Project Seraphina [LitRPG, Magitech, GL]
2.73 The Aftermath IV (End Volume 2)

I touch down on the concrete sidewalk just as the first trickle of rain begins to stain the grey surface. Then more and more droplets fall, a gentle but relentless buildup, almost as though the heavens themselves have been moved to tears in the aftermath of our most recent struggle.

Chloe reaches into her backpack and, after a moment of fidgeting around, finds her keys and lets us inside, just in time to avoid the deluge now pouring down outside. We set our stuff down by the front door, and before I have a chance to get my bearings straight, am shocked to see Mrs. Jacobs alive, well, and not at work for a change.

She doesn’t say a word. None of us need to. The moment she sees her daughter, tears form in her eyes and she rushes forward with arms outstretched. Chloe nearly starts barreling toward her mother, holding herself back at the last second to embrace her more gently. One of the dangers of being enhanced with System-granted strength.

It’s a bit odd. My lifting capacity is close to triple what it was before. I can outrun a car in the city, literally fly, and jump to the top of Chloe’s two-story house even without my wings. And yet, even with all of these superpowers, I’m not constantly forced to keep that strength in check. I do not crush glass cups simply by gripping them normally. My steps do not crush planks of wood and leave concrete floors cracked unless I actively seek to do so. But running at maximum speed, as Chloe was about to do, could cause injury, given the likely high difference in levels between my girlfriend and her mother.

Mrs. Jacobs offers her arms to me, and just as Chloe and I did with Kristil earlier, we share in a tear-filled three-person embrace. Finally, after a good minute and a half, Chloe’s mother turns to me.

“Those… those wings. Are you making some sort of fashion statement with them?”

“No, they’re quite functional. I flew Chloe back from the capital earlier this morning. Looks like we made it just in time to avoid the weather.”

Chloe nods in agreement. “Sera’s right. She can fly now.”

“And your arm?” she asks.

“Lost it in a fight,” I say. “Please don’t worry about it. This one works just as well as the last one did. Dare I say it works even better. Feels better. Feels righter.”

Mrs. Jacobs stares at the both of us with incredulity in her eyes and voice. “I’m not going to understand, although I am going to be a little jealous that you can fly now. I know a fair few people who would kill for an ability like that.”

I shudder. “Can we not make that expression please? We’ve been dealing with people who would and did do exactly that!”

Mrs. Jacobs takes a deep breath. “Ah, you’re right. Old habits.” She clutches the jade crystal pendant hanging around her neck, causing it to glow slightly. As she does so, her heart rate and breathing calm significantly. “And here you were, telling me that crystal healing was, what did you call it? Pseudoscientific bullshit?”

Chloe and I both break out laughing, causing Mrs. Jacobs to stare in bemusement.

“I– I’m sorry,” I stammer out. “Chloe and I had this exact conversation a couple months ago. Word for word, if I recall.”

“Well, I hope next time you’ll listen to your future mother-in-law about things like that. I might not have your youthful vigor, but I know a thing or two about the world.”

“Wait… Future mother-in-law?” Chloe asks.

“You two have been joined at the hips for years now and your hands haven’t left one another’s grip since we all shared that hug. I’m a few years too old to have been born yesterday!”

The two of us turn to each other in embarrassment and separate.

“Now, now. I’ll be having none of that.”

“Don’t you have to leave for work soon?” I ask. “I figured you’d be rushing out the door by now.”

“Well, the others will just have to accept the fact that I’ll be coming in a bit late this morning. My daughter and her girlfriend literally falling out of the sky are a bit more important than approving the latest spreadsheet on natural gas revenue projections.”

“Hey, we had a smooth landing!” I protest.

“Well, before you settle in, I thought I should let you know that there’s a letter for the both of you, courtesy of the government. I’m not sure what all you’ve been doing out there with the army, and I’m not sure I want to know either. I just want you both to know that I love you and that, though I may not approve of everything the two of you do–” she glares at me specifically as she says this “–I love you and that this is your home for as long as you need.”

