Okay. So the first time she’d tried to access her [ Class Menu ] she’d nearly passed out. and the second had been akin to a minor headache. While she hoped she was dealing with an upward skill-curve here, 50/50 odds on it weren’t too bad, were they?

Here goes nothing, Sláine thought, bracing herself.

[ SLÁINE E CATHAIN ]

[ LEVEL 8 ]

[ BERSERKER ]

[ HP 1260/1260 ]

[ MP 49/50 ]

[ AP 530/540 ]

[ STATUS: BOUND ]

[ SP: 9 ]

Huh. Not too bad. Sharp pain behind the eyes, but she really was getting the hang of this.

■ [ Reckless Spin LV1 ] [ A ] [ 25AP ] [ Damage all enemies in a circular radius around you by throwing caution to the wind and spinning very fast. It really works, trust us! Chance to inflict Bleed status effect. ] [ LV2 — 2SP ] [ Increases damage, bleed chance, and bleed duration. ]

■ [ Battle Frenzy LV1 ] [ A ] [ 70AP ] [ Go on a rampage, increasing your speed, strength, accuracy, and critical chance as you immerse yourself entirely in battle. However, while under its effect you lose sight of everything other than slaughter, and after the skill’s duration is over, you’ll be left exhausted. ] [ LV2 — 5SP ] [ Further increases statistics at the cost of more AP ]

■ [ Trap Breaker LV1 ] [ A ] [ 50AP ] [ Delivering a hearty ‘screw you!’ to locked boxes and Specialists alike. There’s a pretty high likelihood of this going badly for you, but if you cared about that, you wouldn’t be a Berserker. ] [ LV2 — 3SP ] [ Temporary speed boost applied after use ]

■ [ Punishment LV1 ] [ P ] [ Weaponize your desire for vengeance to conquer your foes. When you take damage, the potency of your next attack is increased. ] [ LV2 — 5SP ] [ Damage multiplier is increased ]

□ [ Dire Strike ] [ P ] [ Bolster your ability to hit ‘em where it hurts. Increases critical hit chance. Stacks with all other Dire Skills. ] [ LV1 — 2SP ]

□ [ Swift Strike ] [ P ] You become faster when facing down an enemy. Increases agility and attack speed while in combat. Stacks with all other Swift Skills. ] [ LV1 — 2SP ]

□ [ Bind Break ] [ A ] [ 200AP ] [Using an immense burst of Berserker strength, you shatter through any binds keeping you from participating in the slaughter. ] [ LV1 — 4SP ]

[ Athletics ] [ 4 ]

■ [ Guided Axe ] [ P ] [ Improves your natural ability to find the weak points in your enemy’s defenses. Increased penetration on armored foes. ] [ LV2 — 3SP ]

□ [ Dire Axe ] [ P ] [ Bolster your ability to hit them where it hurts — specifically with axes. Increases critical hit chance. ] [ LV1 — 3SP ]

□ [ Swift Axe ] [ P ] [ You become more deft of hand when using axes. Increases agility and attack speed. ] [ LV1 — 3SP ]

□ [ Bind Resist: Organics ] [ P ] [ More easily ignore bindings from plants and animals, such as vines or ropes. ] [ LV1 — 2SP ]

□ [ Bind Resist: Inorganics ] [ P ] [ More easily ignore bindings from inorganic materials, like chains or shackles. ] [ LV1 — 2SP ]

□ [ Power Through: Body ] [ P ] [ More easily ignore toxins that would impact your body.Grants special resistance against Paralyze and the effects of toxins on physical stats. ] [ LV1 — 2SP ]

□ [ Power Through: Mind ] [ P ] [ More easily ignore toxins that would impact your mind. Grants special resistance against Confusion and the effects of toxins on mental stats. ] [ LV1 — 2SP ]

□ [ Immunity Boost ] [ P ] [ Become harder to infect or poison. Grants special resistance against becoming afflicted by toxins. ] [ LV1 — 4SP ]

□ [ Uncanny Dodge ] [ P ] [ Logic? Sense? Who needs it? Improve your ability to pull off feats of agility using improbable objects. Increases dodge chance when performing unconventional maneuvers. ] [ LV1 — 3SP ]

[ Detection ] [ 2 ]

□ [ Threat Detection ] [ A ] [ 10AP ] [ Use your honed instincts to anticipate any nearby threats. ] [ LV1 — 5SP ]

[ System Use ] [ 6 ]

…Damn. If there was something like [ Immunity Boost ] available to her in the [ Bind Resist ] category, she’d absolutely take it. Maybe she’d have to level up more for that?

Anyway, [ Bind Break ] was an incredibly obvious choice and was probably what Aria had been getting at. She also found she hated things getting the drop on her, so with another tingling rush of power, she selected [ Threat Detection ] as well. It was listed under the active category, so she’d have to get in the habit of using it frequently — ugh, how fast did her [ AP ] recover? She’d need to figure that out — but even if it wasn’t a sustainable [ Skill ], it would sure help out right now.

