Against all odds, the following floor— the twenty-ninth— is, in fact, a teleporter floor.  None of us thinks twice before returning to the first floor.  It’s already been several hours and we’re all getting tired both mentally and physically.  But more pressingly than even that, I have so many questions to ponder and I might get-slash-have to learn a new weapon and new Skills and completely rework everything that I’ve been building over the past 56 levels.

Although, now isn’t a bad time to go about it.  If I get a start on recasting my build now, I should be able to parlay that into some more directed class options when I hit Level 64.  And there’s a good chance that I’ll get a second class at that time, which is likely to be some sort of [Glyphcasting] variant.

Now that I think about it some more, [Elemental Ether Bullet Barrage] is the only actual Skill that I have which directly relates to my arm cannon.  So it wouldn’t be a huge sacrifice in terms of the capital-S System-granted Skills.  It’s more a question of identity, and whether I want to forgo what I’ve built up so far for the chance of something potentially better.

I sigh.  As with most things, I’m going to be having a nice, long conversation with Chloe about it later.  And probably about a whole lot of other revelations as well.  At the very least, if I’m going to have another being— possibly another woman— in my head, we’re going to have to set some firm relationship boundaries, preferably before the ambiguity leads to a fight better avoided.

“Ah, the sun,” Alexey says, pushing open the door from the entryway and once more exposing us to the light of the outside world.  It’s still mid-afternoon, and damn is it hot.  Immediately I’m hit with an oppressive burst of hot wind that assails my face.  It’s almost enough to make me want to stay here in the entrance chamber of the Tower and just wait in here until closer to dusk when it’ll be a bit more tolerable.  Almost.

“So, I think this is good-bye for now,” I say to Alexey.  “It was an honor working with you again.”

Chloe nods, offering her hand.  He shakes it, then mine, then offers a salute, which we return.

“It has been a fruitful day exploring this place with you both.  Perhaps, should circumstances allow it, we shall continue another day.”  With that, he heads off, starting with a light jog before breaking off onto one of the roads, seamlessly merging into the street traffic.

The traffic itself is a curious mix of cars, bikes, and runners, along with a few more exotic vehicles.  One of them can politely be called a boat that decided to grow wheels and move on dry land, while another is more accurately described as a hodgepodge of spare parts cobbled up and held together by a mixture of prayers, duct tape, and System shenanigans, and I’m not sure about the first two of those.  In either case, as they say, if it looks dumb and it works, it’s not dumb.

After a few seconds of watching Alexey rush off, Chloe and I take our leave.  I start channeling an inverted [Heat] glyph to suppress the intensity of the midsummer heat, and together with the heavy breeze we form while flying, it starts to make the temperature feel somewhat bearable.  Doesn’t do much about the humidity, much to our eternal chagrin.

“Hey, Chloe,” I message once we’re out of the downtown area.  “There’s something I feel we should talk about…”

“I swear, if you are breaking up with–”

“Not in this life or the next one, love.  It’s about the ore and what it means for… well, us.”

“What about it?  I know you said it was sentient and able to talk with you.  Is there something else that has you apprehensive?”

“The ore said it wanted to be called Filia.  And its voice was feminine.  Both of which suggest that the personality contained within is a woman.  And if I’m going to be forging a new weapon from them… her… whatever, then that means that I’m likely to have another woman literally in my mind the way you are.  Which, I figured you deserved to know about, so we can agree on appropriate boundaries.”

“Oh, uh…  Yeah, I guess I didn’t think about that.  And I appreciate that we’re having this discussion now, rather than some time later in the future.”

“So…”

  I stammer awkwardly.  “Filia says that they… or she— haven’t asked yet— can form the core of a powerful weapon, one which will grow more powerful as we fight more and gain more Experience.  Moreover, I was considering changing to a different type of weapon instead of my gun arm.”

“And you think this is a good idea?”

“After thinking about it, I do.  Having my primary weapon constantly draining my [Ether] has shown its disadvantages in numerous fights, including that last one.  But I also want to make sure that I consider your perspective and make sure you’re okay with it all.”

“Have you thought about what kind of weapon you want to use?”

