[SD:SC] Picked One, Delayed The Other - Chapter 4

Gem frowned, “Hey June, can I hold off on selecting an upgrade to get better options?”

June, “I don’t know everything. Though yeah, you can hold off. However, there generally isn’t a good reason to do so? Skills tend to rank up into forms that match how you use them.”

Gem shrugs, “My control isn’t quite where I want it. I’m looking for a more general form that helps with star spells whereas it currently is trying to go fully in on duration with the oddball being about harm reduction. Oh, and why is my Air Platform skill all stars?”

June, “The star thing is because you leveled the skill too quickly for it to actually have good suggestions. So instead of offering you upgrades that are a guess at best, it offers stars matching what little the system knows about your use of said spell.”

Gem nods, “That makes that easier.” And they dismiss the selection for Mana Control. Which leaves the Air Platform choices.

Gem considers the three and breaks them down. ‘The first clearly makes it so that the thing I hooked into to sustain my one platform doesn’t shift around and get lost. Then the second makes it easier to find that hook and others like it. Which leaves the last option, which simply has a pooled lifespan for the five platforms.

‘For the same reason I didn’t want the starred Mana Control, I don’t want to stabilize the duration hook. Likely locks me into that sort of progression in the future. Yep, going for the last one. The second makes it easier to do what I did, while the third adds a new feature to the skill.’

Satisfied with their choice, Gem selects the third option.

{

☆ Air Platform

Creates up to five temporary platforms made of air, which can be stepped on and the lifespan of the platforms are shared.

}

Gem, “Hey June, going to test my skill.”

She turns to Gem, “Do you need help?”

Gem shakes their head, “Nah, just need a spotter. Got something for my Air Platforms! Watch!”

Gem hops into the air and takes three quick steps before pausing on the third platform. After the pause, which lasted longer than the platforms used to last, Gem took two more steps and stood in the fifth platform until said platform vanished on its own.

Gem smiled extra wide, “There we go! Exactly what I wanted.”

June raises an eyebrow, “Is it really all that big of a deal? Given what just happened, I would have figured you had already figured out how to make them last as long as you wanted.”

Gem shrugs, “Well sure, but this doesn’t take any extra Mana to do.”

June, “Says the person with more Mana than sense.”

Gem laughs, “All the more reason to be efficient! My lack of sense must mean I burn through that Mana like crazy.

This sets them both laughing, and soon enough their group herds the sheep back to the primary group. And once there, Gem loses track for the not-a-sheep creature. The being vanished into the larger herd and of course the shepherds won’t even acknowledge that it was there in the first place.

Emrys, while interested, is soon caught up in a conversation with a player from another group. He’s some sort of catkin? Maybe. The guy also has wings that seem natural, so who knows what’s up with that.

Anyway, his name is Tim and the two struck up a conversation around the big topic of the month, digitization.

Tim shrugged, “I’m just saying there should be more testing and that the method should be publicly released so others can provide an unbiased review.”

Emrys shakes his head, “There isn’t an organization on the world stage that I would trust with the knowledge. Or rather, while I would trust some of the health organizations, I wouldn’t trust them to keep it a secret. Besides, the SAI have released quite a bit of test data.”

Tim shakes his head, “Yeah, data they provided. And it sure goes back a while. I don’t trust it.”

Emrys shrugs, “That’s how these things work. You have to test something on your own. If you spread the info to others without any tests, people won’t believe it.”

Gem interrupts at this point. “Besides, if you don’t want to digitize, don’t. This all just sounds like the same nonsense they always level as the queer community and especially those who are trans. No one is forcing you to change gender. We aren’t spiking your orange juice with hormones.

“If you match your body and like the opposite gender? That’s fine, you do you. But don’t go and make other people’s lives worse because they’re different.”

Tim holds up his hands, “Hey now! I’m no bigot.”

Emrys, “They didn’t say you were. But trying to shackle digitization despite the research we have? I’m not sure all of the implications that will come of this, but it provides an out for terminal patients. Those who will die and fast.”

Gem nods, “And honestly, it should just be an option.”

Emrys, “Well, that might be going a little too far? It is sort of a one-way street.”

Gem raises an eyebrow, “For the moment. But yeah, I would take the option without a second thought. There isn’t an option to really handle what I feel. Not in a permanent fashion.”

Tim backs away, “Bah, this is going too far. I’m out. We’re here to protect sheep. Not debate philosophy or some such.”

Emrys sighs, “You scared him away. I was having fun arguing with him.”

Gem shrugs, “There is basically an unlimited number of people to argue with. One more or less isn’t going to change anything.”

And Gem isn’t wrong, especially for that particular argument. Nevermind they’re all in the SAI’s Full Immersion VR gear right this instant. More than a few fellow guards are quite willing to argue and badmouth them.

Gem mostly ignores Emrys as he baits more than a few of them. Though that has more to do with a newfound pastime. Being among the sheep.

Which Gem more than readily admits, they likely wouldn’t be as into irl. After all, sheep are animals and so their fur not only isn’t exactly the cleanest, but it is oily. And it isn’t like these sheep don’t suffer from the same things.

