Chương 186: Twenty-five

"It's about Melissa." Oh for fuck sake… I sighed, if it wasn't that Quinn was a really competent rogue/scout/assassin, whatever he was now, I wouldn't waste my time with this bullsit drama.

"Go on."

"You see, I-I thought it would be different…" I gestured for him to continue.

"I mean, the sex is great, and she is really kind, maybe too kind, she bothers me about don't do this, dn't steal, you're better than this, that class is ruining you and bla bla bla. It's like she's like obsessed with me now! She wants to make me like… a better version of myself, her words not mine! Then she always want to hug me, holding my hand and and… I don't know, all of this kinds of bothers me?" He looked at me as if he was saying something wrong.

"I don't want to feel this way, but I can't help it, I feel like I want to just, run. Run away and do my things, but at the same time I don't want to lose her, she's so good, I don't want to hurt her, it's just that… we are…" His words got weaker and weaker the mire he spoke.

I wasn't a couple terapist so I didn't really know how to help him, I just didn't want problems to happen in my guilds, but if I had to choose between Quinn and Melissa, I would choose Quinn always, he was extremely talented and the only real rogue in our group, not only that, but even I couldn't do what Quinn did, but Melissa, while a talented Barrier Mage, she wasn't unreplaceble.

"Quinn, the first question you have to ask yourself is: do you love her? Or were you thinking with your dick? Now that you finally experienced post-nut clarity you can really give an answer to that question." He thought about it, then realization hit.

"I… I don't love her." What I thought.

"It's fair, we are not forced to love anyone, but don't tell her directly please, it would be the greater mistake you could do, and you don't have to break up eihter if you don't want. What do you need is time to yourself, and to see her less, enough to enjoy each other company but not enough to burn out your relationship. I could have a solution, but I would prefer if we don't discuss these private matters here where everyone can listen in."

He looked around suspiciously and I saw that he noticed how a couple of people in the nearby tables found their plates suddenly very interesting.

"Come with me." We went out after paying and I started walking in the city of elementals, some buildings were even stranger during the day, especially those of elements like shadow, darkness and void. Those were starkly sinister durning the night, but the day couldn't that make them look just wrong. We walked towards the shop, I had an appointment with Miflin, and at the same time we could spend some cash on Quinn and talk about what was needed.

"Where are we going? I saw a nice alley we can use to talk in peace over there." No we couldn't, we were being followed, or better, I was being followed, it was the same person of yesterday, I could somehow recognize the sensation I got, it was like everyone had a particular signature, like a fingerprint in magic, or aura, that made each person unique.

"We are going to the shop, so we can sort out your stat boost and talk at the same time, I have business there anyway."

"Mmm… ok." We walked the remaining five minutes while talking about skills and synergies, speculating how many skills could be used to empower a single action, like a strike or a spell, if it was possible to acquire more traits by using external means.

"We are here." I opened the door and entered Miflin's Magical Merchandises. There were a couple of people busy looking around, while a couple more were on the counter, a hand placed on it while looking in the air in front of them, clearly perusing the System shop.

"You're here!" Came Miflin's merry voice from behind Quinn. The boy jumped like a startled cat.

"What the fuck dude! How di you do tha-" His mouth hang open as he looked at Miflin's translucent body.

"You're a ghost right!? I really could need advice about one of my skill! I'll pay you whatever, but I evolved my dash a couple of times and now-" The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not a ghost, nor a spirit, I'm an Aureal, a being born from aura, so I really can't help you with ghostly matters little one."

"Oh," Quinn seemed to deflate at her words, "Ok, sorry for the misunderstanding…"

"Don't worry! It's pretty common, now what can I do for you Elias? I suppose you didn't came only to continue our previous conversation?"

"Indeed, we need to use the shop, then I need a place where we can talk privetly."

"Ah! I get it! I always loved the cloak and dagger part of a good story!" She giggled at us while covering her mouth with her hand, "Feel free to use the shop, then if you need go were we talked yesterday, don't worry, I removed the paintings, when you're done just call me ok?" And with that she floated upwards and disappeared through the wooden ceiling.

"Holy hell are you sure she's not a ghost?" Quinn asked.

"I'm sure, now let's get an idea about what you need," I motioned him to follow me as we entered the side room, as I closed the door I knew that there were measure in place against being spied but adding some won't hurt, so I used my aura to create a double layered bubble that had a small vacuum in between.

"That's cool!"