[ Bind Break ] [ A ] [ 200AP ] [Using an immense burst of Berserker strength, you shatter through any binds keeping you from participating in the slaughter. ] [ Acquired ]

[ Threat Detection ] [ A ] [ 10AP ] [ Use your honed instincts to anticipate any nearby threats. ] [ Acquired ]

And that was her [ SP ] down to zero. Sláine tuned back in to the sound of Red’s panting breaths — was that exhaustion, or was it fear? — and that spider’s voice continuing to creep all around them.

“I knew you weren’t happy living at home, dear, but I didn’t think it’d be this drastic.”

She felt Red turn. Okay, what to do about this — she couldn’t see in the dark, and even if she did free herself immediately, she’d still just be slowing Red down. So…

“What are you even doing here? None of them appreciate you, not like I did. Wasn’t I loving enough?”

[ Blinding Light ] could give them temporary flashes of what was coming up, but that also ran the risk of blinding Sláine too, and while many of the others cubes seemed to cast light as a side-effect, using them would be highly wasteful and… probably dangerous.

“What do you think you’ll accomplish? That person you want dead ever-so-badly isn’t here for you to kill, and those [ Levels ] you’ve become so enamored with aren’t very helpful in the outside world.“

Wait, when something was retrieved or stored in someone’s [ Inventory ], it created brief particles of light! If she guided herself with a hand on the wall and used the other to repeatedly take out something from her [ Inventory ], it might just give her enough to see by! Especially if she used [ Threat Detection ] to further help her navigate away from anything hostile. The description implied it was more like a sixth sense than anything Sláine needed sight to use.

“Your quest for universal power, all of those experiments — they’ve only gotten the people you love killed, haven’t they?”

Okay. Next big problem: it’d still be extremely easy for them to be split up. Aria wouldn’t be available to coordinate via [ Inspect ] — they were already to overloaded. Sláine had very good hearing and could navigate at least partially by sound, so she wasn’t too worried, but…

“You keep telling yourself you aren’t sad that you’re alone, that it’s fine you’ve driven away everyone who cares about you. It’s for the best anyway, you console yourself, but what do you even have to show for it, Agriope?”

“Shut up.”

“You know, if you came back, I’d help you. You don’t have to be alone anymore; we could kill that man together.”

“Shut up!” Red snapped again, and Sláine knew she needed to act, and act now.

“Red, your [ Ceaseless Watcher ] thing. Can it see through organic material?”

“Wh— yes?” Red’s attention snapped back to Sláine, her voice tense and distracted. There was no point in telling her ‘don’t listen to the creepy emotionally manipulative things your shitty monster mother is saying’, because she was certain Red already knew it was all meant to get under her skin. If it wasn’t true, it wasn’t like knowing that helped those well-worn insecurities, and if it was — what the hell could Sláine say that would change anything of actual value?

She didn’t want to even acknowledge she was hearing this, really, because all these coy hints into her partner’s past felt like a gross invasion of privacy. It wasn’t her business, not unless Red wanted it to be, and the best thing she could do was try to keep accomplishing their mutual goal.

And, well, maybe give her a distraction, too.

“Okay, give me one.”

“Why?” Red asked, but it was overshadowed by another taunt from all around them.

“Don’t you think it’s unfair? You’re ostracized just because of where you came from —

Honestly, Sláine thought. Fuck off. “You’ll see. Pass one over. Wait, can you do that with your hand’s full?”

“Yet those -IA — those daughters of Propriety — are welcomed because, what, they’re pretty? Dutiful? Obedient? Because they don’t have all those rough edges that you do? Because they aren’t so… angry?”

“Uh, yeah,” Red replied, clearly distracted between the spider’s monologue and Sláine’s bizarre questioning. There was that brief flicker of light again, and Sláine felt the sudden press of something sharp against her shoulder. “You’re going to have to grab it yourself though, uh, can you — ?”

Sláine shifted, fumbling for the cube, and then — without hesitation — she brought it to her mouth, popped it in, and swallowed.

“Did you — did you fucking just — ?” Red stuttered, completely taken aback, and a smirk formed on Sláine’s lips. Take that, annoying spider-witch, she’s paying attention to my stupid bullshit, not yours.

“If something happens and we’re separated, then you can look through it even when it’s in my stomach, right?”

“But — but — what’s that going to — are you even going to — will you digest — buttercup,” Red sputtered, completely aghast. “That’s gonna be hell for you later!”

“Eh,” Sláine shrugged. “That’s a problem for future me, isn’t it?”

“I cannot believe — “

“…You know, it’s very, very rude to ignore someone who’s trying to talk to you, dear.”

It was then that Sláine felt a mighty lurch as Red tripped over something, dropping her onto her butt as the other woman struck the ground. Suddenly, little lights like strings of glowing fireflies burst into life, and Sláine looked up to see an elaborate chamber completely decorated with…

Frilly, purple drapery…?

>> What fresh hell is this