Chapter 90: Chapter 89: Continued Practice, Alisa Returns, And Nanny Alisa?
The afternoon sunlight filtered through the windows, painting the room in warm, golden hues. Guldrin lay sprawled on the couch, his soft snores harmonizing with the distant hum of cicadas outside. He looked peaceful for once, bundled snugly in a blanket, utterly spent from his earlier magical exertions. Shiro, standing in the center of the room, glanced over at him with a mix of affection and exasperation.
"That idiot," she muttered under her breath. "Pushed himself to the brink again. Typical."
Emily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, hindsight is 20/20. It isn't like you, or I told him to fix the wall or anything." Shiro had the decency to blush.
Clearing her throat, Shiro cracked her knuckles and ignored Emily's snide comment, her determination solidifying.
If Guldrin had burned himself out, she would prove that pacing and strategy were the real paths to mastering their abilities.
After all… What kind of Gamer would she be if she let a little grind stop her?
The faint shimmer of her system menu hovered before her, its translucent panels filled with icons and options only she could see. And Emily, but that was a given being the system spirit.
Skills. Quests. Inventory. Store. Tips.
Each section beckoned her like the promise of unexplored territories.
She smirked.
Today was about training and about using the Gamer class to its fullest potential. Her fingers twitched, navigating the interface with practiced ease.
"Alright," she murmured, her tone brimming with excitement and resolve. "Time to get serious. No overdoing it, no drama, just pure skill. Let's see what this system can really do."
The first step was mana control, the foundation of everything.
Shiro had seen Guldrin nearly collapse after overtaxing his reserves, and she had no intention of repeating his mistakes.
She closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. Her system menu flashed a small tooltip: "Mana reserves are akin to stamina; reckless usage leads to exhaustion. Balance is key."
"Seems easy enough, Got it," Shiro said softly, her voice barely audible.
She extended her hand, summoning a spark of mana into her palm.
A tiny, pulsating glow appeared, faint but steady.
It felt warm, like holding a flickering candle. Carefully, she shaped the mana into a sphere, letting the energy flow smoothly without forcing it. The orb hovered just above her palm, stable and serene.
"See? Easy," she said, her grin widening.
From her perch on the armchair, Emily, her ever-watchful companion, flicked her tail lazily. "Congratulations," the cat said dryly. "You managed not to pass out like a certain someone... What an achievement."
Shiro shot her a look. "It's called finesse, Emily. Maybe you've heard of it."
"Finesse? Is that what you call wobbling around like a drunk toddler? Charming," Emily replied, yawning theatrically. "But if you're serious about training, you'll need more than party tricks. Push yourself, but don't be stupid about it. You're supposed to be smarter than him, remember?"
Shiro rolled her eyes, but couldn't entirely disagree.
If she wanted to truly utilize and master this class, she needed to carefully push her limits.
She focused again, this time imagining the mana sphere detaching from her hand and floating freely.
It wavered, like a soap bubble caught in an invisible draft.
Beads of sweat formed on her brow as she concentrated, guiding the sphere in slow, deliberate circles around her fingers.
"Ha! Look at that!" she exclaimed triumphantly. The orb wobbled but obeyed her commands.
Emily tilted her head, unimpressed. "Not bad. For a beginner. Just don't overdo it." On the outside, Emily might be condescending, but on the inside, she was pleasantly surprised with the versatility of the Gamer class that seemed to be tailor-made for her.
Shiro rolled her eyes. "I know. That's why I'm just starting small. It's called pacing, Emily. You might want to try it sometime, oh, wait, you're a cat. You've already mastered the art of doing nothing."
Emily blinked lazily. "Ohhhh~ And yet, I'm still smarter than you. You are just jealous." Typical Cat superiority mentality dripping from her tone.
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Jealous of a cat, that will be the day." Shiro shot back, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Jealous, I am his main wife." Emily said, and Shiro just groaned, "Conceded much? You don't even have a humanoid body."
"Semantics."
Shiro ignored Emily, she knew she couldn't win a game of words against the demon she-cat, and had better things to do, like resuming her practice.
Her next experiment involved splitting the sphere into smaller fragments.
If one orb was manageable, could she handle two?
Three?
The system tooltip popped up again: "Mana division increases strain exponentially. Precision required."
"Challenge accepted?" Shiro muttered.
The single sphere shimmered and then fractured into two smaller orbs. They danced erratically at first, like unruly children refusing to stay in line.