Except for one detail. These sheep are being transported for sale and so the shepherds are constantly spending minor cleaning and mending spells on them. That last one in particular was interesting not only to Gem, but Emrys as well. They simply didn’t get why.

So as Gem submerges themselves in a sea of white clean fluffies, Emrys talks to the cowboy shepherds. “So, what’s with the mending spell? Isn’t that for fixing objects? I would figure anything still on a creature would rate a heal spell instead.”

The cattlekin shakes his head, “Nah, though you aren’t the first to think that. Just consider. You get a haircut only to get cut up in a fight. Does your hair grow back on you? Same with the nails.

“I mean, oh sure, healing can accelerate some of that. Get a nail ripped off? Healing spells are going to accelerate the growth until your finger is protected again. That’s all you’ll get though, as at that point, you’re no longer hurt.”

Emrys, “But mending isn’t going to do anything about cut hair either? At least, I don’t think it will?”

The cowboy nods, “You’re right. Though maybe if you held the cut-off pieces up to your hair? That might reattach stuff. Nah, what the mending spells are for is simpler. While we can’t prevent or fix when their fur breaks or comes out. A simple mend spell takes care of split ends and any damage that might have later caused the hair to break.”

June comes in at this point. “I feel I would have heard about such a thing? Like, that sounds amazing for hair care in general.”

The cowboy shrugs, “That’s just a problem with how haircare is these days. Everyone is always trying to change their hair. And to be fair, some people get the short end of the stick. But most people?

“Those with curly hair wanting it straight. Those with straight hair wanting curls. Nevermind all the colors and whatnot. For most who are serious about such things? A mend spell would actually ruin their hairstyle. Though I assume high-end stylists should be using a ‘mend’ or two to return things to a blank slate before they get to work. Sort of like how they also wash your hair or use a cleaning spell.”

Gem surfaces deeper into the herd, “I bet if you check the forums, you’d find a thread about it. Has to be. People get their hair singed and damaged all the time while out adventuring.” Then Gem sinks back into the fluff.

The cowboy nods, “They’re not wrong about that. Thank goodness healing does give certain bits of hair in a way similar to the nails. Otherwise, eyebrows would be much rarer on adventurers.”

Gem surfaces again, but this time with a frown. “The fluffies just tensed. Something is up!”

The cattlekin that can hear her all turn to look at the sheep, and the cowboy frowns, “Maybe? I’m not seeing much.”

Gem slips over the top of the sheep and gets closer, “I could feel it. Look at their faces. And their legs. Tensed up. Something is coming.”

The cowboy gets down on his knees and checks the nearest sheep. “They do seem a bit out of sorts. That doesn’t mean something has to be coming. You’re also not wrong though in that they did sense something.”

He cups his mouth and shouts, “We got some nerves! Double lookout and double-check the other sides. Pinpoint where the nerves are coming from.”

All around the long drawn-out herd of sheep, other cowboys are perking up or checking the sheep. So soon enough they have an answer.

Whatever is causing the sheep to feel nervous is coming from the side Gem’s team is on, likely a few miles out. Which a quick check of their maps reveals is going to be an area of rough terrain.

Though as they continue to move forward, just how rough is revealed to them. First, the ground becomes a bit wavy. Still relatively flat, but rising and falling. However, the further they go, the rougher it gets and the more boulders show up.

The cowboy they had been talking to, shakes his head, “This doesn’t look natural. Hey, I think your name was Gem? Noticed your platform work. Can you get a bird’s-eye view for me?”

Gem smirks and gives him a sloppy salute before springing directly upward. Their first leap gains significant height, and just as they reach the apex, Gem slams their foot down and springs upward once more. This repeats until they’re a shocking distance up in the sky with one step remaining.

Gem looks around and frowns. Yeah, this wasn’t natural. The ground went from just looking like waves, to looking exactly like waves. Mounds of earth rise and fall creating valleys and ditches that could easily hide one of the cattlekin cowboys even when standing.

And the boulders! None of them seem to rise above about a carriages height. Which doesn’t mean much when the enormous boulders appear to be sunken into the ground by quite a bit. As if some giant had pressed their hand down, forcing everything that is taller than a certain height into the ground.

Gem hopped off the platform and fell back towards the ground. They pick up speed, but before it gets to where it would be a problem, Gem uses their last platform to stop. After which, they are able to fall the rest of the distance with ease.

Then June smacks them upside the back of their head. “Don’t play around like that. You didn’t have to do it all in one use of your skill. There was nothing stopping you from casting it again and have a much more controlled descent.”

Gem laughs, “But it wouldn’t have been as exciting! And speaking of excitement, the terrain up ahead is certainly that.” And they explain what they saw.

The cowboy shakes his head, “Sounds like we’re about to go through the site of some ancient wizard battle.”

Gem tilts their head to the side, “Why does it have to be ancient? I’m sure wizards still duke it out and cause massive shifts in geology.”

The cowboy shrugs, “Yes, but now we have people going around and cleaning up their messes. Well, at least smooth things out so it looks normal again. Oh, and then we bill them for the cost. Which reduces the instances of such unrestrained combat.”

That's Not A Sheep - Chapter 3

Ancient Battlefield And Ancient Foes - Chapter 5