Chapter 128: Book 2: Loop 15.2 (2)
To say that Wander is unhappy about the Integrators' raid is... a bit of an understatement.
"You're telling me I could have died permanently," he says, shuddering. "Being eaten!"
"We don't know that he was eating you," I say, trying to placate him.
In retrospect, I could probably have phrased that better. Wander turns to glare at me. "That does not make it better," he hisses.
"Sorry."
He grumbles under his breath, and I return to my temporary job of keeping an eye out for any meteors headed in our direction. The pulsating mass that was surrounding Wander when I found him was apparently named Tekk, but he'd fortunately proven not to be much of a problem. After I punched a hole through him, he just melted, pouring through the gaps in the floor and leaving behind a crumbling set of vaguely limb-shaped stones.
Of course, the lack of an Interface notification tells me he's still alive. I'm guessing he just chose to run rather than fight. Smart decision, on his part. I could have tried chasing after him, but there's a limit to how much I can do in these loops. Tracking down a runaway merchant just doesn't seem like it's as much of a concern as the meteors threatening to destroy the city.
That said, I slightly regret that decision when Wander tells me about what he's learned.
Critical Juncture, Orb Weaver, and Snap Retort. Two of those names aren't familiar to me, but the third one is—it's a skill the Interface once offered to me. Those vials are Interface skills, more likely than not. It means Anhar's usage of imbuement stones likely isn't a one-off. Whisper's looking into ways to grant people the abilities the Interface would normally grant them.