Shiro's hands twitched subtly as she corrected their paths, forcing them into synchronization.
"Mana Control Increased"
"Okay, it's not so bad, it's kinda like playing two copies of the same game simultaneously," she said, though her forehead glistened with sweat from the strain as she played with the orbs.
She pushed further, dividing the orbs into four. That's when things got tricky. The strain on her focus was immediate, like trying to juggle plates while balancing on a tightrope and playing games all at the same time.
One of the orbs fizzled out with a soft pop.
"Damn it," she hissed.
"Overachieving already?" Emily quipped, licking her paw nonchalantly. "Baby steps, Shiro. Baby steps."
"I'm fine," Shiro insisted through gritted teeth. She re-formed the missing orb, bringing the total back to four. This time, she let the system assist her, activating a new passive skill she gained from increasing her mana control, labeled: "Mana Stabilization."
Instantly, the orbs steadied, their movements smoother and more predictable.
"There we go," Shiro said, a satisfied grin spreading across her face.
"I would say that is cheating, but being a gamer is all about cheating. So, it seems to be par for the course." Emily drawled as she watched the spectacle unfold,
Next, she moved to practical applications. Her system listed a series of challenges designed to test mana manipulation in dynamic scenarios. The first task involved weaving mana into a thread-like construct to simulate grappling or binding.
It was similar to her mana threads, but without the help of the skill.
Shiro visualized a thread of energy extending from her fingertips, wrapping it around a nearby chair leg. The thread quivered, weak and uneven, but it held.
"Not bad," Emily remarked, her tone almost, almost, approving. "But you'll need that to be stronger if you ever plan to tie someone up."
Shiro's cheeks flushed crimson as she waved her hands in protest. "Why would I… never mind. Moving on," she stammered, her voice almost squeaky with embarrassment.
Her blush deepened, and under her breath, she muttered, "But... I don't want to be the one to do the tying…" The intrusive thought sent her into a spiral of self-recrimination.
She shook her head violently, trying to rid herself of the mental tangent.
Focus. She needed to focus.
There would be time for that later…
'What is this perverted cat trying to make me think about?'
The system wasn't cutting her any slack, either. As if sensing her distraction, it promptly threw a new challenge her way, one that escalated in complexity and difficulty.
A series of arithmetic problems materialized in her mind's eye, courtesy of the system, and she had to solve them while maintaining a steady flow of mana manipulation.
Her brows furrowed, and a bead of sweat trickled down her temple as she tried to split her attention between the glowing orb in her palm and the rapid-fire math problems. 27 + 14? Easy. 41.
The orb flickered but held steady. 63 ÷ 7? Got it. Nine.
Her mana quivered, a faint ripple spreading across the sphere's surface. The square root of 144? 12… no! The orb's destabilizing… focus!
The multitasking was grueling, a tug-of-war between mental acuity and magical precision. Shiro stumbled a few times, her frustration mounting, but she gritted her teeth and pushed forward.
She refused to let this challenge get the better of her. After what felt like an eternity, she solved the final equation and released the orb with a satisfied sigh, letting it dissipate harmlessly into the air.
"Okay," she muttered, wiping her brow. "That's enough brain-melting for one day. Baby steps, Shiro. Baby steps."
She opened her system's Skills menu again, scrolling through the extensive list of abilities she had yet to try. Each skill seemed more intriguing than the last, ranging from simple utility spells to devastating combat techniques locked behind higher levels.
Her finger paused over one newly unlocked ability after her training session: Analyze.
"Oh, this could be fun," she mused, her curiosity piqued.
She activated the skill, feeling a faint tingling sensation as a purple glow enveloped her eyes. Eager to test it, she turned her gaze toward Emily, who was perched nearby with her usual smug expression.
[Emily - ??? Cat-Companion-Sister Wife-Queen | System Spirit | Intelligence: ??? | Affection: ??? | Remarks: Yandere]
Shiro blinked, her mouth falling open. "Wait, what? Why are all your stats hidden? Only Intelligence is even listed… What is this?"
Emily smirked and stretched lazily, her tail curling with smug delight. "Because I'm not some low-level system NPC, obviously. Nice try, though. It's cute how you think you can analyze me."
"Ugh, you're impossible," Shiro grumbled, crossing her arms. Despite her annoyance, she couldn't help but crack a small smile at Emily's self-assured attitude. She knew Emily wasn't a basic cat, but to be unable to see her stats, that, was a blow to her confidence.