“I–  I had a proclivity for a spear in my past life.  Something about the weapon draws me to it.  I don’t know if it’s muscle memory or just some familiarity my mind and soul have with the weapon, but it feels… I dunno, it just feels right.  Kinda like when I took my [Mechanical Angel] class.”

“Then you should go for it!”

“You sure you’re okay with everything?”

Chloe sighs.  “I don’t know,” she says quietly, her voice hard to hear over the sound of the air whipping all around us.  “I hate the idea of sharing you in any way with anyone, least of all some other woman.  And while I know it’s just jealousy talking and I shouldn’t be consumed by the idea of you getting a sentient weapon, it’s just…  Like I said, I don’t know.”

“Do you think it would help if you talked to them?  Maybe that would alleviate some worries?”

“Are you sure it’d be okay?”

“I mean, if Filia can talk to me, I don’t see why they can’t talk to you as well.”

She takes my hand in hers and caresses it.  “Thanks, love.  Let’s do that.”

A couple of hours later, after we’ve had a chance to eat and shower and enjoy those two most wonderful inventions of modern human society, Chloe and I are seated on the upstairs couch, her hand in mine, both of us taking a few moments just to rest and relax and enjoy each other’s company as evening sets in.  After a while though, I decide it’s time to go ahead and pull off the bandage and get the potentially difficult conversation started.

“Um, Sera…” Chloe says.  “Before we get started, I was curious.  Now that you have those [Artificer’s Glasses], do you think you could look into what that strange liquid you got from Anna is?”

“Oh!”  I had completely forgotten about it, lost in the depths of my [Inventory].  It takes a half-second to mentally locate it among the mental layout of my pocket dimension, but it comes out easily enough, as do the glasses in question.  When I stare at the phial, my jaw nearly drops.

[[Miracle Water]: Cosmic water containing immense spiritual essence.  Permanently increases Maximum [Health] and [Ether] by +50.  Permanently increases [Strength], [Speed], [Vitality], and [Mind] by 2.  (Note: The entire contents of this phial must be consumed for the effects to manifest.  Attempting to divide the contents among multiple drinkers will negate any benefit.)]

“Holy…  Holy shit…” I mutter.

“That bad?”

“No.  It’s not bad at all.  Chloe, this is…”  I switch to telepathy.  “It’s a free, permanent boost to all stats.  [Miracle Water], the System calls it.”

“Are you going to drink it?” Chloe asks.

“No.  I think you should.  You’re the healer, you have lower [Health] and [Vitality], and I want to make sure that you can stay alive and healthy, so you can keep me and everyone else safe.  You can bring me back from death’s door.  I can’t do the same for you.”

Chloe nods, acquiescing to my rationale.  She downs the water in a single gulp like a shot, and looks bright and cheery as she swallows.  Apparently it tasted great too; shame I didn’t get to try.

After a moment for Chloe to adjust to all the subtle changes manifesting in her body, I grip her hand, more to calm myself than to calm her.  I hope that the three of us are all going to get along, but I fear that we won’t.  And then, after she gives me a gentle squeeze and a soft smile, I bring Filia out of my [Inventory], setting them down on the coffee table in front of me.

“Um, hi,” Chloe says.  “Sera says your name is Filia.  I don’t know if she mentioned me, but I’m Chloe, her girlfriend.  It’s nice to meet you?”

A couple of seconds pause in awkward silence before I feel a very faint murmur in the back of my head.  “Too quiet… can barely hear.  Closer.”

Huh.  I never suspected that telepathic communication with Filia would be range-limited to such an extent, especially considering I have a range of five miles with Chloe.  I reach up and grab the chunk of philosopher’s ore, resting it on the couch between the two of us.  We each place our hand on the plate-sized mass of sentient metal, at which point, the previously tenuous connection comes into much clearer view.

“Can you hear us now?” I ask.

“Loud and clear… Oh, I just realized, I never got your name.”

“Seraphina,” I say.  “And with me here is Chloe.”

“Seraphina and Chloe.”  I can subtly hear Filia’s attention shifting to Chloe, the voice in my mind growing a bit quieter and a bit less forcefully projected into my mind.  “And Chloe, you are a friend of Seraphina’s?”