Chloe’s eyes water again. I reach over and take her hand in mine, giving it a gentle squeeze and casting my [Angel’s Grace] upon her. Soft and warm light envelops her body. The moment it stops, she uses her [Angelic Blessing] upon me, causing my body— wings included— to glow for a few moments before it too subsides.

“Some new magic spell you two ladies learned?”

“Yeah," Chloe says. She taps her mother with a heal spell, then gives her a dose of [Angelic Blessing] as well.

Mrs. Jacobs visibly relaxes as Chloe’s healing and buff spell fills her entire body. “Well, I suppose I shouldn’t ask for that too often. I think it’s something I could get a little too adjusted to.”

“Thanks for everything, Mom. It’s the least I can do to help.”

“Alright you two. I know I said I’d be a few minutes late for you two, but if I don’t leave soon, it’s going to be hell on my team. I might not be back until late tonight, so if you two end up going out, don’t fret if I’m not home when you get back home.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Jacobs,” I say. “For everything.”

We share one last goodbye hug, this one less tearful but no less emotional, before Mrs. Jacobs heads out into the storm for another day of work.

“So,” Chloe says. She leans in and gives me a very passionate kiss. “We’ve got nothing to do the rest of the day and the house all to ourselves.” Her hands start to wander my body. “I think it’s time we got to know each other a little better.

Her inflection and the obvious excitement behind it make it perfectly obvious exactly what she wants us to spend today doing. And I’m nervous, but excited, to do so as well. But not just yet.

“Don’t you need to take care of your class change first?” I say. “Probably better to get it done sooner rather than later. And I bet it’ll be more enjoyable for the both of us if you get the class change done with before we have some fun.” That, and I want some time to go over that letter Mrs. Jacobs mentioned.

“Alright, love. I’ll try not to keep you waiting for me too long.” She leans in for another kiss before she prances up the stairs to her room, gleefully giggling all the while.

Once she’s closed the door— I know because I can hear it with my enhanced senses— I turn to the letter Mrs. Jacobs mentioned before. It’s made out to both Chloe and me, and is contained within an official-looking envelope, although I don’t recognize either the insignia or the department name on the return address. The Defense Sciences Office? Is that an actual part of the government?

I go ahead and open the letter. The letterhead is just as official-looking as the envelope, although I don’t recognize any of the names or figures that might hint as to the authenticity of this document.

To Miss Seraphina Mortensen and Miss Chloe Jacobs

I trust that this letter finds both of you well. First and foremost, I want to thank both of you for your service to our country. Though circumstances may have led our country, and indeed, the entire world to the brink of anarchy, it is thanks to the tireless efforts of people like you that some semblance of order and security remain intact. Needless to say, your deeds have not gone without notice, nor shall they go without proper recompense. Enclosed with this letter is a check in the amount of five hundred thousand dollars. ($500,000)

This makes sense. Lindsey had mentioned some sort of compensation for my work. However, I figured it would have come from one of the military branches. Not one of these random government offices few have ever heard of. Also, the number she had mentioned was closer to $130,000. Even taking into consideration the work Chloe I did with the Order of the Wilds since then, I’m not sure that adds up to another nearly four hundred thousand. And wouldn’t that have come out of state coffers?

We have also learned of the research Miss Mortensen orchestrated relating to the nascent branch of science she has dubbed ‘Ethertech’. Having no other preexisting term for the discipline, we have started using it internally. In short, her treatises have become something of a foundational text for aspiring [Technicians] and [Mechanists], as well as [Enchanters] or [Mages] interested in specializing in inscription and enhancement of Ethertech devices.

As such, on behalf of the government and the people of the United States, we at the Defense Sciences Office would like to extend her a contract job offer for the next two years. We would be willing to compensate an amount of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($350,000) annually as salary, in addition to the standard government benefits package outlined in the accompanying letter. Funding of three million dollars ($3,000,000) annually will be allotted for further research, to be used for materials and procurement, research assistantships, and/or other incidentals, as appropriate.

We understand that this decision is not one to take lightly. While we would prefer to give you ample time to make a decision, time is unfortunately short. We will need to have an answer no later than July 1, with plans to begin the contract at the start of the fiscal year on October 1.

