Proper responses

***

Lorn laid down inside the carriage, thinking about Sybil's story.

He had many things he could say to her to make her feel better. Things about gifted children, the pressures they faced, how they eventually failed and got burnt out. Afterwards, annoying stuff like anxiety and depression would manifest in their minds.

But Lorn didn't feel like saying any of them to her. It felt like he wouldn't be taking her seriously then.

She was talking about her deepest thoughts, after all. Lorn couldn't just start lecturing her about her own life. Even if Lorn was right, there were some things that were better off not said.

If he did say something, he had to respond properly. With emotion. Real emotion.

However, he was unable to do so.

All he could do was to hug her from behind and be there for her. Perhaps that was enough.

Looking at Sybil, snoring peacefully beside him… he supposed it was enough for her.

She poured out her heart to someone and she was accepted. It was silent, but it was still acceptance. She didn't dare ask for more, but she made a step forward and her efforts were acknowledged.

Lorn almost felt jealous. He thought too much, so it was hard for him to be so raw and vulnerable like her. Every moment, he thought and schemed, wondering how to best make use of the situation.

Even last night, part of him wondered how he could best make use of Sybil's trust. That part of him was satisfied, knowing Sybil would still probably stick around even if they found a way to separate.

Lorn felt disgusted at himself.

Even if he knew that was how he was, and even if he had made peace with it before, he was still unsettled.

He used to wonder all the time if he was some sort of a sociopath or a psychopath. But that wasn't it. It wasn't like Lorn didn't feel, it just meant he couldn't just feel. His cold, rational mind couldn't stop working behind the scenes.

And his mind always got in the way of his heart. Especially if they clashed. And of course, his mind always won. It never allowed Lorn to look weak and vulnerable. Even when he was captured and tormented by Elan, even without a way out for him, he still maintained a strong front.

Lorn sighed again. He really wanted a drink.

'I can't believe this is affecting me so much. I gotta stop thinking about it.'

He straightened his back and meditated. It wasn't anything fancy, he just sat still and took long breaths. It was a miracle how much that helped.

He checked his status.

[CONGRATULATIONS: Your Spirit Bond has Ranked up! Bond level – D. Three skills of your choice can be shared. You can now share up to 50% of your maximum Spirit. When you or your partner receives lethal damage, the other can choose to share the burden.]

[The two spirit partners have shown care towards each other. Relevant benefits are received. You can now see each other's Status screens. You will be able to tell exactly where your partner is. Generally, the synergy between you two will increase. Things you do together are much easier and fruitful.]

[When absorbing spirits together, you will both receive 70% of the spirits total value. But when absorbing separately, you will only receive 20% of its original value.]

Lorn guessed that Sybil received a mission similar to his own. To make Lorn understand her better. So, she decided to talk about her past, the same as him.

He then checked her status.

[Name: Sybil Plath]

[Title: N/A]

[Spirit Partner - Lorn Ashin(D)]

[Health: 100%]

[Spirit (D): 100%]

[Strength: 13.2]

[Dexterity: 31]

[Stamina: 5.9 + 10 + 3]

[Agility: 17.83]

[Intelligence: 9.2]

[Willpower: 78 + 15 + 30]

[Sense: 33.3 + 3]

[Faith: 24.4]

[Boon: Enhancement; Manipulation; Specialization]

[Obtained skills: Greater Strengthening Lv.3; Rejuvenation Lv.5; Dimensional Sense Lv.4; Elastic Body Lv.8; Reflex Enhancement Lv.6; Aerodynamics Lv.5; Draconic Vitality Lv.1; Phylactery of Nature Lv.0; Point of Gravity Lv.MAX; Gravitational Pull Lv.9; Gravitational Push Lv.MAX; Weight Reduction Lv.4; Weight Increase Lv.5; Gravitational Force Lv.7; Spirit Burst Lv.4; Spirit Visualization Lv.9; Spirit Meditation Lv.8; Spirit Usage Optimization Lv.2; Probability Tampering Lv.4; Twin Prosperity.]

Sybil described herself as a slightly below average D-rank. If she wasn't so hurried with her decision to rank up, she should've gotten at least a couple more bonus skills from her Rank up.

Lorn could tell. In total, he had 21 skills while Sybil only had 19, despite being a Rank higher. But Sybil explained that being an Undying was the main reason. Most people only received 6 to 8 skills from a rank up. Lorn receiving 12 was just absurd. Add the fact that he received six more from the Spirit Bond, the amount of skills would reach an enviable number in no time.

'Not only that, I also got Gravitational Pull on top of it.' Lorn sighed.

He adamantly refused to receive more skills from Sybil, but the latter insisted that she needed nothing more. She didn't want Lorn's abilities related to mental manipulation, and although she wanted Spirit Absorbing Fog, she couldn't use it without Fog Creation.

Her main goal was to increase her Stamina, so she settled on Draconic Vitality and Phylactery of Nature. She wasn't that interested in increasing her Willpower anymore.

It was true that that stat was going out of control. As a D-rank, every time she received a new skill, relevant stats were multiplied by 1.3. So, her Willpower, which was lingering below 50, suddenly jumped to 78.

Lorn felt that power escalation in the One World was definitely unbalanced. It was a system that rewarded the ones ahead by far too much. He was even rewarded with Halo of the Leader for Ranking up with all benefits attached.

It would be extremely difficult for the stragglers to catch up.

But in a sense, he could understand it. If your stats were in the 100s, one or two points wouldn't matter much. A massive increase is required to make a difference.

'The optimal way to grow is to grind skill levels when you're lower rank. When your stats get too high, the couple points you receive from Skill level-ups don't matter too much. What's important is receiving new skills.'

Lorn decided to grind like a maniac before he ranked up. He was going to get all his skills to at least level 7 before he ranked up. His rank up prompt hadn't showing up yet, but he was determined to receive the best possible benefits, just like last time.

Break time was over. Lorn doggedly resumed his practice. He dedicated his whole mind to it, so he wouldn't have to think of other things.

'Ding!'

'Ding!'

[IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: On 9.00 am, August 12th, there will be big updates to the One World's operating system. All players, please make sure to log out before then, and remind the Residents you know that you will not be able to come back for five days.]

'That's two days from now on…' Lorn thought with worry. 'And it's four days until we reach Vexis…'

…