a pamphlet. Two dozen pages, not more. She read the title aloud." Lifeforce and Bloodlines?" He walked back to his chair. Sat down and dove back into his book.

She raised an eyebrow and opened the booklet. There wasn't much inside, but she still learned something.

"Bloodlines improve lifeforce capacity?" she asked.

"Why are you giving me that?" He looked up. No expression on his face. Did he know about her bloodline? It shouldn't be possible. Then again, Alexandra didn't really know what was and wasn't possible in this world. But the boy was only Iron, so she doubted he could read through her. Again, the boy stared at her for a moment before answering.

"It's interesting." She held his gaze.

"I mean, it is. But there are many interesting books here. Why this one specifically?"

"This is proof that lifeforce capacity can be increased without ranking up." She tilted her head. He was right.

"A bloodline, though." He nodded.

"That's the one proven method. I believe there are more."

"You want to research that?" He took his time to answer.

"Yes."

"Why?" she asked.

"My skill allows people to live through their lifespan, not longer." She frowned.

"At a cost."

"You know there are ways to deal with that cost."

"And you want to make people live longer?" He nodded.

"Someone in particular?" He picked up his book. She waited.

"Yes," he answered.

"And no." Alexandra glanced at her journal. Still not enough.

"I can understand yes. But no?" She looked at him. He was watching his hands again.

"Everyone wants to live," he said.

"I can help."

"How did you end up with a skill like that?" she asked. He bowed his head. Almost like he was hiding. But his expression never shifted. Then he shook his head.

"I'm sorry I asked," Alexandra said.

"I lied." He looked up.

"You did?"

"Not a skill. A Bloodline." She stared at him.

"You have a Bloodline?" He nodded.

"My family. Long ago. Not my fault."

"Why tell me now?" He looked at his hands. Didn't answer. She let it go.

"Don't worry, I'm not judging. I… have a Bloodline too." His eyes flashed. Almost nothing. The flicker of a flicker deep within his gaze. It disappeared almost instantly.

"You do?"

"Yes. Probably more recent than yours, too."

"Oh." Something moved in his eyes. Gone before she could name it.

"What kind?"

"The plant-based kind. You?" He looked back at his hands.

"When I give my lifeforce to someone else, my own capacity expands. That's the bloodline." He paused.

"It's the only part I don't mind."

"And the part you mind?"

"It fills a lifespan. It doesn't extend one." She sat with that for a moment.

"You're keeping someone alive."

"My grandfather." He said it flatly, but his hands tightened in his lap.

"He's Ruby rank. Old. His capacity has been shrinking for years. I can't stop it."

"How long does he have?"

"Less than a year." He looked at the shelves.

"I've already filled his capacity. There's nothing I can do but look for another solution."

"So you need a way to replenish what you spend," Alexandra said.

"And a way to expand his capacity. Not just fill it." He looked at her.

"Yes."

"Well, shit. I don't know how to help you." He rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't expecting you to."

"What are you expecting?" she asked. He looked at the shelves.

"A longer search."

"For a way to expand his capacity."

"Yes." She thought about Drain Life. About the Thunder Viper and how little she'd gotten from it. Same rank, same species. But she couldn't exactly share her skill with him.

"Does your grandfather know you're doing this?"

"The healing, yes. He did the same for his own grandfather. We share the same Bloodline, after all." A pause.

"The research… I haven't told him."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to give him false hopes." She bit her lip, looked down at her journal. She'd gotten the boy to open up, but it still wasn't enough. Maybe she was going too far. She could find someone else. What she was doing now felt… unethical. For a daily. For her streak. But she didn't need to go that far. There were plenty of people in this academy who she could befriend. Hell, she could go down to Kator and find someone. She didn't need to pry the poor boy open like that. It wasn't right. She knew it.

She stood up, put her two books back in their place.

"If I think of something, I'll let you know," she said, walking to the exit with her journal still open. He nodded, his head tracking her movement.

"Thank you."

"Your name?"

"Kam."

"Alexandra." She slipped into the alley. Stepped close to the ladder and was about to go down when she saw something move on her journal. Make a new friend (1/1) -> Quest Completed: +10 exp, +1 INT Daily Quest Streak: 29 -> 30 Level up! 3 -> 4 Class perk selection available. She stopped, looked behind her, and walked back into the alcove.