(Taiyang)
Trudging through the thickets of the forest, Taiyang had his flashlight on, scouring the place for possible threats. A Beowulf pounced at him, but he anticipated the attack, side-stepping and slicing its head with his wrist-blade. Uncaring of the disintegrating corpse, he went about his way, keeping his guard up.
There'd been reports of people going missing around here, far north of Vale. After a distress signal was sent, Taiyang was one of the few free hunters available to answer the call, seeing as most were occupied with other missions. He and a handful of others were told to investigate what could be happening in the area, to see if either bandits or Grimm had infested the place.
It happened depressingly often, really. He'd been on a lot of missions of a similar vein, and it was typically either some dumb bandits or a slightly powerful Grimm, like an Elder Deathstalker or a Chief Beringel. Nothing unusual, and from the Beowolves he had killed in this case, it was most likely an Alpha or possibly even a Primal. Which was fine, really. He'd seen his fair share of battles, and he was considered one of the best, even if his position in the rankings suggested otherwise.
Taiyang pouted to himself. It's not fair. He has a job as a professor and two daughters to raise damn it. He deserved a little more respect than the ranks gave him.
He, of course, accepted the mission, seeing as he can't exactly turn down a request from the Guildmaster and because the pay was really good for a quick mission like this. He never allowed his guard to slip despite this, of course, suspicious that the mission might not as simple as he'd pegged it as being.
Unfortunately, that would mean leaving Ruby alone, and he absolutely despised himself for doing so… but duty called, and he can't exactly ignore orders. Even then, Ruby herself would hate it if he passed this over for her sake, and he can't disappoint his sweet girl.
...Is what he kept telling himself.
It's okay, Tai. She can take of herself just fine. He shook his head. In fact, with the extra money from this, you can take her to that weapons showcase coming up soon...
It was one of Ruby's favorite events, after all, right under her birthday.
I think this oughta be enough. He thought, his hand slithering down his hip pouch to take out a small, glowing white crystal.
He walked towards a tree, its branches thick and bereft of leaves. Crouching low, Tai plunged the crystal into the ground next to it, then chipped it with his weapon. The glowing crystal shone bright, acting as a temporary lamp and as a sort of checkpoint for him and his current squad. Nodding in satisfaction, Taiyang walked back to camp, still wary of any other Grimm that might be feeling lucky.
Fortunately, nothing attacked him, arriving back in only a few minutes with his quickened pace. One of his companions, a woman with bright blue hair and violet eyes wearing black dyed leather armor was chatting away her stress and slight nervousness, talking about her previous successful missions around the campfire, and another one, a man with black hair and steel-gray eyes wearing a gray toga was simply laying on his back, most likely ignoring whatever their partner, Sapphire, was saying.
The final companion was a woman with green hair in a ponytail and eyes of a matching color. She was sharpening her axe before she noticed him, giving a nod in greeting.
"Found anything?" She asked.
"A few Beowolves." Taiyang shrugged. "Nothing too serious."
"O-oh." The blue-haired girl sighed. "That's good…"
"Calm down, girl." The man, Collis, said. "Your negativity attracts Grimm."
"L-look, I'm sorry, but I'm really just not good with dark and quiet forests, okay?!" She shivered. "And to make it worse, we're at the borders of the Hanged Forest for goodness' sake!"
"Hey, so long as you aren't looking to off yourself you'll be fine." He chuckled condescendingly.
The green-haired woman, Jade, glared at him. "Stop it, you two. We don't want Grimm swarming us."
Tai sighed deeply, sitting near the shaking huntress. "As infamous as this place is, we still have our work to do. Go in, kill whatever has been causing these disappearances, then go back home."
"Y-yeah, but still…" She tensed. "They say that no one has ever returned once they were sent there…"
"Bullshit." Collis huffed. "Plenty of teams get back, with no causalities most of the time. Hell, I went in once before."
"Cool down, Saph," Tai grinned confidently, patting her back. "We'll be done with the place tomorrow. Hell, how about after we're done, we all go for a drink? On me."
