Free Web NovelChapter 26: Long Term Goal
Luke and Valeria sat in the living room, their hands repeatedly gestured back and forth between each other. Compared to the previous lesson, Luke was learning much quicker. Valeria had no idea why, but he was aware that it was all due to Pattern Recognition.
Wondering about its effects, he cast the spell before they started practicing. Every time Valeria signed to him, it only took a few repetitions until he was flawless at a single sign, the unusual speed made her slightly confused, yet she didn’t bother asking.
Instead, the lesson by went smoothly until an hour had passed and Luke had built a solid foundation of around 30 words learned. Luke watched as the distant demeanor had fully melted, leaving her smiling slightly as they practiced together.
Thank you for the lesson, Valeria.
Good work today, Luke.
They sat together in the comfortable silence. After they both digested the reality of her recovery, they grew closer.
The sun was waning, leaving its afternoon rays peeking through the surrounding houses and the last bit of its light shone through the windows. Valeria’s platinum hair glistened in a way he never noticed before, but it caught his attention as she sat in her bronze wheelchair. He had always felt rushed after coming to another world, never feeling peace, but there was an underlying relief that seemed to appear after Valeria learned of his secrets; even if he could only partially tell her the truth.
As they both sat in the beams of the setting sun, a peace that he had never felt before settled deep inside of him. They sat, both taken by something the other wasn’t aware of, and relaxed in the last rays of the day that they would always remember.
When the sun had finally fallen behind the neighborhood houses, Luke and Valeria both got ready for bed. While the other was going about their nightly routine, they would patiently wait. Luke changed into the only pair of comfortable clothes hanging in his closet and helped Valeria into bed after she had finished in the bathroom.
Good night.
He signed and she reciprocated. As he stood in the doorway, he found his gaze lingered slightly longer than usual before shutting the door. Something inside him had changed, but it was a good change.
As he walked through the house, Luke couldn’t help but think about Valeria’s rejuvenated look. It was like her biggest worry had disappeared and in its place was a bright hue of hope that Luke, and maybe only Luke, would be able to see.
The thought made him grin like an idiot as he walked into the living room and reorganized the couch into his makeshift bed. As he fell into the soft embrace of the cushions, the system had waited until that exact moment to flood his tired vision with multiple screens.
[Trust has reached a milestone!]
[Affection has reached a milestone!]
[Task: Recover Your Wife]
[Task: Regaining Mana]
Luke tiredly began to read through the descriptions and rewards.
[Trust: 40/100]
[When you tell your wife that you are going to do something, she will have 100% faith that you will follow through.]
[Reward: C-Rank Defense Spell - Vine Shield, D-Rank Utility Spell - Fill Water, Mana +5]
Luke could understand the spells in his mind, their uses were more than exciting to him, but he didn’t allow himself to get distracted.
[Affection: 10/100]
[Your presence has become comforting rather than merely familiar.]
[Reward: Bond Spell Ticket (F-S)]
A large slip of paper appeared in his hands, its rectangular shape wasn’t unusual and in bold letters, the front read: RIP ME. In almost unnoticeable fine print at the bottom, Luke could just make out the words that stated the piece of paper only usable to the owner of the Spouse Bond System.
[Task: Regaining Mana]
[Once the Host collects enough Spouse Mana the system will be able to fix the broken mana core of his wife: 10/50]
[Reward: Repaired Mana Core, ???]
[Task: Recover Your Wife]
[The System exists for the sole purpose of recovering the Host’s wife. The Host must heal all three injuries before (unknown) attempts to silence her. Avoid asking about the cause of her injuries at all costs: 0/1 Fractured Mana Core, 0/1 Waist Down Paralysis, 0/1 Frozen Eardrums]
[Reward: ???]
All the information caused Luke to massage his temples, relieving the headache that it brought on. He was more than excited about the rewards, but the information in the final task was worrisome. Luke had tried to avoid asking about the injuries as to not trigger any lingering emotions in Valeria, but with the system mentioning ’silencing’, he was grateful to his past self.
It did give him some information about the cause of the injuries, yet he wasn’t sure if learning about it was a good idea. Ultimately, he decided to put it in the back of his mind. If whatever caused the injuries could do it to a SSS-Rank explorer, then he had no reason to bother with it at F-Rank.
With perfect timing, the orb in his pocket started to vibrate. Luke pulled it out and held it in front of his face, he tried to stop the buzzing but nothing was working, until he set it down on the table and tapped it with three fingers.
An illusionary screen appeared in the air, projected out from the little orb. It looked like a system screen, but more magical and less technological.
It’s Leon. Our reservation is scheduled for 10 am tomorrow at the academy rift park. I will meet you there in the morning. From what I know it shouldn’t be too difficult of a rift, especially when compared to a spitter queen. I look forward to working together.
Luke would have liked to get a description of the rift, not just the estimated difficulty of a F-Rank, but beggars can not be chooser’s; although he wasn’t even the beggar in this scenario.
With every duty for the day completed, Luke waited for the sweet embrace of sleep to cradle him until the morning. Instead, sleep proved to be a cruel mistress, leaving him with almost no rest as nightmares plagued him throughout the night.
