Velasteros wondered if something had gone wrong. The two children were holding onto her tightly throughout the carriage trip while they death-stared Niko.
What is happening?
The scorpion wondered if one of her unread books could explain this situation.
“Are you fine, Valmyst?”
“Yes?” Velasteros replied, deeply unsure herself.
The lack of confidence only made the children hold her harder, and their stares somehow grew in intensity, which Niko didn’t know how that was possible.
Velasteros realised one crucial fact. She had no idea how children's brains worked.
She was on a time limit, so she needed to find an excuse to leave eventually and swap between forms. Before meeting with people, her first idea of just up and leaving seemed to be perfect! However, now experiencing the nightmare that was attached to children, that plan seemed impossible. If she tried to leave suddenly, the children were sure to cause a fuss.
What am I supposed to do? Come on, Velasteros, you are a smart scorpion. You can come up with a solution!
Sadly, the solution machine in her brain wasn’t ready with an answer.
Dammit!
The positive side she had swapped before. The massive ditch on the opposite side was deeply concerned about how on earth she was supposed to escape the carriage when the need to swap arrived.
All the panic, worry, and movement had Velasteros temporarily forget she hadn’t applied her newest points to [Intelligence]. A mistake she immediately rectified. She had levelled up once since meeting the children, and it happened shortly before they met Miko, but everything had been so chaotic, she hadn’t applied the points.
That’s better…
Every new point of [Intelligence] made Velasteros believe she made the correct decision, focusing her points into the stat.
For most people who even contemplate placing points into [Intelligence], they usually reach a point where they feel they have done enough to ignore the stat, but for Velasteros, that mental weakness had been overcome with her determination.
She wouldn’t be like those weak, stupid people who neglected the best stat. No, she would keep improving even after there was no one better than her.
Ke! Soon, no one will be able to stop me!
The better question: who would even stop her? As despite all her points, she wasn’t currently growing stronger by placing them in [Intelligence].
[Intelligence: 100] was the baseline she needed to reach, and with her current pace, she hoped to reach it soon.
Though Velasteros didn’t hold many thoughts about growing strong. Current life goal was to enjoy being alive, and sure, getting stronger would help with that, but it was a means to an end, not something that her life needed to revolve around… until the deal with Sarah had to be upheld.
After travelling for a while longer, Velasteros passed the time reading to the children… while trying to ignore the violent shaking of the carriage.
When there was a moment of pause in her reading, Niko interjected, “Are you fine with me dropping you off at the capital?”
“No, the next city should be StoneKeep. Our family lives around there.” Nieca didn’t break eye contact with the adult.
She is impressive… I’m going to let her deal with the conversation for the time being.
Before Niko answered, the driver of the carriage knocked on the wall, and Niko’s tone quietened slightly.
“...That is manageable. We should even be able to reach it within a day if we go at double time.”
Finally reaching the city, the scorpion had to admit it was hard to appreciate its wonder when she was so dizzy.
I’m… never going in such a torture device again…
Niko’s double time had rattled Velasteros’s poor brain. The trio exited the carriage, and Niko was soon about to follow them, but the driver tapped him on the shoulder before departing. Niko frowned and sighed, hanging from the carriage instead. “Would you like any further assistance?”
“No.” The youngest was blunt. “Your assistance was appreciated, but our home is not far from here.” Nieca knew that nearly being evening would cause some hiccups, but they were all worth not being near this man any longer.
“It is getting late.” He stroked his chin. “If you need somewhere to stay the night. I’ve already let Brambly Inn know to have rooms booked for the three of you.”
Velasteros paused. “How…?”
“I sent a letter.” Niko winked. “If you do need any more assistance, please let the staff know.” The driver was beginning to stare daggers into Niko’s head. “It is my cue to leave.” He said, acting unbothered by the stare.
“Please do let me know if you need any help.”
“Sure…”
I… might never want to see him again. The pain inflicted upon her brain was something that would never be forgotten.
Once the carriage was gone, Thomas said, “Nieca, I think I finally understand the warnings.”
“Agreed.”
“I’m not sure what either of you has heard… but I think I am also in agreement.”
Exhausted but still alive, the trio got a good look at the city. For the scorpion who had only read about such a place, it was fascinating. The structure of the buildings, the wide and narrow streets, and the different ways people were going about their day, despite it being a little late.
However, there was a strange point for the scorpion. “Wow… there are a few different-looking people…” Sarah’s books didn’t warn of this. It was only minor physical traits. A few feathers in the hair, mostly above the ears; pointed ears; fluffy ears instead of the small human ones. Nothing like the traits found in Velasteros’s half-transformed state, which were more monstrous.
“Did you only have one type of human in your village?” Thomas asked.
“Yes?”
Nieca raised her eyebrow. “What did your teacher look like? Did she look any different from you?”
“No, well, my teacher looked like me?”
“Then isn’t that your mum?”
“Of course not, she was my teacher.” This time Velasteros realised that there was something really odd with what she was saying, so she kept whatever she was doing up. Panic and reason were actually agreeing that as long as Velasteros didn’t break her current performance, everything would be okay.
Once again, the children looked at Velasteros strangely. Looks of deep pity and concern about what could have possibly transpired in her past.
I messed something up…
Thomas replied, “There are a few different ways humans can look… that is just how it works?”
Nieca sighed and dragged both people towards the location of the inn.
Upon entering, they were walked through the process quickly by the staff, and the twins got their own room, while the scorpion had a private space for herself.
Velasteros sat down on the inn’s bed and pondered about how rich the owners must be to afford such a soft mattress. Stories describe the best bedding as silky smooth, fluffy, and firm but bouncy, and for a scorpion who had never sat on a bed before, this matched all the criteria!
I… have so much I need to do.
Remembering how the children fought, Velasteros looked over her skills and decided she was still happy with what she selected. A proper attack skill was needed, but they would wait until she acquired more slots; removing any current skill was out of the question, even if they weren’t perfect.
I’m going to read another book; there was a work of fiction that was highly recommended by the child.
She rummaged through her catalogue of books, trying to find the book in question. She hadn’t verified it, but she was sure that when the child mentioned its name, it was among her collection. The soft memory of the cover with the matching name surfaced in her mind.
These children were really strong… Am I supposed to be older than them? Am I actually weak by human standards?
Velasteros was really excited to read the book, but a part of her also wanted to stop thinking about her skills and status in relation to improving her power. For the moment, she was safe. Not needing to survive in a cave or fight against it anyway, she was allowed to live and pursue her wants.
For many, growing stronger was a simple fact that the majority of people liked doing. To be able to protect themselves or to just be healthy throughout their life.
Velasteros also possessed such a feeling, and it was strong, but she was also frightened. The feeling came from deep down in her core, where her instincts lay. So, what if it was a lingering curse from her original form? There was already a skill haunting her; who could say there were no other influences ready to drag her down?
Joyfully reading the book, the lingering cursed thoughts remained.
Actually, let’s leave the city and transform first…