Sapphire relaxed slightly as she heard this. "...yeah, I'm probably just being paranoid. Sorry."
"It's alrigh-"
Crunch!
"KYA!" She yelped, all of them standing up to turn to the sound, their weapons in hand. "W-w-w-what was that?!"
After a few seconds, a squirrel ran out from the bushes, then deftly ascends up one of the trees surrounding them. Taiyang groaned loudly before chuckling to himself. Sapphire fell down on her behind as she covered her face in embarrassment, Collis clicked his tongue in annoyance, and Jade simply sighed.
As much as they tried to hide it, some to more success than others, all of them were on edge. This place – it felt wrong. Something… something was very, very wrong, yet none of them could put their finger on why. They felt as though they were being watched, from the moment they entered the thickets, not even arriving at the heart of the forest yet.
"Well, I guess you could say that this has been one hell of a n-"
"Behind you!" Jade called out.
Fortunately, Taiyang already felt the attack coming, his battle-hardened instincts saving his life as he rolled out of the way. A large tree branch shot out from the woodline, and without wasting any time, Tai got up and sliced it in half.
Suddenly, a horrifying screech echoed throughout the forest, then, only for a split-second, the trees, grass, roots – everything flickered to black and white, before going back to their original(?) color. Suddenly, the ground beneath them exploded, a root shooting at Jade's face. Fortunately, Collis managed to deflect it with a swing of his sword.
Another flicker, and then, the trees quivered and shook, convulsing and shaping into something… terrifying. They formed into legs and arms, then with one final flicker, changed color to black, white, and red. And suddenly they found themselves confronted with a Grimm in the shape of a giant tree, its branches spasming violently before soaring their way.
"RUN!" Tai commanded, knowing full well what was happening. "Go! Go! Go!"
His team obeyed, turning tail and retreating towards the edge of the forest. Taiyang made sure to protect the rear as he followed after them, loading his gauntlets and wrist-blades with fire dust. The blade was engulfed in flames as he burned whatever came his way. He shot and sliced, glancing behind him for split-seconds at a time to see his teammates doing fairly well. Jade led them out, her chainsaw and axe combination doing wonders for their defense. Collis had his assault rifle loaded with fire dust rounds, shooting at whatever came close, and Sapphire blocked and parried with her saw-shield.
Unfortunately, the tree Grimm was fast, running after them and shrugging off whatever Tai threw at it. Hell, it barely took any damage, its thick armor protecting it from the fire. Tai clicked his tongue and switched to Earth Dust instead, shooting the ground in front of him to create large bumps in the monster's path. That held up the tree Grimm for a while, but to make sure it couldn't catch up, Tai shot all around it as he ran, making the forest harder to traverse in.
Turning around, Tai froze as his companions were nowhere to be seen. How? They were in front of him a second ago! How did they suddenly-!
"GAH!" He screamed in pain as a root pierced his Aura, impaling his shoulder. Gritting his teeth, he sliced it with his weapon, then shook his head as he kept running.
They probably managed to get out… He tried to assure himself, for any more negativity could very well be the end for him. I most likely got distracted and… and…
Tai's eyes widened in fear as he stared at the campfire they were in, the fire still roaring.
Oh… He gulped in fear, for no happy or optimistic thoughts could rid him of the despair he was feeling. Shit...
Taiyang looked back. Nothing was attacking him anymore, and that Grimm was nowhere to be seen. Of course, it didn't matter really, because he still needed to find a way out. This is most likely some spell, which would mean that this was no ordinary Grimm.
A Titan? Really? An undiscovered one? He grimaced. But where is it? Was it the tree?
It… didn't look as strong as a Titan, but it was able to control everything in the forest, wasn't it? Every branch from every tree, every root…
Well, He took a deep breath. Sorry, Rubes…
He clenched his fists, a grim smile adorning his features.
But I don't think we'll be going to the Firesteel festival together this year...
