“Alright. You still haven’t told me what it is.”
“I want to be able to store power. I’d prefer it to be in something physical so I could pass it off to others if needed.
“I want to be able to make Lily batteries.”
“Oh. That’s… not what I was expecting. I don’t think that’d be too hard to add, since it’s more of a utility thing.”
“It differs?” Lily ran her fingers through her hair. “And what were you expecting?”
“Well, yeah. Bigger powers cost more. A utility power probably won’t cost that much. As for what I was expecting… something destructive?”
Lily gave him another one of her feral grins, pearly white teeth slipping free of her pale pink lips. “I’m happy to surprise you. Realistically, though, you’ve given me a number of students to watch over. Being able to practice freely will increase their experience. To practice, they need power. I have it in abundance as of late since I’m not constantly under attack. So, Lily batteries.”
Felix smiled back at her and held up his hands in defeat. “Makes sense. I’m glad to hear you taking your responsibilities seriously. Alright, let’s see…”
He called up Lily’s window and focused on adding a third power to her.
Third Power(Unlock): Energy Transfer
Required Secondary Power: 70 (Unmet)
Required Stamina: 50 (Unmet)
Upgrade?(20,000)
“Huh. Your power isn’t strong enough and neither is your stamina,” Felix said, pulling up her character screen.
Name:
Lilian Lux
Power: Ethereal Mental projections
Alias: Mab, Demon, Soul Stealer
Secondary Power: Mana Manipulation
Physical Status:
Healthy
Mental Status:
Happy
Positive Statuses:
None
Negative Statuses:
None
Strength:
37
Upgrade?(370)
Dexterity:
55
Upgrade?(550)
Agility:
53
Upgrade?(530)
Stamina:
42
Upgrade?(420)
Wisdom:
67
Upgrade?(670)
Intelligence:
88
Upgrade?(880)
Luck:
21
Upgrade?(210)
Primary Power:
64
Upgrade?(6,400)
Secondary Power:
59
Upgrade?(5,900)
“That’s… disappointing,” Lily lamented, pressing a hand to her cheek.
“Gimme a moment. I’ll just push your stats up, then get the power for you. The cost of the power is pretty low, so giving you the points needed isn’t that big a deal.”
Felix tapped in the individual point upgrades, pushing her secondary power to seventy and her stamina to fifty.
“I forgot that you could do that. Any chance you can kick my luck up a bit? You said it was pretty bad,” Lily asked. She tilted one shoulder towards him, turning partially sideways while her hand slid from her cheek to her neck. “I am kinda unlucky.”
The pose was ridiculous and he knew she was messing with him.
Felix pursed his lips and then moved her luck up to thirty-five. It was pretty low, and he could see that going poorly for them at the wrong moment.
“Fine.” He hit the accept button and then gave her the third power.
Calling up the screen again, he confirmed the changes.
Name:
Lilian Lux
Power: Ethereal Mental projections
Alias: Mab, Demon, Soul Stealer
Secondary Power: Mana Manipulation
Physical Status:
Healthy
Third Power: Energy Transfer
Positive Statuses:
Protective
Mental Status:
Happy
Negative Statuses:
None
Strength:
37
Upgrade?(370)
Dexterity:
55
Upgrade?(550)
Agility:
53
Upgrade?(530)
Stamina:
50
Upgrade?(500)
Wisdom:
67
Upgrade?(670)
Intelligence:
88
Upgrade?(880)
Luck:
35
Upgrade?(350)
Primary Power:
64
Upgrade?(6,400)
Secondary Power:
70
Upgrade?(7,000)
Third Power:
50
Upgrade?(5,000)
“Done. Consider this a promotion. Or a merit increase? Maybe a bonus? Something like that.
“I hope you work as hard as you did up to this point, if not more so.” Felix dismissed the window and looked to Lily.
The soul-stealing mass murderer’s eyes were clouded. She looked like she was in pain, even.
“Kit said it felt like someone had punched her brain. Do you want to sit down? Here, I’ll get a ch—”
“No, I’m alright. I just need a second.” Lily lifted the hand on her neck to her temple. “It felt like my mind expanded. I even know how to use it, I just… push my energy into it. There’s no limit to how much I can put in an item, other than what I can personally channel in one sitting.”
Felix checked his pockets to see if he had anything she could practice on.
Nothing. House keys, phone, and some lint.
Looking around, he saw the cash register. Pushing off the pillar he’d been propped against, he moved over to the checkout stand. He started looking around for the impulse buys that any good checkout had.
Something innocuous. Something that people would overlook that you could charge. Something that would be—
Ah!
Sitting to one side of the register was a glass display case. Inside were a number of silver bracelets with charms.
The bracelet, and each charm, could function as a battery, he was willing to bet.
“Can I help you?” asked the cashier. He was a younger man, probably in his early twenties.
“Give me that,” Felix said, pointing to the bracelet he’d been eyeing.
“Huh? The necklace or the bracelet?” said the clerk, leaning over.
“Uhm, give me one of each.”
“Okay. That’ll be four hundred and ten.”
Felix flipped a credit card onto the space between them. “Hang on to that, they’ll be out with a bundle of clothes, I’m sure.”
Picking up the bracelet and necklace, he went back to Lily.
She’d watched him but hadn’t moved at all. To him, she appeared as if she were still recovering.
“Here. Bracelet and necklace. Both have a bunch of charms on them. Maybe you can turn them into individual batteries?” Felix held out the two silver pieces of jewelry.
Lily held out her wrist to him. “Put it on.”
Grunting, Felix laid the necklace on his shoulder. Holding on to the bracelet, he unhitched the clasp and then wrapped it around Lily’s wrist. Slipping the clasp into one of the links, he let go. It dangled but seemed well fit.
Turning around, Lily lifted her dark hair up from her shoulders.
“You can put this on yourself,” Felix grumped.
“Put it on,” Lily demanded.
“Seriously, you—”
“Put it on.”
Taking the necklace in hand, Felix reached around Lily and draped it across her neckline. With a quick flick of his fingers, he latched it shut.