"Thanks, so, how many points do you have still?"

"Like a hundred and fifty k, something like that." It was good, Quinn was gaining much more than I anticipated, even counting the ones from selling the life potion, if he spent that much in stat enhancements he would become even more of a beast.

"Ok, I would advise you to at least cross the five-hundred stat mark on each stat, the thousand mark if you can, before you say anything hear me out." I explained the benefits and the achievements granted by following this kind of enhancements, he looked at me more and more in awe as I explained what I got after getting the perfected being achievement.

"Fuuuuck, that's awesome! What stat did you enhance with the token?" He asked me.

"I still didn't, I have many tokens I would have to use before my next class enhancement, I am trying to push more with what I have right now, actually I manage to fell the serpent with just curses, and by running around, after empowering myself that much, I have no idea what can I do, and before empowering myself further I would like to explore what I'm capable of right now, so to understang what I need to improve."

"Dude, it doean't make sense to keep the tokens in you pocket, I understand the skill tokens, maybe you want to push an evolution after evolving a skill to the max, but the class or the attribute one? It's ridiculous you didn't use it already…" Was it? Maybe, but there was nothing that I encountered until now that could threaten me, except Adrian, and I couldn't even kill the bastard or everything would reset, so there was no point in acting suddenly, I would talk with Miflin, then made a choice I promised myself.

"I don't really need to, you instead? If you get it where are you going to use it?"

"Agility for sure! It's the main stat of my build, it make no sense to put it anywhere else! Now I really want to eat those things…"

"Trust me, you won't, they taste horrible, especially the gravemelon…"

"Who cares!" He threw up his hands in excitement.

"So many stat points! I would eat shit if needed!" Well, it was time to put a damper on his excitement.

"Unfortunately you can't eat an unlimited amount of stat enhancing items, there is a limit."

"What? How? Why? Fuck I knew it was too good to be true, how much is the limit?" He fired mucltiple question in the matter of a second.

I thought about it, I actually didn't reach my limit yet, but I was pretty close, I could feel it, maybe three or four more and I couldn't gain more stats from items, Rhea read in a book that it was based on a multitude of factors, mainly about your body capability, but it was a mere theory, sometimes people could eat more and sometimes less, it was highly different for everyone, but you could feel when you were near your limit. It was a sensation as if you were full, full of power and couldn't add anymore.

"It depends on you, you would feel when you are nearing your limit, trust me."

"Ok, so, potions, vials, gases and fruits, I know what to buy now, and about items?"

"That's on you, search anything that is cursed, it would cost much less and I would remove everything for you, but a spatial storage is very useful, even a little one."

"Ok, give me a minute and I'd be back." Quinn raised from the pillow and went back to buy all he needed. In the meantime I opened my status and pondered if I should use my tokens or not.

"Don't." I raised my head and saw Mifling sitting where Quinn was a second ago, never a moment of peace huh?

"Why?"

"The boy is not completely wrong, you should use them, but not before having gained all you can from you tier."

"And what do I still have to gain from my tier? I got the Paragon of Transcendence achievement already, and Perfected Being, do you know of more?"

"A thousands more, nothing really useful for you, there are an uncountable number of achievements one can gain, about crafting, about fighting, about ruling and commanding, about winning and losing. Blessing and curses, about evolving ones bloodline prematurely," she looked at me pointedly at the mention of bloodlines.

"Too many to pursue in a lifetime, and for sure too many to gain in the span of the tutorial, despite the advantages this provides you."

"What should I do then? I don't have a bloodline still, despite the System enhancing mine, I feel the potential in my body, it's there, waiting, but I am not sure about what to buy, and well, I still need the funds to buy it. You should know better than anyone how much those things costs." They cost millions, even the cursed ones.

"Elias," There was a grave tone in her voice now, something that was absolutely at odds from how she spoke before.

"You are in a terrible position right now, and the more you would go on, the more it would get worse."

"I am managing the curse, especially after what you did yesterday, and the achievements I unlocked thanks to you, I won't forget it." I was serious about it, I had a debt towards her, something that I wanted to repay, despite her saying that she somehow owed me.

"It's not about your curse, well, partly, but it has to do with the Hero." I looked at her, this wasn't going exactly where I was thinking.

"What about it?"

"I can't tell you, the System forbids me… but there is a way." I sighed, I was sure I won't like this for some reason.

"I'm listening."

"Twenty-five million points, that's the price of your survival." What?