Even while his mind knew this would be his end, his heart swore to do whatever it might take to survive. He will not leave his daughters alone, and he'd fight tooth and nail to survive.
Losing their mothers was enough.
They're not about to lose their father too.
(Ruby)
If someone had told Ruby that, one day, she'd be casually chatting with a real, living hero she would've called them crazy.
Yet, here she is, actually ranting about the ending of one of her old favorite comics, with him reminiscing about ones he'd read and also agreeing with a lot of her points. They'd been together for like, an hour or two, and while at first, she hadn't been quite so comfortable, she slowly opened up to him. As mean as he looked – yet nearly unnaturally handsome at the same time – he was friendly enough, barring his sailor's mouth.
She didn't even mind that really. Yang cursed when she thought Ruby wasn't around, so whatever.
She realized that he shared similar interests with her, like comics, Mistrali cartoons – what he calls "Anime" – even weapons. She thought he'd see stuff like this as childish or a waste of time, but he kept talking openly about a certain comic that he enjoyed a lot. Ruby wasn't sure she'd ever heard of "One Piece", but she was interested in it now.
After a while, she timidly asked him for a picture of his weapon or at least a description of it, but he did neither. Instead, he pulled it out of nowhere and handed it to her. It had good craftsmanship, on par with plenty of skilled blacksmiths around the world, but it, unfortunately, didn't have any interesting mechanisms. It was a simple sword as he said in the interview.
"It did well enough." He told her. "Though, I do want a mecha-shift weapon. Maybe a…"
Then they delved into weapons, how hers works, and how the more famous pieces were created. They had this talk once before, but they only talked about specific weapons, not their creation processes and specific mechanisms. Reid seemed interested enough, which only got her more excited with every passing word.
It was funny, really. Reid only wanted to buy chalk and Dust from nearby. A simple five-minute endeavor, with the occasional group of fans wanting for his autograph or a handshake, stretched into a little over two hours because she couldn't keep her mouth shut. Even then, both of them were enjoying themselves so… it wasn't really a problem, right?
"Then again, I'm pretty happy with what I have right now." He shrugged. "I might commission some really skilled blacksmith to make me something with mecha-shift, though. I'm thinking gauntlets and… Hm, what do you think would go well with gauntlets?"
"Well, that depends on how your fighting style. Gauntlets mean hand-to-hand, but how do you fight exactly?" She asked him. "Offensively? Defensively? Do you rely on light or heavy attacks? Maybe you're more balanced between the two?"
He frowned- or was that a scowl? She's not sure… "I prefer being offensive and aggressive with a balance of light and heavy strikes. I like ending fights quickly before I…" His frown deepened. "...before they escape or something."
Ruby blinked at the vague way he said it, but nodded anyway, then held her chin in thought. "Offensive, aggressive, and balanced attacks…"
"Oh, and I'm not very good at using guns or bows, by the way. Not yet at least." He said. "I don't really like 'em either. I have my own way of fighting at range."
"Hmm… This is difficult." She sighed, tilting her head as she concentrated on his(possible) weapon's vision. "No ranged takes away almost every idea I had. You sure you don't want any guns? I mean, shortened shotguns or compact sub-machine guns would go well with gauntlets, especially with your style."
"Nope, because if I had a gun, then I'm probably gonna shoot myself in the foot three times before I realize I've been fucking missing."
Ruby giggled. "That bad?"
"Imagine giving a rocket launcher to a seven year old." He said. "That, but five times worse."
"A seven year old wouldn't even be able to hold it!"
"Exactly."
Ruby laughed at how blankly he said that which prompted him to ruffle her hair, again.
"Yeah, glad my misfortune is hilarious to you." He clicked his tongue as she laughed harder.
"I-I can't help it!" She said in between snickers. "There's no way you're that bad-"
"If there's one thing I'm good at, then it's exceeding expectations."
Once again, that deadpan comment prompted her to laugh even more loudly as she hugged her book tighter. The stress and whatever sadness she'd felt earlier washed away with every moment she spent with him. Heck, she didn't even feel bad whenever she remembered the insults! She missed the feeling of laughing without a care in the world with nothing weighing down on her. It was… freeing?