The remainder of the letterhead lists some people I don’t know, along with a signature. Sure enough, there’s a pamphlet with the ‘standard government employee benefits package’, as well as two checks. One made out to myself for five hundred thousand dollars, and another to Chloe for a hundred thousand. I guess that second one is just to butter me up, as though a little temptation is just what I need in order to properly bargain with yet another devil.

And yet, that is a lot of money. And I bet there’s the potential for even more resources if my initial projects prove as promising as I know they will be. I hate that I’m even considering this offer so damn much. I should dismiss it out of hand, sticking true to my ideals. That would be the moral and righteous thing to do. But I am not immune to corruption, nor to temptation.

In either case, I think the only acceptable thing to do right now is wait for Chloe and consult with her. Her perspective is one I need to consider. Both because it affects her directly— where I go, she will follow. And because she can help me talk through these equivocations I’m having, and see the options before me with a different set of biases, ones which will counter my own.

Even though I know I still have time to make my decision, I want to think about the options a bit more while I wait for Chloe. And so I sit on the couch and ponder. At least, I try. My wings prove less than comfortable for sitting on the furniture. But I won’t take them off, either.

Without my wings, I feel naked. Worse, I feel incomplete, no different than I did in the span between losing my left arm and gaining this new one. [Cybernetic Body] might not directly cause it, but I feel both my wings and my arm as part of me, and I am only complete with both. And so I stand around instead. Standing, or better yet, hovering just off the ground, I quickly learn, is far less unpleasant than trying to sit down.

I so dislike the emptiness that comes without them. This is who I am. The [Mechanical Angel], in mindset and class alike. And it’s my responsibility to do what I can for my friends, for the people I care about. And my love. Because Chloe, forever and always.

[Name: Seraphina Mortensen]

[Age: 18]

[Level: 35; Experience: 497,245; To Next: 34,510]

[Current Stats: [Health]: 4,083 / 4,083; [Ether]: 2,856 / 2,856]

[Current Stats: [Strength]: 36; [Speed]: 34; [Vitality]: 76; [Mind]: 116]

[Combat Parameters:

[Attack (Physical Damage Dealing Capability)]: 141 (Base Strength 36)]

[Agility (Ability to Dodge Attacks): 84 (Base Speed 34 (+15 from Angelic Insight))]

[Defense (Damage Reduction from Physical Attacks): 114 (Base Vitality 76)]

[Magic Attack (Magic Damage Dealing Capability): 116 (Base Mind: 116)]

[Magic Defense (Damage Reduction from Magical Attacks): 121 (Base Mind: 116)]]

[Equipment:

[Weapon: [Mechanical Arm Cannon]: Attack +105 (+55 with glyphs inactive)]

[Helmet: [Bandana of Swiftness]: Defense +2, Agility +5]

[Arms / Shield: [Simple Buckler]: Defense +1, Agility +20]

[Body: [Brigandine]: Defense +30]

[Leg Armor: [Boots of [Impulse]]: Defense +5, Agility +5]

[Accessory 1: [Flawed Ring of Regeneration]: Magic Defense +5]

[Accessory 2: [Wings of Icarus]: Agility +5]]

Class 1: [Mechanical Angel]

[Class Skills: (0/6 Skill Slots remaining)

[Angelic Insight (Rank V)]

[Angel’s Grace (Rank II)]

[Ether Bullet Barrage (Rank VI)]

[Cybernetic Body]

[Trick Shot]

[Etheric Armor (Rank II)]]

[General Skills: (1/6 Skill Slots remaining)

[Basic Glyph Manifestation (Rank XI)]

[Intermediate Ether Manipulation (Rank XI)]

[Glyphcasting (Rank XV)]

[Overland Flight]

[[Ether] Strain Immunity]]

[Unique Traits:

[Touched by the Multiverse]

[Ṣ̸͆ẽ̸̜r̷̞͛a̸͈̿p̴̬͂ḫ̶͌ḯ̸͜n̸̻̐â̷̠ ̸̡̎O̷̥͘v̴̩͝è̴̱r̶̜̆l̷͙͗i̴͉͊m̵͉̿i̵̖͝t̸͓̕t̶͙̾]]]

– End Volume 2