Penelope was still able to clear the rooms on her own, and she was going to keep making progress while she could.
Penelope looked at the clock on her menu.
“Jeru, is there a way for you to add what time it would be if I hadn’t been kidnapped?”
The blue Elf floated in front of her. “You ask me for a favor and insult me in the same breath?” The insulted look on his face cracked, giving way to a smirk. “I could always have let you die instead.”
“Death or torture, you make a hard choice.”
“Think of this as an adventure.” Jeru chuckled. “You know, in my time, people paid lots of money to go to a world with an active system.” He gestured at her. “Not many people have magic or can get stronger than what you’ll see on the third floor. You should be thanking me for saving your life and giving you this opportunity.”
“If I survive, I’ll think about it.” Penelope motioned at the timer. “Can you do something about this?”
“Fine.” He waved his hand. “There.”
“Almost three hours.” Penelope shook her head as she looked over at the other group.
Dawson had refused to fight anymore today. Patrick was busy butchering the monsters, which left Marlow and Ula as the two who had considered continuing, but they’d decided against it. Ula was a melee fighter, but she wouldn’t be able to hold aggro once Marlow started healing. If the pair had tried the room that Penelope had just cleared, the Healer would have been sniped, and then Ula would have been shot down before she could have gotten close enough to deal with the Shadow Sniper.
Penelope didn’t blame them for stopping, but she also didn’t want to get behind even though they were on track to finish the floor with what they had done today. She walked over to the barrier between 3A and 4A.
“Any surprises for this one?” She looked at the Shadow Caster.
Electricity crackled on the Demon’s arms. Its yellow eyes were locked onto her as it waited for her to enter.
The monsters were staying just outside her range as they watched her prepare to walk in.
“That’s a Buffer, not a Caster.” Jeru thought for a moment. “I’ve seen it use
Penelope loosened the strap on the shield so she could take it off her back.
“The
“So don’t use the shield.” Penelope set the item down. “What’s the range?”
“Same as other spells.” Jeru stroked his chin. “You’ll build up a tolerance the more you get hit, but once you’re immobilized, the monsters will be able to finish you off.”
“Does it know any offensive magic?”
Jeru shrugged. “Not that I’ve seen, but it’s a level four Demon, so I’d expect it to have four different spells.”
Penelope nodded. “So it has two unknown spells. Can I still cast while I’m stunned?”
“You can’t aim.”
“But I can still cast?” Her mind began going through her options.
“It’s already seen you use
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“So what you’re saying is that it’s impossible to do solo.” Penelope tightened her grip on her wand.
“It’s doable, but how many resets are you willing to go through until you get the timing right?” Jeru sighed as he recognized the look on her face. “You know it would be a lot easier if you’d walk over to Ula and ask her if she’d like to join you. Spoiler alert: she will.”
Penelope’s heart clenched at the idea. It wasn’t that Ula gave her a bad vibe; it was that everyone made her feel uncomfortable. She had never understood how people could be so comfortable around strangers or in a group of more than two people. It had taken her years to reach a point where she didn’t dissolve into a full-blown panic attack while in a crowd.
The years of taunts hadn’t helped, or people who demanded that she ‘just be normal like everyone else’. The worst part was being called a retard or a freak because she would freeze up in a group.
Her pale cheeks started burning as she recalled the number of times that she’d been slapped for not looking an authority figure in the eye. Which is how she’d gotten so good at looking at someone’s nose or cheekbone, so they didn’t notice that she wasn’t making eye contact.
“Whoa!” Jeru vanished. “I did not see that in your memories.”
Penelope shrugged. “It is what it is. It was the time that I grew up in where those were acceptable methods for training someone like me.” She gritted her teeth as she willed the memories away. “But it taught me how to keep trying until I found a way to make it work.”
“You need a minute? You know you don’t have to push yourself like this.”
Penelope shook her head. “You’ve already noticed that my mind never shuts off. Even if I’m not hammering away at these fights, I’m going to be thinking about them. Trying to work out the best way to go through them.” She sighed as she glanced at Ula’s group. “Tell me, what are the chances that this is the keeper run for this floor?”
Jeru snorted in her mind. “Considering you’re not going to save it until you get all seven of them through?
Penelope allowed herself to smile. “See, so I’ve got plenty of time to work on my social skills.” She turned back to the room. “Right now, I need to focus on this square.”
“I guess that means I’m pretty special since you’re able to talk to me so easily.” Jeru teased.
Penelope shrugged. “You’re in my head, and I can’t get you out. You’re going to hear my thoughts anyway.” She suppressed a shiver. “It’s unnerving, yes, but it helps thinking about you as a computer system.”
“Ouch. That’s all I am to you? A voice for your computer?” The insulted tone in his voice was too fake to take seriously.
“I said it helps.” Penelope sighed. “You probably noticed I still don’t look you in the eye.”
The silence announced one of the rare times that Jeru didn’t have a comeback.
“Sorry.” She swallowed. “I didn’t mean—.”
“I know how you meant it.” Pain laced every word. “I’m actually kind of happy that you don’t... my eyes... well, it’s not something that I’m proud of.”
Penelope scrunched her brows. “What do you mean?”
“The color of an Elf’s eyes lets others know what power they have. The Elementalists all have their own color: silver for air, red for fire, brown for earth, and blue for water. Elves with magic have gold eyes, while those without any powers have white eyes.” There was a long pause.
Penelope tried to think back to when she’d seen his face and noticed his eyes. She’d looked up at him on her first real loop.
“What do black eyes mean?”
“It means…” Shame mixed with the pain in his voice. “I didn’t have enough magic to create a loop, so I tapped into the incursion itself and used it to fuel the loops. But the incursion is made out of demonic magic and when an Elf touches that power…”
“Oh.”
There was a long, uncomfortable silence.
“I’d do it again, and marring myself like that is a small price to pay for all of the lives that will be saved when this works.” Jeru paused again. “My dad tried so hard to create a universe where I wouldn’t have to taint myself with dark magic. Three hundred years of fighting, and in the end, I used it anyway.”
“From what you’ve said about your dad, I don’t think he’d be disappointed in you.”
Jeru snorted. “That’s the thing. I know he’d be okay with it. He understood the greater good and taking the darkness on yourself so others didn’t have to. That’s part of what makes it even harder. Because I know that if he had a chance to talk to me after this was all over, he’d be proud of what I did even though I’d never be able to go home.”
“Oh.”
But that’s got nothing to do with what you’re doing now. It sounded like Jeru clapped his hands. You’ve got a room to clear.
A warmth spread on her shoulder as the incorporeal Elf put his hand on her shoulder.
“Let’s see how many times it takes you to figure out this fight.”
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