"I-I'm sorry! I-It's just-"
"Oh, come on, it's not that funny." He raised a brow in amusement.
"Hehehe…" She wiped a tear as she sighed.
"By the way, what's with the commotion?" He questioned, pointing at the large crowd in the plaza. "Know anything about it?"
"I… no, I haven't heard of anything that might be happening here." She shook her head. "Should we check it out?"
"E-excuse me!" Someone called out to them, making both of them stop. "A-are you Mister Reid Astera?"
Reid smirked widely and both he and Ruby turned around to see a girl her age holding a textbook. "That's me. How can I help?"
"Wow, it's really you!" The girl said in awe. "C-can I have an autograph?"
"Sure, always happy to meet a fan." He said, taking out a pen from his pocket. He wrote down his signature, prompting the girl to squeal in happiness before bowing.
The girl got out a few words of gratitude, but before she was gone, Reid spoke. "Say, you know anything about this?"
"O-oh, you mean the crowd?" Reid nodded at her question. "I think it's about the new Dust Pancakes."
Both of them froze.
"Dust- what now?"
"Y-yeah, someone found a way to use dust in cooking." She nodded. "I don't know how, but it's harmless from what I know."
"Right…" Reid nodded. "Well, thank you for that."
"O-of course! It's an honor to have had helped!" She bowed again before leaving them alone.
"Hehe, being a hero is fun." Reid chuckled, grinning like an idiot. "I'm gonna check out this Dust Pancake thingy, yeah? Wait for me around here or somewhere close."
"I can go with you if you want." Ruby offered.
"Nah, it'll be faster if just one of us goes." He declined. "I'll be quick about it, don't worry. Dust Pancakes… Huh."
She was about to stop him, but he was on his way before she could, making her sigh lightly. She looked around and spotted a free seat near a fountain. Ruby went and sat on the bench, looking over at the crowded… stall? She couldn't see exactly what it was with everyone blocking her view. She then shook her head, turning her gaze to the book she was holding tightly.
This book held a lot of good memories. It was one that her mother used to read to her every night, and no matter how generic and clichéd the story might be, she loved it with all her heart. It was a children's book, yet she'd still read it every now and then, and even Yang would read it to her once in a blue moon. It was about a hero saving a princess from a cursed tower, and about his struggles with the monsters and the temptations of treasures that awaited him.
Ruby wanted to be a hero like him, saving people from the Grimm with no care for anything else. After all, a hero saves people, not for the rewards, but because it's the right thing to do, right?
She grinned widely as she saw his signature on her book. And now it's even signed by an actual hero!
...Though, Reid seems to enjoy the praise he gets and the fans he has. Not like she was judging him for that of course! It probably felt great knowing people love you and hearing them praise you to the high heavens. Besides, he probably would've killed Fenrir anyway even if he never got any recognition for it, right? He simply got what he deserves.
She wondered what it felt like facing one of the Titans head-on, but refrained from asking. It felt… wrong to ask about the details of a near-death experience. She knew older, retired hunters sometimes get occasional flashbacks from PTSD whenever they are reminded of their old battles and stuff, and even when Reid didn't show anything like that in the interview, it still felt rude to ask.
She wasn't that socially inept. She knows what not to do thank you very much!
Ruby sighed and gazed at the crowd again, unable to spot Reid anywhere. She fished out her scroll to check the time, 4:40 PM. She put it back in her pocket, then opened her storybook, looking to pass the time-
"Oh, look who it is!" A familiar voice made her freeze, a pit in her stomach forming.
Ruby quickly stood up and looked to where the voice had come from, her eyes widening minutely in terror as she spotted Palli, her main tormentor smirking darkly at her. She had blond hair falling down over her shoulder, and orange eyes glowed maliciously as she stared her down. She wore short jeans reaching her knees and a pink shirt. And was accompanied by two of her friends (Read: Cronies), the first one was Tawny, who had both brown eyes and hair, which was styled in twin-tails, wearing a similar outfit barring the colors, and the other girl, Sky, had short red hair and blue eyes, wearing a one-piece white dress, the skirt reaching just a bit past her knees.
