Chapter 34: Trsut Issues
Nox just stared at her. ’Merely level seventy? Is she serious?’ His own level sixteen felt like a joke next to that. He was still trying to get his head around the number when he had to ask.
"So, you were just, what, hiding your power back there with that monster?" he asked. He remembered her looking pretty beat when he’d found her.
Serian looked at him, not offended, just kind of curious. "Why would you assume such a thing, Human Nox?"
He gestured vaguely with his fork. "Well, you looked like you were in trouble. I mean, I had to jump in and save you."
She took another tiny, precise bite of her chicken. "Did I appear to be losing, then?" she asked. She paused, considering. "I was merely... fatigued. The pursuit had been relentless, and I had not rested since the previous day’s light."
He thought about that. ’Just tired? Not about to get eaten by that ugly hound thing?’ He almost believed her. She was just so direct about it, no excuses. ’I like how honest she is,’ he thought. It was a change from people who always had some angle or tried to make themselves look better.
"So, level seventy, huh?" he said, trying to make it sound casual. He wanted to see if she was just messing with him. "That’s... a lot." He decided to see how she’d react to his own level, maybe get a better read on her. "I’m only level sixteen, by the way."
She stopped eating. She put her fork down very carefully. Her eyes, which were usually calm and a bit distant, fixed on him. "Level sixteen," she repeated, her voice flat, almost too quiet. "And when did you... awaken to your abilities, Human Nox?"
"Uh, yesterday," he said, taking another bite of rice. "Right after the whole world went nuts."