Deciding not to waste more energy trying to decipher her enigmatic companion, Shiro turned her attention elsewhere.
She scanned the room, looking for something else to analyze, when the creak of the front door interrupted her thoughts.
She whirled around to see Alisa stepping inside, her heels making soft metallic clinks against the floor. A worn leather bag which she got from who knows where was slung over her shoulder, and her expression was a mix of weariness and mild curiosity.
Her entrance was as unceremonious as ever, but it carried the weight of someone who had endured a long day and still managed to show up for others.
She glanced around, her steely eyes quickly assessing the situation.
Shiro was seated cross-legged on the floor, her brow damp with sweat from whatever mana-training exercise she had just completed.
Guldrin, on the other hand, was sprawled out on the couch like a marionette whose strings had been snipped.
The faint, rhythmic rise and fall of his chest were the only signs that he wasn't entirely out of commission. Alisa sighed. Of course, he'd pushed himself too far again.
'Typical Goldblood', she thought, remembering the past.
Her heels made soft but deliberate clicks against the polished floor as she entered fully. A nearly imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she watched Shiro for a moment. The girl's focused expression had softened into a mixture of pride and exhaustion, her determination still flickering like a candle. Alisa didn't interrupt at first, choosing instead to observe silently. When Shiro finally declared herself done and started to pack up, Alisa took that as her cue.
"I'm back," she announced, her voice carrying a calm authority. Shiro looked up, startled, but quickly masking her surprise with a faint smile.
"Oh, hey," Shiro replied casually, though there was a hint of relief in her voice. She glanced at Guldrin and shrugged. "He's been out cold for a while. Overdid it fixing…My? Our mistake." She quickly corrected herself. She didn't want Alisa getting the idea that she was irresponsible; even if that was the right description.
Alisa didn't need Shiro's explanation to piece together what had happened. Her mind was already replaying the footage she had extracted earlier, a live recording from the shop's surveillance setup.
Isn't that a highly encrypted system and not something she should be able to access?
Who said that?
She is a highly advanced android, a complete A.I. It would be strange if she couldn't access something as rudimentary as these systems. Let alone after she hacked into their systems before. Not to mention, who knows if she has figured out a way to interface magic with her usual components.
Child's play.
Guldrin, in his typical reckless fashion, had been repairing the damaged wall, a feat that would have been impressive if it weren't so utterly unnecessary and reckless at the moment. He'd poured every last drop of mana into the task, the telltale glow of his abilities flickering like a dying ember before he collapsed.
She crossed the room with an air of calm efficiency, pausing by the couch to inspect Guldrin's condition. His face was pale but peaceful, his breathing steady despite the obvious strain he'd put on himself. Alisa's eyes softened momentarily, 'Little Master… My…' though, she quickly masked the emotion with her usual composed demeanor.
"Dumb, but predictable, typical Goldblood… Must be in the blood to be reckless…" she muttered under her breath, more to herself than anyone else.
She brushed a stray lock of hair out of Guldrin's face with a gloved hand, her movements practiced and precise.
As her personal servant instincts kicked in from countless years as Jin's servant, Alisa pivoted from the idea of scolding him; there was no point in berating someone who wasn't conscious to hear it and instead began cleaning up the mess he'd left behind.
The kitchen bore all the hallmarks of Guldrin's cooking experiments: a whirlwind of ingredients scattered across counters, pots, and pans piled precariously in the sink, and the faint scent of something charred lingering in the air.
Alisa wrinkled her nose but didn't hesitate to begin working.
Rolling up her sleeves, she set to work with the kind of efficiency that could make a military drill sergeant proud.
This world had done a real number on her, she was now the embodiment of a Perfect Maid.
Within minutes, the kitchen began to take on its former order. Each swipe of a rag or clink of a cleaned dish felt like a minor victory against the chaos that always followed Guldrin like a shadow.
Once the mess was contained, Alisa turned her attention to preparing something more substantial for both of the newly awakened teens.
Pausing only briefly to survey her work, Alisa turned her attention to the next matter at hand: preparing a meal.
She reached into her storage, an inventory only she could access, filled with a diverse mix of rare and exotic ingredients. Her fingers brushed over several options before landing on one that brought a sly smile to her lips.
Hell-gator meat.
A delicacy and a rarity, even in her vast experiences. This wasn't your average cut of alligator; this was meat from a beast of the underworld, imbued with properties that made it both a challenge to obtain and a powerful resource for those who knew how to use it. For a freshly awakened Goldblood like Guldrin and his mate, it was exactly what they needed.