"Fancy seeing you here, Ruby." The blond, Palli, said. "Nice day, isn't it?"
"...Yes, it is," She said, taking an instinctive step back.
"Now, now, what's up with your tone?" Her smirked widened as she got closer. "We're friends, aren't we?"
Ruby squirmed as Palli wrapped her arms around her, but she didn't reply, opting to look at the sky to look away from her.
"I'll take that as a yes~" She said, "since we're friends, well, we gotta hang out together, right?"
"Oh, I know." The brown-haired one, Tawny, snapped her fingers. "How about you come shopping with us, I'm sure we'll find something cute for you~"
"I-I'm waiting for someone," Ruby said quickly.
"Oh really?" Palli raised a brow, then gazed down at the book she was holding. "Is that… Oh gods, is that a children's book?!"
Ruby froze.
"Seriously?! What are you, five?" She laughed, prompting her friends to snicker. "Wow, I thought even you grew out of that phase. For shame, Ruby."
Ruby blushed in embarrassment. "I-I- That's-"
"Gimme that!" She then forcefully snatched the book from her. "Let's see…"
"N-no! Give it back!" Ruby cried out, trying to take back what's hers, but the two then got in front of her.
Ruby reflexively reached for her weapon but knew she couldn't fight them right now, seeing as they were in the middle of the city, and that's not mentioning the repercussions for starting a brawl in the street. At best, she'd be stuck with the police for a few hours. At worst, a criminal record or even getting kicked out of Signal.
She could, however…
Narrowing her eyes, Ruby dashed with her semblance, reaching out to her book… only for Palli to evade her by using her own semblance, rose petals flying all over the place.
"Really, Rose?" She said, evading her again. "You should know that you can never catch me."
"Give me my book back!" Ruby scowled.
"Tsk, I'm just seeing what it's about, jeez." She huffed, then flipped the cover, her eyes widening. "I-is that…"
Ruby stopped as she saw her freeze.
"You got Reid Astera's autograph?!" She said. "Seriously?! You?! Dumb and worthless Ruby Rose?!"
Ruby growled angrily in return, then rushed to take it back.
Palli's eyes narrowed as she clicked her tongue in annoyance, then barely dodged her, being considerably slower than before. Ruby turned around, then froze in fear as her bully dangled the book over the fountain, looking at her with a dark smirk.
"One step and you can kiss it goodbye." She said, enjoying the panic on Ruby's face. "Don't do anything stupid, Rose~"
"W-what do you want?" She asked quickly.
"Hmm, well, you were kinda rude to us earlier, weren't you?" She held her chin in thought. "I mean, we invite you to come shopping and you decline so rudely."
I only said I was waiting for someone. Ruby bit her lower lip, refraining from saying anything that could ruin her book.
"Yup, and you even tried to snatch the book away from Palli when she just wanted to take a look." Sky shook her head in a disapproving manner. "I can't believe you were so mean to us."
Us?! I didn't even talk to you! Ever!
"I think you owe us an apology." Tawny crossed her arms. "On all fours~"
"W-what?!"
"Great idea!" Palli nodded. "You hurt our feelings, Rose. I don't think I'll ever recover how mean you were…"
The two laughed at her, and Ruby, for all her confrontational-less self, did not want to be put on all fours. What did she even do? They started it and took her book without her permission! And now she has to apologize in such a humiliating way?
...But if she didn't, then…
Ruby looked around, seeing what's closely around them empty, but the few people watching them made her queasy. She didn't want to do it, but now there's a crowd? Great-
"You have three seconds~"
She said it so suddenly, Ruby almost had whiplash from how fast her neck turned.