“Her girlfriend,” she says proudly.  “I just want to figure out how this whole ‘intelligent weapon’ and voice in her head thing is going to go.”

“Ah, I see.  Well, rest assured, I have no interest in that sort of thing.  As for the question about how intelligent items work, in effect— Actually, Seraphina, you should hear this as well.”

I give a mental nod of assent, and Filia continues.

“Intelligent weapons and items are just that.  Any artifact that was endowed by its creator— whether a mortal or the System itself— with enough will to think and exert some control over their own agendas.  While all of us are different, the one thing we all have in common is that we have something we want to accomplish, and seek a wielder who aligns with those motivations.”

“And what do you want to accomplish?” Chloe asks.

“Honestly, I’ve been trapped in that box for so long that I just want to get out, explore the world, see new things, maybe get into some thrilling fights and dashing, heroic adventures.  And, Chloe, as I was telling Seraphina before, I can sense that she’s going to do some great, wonderful things in the coming years and…  Ooh, there’s something about you as well, Chloe.  You’re no ordinary woman, that’s for sure.”

“What do you mean by that?” Chloe asks.  “As far as I’m aware, I’m just an ordinary human.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Filia continues.  “It’s faint, but I sense a source of extraordinary power within you.  Within both of you, actually.”

“You think so?” Chloe says.  “I mean, I guess I might.  But I don’t really feel anything out of the ordinary.  Nothing like the power I’ve seen Sera tap into before.”

“Oh, definitely.  It’s faint and almost all of it is still lying dormant, but I can sense something incredible within you as well, Chloe.”

A power within Chloe?  I idly wonder what that could mean.  If it’s just some aspect of my own power residing within her thanks to [Angelic Bond], or if something else is at play.

“Setting that aside for now, and just to make sure I understand, you don’t have any ulterior motivations and aren’t planning anything nefarious at all.  And, most importantly, you’re not going to do anything that’s going to put us in more danger than we’d otherwise be facing.”

“Are you kidding?  I want to see just how far the two of you are going to go.  Take over the world?  Set sail for the stars, visit new worlds, conquer the galaxy?  All I want is to make sure I’m there to see it all.”

“Take over the world?” Chloe asks.  She turns to me and glares.  “Get those delusions of grandeur out of your head, Seraphina.  We are absolutely not going to become tyrants and set out to reshape society in our image!”

“I know, I know!  Even if it is a little tempting!  I do still want to set sail for the stars and visit new worlds, though.”

“Anyway, not to interrupt the lovers’ quarrel you two are getting into, I do need to ask.  Seraphina, have you given any thought to what kind of weapon you want?”

“Actually, I was thinking of a spear,” I say.  “It just feels right.”

“Ah, a spear, I see,” Filia says.  “Yes…  I’ll start thinking of some possible design ideas.”

“Do you need any other materials to work with?  Um, not that I think you can’t do so on your own, but there doesn’t seem to be enough of you to properly form a full spear.”

“Hrmm…  Well, I doubt there are any nexuses of Etheric energy that have existed long enough to properly coalesce into Spiritwood… and if I had to guess, there’s probably no currently known methods for synthesizing electrum or orichalcum either.  Meteoronium might work as well, although trying to locate and smelt that might be better left to a pure [Blacksmith] class.”

“Electrum… as in the alloy of gold and silver?” I ask.

“No…  No, I’m talking about the mythical metal…  But anyway, you said it was four months or so since integration?”

“Yeah, just over,” Chloe says.

“Then… Pure silver won’t be ideal.  It’ll be heavier and therefore harder to wield, and it won’t conduct [Ether] as well as some of the other options, but at least you should be able to find it.  I’ll need… oh, let’s see here…  Density of silver is… yeah… carry the one and… Yeah, I’ll probably need… lets see, by your world’s measurements, around twenty pounds of the stuff.  The purer the better.”

“Alright,” I say.  “Chloe?  Do you have any objections to doing this tomorrow?”

“None at all, Sera.”  She yawns, though I’m not sure how much is actual tiredness and how much is to make a point.  “But right now, I do think our bed is calling us.”

“Time to go back into the [Inventory]?” I half-ask, half-state to Filia.

“I do think that will be better for all three of us.”