Every Goldblood shared the same curious trait: the ability to absorb and adapt unique aspects of the things they consumed.
Every meal was an opportunity for growth, a chance to unlock potential. And for someone like Guldrin, still at the beginning of his journey, establishing a strong foundation was paramount.
The same of course applied to Shiro.
Alisa had spent years perfecting her knowledge of what worked and what didn't for their kind, and she approached this task with the seriousness of a seasoned chef.
She couldn't help but remember a purple-haired girl begging to learn how to cook for her adorable little brother.
Why not ask her mother?
Unohana cooking?
No… Just no… She wasn't made to cook. Ever.
The kitchen soon filled with the tantalizing aroma of sizzling meat. The Hell-gator hissed and crackled in the pan, its natural oils releasing a rich, smoky scent.
Alisa worked with the precision of someone who had done this a thousand times before. She blended a mix of spices, each one carefully chosen to complement the unique flavor profile of the meat, while also catering to Guldrin and Shiro's specific needs. There was no room for error; every ingredient served a purpose, and every motion was deliberate.
The satisfaction of her work brought a rare moment of calm to her otherwise stoic demeanor. She allowed herself to breathe in the complex, savory aroma wafting from the pan.
Leaning casually against the counter, Shiro had been quietly observing the entire process with an amused expression. Her bright eyes darted between Alisa's deft hands and the sizzling pan, a faint smirk playing on her lips.
"You know," Shiro began, her voice light but tinged with mischief, "for someone who always acts like a no-nonsense serious maid, you're surprisingly domestic. It's like you were made for it." She paused for dramatic effect, her smirk widening. "Or maybe you've just had a lot of practice taking care of irresponsible adults."
Alisa shot her a sharp glance, though there was no real malice in her eyes. "If by 'irresponsible adults,' you mean people like Guldrin, then yes, I've had plenty of practice," she replied, her tone clipped but with an undercurrent of dry humor. She turned back to the stove, flipping the meat with a practiced hand. "And someone has to step in when he decides to burn through all his mana for something ridiculous. I am sure this won't be the last time, and who knows, maybe next it will be you I have to cater to."
Shiro chuckled, clearly enjoying herself. "It's almost like you enjoy it. You know, being the responsible one."
Alisa didn't rise to the bait, her focus remaining on the task at hand. "Enjoy is a strong word," she said finally, though there was a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "But I've learned it's easier to manage chaos than to let it spiral out of control. Besides, it's not like he'll take care of himself."
"True, but since you haven't been around, he has been learning to take care of himself… Assuming you did this in the past for him." Shiro admitted, still smirking. "But you've got to admit, it's kind of entertaining watching him stumble through things."
Alisa's lips twitched, the closest she came to an outright grin. "Entertaining isn't the word I'd use, but I'll concede that he keeps things... interesting."
The banter between the two was light but underscored by mutual respect. Shiro might tease, but she understood the weight Alisa carried, the unspoken responsibility she took upon herself to keep their ragtag group afloat.
And Alisa, for all her sharp edges and no-nonsense demeanor, appreciated Shiro's ability to find humor in their often chaotic lives.
If Shiro was like this, she felt she might make a good Matriarch in the future.
The Hell-gator meat was nearly done now, its rich, golden-brown crust showcasing Alisa's skill.
She plated it with the care of an artist putting the final touches on a masterpiece, the vibrant spices adding a splash of color to the dish. It was a meal fit for a king and queen, or in this case, two reckless Goldbloods who needed all the help they could get.
Turning back to the couch where Guldrin lay sprawled, still unconscious, Alisa let out a soft sigh. "If he doesn't wake up soon, I'm eating this myself, I haven't eaten in years… Though I might not need food, it doesn't mean I don't miss it," she said, her tone half-serious.
Shiro laughed. "Oh, he'll wake up. He's like a cockroach, too stubborn to stay down for long."
As if on cue, Guldrin let out a low groan, his eyelids fluttering open. He blinked groggily at the ceiling before his gaze shifted, landing on Alisa and the plate in her hands.
"Smells good," he mumbled, his voice hoarse but laced with appreciation. He struggled to sit up, wincing as the effort seemed to drain what little energy he had left.
(Give me your POWER, Please, and Thank You! Leave reviews and comments, they motivate me to continue.)