"W-what-"
"Three~"
"W-wait, Palli-"
"Two~"
"P-please, wait," Ruby begged in a panic, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
"One~"
Ruby was about to do as she was told, pressured into doing so, but Palli let go of the book. Ruby couldn't catch it with her semblance seeing that both Tawny and Sky would immediately stop her.
Ruby closed her eyes, only seconds away from sobbing… but she never heard a splash.
"What do you think you're doing?" A voice growled. Ruby opened her eyes to see Reid, holding a bag in one of his hands as the other caught the book.
The four girls froze, the three feeling terror as Ruby felt relief at seeing him.
"O-oh, you're Reid Astera, right?" Palli tried to change the subject. "I-I'm a huge fan! Can I please have your autograph?"
"...Sure." He said, throwing Ruby her book while shocking her. "You have a pen?"
W-what? He's gonna give her his autograph when he very clearly saw what happened? Why? Why would he? What does this mean?
It looked like even Palli was surprised as well as she blinked. "Oh, yeah. Here!"
She took out a pen from her pocket and handed it to him, then-
Snap!
Almost as soon as she handed him the pen, it snapped in half.
"Oops, sorry." He gave a predatory grin. "It broke."
Ruby could see the terror on her face, which made her feel no small sense of satisfaction.
"Oh, I know a better idea." He said, extending his hand towards her. "How about a handshake instead?"
All of them, even Ruby, shivered at his tone. It was a harmless question, but it promised pain and death if she refused.
"A-ah, that sounds wonderful!" She said, slowly taking his hand. "I-it's an honor-"
Just then, a presence suddenly descended on them, forcing Palli to gasp in pain and fear as Reid tightly gripped her hand, her legs shaking uncontrollably. To everyone else, it looks like he was simply shaking her hand, nothing serious. But to the four of them, especially Palli, knew better as she paled, unable to scream as Reid crushed her hand.
"If I see any of you treating someone like this again." He growled lowly at the three. "A broken hand will be mercy… Understood?"
The two, untouched bullies nodded as Palli started to tear up, her nodding far more frantic than her friends'. Reid let go of the hand with a scowl.
"If you do understand then get the fuck out of my sight."
One of them stammered an apology as they all fled, with Palli tearfully glaring at her. Ruby didn't exactly know how to react as she stared at Reid, who was grumbling and cursing under his breath. She couldn't even look away from him, her heart suddenly racing as he looked back at her.
"Are you okay?" He asked in concern. "Hope I got back before they did anything bad…"
Ruby's face turned bright crimson as she looked away, stuttering a response. "N-no, they didn't do anything…"
Ruby threw him a quick glance as he blinked at her. She didn't know what this funny feeling in her stomach was, but it made her unable to look at him without feeling embarrassed. She… didn't really hate it though. Weird…
"Hm, right." He shrugged. "Guess that saying about heroes arriving right in time was true after all."
Ruby giggled nervously, her face still red. "Y-yeah, you're right…"
What the heck happened? She had an easy time talking to him a few minutes ago – why is her heart beating so fast? Why is she having a hard time trying to look at him? What is this weird yet pleasant feeling?
Her head couldn't conjure up an answer, however, as Reid spoke up. "Come on then, I wanna try out these Dust Pancakes."
"S-sure…" She said absentmindedly, following after him.
As Ruby was only a few steps behind, she managed to turn her gaze back at him, or his back specifically. This feeling never left her, but it was easier to manage now that he wasn't looking at her. Ruby took a deep breath to reflect on what had happened but still couldn't comprehend this strange emotion.
I-it's probably nothing, Ruby. She assured herself. It's probably because you got heated there. Nothing else...
Even as she thought that she still couldn't shake it off. Not like she wants to, but it was a little too sudden for her. She's never felt something like this before after all. It was as if… No, it's probably nothing… right?
She shook her head and gathered her confidence to walk next to him, and as he smirked at her, her blush reaching her neck and ears as she gazed away.
