Zoe wandered around town through the night, watching the ever present battle between the people clearing snow and nature pouring more down to fill up the streets once more. According to the pair she talked to, Ash and Lila were the mages she was looking for. And they’d probably be sleeping at the moment.
So she continued wasting the time away, enjoying the spectacle of magic and power that were the human snow plows in this world. Perhaps one day it would be mundane to her, but even after a month of watching them it was still exciting every time she saw them. It was perhaps one of the biggest culture shocks to Zoe since coming to this world.
Sure, there was magical cleaning spells, and cool storage items. Buffs, and classes and stats to play with. But those were so far removed from her normal life that they didn’t feel unusual, they felt new. But big muscled women walking around with giant rocks, pulverizing the snow into nothingness through some kind of reality defying magic, instead of just plowing through it with a horse?
That was weird, and fantastical. It made her question so many other things, like what other normal, mundane tasks were solved through manual labour here? What did a field of grain look like? Did they have oxen pulling machinery through the fields, or did they just hire the biggest guy they found at a bar?
Zoe laughed to herself at the thought of a big burly man bulling a plow through a field, excited to get a new level from the day. It just felt so wrong, and yet somehow it seemed possible here.
The sun began to rise, and Zoe decided she’d check out a job board, see if there was anything good available at the moment. She went to a tavern near the eastern side of town and took a look at the offerings.
As usual there were many people looking for catering and security, or some muscle to help move furniture around. Zoe ignored them. Maybe with her uncapped skills she could end up being helpful at some point, but she doubted anybody would hire a level eight even if they seemed capable, and didn’t want to stand out too much anyway.
Lorelei seemed nice enough, but five gold coins wasn’t all that much at the end of the day. Not enough to give up such a massive secret when she didn’t even know what the consequences of it would be. Maybe for a hundred, but for just five? That’s live the next few years in comfort money, not live the rest of her life in comfort money.
She looked at some of the other jobs posted. There were plenty requesting stocks of meat, and Zoe might have been tempted to take them a month ago. But somebody else could take those risks. Herb was an experienced hunter and even he was feeling like it was too much.
Zoe wandered around a while longer, keeping an eye out for Ash and Lila. It was shortly after noon when she finally found them. Snow swirling around the one mage, vanishing as it touched them. The disintegration mage showed up as a darker blue to her identify.
They were the second person she’d seen at such a high level, and she wondered if maybe they were more common than she expected. Remembering to identify people was a difficult thing for her, but she was getting better at it. Maybe one day she’d even see the other red that Joe had talked about.
[Mage - ??]
[Mage - ??]
“
“
“
The mage laughed, “That is a fantastic idea. I’m Ash,” they said holding their hand out and bowing slightly.
Zoe took their hand, her hand tingling as the disintegration magic began its slow drain on her health. Ash pulled her in to their side.
“
“
“
“
“
“
Ash started walking forward, dragging Zoe along with them while Lila gathered the snow and whisked it into Ash’s aura. It felt whimsical, being this close to the spectacle. Snow whipped around her as it got pulled in to Ash, and Zoe’s head spun on her shoulders watching it all with her enhanced eyes. More snow was falling from the sky in a light dusting, and all of it got pulled into the whirlwind of snow that Zoe was in the centre of.
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“
“
“
“
Lila sighed, “We live not far east of town, just follow the road down a ways and you can’t miss it.”
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
*Ding* You have unlocked the Disintegration Resistance
Zoe smiled as the notification interrupted her entertainment.
“Did you get it already?” Ash asked, noticing Zoe’s smile.
“Hmm? Oh, yes I did, thank you.” Zoe responded.
“Wow. I’d heard resistances were easier before your first class but that’s impressive. What’s your health at now anyway?” Ash asked.
Health: 153/200
“Uh, one fifty right now.” Zoe said.
Ash waved their hand around, Zoe’s hand still in it. “You wanna keep going or are we done with our little impromptu date?”
“I mean, I don’t. I could use some more levels, if you’re offering, I guess?” Zoe said.
Ash laughed, “And so the impromptu date carries on!”
Zoe blushed a little. She was never much a fan of people joking about dates. Did Ash really think of it as a date? That would be weird, since they’d barely known each other. But on the other hand, they kept bringing it up, which was also weird to her if they weren’t serious. So which weird was the right weird?
“I’m sorry for being strange, but is this a date?” Zoe asked.
Lila smacked Ash’s shoulder and Ash laughed, “It could be if you want. But no, I’m just flirting, I guess. It’s a bit of fun.”
“I thought the two of you were together?” Zoe asked them.
“We are. Ash is just a little free spirited, though it works out well for me too.” Lila said, smiling as she looked at Ash.
“Enough of that. More about you, Zoe. You mentioned something about feats?” Ash asked.
“Yeah, I’m trying for Winter’s Master right now. I think I’ll try and get all of the seasonal master feats while I’m at it. I know winter and summer exist but I’m not sure about spring and autumn.” Zoe answered.
“I’ve heard of those. I do think there’s a spring and autumn one too, but I’ve never gotten them myself.” Lila said.
“Really? Why not? I might be weird for doing it so early but I would have thought most people would get them considering how easy they are?" Zoe asked.
Ash laughed, “You’re a different breed, you know that? Life’s way too short to spend a year of it being uncomfortable just for a slightly better class. I mean, what, you’re gonna move snow around a little bit easier? Big whoop. I slept in a comfortable bed in a warm house last night.”
“That’s a good point. Very fair.” Zoe said.
“If you know a class you want that requires one then go for it, but I say just find another class, really. Feats aren’t worth the time they take. The good ones are way too much effort and the easy ones don’t do enough to be worth it.” Ash explained.
“Now that you mention it, what are some good feats?” Zoe asked.
“Well there’s the slayer series, for killing different elementals. They give good bonuses but good luck even finding an elemental, let alone killing one.” Lila said.
“Mhm, I’ve also heard of a few feats for embodying an element. Saw one guy who burned his entire body and got a Cindered feat out of it. Might get one for being disintegrated completely, but who knows how you get back after that one.” Ash said.
Zoe laughed, “Yeah I don’t think I’ll be getting either of those.”
“Probably not.” Ash said, the disintegration aura turning off and the tingle in Zoe’s hand fading away with it.
The snow whirling around them died down too, as Lila stopped whatever spell she was casting.
“Alright, that’s all for us today. We’ve gotta get back to the farm and make sure things are going alright.” Ash said.
“Okay, thanks for the help today.” Zoe said.
“No problem. What’d you get your resistance up to anyway?” Ash asked.
- Disintegration (2)
“Two,” Zoe answered, checking her health again.
Health: 127/200
“Damn, that’s pretty quick.”
“Yes, we do need to get going though. It was nice meeting you, Zoe. Don’t forget to stop by our farm in the summer, we’ll get a resistance party going for you.” Lila said.
“Yes! Do that. Or come by whenever. Our friends won’t be back until summer but come stop by for dinner sometime.” Ash smiled at her.
“I might take you up on that then. It was nice to meet you two too.” Zoe nodded her head.
“See you around then,” Ash said.
The two waved and Zoe watched them walk off down the street.
That went better than she expected. They were nice, and might be able to provide her with even more resistances in a few months. Zoe realized she should’ve asked more about that — what types of damage, did they maybe have somebody who could heal as well, or really just anything about it. But maybe it would be a nice surprise for her instead.