...It's probably nothing…
(Reid)
15 Reputation with Ruby Rose [100/100]
Maxed Reputation with Ruby Rose. Affection unlocked
Perk gained
[Blooming Blaze] – 100 REP Ruby Rose
Subsequent successfully landed attacks will increase max speed by 0.5% temporarily, reduce all cooldowns on spells and skills by the same amount, and will also add 5 Fire Damage (stacks). Only applicable to physical and close-ranged attacks
If hit; you will lose any accumulated increases and must regain them by landing attacks again
Partner Bonus: While fighting with your partner you both share the effects of this perk and any hits landed against you will only halve accumulated increases
20 Affection with Ruby Rose [20/100]
Ayyyy there it is!
And holy shit that's a powerful perk, especially for me. I can just zoom around when I get it to a high enough level, literally untouchable, and with my Fire Blessing? That's 7.5 Fire Damage per attack instead of 5. Not to mention, Chaos Conversion, Supernatural Agility, and the stat increase I get from potions. I'm gonna be way faster than I really have any right to be.
As for Ruby, I knew I'd be maxing out her REP today, but I didn't expect it to be so dramatic. I don't know who those bitches were, but Haki let me know Ruby didn't like them at all. Not like I really need it to tell me of course. It was fucking obvious.
Thankfully, I, the knight in shining armor that I am, saved the day by breaking chief bitch's hand, which felt really fucking good by the way, and at the same time made Ruby smitten with my handsome self. I don't blame her really, I was cool when doing it.
Now I can feel a lot of positive emotions from her. Awe, respect, happiness, relief, and most importantly, slight adoration, even if there's some confusion mixed with it. Probably gonna need a few pushes in the right direction before I can get my first Harem girl.
Then I can probably start seducing others. Really, Velvet's REP is almost maxed as well, so there's also that.
...Fuck, this harem idea only gets better the more I think about it.
I blame my teenage mind for that.
That's basically just saying you blame yourself.
Shaddup. Not my fault I died a fucking virgin.
Also, this dust pancake is strangely good. The dust is enhancing the taste, but it's not unbearably sweet or anything. I like sweet stuff, don't get me wrong, but I prefer salty and sour food. I'll take fried fish or a burger over cookies and cake most days.
But the interesting thing, the fascinating thing, is this.
Pyro Mana – 16:31
Your mana is imbued with a fiery attribute.
Increases Fire Damage by 5% and reduces damage taken from fire by 5%
This might not look like a great buff. 5% ain't much in the grand scheme of things, but then again, no one knows how powerful dust really is. I do, and I know how to use this stuff to it's greatest potential, and now that I know I can use it for cooking – including my magical food that already gives buffs – I'll make even more powerful items.
I'm cheating my way through everything by using every fucking buff I can get my hands on, and nobody can fuckin' stop me.
Besides, I think dust's flavor is unique. I should start experimenting with that soon. It's probably a lot safer than using the stuff in rituals and shit.
"I've had a lot of fun today," I say, smiling at Ruby. "But I still have work to do, so we gotta cut it short here."
"O-oh, yeah, of course." She nods timidly. "I-I'm sorry I took so much of your time…"
After maxing out her REP, she got a lot shyer, and while I did get her to speak with me normally after the first few minutes, she's still quieter than before. I like teasing her though and I think it's really adorable, so I don't mind.
Like this.
"Say, can I get your number?" I say casually. "I think it's better if we can hit each other up before meeting rather than just bumping into one another."
"H-huh?!" Her red face reddens further. "M-my number? A-are y-you sure? I-I mean-"
"Why would I ask if I wasn't?" I raise a brow, pulling out my scroll. "Here."
5 Affection with Ruby Rose [25/100]
"A-ah, o-okay…" She says quietly, bringing out her own scroll. After exchanging numbers Ruby nods gratefully. "Thanks… I-I'll see you next time, then?"
"Sure." I shrug, opening the front door of my home/store. "Hopefully soon too." Adding that, I grin a little as I see her smile widen, giving her a little wave of goodbye.
Alright, done with the romancing stuff, for now, it's time for, you guessed it, more work!
I can't wait until I'm finally done with this bullshit…
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